Tooker] ETHNOGRAPHY OF THE HURON 73 



man by the master of the feast.-'* If the animal was a large one, as a 

 bear, moose, sturgeon, or one of their human enemies, everyone re- 

 ceived a piece of meat and the remainder was cut into small pieces 

 and put into the soup. Customarily, the man who gave the feast ate 

 nothing, but smoked, sang, or entertained his guests with talk. Con- 

 trary to custom, some did eat, but not often (S 113; cf. S 259). A 

 dog might be eaten at these feasts (JR 17: 165; 23 : 159). 



Sometimes the Indians held festivals at which nothing was con- 

 sumed except the tobacco smoked in their pipes, which they called 

 anondaholn. At other festivals, they ate nothing but bread or bran 

 cakes. Usually these festivals were prompted by the dreams of the 

 giver or by those of the medicine man (S 112) . 



When a Huron wished to give a feast for his friends, he sent the 

 invitations early. ^^ Those invited came, for it was an insult to refuse 

 except for a really valid reason ( and if it was a feast at which every- 

 thing must be eaten). For this reason, a man would leave one feast 

 and go on to another (in which case they bought themselves off if they 

 could not eat). For the feast a kettle, large or small depending on 

 the number of persons attending, was put on the fire. "VVlien the food 

 was cooked, messengers went to tell the people to come, saying to them, 

 saconcheta^ saconcheta^ 'Come to the feast, come to the feast.' The 

 guests came immediately, each carrying with him his dish and spoon.^^ 

 If the feast was given by the Algonquin, the Huron would take a little 

 meal in their bowls as the Aquanaque [Abnaki] were poor and 

 hunger-bitten. After entering the house, they seated themselves on 

 the mats on either side of the house (or on little twigs or cedar 



-^ The role of the animal head iu past and present Iroquois ritual has been summarized 

 by Fenton (1953 : 106-107) as follows : 



Feasts on an animal head echo an earlier ceremonial cannibalism. The Huron, 

 Mohawk, and Oneida tribes held feasts where the head, frequently the head of an 

 enemy captive after torture, went into the kettle and then as a choice morsel went 

 first to the chiefs. In the war feast the head, often a dog's head cooked in the soup, 

 was presented to the captain who carried it in his hands inciting others to enlist. 

 By the middle of the eighteenth century, the accounts refer to whole hogs being 

 boiled in the corn soup and warriors successively danced with the hog's head In 

 their hands. Thus, pork replaced the dog as the war feast food, and later it sup- 

 planted the bear and venison in all feasts, until today the pig's head is the ceremonial 

 head, the piece de resistance. ... On certain occasions, an individual may pick up 

 the head and march toward the women's end of the longhouse, chanting a personal 

 song, praising the exploits of his ancestors, or ridiculing his father's clansman's 

 daughter. In all the medicine feasts, requiring the use of a head, except at Tona- 

 wanda and Onondaga where chicken is cooked for Eagle Dance, the head man or 

 woman passes the head first to the ritual sponsor, who occupies the position of the 

 ancient war leader, and after him among the singers, dancers, speakers, and other 

 functionaries. [See also above, "Torture of Prisoners."] 

 "^ Similarly, if an Iroquois gives a ceremony, he invites, often by messenger, people to 

 come and participate. When the people have assembled, the speaker gives the Thanksgiving 

 Address, explains why the people have been assembled, mentions the participants, explains 

 the ritual, and thanks the people. The ritual is then performed. After this the speaker 

 thanks the participants again and briefly repeats the Thanksgiving Address. The feast 

 food is then distributed (Shimony 1961 a: 274-275). The form of the calendric cere- 

 monials is similar (see Shimony 1961 a: passim; Fenton 1936: passim). 



2« Fenton (1953 : 153) suggests that this custom of bringing dishes and spoons to a feast 

 survives in the present Iroquois practice of bringing to a feast pails in which to carry 

 food home. 



