IROQUOIS LEGEND OF THE FACELESS DOLL
I hope
everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. A
few years ago, Bob and I visited the Oneida Nation Headquarters, in Oneida , New York New York
Here is the
legend of the Iroquois no-face doll that I extrapolated from a handout that I
received at the Oneida Nation Headquarters.
Hope you all enjoy it.
The Iroquois people have what they
call the three sisters or their sustainers of life -- corn, beans, and squash.
As the legend goes, the Corn Spirit was so thrilled at being
one of the sustainers of life that she asked the Great Spirit if there was
anything more she could do for her people. The Great Spirit told her that a
doll could be formed from her husk. So, she made the doll and gave it a
beautiful face. Then, the doll went from Indian village to Indian village and
played with the children. Everywhere she
went she was told how beautiful she was. So, it wasn't long before she became
conceited.
One day, the Great Spirit called to her. But, before she
went into the Great Spirit's lodge, she looked into a pool of water and admired
herself, thinking how beautiful she was. The Great Spirit told her that if she
kept thinking that she was better than everyone else a terrible punishment
would come upon her, but he wouldn't tell her what it was.
So, again the doll went from village to village playing with
the Indian children and still everyone kept telling her how beautiful she was.
It wasn't long before she became conceited again. The Great Spirit called to
her again and like the first time, she looked into the pool of water before the
Great Spirit's lodge to admire herself.
Upon entering the lodge the Great Spirit said to her,
"I have given you one warning now a great punishment will come upon
you." But, he still wouldn't tell her what it was. When she left the lodge
she again looked into the pool of water to admire herself but this time she
didn't have a face. The Great Spirit had taken it away.
Since that time the Iroquois people do not put a face on the
corn husk dolls. This is to remind children, never to think they are better
than anyone or a punishment as great could fall upon them.
Oh what a great story. I reminds me of the ones my parents gave to me. Thank you so much for sharing this part of your trip. I love the joy of learning from so many people, places and yes even things. Thank you! Doris
ReplyDeleteGood Morning Phyliss. What a wonderful legend. I know so little about the Iroquois Indians. I love anything having to do with Indian legends and such.
ReplyDeleteMe again. I have a corn husk doll in my china cabinet. I collect dolls. Sure enough it has no face.
ReplyDeleteA very interesting concept. I can't help but think f the Amish who do not put faces on their dolls to avoid the possibility of the devil watching them from the doll's eyes. It kind of makes it sound like many different cultures are freaked out by dolls with faces.
ReplyDeleteI hope you have a wonderful holiday season, Phyliss. Enjoyed your blog.
Phyliss,
ReplyDeleteThis was an interesting post and the comments added even more interesting tidbits. ;-) I didn't know why some dolls were faceless. I'm freaked out by baby dolls with the eyes that open and close when you lay them down and pick them up. *shivering*
Kaye
Hi Phyliss, I'm late posting because I'm just now reading back posts that I missed. I love the story of the faceless doll. There are so many legends and stories in Indian history. Thanks for posting this.
ReplyDelete