Wampanoag: The People of Dawn - Research Paper Example

Your Wampanoag: The People of Dawn The Wampanoag, or the wopanaak in their own tongue, is a Native American tribe. The name literally means People of Dawn. It can be loosely translated as Easterners too. They occupy the American Northwest, around Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. The Wampanoags had a big population at the time (1600s), as they numbered in thousands; there were at least three thousand Wampanoags in Martha’s Vineyard. This is because of their excellent farming skills: they cultivated maize, beans, squash and the like. Right now there are about 2000 Wampanoags in the reservation camps in New England right now. They were the first people to encounter the British colonists. For a time, they enjoyed diplomacy, teaching the British how to plant corn and tend animals and farm (particularly tukey) and both cultures enjoyed the famous first thanksgiving. Then the Wampanoag became stricken with a disease, probably from England, as the colonists have brought diseases with them too, and the natives do not have immunity against them. Scientists believe that the disease is leptospirosis. This disease nearly swept the entire population, weakening the civilization, and destroyed the society. Because of the losses in population, the British colonists gained foothold in the land that was once the Wampanoags’. This is further strengthened by King Philips’ War that occurred during 1675-1676 where nearly forty percent of the tribe died. Most survivors of the war were enslaved. II. Language The Wampanoags were fast adaptors and they were very diplomatic, making them easily adapt to new customs and language introduced by the English. This is the cause why the Wampanoags were nearly forgotten as a tribe (during the 1800s). The Wampanoags spoke fluent English by that time and their traditions were nearly forgotten. The Wampanoags, like any other Indian tribe, are also free to marry people from other cultures, races and tribes, making them adapt to other cultures and tradtions. This is especially true after King Philip’s war when there was a great gender imbalance in the Wampanoag society: because there were few men, the women were forced to marry people from different races, making them adapt the new culture and forget their own. No one speaks the Wampanoag language today. However, there are attempts to revive the language of the Wampanoags. The Wampanoag language (or simply Wampanoag) is also called Massachusett, Pokanoket or Natick. The language is not spoken today as a native tongue, but many people, especially native Americans are studying it for their tradition and knowledge, and for the betterment of their culture. The Wampanoags were very adept at language learning. In fact, the first Bible that was published in the colonies was translated into Wampanoag by the Wampanoag scholars under John Eliot. Many Wampanoags are literate. They had their own alphabet, letters and the like to make their own legal documents; to have an effective autonomous society. Right now, as the Wampanoag has its reservation camp, they are autonomous: they have their own government, legislation and services and it acts like they are a small country. But since they are living in America and they are Americans, they should also respect the American law. In Massachusetts and Martha’s Vineyard, there are about roughly 500 Wampanoags living there but there are a lot of Wampanoags living elsewhere. There are even Wampanoags in the Bermuda region; they were the descendants of those who were traded as slaves. III. Groups There are at least ten groups of Wampanoags that are recognized. They are: The Gay Head (Aquinnah), Assonet, Chappaquiddick, Mashpee, Nauset, Nantucket, Patuxet, Pokanoket, Pocasset, and Herring Pond. According to scholars, there are fifty more subgroups of Wampanoags. These groups are considered Wampanoags because they share the same culture, traditions and language. However, each of these groups is autonomous. Unlike the Iroquois (who had a large government governing other small tribes), they each had their own set of laws, leaders and decisions. IV. Culture The Wampanoags enjoy gender equality. The women can have decisions on family matters and can be leaders and are called sachems. Although most sachems were males, women were also sachems. But common gender roles took place, of course. Men were mostly hunters and warriors to provide food and defense against outsiders. Their weapons are usually bows and arrows. Some of the use wooden clubs as well. The women were left in the villages, farming and tending the children and the homes. Both males and females participated in food preparation as males gather and females cook the food. There are still traditional Wampanoag recipes that exist today, and are still made like corn bread and stews. Males and females both participated in religious activities, medicine, storytelling and art. The Wampanoags practiced premarital sex and polygamy. It is considered acceptable to sleep with several partners before one is married but when a couple’s union is solemnized with a wedding, the norm is to become monogamous. There are of course men who take on several wives, but this is mostly due to social reasons. Men with several wives are viewed to be more powerful and wealthy. This is because the women in Wampanoag society are the ones which control the food as they are the planters, producers and distributors of farm produce. However, these marriages can be easily dissolved. What matters in the Wampanoag is not really the marriage, but rather the ties that the clans make between families that were united by the marriage. Unlike other Native American tribes, the Wampanoags did not live in teepees. They lived in wigwams, which are small circular houses. They lived in small communities of wigwams. The villages were planned like most other Native American village: there was a ceremonial square in the middle of the village for special ceremonies. Some of the villages have fences (palisade walls) that act as city walls for further protection against other tribes (and animals). The typical Thanksgiving portrait that is common in our consciousness have Wampanoags in colorful very “Indian” garbs with feathers and face paint. This is far from the truth. The romanticized paintings of the first Thanksgiving often have Native Americans with feathered headdresses and the like. The Sioux are the ones who wore the long, feathered headdresses. The Wampanoags actually have subtle fashion and not garish at all. Women wore knee-length skirts. The men wore leggings and breechcloths. Neither males or females had to wear shirts but in times of winter (or any other cool time for that matter), they would dress in deerskin shrouds for heat. For the feet, they wore moccasins. Wampanoags wore headbands, though (but not long headdresses), and the chief might wear a headband with feathers sticking up. The men usually had their hair shaved, save for one scalplock (one lock of hair) or they have their hairs fashioned into Mohawks. The women wore their hair long, most of the time decorated with headbands. The Wampanoags also had tattoos. Most of the tattoos were reserved for the warriors. These warriors, like most Native American tribes also painted their faces in times of battle. Today, these practices are still practiced, but only for special occasions. The Wampanoags, like most Native American cultures, found their civilizations near rivers and waterways. They usually relied on canoes for transport by carving out trunks of trees. These were used for fishing and exploration out on seas. On land, the Wampanoags used dogs for transport. They never used horses as horses were introduced in America by the colonists. Wampanoags have very rich artistic culture. They are actually known for their basket weaving, beadwork and wood carvings. They are especially known for making the wampum. Wampums are shell beads, and they are heavily regarded as an important art material during that time. Wampums are also traded as currency. There are wampum belts that are made for families and they usually tell the heritage of that family, using pictures and intricate designs. Wampanoags also have rich mythos. Like most Native American tribes, they worship several Gods, or spirits, as they would likely call the deities; they are polytheistic by nature. Stories are part of their lives, as well as religion. Their religions are quite complex but very similar to other tribes’. Now, in 1650, with John Eliot and his Bible, he proposed to solve the “Indian Problem” by converting the natives into Christians. With his ministers, Eliot hoped to bring “civilized” ways to the Wampanoag culture. This means practicing monogamous relationships and patriarchy. This whole new sets of beliefs disturbed the status quo and this resulted into big changes in the Wampanoag society. This massive societal restructuring, together with the influx of diseases from Europe brought disillusionment to the natives as they lost trust in their own culture. This made them convert faster to Christianity, and their society became patriarchal. Alcoholism became rampant as well, and as Native Americans are biologically alcohol intolerant, many people sought the service of the church for guidance. Christianity had a great appeal on the needy, and this spurred the conversion of the people to Christianity. Most of the Wampanoags adapted this new Christian lifestyle but not wholly, as they still practiced their traditional, cultural ways as in fashion, clothes and governance as sachems were still in power and governed the communities. But they were expected to follow English tradition, gender roles and manners. Today, there are roughly about 2000 Wampanoags in various reservation camps and they are trying to revive their old traditions and cultures that made them who they are now. Reference: Silverman, David. Faith and Boundaries: Colonists, Christianity, and Community Among the Wampanoag Indians of Martha's Vineyard, 1600–1871. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007. Print. Read More