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seeking a means to heal their sick children: “On several occasions, mothers who had no inclination for the Faith came to get me to restore their sick children to health. I took advantage of the opportunity to baptize them, and several soared away to heaven after having received, through baptism, health of the soul instead of that of the body” (JR 58:241) Apart from “medicine” of various kinds, the Jesuits also used their scientific knowledge to predict eclipses and other celestial events to impress prospective converts. Writing to his French provincial in 1683, Jesuit Mission Superior Thierry Beschefer stated, “This prediction of eclipses has always been one of the things that have most astonished our savages; and it has given them a higher opinion of Their missionaries” (JR 62:197). When a lunar eclipse came to pass on January 21, 1674, Father Millet at the Onneiout (Oneida) mission wrote to Father Dablon of how he used the situation to undermine the influence of village “Jugglers.” The poor people admitted to me that it was beyond their knowledge, and begged me to go and notify them at the time of the eclipse. After this avowal of their ignorance had been several times reiterated, I publicly announced on Sunday, after mass, that the eclipse would take place on the following night; and that, if they awoke, they must remember to look. Fortunately, the sky was very clear; and, as soon as I noticed that the eclipse was beginning, I went to the orator of the country, and to some others among the most notable men; they arose and, coming quickly out of their cabins, saw that the eclipse was already very perceptible. Immediately, they announced the event, within and without the fort. I warned them that it would not remain as it was; that it would increase a great deal more, and that barely one-twelfth of the moon would remain visible. They asked me whether it would not reappear again, for these simple people thought that it was almost lost. “It will reappear entirely,” I said, “ and then it will be at such a spot in the sky for it continues to advance; and, just as you now see it gradually growing smaller, so will you see it grow larger in the same proportion. ” Everything happened as I had announced, and they were compelled to admit that we knew things better than they. For my part, I derived great benefit from this, in instructing them and undeceiving them about their myths and superstitions. (JR 58:181-183) 95
Related to medicine and “magic,” the Iroquois and Huron both expressed particular sensitivities to certain objects and colors. When the first Jesuits arrived in New France in 1611, they quickly began using images as teaching tools, much in the way that Ignatius of Loyola incorporated the notion of “conversion by image” into the Jesuit spiritual exercises (Axtell 1985:115). From his earlier work with the Huron, Charles Garnier (1606-1649) realized that gaining the attention of his audience required that Christian religious imagery should adhere to certain aesthetics, as well as color symbolism. Around 1645, Garnier wrote to his brother and requested pictures that included “an eighteen year-old beardless Jesus, Jesus on the cross” and images that distinguished “damned souls from happy souls” (Axtell 1985:115-116). Additionally, because it was a favorite of the natives, Garnier requested several copies of a published picture of the child Jesus hugging the knees of the Virgin Mary. The Virgin Mary was depicted with crown on her head, a scepter in her right hand and the Earth in her left (Axtell 1985:115). Given their matrilineal kinship practices and the widely regarded roles of women in both domesticity and tribal diplomacy, the preference expressed for Marian imagery by the Iroquois and Huron is hardly surprising. As for color, Garnier noted that “Jesus, Mary and happy souls should all be in white; others should be dressed in red or blue – never yellow or green” (Axtell 1985:115). Any such human figures should be “semi-covered, hair straight and combed and no beards” (Axtell 1985:115). Damned souls, by contrast, should appear “blackened” and engulfed in flames, with the facial expression as agonized as 96
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A QUESTION OF FAITH: JESUIT MISSION
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ABSTRACT This thesis focuses on Jes
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For Dad, Pap-Pap and Grandma & Gran
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Introduction…………………..
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LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Finger Ring
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with the presence of missions or pr
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Relations may have been. Next, usin
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Poverty, sickness, exposure, fatigu
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thereby accelerating the time it us
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we weep for thee because, in losing
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age Father Raffeix also spent his t
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appropriate to mention him here. La
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necessary satisfaction in mutual gi
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The Legend of Sky Woman accounts fo
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The earliest writings on Iroquoian
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while the life soul helped to carry
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Arguably the last thing a prospecti
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Onondaga lands (JR 44:23), his lett
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Chapel, in order to pray with them
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The rest of the letter relays some
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ecalled how a party of Iroquois han
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at this time the Seneca had just de
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y French military conflict. The 168
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“Those who trusted him would not
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It is uncertain which of the Seneca
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ings may have also been secular tra
Page 53 and 54: which are mentioned by Wood (Mason
Page 55 and 56: also argues that the “rings were
Page 57 and 58: espectively, in the archaeological
Page 59 and 60: Figure 3. Ave Maria ring. Image tak
Page 61 and 62: Figure 8. Man with Cross ring. Imag
Page 63 and 64: Biography of General John S. Clark
Page 65 and 66: Auriesville, New York and Kateri Te
Page 67 and 68: Figure 11. Image of Benedictine Med
Page 69 and 70: Figure 14. Mary and Jesus Medal Thi
Page 71 and 72: Figure 18. St. Augustine the Bishop
Page 73 and 74: CHAPTER 3 AN UPDATED ANALYSIS OF CH
Page 75 and 76: among the Seneca sites. The earlies
Page 77 and 78: Menzis The Menzis site is western s
Page 79 and 80: (1974:100-101). Since additional ex
Page 81 and 82: “Kirkpatrick site at Rochester Ju
Page 83 and 84: Huntoon findings. Jordan (2004) des
Page 85 and 86: Canawaugus was the location of the
Page 87 and 88: Table 2. Religious Medals from Sene
Page 89 and 90: Problems and Questions In the Inter
Page 91 and 92: archaeologically from the church or
Page 93 and 94: colors, materials, as well as sensi
Page 95 and 96: eligion into their own. The Indians
Page 97 and 98: “baptisms.” This is simply to t
Page 99 and 100: 1673 (July): Garnier baptized 43 ch
Page 101 and 102: Of course, the missions of New Fran
Page 103: induce her to consent more readily
Page 107 and 108: medals, finger rings and other sacr
Page 109 and 110: At various times, Garnier, Raffeix
Page 111 and 112: experienced such a receptive audien
Page 113 and 114: despite her family’s disapproval.
Page 115 and 116: Christians comprised “perhaps twe
Page 117 and 118: For future study, it is also impera
Page 119 and 120: BIBLIOGRAPHY Abler, Thomas S. and E
Page 121 and 122: New York State Archaeological Assoc
Page 123 and 124: Snow, Dean R. 1995 Mohawk Valley Ar
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