The Thunderers

Now we turn to the west where our Grandfathers, the Thunder Beings, live. With lightning and thundering voices, they bring with them the water that renews life. We bring our minds together as one to send greetings and thanks to our Grandfathers, the Thunderers.

The Thunderers, what do they mean to the people? What do we mean to the Thunderers? Where do they come from? What do they hold? What is their purpose? How do they affect the people, children and other identities on the earth?

Thanksgiving

Hegahgwe’s tenehtahkwa hadiwenodagyes etihsoit deyetinohohkwa

Every time Haudenosaunee gather it is stated in Ganohonyohk, the Thanksgiving Address, that the Thunderers come from the sundown or the west.

The Thunderers are often referred to as our Grandfathers, being a common description in a relationship with the people. Everything in the “Aboriginal World” is related or has a relationship with the other.

One duty of the Thunderers is to continue to make fresh water or bring the rain, which replenishes or renews the water supply, the wells, lakes, and streams for the inhabitants of the earth. Another duty is to water what the Creator has planted on our Mother Earth, so that these plants and the gardens of the people may grow well. To wash the earth and all that are present at certain periods of time is a duty as well.

Another duty is to keep the spirits, which at one time roamed our Mother Earth and preyed viciously upon the people. The Creator placed these spirits beneath the ground. The Thunderers were given the duty of striking the ground where these spirits attempted to come close to the surface of the earth. The Thunderers are regretful that sometimes a person is struck, for these spirits try to seek cover by hiding under people as they rise to the surface of the earth.

The Ceremony

The Thunder ceremony occurs anytime after one to three thunderstorms have returned in the New Year or during a dry period when needed for crops. The community is notified as to when this event/ceremony will take place and the people gather at the Longhouse on the date agreed upon by the faithkeepers. A fire is prepared and a speaker burns tobacco thanking the Thunderers for returning this year and for continuing to perform their responsibility by renewing the lakes, rivers, streams, and wells. The history of the Thunderers are then stated by the fire, the formation of our Mother Earth, the great monsters or spirits that roamed the Earth, terrifying the people, so horrifying the children, killing them by a glance. The history speaks of these monsters or spirits being driven beneath the earth by the Creator. The Thunderers are then given the duty to strike the ground where these beings attempt to escape.

The Thunderers consist of four identities: three which strike the ground, and the fourth, who directs their work. The fourth will only strike when the Thunderers will pass through this land a final time. Coming from the east or where the sun rises, striking feverishly without control. The fourth identity will no longer be controlling the work. After the Thunderers pass through in this manner, you will no longer hear their rumblings.

The speaker asks that the Thunderers continue to perform their work along with the other forces affecting the earth and all that live upon it.

I have seen, on occasion, a lacrosse game played to honor the Thunderers, with sides determined by a division among clans. The game is played to a predetermined amount of goal. When the lacrosse game is not played immediately following the burning of tobacco, singers and dancers take their place. If the game is played, the people return to the fire upon its conclusion. Then the singers and dancers take their place. First is a fire song, as the dancers dance in a counter­clockwise direction around the fire. A couple of traveling songs are sung on the way to the doors of the Longhouse. The dancers lead the procession, followed by the singers, in turn followed by the people. There is a certain song on entrance to the Longhouse. After the dancers are in the Longhouse, the singers and people following take their place. Wasase: or the rain dance is then presented with families announcing baked goods in honor of the Thunderers. The baked goods are then divided up and given to the singers and dancers.

Conclusion

To the Thunderers, the Haudenosaunee are a small meager force in the Creation. The duties the Thunderers serve are not only to the people but also to the plants, grasses, trees, animals, and everything in this grand Creation. Imagine if you were given the power and responsibilities that the Thunderers have. You would have so much power, but it must be used wisely. If you did not use it wisely, everything could be destroyed. Even you, with all the power as the Thunderers would no longer exist. For even the Thunderers depend on our Mother Earth, the wind, sun, and Grandmother Moon, for if they did not exist, there would be no Thunder. The Thunderers are here to serve but can also deny all that they are responsible for.

It is good practice when the Thunderers are heard off in the distance to get some tobacco and leave it outside for them. I believe that at the base of a hickory tree facing the east side is the place. I will try to find or remember the story behind this!

Towards the end of life as we know it, the Thunderers will come one last time. At that time, it will come from where the sun rises, or the east. Being louder and stronger than ever before, it will come with the fourth identity participating and not directing their work. After this, the Thunderers will be no more. Without the Thunderers, we, the people, will be no more.

Today, we must respect the Thunderers as they continue to perform their duties that have been bestowed upon them. What duties do we have to the Thunderers and other beings we co-exist with? Let that remain in our minds...Grandmother Moon: Leader of Women. Leader of Continuous Creation.

The end.