The Haudenosaunee "words before all else": a spoken thanksgiving greeting to every part of the natural world.
Tagged: Creation Prayer Thanksgiving
Historical Context
The Thanksgiving Address (in Onondaga, Ganonyok, often rendered "the words that come before all else") is the central prayer of the Haudenosaunee, the Iroquois Confederacy of northeastern North America. Spoken aloud, it moves through the whole of creation — the people, the earth, the waters, the plants, the animals, the winds, the sun, moon, and stars, the Creator — greeting and thanking each in turn and bringing the listeners' minds together as one. The version most widely shared was published by the Haudenosaunee themselves, through the Native Self-Sufficiency Center and the Six Nations Indian Museum working with Mohawk elder John Stokes, expressly so that others could learn from it. It is presented here with its provenance, and not as a generic or decontextualized "universal prayer": the Address belongs to the Haudenosaunee, is properly spoken by their people in their gatherings, and any use beyond learning about it should follow the protocols of the community itself.
Use and Practice
The Thanksgiving Address opens and closes Haudenosaunee gatherings, ceremonies, council meetings, and school days in Haudenosaunee communities. Its length varies with the occasion, from a few minutes to much longer, as the speaker greets each element of creation and the people answer in agreement.
References
- Oxford Bibliographies — Native American Religions Subscription
Related Prayers and Creeds
- Norito — Formal ritual prayers in classical Japanese, recited by priests to the kami at shrine festivals and rites.
Related Across the Site
- Act of Contrition Prayer or Creed — A prayer of sorrow for sin, prayed in the Sacrament of Penance and in personal examination of conscience.
- Anima Christi Prayer or Creed — A medieval prayer asking Christ's body, blood, and passion to sanctify, save, and protect the one who prays.
- Birkat HaMazon Prayer or Creed — The Grace After Meals, a set of blessings of thanksgiving recited after eating a meal with bread.
- Glory Be (Gloria Patri) Prayer or Creed — A short doxology praising the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, used across Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant worship.
- Hail Mary Prayer or Creed — A prayer to the Virgin Mary built from the angel's greeting in Luke 1, asking for her intercession.
- Prayers of the Rosary Prayer or Creed — The set of prayers prayed on the beads of the Rosary, including the Fatima Prayer and the Hail Holy Queen.
- The Angelus Prayer or Creed — A thrice-daily prayer of versicles and Hail Marys commemorating the Annunciation and the Incarnation.
- The Lord's Prayer (Our Father) Prayer or Creed — The prayer Jesus taught his disciples in Matthew 6 and Luke 11, shared by Christians of every tradition.