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In 1923, Arthur C. Parker published Seneca Myths and Folk Tales. Parker identified eleven factors characterizing Seneca folklore: [2]: pp.3–5 Spirits pervade all nature; Good spirits are constantly making war upon evil spirits; There is such a thing as orenda or magical power; Any being possessing orenda may transform himself into any form
The Seneca's own name for themselves is O-non-dowa-gah or Onödowá’ga, meaning "Great Hill People" [5] [6] The exonym Seneca is "the Anglicized form of the Dutch pronunciation of the Mohegan rendering of the Iroquoian ethnic appellative" originally referring to the Oneida.
The Tonawanda Seneca Nation (previously known as the Tonawanda Band of Seneca Indians) (Seneca: Ta:nöwö:deʼ Onödowáʼga꞉ Yoindzadeʼ) is a federally recognized tribe in the State of New York. They have maintained the traditional form of government led by sachems (hereditary Seneca chiefs) selected by clan mothers .
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Handsome Lake was born as Hadawa'ko ("Shaking Snow") around 1735 in the Seneca village of Canawaugus, on the Genesee River near present-day Avon, New York. Very little is known of his parents; his mother, Gahonnoneh, later had an affair with a Dutch fur trader and gunsmith, resulting in the birth of Handsome Lake's half-brother, Cornplanter.
The Seneca were highly skilled at warfare, and were considered fierce adversaries by other Native Americans and European colonists. But the Seneca were also renowned for their sophisticated diplomacy and oratory skills, and their willingness to unite with the other four of the original Five Nations to form the Iroquois Confederacy of Nations.
Native American religions were prevalent in the pre-Columbian era, including state religions.Common concept is the supernatural world of deities, spirits and wonders, such as the Algonquian manitou or the Lakotaʼs wakan, [19] [20] [9] as well as Great Spirit, [21] Fifth World, world tree, and the red road among many Indians.
A characteristic of many of the myths is the close relationship between human beings and animals (including birds and reptiles). They often feature shape-shifting between animal and the human form. Marriage between people and different species (particularly bears) is a common theme. In some stories, animals foster human children.