Uncas' War Song ("Manitou! Manitou!")

Uncas’s war song, built around the repeated invocation “Manitou! Manitou!”, is the ceremonial pivot through which the Delaware camp moves from grief and anticipation to collective readiness for war. Sung as Uncas circles a blazed and painted post, it invokes the Great Spirit, names the sounds of approaching conflict, and asks for aid; its performance culminates in his striking the post and assuming command of the expedition.

Setting and Ritual Preparation

The song follows a sequence of public preparations. A young warrior strips bark from a dwarf pine growing in the rocky terrace; others remove its branches and mark the exposed trunk with dark red paint. Uncas then appears with most of his clothing removed and one side of his face darkened. These actions establish the post as the focus of the gathering before he begins his measured circling dance and chant.

Form and Invocation

The chant is described as moving between extremes: at times plaintive and melodious, at others abrupt and forceful. Its short, repeated phrases begin by praising the Great Spirit as great, good, wise, and just. The song then turns to images of many dark and red clouds in the heavens and the whoop, yell, and cry heard in the woods, before returning to a humble request for strength and help. Its repeated invocation and acknowledged dependence give the war song a devotional frame rather than presenting it only as a call to battle.

Uncas pauses at the end of each verse and raises a note in a way suited to its meaning. The first close expresses reverence, the second evokes the sounds of danger, and the third becomes a war cry; the final close returns to supplication. He performs the song three times, circling the post with each repetition. The progression joins prayer, warning, and martial resolve within a single ordered performance.

Collective Response and Leadership

At the close of Uncas’s first circuit, a respected Delaware chief joins the dance with words of his own set to similar music. Other warriors follow until the ceremony includes those recognized for authority and standing. The song therefore becomes a shared performance: Uncas initiates it, but the gathered leaders answer and enlarge its force.

The decisive gesture comes when Uncas drives his tomahawk into the post and gives his battle cry. The act publicly confirms that he has taken chief authority over the planned expedition. A hundred young men, previously held back by their youth, then rush to destroy the symbolic enemy represented by the post. Their participation turns the leaders’ ceremony into a declaration that the expedition is a national war.

Timing and Significance

Immediately after striking the post, Uncas looks to the sun, whose position marks the end of the truce with Magua. A gesture and answering cry communicate the moment to the gathering; the warriors abandon the symbolic combat and prepare for the actual conflict. The song thus does more than express Uncas’s resolve: its performance organizes the community, legitimizes his leadership, and synchronizes the transition from ritual preparation to military action.