THE PEACEMAKER’S PROPHECY

When Peacemaker was leaving the Ongwehoweh at the Bay of Quinte in Ontario, he told them that they would face a time of great suffering. There would come a time when hey would distrust their leaders and the principles of peace of the League. He said  a great white serpent was to come upon the Iroquois, and that for a time it would intermingle with the Indian as a friend. This serpent would in time become so powerful that it would attempt to destroy the Indian, and the serpent is described as choking the life’s blood out of the Indian people. The Peacemaker told the Indians that they would be in such a terrible state at this point that all hope would seem to be lost, and he told them that when things looked their darkest a red serpent would come from the north and approach the white serpent. Bewilderment would cause the white serpent to accept the red one momentarily; then would be terrified, and upon seeing the red serpent he would release the Indian, who would fall to the ground almost like a helpless child. The white serpent would turn all its attention to the red serpent and  a heated argument and a fight ensues. The Indian revives and crawls toward the land of the hilly country, and then he would assemble his people together. They would renew their faith and the principles of Peace that Peacemaker had established. There would at the same time exist among the Indians a great love and forgiveness for his brother, and in this gathering would come streams from all over -- not only the Iroquois but from all over -- and they would gather in this hilly country, and they would renew their friendship. And Peacemaker said they would remain neutral in this fight between the white and red serpents.

At the time they were watching the two serpents locked in this battle, a great message would come to them, which would make them ever so humble, and when they become that humble, they will be waiting for a young leader, an Indian boy, possibly in his teens, who would be a choice seer. Nobody knows who he is or where he comes from, but he will be given great power, and would be heard by thousands. He would give them the guidance and the hope to refrain from going back to their land and he would be the accepted leader. And Peacemaker said that they will gather in the land of the hilly country, beneath the branches of an elm tree, and they should burn tobacco and call upon his name when facing the darkest hours, and he will return. The Peacemaker said that as the choice seer speaks to the Indians that number as the blades of grass,  he would be heard by all at the same time. As the Indians are gathered watching the fight, they notice from the south a black serpent coming from the sea, and he is described as dripping with salt water, and as he stands there, he rests for a spell to get his breath, all the time watching to the north to the land where the white and red serpents are fighting.

The Peacemaker said that the battle between the white and the red serpents opened very slowly but would then become so violent that the mountains would crack and the rivers would boil and the fish would turn up on their bellies. He said that there would be no leaves on the trees in that area. There would be no grass, and that strange bugs and beetles would crawl from the ground and attack both serpents, and he said that a great heat would cause the stench of death to sicken both serpents. And then, as the boy seer is watching this fight, the red serpent reaches around the back of the white serpent and pulls from him a hair which is carried toward the south by a great wind into the waiting hands of the black serpent. As the black serpent studies this hair, it suddenly turns into a white woman who tells him things that he knows to be true but he wants to hear them again. When this white woman finishes telling these things, he takes her and gently places her on a rock with great love and respect, and then he becomes infuriated at what he has heard, so he makes a beeline for the north, and he enters the battle between the red and white serpents with such speed and anger that he defeats the two serpents, who have already been battle weary.

When he finishes, he stands on the chest of the white serpent, and he boasts and puts his chest out like he’s the conqueror, and he looks for another serpent to conquer. He looks to the land of the hilly country and then sees the Indian standing with his arms folded and looking ever so noble that he knows that this Indian is not the one to fight. The next direction that he will face will be eastward and at that time he will be momentarily blinded by a light that is many times brighter than the sun. The light will be coming from the east to the west over the water, and when the black serpent regains his sight, he becomes terrified and makes a beeline for the sea. .He dips into the sea and swims away in a southerly direction, and shall never again be seen by the Indians. The white serpent revives, and he too sees the light, and he makes a feeble attempt to gather himself and go toward that light.   

A portion of the white serpent refuses to remain but instead makes its way toward the land of the hilly country, and there he will join the Indian People with a great love like that of a lost brother. The rest of the white serpent would go to the sea and dip into the sea and would be lost out of sight for a spell. Then suddenly the white serpent would appear again on the top of the water and he would be slowly swimming toward the light. The Peacemaker said that the white serpent would never again be troublesome to the Indian People. The red serpent would revive and he would shiver with great fear when he sees that light. He would crawl to the north and leave a bloody, shaky trail northward, and he would never be seen again by the Indians. The Peacemaker said as this light approaches that he would be that Light, and he would return.

MAD BEAR’S INTERPRETATION

When reading this, it seems to me that it can be interpreted literally as well as figuratively. Many of the events described can be placed with actual events until it gets to the Black serpent and then it gets fuzzy if Black Americans or Black Oil Well Barons (the middle east) is meant. However taken metaphorically, and the interpretation can apply to all.

The first Serpent of white represents the True Spirit of Mankind. Over time the Spirit has become convoluted with moral/religious concepts and began to take control of the two legged. This can be interpreted specifically with Christianity but it seems from what I have read that Mad Bear thought this is a universal concept.  Handsome Lakes “prophecy” is an example of this convolution of morality and spirit and that his writings have caused  much disrupt and deprivation to the Peacemaker's original message of love and union.  Prior to Handsome Lake's Code, there was no concept of a "punisher" in the Teachings.

            The Serpent of White, then gets distracted by the Serpent of Red.

The Serpent of Red represents the lower body and all that is associated with earthly gratification.   This includes greed and addictions.  When the lower body takes over the Spirit (which has been tainted by  religion) is enticed and then begins a battle between morality and earthly gratification. This is played out both individually as each individual soul walks the karmic journey toward ascension. It is also reflected on an universal level as the mass consciousness battles with the lower vibrations of greed and morality.  We see this reflected throughout the world and throughout time as wars and destruction continue. This is even shown through weather patterns as mother earth attempts to cleanse the vibrations of battle that is placed on her and bring her self back to balance.

            The battle of the red and white serpents continues until the Back Serpent emerges. The Serpent of Black represents the Emotional Body.  The emotional body emerges.  The white woman that comes from the White Serpent’s hair is representative of a Messenger of Truth from Spirit free from the conflict of the morality and religious control. She reminds the Black serpent or the emotional body of the TRUTH.  It takes the emotional body time to digest the truth and even then He reacts in anger and adds to the fighting. It is not the Black Serpent who helps the Two Legged because the fighting continues and his intention is to continue the fighting even though it has completed the emotional intention of ending the war between the red and white serpent. He still remains within the Battle energy, which the Peacemaker  originally buried under the tree of peace.

            The emerging of the Peacemaker from the East as the golden Yellow light is not a result of the black serpents battle but the union of Young Male Prophets Truth with the Love of the Spirit Messenger from White Serpent. Both are said to be standing on a rock. This is the solid foundation of Mother Earth. Both are also said to be Messengers of Spirit.  It is when both of them surface at one time that The Peacemaker emerges.

After the return of the Peacemaker, the black serpent leaves for the Sea and what is seen on his back is the droplets of water.  Water has been associated with emotions in many spiritual practices. The mention of droplets of salt water can also be a reference to tears. The Sea Water is also considered a healing tool by many practices.

The Red Serpent remains on the earth leaving a trail of blood behind. These are two more associations that reflect the red serpent as representing the Physical desires.

The White Serpent Splits, leaving the true Spirit to remain with the two legged and sending the morality/ religious base to be cleansed by the Sea and the Peacemakers vibration.

This as with all prophecy, is played out within each individual as well as the mass consciousness, which dictates the state of the world.  

 This prophecy was spoken of by the Tuscarora Holy Man Wallace "Mad Bear" Anderson sometime before 1973, who passed in 1983. Slightly differing versions have previously been published by Zula Brinkerhoff in her book "God's Chosen People in America" and by Sunbear and Wabun, in their book "Black Dawn - Bright Day. This entire prophetic pronouncement seems to be controversial  among Haudenosaunee but in Oklahoma, Mad Bear was considered a Prophet by many.

LEON SHENANDOAH: Message for Today

The Iroquois have a population of more than 60,000 today, living in fourteen reservations and several urban centers, mostly in New York State, Ontario and Quebec, Canada, but also on reservations in Wisconsin and Oklahoma. The Iroquois are a living people whose Grand Council of Chiefs continues to meet at the Onondaga Nation, just south of Syracuse, New York, and Six Nations Reserve, Ontario, Canada. THIS LIVING PEOPLE RECENTLY GAVE THE WORLD A MESSAGE THROUGH  A MODERN DAY Tadodaho, Leon Shenandoah.

They are committed to maintaining their survival as distinct peoples. They believe that the lessons from Creation; the guidance of the Original Instructions; the unity of the Great Law of Peace, and the moral imperatives of the Gaiwiio provide the roadmap to our future

This presentation is not to be represented as the official story according to oral history, but is a compilation of the below information.

References:

1. The Iroquois Constitution, U of Oklahoma Law Center http://www.law.ou.edu.hist/iroquois.num

2. Dating the Iroquois Confederacy by Bruce E. Johnson http://www.ratical.org/many_worlds/6Nations/DatingIC.html

3. The Great Tree and the Long House by  Hazel W. Hertzberg

4. Knowledge of the Elders: the Iroquois Condolence Cane Tradition: by Joe Barreiro and Carol Cornelius (ed). Northeast Indian Quarterly, Cornell University Ithaca, NY 1991-Secction

5. Iroquois Folk Lore by William Bruchanys Dehler Press. Syracuse NY Reprinted by AMS Press NY 1976  “The Peacemaker Queen” pp. 137-140  Kenuka pp. 140-143

6. Life of General Ely S. Parker: Last Grand Sachem of the Iroquois, Buffalo Historical Society 1919.

7. Iroquoian Women: The Gantowisas by Barbara Mann 1947 Zimmerman Library, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM.

8. The Creation Story by Jake Thomas, last Condoled Cayuga Hereditary Chief, Professor of Native Studies, Trent University, from the Library of Yvonne and Jacob Thomas, compiled Jan 20, 1987

9. Legends of the Seneca, “The Creation Story” by Jesse Cornplanter, Seneca 1936

10. The Iroquois by Barbara Graymont, Nyack College,  New York, Chelsea House Publishers1988

11. The Origin of the Face Mask, Hato`wi by Jacob Thomas, last Condoled Cayuga Hereditary Chief, Professor of Native Studies, Trent University, from the Library of Yvonne and Jacob Thomas, compiled Feb 3 1980.

12. Ceremonies and Traditions by Hazel Pruitt Oklahoma Museum of Natural History 1997

13. Native American Prophecies, by Scott Peterson First Edition 1990, Paragon house, NY

14. Leon Shenandoah Speaks Address to the General Assembly of the United Nations delivered October 25, 1985 by Leon Shenandoah, Tadodaho, Haudenosaunee.Supreme Sachem of the Iroquois, Successor to the Original Tododaho, Speaker of the Hotinoshonee/ Haudenosaunee Iroquois Confederacy. 

15. Traditional Teachings by North American Indian Traveling College., Cornwall Island, Ontario, Canada

16. Return of the Bird Tribes by Ken Carey published by Harpers Collins 1991.