Kateri Tekakwitha Essay

The Mohawk religion, to begin with, was largely Animist and based on a primordial battle between evil and good. It was centered on the idea that creatures, places, and objects all tended to have some distinct spiritual essence. Many Mohawk still adhere to it. In the second quarter of the 17th century, French Jesuit missionaries converted many Mohawk to the Catholic faith. One prominent convert was Kateri Tekakwitha, who was the daughter of a chief’s daughter. Kateri Tekakwitha, who had been born at Ossernenon, accepted the Catholic faith and afterward devoted the remainder of her life to performing benevolence and charity works amongst her people. “Kateri” is the Iroquois version of Catherine, which was her baptismal name, and means pure. “Tekakwitha,” on the other hand, means placing things in order. Thus, her name epitomized her life’s mission for which she is today remembered. The Vatican later in the 1940s bestowed on Kateri the title Venerable, which in the Latin rite is
the title accorded to persons who after death have been heralded as ‘heroic in virtue’ after of a review of their lives. This is the first step toward canonization as a saint. She was later beautified in 1980 and canonized in 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI as the first Catholic Saint of Native American descent. She is today known as the Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha (Richter et al. 67). Religion consequently turned out to be a tool of strife between the British and French in the Mohawk country (71).
Regarding grooming, the Mohawks tradition involved plucking the hair by tufts to leave a square patch on the back of the crown. This square patch of hair was after that shortened to create three short braids that were highly decorated. Mohawk women, on the other hand, wore long hair, tied back into one braid or dressed with a traditional grease from a bear. Often, they had no head coverings even during winter. In the summers, the women did not wear any top but wore a skirt made of deerskin. During the cold seasons, however, they wore full woodland dresses made of deerskin and underwear tied with leather. They also wore ankle-wrap moccasins and puckered seams. They had many ear-piercings which they adorned with necklaces and earrings made of shells (Kirk 17). The tribe’s men wore a breechcloth during summers and added a full shirt made of deerskin with deerskin leggings in cooler weather. They also wore a couple of shell necklaces and earrings, puckered seams, ankle-wrap moccasins, and long braided hair. The often carried a flint arrow, a quill, and hunting bag, with knee and armbands (18). Mohawk children, on the other hand, often wore nothing during summers until they reached 13 years of age. When the kids were ready for their woman or warrior rites of passage, they adopted adult clothing (21).
Later, after contact with the Europeans, the Mohawk began to combine pieces of clothing, such as wool skirts and trousers in addition to the deerskin clothing and ribbon.
Many Mohawk adopted this combination of dressing. According to Bonvillain, the Mohawks traditionally produced their clothing using furs harvested from the woodlands, which comprised of deer and elk hides, corn husks, as well as plant and tree fibers that they wove together. Later, animal gut or sinews were cleaned and readied as threads for garments. Footwear was sewed with sharp leg bones or porcupine quills. The Mohawks also obtained clothing dyes from tree barks, berries, grasses, and flowers. Older villagers and adults often handed down durable clothing to others in their families as honors or gifts or because they had outgrown them. The Mohawk clothing closely resembled that of the other tribes that were part of the Confederacy although they retained much of their originality as the basis for they style they pursued
(45).
Concerning marriages, Mohawk women were highly revered because they were the family heads and controlled the family property. Shimony explains that marriage was an important commitment which was to be respected and nurtured. Traditional marriage ceremonies were overseen by high-ranking men or any other party the couple chose for the same purpose. The ceremonies involved a whole day of celebrations for the newlyweds, a formal speech presented by a nobleman from the bride’s clan, community feasting and festivities, and gifts of honor and respect from the members of the community. The gifts traditionally comprised practical items that the newlyweds would use in the day-to-day life. The wedding clothing consisted of white rabbit furs and leathers alongside personal adornments, often made by the families of the couple. Men sang the social dance songs, such as the “Rabbit Dance Song,” where they made use of gourd rattles and much later rattles made with cows’ horns. Other well-wishing couples could join the newlyweds in the dance. The feasting began once the ceremony was over and all who took part ate. Couples united for life (40-69). Many Mohawks today still adhere to this pattern today albeit they may incorporate one or two new elements.