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Diane Schenandoah, a member of the Oneida Nation Wolf Clan, has been a Faithkeeper since 1988. While ceremonies like the Full Moon Ceremony aren’t part of her typical duties as Faithkeeper, she still considers them personal responsibilities.

“The ceremonies are rituals to give thanks,” she said. “I feel that it’s a spiritual duty to remind people of gratitude.”

A group of Indigenous people and Syracuse University community members united under the moon’s glow Tuesday night to celebrate the traditional Full Moon Ceremony. Schenandoah, an SU alumna, led the ceremony on the quad in a series of traditional practices.

The ceremony began with sage cleansing. Schenandoah walked around with a plate of burning sage, ensuring the smoke reached every person in the circle. Among other functions, sage burning has been traditionally used in Indigenous groups to remove negative energy.

While he’s not part of an Indigenous group himself, Scott Catucci, who frequents these ceremonies, said he appreciates the connection to nature that the Full Moon Ceremony provides.

“I’ve always been attracted to the moon … it was just natural,” Catucci said.

The ceremony continued with a sharing of good thoughts and prayers. A cloth filled with tobacco was passed around the circle, and each person shared their thoughts with the group as they held it. Schenandoah said she would later burn the cloth to ensure all thoughts and prayers would be answered.

While the whole ceremony was centered around giving thanks to the moon, a portion of the event focused on expressing gratitude towards water. Every person got a small cup of water and could only drink it after stating a reason they were thankful for water.

Schenandoah concluded the ceremony with a traditional dance. She sang and led a circle of participants to the right, and then to the left, which she said highlighted the importance of balance. She invited all participants to join her song, and soon enough, almost all participants were dancing and singing in unison.

Catucci said he appreciated the opportunity to connect with the people at the ceremonies, and being able to express gratitude in a group. While the structure of the ceremony remains constant, he said, there is always a key difference each time.

“It’s always different because the people are different, so they say different things,” Catucci said. “Everybody brings something different each time.”

Published on November 9, 2022 at 1:31 am