The Iroquois or Haudenosaunee, the most profound and most powerful indigenous group encountered by the United States before its full size was reached, deemed Whiteface Mountain to be the home of Tawiskara, the dark god of the Winter, and forbade anyone from going near it, a mistake made by the fertility goddess Onatah as a story once told.
Today, the mountain is a hub both for avid hikers as well as people who like snow activities, since it snows like crazy at the top, said to be the work of Tawiskara, which is half of the explanation of why the mountain has its name (the other half being the Haudenosaunee believed Caucasians to be descendants of Tawiskara and were basically like “yeah that’s where your divine ancestor lives”… the things a bad impression will do to people). When you get to the top, it’s said that if you look to the North, you can see the Canadian capital from there, which is like hundreds of miles North in a completely other country.
Probably not why they reached that conclusion but I’m rolling at the thought of indigenous folks seeing white people for the first time and thinking “OH LAWD THE SNOW GOD’S CHILDREN ARE HERE!”
The objective answer is Whiteface Mountain.
The Iroquois or Haudenosaunee, the most profound and most powerful indigenous group encountered by the United States before its full size was reached, deemed Whiteface Mountain to be the home of Tawiskara, the dark god of the Winter, and forbade anyone from going near it, a mistake made by the fertility goddess Onatah as a story once told.
Today, the mountain is a hub both for avid hikers as well as people who like snow activities, since it snows like crazy at the top, said to be the work of Tawiskara, which is half of the explanation of why the mountain has its name (the other half being the Haudenosaunee believed Caucasians to be descendants of Tawiskara and were basically like “yeah that’s where your divine ancestor lives”… the things a bad impression will do to people). When you get to the top, it’s said that if you look to the North, you can see the Canadian capital from there, which is like hundreds of miles North in a completely other country.
Probably not why they reached that conclusion but I’m rolling at the thought of indigenous folks seeing white people for the first time and thinking “OH LAWD THE SNOW GOD’S CHILDREN ARE HERE!”
Ha no way I thought the same thing when I read this but only because it’s the only mountain top I’ve ever been on top of lol. Love the adks.