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DE = Paddle, mid-winter ceremony. Made of wood, rectangular shape blade with squared end 26 cm long, curving down for 18 cm from 5.7 cm to 2.2 cm in width on shaft, shaft 1.3 cm thickness gradually increasing until shaft is nearly round, 1.8 cm thickness, grip end narrows to 1.5 cm thickness, square cut end. Decorated both sides. One side, with clan's animal, image of reindeer, red ochre coloured paint, words in black pencil, Rheindeer tribe, two lines on each side of words, red ochre coloured paint, X with zigzag line, bright red paint, two blotches, red ochre coloured paint. Other side, bright red painted X, several red ochre colour painted diagonal lines and blotches.;;

1915 p;;

Six Nations Reserve, Brant County, Ontario, 1915/07 - 1915/09, (DOCUMENTATION)(Waugh) "Two ashes paddles used at midwinter festival in house to house visitation. John Echo, On. Have the user's clan animal on them. These were used by John Echo and a companion at the annual ceremony." (CULTURE REMARKS)Attribution by provenance. (COMMENTS)The midwinter festival of the Iroquois was also known as the Indian New Year. A council of head men were called at the time of the moon of midwinter and officers called Ondeya, picked from the two brotherhoods of clans, were elected to officiate at the midwinter ceremony. The first day of ceremony was spent by formal messages being given by pairs of Ondeya after a layout route of the houses was decided. The pair of Ondeya wearing buffalo skins and heads, made three visits to the same houses at 9 am, noon and with one at 3 pm. This third message was given by one Ondeya while the other Ondeya poked up the ashes with a paddle and sang a song. The morning of the second day, the houses were visited by officers called Hadeiyayo.Later officers called Hanasishe, two men and two women, went in couples and conducted a thank or praise service for the blessings received by that house for the past year. When this ceremony was over the officers threw up a paddle (Parker, 81-82).