IROQUOIS KINSHIP 1

Iroquois Kinship
ANT 101: Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
November 4, 2012

IROQUOIS KINSHIP 2

IROQUOIS KINSHIP The origin of the Iroquois tribe dates back centuries, much before the Europeans settlers first arrived on North American soil. I will discuss the kinship system of the Iroquois tribe, describe three specific examples of how the kinship of the Iroquois culture impacts the way this culture behaves and compare this culture to my own society. Other names for the Iroquois are Haudenosaunee, People of the Longhouse, and the Six Nations. The Iroquois Indians lived in what is now New York State along the St. Lawrence River. “The Iroquois Indians were known as the "Five Nations". The league was formed before European contact. The original five nations are Cayuga, Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, and Seneca. The Tuscarora joined later, after European contact, and became the sixth nation.” (Miller, 2000-2001) The Iroquois originated from Up State New York. Throughout migration they gained control of most of the northeastern United States and eastern Canada. In 1680, “their empire extended west from the north shore of Chesapeake Bay through Kentucky to the junction of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers; then north following the Illinois River to the south end of Lake Michigan; east across all of lower Michigan, southern Ontario and adjacent parts of southwestern Quebec; and finally south through northern New England west of the Connecticut River through the Hudson and upper Delaware Valleys across Pennsylvania back to the Chesapeake. IROQUOIS KINSHIP 3 Kinship systems in Foraging and Horticultural based societies provide support for people in all stages of their life. Iroquois men were in charge of hunting, trading, and war. Iroquois women were in charge of farming, property, and family. Iroquois clans were ruled by women, who made all the land and resource decisions for each clan. But the chiefs, who made military decisions and trade agreements, were always men. In the Iroquois world, the husband had no real authority over his wife. The women in the longhouse all belonged to the same clan. When a woman married, her husband moved to his wife's longhouse. When the man would move in with his wife he would only bring a few of his belongings with him. If the couple were to have a child then that baby would become part of the mother’s clan. If the couple had a boy then he would grow up and once he married he would move into his wife’s longhouse. Of all the women in the tribe the elderly women were the ones who help the full control. Longhouses were so important to the Iroquois way of life that the Iroquois call themselves "the People of the Longhouse". The longhouses were measured by the number of campfires that you had burning. The language of the Iroquois could be heard in 6 different forms. They spoke, “Mohawk, Seneca, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Tuscarora. Some Iroquois people could speak more than one of these languages. In particular, important Iroquois men usually learned Mohawk, because Mohawk was the language they usually used at the Great Council and at Iroquois religious festivals.” (OMAH, 2012) Each tribe or nation was made up of clans. Family members belonged to the same clan named for an animal such as Bear, Wolf, Turtle or Deer. Every tribe had a number of clans.

IROQUOIS KINSHIP 4
All people in a clan were descended from a common female ancestor. Male and female clan members of the same age thought of themselves as brother and sister. When you were born into a clan, you stayed in that clan for life. Since you were related to your clan members, you had to marry someone from another clan. In the Kinship system of the Iroquois, (also known as Bifurcate merging), “has both classificatory and descriptive terms; in addition to gender and generation, also distinguishes between parental siblings of opposite sexes. Parental siblings of the same sex are considered blood relatives. However, parental siblings of differing sex are labeled as "Aunt" or "Uncle as the situation necessitates. Thus, one's mother's sister is also called mother, and one's father's brother is also called father; however, one's mother's brother is called father-in-law, and one's father's sister is called mother-in-law. Children of the parental generation are considered siblings (parallel cousins). The children of an Aunt or an Uncle are not siblings, they are instead cousins (cross cousins specifically).” (Haviland, 2002) An extended family includes a number of family units consisting of parents and children, plus grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. In an Iroquois longhouse there may have been 20 or more families which were all related through the mothers' side, along with the other relatives. “Members of a clan are all descendants of the same person. In Iroquois clans this person was a woman. All the people in the clan traced their heritage back to her through their female ancestors. Each Iroquois person was born into a clan and remained in that clan for life. Being related, people within a clan could not intermarry; one had to marry someone in a different clan.” (NYSM, 2012) The Iroquois clans are very close and every decision is within this tribe is made with the opinion of others within the group. They have very strong beliefs that their culture lives by. Iroquois society is the kinship structure that allows everyone a place of value. “The Iroquois kinship system
IROQUOIS KINSHIP 5 recognizes two groupings: (1) parents and siblings, who are too closely related to marry, and (2) potential spouses and in–laws. Among the Iroquois, a person marries his or her cross cousin, whereas parallel cousins are considered close relatives. Parallel cousins, the children of a parent's same–sexed sibling (father's brother or mother's sister), are treated and referred to as siblings, and their parents are treated and referred to as parents.” (Nowak & Laird, 2010) If I had to compare the Iroquois kinship to my own culture I would say that things are a lot different. For many of us family is of great importance. We try to communicate and see each other on all major holidays no matter the miles that may separate us. The Iroquois women had all the control of their villages whereas women today struggle to be considered equal to men. When a woman decides to marry these days they usually take the man’s last name and are usually the ones to re-locate. There are still many languages spoken in the American culture and it’s become more of a common living ground for all cultures. We are not forced to live in a specific place or even worship a particular God just because of our background or culture. There are however some communities that still live in the “old” times and use a horse and buggy, women are dominated by the men, women must wear a dress or skirt at all times, ECT. I believe that marring your first cousin is just absurd and disrespect to your family but there are 20 states in the United States that say otherwise. Most of the states have stipulations on this but in the states of “Alaska, Alabama, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Washington D.C., and Shelbyville allow you to marry your first cousin as well as first cousin removed.” (Greenspan, 2009) Many people’s views on other cultures is very
IROQUOIS KINSHIP 6 two-sided because they don’t understand the other culture and would rather judge someone than get to know the people and the culture. Kinship in all cultures family is important but people today still believe that taking care of their own is number one. I am all for supporting my family but I am also one of those people that take care of everyone else before me. I just wish people these days could be more open minded and less judgmental.

IROQUOIS KINSHIP 7
References
Haviland, W (2002) Cultural Anthropology, Wadsworth Publishing Retrieved from http://historymania.com/american_history/Kinship_and_descent
Miller, G (2000-2001) Iroquois Retrieved from http://www.mce.k12tn.net/indians/index.htm
Nowak, B., & Laird, P. (2010). Cultural Anthropology. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education.
NYSM (2012) A Mohawk Iroquois Village Retrieved from http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/IroquoisVillage/constructiontwo.html
OMAH (2012) Iroquois: What language do the Iroquois Indians speak? Retrieved from http://www.ops.org/elementary/jefferson/LibraryTechnology/Links/NativeAmericans/Iroquois/tabid/148/Default.aspx
Sultzman, n.d.) Iroquois History Retrieved from http://www.tolatsga.org/iro.html