Clanology

Continued from last week

Wakes, Funerals, and the Clan

When someone passes away it is said that their life fire went out. If a person from the Bear Clan passes away, it means that all the people who sit on the side of the Bear Clan are in mourning and are called Rotinikonhkwenhtara:on (their minds have fallen down).

A representative of the family of the deceased notifies a Roia:ne or Faithkeeper of the opposite side of the nation’s fire, (Wolf and Turtle Clan People). The opposite side immediately calls a meeting of their men and women. It becomes the responsibility of the Wolf, Turtle, and Snipe Clans to conduct the wake, funeral and burial.

The Wolf, Turtle and Snipe select their men and women for the following duties.

One man to oversee the entire event.

One woman to oversee the food for the entire event.

One man to do the speaking at the wake and funeral.

Women to take turn preparing and serving food at the wake and funeral, night and day.

Men to dig and prepare the grave.

Men to be the pall bearers.

These people are termed Rotinikonhraka:te, (they who are of the strong mind).

At funerals the body enters the Longhouse by the East Door. The people wait outside and then follow after the body has been set up in the middle of the Longhouse. After the ceremony the leaders of the Nation View the body for the last time. The people then follow, and their immediate family is last to view and pay respect to their loved one. All the people go out the West Door (women’s door) and wait for the body to come out to be buried. Death follows the path of the sun, East to West.

There is a ten-day mourning period and on the tenth day there is a final death feast by which the spirit will be formally detached from all earthly possessions and set free to journey to the Spirit World.

Now the same process is carried out if a member of the Wolf Clan or those clans which sit with them passes away. The opposite side will do all the work and necessary things in the most helpful and respectful way.

During the ten-day feast, will ae read and put through the ceremony. At this time the people who are in grief are spoken to in order to raise their minds from grief. Upon the dawning of the next day all those that were in grief are free and expected to resume normal life.

On the tenth day the clans which were in mourning will give acknowledgement to the cousin clans which came to their aid and release them.