War Kettle Research Paper

When the Spanish were trying convert the native Mexicans to Christianity, their efforts weren’t very effective. Slow progress was being made, but it wasn’t good enough; the Spanish tried adopting imagery from the native culture, and, although it worked better, it still didn’t have the full desired effect. Only after an Indian convert had a vision of a dark-skinned Virgin Mary on ground holy to older religions did people begin to truly convert. He ground was dedicated to an Aztec goddess, and his vision began shifting the perspectives of other natives. With no experienced evidence of Christianity, they had no reason to believe in the faith. However, the convert’s vision changed this: they had to truly live and experience the faith in a way that was meaningful to them in order to accept it. By allegedly having this vision of a Virgin Mary that fit their image of a holy figure on ground that was already sacred to them, this convert completely reshaped the boundaries of experienced spirituality and religion in Mexico.

Those who sat in the shadow of the Tree of Peace occasionally had to defend their peace and hang the war kettle. Later, the kettle evolved into a symbol for when young men of the Iroquois Confederacy were sent off to fight. Today, however, it stands for hospitality. In looking at the history of the Iroquois, it is easy to see why the symbol of the war kettle has changed so many times. At times progressed and called for different symbols, the war kettle’s meaning was gradually shifted in order to fit the needs of the Iroquois at the time. Today, as a symbol of hospitality, it is revered more as a symbol for symbol’s sake rather than for any other reason. Sometimes, living experience requires symbols and old practices into something more culturally