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The Seneca, once one of the largest of the Iroquois tribes, originally lived in the areas now recognized as Ontario, Canada, and New York State. As in many other cultures, folklore and mythology were prominent features of daily life among the Seneca. Several of those stories were lost or changed, however, since they were originally shared by word of mouth and written down only later. One Seneca legend that has survived is that of Gaasyendietha, also known as the Seneca Dragon.
Serpents figure in most Native American cosmology and are usually associated with water and rivers. According to the Seneca, Gaasyendietha, a fire-breathing dragon, lives in lakes and rivers in Canada, in particular Lake Ontario. The Seneca oral tradition proposed two possible origins for Gaasyendietha: either the dragon was born from a serpent’s eggs, or it fell to the Earth from a meteor. Due to Gaasyendietha’s possible meteoric origins, it is sometimes referred to as “meteor dragon” and was supposed to be able to fly across the sky on a stream of fire. Many of the Native American nations used myths to explain natural phenomena. Thus, the suggestion has been made that the tale of Gaasyendietha was created as a way to explain the presence of meteors.
Gaasyendietha is mentioned, although briefly, in literary works such as Kim Jobe’s The Guardians of Mandoria (2011) and Kathleen and Michael Gear’s The Summoning God: Book II of the Anasazi Mysteries (2001). It also appears in “Ganyadjigowa,” the story of a Seneca culture hero.
Jeneen K. Surrency
See also Big Water Snake of the Blackfoot; Horned Serpent; Hudson River Monster; Tizheruk; Underwater Panthers
Further Reading
Converse, Harriet Maxwell. 1908. Myths and Legends of the New York State Iroquois. Albany: University of the State of New York.
DeKirk, Ash. 2006. Dragonlore: From the Archives of the Grey School of Wizardry. Franklin Lakes, NJ: New Page Books.
Parker, Arthur C. 1989. Seneca Myths and Folk Tales. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
Rose, Carol. 2001. Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth. New York: Norton.