This anthropological document, taken in part from the sacred texts of the Six Nations, gives wonderful insights into the religious, social, cultural and political life of the Six Nations of the Iroquois League. Written by a surprisingly open-minded antrhopologist in the late 1800s, it offers a snapshot to the ways of the Iroquois at the time. The book gives a brief overview of the Huron and the Iroquois (the Seneca, Mohawk, Onondoga, Oneida, Cayuga and Tuscarora) and the history, laws and social structure of the Iroquois League. There is also some information about the Ancient Rites of the Condoling Council; the religious text of the Iroquois. The first part of the book ends with some notes on the Iroquois languages.
The second, and in my opinion most interesting, part of the book covers the Ancient Rites of the Condoling Council. A direct translation of the ceremonies described in the text are given, with parallel text in the Iroquois languages, as well as commentary and footnotes concerning the text. This is an extremely valuable insight into the beliefs of the Iroquois Nations, coming from the Six Nations themselves, and as far as I know is unique in this respect. The book then closes out with a wealth of appendices, including the names of the Nations, place names derived from the Iroquois (like Ohio and Ontario), the time period of the Six Nations, Iroquois villages, Hiawatha myths, the peoples of pre-Columbian North America and a glossary of Iroquois terminology.
Overall, this is a superb book, especially considering the era during which it was written, and is a valuable book for understanding the religions and cultures not only of the Iroquois Nations, but of the Northeastern Indians in general. Anyone interested in history, religion or American Indian culture should definately get a copy of this book.
