THE GREAT TREE OF PEACE
Oren Lyons is the Faithkeeper of the Turtle Clan, Onodaga Council of Chiefs of the Hau de no sau nee, of the Onondaga Nation of the Hau de no sau nee. As Faithkeeper he is entrusted to maintain the customs, traditions, values and history of the Turtle Clan and uphold the Great Law of Peace of the Hau de sau nee.
In addition to his position as the Faithkeeper, Lyons is also an artist. Lyons painted a depiction of the Great Tree of Peace (shown above) , and the two individuals who had the most to do it with it. Thus being the Great Peacemaker (on the left), and Hayanwatah who is his supporter ( on the right). According to Lyons, the Tree of Peace is the great spiritual law and it sits on the back of the turtle. The turtle being a metaphor for the island, and the island being North America. Lyon's and his people call North America the Great Turtle Island.
It is obivious that every part of the painting of The Great Tree of Peace is symbolic. Intertwined in the tree are different animals that repersent the great clans. The Deer Clan,the Snipe clan, the hawk, the bear, and the wolf who is their spiritual brother. The placement of the eagle in the painting, holds strong symbolic meaning. Lyons states that when the Peacemaker had planted the Tree of Peace he placed the eagle in the top in order to protect and watch the tree. If the eagle saw things coming towards the tree he would scream and notify others.
The tree is not a physical tree, but a spiritual tree that still hold strong meaning today.
"Oren Lyons - The Faithkeeper." . Public Affairs Television, 3 July 1991. Web. 1
Aug. 2014. <http://www.ratical.org/many_worlds/6Nations/OL070391.html>.
The white pine is a national symbol to the Haudenosaunee. The tree tells the story of how five different nations the warring nations, the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca, became unified under one law. The white pine tree was the tree selected by the Peacemaker as a symbol of the unity of the nations of the Haudenosaunee confederacy. Its needles that grow in clusters of five are symbolic of the bonding of the nations. The white pine has wide branches, which can give shelter and it was under the tree that the Peacemaker asked the Chiefs to join him. The Great White Pine is seen thru historical and contemporary Haudenosaunee culture. This story is still retold as follows:
ReplyDelete"Thousands of years ago, the people were at war with each other. A man named the Peacemaker saw a vision of a Great White Pine reaching into the sky. Beneath the pine, the weapons of war were buried and four white roots extended in all four directions to the corners of the Earth. Those who followed the roots at the base of the Great White Pine found shelter beneath its branches. At the top, an eagle alerts the people of approaching danger."
http://www.dec.ny.gov/pubs/93445.html
Hi Laura,
ReplyDeleteAnother Haudenosaunee image that symbolizes the unity of the five nations in the Iroquois Confederacy and its Great Law of Peace is the Hiawatha Wampum Belt. The four squares in this symbol represent the Mohawk, Oneida, Cayuga and Seneca nations. The Onondaga are represented at the center by the the Great Tree of Peace, reminding all members of their loyalty to the Great Law of Peace. Authority resides with the Onondaga as keepers of the council fire, and is centered on keeping the peace. The lines extending outward from each side of the squares on the exterior of the symbol represent a path of peace, which other Nations are welcome to travel, and to take shelter beneath the Great Tree of Peace, and join the Iroquois Confederacy (which the Tuscorara chose to do).
It is interesting to consider then, that the Haudenosaunee have offered this invitation for all nations to join them in peaceful coexistence (which I think to be a very good thing!) yet the dominating culture has restricted who may and may not be members of Native American tribes. I find this interesting, because in other nations, the requirement of citizenship is that one is born within the borders of a country or else citizenship can take place through immigration and naturalization processes. Nonetheless, it seems that the invitation to join as separate nation(s) who wish to also follow the path to peace exists for us if we (collectively) wish to follow the path.
The information about the Hiawatha Wampum Belt was excerpted (and paraphrased) from the Iroquois Nationals Lacrosse Team's website page at: http://iroquoisnationals.org/the-iroquois/the-iroquois-flag/
Hi Laura!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the beautiful image and summary that you've included! Many years ago I remember reading a myth about North America (or a "Great island" in the story) being on the back of a turtle but I didn't remember it being a native story. I've really enjoyed seeing the meaningful native artwork throughout this course!
Katie- The excerpt you included about the weapons of warfare and the four extending roots was really interesting as well.