Monacan/Tutelo wampum necklace

[Linda]

Tom has been trying to post, but having technical difficulties. (I think our board is eating his cookies) He's found something really beautiful and mysterious. It's at this page at the National Museum of Natural History (http://anthro.amnh.org/anthropology/databases/common/image_dup.cfm?fullpath=http://anthro.amnh.org/images/full/501/501_2157.jpg&database=north&catno=50.1/%202157&site=P)

There's also an image of the ledger entry, showing it came from I assume a private collection of an Erastus Tefft in 1910. It's in the ledger as Tutelo. I've written the contact email, asking why it's listed as Monacan. Is there anything known about where it was found, at Six Nations, or in Virginia, how old is it supposed to be (it doesn't look that old), and why it's called wampum, since I don't recognize any quohog shell in it.

At any rate it's gorgeous. I think I know what I'm going to make next for my regalia.

[Tom]

HAHA Iam in !!
The collector Mr. Tefft has also donated many other pieces to this museum any one interested in these objects should feed thier minds and spirits!!

I will get some time and try to explain what I feel about this necklace,,, keep in mind that there are several types of wampum including early coins.. this here is called "disc" wampum . A very nice replacement is the Hawaiin puka shell neclaces that are very available in most five a dime stores.. look around you'll find a good sub.
The ribbons are silk, and once again are obtainable this piece dates between 1870 and 1900, the red beads are "water melon" coloured a give away for the dates.
I'll try and get more on this but hints at many other types of necklaces etc.. anyway for now I hope everyone enjoys this rare find
all the best
Thanx once again Linda Tom

[Linda]

Do you think that's a double strand? About how long of a necklace is it? They have hishi discs at Wal-Mart. Is that similar to the Puka?

Does this look like any Iroquoian pieces you've seen? Or any other tribe?

[techteach]

Linda:
Found this on another Web site:

"The author discusses a Native American tribe called the Tutelo who are so similar to the Iroquois that he felt it appropriate to mention them. The only thing that differentiates them from the Cayuga is a necklace called a wampum. It is made from shells flattened into discs. They are very decorative and used in a Tutelo adoption ceremony. If a member of a Tutelo family passed away, the family members could select an outsider to take the place of the deceased. The outsider would wear the wampum during the adoption ceremony."

Here's the Web site: http://www.publicanthropology.org/Archive/AA1909.htm

Cindy

[Linda]

Oh wow. So I guess this isn't something to just be copied and worn with regalia.

[techteach]

Linda:
I do not know, really. I just found the information while searching for something else. Is this generally the case when something is described like the quote I found? That it is taboo for it to be used as decoration?

Cindy

[Linda]

Well, I would think so. If this is a very special item used in a sacred ceremony it would be pretty annoying to see people glomming onto it for other, secular uses.

I'm really glad you found that passage. It makes sense, somehow this collector got ahold of one of these adoption ritual necklaces, without knowing what it was, or maybe not caring, it would all just be superstition to him. The Tutelo Adoption Ritual is still being done, to my knowledge. I have the book.

[Linda]

Hahaha. You "found this while looking for something else." Uh huh. Definitely, we should not make this to wear to the prom. One of our Mischiefmakers has spoken. They are so good at hacking the 'net.

[Linda]

This is Tom's reply, who's having trouble posting again.


The ribbons are offereings to the spirit of the deceased or to the guest during the redressing ceremony they ( the ribbons) were probably at one time made from hair of the departed possibly more than one person meaning that these were family objects representing more than one generation.

The ribbons have been used for along time in the Americas they have also found ribbon and lace in graves that are very old probably prehistoric.

Ribbons are essentially a small offereing flag just like the yards of cloth are during lodge ceremonies and "sun dances" representing offereings to the spirits and then back to the person a " materialized prayer".

I would say that these necklaces are sacred, as sacred as your Grandmothers family ring after it has been blessed in the Church.

I do not see anything wrong with making one of these but since you know what it is and understand its use then if you make one use it the same way... .

When a Japanese soldier went off to war he took a belt of cloth and went on to the street asking for anyone to take the threads he supplied and make a sewn knot onto the belt each knot representd a prayer, the same holds true here... if someone was very sick and rather then sending a card you chose to send a necklace or flowers with ribbons it would mean the same thing..

Lastly heishi is a type of bead that looks like short wampum, disc wampum is just that but having said that you could even use glass beads, remember that the words spoken while using wampum gave the words and the wampum an energy or power to the necklace; glass does not have the same quality.

I guess in this case the total object has the energy it is intended for , wampum and offereings even tho' there is glass beads on this necklace I'd say that they are a type of mnuemonic aid, transmitting a message of it's own quality , again this is unusual since glass and shell beads used together is a strange combination , something for you to think about when making something for yourself in the future. All the best Tom.

[George]

SACRED TOOLs are just that SACRED ,they should not be reproduced,they are not decoration.
sacred tools like rattles ,drums ,pipes, after being made will go through a ceremonie {sweat lodge} before they are even used they are brought into the sweat where a sacred medicine is applied to them.
you need to be careful there is an old saying if you play with fire you might get burnt.
I hope you all will not compare in the future a church service with a ring,to a very old and sacred healing ceremonie {sweat lodge},you all have the right to form your own opinion ,but I see ABSOLUTLY NO comparison.
The sweat lodge is very old more than 10,000 years it comes from the creater.

George

[vance hawkins]

That item reminds me somewhat of a "bandalier" worn over one shoulder and if falls to the other side about the waste. Is it long enough to do that? Here the Southern Plains people make it out of mescal beans. It is 2 strings the same length yet connected at a point and is worn at pow wows, but as far as I know, only Tiah Piah Society (aka black leggins, aka warrior society) wear them. Maybe someone can explain it better. I have one and it was made my Buster Parker, a direct descendant of Quanah himself. But I would never dream of wearing it at a Pow-Wow unless I were initiated into the Tiah Piah Society. You can honor your ancestors who were warriors, and since my Dad was a WW2 veteran, I'd be eligible for membership, and I have thought about it . . . but those folks are serious and they are dedicated -- you don't just say "that's cool" -- "I wanna belong."

I am sorry but I do not know its significance. But when I saw those beads, it reminded me of the bandalier. Local Kiowa/Comanche/Oklahoma Apache/Southern Cheyenne-Arapaho people here were exposed to Spanish Culture for hundreds of years so that is probably where the term "bandalier" came from -- the Spanish.

Was this "Wampum item" for warriors only? What was its significance? Also I do not know what "wampum" is. Can someone explain it? I have never been accused of being afraid to show my ignorance. :) If you'd feel better explainin' it one on one, you can e-mail me privately at vhawkins@pacer.com. I know it was an Eastern thing, and my ancestors probably knew as they were definitely in the East . . . but they have been gone - in space and time -- a long while. Thanks.

vance

[Tom]

Hello ALL
I'll keep it short , the comparison is (for me) in the first person. that is; since I have been thro' more than one 'sweat", sundance, horse dance, and several lodges and several other events; I can relate this article to something very sacred and special for the person that would have worn it.
As a person who has made pipe bundles for elders etc, I can state I know where you are coming from but remember everyone comes to the table with an approach all of our own arrival;
For the unfamiliar, how would I or anyone make a comparison between this necklace to a familar object someone else has ; certainly no one intends a slight or to make light of sacred objects, remember we are all still learning until the creator calls us home. All the best Tom

[George]

I like your post Vance
I don`t think you show any Ignorance by asking questions,real Elders will take the time and explain things to some one with questions.{when asked at the approiate time}.
you bring up some good points in your post,about the Bandaleir its only for WARRIOR SOCIETY MEMBERS.
I have similar concerns about the necklace, {the color GREEN is a healing color}{fyi,the color purple is a healing color to}.
but what do the colors represent are they for a specific CLAN I don`t know there for I would not reproduce it.
are the colors some native persons personal COLORS{we all have are own Personal colors},I don`t know so I would not reproduce it.
the bottom line make sure you know what you are doing,you can make a fool out of yourself and your tribe or band by reproducing sacred items and wearing them.


SHELL BEADS Vance there are several types of Shell beads
TUBE BEADS=they look like hair pipe,but they are made of shell.
BARREL BEADS=they look like small barrels,they are made of shell.
SMALL DISK BEADS= these look like a button,round some what,thin hole in the center.
Wampum BEADS= the wampum that I know of are small round shell beads.{the ones that were gifted to me are white and they have straight edges}

George

[vance hawkins]

Well thank ya, George. I appreciate it. There is a lot of "cultural sharing" between tribes, and some people will and do wear things for which the original meanings have been lost -- it happens. I don't know what the solution to that is. I think people here are doing the right thing in seeking information as to the meaning of these shells and colors of this item.

You have taught me something I didn't know about shells and colors, wa-do. I try to remember to share something when I ask for something, sort of like a trade.

Some of my ancestors, who once lived in the eastern woodlands and perhaps even on the Atlantic seaboard (at least near it, but I am not sure). But we have ended up here in the Southern Plains, where there are not very many big trees, and where it is a lot dryer climate. The only trees on the local mountains are cedars and mesquite. They are mostly aged granite rock piles. I am just seekin' to find out more about where my ancestors lived and their lives, which are/were so different from mine.

I do know "a tiny little bit" about the topic, but it's been my experience that "a little bit" of knowledge about something can lead to makin' "very big" mistakes about it -- gotta be careful . . . makin' assumptions that aren't true, and never were true, can be the end result. I think You understand my way of talkin about things, and haven't misinterpreted me. Your concerns about this artifact and mine I think are the same.

Well yall've gotten my curiosity up now. I think I'll do an internet search . . . this internet is so handy! :)

vance

[Tom]

Hello ALL,
Vance if you do a short search on the web you'll find many references to wampum shell beads, usually made from Quohog mussels shell in the northeast, (probably due to thickness and color) and several other species through out North America.
I was looking at some materials from eastern NC and there were many references to this type of bead there including some images of some really interesting long tubular types that occur historically on the "Prairies" not plains.
Also there use of conch shells figure prominently here aswell since many of these were reserved for the hiearchy, why I don't know perhaps because of the great task in obtaining these shells., I live in canada and several have been found up here the borders of course being a mute point back then.
Colours always come into play and there is a system that few people recognize in that they are divided into catagories in a vertical and horizontal complex, red and white used to be the colours of peace and war and copuld still be but they are also male and female, they call in the day and night and refer to the colours of energy that people will call apon in both sacred and secular uses.
The best way to help explain this is a concenteric cicrle inside is the personal fire next the family and clan fire outside of this is the peoples fire and lastly the NAtions fire, the energy moves in and out placing the vertical powers on this moves from stone and mineral through plants insects animals to man and lastly to the One who thinks with purpose.
Remember that faith is creation and even stones have faith that they exist in the form of stones.

I'll have more on the necklace in the time to come .....
the ebst to All Tom

[Linda]

the bottom line make sure you know what you are doing,you can make a fool out of yourself and your tribe or band by reproducing sacred items and wearing them

I believe that's basically what we've all been saying since we found out what the necklace was for.

[George]

Maybe I missed something Linda,or miss read something Linda.
ON 11-7-03 you made a post for tom ,is the way I read it ,and in that post it says.

{I do not see anything wrong with making one of these but since you know what it is and understand its use then if you make one use it in the same way.}


I could of miss read something or took it the wrong way,but it sounded to me like tom was saying it was not only OK to make a SACRED necklace ,but ok to use it.


George

[Tom]

Hello All
Iam still having trouble posting if this goes up great! look for a lengthy reply on this Friday.
My first question is what makes this type of an article so sacred that it make you all squirm?
It is a strand of beads, reinterpreting a strand of beads with ribbons attached to it is not a sin, even you said George sacred medicine is applied to the object! That is what makes the object sacred not because it is a collection of beads and ribbons, we do not know the exact function of this necklace, and I intend to find out and will post it for all to read.
Yes make something simular if it please you, and wear it to memorials (if you know what it is) intended for; if it helps you; do it.
Name one piece of POw wow regalia used today that is not based on a "sacred object" , JUST ONE!
Everything at a pow wow has its origins in some sacred ceremony event, object, song or concept. This is how we are reinterpreting these objects in our time.!
The reinterpretation of the object is not a sin, its what makes it a viable part of Native American traditions , perhaps some do not understand that there is a ceremony that both gives and takes away the sacredness of an object.. and many objects were not given up as complete pieces the "medicine" was removed prior to doing that. WE do not know if that was done here or not.
Let me say in closing that I did not start this quest last week, I have studied both formally in informally with many people, after 30 years of study I have seen this over and over again, "IT'S SACRED" but no one can really come up with the goods why, just that it is, the reason is , is because it was taken through a chain of events that imbued it with a value, making a object does not make it sacred, it use does.
I had this explained when an elder showed me a snare that was made from the spine of a very large eagle feather, I said it's sacred ! and he said it's a snare! all the best 'til Friday Tom

[Linda]

Personally, I read the book about the adoption ritual, and know someone who's been taking part in it, so I was very awed to see what appears to be a necklace used in it. It trips me out to think that these Ancestors we are chasing, who seem to be coaxing us to do just that, have a religion still going on. Not bad for an "extinct" people.

So personally, no, I wouldn't make it, or have one, unless I was invited to by those involved. All this is pretty much getting to be religion to me that I couldn't take lightly, or in a cerebral, academic way.

Ordinarily, I would agree with Tom about items we come across related to our ancestors, that no one living knows much of anything about. In that case our attempts to re-create them are perhaps the best way there is to memorialize or honor what once was. But, knowing what I do about this ceremony, it would be like taking something very special and alive and turning it into something common and dead. That would be pretty stupid, wouldn't it?

[Tom]

Hello Its friday, I did track down the answers to my questions ; let me say if you look thro' my postings there are suggestions where to look for ideas that may help develope a necklace that it is unique to the SAponi town people( tube beads etc from Occaneechie Town) but don't replicate what is already out there, the Ohio people are especially interesting.
In the future I believe it best that we all do our own research and maybe one day come together to share, that's it!
The goods are out there one just has to look in the direction to find them,,, enough to rebuild the total tribal styles. All The best Tom.

[Linda]

Two developments with this. I heard from a Mohawk acquaintance at Six Nations whose family has been involved with keeping culture alive for generations. I asked him if this is the necklace used in the Adoption ritual and he said no, it's not. It's a necklace used for adornment.

I also just heard from a lady at the American Museum of Natural History and she said,


The Tutelo shell necklace was collected by M. R. Harrington in 1907 from the few Tutelo living with the Cayuga on the Six Nations Reserve. The necklace is made of some kind of shell, but the purple quahog shell does not appear in it. Harrington called it wampum. Harrington mentions this necklace in a short article published in the American Anthropologist in 1909.

She's offered to send me a copy of the article. She also stated that the Monaca appelation was in error and has now been removed.

I'll report on the article when I've read it.

[Linda]

The lady at the museum wrote me back that the article she's sending me by Harrington does identify the necklace as the one used in the adoption ceremony. Well, how are we going to go about sorting this out?

[Tom]

Hello , After considereing this and not being clear about the issues that I have presented, this is not to say that others have not, I believe that it should be up to the individual to deal with this, I said "if you know what it is respect it", that means if you know what the original is all about then respect it, different views will always surface.
The one event I do not want to happen is that perhaps someone might make and wear one and be scolded for it, beads and ribbons do not make anything sacred the objects use does, find a place of balance and take a stand , all the Best Tom

[CoheeLady]

When I looked at the picture of the necklace several thoughts came to mind. First I thought about the time and love that was put into making it. The hands that made this necklace belonged to a person who cared about their heritage. I don't just see a necklace, I see a person. If only we could only treat each other with the same care and respect, what a kind place this world would be.
Coheelady

[Tom]

My last post; read what I have said it's not disrespectful in any way, and I will not be posting my research on this forum in the future Tom

[ghostkeeper]

I have read all of these posts, I think if there's no gain on Toms part he's just sharing, letting averyone know, I think that was lost sight of. I'd like to know more about this

[CoheeLady]

I edited my post above for one reason. I read it again realizing my words didn't hold true to my personal Christian beliefs. As I was taught never to treat an object as sacred.
Coheelady
Merry Christmas!

[Linda]

I hope Tom reconsiders about sharing his research. I know I'd be at a loss without it. I know I never meant any disrespect towards his opinions. I'm still not comfortable with making a necklace even inspired by this one, till I know for sure it's not something used for the ritual. That's just me. The existence of the ritual is something super significant to me, and I don't want to trivialize it. But that doesn't mean that someone else dealing with it for their own reasons in their own way, is doing something I've judged wrong.

If my expressing my opinions was troublesome, my apologies. I did not mean them as a judgment on anyone else's feelings or opinions.

[Tom]

Hello All, in the future when I find something that I feel is worthy of sharing with this group I'll post the info to the site book or otherwise and the interested parties can make the effort to track the materials down.
Since not everyone is interested in material culture I feel that it be sited and that way each can come to thier own decision .
To all that sent emails thank you.
To all of the "Saponi Towners" have a Merry Xmas.
Tom