Orenda is the
Haudenosaunee
The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...
name for a certain spiritual energy inherent in people and their
environment. It is an "extraordinary invisible power believed by the Iroquois Native Americans to pervade in varying degrees in all animate and inanimate natural objects as a transmissible spiritual energy capable of being exerted according to the will of its possessor." Orenda is a collective power of nature's energies through the living energy of all natural objects: animate and inanimate.
Anthropologist
J. N. B. Hewitt notes intrinsic similarities between the Haudenosaunee concept of orenda and that of the
Sioux
The Sioux or Oceti Sakowin ( ; Dakota/ Lakota: ) are groups of Native American tribes and First Nations people from the Great Plains of North America. The Sioux have two major linguistic divisions: the Dakota and Lakota peoples (translati ...
an ''wakan'' or ''mahopa''; the
Algonquin
Algonquin or Algonquian—and the variation Algonki(a)n—may refer to:
Languages and peoples
*Algonquian languages, a large subfamily of Native American languages in a wide swath of eastern North America from Canada to Virginia
**Algonquin la ...
''manitowi'', and the ''pokunt'' of the
Shoshone
The Shoshone or Shoshoni ( or ), also known by the endonym Newe, are an Native Americans in the United States, Indigenous people of the United States with four large cultural/linguistic divisions:
* Eastern Shoshone: Wyoming
* Northern Shoshon ...
. Across the Iroquois tribes, the concept was referred to variously as ''orenna'' or ''karenna'' by the
Mohawk
Mohawk may refer to:
Related to Native Americans
*Mohawk people (Kanien’kehá:ka), an indigenous people of North America (Canada and New York)
*Mohawk language (Kanien’kéha), the language spoken by the Mohawk people
*Mohawk hairstyle, from a ...
,
Cayuga Cayuga often refers to:
* Cayuga people, a native tribe to North America, part of the Iroquois Confederacy
* Cayuga language, the language of the Cayuga
Cayuga may also refer to:
Places Canada
*Cayuga, Ontario
United States
* Cayuga, Illinois
...
, and
Oneida
Oneida may refer to:
Native American/First Nations
* Oneida people, a Native American/First Nations people and one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois Confederacy
* Oneida language
* Oneida Indian Nation, based in New York
* Oneida N ...
; ''urente'' by the
Tuscarora Tuscarora may refer to the following:
First nations and Native American people and culture
* Tuscarora people
**'' Federal Power Commission v. Tuscarora Indian Nation'' (1960)
* Tuscarora language, an Iroquoian language of the Tuscarora people
* ...
, and ''iarenda'' or ''orenda'' by the Huron.
Orenda is present in nature: storms are said to possess orenda. A strong connection exists between prayers and songs and orenda. Through song, a bird, a shaman, or a rabbit puts forth orenda.
See also
*
Manitou
Manitou () is the fundamental life force in the theologies of Algonquian peoples. It is said to be omnipresent and manifests everywhere: organisms, the environment, events, etc. ''Aashaa monetoo'' means "good spirit", while ''otshee monetoo ...
, similar concept among Algonquian peoples
*
Mana
Mana may refer to:
Religion and mythology
* Mana (Oceanian cultures), the spiritual life force energy or healing power that permeates the universe in Melanesian and Polynesian mythology
* Mana (food), archaic name for manna, an edible substance m ...
*
Indigenous American philosophy
Indigenous American philosophy is the philosophy of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas. An Indigenous philosopher is an Indigenous American person who practices philosophy and draws upon the history, culture, language, and traditions of the In ...
*
Ecopsychology
Ecopsychology is an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary field that focuses on the synthesis of ecology and psychology and the promotion of sustainability. It is distinguished from conventional psychology as it focuses on studying the emotion ...
*
Spiritual ecology
Spiritual ecology is an emerging field in religion, conservation, and academia that proposes that there is a spiritual facet to all issues related to conservation, environmentalism, and earth stewardship. Proponents of spiritual ecology assert ...
References
Sources
*
Energy (esotericism)
Vitalism
Iroquois culture
Anthropology of religion
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