Submitted by Native North American Travelling College

Continued from last week…

The following day another elderly lady from one of the families gave thanks to the Creator, and then went down to the river to fetch water to prepare the morning meal. When the old lady looked up she saw a bear. Soon afterward Ronikonhrowa:nen approached her and asked her what she had seen that was unusual. The old lady said she saw a bear. From that point on the old lady was informed that she and all her off­spring would from then on belong to the clan of the bear. This same occurrence was repeated twice when the snipe and eel were seen by two other older women. This happened on one side of the river. From that day forward the Deer, the Bear, the Snipe, and the Eel would always be together as one united group. This is what modern anthropol­ogists call a moiety.

Now the young man who was given the name of Ronikonhrowa:nen had to cross over the river where many other families had set up their campfires. The people on the other side of the river had anxiously been waiting for him to arrive.

Ro’nikonhrowa:nen gathered all the people on that side of the river and explained to them what he expected them to do. He told the people that they should be very observant of anything that seemed unusual, espe­cially in the early morning hours of the day. He specifically told the women, who were the eldest of each family, to be especially watchful. He also told them that they must give thanks (prayer) to the Creator, who in fact is the maker of the whole universe and all its life. The night came and everyone retired around their campfires. The next day, very early in the morning, one of the elderly women awoke and began to give thanks to our Creator. The elderly woman then went to the river where she fetched some water to prepare the morning meal. When the old woman stood up she heard a noise that caught her attention and there she saw a wolf staring at her. Ronnikonhrowa:nen then informed her that she and all her offspring would be of the Wolf Clan. It did hap­pen that on the following days several of the older women from big families had the very same experience. It was in this way that the people on that side of the river received the Wolf, the Beaver, the Turtle, and the Hawk Clan. The people and the clans now existing on that side of the river became another moiety. It is because of this that all Iroquois community who still embrace and follow their clans will be found with this dual system. In Onondaga the two parties are known as the Longhouse People and the Mud House People.

Ronikonhrowa:nen told the people that when one of the parties address­es the other they will call each other cousins. If someone dies from the Wolf, the Turtle, the Hawk, or the Beaver Clan, it is said that all the people on that side of the house will be in grief or mourning. It will then be the responsibility of the people on the other side of the house to aid those who are in grief. The people who did not lose anyone on their side of the house are called Roti’nikonkate (they whose minds are strong). The people who are from the clans of the Roti’nikonkate will do all the speaking at the wake and the funeral. They will do the cook­ing, the digging of the grave and whatever else it takes to respectfully put away the dead. The people called Roti’nikonkate will be obligated for a period of nine days and on the tenth day they will be officially released from their duties for that particular death.

The side which loses a loved one are called Rotinikonhkwenhtara:on (they whose minds have fallen to the ground).

This recording of the history of the clans is one version and there are probably others. This particular version is said to have occurred before the Great Law of Peace was established.

The numerous clans that our people have today were given originally by Ro’nikonhrowa:nen. This clan system was revitalized and incorporat­ed into the new clan system by the Peacemaker. The clan system con­tinues with a great vibrancy in all Iroquois communities today. The Peacemaker was born many hundreds of years alter the original clan system was introduced.

It is important to remember that at the period of time just before the Peacemaker, almost all the people had strayed away from the Creator’s ways. This period of time was perhaps the darkest, most violent and hopeless time of our entire history. This was a time when blood stained Mother Earth. This situation was caused by the bloody wars taking place in every village. Once again there was no peace. Families argued and fought one another and people didn’t follow their clans. Some fam­ilies even lost any memory of the clans. Things had simply been allowed to fall apart.

The Creator was very sad to see the deplorable situation the people were in. It is for this very reason that the Creator sent one of the Four Sacred Beings to be born among the people. This baby was born, grew up and became the Great Peacemaker. The mission of the Peacemaker was to restore kindness, love, joy, and peace to the villages of all our people.

When the Peacemaker put up the Rotiianehson, he instructed them to remember what animal they would see. The next day the Roia:ne did see an animal and that animal became his clan from that time on. The women received their clans in the same way. It is said that was how some of our ancestors received their clans. The Peacemaker also at the time instructed the women that they would be the holders of the clan and that they would pass the clan down to their children. This was a reaffirmation by the Peacemaker of the ancient clan system.

The Clan system of the Rotinonhson:ni is the fundamental building block of the Rotinonhson:ni. The clans are extremely important, and in fact without the clans we would have almost nothing as a society of peo­ple. Like the human body, the bones are what gives the body structure and the ability to function, so the clan serves the same purpose in the societies of the Rotinonhson:ni people.