clan system

Clanship and
The four sacred

ceremonies

Native studies

The goals

-At the end you will know the four
main ceremonies

-You will know the origin of clans

-You will understand the basic process
of how ceremonies are conducted.

How can we as a class
understand the
importance of clans to
Haudenosaunee
society?

Tommy Porter

Explain how does Tommy tell the
story of how clans are separated
when entering the longhouse??
Which direction?
What happens to a man when him
and his wife get divorced?

https://www.haudenosauneeconfed
eracy.com/clan-system/

What are some other way people are grouped together?

-Example: Family

-List some others

Clanology : origin of clans

The origin of clans came during a time of lost of
connection and death

-People were dealing with grief and not
attending to their gardens or ceremonies

-
-A man named Rohni’konrawa:nen (man of
great ideas)

-Found a solution

-He asked the people to follow him to the
river and camp out there.

-The first morning, a woman seen a deer
near the river.

-The next morning, a woman seen a bear;

-The next two were snipe and eel two other
women seen

-The clan system was created 100 years
prior to the peackemaker

question

The reason that the clan system came about was because ...?

a.The people were

c. Clanmothers

b.Chiefs d. Faithkeepers

What was the name of the person who developed the idea for clans?

a.Tsiakônsase

c. Tadadaho

b.Peacemaker

d. Ronikonhrowâ:nen

How they are seperated

Land: bear, wolf, deer

Air : Hawk, snipe, Heron

Water: Turtle, Eel,

How each clan titles are set-up

Span of a hand

Bear clan titles

Tehanentarihne- horn leader
Ahstawenserenhtha- he drops or strikes
down the rattle
Shoskoharo:wane- the big tree
Characteristics:
Bashful, shy, quiet, observant, walks away
from trouble, diplomatic by nature, handle
alot more tolerance but have their limit, can
be very fierce, can be sensitive, and never
lets grudges go,know their medicines.

turtle

Takariho:ken - split ideas
Aionwahtha - he who wakes them up
Sa’tekari:wate - equally important issues
Characteristics:
Foundation of the nation, very consistent, determined,
humble, stubborn, most cases very shy, middle
between wolf and bears traits, dont liked to be
surprised or startled, react best in calm, ordinary, and
normal day to day activities, takes some time to
become friends with one, somewhat moody, usually
shy away from anything new at first.

Wolf titles

Sharenho:wane - a type of big tree
Teionhehkwen - food plants or sustenance of life
Orenhre’ko:wa - a type of big bird
Characteristics:
Can be aggressive, respond instantly to things in their life,
honest, straightforward, tend to not possess diplomatic
characteristics, dont believe what is told to them at first,
cross examine, finish the job with great determination, not
humble, workers and doers, not close to each other, but will
unite if necessary,
Akwesasne has the strongest and most populated clan,

Snipe clan

Originally from either Onondaga, Cayuga or Seneca.
Usually busy or involved in something
Not lazy, sometimes moody
Most time it is joyous nature
Noisy bunch, alert and full of energy
Cant stick to one thing, they have great interest in many
things
Tend to invite themselves into what other people are
doing, positive thinking people
Quick temper but does not last long
Good conversationalists, know a lot of things

Deer clan

Originally from Onondaga or Cayuga nation
Timid or shy
Quick opinionated, dont always gather the facts to make a decision
Easily intimidated, somewhat athletic
Have good intentions, as long as others made the effort
Tend to be followers than bold leaders, kind hearted, very sensitive, string
trait of being unpredictable, can sometimes to the ones who save the day

Rotihshennakehte

-A group in Akwesasne

-Adopted by another clan

-They carry the name, it does not belong to them

-

Create your own clan

Your nation will be the 7th nation to the confederacy.
Create your own nation/clan, if you were able to,
Must think about climate
Who are your leaders?
Roles and responsibilities of the people.
How is the language, culture formed- is it similar or different to the
confederacy?
ceremonies / celebrations- what do you celebrate?
What do the Clothing, art, songs look like?
What are some clans that are apart of the nation?
Foods? What does your nation eat?
How does your nation resolve issues?

Tommy porter’s book

What are the roles and responsibilities of the
clans?

Who takes care of the family grieving?
Who speaks to each other across the house?
Who runs the Funerals, weddings and ceremonies?
Which sides has the most clans? Why?

The Four Sacred Ceremonies

Came after the clan system was set in place after the
creation story.

Atonwa

Men’s chant

Kaientowa:nen

Peach bowl game

Ohstonwa’ko:wa

The great feather dance

Onenho:ron

Drum dance

During each ceremony

Who runs them?
Who closes?
Who cleans the longhouse?
Who takes care of the food?