Sunday, November 10, 2013
Go a little deeper - causes and effects of social stress
RE: Social Pathology, Alcohol (drugs), Violence, Witch Fear, Disunity - and the Great Revival -
(Wallace, Anthony F.C.,The Death and Rebirth of the Seneca.)
What happens when a people face changes that require a paradigm shift.
The old ways no long work. Old authority and belief systems are out of joint. A new world order has a clear competitive advantage. (Europeans in the New World, Japan)
Some die from drink, (drugs) violence, some go mad, there is a outbreak of social pathology, doomsday and ghost cults flourish, and the culture sickens and dies.
The ancient regime, kings and the Catholics church, 18 th century liberal individualism and capitalism, communism, (GM, IBM, Congress) the public school system, et al or the story of the Seneca. Or maybe there is a revival - a new spirit, a new vision from the new and the old - a new synthesis raise from the ashes. Literally a VISION of Handsome Lake. We say people should have vision -
but if they have a vision - they are crazy.
The Six Nations of the Iroguois suffered every possible
disaster. From the 1650's the white man had brought desires
for material things, diseases, (natives had no resistance to
European illness) wars, and destruction.
The confederation had for many years brought peace among the tribes and defended their territory. Their culture and religion
provided a basis for understanding and dealing with their
environment and each other
The Rebellion of the American Colonies ( The War for Independence) was a great and final disaster for these tribes.
They had fought (and in a way won) with the Loyalist.
The British had protected their lands from the greed of the colonies. Now the new nation, bought, stole, or just took almost everything leaving them in "Slums in the Wilderness".
The population was cut by 75% from before the coming of the white man.
The war had reduced their numbers by as much as 50%.more
Their villages had been destroyed .
Thousands took refuse in Canada.
A peoples way of life, customs, and beliefs form a paradigm.
The Seneca "worldview" came from the myths of the great
spirit.(The twins - good and evil)
The creation tale is told in the long house. A legion very similar to the story in Genesis.
They were a fiercely independent, democratic, cooperative, spiritual people.
The dream land sent messages to the tribe through visions.
They were knowledgeable about human manifest and latent desires. (page 61) Ondinnonk - is a secret desire of the soul manifested in dreams.
Life on the frontier was hard.
They had lost the old ways
and their hunting grounds and didn't want to become "white
men" and follow their ways. Men traditionally spent most of
the summer hunting and raiding outside tribes. Women raised
corn, swash, and other crops. White men lived in fenced-in
farms and men plowed with horses.
The men stayed home.
They lived in family groups rather than in villages.
They lived in houses rather than in the longhouses (of about 50
maternally related people) and the white men were Christian.
Some natives wanted to learn the new ways, others to remain with Indian customs.
The social and political structure of the six tribes fell apart. (1782 - 1800)
The Iroquois took to drink and fighting, they were dirty,
poor, suffered from self-hate and deeply doubted their place
on earth.
Their way of life had failed.
The social pathology was not limited to Indians. Isolated settlers also suffered
from the loss of hope. While thousand of new people came and
built farms, towns, roads, and a new civilization, thousands
of others failed in the harsh test of the wilderness. Fire,
flood, poor location, the wrong crops (European grains
unsuited to the location) disease - Rum and violence - were
common elements of the frontier experience. Indians also became
dependent on welfare. (payments for tribal lands)
There was a crisis of VALUES and family breakdown.
THE NEW FRONTIER! Pioneers in Cyberspace and the brave new
world. We have seen the future and can tell you how it works.
Revival meeting were a powerful release.
Then Handsome Lake had his vision. A revival began. (but That's another story)
(Wallace, Anthony F.C.,The Death and Rebirth of the Seneca.)
What happens when a people face changes that require a paradigm shift.
The old ways no long work. Old authority and belief systems are out of joint. A new world order has a clear competitive advantage. (Europeans in the New World, Japan)
Some die from drink, (drugs) violence, some go mad, there is a outbreak of social pathology, doomsday and ghost cults flourish, and the culture sickens and dies.
The ancient regime, kings and the Catholics church, 18 th century liberal individualism and capitalism, communism, (GM, IBM, Congress) the public school system, et al or the story of the Seneca. Or maybe there is a revival - a new spirit, a new vision from the new and the old - a new synthesis raise from the ashes. Literally a VISION of Handsome Lake. We say people should have vision -
but if they have a vision - they are crazy.
The Six Nations of the Iroguois suffered every possible
disaster. From the 1650's the white man had brought desires
for material things, diseases, (natives had no resistance to
European illness) wars, and destruction.
The confederation had for many years brought peace among the tribes and defended their territory. Their culture and religion
provided a basis for understanding and dealing with their
environment and each other
The Rebellion of the American Colonies ( The War for Independence) was a great and final disaster for these tribes.
They had fought (and in a way won) with the Loyalist.
The British had protected their lands from the greed of the colonies. Now the new nation, bought, stole, or just took almost everything leaving them in "Slums in the Wilderness".
The population was cut by 75% from before the coming of the white man.
The war had reduced their numbers by as much as 50%.more
Their villages had been destroyed .
Thousands took refuse in Canada.
A peoples way of life, customs, and beliefs form a paradigm.
The Seneca "worldview" came from the myths of the great
spirit.(The twins - good and evil)
The creation tale is told in the long house. A legion very similar to the story in Genesis.
They were a fiercely independent, democratic, cooperative, spiritual people.
The dream land sent messages to the tribe through visions.
They were knowledgeable about human manifest and latent desires. (page 61) Ondinnonk - is a secret desire of the soul manifested in dreams.
Life on the frontier was hard.
They had lost the old ways
and their hunting grounds and didn't want to become "white
men" and follow their ways. Men traditionally spent most of
the summer hunting and raiding outside tribes. Women raised
corn, swash, and other crops. White men lived in fenced-in
farms and men plowed with horses.
The men stayed home.
They lived in family groups rather than in villages.
They lived in houses rather than in the longhouses (of about 50
maternally related people) and the white men were Christian.
Some natives wanted to learn the new ways, others to remain with Indian customs.
The social and political structure of the six tribes fell apart. (1782 - 1800)
The Iroquois took to drink and fighting, they were dirty,
poor, suffered from self-hate and deeply doubted their place
on earth.
Their way of life had failed.
The social pathology was not limited to Indians. Isolated settlers also suffered
from the loss of hope. While thousand of new people came and
built farms, towns, roads, and a new civilization, thousands
of others failed in the harsh test of the wilderness. Fire,
flood, poor location, the wrong crops (European grains
unsuited to the location) disease - Rum and violence - were
common elements of the frontier experience. Indians also became
dependent on welfare. (payments for tribal lands)
There was a crisis of VALUES and family breakdown.
THE NEW FRONTIER! Pioneers in Cyberspace and the brave new
world. We have seen the future and can tell you how it works.
Revival meeting were a powerful release.
Then Handsome Lake had his vision. A revival began. (but That's another story)
