Iroquois Supernatural: Talking Animals and Medicine People

Description

Bear & Company, 2011. — 209 pages. — ISBN 1591431271 (ISBN13: 9781591431275).Language - English.Brings the paranormal beings and places of the Iroquois folklore tradition to life through historic and contemporary accounts of otherworldly encounters- Recounts stories of shapeshifting witches, giant flying heads, enchanted masks, ethereal lights, talking animals, Little People, spirit-choirs, potent curses, and haunted hills, roads, and battlefields- Includes accounts of miraculous healings by shamans and medicine people such as Mad Bear and Ted Williams- Shows how these traditions can help one see the richness of the world and help those who have lost the chants of their own ancestorsWith a rich history reaching back more than one thousand years, the six nations of the Iroquois Confederacy-the Mohawk, the Oneida, the Onondaga, the Cayuga, the Seneca, and the Tuscarora-are considered to be the most avid storytellers on earth with a collection of tales so vast it would dwarf those of any other society. Covering nearly the whole of New York State from the Hudson and Mohawk River Valleys westward across the Finger Lakes region to Niagara Falls and Salamanca, this mystical culture's supernatural tradition is the psychic bedrock of the Northeast, yet their treasury of tales and beliefs is largely unknown and their most powerful sacred sites unrecognized.ContentsIntroduction: The Iroquois Supernatural—Reaching Beyond the SacredThe Longhouse FolkThe Witches’ CraftThe Witches’ TorchMedicine PeopleThe False FacesSupernatural WarPower SpacesThe Supernatural ZooTalking AnimalsThe Little PeopleThe Land of the EldersBibliographyIndex