THE MESSAGE OF THE KAYANEREKOWA

 


A continuation of the Great Law of Peace

Continued from last week

The equality of the Rotiianeson:

The Peacemaker, with the people who were working for peace, created a council for the Confederacy. In the Council, each clan of each nation is represented. In that way, every person within the circle of the Law knows who is his or her representative.

Within the Council, no member is considered to have any greater power than any other. The Rotiianeson are equals. Since there is no voting, and a consensus is required, the influence of the individual is a matter of persuasion, wisdom and ability.

“I now charge each of you lords that you must never seriously disagree among yourselves. You are all of equal standing and of equal power, and if you seriously disagree the consequences will be most serious and this disagreement will cause you to disregard each other…then your grandchildren will suffer and be reduced to poverty and disgrace.” (Gawasowane (Parker), Chiefs, p. 103)


The law provides that different members of the Council shall bear different responsibilities---a reflection, probably, of the talents of the fifty men who formed the first Council under the law. Thus, Thadadho must be vigilant to sweep away “crawling things” that might approach the council fire; Dehatkodons is to sit at Thadadaho’s left hand; Skanawati must consider things carefully from both sides; Dehatnakarineh is a “watcher of the land”, Tekarihoken identifies and ratifies consensus among the Mohawks. Within the council of each nation, individual members have responsibilities that assist the council in arriving at decisions.


The Kayanerekowa also provides for “Pine Tree Chiefs”, men who are “raised up by the people” based on their merit alone and who are not necessarily members of one of the noble families. These people sit with and advise the councils of their respective nations.

(This wampum originally showed five Rotiianeson standing with their elbows crooked, symbolizing the Five Nations and the protective circle of the law. Should a Royaner leave the circle, his title catches on the elbows of the others “as a deer’s antlers catch on the bushes”. His title falls within the circle. He is welcome to return later, but he “comes back naked”, and cannot resume his title.)

The Equality of the Nations

Within the Council of the Confederacy, each nation had its own roles, powers and responsibilities. The Senecas and Mohawks are the Doorkeepers, through whom the issues to be considered must pass. The Onondagas are the Firekeepers, who seek and reaffirm the one-mindedness of the Council. The Cayugas and Oneidas, the “Younger Brothers”, assist in building consensus and weigh the issues and ideas proposed by the Mohawks and Senecas. Each nation has a different role. There are also different numbers of rotiianeson between the nations. The Mohawks have nine, as do the Oneidas. The Onondagas, who have more clans than other nations of the Haudenosaunee, have fourteen. The Cayugas have eight and the Senecas have ten. The number of rotiianeson has nothing to do with the population of the nations, nor does it translate in influence or voting in the Council: since the decisions require that the Council come to one mind, the number of members per nation is irrelevant. An Onondaga spokesman explained to the British at the Council at Fort George on August 3, 1826.


Continued next week

 

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