I was fascinated to get the Bahai interpretation, which is where that snippet came from. Those Bahai guys are kinda interesting. I haven't ever heard of them much except for my friend T. Spellman who is a really neat guy, is one. He gave me the Masanobu Fukuoka book so I'll always have a place in my heart.
John the inter-tribal interdenominationalist On Wed, Dec 9, 2009 at 7:58 PM, markhsmit <[email protected]> wrote: > Interesting John. > Many analogies to many things. Light and serpents, I can think > of a few other places where these are used. Thanks for the > enlightening tale. > > Mark > > On Dec 9, 2009, at 4:14:50 PM, "John Carl" <[email protected]> wrote: > From: "John Carl" <[email protected]> > Subject: [MD] Mad Bear Prophecy > Date: December 9, 2009 4:14:50 PM PST > To: [email protected] > Mad Bear (Wallace Anderson), was an Iroquois nationalist, a Tuscarora by > birth. In August, 1959, author Edmund Wilson had an interview with Mad > Bear. > In the course of that exchange, Mad Bear expressed his occasional > despondency over the plight of his people and the seeming futility of his > struggle for their rights. In such moments, Mad Bear related: "Sometimes I > feel that the struggle is completely hopeless. Then again I don't know. I > think that maybe some day the Iroquois will come into their own > again."(61)< > http://www.bahai-library.org/file.php?file=buck_native_messengers#N_61_ > >Then > Mad Bear proceeded to relate a prophecy ascribed to Deganawida, which > was presumably a source of encouragement whenever his collective hopes for > his people flagged. He had heard this prophecy from the head clan mother of > the Senecas, who resided on the Tuscarora reserve, and "from a number of > other sources," which Mad Bear did not > disclose.(62)< > http://www.bahai-library.org/file.php?file=buck_native_messengers#N_62_ > >Mad > Bear's version of the prophecy of Deganawida's return begins with a > lament typical of apocalyptic literature in general: > > - When Deganawida was leaving the Indians in the Bay of Quinté in > Ontario, he told the Indian people that they would face a time of great > suffering. They would distrust their leaders and the principles of peace of > the League, and a great white serpent was to come upon the Iroquois, and > that for a time it would intermingle with the Indian people and would be > accepted by the Indians, who would treat the serpent as a friend. > - This serpent would in time become so powerful that it would attempt to > destroy the Indian, and the serpent is described as choking the life's > blood > out of the Indian > people.(63)< > http://www.bahai-library.org/file.php?file=buck_native_messengers#N_63_> > > Mad Bear goes on to describe how the appearance of a red serpent distracts > the white serpent. As the two serpents feud, the Indian retreats to the > "land of the hilly country" and revives the spirit and principles of peace > that Deganawida had established. A seer in the form of a young boy appears > and, while watching the contest between the red and white serpents, would > impart a message of hope to the Iroquois people, with the promise: "And > Deganawida said that they will gather in the land of the hilly country, > beneath the branches of an elm tree, and they should burn tobacco and call > upon Deganawida by name when we are facing our darkest hours, and he will > return." The prophecy ends as follows: > > - The next direction that he [a young leader, an Indian boy, possibly in > his teens, who would be a choice seer] will face will be eastward and at > that time he will be momentarily blinded by a light that is many times > brighter than the sun. The light will be coming from the east to the west > over the water.... Deganawida said as this light approaches that he would > be > that light, and he would return to his Indian people, and when he returns, > the Indian people would be a greater nation than they ever were before. > (64)< > http://www.bahai-library.org/file.php?file=buck_native_messengers#N_64_> > > Vecsey confirms that the prophecy of Deganawida's return is sufficiently > attested in Iroquoian tradition to be considered an essential, though not > prominent, feature in the Deganawida > cycle.(65)< > http://www.bahai-library.org/file.php?file=buck_native_messengers#N_65_ > >The > Six Nations' version has the prophet condition his return on times of > crisis: "If at any time through the negligence and carelessness of the > lords, they fail to carry out the principles of the Good Tidings of Peace > and Power and the rules and regulations of the confederacy and the people > are reduced to poverty and great suffering, I will > return."(66)< > http://www.bahai-library.org/file.php?file=buck_native_messengers#N_66_>In > 1990, a recent trade book, > *Native American Prophecies,* has popularised Deganawida's prophecy as > transmitted by Mad > Bear.(67)< > http://www.bahai-library.org/file.php?file=buck_native_messengers#N_67_> > Moq_Discuss mailing list > Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. > http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org > Archives: > http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ > http://moq.org.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/ > > > Moq_Discuss mailing list > Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. > http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org > Archives: > http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ > http://moq.org.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/ > Moq_Discuss mailing list Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org Archives: http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ http://moq.org.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/
