CHArHl SENECA THANKSGIVING RITUALS 19 



2. TheEaHh 



(12) And now this is what Our Creator did: he decided, "I shall 

 establish the earth, on which the people will move about. (13) The 

 new people, too, ^vill be taking their places on the earth. (14) And 

 there will be a relationship when they want to refer to the earth: 

 they will always say 'our mother, who supports our feet'." (15) And 

 it is true: we are usmg it every day and every night; we are moving 

 about on the earth. (16) And we are also obtaining ^^ from the earth 

 the things that bring us happiness. (17) And therefore let there be 

 gratitude, for we believe that she has indeed done all that she was 

 obhgated to do, the responsibility that he assigned her, our mother, 

 who supports our feet. And give it your thought, that we may do it 

 properly : we now give thanks for that which supports our feet. And 

 our minds will continue to be so. 



S. The Plants 



(18) And now this is what the Creator did. (19) He decided, 

 "There will be plants growing on the earth. (20) Indeed, all of them 

 will have names, as many plants as will be growing on the earth. 

 (21) At a certain time they wUl emerge from the earth and mature 

 of their own accord. (22) They will be available in abundance as 

 medicines to the people moving about on the earth." That is what 

 he intended. (23) And it is true: we have been using them up to 

 the present time, (24) the medicines which the Creator made. (25) 

 He decided that it would be thus: that people would be obtaining 

 them from the earth, where the medicines would be distributed. 



>• Lit. 'Ufting'. 



