About This Book
The work documents Lenape religious beliefs and ritual practice, surveying the pantheon—supreme being, spirits, sun, moon, earth, thunder, and corn—alongside lesser deities, animal and plant spirits, and local genii; it treats concepts of soul survival, spirit-land, ghosts, mediumship, and visionary experiences that produce guardian spirits. It provides detailed descriptions of annual Unami ceremonies, Minsi Big House rituals, the masker tradition and mask society, and various minor rites such as the Doll, Bear, Otter, Buffalo, Peyote, and Ghost dances, with notes on ceremonial organization, paraphernalia, songs, and regional variations, concluding with a comparative summary of beliefs and rites.