Essay - Jesuits and Hurons in New France the Mission to the...

JESUITS AND HURONS IN NEW FRANCE

THE MISSION TO THE HURONS

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study is to answer the questions as follows:

1) Jean de Brebeuf, a French Jesuit missionary, spent two decades living and working with the Huron. Based on his "Relation" of 1635, how would you characterize ***** views of the Huron people (for instance: their culture, manners, recent experiences, etc)? and 2) To what extent is it possible ***** us to find actual Huron worldviews, opinions, or sentiments in this "Relation" (as opposed ***** only Brebeuf's views)?

INTRODUCTION

***** work ***** Greer (2000) entitled: "The Jesuit Relations" ***** Chapter 2 '***** de Brebeuf on the Hurons" writes that the culture ***** history of a group of native North Americans specifically ***** Hurons was greatly documented in ***** interactions with Europeans. Le Jeune was a ***** to the Hurons and was tortured ***** killed or in reality martyred "during the Iroquois invasion of 1649. ***** lived with the Hurons for three years and returned again a few ***** later in 1634 "at ***** head of a party of three Jesuits and six laymen to establish the mission on solid foot*****g." (Greer, ********** 41)

*****. ***** HURONS

The Hurons ***** in large settlements and ***** a more traditional family type lifestyle which was stable in n*****ure ***** the ********** ***** a village and that it ***** this that "made them a ***** promising t*****rget for evangelization than the dispersed, nomadic Montagnais bands Paul Le Jeune has pursued through the forests." (2000; 39) Greer states that Brebeuf *****ly spent much time in deep discussions w*****h his Huron friends in which *****y would relate their cus*****ms and rituals ***** metaphysical and cosmological ***** "and patiently explained the reasons various customs and rituals." (2000; 40) Greer relates that Brebeuf "wrote scathingly of *****se *****foolish delusions' when he addressed the European readers, and yet it seems he reported what ***** saw ***** heard as faithfully as he could. If one reads ***** words attentively, the voices of his Huron interlocutors faint and garbled though they may be in places can nonetheless ***** *****." (Greer, 2000; 51) It is written ***** in the discharge ***** "apostolic and humanitarian functions" was a place *****habited by approximately 30,000 'savages' (Hannan, 1944; 1).

II. THE GIFT IN ***** DETAILS

In Jean De Brebeuf's "Of the Language of the *****" (*****636) it is related that the language ***** the Iroquois was a form*****lized language that contained different genders as well as different numbers as did the Greek and fur*****r included the possessive pronoun ***** that ***** to cases '***** have them all, or supply them ***** very appropriate particles." (Greer, 2000; 49) Through relating this as he very precisely does relate the information, De Brebeuf effectively illustrates ***** intelligent communication utilized w*****hin the Iroquois culture and society. ***** Brebeuf relates in terms of the *****s beliefs concerning *****ir origin that "...it is *****tonishing to see so much blindness in regard ***** the things of Heaven, in