Tooker] ETHNOGRAPHY OF THE HURON 135 



taken from the cemeteries and rebiiried in a common pit. Each chief 

 made the feast for the souls of his village ; the largest and most mag- 

 nificent was given by the master of the feast. Usually each nation 

 had its own ceremony, but at the one that the Jesuits attended five 

 villages held a separate ceremony and put their dead into a separate 

 pit (JR 10: 261, 279-281). It was held in the spring of 1636 (JR 

 10: 289). Neighboring tribes were notified so that those who wished 

 that town to be the burying-place of their relatives' bones might bring 

 them and those who wished might come to the festival (S 211). As 

 all were welcomed and feasted during the ceremony, they came in 

 very large numbers and there was continual feasting and dancing 

 (C 161-162; S 211) for 10 days (C 162). 



Although the ceremonial had many parts, the principal ceremony 

 was that of the kettle. Thus, the Feast of the Dead was usually 

 referred to as "the kettle" and the terms of cooking were used in 



they are said to be symbolically carrying the bones of the dead chief on their backs (Fenton 

 and Kurath 1951 : 144). The cry haii hai also occurs in both (note 60, p. 137). 



The other Iroquois ceremonial -which has been identified with the Huron Feast of the 

 Dead is the semiannual or annual 'ohgiwe ceremony (Fenton and Kurath 1951 : 143). As 

 was the Huron Feast of the Dead, this Iroquois ceremonial is concerned with placating the 

 decreased members of the community. But there are some differences : the 'ohgiwe cere- 

 mony is concerned with all the dead, while the Feast of the Dead was concerned with the 

 recent dead (i.e., those who had died since the last such ceremonial) and the 'ohgiwe 

 ceremony is given twice (or at least once) a year, while the Feast of the Dead was given 

 at intervals of 8 to 12 years. Such differences may indicate that the two ceremonials are 

 quite distinct. 



The 'ohgiwe ceremony Is probably related to other annual feasts for the dead among 

 North American Indians. Unfortunately, there has been no comprehensive study of the dis- 

 tribution of this trait (at least to my knowledge), and there are some intrinsic difiiculties 

 In making such a study. Not only is the data spotty and difficult to obtain, but often there 

 is a question as to whether the ritual is pre-Columbian or whether it was derived from the 

 Catholic observance of All Souls' Day (see, for example, Walker 1949 and Kurath 1950). 

 It seems most likely, however, that the ritual is pre-Columbian in at least most instances. 

 It is entirely possible that the Huron had such a ceremonial that the French did not happen 

 to describe, although they may have alluded to it (see note 57, p. 134). 



The Huron Feast of the Dead probably is an elaboration of certain Iroquoian ideas 

 regarding the dead (this is Hale's and Fenton and Kurath's real point), and particularly 

 a concern with the bones of the dead — a trait widespread in the Southeast. The timing of 

 the Huron ceremonial, every 8, 10, or 12 years, suggests that it might have been held when- 

 ever a village was about to move and the people wished to tell their dead. At least, the 

 lapse of time between Feasts of the Dead is approximately that indicated by the French for 

 the length of time a village site was occupied and the Iroquois in recent times also have 

 felt that a feast for the dead should be held to inform the dead when the village moved 

 (Fenton and Kurath 1951: 143-144; cf. Morgan's (1901(1) : 167) statement: "After the 

 lapse of a number of years, or in a season of public insecurity, or on the eve of abandoning 

 a settlement, it was customary to collect these skeletons from the whole community around, 

 and consign them to a common resting place"). The Huron and Neutral probably elab- 

 orated this idea — that the dead should be informed — and combined it with ossuary burial, 

 a trait, as that of concern for the bones of the dead, that is common in the Southeast. 

 It is also possible that the Huron ceremonial became more elaborate after European contact 

 (Fenton 1940 d: 176, 191). 



The Feast of the Dead practiced by some Algonquians probably was modeled after the 

 Huron ceremonial, as Hickerson (1960) suggests, and is not evidence that the Huron 

 ceremonial had a northern origin. 



69 Hunter (1893 : 228) has pointed out that too many ossuaries dating between 1615 and 

 1649 have been found in Huronia for the ceremony to have taken place this infrequently. 

 However, it is possible that the French correctly state the interval between Feasts of the 

 Dead, but incorrectly state that It was given by each nation. It may have been given by 

 each village or group of related villages. 



