Student
Summary |
Giving
Thanks
Giving
thanks for the blessings of life, health, food, shelter, family, friendship
and so on is an ancient practice shared by cultures around the world.
Whereas some cultures celebrate thanksgiving as an annual one-day event,
others celebrate numerous occasions throughout the day and the month and the
year to give thanks to God – who is often referred to in English as “the
Creator” by many Aboriginal peoples. Traditional indigenous cultural
practices typically include prayers of thanksgiving at sunrise to show gratitude for the gifts of the Creator that make life possible, such as the sun. Other
ceremonies may honour and give thanks for the plant life, the water, the
moon, and so on. Through the ceremonial practice of giving thanks, one
remains aware and appreciative of the gifts and the people that
make life meaningful, with the hope of never taking them for granted. Giving
thanks for the various elements of the world should never be confused with
“worshipping” those elements in the sense of idolatry. All prayers
recognizing elements like the sun, moon, or plant life, for example, are a
thanksgiving to the Creator for the gifts of these elements, and the
Creator’s existence is recognized as existing within these elements.
Thanksgiving
Address
In
traditional Mohawk culture, the Thanksgiving Address is a prayer of reconciliation with the universe. It pays tribute to multiple forms of life such as plants
and animals, the natural elements, the four directions, the four seasons, and
everything that exists. Giving thanks is a way to acknowledge all the energy
forces that work together to sustain life, including those that are
seen and unseen and heard and unheard. Saying prayers of thanks in
Aboriginal cultures is a practice to remind oneself of the interdependency of
these energies, and the need to be respectful of these life forms.
Morning
Prayer
Mohawk Elder
Tom Porter describes a morning prayer, thanking the Creator for creating life
and for sustaining and embracing us through the sun. He then describes how
traditionally Mohawk people will continue to express gratitude throughout the
day: for their family members, by greeting them each day; and after eating
and drinking water; after feeling the breeze of the wind; after stepping on
Mother Earth, and so on. Thanking the sun each morning pays respect to the
energy force that provides warmth and makes our plants grow, which we need to
survive. In respect for all these things, the traditional practice is to
say, “Nya weh,” which means “thank you” in Mohawk. Showing gratitude creates
positive relations with others and makes it easier to communicate. The traditional
Mohawk mindset is focused on the spiritual, constantly paying respect to all
these things.
Mohawk
Creation Story
In the
Mohawk Creation Story, a woman came from another planet, helped by birds to
travel to Earth, but this planet was covered in water. A turtle appeared to
this woman and she landed on its back as there was no other place for her to
stand. The woman was the great, great, Grandmother of the Mohawk and she
brought gifts of food with her. Walking in a counterclockwise direction
on the turtle’s shell, she created the miracle of birth, turning the seeds of
the fruits into humans and into corn. Singing songs from this other planet,
the woman continued to dance in a counterclockwise motion, making a sacred circle, turning the turtle into earth and growing to form North America. The
more she danced, the more the earth grew.
People of
the Longhouse continue to dance in the counterclockwise direction as taught
by this woman, their great, great, Grandmother. Sky Woman taught the Mohawk
to dance this way although many other Aboriginal cultures dance in a
clockwise direction. Longhouse people continue to dance in the sacred circle
to keep the corn growing and to keep beans growing and to keep the culture
alive as taught by Sky Woman.
Sky Woman
had a daughter, and this daughter had two sons: Brother Sun (Daytime), who
gives life, and Night time; but the Sky Woman’s daughter died in childbirth.
The Mohawk believe that in birth each of us is given three spirits, or souls:
three sources of energy that make a person who he is, which come together as
one. At death, these three parts of the spirit are unraveled with each
returning to its place of origin. One returns to the sky while the other two
return in the direction of the earth. So at death, Sky Woman’s daughter was covered
with earth, to make a mound, not buried below. Today you can visit sacred
mounds in Mohawk territories in the USA. |
Strategy |
1. Generate a
discussion on the origin of life. What are some of the beliefs that people
have about how earth was first created, by whom, and when.
2. Introduce Tom
Porter as a Mohawk elder who has traditional teachings to share on how the
earth was created from a traditional Mohawk view.
3. Visit www.fourdirectionteachings.com and listen to the teachings how earth was created.
a) Go to
“Creation of the Cosmos” to hear the Mohawk Creation Story.
b) Go to
“Creation of Humans” to hear about the creation of humans.
4. Discuss the
story in parts. Who were the main characters? Why did Sky Woman fall to the
earth? Why did the birds come to her aid? Why did the turtle help her? Who
else helped her? What gifts did she bring and why were they so important to
the Mohawk? Was this story meant to be taken literally? What is the
significance of dancing on the back of the turtle? What was the lesson in
this story?
5. In groups,
discuss the point that Mohawk continue to dance in the counterclockwise
direction, as they were taught through this story. Discuss how cultural
traditions originate. How do peoples learn cultural dances? How do they
keep their cultural languages? How are traditions passed down from
generation to generation?
6. Discuss the
concept of thanksgiving of all that sustains life. The Mohawk have
traditional teachings on giving thanks. Like many cultures, the Mohawk
people have a practice of giving thanks to all the people and things that
make life possible.
7. Visit www.fourdirectionteachings.com and listen to the elder’s teachings on giving thanks.
a) Go to “Morning
Prayer” to learn about how traditional Mohawk people greet the day.
b) Go to
“Outcircle Prayer” to learn about giving thanks throughout the day.
8. Discuss Mr.
Porter’s teachings on the rays of Brother Sun coming up every day to watch
over us, shedding light to make trees grow, corn grow, and so on. Without
this light we would not survive as we need the sun, so this is why thanks are
given. What other things did he mention that Mohawk people are thankful
for? What are you thankful for today? Who are the people in your life who
are important to you? What are the things that you have in life that you
enjoy? Why is it important to give thanks to these people and to respect
your things and others’ belongings?
9. Working in
groups, assemble the ingredients necessary to make corn soup as practiced by
Mohawk people (see recipe below).
10. Arrange table
settings in class and practice giving thanks for the food and companionship,
etc. while enjoying the soup.
11. Wrap up the
lesson with a reading of the summary and a selection of discussion topics and
optional exercises below.
Discussion
Topics:
- The
turtle figures prominently in the Mohawk Creation Story. It was the
turtle who provided Sky Woman with a comfortable place to rest when
there was no land for her to stand on. Today Aboriginal people refer to
North America as Turtle Island. In what ways did the animals help Sky Woman
to create life? What does this kinship with animals say about the
Mohawk relationship with animals today?
- Sky
Woman is a mythological being from another planet who came to create
earth and subsequently, people. How does this story compare to other Creation
Stories? What does she represent?
Option
Exercises:
- Create
a beaded object to symbolize one of the elements in the Mohawk Creation
Story such as the turtle or corn (see link below for instructions).
- Make a
sculpture of a turtle representing North America. Using papier mache or
other objects create a symbol for the turtle as it relates to the Mohawk
Creation Story.
- Make a
journal entry on the Mohawk Creation Story. What did you think of Sky
Woman? Look at a map of North America. Can you picture North America as a giant turtle? If North America was formed on the back of a turtle,
would that change how you treat the earth?
- Write a
report on how the concept of thanksgiving impacts on Mohawk culture and
how it impacts on contemporary society. What can be adapted from
traditional Mohawk thanksgiving practices?
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