Haudenosaunee TraditionHero
Jikonhsaseh
Also known as Jigonsaseh, Djigonsasee, Mother of Nations
The woman who, in Haudenosaunee tradition, was the first to accept the Peacemaker's message; in recognition the Peacemaker gave the women of the nations the responsibility of choosing and removing chiefs, and she is remembered as the Mother of Nations.
About Jikonhsaseh
The first to accept
In the account published by the Onondaga Nation, the Peacemaker, searching for those who could end the fighting, comes to the house of a woman named Jikonhsaseh, who fed the warriors passing along the war trail. He tells her that her actions are feeding war, and she agrees to take up the message of peace instead. Because she was the first to accept the Great Peace and change her ways, the Peacemaker set aside a special duty for the women of the five nations.
The clan mothers
That duty is the clan mothers' responsibility to select chiefs, advise them, and remove them if they fail the people, a central feature of Haudenosaunee government that continues today. Parker's 1916 edition of the Great Law records her under the spelling Djigonsasee.
Remembered today
Jikonhsaseh is honoured as the Mother of Nations, including at Ganondagan State Historic Site, a Seneca town site in western New York.Tellers differ on where her house stood and on details of her meeting with the Peacemaker.
On parentage: A mortal woman; her lineage is not given in the published accounts.
Key deeds
- Was the first to accept the Peacemaker's message of peace
- Gave up feeding war parties
- Became the model for the clan mothers' role in choosing chiefs
Fate
Remembered as the Mother of Nations; the clan mothers' responsibilities in Haudenosaunee government are traced to her acceptance of the Great Peace.
Sources and further reading
Source notes
These references are recorded in the catalog. Their passage wording and translation have not been checked, so quotations are not displayed here.
- Onondaga Nation, "History" (onondaganation.org)
- Arthur C. Parker, The Constitution of the Five Nations, or The Iroquois Book of the Great Law ("The Dekanawida Legend")
About this entry
By Elizabeth Stein for Mythos Atlas. About the author. Editorial notes are grounded in the site's cited sources and can be challenged through the contact page.
Hero legends were retold for centuries, and the sources often disagree on parentage, deeds and death. This entry follows the best-known versions and notes the main alternatives.