We're on the 31st week of Untranslatable Words and for this ocasion we're rambling about another interesting word from an indigenous tribe. This is a concept I found myself thinking about often times and that I somehow believe in, or at least I like to think I do.
This week's word is the huron language: orenda.
Gif by Wordstuck
orenda
When I read what this word means I instantly remembered all those times I felt there was this kind of energy on people and on things or spaces too that affected our lives.
orenda is an extraordinary invisible power believed by the Iroquois Indians to pervade in varying degrees all animate and inanimate natural objects as a transmissible spiritual energy capable of being exerted according to the will of its possessor. *
I think orenda is another of those beautiful words that somehow lifts you up and even encourage you to live and take control of your life (what can be controlled). Though, according to Native Languages, orenda is a word that means "spiritual energy" in the Huron (Wyandot) language, and has often been used to refer to gods and spirits in the Iroquois tribes as well. However, the word isn't just related to the Huron people but also the Iroquois tribes, what these peoples had in common was that they spoke Iroquoian languages. *
The Iroquoian languages are a big language family of indigenous peoples from eastern North America and it's one of the world's primary language families, known for their general lack of labial consonants. This is why in the linguistic sense all Iroquois tribes as well as the Wyandot (Huron) people are considered Iroquoian people, because of their similar languages and cultures. Thus, orenda is a concept also present in the Iroquois' lives: Orenda is the Iroquois name for a certain spiritual energy inherent in people and their environment. *
Across the Iroquois tribes, the concept was referred to variously as orenna or karenna by the Mohawk, Cayuga, and Oneida; urente by the Tuscarora, and iarenda or orenda by the Huron; the word reminds me of the my native language (spanish) "ofrenda" which translates "offering", some kind of funny syncronicity lol. I can't help but see orenda not only as a beautiful way to put a name to God in a very naturalist way but also go beyond that. *
Many times I found myself thinking how much there's an energy on spaces, people and things that influences their actions, but I don't dare to say their destiny too, it's a bit scary lol. I think there's an inherent energy in places that affect not only the place itself but the people who are there too, and this is something you can feel when you're there; could it be crazy to think this energy is a mystical force? or even more to say it's actually God?
Also, there's this definition of orenda that also appears on Native Languages: Although any divine spirit could correctly be referred to as Orenda, the name is most commonly used to refer to the Creator or Great Spirit, or, among Christian Iroquois people, to God. So, it could be said that these peoples see God as a part of nature, or a power of nature's energy, or better said, energies. Isn't it interesting?
Even though I respect this perspective and find it beautiful and more actionable, I like to go beyond the religious aspect of it, I do believe there's this inherent energy not only on places but people and objects too, and I think that the "change their own fate or destiny" part is somehow referring to karma, but that's not the best part of the concept, I think the best part of it is the lifting up aspect and the little sense of control it gives you. As a person who believes that there are energies that affects us physical and even mentally I can't help but find this concept interesting and beautiful.
What do you think? Is this mystical force a way to refer to God? Or is it more than that? Please feel free to let me know what you think in the comments!
Thank you very much for passing by! And if you have an Untranslatable Word you'd like to suggest, please don't hesitate to do so! :)
