Religion and ceremonies of the Lenape — Background and Themes

A Pantheon with Local Genii and Plant Spirits

The first two chapters catalogue a hierarchy of spiritual beings, from the distant Supreme Being to the more immediate manĭʹtowŭk of the four directions, the sun, moon, earth, thunder beings, and keepers of the heavens. Harrington also includes minor deities such as the Doll Being, Tornado, Snow Boy, and Comet, as well as animal and plant spirits and local genii. The listing is systematic, drawing on both Unami and Minsi traditions, and the author frequently notes variations in belief between the two divisions of the Lenape. The inclusion of plant spirits and local genii suggests a landscape densely populated with powers that required careful attention.

The Big House and the Mask’s Origin

Chapter VII presents the Unami myth of the mask’s origin, as told by Chief Charley Elkhair. Three mistreated boys meet Mĭsinghâliʹkŭn, who takes one boy to his rocky mountain country and promises him strength. Later, after the Lenape abandon the Big House worship for ten years, a twelve-month earthquake drives them to rebuild. During a ceremony, the mask being is heard making the sound “Hoⁿ-hoⁿ-hoⁿ” east of the Big House, and the three men who had seen him before go out to learn his wishes. The myth explains why the Big House posts now bear carved faces of Mĭsiʹngʷ‛. Harrington juxtaposes this with the Minsi version, which differs in details, and includes historical accounts by Adams and others.

Ceremonial Structure and the Recital of Visions

The annual ceremony, described in Chapter V, is a multi-day event led by a chief and officers, involving a chief’s speech, recital of visions, prayers for hunters, and the use of carved drumsticks and turtle rattles. The ceremony includes a Women’s Night and a final payment of attendants with wampum. Harrington provides a detailed schedule: the ceremony commences with a speech, then participants recount their visions (dreams of power), which are central to the ritual. The hunters depart and return, new fire is kindled, and phratry prayers are offered. The author also includes Indian comments on the ceremony and early accounts by Penn, Brainerd, Zeisberger, and Adams, allowing comparison of the rite over time.

Harrington’s work is valuable for its combination of firsthand fieldwork—he spoke with Lenape ceremonial leaders like Chief Charley Elkhair—and historical sources from the 18th and 19th centuries. Readers should note that the text is a product of its time, using terms like “aborigines” and reflecting early 20th-century ethnographic conventions. The detailed descriptions of ritual procedure and the inclusion of native exegesis make it a resource for understanding Lenape religion as it was practiced in Oklahoma in the early 1900s.

There’s something tender in how the Lenape kept the Mĭsinghâliʹkŭn mask close, a guardian woven into daily ceremony. It reminds me of another quiet book, The Religious Life of the Zuñi Child — Context and Discussion, where childhood itself becomes sacred ground. Both linger, somehow, long after the page is turned.