Seneca mythology

Seneca mythology refers to the mythology of the Onödowáʼga: (Seneca people), one of the six nations of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois Confederacy) from the northeastern United States and Canada.

Most Seneca stories were transmitted orally, and began to be written down in the nineteenth century. The ethnologist Jeremiah Curtin began transcribing stories in 1883.^[1] In 1923, Arthur C. Parker published Seneca Myths and Folk Tales. Parker identified eleven factors characterizing Seneca folklore:^[2]^: pp.3–5

Spirits pervade all nature
Good spirits are constantly making war upon evil spirits
There is such a thing as orenda or magical power
Any being possessing orenda may transorm himself into any form
All nature is conscious
All living creatures have souls
There is in the heaven world a Master of life and soul
The spirits of departed men and animals wander over their familiar haunts
Dreams are experiences of the soul as it leaves the body
There are monsters that men seldom see
There are such beings as wizards, witches and sorcerers

^ Curtin, Jeremiah (1923). Seneca Indian Myths. New York: E.P.Dutton & Company. ISBN 978-1-4047-2509-6. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
^ Parker, Arthur Caswell. Seneca myths and folk tales. Buffalo, New York: Buffalo Historical Society. Retrieved April 21, 2023.

[Curtin-1] Curtin, Jeremiah (1923). Seneca Indian Myths. New York: E.P.Dutton & Company. ISBN 978-1-4047-2509-6. Retrieved April 21, 2023.

[Parker-2] Parker, Arthur Caswell. Seneca myths and folk tales. Buffalo, New York: Buffalo Historical Society. Retrieved April 21, 2023.

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