Indians 101: Traditional Shawnee religion

The Shawnee, whose name means “Southerner”, arethe southern-most Algonquian language people and share many cultural patterns with other Algonquian-speaking groups. As with Indian cultures throughout North America, religion was enmeshed with other aspects of the culture and was not seen as a distinct part of life. From the traditional viewpoint, there is no clear boundary between the natural and the supernatural. Shawnee religion, like the religions of many other American Indian peoples, is based on animism, the worldview that everything is alive and has a soul that can spiritually communicate with humans.

“Our Grandmother,” Kokomthema, is the Shawnee female Creator. In their book The Encyclopedia of Native American Religions, Arlene Hirschfelder and Paulette Molin report that Kokomthema is:

“The female deity of the Shawnee people who gave them a code of laws and most of their principal religious ceremonies.”

Arlene Hirschfelder and Paulette Molin also report:

“It is believed that Kokomthema sometimes appears on earth to observe the performance of Shawnee religious ceremonies.”

Hunting was a vital part of Shawnee subsistence, and religious rituals were an important part of hunting. In his book The Shawnees and the War for America, Colin Calloway writes:

“In the Shawnee world, humans and animals communicated, hunters dreamed the whereabouts of their prey and offered prayers to the spirits of the animals that gave their bodies so that the people might live.”

In order to maintain the harmony between humans and the animal people, and between humans and the plant people, it was necessary to conduct certain rituals to keep the world in balance.

Among the Shawnee, boys would go out into the woods to fast and to seek a spirit helper at the age of 12-13. According to James Howard, in his book Shawnee! The Ceremonialism of a Native American Tribe and its Cultural Background:

“The spirit helper would give the faster instruction in some area, which was usually healing, and also would promise aid in future years if the faster would call upon it in the proper manner.”

The Shawnee were originally given their bundles by Our Grandmother at the time of creation. Since that time, items have been added to the bundles. According to James Howard:

“Each of the sacred bundles is assigned to the care of a designated custodian, who is always a man, and a person of high moral character.”

The bundle is kept in a structure which is separate from the keeper’s home. James Howard also writes:

“The bundles are treated much as human beings, and it is believed that they may become cramped from resting too much in one position.”

Therefore, the position of the bundles is regularly shifted.

Ceremonies

The Bread Dance (Dakwanekawe) is an important Shawnee ceremony which is traditionally held in the spring and in the fall. It is the principal event of the ceremonial year. The ceremony was given to the Shawnee by Our Grandmother who sometimes appears on earth to observe the ceremony and to participate in the singing. According to Arlene Hirschfelder and Paulette Molin:

“The ceremony customarily consists of eight dance episodes, including a women’s Kokeki, or Cluster Dance, and a Wapikonekawe, or Pumpkin Dance, done by both males and females.”

In the spring, the role of women in the ceremony is predominant and this ceremony asks for fertility and good crops. In the fall, the men lead the dancing and their role as hunters is emphasized. The spring dance asks for an abundant harvest while the fall dance expresses thanksgiving and asks for abundant game. Arlene Hirschfelder and Paulette Molin report:

“Twelve male hunters provide squirrels or other game while 12 female cooks prepare Shawnee corn bread. The foods are displayed until the conclusion of the ceremony when they are exchanged by the men and women.”

The Green Corn Dance was held in August and marked the first corn harvest. Arlene Hirschfelder and Paulette Molin report:

“Vegetables and other produce, along with a kettle of corn soup, are displayed in the middle of the dance arena. As in the Bread Dance, 12 female and 12 male dancers are selected to participate.”

The women begin dancing after a prayer by the bundle keeper and six sets of dances are performed alternately by women only and by men and women dancing together. Arlene Hirschfelder and Paulette Molin report:

“After a concluding prayer, the food on display is distributed. Social dances, considered an important part of ceremonies because they please the Creator, are held during the night.”

In his chapter on the Shawnee in the Handbook of North American Indians, Charles Callender reports:

“On this occasion persons were absolved of misconduct, and all injuries except murder were forgiven.”

The Green Corn Dance lasts from 4 to 12 days.

The Buffalo Dance was traditionally held in late August or early September. The dance was originally given to Tecumseh by the Buffalo, his guardian spirit. Two kettles of corn mush were prepared for the dance as this dish was favored by the buffalo. The ceremony included body painting and eight sets of dances which were performed by men and women. The final element of the dance was a mock battle for the corn mush, which was then eaten. Social dances often followed the ceremony.

The Buffalo Dance was conducted outside of the ceremonial grounds used for other ceremonies because it did not come from Our Grandmother.

The Ride-In and War Dance is held in August. This ceremony originated with Our Grandmother. It includes a ceremonial horseback parade and a war dance. A sacred bundle is opened at a distance from the camp and is followed by an early morning horseback parade around the camp. The ceremony includes singing, dancing, ceremonial feasting, and the recitation of war honors.

The Shawnee Ritual Football Game is a sacred ritual consisting of a game played by men against women. It is a ritual that is pleasing to Our Grandmother and to the Thunderbirds. It also brings rain and fertile crops. In the game, males can move the ball made of buckskin stuffed with deer hair only with their feet, while females are allowed to carry it in their hands.

Death

Among the prehistoric Fort Ancient people, ancestors of the Shawnee and others, the dead were buried in graves which were lined with stone slabs. Bodies were usually fully extended, but some were buried with the knees flexed. Graves were placed beneath the floors of houses or beneath mounds of earth. Burial mounds usually contain alternate layers of earth and bodies. In historic times, the Shawnees often buried the dead in a similar fashion using stone slab graves.

Among the Shawnee, funeral rites usually lasted four days. The body was buried on its back in an extended position with the head toward the west. Prior to burial, friends and relatives would dress and paint the body. Before the grave was filled, friends and relatives would sprinkle small amounts of tobacco over the body and ask the soul not to look back or to think about those remaining behind.

The Shawnee also held an annual Death Feast to honor the spirits of the deceased. This ceremony was not a public performance but was a family ritual held in the home. Food would be prepared and set out on a table. One person would then be selected to speak to the spirits. Arlene Hirschfelder and Paulette Molin report:

“Besides telling them that they are fondly remembered, and that the food has been prepared in their honor, the speaker may request that they may not disturb the living.”

The feast then remains on the table in a darkened room for several hours to allow the spirits to consume the spiritual essence of the food. When the family returns to the room, they may eat the food.