The Maid of the Mist: From Native American Myths at Americanfolklore. A Native American MythOngiaras Triberetold byS.
E. Schlosser She lost her husband and her hope at a young age, and the beautiful girl could not find her way through the sorrow upon sorrow that was her lot in life. So she stepped one day into her canoe, singing a death song softly to herself, and paddle out into the current. Soon the canoe was caught by the rough waves and hurtled toward the falls. Heno and his sons ministered to the grieving girl, and she stayed with them until her heart healed within her. The only shadow on the happiness of the maiden in the mist was a continual longing to see her people one more time.
In a few days, the giant serpent returned to the village, seeking the bodies of those who had died from the poison it had spread. Seeing that his home would soon be destroyed, Heno called for the maiden and his sons to come away with him. Excerpt from Spooky New York by S.E. The Legend of the Maid of the Mist. The most famous legend of Niagara Falls is that of the Maid of the Mist.
As far as can be determined, this legend dates back to when the tribes of the Neuter Indian Nation were living along the banks of the Niagara river and was later relayed to the Priests of the French settlers who came upon the tribes as they traveled to teach Christianity throughout the new frontier. As the legend of the Maid of the Mist goes, The tribes living along the Niagara River would often send canoes filled with gifts such as fruits, flowers and game over the Falls in order to please the Thunder God Hinum and his two sons that live behind the Falls.
This was a practice carried on for a very long time. There was a period of time however when many of the Indians in several villages began dying for no apparent reason, and after burial, their graves would be desecrated and the bodies devoured. One year, the chosen maiden to be sacrificed was that of the tribe’s chief himself. Back To Main History.
Legend Of The Maid Of The Mist - Unknown. Legend of the Maid of the Mist An American Indian Legend - Nation Unknown Long ago, the peaceful tribe of the Ongiaras lived beside the Niagara River.
For an unknown reason, Indians were dying, and it was believed that the tribe must appease the Thunder God Hinum, who lived with his two sons in a cave behind the Falls. A first, the Indians sent canoes laden with fruit, flowers and game over the Falls, but the dying continued. The Indians then began to sacrifice the most beautiful maiden of the tribe, who was selected once a year during a ceremonial feast. On the appointed day, Lelawala appeared on the river bank above the Falls, wearing a white doeskin robe with a wreath of woodland flowers in her hair. Hinum's two sons caught Lelawala in their arms, and each desired her. On spirit, Lelawala told her people to destroy the serpent. Native American LegendsBack to Top. The Region: Ongiara. The name Niagara is said to originate from an Iroquois word ‘Onguiaahra’ meaning ‘The Strait’ or ‘Thunder of Waters’.
The region’s original inhabitants were the Ongiara, an Iroquois tribe named the ‘Neutrals’ by French settlers who found them helpful in mediating disputes between the warring Hurons and Iroquois tribes. The Neutrals lived almost entirely in what is now southern Ontario, with a few villages to the East across the Niagara River in upstate New York. Although the name they used to identify themselves is now lost, the Hurons called them ‘Attawandaron’ which means ‘people of a slightly different language’. White Myths, Indian Maidens... There are several different published versions of the "Maid of the Mist" legend.
Some of these have become quite controversial among the Huadenosaunee as a whole, and in particular among the Senecas with whom the legend is associated, because of the misappropriation and distortion of culturally important themes to the Haudenosaunee. Niagara Daredevils. Maid of the mist. Maid of the mist pic two. Maid of the mist 3. Maid-mist-niagara-falls. Mm1. Mm2. ImagesCA8XZG5W. ImagesCAWSRLTV. ImagesCAED6ZIL. ImagesCA1ZU8DY. Land. Important sentense. Values. Origin. Theme. Instructions. Sample.