| OCR Text |
Show THE INDIAN "MESSIAH." The Expectation of III Adrent la Harmony TVIlh the Traditions of the Bed Xrn. The following from the St Louis J'o4i Uupatch will, in consequence of the present phenomenal move ni-nt among the Indians, bo read with much Interest by a good many people: "There is food for thought aud speculation In the stories of the excitement among the Indian tribes produced by the promise of a Messiah. It is not certain whether or not these promises are a part of tho InJlan mythology or whether thoyaretbe cunning contrivances of white men hoping for profit from the disturbances which ore sure to follow. " This story cf the Messiah may b: looked upon as a revival of the old hero myth prevalent all over the continent in one form or another. an-other. It is paralleled by tbe Cadmus Cad-mus myth, partly Aryan, partly Semitic. Cadmus is simply the Semitic word for the east and the legend la a slightly veiled account of the origin and course of light and life. In other words, It is one ofthetboutandendonesun myths which are plenty as poverty all thu world over. The Egyptian story was that the heavenly light impregnated im-pregnated a virgin of whom was born a god mau, who fought his twin brother, and was for a time conquered and banished. But he was sure to return lake the morning and rule the land as tbe sUn rules. It Is worth noticing, too, that although al-though tbe Egyptians were a brown racetbeir hero was "light colored, white, or yellow." In America there is the same virgin mother and tbo same career in different form, followed by disappearance and a promise of return. Tbe Peruvians bad large establishments where tbey kept "virgins of tbe sun,"who were pledged to chastity. Bid one of them violate her pledge she was sit to death as a criminal, but did she declare that her offspring was of divine parentage, she was treated treat-ed with honor and her son classed among the princes, "a Bon of the Sun " In Central America a maiden visited the underworld whither a God had been entice J and murdered. The btad of this god cast forth srlttle Into the maiden's palin whereupon she became pregnant preg-nant and tore twins, who performed prodigies of valor and afterward rose to tbe sky to grace a constellation. Both ln America and the Orient,'' siys Brinton, "tbe myths of the hero god born of a virgin and that of the descent into Hades are among tho most common. Their explanation explana-tion rests on the universality and prominence of t. process of nature which are typified under these narratives." nar-ratives." The similarity or these myths to the Christian history made a profound impression on the early missionaries, and it was believed by many of them that tbe Indiana were either descendants of the ten lost tribes or that they had at some time been in communication with the Orient But this Impression was removed when it was ascertained ascer-tained by travelers and explorers ln all other savage lands that the same legends prevailed among tbe most diverse and remote tribes. "The Aztec hero, Quetztlcoatl, high priest in tbe glorious city of Tular, the the teacher of tbe arts, tbe law giver, prince and Judge, was the expected Messiah of the Aztecs. He was born of a virgin, filaye-d pretty much the same role n Aztec history that Cadmus did in Greek and Semitic, and disappeared to Tollan, the Place of the Sun, whence he was to come again to possess his own. The myth Is almost al-most exactly the same, as that found among the ancient Britons. In the latter Arthur after fighting all day and being sorely wounded, was carried car-ried to tbe sea shore, where appeared a ship Oiled with virgins, who lifted the king into the craft and bore him an ay to tbe Island Valley of Avilon, whence he promised to return and reign again. When Montezuma beard of the landing of-Cortes, he said: ''It Is QuctzaleoaU returned from Tula." tveryi account be received re-ceived of the strangers confirmed him in this belief. They caste from tbe east; tbey were white and they were bearded. The legend required thee features. It has often been remarked as strange that Cortes, with his handful of adventurers found the Mexican such eisy prey. But It la not at ail strange. The natives na-tives were stricken with awe and wonder. They dared not strike too hard because tbey knew not It was a human invader ani they feared the vengeance of outraged divinity. Not even after the Spaniards had exhibited the most human of human hu-man weaknesses did the Mexicans pluck up courage. They fought tbe Spaniards, but they never escaped es-caped from the spell of the legend and were never qaite sure tbey were not making an unpardonable mistake. "When Cortes reached tbe City of Mexico tbe monarch acknowledged him as theetnlaaary of tbe Messiah. 'We have known for a Ions; time,' said he, 'by the writings handed down by our forefathers that neither I nor any who inhabit this land are natives of it, but foreigners who came here from remote parts. We also know that we were led here by a ruler, whose sabjeets we all were, who returned to bis country, and after a long time came here again and wlaheU to take his peeele away. But tbey had married Vifea and unit houses,.aod they would neither go with'nlm nor reeonlM him as their- King. Theteferi ht Trent back. We have eves-bellsrrnl that those who were of sWahSMace would come and elsJsa Ms laser sa his and us as his vassals.-' From the direction whence you caeae which ss MM is where the sun rises, and from what you tell me of this great lent who sent you, we believe and think It certain that he Is oar natural ruler especially since you say that for bnjtlmsbe hai known about us. T erefore you may feel certain that we shall obey you and shall respect re-spect you as holding the place of that great lord, aud In all the land I rule you may give what orders you wish and they shall be obeyed, and everything we have shall be put at your service. And since you are thus in your own heritage and your own house, take your case and rest from the fatigue of the Journey anil tbe wars jou have had on the way." "AU over the continent the same legend Is found. In every cue a hero In remote ages taught tbe people laws, government and the arts of life, In every case he was white and bearded and In every case he went away promising to return. re-turn. Tbe uul venality of tbe belief aroused the curiosity of tbe missionaries, mission-aries, some of whom held to the belief ln the Hebrew origin of tbe natives, while others particularly the Catholic mlssloaarles In South America thought the belief could be traced to St Thomas, who they thought must have visited tbe American continent and taught tbe people the rudiments of the Christian Chris-tian religion. "The few Indians of the West who have seen the Messiah, describe him as a white man with a beard. This baa been referred to as a proof that the whole thing is a humbug. Bnt realty It Is proof that tbe myth retains Its integrity in spite of time and the influence of the whites. It Is said that one chief. Sitting Bull, the Arapahoe, saw him; he displayed boles in his hands and feet proving himself to be Christ as the Savior did when be met doubting Thomas. This, however, is an addition due to tbe knowlege the savages have acquired of Christianity. "In some of the American religions re-ligions this Messiabic hope was the centra idea. In Mexico the Mes, slab's name waa QuetxalcoatI, in Peru Virachocba, in Yucatan Kuk-ulcan. Kuk-ulcan. The word Lsnape, tbe name of a Delaware tribe, is slid to have esoteric meaning, 'the man comes,' at any rate tbe legend was found among tbem In perfection. It is probable that the same story can be found ln tbe mythology of every tribe on the American continent conti-nent The Messiah legend, or, as It ouzht to be called, the culture-hero myth, is not tbe only belief entertained enter-tained by the American Indians which is wonderfully similar to those of other lands and which bear puzzling resemblance to tbe Christian Chris-tian traditions. An old OJibwaj chief, on being told some Bible stories by a mlralouar-,, said: 'The book must be true, for our ancestors fold us similar stories generation after genentlon since the earth was new.' This tribe bad a legend of eight or leu brothers the youngest of whom was favored by bis fatherand by the gods. His brothers were evilly disposed and tried to slay him. Ho was rescued by an Interposition Inter-position from the other wotld and lived to heap coo's of fire upon their heads. Ho gave them corn nrlncl-pally nrlncl-pally and relieved their hunger brought on by a famine. The story is wonderfully like that of Joseph and his brethren. "Lot's wife Is also found among them. She looked back upon her burning village aud was turned to a pllbirofstoue. The Chahtas bad a legend uf their wanderings. It is now believed that the ancestors of the Chabla tribes were the Mound Builders of the Ohio Valley and migrated from their old home not more than cOO years ago. Their old men tell that ln their wanderiDgs, after they left their Oblo home, they were guided by a pole which they saw floating in tbe air before them, leaning lu the direction they were to go, when night came the pole stood upright indicating the place where tbey should encamp. It was a prosaic reproduction of the flllar of cloud which guided tbe eraelltes o'er the wastes of Arabia. Circumcision was practiced among the Egyptians, Arabs and Persians and there are American tribes who practice the same rite. Tbe minute ceremonials prescribed pre-scribed by tbe Levltlcal law for the purification of women after child birth bava many parallels among the tribes of North America. Tbe Israelite might not eat certain animal ani-mal neither may tbe Americans. Bear meat Is forbidden the Navajr; the beaver Was forbidden the Oa-ages, Oa-ages, while most Southern tribes held the wolf unclean. The Israelites Israel-ites had no conception of the resurrection resur-rection of tbe body, but believed that the dead man's spirit went to the under world, where he led a gloomy xistrucc This under world the place of departed spirits, called in the old translations "bell" in the revised sheol Is found among the Indians. It was reached by tbe spirit after a long and trying Journey, and at its end, before the spirit was admitted, ho waa obliged to figbta ferocious dog This dog Is a faorite in tbe uuderworld legend of almost all people. Milton adopted tbe legend of Cerberus in bis great poem. Tbo belief in resurrection of the body is not eutertained by tbe Indians. A tribe of Oregon lu dlans on being told of It by a missionary mis-sionary went In multitudes to a cemetery where were gathered many of their dead and piled stones upon the graves ln orJerto prevent the departed from returning. They greatly fear a dead man's spirit, and shudder at the thought of bis reappearance. re-appearance. It must be remembered that tbe culture hero, whose return they look for so eagerly ,did not die. "He went away" is the form used to describe his disappearance, and, therefore, he is to be welcomed as a livlnc man comu as a dcllv erer. "A curious variation nf the Messiah Mes-siah myth is found among the Al-gonkin Al-gonkin tribes where the culture hero appears under a name implying that he is a eheat, or a liar. Mr. Leland thinks that he got this name because after creatlug the world and getting his people started on the ngbt path he had gone away, left tbtm to all sorts of misfortune and had not kept his promise to return. But a survey of related customs does not bear out this explanation. Tbe same deity la described as a disreputable disreput-able ladivldual by tbe Chlppewas and other tribes. But bis bad reputation repu-tation arises not from the ideas en-v tertained by the Indians, but because be-cause of the Inability to find a suitable suit-able English word to translate the Indian epithet The bero was a savior and benefactor. He fought In behalf of his neonle. but his greatest successes were won by saeans of his magic skill, by which be deceived his enemies and thus was able to clraum vent tbem. He was a diplomat, an astute and tricky word carpenter, but bis astuteness and trickery were employed ln the good cause and his people therefore' held him In honur. "There axe many other legends of the American Indians and religious re-ligious ritea and practices which are startllngly like those which we have all been accustomed to consider as the peculiar property of the peculiar people, but it is pretty well settled that there are no peculiar people, but that, all tribes go through the same stages of culture and display tbe same forms of religious and social customs. This Messiah erase, although no doubt suggested by some wily white mau, would never have taken so strong a bold upon the minds of the savages did It not harmonise with their own beliefs," |
