TheLonghouse Religion is the popular name of the religious movement also known as theCode of Handsome Lake orGaihwi:io/Kaliwihyo (Good Message), founded in 1797/1799 by theSeneca prophetHandsome Lake (Sganyodaiyoˀ). This movement combines and reinterprets elements of traditional Iroquois religious beliefs with elements adopted from Christianity, primarily from theQuakers. AnthropologistAnthony F. C. Wallace reported that the Gaihwi:io had about 5,000 practicing members as of 1969.[1]: 3 Originally the Gaihwi:io was known as the "new religion" in opposition to the prevailinganimistic beliefs, but has since become known as the "Old Way" inopposition to Christianity.
Prior to the adoption of the single-family dwelling, Iroquois lived in large, extended-family homes also known aslonghouses which also served as meeting places, town halls,theaters, and sites for religious ceremonies. Gaihwi:io keeps the longhouses for ceremonial purposes, and the movement was therefore termed the "Longhouse Religion".
At the age of 64, after a lifetime of poverty and alcoholism,Ganioda'yo received his revelations while in a trance, after which he ceased drinking and formed the movement. Ganioda'yo's teachings were encoded inwampum[2] and spread through the populations of western New York, Pennsylvania, andIroquois country, eventually being known asThe Code of Handsome Lake.
Handsome Lake vested responsibility for preaching the Gaihwi:io in a number of "holders of the Gaihwi:io", as of 1912 six in number. Since the transmission was oral, the versions began to diverge. In the 1860s the holders of the Gaihwi:io met atCold Spring at the former home of Handsome Lake. They compared versions and, when differences were found, Seneca ChiefJohn Jacket adjudicated and codified the correct version, writing in theSeneca language on letter paper. When he was done, the group reassembled atCattaraugus and memorized this recension. Chief Jacket gave the written copy to ChiefHenry Stevens, who in turn passed it on to ChiefEdward Cornplanter, who somehow lost it. In 1903, afraid that oral transmission would again lead to errors, Chief Cornplanter rewrote it from memory and deposited his transcription at theNew York State Archives for preservation.William Bluesky, a Baptistlay preacher, translated it into English.[3]
The Gaihwi:io is proclaimed twice a year: at the Midwinter Thanksgiving, which falls sometime between January 15 and February 15, and again at the Six Nations meeting in September. Usually the preachers are exchanged between reservations for the event. A full recitation takes three days, mornings only. Before sunrise on each of the three mornings, the preacher stands before the fireplace of the longhouse and sings the Sun Song to ensure good weather.
During the ceremonies, the preacher has an assistant who sits beside him holding a whitewampum strand. Some of the congregation sit on benches placed across the longhouse and the remainder sit on benches placed along the walls. Womencover their heads with a shawl.[3]
The atmosphere at the ceremony somewhat resembles arevival meeting. Participants may be moved to tears, and the emotional atmosphere sometimes becomes so contagious that many publicly re-declare their allegiance to the religion.[3]
One movement exists that rejectsThe Code of Handsome Lake as being too influenced by theFirst andSecondGreat Awakenings. These modern traditionalists follow the teachings ofDeganawidah, The Great Peacemaker as laid down in theGreat Law of Peace, which is theconstitution of the Six Nations orHaudenosaunee. Although this constitution protects the rights of religious ceremonies which have been in practice prior to ratification and acknowledges the duties of positive role models to the community, this movement contends that some of Handsome Lake's teachings may contradict existing articles in their interpretation of the Great Law of Peace.[4]
The Second Great Awakening was a religious movement in the United States beginning around 1790. It has been described as a reaction againstskepticism,deism, andrationalism. This movement was centered in the so-called "Burned-over district" in central and western New York State. Handsome Lake's revelations occurred in the same area and "anticipated by a matter of months the surge of revivals that swept through early national andantebellum America".[5]
Joseph Smith, the founder ofMormonism, is believed to have been influenced by Handsome Lake's revelations, with which his own visions share a resemblance.[6][7][8]
In his 1989 bookPopular Religion in America: Symbolic Change and the Modernization Process in Historical Perspective,Miami University professor Peter W. Williams stated that over time the movement became more routinized and more resembles "such 'cultic' religions on the borderline of traditional Christianity such asMormonism".[9]