Handsome Lake Code 14 Analysis

The laws laid out in the Longhouse Religion are similar to the commandments handed down by the Christian prophet, Moses.11 Both were received through divine communications that no one else was privy to, both are non-negotiable and to be followed to the letter, both prohibit harmful behaviors, and both are specific to the people receiving these edicts. The Christian commandments are for the chosen people, who reside under the authority of the male head of household. Handsome Lake’s Code, however, was modeled after Hammurabi’s Code even though the tenants were influenced by local Christian missionaries.12 Like the Ten Commandments, Handsome Lake 's codes are similarly addressed to a chosen people, but not through a head-of-household. Instead, …show more content…
Codes 14, 15, and 16 are pointedly for the care of children. They do not specify how children should behave, but how adults should treat and not treat children. Code 14 discourages beating and otherwise physically abusing children. It instructs the Mother to threaten, but not follow-through with water submersion, suggesting that the threat alone is a sufficient deterrent to prevent undesirable childhood behaviors.13 Code 15 celebrates the wisdom of youth by instructing parents to listen to their children because children speak truth.14 Lastly, Code 16 prohibits childhood sexual abuse, and links the abuse back to alcohol consumption and loss of sense associated with drunkenness.15 Despite the difference of numeration in Abrahamic faiths, not one of the ten commandments postulates the proper treatment of children. 16 Although some might argue that the brevity of only ten commandments excuses the lack of child rearing advice from Moses’s Commandments, and that the greater number of codes presented by Hammurabi and Handsome Lake allow for more specific instruction and influence from numerous diverse …show more content…
These aspects include respect for the environment, reciprocity, community building, and personal responsibility within the community. Each of these aspects remain a vital part of the Longhouse religion. The Iroquois aspects of the Longhouse religion have survived genocidal, political, economic and cultural attack. The increasing interest in ecology in the last quarter of the twentieth century may have even revived interest in the Longhouse religion.22 As mainstream interests continue to come into alignment with the tenants of Handsome Lake’s codes, the Longhouse religion will continue to