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Literature Discussion - Lit-Talk.com
Hiawatha
By Artur Wielgus
Hiawatha was a great peacemaker, spiritual guide, visionary and the prophet of the days that are forgotten.
Hiawatha prayed and fasted, toiled and suffered for the peaceful relations of all the people. And those whose hearts are simple, who have faith in God, who believe that in all ages, humans ought to be equal, they should heed to his admonitions. We can have personal relations with God at any time if we are without a sin. Feeble hand and helpless can be powerful and touch God or as others called him Manitu, who calls to us through Hiawatha: “O my children! My poor children! Listen to the words of wisdom, listen to the words of warning, from the lips of Great Spirit, from the Master of Life, who made you.” Further God tells us to be at peace henceforward and as brothers live together. If we resort to war-gear as it always was in unremembered ages until now, we all will perish and our eternal souls won’t get through the doorways of Heaven and live in the Sky World.
All the prayers of Hiawatha were heard by God because he prayed not like the others for their own benefit, but for the profit of the people, for advantage of the nations. He was contemplating life undying and was constantly immersed with his thoughts in Hereafter on the islands of the Blessed in the Sky World. So do many philosophers and every prophet of all ages.
Hiawatha wanted to enhance the cause of peace among nations and he knew, that: “As unto the bow the cord is, so unto the man is woman; useless each without the other!” Therefore, he married a woman from another nation, but Manitu had another intention for him and after a few years during the winter, when famine struck, his wife passed away. Hiawatha was in deep grief, but he accepted it knowing that such was the will of Manitu, who had different plans for him. During the famine, Hiawatha cried to God, his Manitu, give your children food, o Father!
Hiawatha taught his people about Guardian Spirit, who is present in all the people, believers and atheists and about holiness of almighty God, who gives us all Guardian Angels for our protection from evil spirits.
Sometimes good spirits, ghosts of the departed, souls of those who once were with them, took the shapes of people from past generations and visited Hiawatha when the pallid moon was on, the Night-sun. They were preparing him for his future mission and through him conveying a message to all the people not to bury the dead with their earthly possessions, no furs, no wampum no pots nor kettles. Souls of the Blessed were visiting Hiawatha, directed by Manitu. They found him great and noble.
He was concerned that his people do not have written language and he devised one for them because, “Wise man words of wisdom perish among living men and the graves of their fathers have no signs, so people did not know who is buried where”. Hiawatha also changed the pagan custom of opening graves after a few years to free the spirits of dead people.
When Hiawatha was about to leave his people and live in a secluded place as prophet, he told them about his vision of strange, foreign people coming to their land with faces “painted white in a great canoe with wings” and he told them to accept these people, hail them as brothers. “Manitu said this to me in my vision”, Hiawatha told his people. After Hiawatha left and Pale-faced people came, they were welcomed as friends. Hiawatha soon ascended to the islands of the Blessed and could not physically intervene when Pale-faced people abused his own nation.
Sacrifices made by Hiawatha opened the way to the Sky World for the Saint Kateri Tekakwitha and many other fellow-mortals, who were imitating him.
© A.R. Wielgus
