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