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Jesuit Relations
Importance of Jesuit Relations• “Experts” on the culture
– Lived in native villages for years– Learned local languages &
knew the people– Were inveterate writers
• Did not know or understand all– Did not wish to understand
some– Disapproved of diabolical
pagan ceremonies– However, still capable of
describing what they saw accurately
The Jesuits
• Members of the religious order – Society of Jesus
• Took vows of poverty & obedience
• Embodied some of the paradoxes of their day– Mythical & contemplative,
yet worldly– Preached to illiterate
peasants and gave spiritual advice to kings
Disease and Medicine
• Native beliefs ran counter to Christianity
• Patients– Native – kept their sick in the
midst of the people– Europeans segregated theirs
• Causes – Natural and Supernatural– Both natives and Europeans
felt illnesses had natural and supernatural causes• Native did not separate the
two
Disease and Medicine
• Cures - Native– Often arising from a dream– Involved many people
• Gaming/Gambling• Competitions – lacrosse• Sex
– Herbal remedies also applied
• Cures – European– Felt theirs was superior– Resulted as imbalance of
humours• Lancing• Leeches
Diplomacy and War
• Meetings between natives was hampered by different languages – Solved by use of wampum
which recorded everything a speaker was going to say in a design
– Negotiations were not very different from those of the Europeans• Lots of promises with good
intentions on both sides• Broken was needed
Diplomacy and War• Before arrival of the Europeans
– War was a means of raiding to acquire goods, women, and slaves
• After arrival– War evolved because of
available technology• Guns, horses
– The tribes following the European way also suffered a sociological upset that rendered their tribes unable to unite to fight, leading to large losses
Martyrs and Mystics
• The distinction between natives and Europeans was not present in the determination of martyrdom
• Distinction was driven between the sexes– Males
• Suffered from influences imposed on them by others• Maintained decorum and belief in God
– Females• Suffered from practiced imposed by themselves• Become more spiritual and communed with God and his saints
– Both • Generally not considered a martyr until after death
Martyr• Isaac Jogues
– Jesuit priest– Prisoner of the Iroquois when he
surrendered to them upon capture of his fellows
– Endured torture– After freedom, he returned back to
negotiate a peace treaty and was killed at second meeting
• Catherine Tegahkouita– Native virgin– Desired to convert for most of her life– Lived in a Jesuit village– Enforced brutal practices on herself to
better communicate with God– After her death, she became the Saint
of Canada
Voyage on the Mississippi
• Father Marquette’s account of his travel was unusual– Extremely descriptive of each
village encountered– Did not show a large bias
against the natives and their beliefs• The ceremony of the pipe or
calumets was accurate with only slight overtones of superiority
Voyage on the Mississippi
• Purpose– Exploration of the river to
see if it led to the Vermillion Sea or California
– Bring the word of God to the natives
• Accomplishments– Scouted out most of the
Mississippi River system• Stopped short of the Spanish
area of influence
– Planted seeds for conversion to God
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