Hé-no is a

thunder Thunder is the sound caused by lightning. Depending upon the distance from and nature of the lightning, it can range from a long, low rumble to a sudden, loud crack. The sudden increase in temperature and hence pressure caused by the lightning pr ...

spirit of the

Iroquois The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

and Seneca people. He is also known as Heno, Hino, Hinu or Hinun. Hé-no lives in the cloud of the far west, and has

rainbow A rainbow is an optical phenomenon caused by refraction, internal reflection and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a continuous spectrum of light appearing in the sky. The rainbow takes the form of a multicoloured circular ...

as his wife, and is accompanied by the eagles Keneu and Oshadagea. Keneu is a golden eagle and Oshadagea carries a lake of

dew Dew is water in the form of droplets that appears on thin, exposed objects in the morning or evening due to condensation. As the exposed surface cools by thermal radiation, radiating its heat, atmospheric moisture condenses at a rate grea ...

on its back, which it will sprinkle as

rain Rain is a form of precipitation where water drop (liquid), droplets that have condensation, condensed from Water vapor#In Earth's atmosphere, atmospheric water vapor fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is res ...

after fire spirits attack the land. Hé-no is armed with bow and arrows, and carries with him a pouch of thunderbolts. When travelling in the skies, he also carries a basket of

chert Chert () is a hard, fine-grained sedimentary rock composed of microcrystalline or cryptocrystalline quartz, the mineral form of silicon dioxide (SiO2). Chert is characteristically of biological origin, but may also occur inorganically as a prec ...

boulders on his back, which he hurls at evil spirits. The boulders that miss fall to earth in the form of

lightning Lightning is a natural phenomenon consisting of electrostatic discharges occurring through the atmosphere between two electrically charged regions. One or both regions are within the atmosphere, with the second region sometimes occurring on ...

. He wears a magic feather on his head to ward off evil, and has two assistants who carried no names, so they can serve Hé-no in secrecy. Hé-no was described as peaceful and benevolent, being the enemy of witches and evil persons, and the friend of

corn Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout Poaceae, grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago ...

bean A bean is the seed of some plants in the legume family (Fabaceae) used as a vegetable for human consumption or animal feed. The seeds are often preserved through drying (a ''pulse''), but fresh beans are also sold. Dried beans are traditi ...

s and

squash Squash most often refers to: * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (plant), the fruit of vines of the genus ''Cucurbita'' Squash may also refer to: Sports * Squash (professional wrestling), an extr ...

es. Apart from being associated with thunders, Hé-no was also thought to form clouds and give water to the earth. In

Iroquois mythology The History of the Haudenosaunee includes the creation stories and folktales of the Native Americans who formed the confederacy of the Five Nations Iroquois, later the Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy. Historically, these stories were recorded ...

, Hé-no descended to earth twice. On the first occasion, Gunnodoyak, a young

hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or Physical strength, strength. The original hero type of classical epics did such thin ...

who was the servant of Hé-no and empowered with the spirit of thunder, was commanded to kill the Great Water Snake of the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

, enemy of mankind, but Gunnodoyak was swallowed by the serpent instead. Hé-no then slain the serpent at

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The Canada–United Sta ...

with his flaming arrows shot from the sky, cut open its belly and resurrected Gunnodoyak, who was then taken to heaven. Upon the serpent's death, its body broke into small pieces which formed the islands of the Great Lakes. The indigenous people considered the violent waves of

to be the serpent moving in vengeance. On the second occasion, Hé-no saved his people by slaying the Stone Giants of the west. The Stone Giants' shattered bodies became pebbles. Hé-no is also credited with sending three Thunderers to earth every year to destroy evil. He once lived in a cave under

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the Canada–United States border, border between the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York (s ...

. At that time a young girl living above the falls was engaged to marry a disagreeable old man. Rather than marry him she climbed into a canoe and headed down the river. The girl and the canoe were carried over the falls; the canoe was seen falling to destruction, but the girl disappeared. Hé-no and his two (nameless) assistants caught her in a blanket and brought her back to his cave. One of the assistants, taken with her beauty, married her.

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite book, author=J. A. Coleman, title=The Dictionary of Mythology: An A-Z of Themes, Legends and Heroes, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KJGhGAAACAAJ, year=2007, publisher=Arcturus, isbn=978-0-572-03222-7, page=482 {{cite book, author=Michael Jordan, title=Dictionary of Gods and Goddesses, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aqDC5bwx4_wC&pg=PA107, date=14 May 2014, publisher=Infobase Publishing, isbn=978-1-4381-0985-5, page=107 {{cite book, author1=Anna Cummings Johnson, author2=Mrs. Anna C. Johnson Miller, title=The Iroquois; Or, The Bright Side of Indian Character, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OOVKAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA52, year=1855, publisher=D. Appleton, page=52 {{cite book, author=Tamra Andrews, title=Dictionary of Nature Myths: Legends of the Earth, Sea, and Sky, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7jS65aClvFEC&pg=PA92, year=2000, publisher=Oxford University Press, isbn=978-0-19-513677-7, page=92 {{cite book, author=Charles Godfrey Leland, title=The Algonquin Legends of New England: Or, Myths and Folk Lore of the Micmac, Passamaquoddy, and Penobscot Tribes, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wcQRAAAAYAAJ, year=1884, publisher=S. Low, Marston, Searle & Rivington, page=203 {{cite book, author1=Harriet Maxwell Converse, author2=Arthur Caswell Parker, title=Myths and Legends of the New York State Iroquois, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S6y6uxjhf60C, year=1908, publisher=University of the State of New York, pages=39–47 Iroquois mythology Gods of the indigenous peoples of North America Thunder gods Rain deities

See also

References