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  • Dec. 2, 1865
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    Article AN ACCOUNT OF ABORIGINAL FREEMASONRY IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK. Page 1 of 2 →
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An Account Of Aboriginal Freemasonry In The State Of New York.

AN ACCOUNT OF ABORIGINAL FREEMASONRY IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK .

LONDON , SATURDAY , DECEMBER 2 , 1865 .

By the late Illustrious Bro . GILES FONDA YATES , thirty-third degree , Past M . P . Sov . Grand Commander of the Supreme Council , thirty-third degree , for the Northern jurisdiction of the United States .

I attended , two years in succession , the Iroquois celebration of the " White-dog Festival , " and the other feasts , usually celebrated in the month of January , by the Onondagas ( a nation of the Iroquois ) , a remnant ' of Avhom still living near

Syracuse , New York , adhere to their old customs , we have stigmatised as "heathen . " There is a similarity in a few points Avhich characterisetheprincipal festival of the Iroquois to some which exist among us Freemasons of the present

day . These are , circum-ambulation round their council room , Avhich is ahvays of an oblong square form , while the old Avigwams in Avhich they lived lived Avere of a circular form . At each round the procession ( which , of course , moved in Indian file )

following the course of the sun , stopped at the east end of the room , where the three oldest chiefs were seated , dressed in the most ancient custom of their nation . When the procession arrived at the east each time , questions were asked of these

venerables aud answers returned . The procession consisted of nine males , two of Avhom Avere the bearers of the animal to be offered as a sacrifice to the Great Spirit , * Ho-Avah-ne-o , Avhom they recognise as their creator , governor , preserver , and benefactor .

One of the circumambulators was a young man Avho ivas heir-apparent , if I may so speak , to the chieftaincy on the demise of the present one , denominated their Ototorho , or Otorho of the Iroquois . Previous to this procession round the room , the products of the earth—Indian corn ,

beans , potatoes , the flesh of animals—and moccasins , leggings , and other articles manufactured by themselves Avere presented to their priest ( arranged in spotless robes ) , Avho , after blessing them , handed them to their treasurer ; and these

articles were , after the festival , distributed among the poor of their nation . They have from time immemorial , for several thousand years , as they say , kept on hand a breed of dogs , of a white colour , Avithout spot or blemish . Each nation

offers up one of these as a burnt offering to the great Neo ( spirit ) every year . The dog is strangled , and of course the sacrifice is bloodless , and cannot , therefore , refer to our Saviour ' s sacrifice , because , Avithout shedding of blood , there can be

no remission of sins . Besides , the colour of the dog , which has a significant allusion , Ave of the royal Craft can explain . The colours of the ribbons ( formerly deer-skins , dyed ) are significant likeAvise —blue , green , and red ( faith , hope , charity ,

wisdom , strength , beauty , & c . ) The offering of the white dog symbolises , the " offering up our OAYU bodies a living sacrifice , holy and acceptable unto God , Avhich is our reasonable service . "

This White-dog festival , as it is termed , does not perpetuate any ceremonies which erst appertained to a secret society among the ancient Iroquois . We claim that our free Masonic mysteries are lineally derived from the ancient mysteries of Egypt , Tyre , Syria , Jerusalem , Greece , and Rome . It is clear that these ceremonies bear

someanology to the Grecian and Roman mysteries . The mysteries of Ceres have been expatiated upon by many writers on Freemasonry , and numerous analogies and points of resemblance shoAvn between them and those of Freemasonry .

Ceres Avas regarded in Grecian mythology as " The protectress of grown corn and of agriculture in general . " The Greeks in their feasts of lustrations made use of dogs , as Avell as the Romans in theirs ; with them a white dog Avas sacrificed in order to

be used in purifying . A white dog was Avith the latter an emblem of fides , or fidelity . But the conclusion must not be junked at , because the Greeks , Romans , and Iroquois used similar ceremonies , that therefore they are the same people ,

for the Greeks , it is maintained , derived this ceremony of sacrificing a white dog from the Arcadians . Indeed , it is of the most remote antiquity . In all the ancient mysteries , in Avhatever nation they existed , there Avas a portion of them that were in public accessible to all females as wel

“The Freemasons' Monthly Magazine: 1865-12-02, Page 1” Masonic Periodicals Online, Library and Museum of Freemasonry, 31 March 2023, masonicperiodicals.org/periodicals/mmr/issues/mmr_02121865/page/1/.
  • List
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Title Category Page
AN ACCOUNT OF ABORIGINAL FREEMASONRY IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK. Article 1
FREEMASONRY AND THE POPE. Article 2
THE PROGRESS OF FREEMASONRY THROUGHOUT THE WORLD. Article 5
CLASSICAL THEOLOGY.—LXXXII. Article 5
SECRET SOCIETIES. Article 7
PUBLIC ENTERTAINMENTS. Article 8
FOOD FOR THE POOR. Article 9
AGRICULTURAL LIFE. Article 10
THE PEN-AND-INK SKETCHES OF ONE FANG. Article 12
MASONIC NOTES AND QUERIES. Article 12
CORRESPONDENCE. Article 12
THE MASONIC MIRROR. Article 13
MASONIC MEMS. Article 13
METROPOLITAN. Article 13
PROVINCIAL. Article 15
ROYAL ARCH. Article 16
Untitled Article 16
MARK MASONRY. Article 17
Obituary. Article 17
PUBLIC AMUSEMENTS. Article 18
MEETINGS OF THE SCIENTIFIC AND LEARNED SOCIETIES FOR THE WEEK ENDING DECEMBER 9TH. Article 18
THE WEEK. Article 18
TO CORRESPONDENTS. Article 20
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

An Account Of Aboriginal Freemasonry In The State Of New York.

AN ACCOUNT OF ABORIGINAL FREEMASONRY IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK .

LONDON , SATURDAY , DECEMBER 2 , 1865 .

By the late Illustrious Bro . GILES FONDA YATES , thirty-third degree , Past M . P . Sov . Grand Commander of the Supreme Council , thirty-third degree , for the Northern jurisdiction of the United States .

I attended , two years in succession , the Iroquois celebration of the " White-dog Festival , " and the other feasts , usually celebrated in the month of January , by the Onondagas ( a nation of the Iroquois ) , a remnant ' of Avhom still living near

Syracuse , New York , adhere to their old customs , we have stigmatised as "heathen . " There is a similarity in a few points Avhich characterisetheprincipal festival of the Iroquois to some which exist among us Freemasons of the present

day . These are , circum-ambulation round their council room , Avhich is ahvays of an oblong square form , while the old Avigwams in Avhich they lived lived Avere of a circular form . At each round the procession ( which , of course , moved in Indian file )

following the course of the sun , stopped at the east end of the room , where the three oldest chiefs were seated , dressed in the most ancient custom of their nation . When the procession arrived at the east each time , questions were asked of these

venerables aud answers returned . The procession consisted of nine males , two of Avhom Avere the bearers of the animal to be offered as a sacrifice to the Great Spirit , * Ho-Avah-ne-o , Avhom they recognise as their creator , governor , preserver , and benefactor .

One of the circumambulators was a young man Avho ivas heir-apparent , if I may so speak , to the chieftaincy on the demise of the present one , denominated their Ototorho , or Otorho of the Iroquois . Previous to this procession round the room , the products of the earth—Indian corn ,

beans , potatoes , the flesh of animals—and moccasins , leggings , and other articles manufactured by themselves Avere presented to their priest ( arranged in spotless robes ) , Avho , after blessing them , handed them to their treasurer ; and these

articles were , after the festival , distributed among the poor of their nation . They have from time immemorial , for several thousand years , as they say , kept on hand a breed of dogs , of a white colour , Avithout spot or blemish . Each nation

offers up one of these as a burnt offering to the great Neo ( spirit ) every year . The dog is strangled , and of course the sacrifice is bloodless , and cannot , therefore , refer to our Saviour ' s sacrifice , because , Avithout shedding of blood , there can be

no remission of sins . Besides , the colour of the dog , which has a significant allusion , Ave of the royal Craft can explain . The colours of the ribbons ( formerly deer-skins , dyed ) are significant likeAvise —blue , green , and red ( faith , hope , charity ,

wisdom , strength , beauty , & c . ) The offering of the white dog symbolises , the " offering up our OAYU bodies a living sacrifice , holy and acceptable unto God , Avhich is our reasonable service . "

This White-dog festival , as it is termed , does not perpetuate any ceremonies which erst appertained to a secret society among the ancient Iroquois . We claim that our free Masonic mysteries are lineally derived from the ancient mysteries of Egypt , Tyre , Syria , Jerusalem , Greece , and Rome . It is clear that these ceremonies bear

someanology to the Grecian and Roman mysteries . The mysteries of Ceres have been expatiated upon by many writers on Freemasonry , and numerous analogies and points of resemblance shoAvn between them and those of Freemasonry .

Ceres Avas regarded in Grecian mythology as " The protectress of grown corn and of agriculture in general . " The Greeks in their feasts of lustrations made use of dogs , as Avell as the Romans in theirs ; with them a white dog Avas sacrificed in order to

be used in purifying . A white dog was Avith the latter an emblem of fides , or fidelity . But the conclusion must not be junked at , because the Greeks , Romans , and Iroquois used similar ceremonies , that therefore they are the same people ,

for the Greeks , it is maintained , derived this ceremony of sacrificing a white dog from the Arcadians . Indeed , it is of the most remote antiquity . In all the ancient mysteries , in Avhatever nation they existed , there Avas a portion of them that were in public accessible to all females as wel

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