Mesingw (the Living Solid Face, Keeper of the Game)

Mesingw, whose name is glossed 'living solid face' or 'masked being,' is the Lenape spirit-keeper of the forest and master of the game animals, especially the deer. Appointed by the Creator among the manitowak, he is described as a being who rides through the woods on the back of a buck, herding the deer, rewarding respectful hunters and punishing those who waste or despoil the forest. He is embodied in ceremony by a dancer wearing the distinctive wooden Mesingw mask painted half red and half black; this masked figure appeared at the Big House Ceremony and in hunting and curing rites. Documented in detail by M. R. Harrington and Frank Speck, Mesingw remains one of the most recognizable figures of Lenape religion and gives the Delaware Tribe its tribal seal.

Domains

• wild game and hunting
• forest and wilderness

Powers

• to herd and guard the deer and other game of the forest
• to appear to hunters in dreams and visions

Epithets

• MisinkFrank G. Speck, A Study of the Delaware Indian Big House Ceremony (Harrisburg: Pennsylvania Historical Commission, 1931). (secondary)

Relations

• subordinate to: Kishelemukong (the Great Creator)Mesingw is one of the manitowak created and appointed by Kishelemukong; as Keeper of the Game he holds his office under the Creator's authority.M. R. Harrington, Religion and Ceremonies of the Lenape (New York: Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, 1921). (secondary)

Sources

• Mesingw, the 'Living Solid Face' or Masked Being, is the Lenape guardian spirit of the forest and keeper of the game animals, personated by a masked dancer in the Big House Ceremony.: M. R. Harrington, Religion and Ceremonies of the Lenape (New York: Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, 1921). (secondary); Frank G. Speck, A Study of the Delaware Indian Big House Ceremony (Harrisburg: Pennsylvania Historical Commission, 1931). (secondary)