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153 2 The Clan System and the Migration of the Rotinonshonni otinonshonni to Their Traditional Territory The Great Young Man Brings the Clan System No sooner had the onkwe:honwe finished the ceremony of thanksgiving for the three sisters when one of them suddenly passed from the earth. The rest of the onkwe:honwe dug a hole in the ground outside the village and placed the body in the earth, just as the young man and woman who brought the corn, beans, and squash had told them to do. Soon others, both young and old, began to also pass from the earth. This was occurring in spite of the fact that there was no sickness. Some onkwe:honwe also began to leave the villages and not return; this caused even more grief. Many of the people were no longer content, and all you could hear through the village, day and night, was weeping and sorrow . As the people began to leave, the four ceremonies were once again forgotten. The elders got together to discuss the matter, and one of them said, “We must assemble all the people so that we can decide what to do. It is not good that we stand here and do nothing about this situation. Everywhere we go our people are crying and lamenting about their loved ones who have departed.” It wasn’t long after that the onkwe:honwe assembled. The elders chose a person to speak for them and guide them in what they were to do. A speaker then rose up and said, “The one who formed our bodies has given us the days that we are to live and the light that shines within each of us. He intended that the onkwe:honwe should always have esteem 154 | The Rotinonshonni for the things that live in the world with him. We are assembled here to decide what to do about what is happening to us and what we are to do about the losses of lives that are taking place. We, who are born from the same earth, are now becoming separated from one another. We watch our people crying and pitying each other’s losses. This is occurring in all the families in the village. It is evident what the cause of this suffering is. It is the result of families losing the ones they care about. We, who have assembled here, wish that someone might devise a course of action that will restore the happiness we had before. We would also like them to come up with a plan to stop the cause of the people’s suffering.” The elders made the usual offerings of tobacco, then placed the problem before the assembled people and told them, “We all have a responsibility in this situation, and it doesn’t matter who devises the plan. Let the women, or even the youths, be the ones to do it if they can, so that our children and our grandchildren may continue to live and have a future.” Teharonhia:wako knew that the people would be in distress, so he had imparted wisdom in a young man before he had left. He knew the day would come when the onkwe:honwe would expand, and as they did they would suffer from losses. At first it seemed like the onkwe:honwe lived for a long time and that few ever departed from the earth. As the onkwe:honwe grew larger in size, Teharonhia:wako knew that the earth would become too full, so he gave each one a limited life span. He also knew that there would come a time when the onkwe:honwe would begin to split up; they would need to find a way to stay together and come to agreement with one another if they were to remain happy in their families. The onkwe:honwe contemplated the situation that had befallen them for a long time. They held several sessions; at these, they could not come to a consensus as to what to do. A young man—who was viewed as being the quiet type and was thought would never amount to much—stood up and said to the assembled people, “I want to make a suggestion as to what we should do. The works that the Creator formed are truly great. His power and his mercy are great as well. Everything that he has done is good in its nature. These are my thoughts on the matter. The earth has...

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