THE CIRCLE OF LENAPEHOKING

by Paul Tobacco Cashman

Review by Ray Whritenour

THE CIRCLE OF LENAPEHOKING, by Paul Tobacco Cashman (Xlibris Corp., Philadelphia, 2003), is guaranteed to leave your head spinning in a circle! Wild conjecture, masquerading as informed speculation, is the chief characteristic of this work. The author contends that certain stone walls, rock piles and landscaped oval and circular plots of ground--found in association with natural features and lithic formations in the woods of eastern Pennsylvania--were fashioned by Lenape Indians, and express particular aspects of Lenape spirituality. Chief among these spiritual expressions is the sacred circle, on the perimeter of which is marked the solstices, equinoxes, and other celestial events. Never mind that no proof is cited to confirm that these "circles" and other man-made features are, in fact, aboriginal creations. And, never mind that there is no evidence, whatsoever, that the Lenape EVER observed the solstices and equinoxes. (In truth, not even one of the three comprehensively documented dialects of Lenape has words for "solstice" or "equinox.") We need only accept Cashman's opinion that these are Lenape sites; and, we need only follow his convoluted reasoning in order to "see" what the Lenape "must" have once believed.

What we really have here is a meditation on sacred circles, based on the author's understanding of concepts drawn from Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, alchemy, Jungian psychology and numerology. In other words, this is a hodge-podge New Age cosmology projected onto features of the Pennsylvania landscape, and falsely attributed to the indigenous inhabitants thereof.

There are so many errors of fact in this book, I simply haven't got the energy to cover all of them. Here are a few:

Page 9 - "These people called their home Lenapehoking..." [Highly unlikely, since the term, "Lenapehoking," was coined by Nora Thompson Dean, just twenty years ago.]

Page 26 - "Grandfather Sun" [Here we go again! The Lenape called the Sun their 'Elder Brother.']

Page 70-71 - "Amangamek ...means Frightful Snake-like Water Spirits." [Good grief! This word means nothing more than 'big fish.']

Page 71 - "Nanaboush" [Here we go again! Nanaboush is NOT a Lenape culture hero. He's Ojibway.]

Page 72 - "Keshelemukum" (sic!) = 'Thinking Grandfather.' [The Lenape called Kishelemukong their 'Father.']

Pages 72-80 - "The Woman Who Fell from the Sky" - This is the most extravagant attempt to reconcile several Lenape (and non-Lenape) creation stories, by weaving them all together in a dizzying phantasmagoria, that I've ever seen! This would absolutely stun a traditional Lenape. Half of the characters (or more) are unknown from Lenape tradition.

Page 79 - "...all Lenape consider Nanaboush to be their common ancestor and revered grandfather." [I don't know any Lenapes who believe this!]

The Lenape language used throughout this work is, of course, abominable. Almost every word is spelled wrong--no matter what pronunciation you assign to the letters.

The author's vision of a circle, marked at the four quarters, thus producing an invisible cross inside the circle, which turns into a pyramid by extending each point of the cross to the zenith; then, an upside-down pyramid created by extending the same points to the nadir; thus producing a diamond-shaped three-dimensional figure is then attributed to the Lenape! From this vision the Lenape then get the idea for all their artistic motifs--the circle, the cross, the triangle, the diamond, etc. And, it also generates all the religious concepts outlined in this book (though unknown from actual Lenape culture!).

Let me leave you with a quotation to ponder:

"We suspect we have stumbled upon something reaching beyond North America. People have used shapes and symbols all over the world. Does the three dimensional diamond shape relate to the pyramids in Egypt, the cross in Europe, the Star of David in Israel, the triangular mandalas of India like Shri Yantra? Ultimately there is only one spirit path on planet Earth." (pages 144-145)

I've got nothing against comparative religion. It's been a passion of mine for more than 35 years. But, if anyone thinks that these speculative vaporings have ANYTHING to do with Lenape spirituality, I've got a bridge in Brooklyn I'd like to sell you!

Ray Whritenour