Native American Religion

The Iroquois Mid-Winter Ceremony

 

As a celebration of new beginings, the midwinter ceremony serves as a spiritual and personal revivial. Spanning out over nine days, the celebration also contains  the performance of many small rituals. For example, it starts off with the big heads and stirring of ashes ceremony, where "The Big Heads dress in ceremonial outfits consisting off buffalo skins and braided corn husk masks." Each of the Big Heads will take the ashes from the fires of individual households and stir the ashes together as a "symbolic act of gratitude to the Creator". This is just one of many of the rituals in the Mid-Winter Ceremony. In the closing events of the ceremony, people of the tribe reflect on the past nine days. The Speaker of the ceremony shares an "address of thanksgiving" with the tribe. Moreover, the tribal members that have been choosen for the next year are then introduced to the tribe and thus, new beginings are finally welcomed.