Beliefs and Rituals

Iroquois Indian beliefs were very complicated. Many times during the ceremonies the Indian priests would smoke native tobacco and bear berry leaves or, red willow bark in their pipes to induce hallucinations, which they thought were supernatural beings. They considered the hallucinations as representations of good spirits, as well as bed demons and ghouls. They believed that a battle between good and evil was continuous. When horrible things occurred to their crops or anyone in their tribe died they thought that they have angered the gods. They then would give offerings to the gods attached to a medicine stick. These offerings included animals, furs, loved possessions, etc. The Iroquois thought by doing this, they would prevent the gods from harming them for awhile.
A story involving these beliefs goes as follows. There was a set of male twins, one was good and the other one was evil. The good one was believed to have created the earth and everything that was pure and beautiful. The bad one was believed to have destroyed everything that the pure one had accomplished. The two finally decided to have a fair battle. The fight would decide on the fate of each brother. The good had banished his evil brother to the depths of the underworld, and then fairly ruled the Earth.

The Iroquois games and sports often involved violence. They participated in games like horse racing, foot racing, and stick ball. A game of stick ball was known to, usually, end up in a blood bath. They considered beating each other senseless fun, but all games were in good intentions. All the Iroquois liked to gamble. They played many games that went along the lines of the three-card monte and often bet all their possessions on one game. During winter time there wasn't much to do but all the young Indians enjoyed the fun of sliding down icy slopes on the rib cage of a buffalo.

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