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R&S->Prayers: A Thanksgiving prayer from the Iroquois (Seneca) people

Posted on Wednesday, November 13 @ 23:21:50 CST

KEYWORDS: Thanksgiving Prayer thanksgiving prayer Iroquois seneca Indian prayer for Thanksgiving Lord of the Sky in the beginning of all things be thankful sister corn clinging sisters beans sister squash three sacred sisters sacred fire Iroquois language Seneca language Gwa Gayant' gogwus Ona'o the sacred food Nyo'sowane, our sister squash Oa'geta, our sister beans FWDP Center For World Indigenous Studies Fourth World Documentation Project

Translated by: Chuck Larsen, Seneca

Gwa! Gwa! Gwa!
Now the time has come!
Hear us, Lord of the Sky!
We are here to speak the truth,
For you do not hear lies,
We are your children, Lord of the Sky.

Now begins the Gayant' gogwus
This sacred fire and sacred tobacco
And through this smoke
We offer our prayers.
We are your children, Lord of the Sky.

Now in the beginning of all things
You provided that we inherit your creation.
You said, "I shall make the earth
On which people shall live
And they shall look to the earth as their mother."
And they shall say, "It is she who supports us."
You said that we should always be thankful
For our earth and for each other.
So it is that we are gathered here,
We are your children, Lord of the Sky.

Stumble It!

Now again the smoke rises
And again we offer prayers
You said that food should be placed beside us
And it should be ours in exchange for our labor.
You thought that ours should be a world
where green grass of many kinds should grow.
You said that some should be medicines
And that one should be Ona'o
the sacred food, our sister corn.
You gave to her two clinging sisters
beautiful Oa'geta, our sister beans
and bountiful Nyo'sowane, our sister squash.
The three sacred sisters; they who sustain us.

This is what you thought, Lord of the Sky.
Thus did you think to provide for us.
And you ordered that when the warm season comes,
That we should see the return of life
And remember you, and be thankful,
and gather here by the sacred fire.

So now again the smoke arises.
We the people offer our prayers.
We speak to you through the rising smoke.
We are thankful, Lord of the Sky.

(Liberally translated.)

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

This prayer was loosely translated by Chuck Larsen, (Seneca) for the Center For World Indigenous Studies and The Fourth World Documentation Project. All FWDP files may be reproduced for electronic transfer or posting on computer networks and bulletin boards provided that:

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