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the spoil was set aside for a feast [3, 31-32]. Then a great feast took place and the meals for the
banquet were prepared from that spoil. This tradition is given in “The song of Hiawatha” with large
descriptions of an Indian feast. When Hiawatha reached his adolescence, the old story teller and old
Nokomis sent him to his first hunting. As he was a strong youth, he had to prove his strength and
bring food to his wigwam as for the Indians hunting and fishing was very serious business. The
Indian man played a great role in his family; he was the head of the family. The comfort and peace
of an Indian family depended on the man’s success.
As we mentioned, hunting was a part of the Indian life. Before the Indian men learned
cultivating the land, hunting and fishing were the only ways of getting food. As hunting was much
needed, people had to be successful in their work. When Hiawatha killed his first deer, Nokomis
gave a great feast in his honor. All the people were invited to his feast. All praised Hiawatha for his
strong heart and success. People called him “Strong Heart” and “Soan-ge-taha” [5, 32].
The next feast in the poem was given after Hiawatha’s killing The Great Pearl-Feather. The
Pearl-Feather was a great magician, Manito of Wealth and Wampum. He was the great threat for the
Indian people. The Pearl-Feather lived in the fen-lands, and was guarded by The Kenabeek, the great
serpents. He was the one who was sending fever from marshes, pestilential vapors, and poisonous
exhalations. The Pearl-Feather was sending diseases and death to the people, and he was the murderer
of Nokomis’s father. Hiawatha went with a great feeling for revenge of his grandfather and for
escaping his people from this hazard. Killing the Peral-Feather, Hiawatha saved his people from the
fever and diseases. He took all the wealth of the magician and brought it to his people. He took all his
wealth of skins and wampum, furs of bison and beaver, sable, ermine, wampum belts, strings,
pouches, silver-headed arrows to the village. The people welcomed him with songs and dances. They
made a great feast to his honor and praised him. People were very joyous and thankful to Hiawatha
for saving their lives and for bringing peace to their village. There would be no disease and fever
among the people anymore with the death of the Pearl-Feather. The village was now in safety.
Hiawatha shared all the wealth that he brought equally among his people. People cried “Honor be to
Hiawatha!” and he deserved it with his bravery and being generous towards his people [5, 70-78].
Another interesting and important feast was The Feast of Mondamin which is mentioned in
the poem. Everything begins with Hiawatha’s fasting. The main food that Indians could get, as we
mentioned before, was from hunting. If they didn’t hunt, they didn’t have anything to eat. This
matter worried Hiawatha. He looked upon the sturgeon, pike, herring; he looked upon the fruits and
thought why people should depend upon only these foods. Hiawatha understood that people had to
know
another way of getting food, which would be forever. Hunting cannot be the only basis of life.
He was searching for it and praying not for himself, but for his people. Seven days and nights he
was fasting and praying not for greater skill in hunting, not for triumph in the battle, but for the
profit of the people and advantage of the nations. On his fourth day of fasting, Mondamin came
there and gave a chance to Hiawatha to get what he prayed for. Three days he wrestled with
Mondamin, despite being tired, hungry and thirsty. With the triumph over Mondamin, Hiawatha
achieved his dream. Finally, he placed Mondamin in his grave, didn’t let anyone or anything to
disturb him to sleep and break his peace. Until the summer ended, the maize grew up from the
ground over the Mondamin’s grave. Hiawatha got what he prayed for. When the autumn came, they
gathered all the ripened maize and gave the first Feast for Mondamin. It had to be a feast of all
nations because finally they got a food forever. The Feast of Mondamin was given to thank The
Great Spirit, for his being so kind to the nations and sending them such a perfect gift [5, 42-50].
Since then each autumn they held this feast [7, 139-140]. The traces of the Mondamin Feast we can
see in the Thanksgiving Holiday. This holiday is held in America in autumn every year to show
people’s gratitude to God for giving them food. Many people believe that the origin of
Thanksgiving Day goes to the harvest celebration of pilgrims in Plymouth, Massachusetts. They
celebrated it for rain that ended a drought, and they were saved from hunger. But in the poem
İsgandarova N.V., Alizadeh N.Sh.
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Longfellow writing about the Mondamin Feast, assures that the real origin of Thanksgiving Day
goes back to The Indians. Anyway this holiday is a traditional day for all American families and
they often have great meals which include a turkey, potatoes, cranberry sauce, gravy, pumpkin pie
and vegetables [8].
The greatest feast given in the poem is Hiawatha’s wedding-feast. Each nation has different
wedding traditions. Weddings in all cultures were always an interesting issue. In the “Song of
Hiawatha” Longfellow introduces us the Indian wedding feast. We get more acquainted with their
food dance, way of feasting from the Hiawatha’s wedding feast. Hiawatha’s marriage had a special
purpose. As he was a prophet sent to his nation, he didn’t do anything only for himself. His every
deed served to his nation. Also his marriage served for bringing peace to his people. When
Hiawatha expresses his desire to marry, Nokomis warns him. She advices him to marry a maiden of
his nation, and not bring a girl from other tribe to his wigwam. But it was too late to warn
Hiawatha, because he had already chosen his maiden who was not from their tribe. She was from
the
tribe of Dakotas, the enemies to Ojibways. He wanted to unite the two nations
and hoped the old
feuds would be forgotten. The most interesting tradition before the wedding is Hiawatha’s wooing
his maiden, Laughing Minnehaha. He takes his way towards the lands of Dakotah, where he saw his
lovely, beautiful Minnehaha. It was a custom for Indians
to bring a food from hunt,
for the family of
the maiden when the Indian man comes to woo her. Thus did Hiawatha, brought a red deer on his
shoulders to the wigwam of the Arrow-Maker, the father of Minnehaha. This shows how the man
successful and skillful in hunting, can afford his family with food. While the Arrow-Maker and
Hiawatha were talking, she brought food and drinks for them and kept silence, even didn’t say a
word. Hiawatha offers to the Arrow-Maker to clasp their hands forever and to unite their hearts. He
asks the old man to give his beautiful girl to him as a wife to make the two tribes, Ojibways and
Dakotahs united and live in peace. With Minnehaha’s agreement, her father lets her follow her
husband to the lands of Ojibway [5, 79-87]. Another interesting point in Hiawatha’s wooing is the
father’s words after his lovely daughter leaves him all alone. The feelings of the Arrow-Maker are
given with a high accuracy by Longfellow:
“Thus it is our daughters leave us,
Those we love, and those who love us!
Just when they have learned to help us,
When we are old and lean upon them,
Comes a youth with flaunting feathers…
…And she follows where he leads her,
Leaving all things for the stranger! ” [5, 85].
Though the father understands that his daughter will leave him as soon as she reaches her
beauty, he nevertheless feels jealousy. His daughter leaves him, when he is old and needs her help.
But he cannot accept his loneliness as his daughter was his only friend in life, and now he is alone
in his silent wigwam. In the other tribe, in the lands of Ojibway, the great feast was given to the
honor of Hiawatha and Minnehaha. As a sign of invitation Nokomis sent the messengers with
wands of willow. This is how Indians invited their guests to the wedding-feast. All the people from
the Ojibway were gathered to Hiawatha’s wedding. All of them were joyous and happy for
Hiawatha. The guests were dressed in their robes of fur, belts of wampum. Wampum was a quantity
of small cylindrical beads made by North American Indians from quahog shells, strung together and
worn as a decorative belt or other decoration, or used as money. Also guests were splendid with
their paint and plumage beautiful with beads and tassels. In the wedding Pau-Puk-Keewis makes his
dance, the old great boaster tells tales of adventures and the gentle Chibiabos sings his sweetest
songs. In the wedding Nokomis tries to do her best to make the guests were contented and pleased.
When the Indians entertained their guests they didn’t sit with them. Even they didn’t
touch the food,
because everything was done only for the guests. For the Indians the guest was very precious and
Indian feasts in Henry Wordsworth Longfellow’s “The song of Hiawatha”