Describe the religious practices of the Oneida Indians?

Answer 1

The Oneida inhabited the inland forests that skirted Lakes Ontario and Erie. They lived in large fortified villages, related to the ancestors of the Iroquois nations.

At the dawn of time, the Master of Life had commanded all people to live in love and harmony. Clearly the message had been forgotten, so the Master decided to repeat it. According to most versions of the story, the Great Masters spokesman was a Huron holy man, Deganwidah-the Peacemaker-who set out across Lake Ontario in a stone canoe. Landing on the southern shore, the holy man came upon Hiawatha, a clan leader of Mohawk descent who had lost all his daughters to tribal strife. Deganawidah offered words of condolence that lifted Hiawatha's grief and dried his tears; the same consoling words would later be repeated at Iroquois council meetings to promote good feelings and open minds. Then the prophet described a great Tree of Peace under whose branches the tribes would meet to resolve their differences. He enunciated principles of justice and equality; bloodshed would yield to a new sense of brotherhood among the people. As legend tells it, only an Onondaga chief named Atotarho resisted. Atotarho was a fearsome wizard,his body crooked, his mind twisted, his hair a mass of tangled snakes, eventually even he was persuaded to embrace the accord.