The sun is held in sacred honor by the Iroquois through many ceremonies and dances. The legend of Brothers Who Followed the Sun provides a glimpse into Iroquois beliefs about the afterlife. In this tale, three brothers travel to where the sun meets the earth and discover the people who live above earth.
Once there were three brothers who never married. They loved hunting most of all, but as they grew older, the excitement of the hunt grew stale. “Why don’t we travel to the edge of the earth where the sun touches the water?” said the youngest brother. Eager for a new adventure, the other two brothers agreed to this plan. They set out on their travels, and no matter what trial or pleasure they found, they always continued traveling west in the direction of the setting sun.
After they had journeyed for several years, they came to the edge of the earth. The brothers set up camp to watch. They noticed how the sun seemed to slip under the rim of the earth and disappear quickly. Day after day, they watched men trying to go under the rim of the sky, but the sun always went down too quickly and crushed them. The youngest brother grew weary of watching and announced that he wanted to try to pass under the rim of the sky. The eldest brother shook his head and said that he was afraid to try. Without waiting to hear what the middle brother said, the youngest brother began to race toward the rim of the sky. The rim was much thicker than he anticipated, but he got safely through. The second brother ran after him, and he too got safely under the rim of the sky. The eldest brother hesitated. When he saw that his brothers remained unharmed, he ran after them. When the younger brothers saw their eldest brother running behind them, they turned to encourage him. Just then, the sun came down on the road of the sky and crushed the eldest brother.
Brokenhearted, the two brothers continued along the road of the sun. They saw a huge village in the distance and a man running from it. He called out, “Come! Come, my brothers!” They realized it was the eldest brother. “How did you get here before us?” they asked him. “I came along the Spirit Road,” he answered. As the brothers talked, an old man approached. Even though he radiated strength and youth in his body, he seemed like an old man. He had the bearing of a great chief, and wisdom showed on his face. He introduced himself as the father of all the people in Above-the-Sky Place.
“I have lived here a long time,” said the man. “I want to give you advice about my son, Haweni’u. When you see him, you must say ‘Nia’we ‘ska’no!’ before he speaks to you. If you do not, he will say, ‘You are mine,’ and you will become spirits like your eldest brother.” The younger brothers thanked the man and explored the new land. They soon came to a house made of white bark. As they drew closer to the house, a man suddenly appeared. The brothers remembered the old man’s warning and called out, “‘Nia’we ‘ska’no!” The man told the brothers that he had been waiting for them for a long time, and he invited them into his house. The man asked, “In what condition are your bodies?” They replied, “Our bodies are in wonderful condition.” “You lie,” said the man, for the brothers were no longer in the prime of youth. Haweni’u removed the brothers’ skin and muscles and washed their organs. He assembled the brothers again until they were again whole men. When all was finished, Haweni’u said, “You have all the power of youth restored to you.” The brothers tested their new strength and found they outran even the swiftest deer.
The brothers lived in the Above-the-Sky Place for a long time and learned more things than they could ever tell. One day, Haweni’u sent them back to earth. Their own village was abandoned, but they found their people in a different village. No one recognized them except their sister, who was an old woman.
The brothers stayed in their village, but they missed living in the upper world and longed to return. They never grew tired or old, and nothing could kill them—not arrow or wild animal or disease. After many years, lightning struck the brothers and killed them. Their wish to join their eldest brother in the Above-the-Sky Place was granted.
Mary L. Sellers
See also Birth of Good and Evil, an Iroquois Myth; Star Boy, a Blackfoot Legend; Woman Who Fell from the Sky
Further Reading
Converse, Harriet Maxwell, and Arthur Caswell Parker. 1908. Myths and Legends of the New York State Iroquois. Albany: Education Department Bulletin of the University of the State of New York.
Parker, Arthur Caswell, Handsome Lake, and William N. Fenton. 1968. Parker on the Iroquois. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press.