The Gayanessha'gowa, or Great Law, is the founding tradition of the League of the Haudenosaunee. It originated sometime between the tenth century, A.D., and the early sixteenth century, and the League of the Haudenosaunee continues to meet under its rules at Onondaga near Syracuse, New York. The founders of the League believed injustice must be abolished before peace could exist, and they viewed peace not simply as the absence of conflict but as the product of sincere and informed negotiations that sought justice as a precondition to true peace. Seneca oral tradition relates that Hiawatha and the Peacemaker, founders of the League, met Jikonhsaseh at her home near here, and that she offered advice that enabled them to persuade the opposition, led by the Onondaga chief Tadodaho, to join the movement for confederation.

Photo: Anton Schwarzmueller

Victor, New York · USA