The Song of Hiawatha by Margaret Early

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's classic American Indian legend, The Song of Hiawatha, is beautifully illustrated by Margaret Early.Notes from the illustrator in the back of the book:'The Song of Hiawatha' was written by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 - 1882) and published in 1855. I have chosen a small segment of the poem, hoping it will encourage children to read more of the original. My grandfather read 'Hiawatha' to my father in the 1920s, and I in turn read 'Hiawatha's Childhood' when I was young. It has been a popular poem for generations in the Anglo-Saxon world.Longfellow found many sources of influence for his poem. The eight-syllable trochaic verse form came from the Finnish national epic, the 'Kalevala'. He was also influenced by the tales and legends of the ethnologist Henry R. Schoolcraft (1793 - 1864), who married a woman of the Ojibway tribe.'Hiawatha' is based on the legends about a chief, Manabozho who is a trickster and fool, as well as a redeemer. Longfellow selected material from Manabozho's adventures but chose to call his hero Hiawatha. Assuming that both names referred to the same person, Longfellow felt that Hiawatha sounded more poetic. However, Manabozho was an Algonkian spirit whereas the man Hiawatha (originally known as Aiontwahta) is part of Iroquois legend and a tribal god. According to his legend, the Creator sent a Peacemaker, a numinous figure who travelled amongst the Five Nations (the tribes south to south-east of Lake Ontario) in times of war and blood feuds. Together, the Peacemaker and Hiawatha persuaded the warring tribes to join in a 'Great Peace', based on a binding law.The greatest enemy to peace was Atotarhoh. His mind was so evil that snakes grew from his hair, and his body was bent in seven places. Because of his magic, no one could approach him until the Hymn of Peace was composed. He was then hypnotised by the song, allowing Hiawatha to comb the snakes fr...