...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...
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...Austin Gager 4/2010 Intro to Iroquois Professor Tarbell The Farming of the Iroquois The first memory I have about learning of the Iroquois was in the fourth grade. It was the first day and my teacher was describing to us what we were going to cover that year. One topic that stuck in my head was Iroquois. She told us a brief history and I was instantly intrigued. We covered everything we could but very briefly since there is so much history behind them. Two things that I took interest in where, the long houses and the farming techniques of the Iroquois. So I was very happy to find in the table of contents of the required book of my Introduction to Iroquois class Farming and Fighting. One reason I was instantly fascinated with the farming of the Iroquois is because the outdoors has always been a marvel for me. From when I was little I was curious about all living things. I live in and heir from a very rural area, which my father and I have covered much of when I was little. He got me attached to all living things. This is why the techniques the Iroquois used were so amazing to me. In my local area there are many different types of plants grown for harvest. Many just like the Iroquois, such as maize, beans, and different types of squash and pumpkins. These foods are referred to as the Three Sisters. Corn and bean crops did not originate in the northeastern part of America but much more southern in the America’s. It intrigues me on how so long ago people...
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...The Iroquois peoples Did you know the Iroquois people aren’t really one tribe? Yep they were the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca.They roamed the lands that is now the state of new york.In this book you will learn about… what they lived in, there food, the tools and weapons used by these tribes,there clothes, the roles of men, women, and children. And after Europe explored their territory. Food & Shelter So, we have the Iroquois peoples but they need to live somewhere, right? Well most Iroquois lived in longhouses. Longhouses could house about 30 families and were 60 feet long and 15 feet wide. They would make multiple fires keeping the whole house warm. But the Iroquois didn’t only use longhouses they also lived in wigwams....
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...Iroquois Indians and Lacrosse Lacrosse is a sport played worldwide and is centerpiece of the Iroquois Indian culture. This sport involves using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse (aka lacrosse stick) and because this is a contact sport, it requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh that is designed to catch and hold the lacrosse ball. The object of the game is to score by shooting the call into the opponent’s goal. The stick can be used to catch, carry, and pass the ball. This game was introduced in 1750 by the Mohawk tribe. Iroquois loved to play lacrosse because it was a source of entertainment, physical conditioning, and it was also a religious celebration as a way to honor the Creator. One of the highly celebrated traditions goes back to the Iroquois Confederacy where young warriors staged a lacrosse game for one of the league founders, Hayewat-ha, to console him for the loss of his children. Not only is lacrosse played to please the Creator but also is a rite that is sacred to the Thunders, the seven honored grandfathers who move across the sky from west to east cleansing the earth with wind and rains. Often times, lacrosse is prescribed as a ritual healing, usually recommended through a dream or fortune teller. When the Iroquois would play lacrosse, there would be approximately 100 to 150+ men on a field of a few miles long. The teams would play until one team scored 2 of 3 or 3 of 5 goals. This often took days...
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...The British Iroquois Alliance The Iroquois were a group of First Nation people living in eastern North America even before the first explorers discovered the new world. The Iroquois were the major tribe who traded and expanded their hand in the fur trade, during the sixteenth and seventeenth century. From the 1667 to the 1680’s the Iroquois maintained a good relation with the French. They allowed the Jesuits in, but due the Iroquois expansive and aggressive mentality conflict rose between the French and them. Simultaneously it brought them closer in alliance with the English. This alliance between the British and Iroquois was the first of many steps, which allowed the British to gain a strong foothold in Canada. Chapter 1: The British The British were a growing force during this period. They were taking...
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...A kinship system is the system of social relationships that constitute kinship in a particular culture. I have chosen to write on the kinship system of the Iroquois. The kinship system of the Iroquois is also known as bifurcate merging. The Iroquois trace their kinship relationship through one sex which is called unilineal descent groups. The Iroquois go through the female line. In this culture the marital partners is determined by kinship, since people must marry outside their lineage and clan. This specific kinship recognizes two groupings: Parents and siblings who are too closely related to marry, and potential spouses and in laws. While they cannot marry their parallel cousin (someone born of a sister, brother, mother, or father) they are allowed to marry their cross cousins (someone born outside of the immediate family). This process is sometimes called a sibling-exchange system. It keeps the wealth in the family and also reasserts alliances between lineages. This culture as I said before is matrilineal which means that the blood line is traced through the mother, which means that the child is the same clan or tribe as the mother no matter who the father is. They also have clans or family groupings; it affects behavior because you are not allowed to marry someone in your own clan. When marrying someone they are considered to be outsiders since when they marry they move to the clan they are married into and become a part of it. Another way this culture is affected is we...
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...The experiences we learned of ordinary citizens and soldiers who fought for the patriot cause deepen and enrich our understanding of the American Revolution is that not only respect people from that time such as George Washington but also Indians, Black slaves , middle and even the poor class. These groups were in a term where they really did not have value in society and could believe it could change their social status. Native Indian Americans supported the American side as well as the British side. British promised them land that Americans took from them if they won the war according the readings the way we lived. Although this made the Iroquois Confederacy divide and therefore ended an era were Native Americans had the biggest alliance with groups among themselves. However, Black slaves who fought in the American Revolution fought for their own liberty and for the status of slavery be ended. According to the readings and lectures they fought for both sides. White men were not really comfortable to let them fight. They were afraid that because since they were armed there was always a chance they would up rise against them. Middle and poor class also had their own personal interest besides fighting for freedom for America but also for a better future. Army was consider to be a place where poor could rise from the bottom earn money for themselves since most of the men in the army where single but they were men that had families to support. This was an opportunity for...
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...Kinship is the cornerstone for how people within a society relate to others and race lineages. Many societies trace their lineage through the father, which is called patrilineal, or through the mother which is called matrilineal. The Iroquois nation traced their kinship through the matrilineal decent lines. Kinship directly relates to how family groups think, act and live along side each other. The culture of the Iroquois can also be compared to how many American families relate to one another as well. Iroquois Lineage The Iroquois nation traced their lineage through the female sex; this is called the matrilineal line. Women of the Iroquois nation were the sole producers of food and all land was handed down to children from the female line. When a man and woman of the Iroquois nation would marry they would have to do so in an exogamous way, meaning they must and always marry outside of their lineage. The Iroquois were not to marry anyone with the same clan name thus they marry in exogamous way. “The Iroquois kinship system recognizes two groupings: (1) parents and siblings who are tool closely related and (2) potential spouses and in-laws. (Nowak, B. & Laird, P. 2010 chapter 4.5 Marriage) This is the same in modern day America American Lineage In the American culture lineages are traced through the patrilineal lines of the family. When a man and woman in today’s American culture decide to marry they will choose a partner who is outside of their family. Today it is outlawed...
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...The culture that I have chosen is the Iroquois because they are interesting and complicated kinship. In the Iroquois kinship system, a person’s mother and the mother’s sisters are called “mother,” and the father and his brothers are called “father”. Their kinship system separates their people by relation rather than generation, so instead of the children having aunts and uncles, the children would have mothers and fathers in addition to their own biological mother and father. The grandchildren and great-grandchildren would call their aunts and uncles mother or father instead of the titles that we Americans are given today. After reading on the Iroquois I found that the female is the dominate sex within the group, since women were the main producers of food and mutual owners of the land. Iroquois lineage is matrilineal which means as family’s kinship are traced through female decent. The matrilineal kinship is not as common as a patrilineal descendant group, but it is more common when it comes to horticultural groups (Haviland, 2002). In horticultural groups females are the primary gatherers of food for the group while the men cleared and burned the land and forest to prepare them for farming. The men were also small game hunters and warriors. The Iroquois live in longhouses, in which the husband lives within their wives community. The longhouses provide a compartment for each nuclear family to live. Since the Iroquois is a matrilineal group, the eldest female of...
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...rhythms and instruments from the musical traditions of Native Americans. In this essay I will explain the differences and similarities between Iroquois, a Native American tribe and African American music. Music is used for various reasons between Iroquois and African Americans. It is used for recreation, rituals and ceremonies, story telling, and language. For example, African Americans sung spiritual songs to help one another during slavery, so the master wouldn't know what they were talking about. Music was also used in Iroquois and Africans Americans society by communicating with others parts of the world. Music was used as an early sign of general cultural diffusion. (Plantinga, p.6) Music is used to help expand our world and cultures. Music is a part of most activities that African Americans and Iroquois tribes enjoy. Music is taught and learned orally by both cultures. This means that they are sung and played together easily; working together as a team. Alternation between a leader and the group is a common way of call and response. For instance, "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" is a call response song, that's sung by African Americans. Music can be taught within every culture the same, but different at the same time. Iroquois and African Americans have different types of music they listen to. Iroquois...
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...Minority Groups in the Revolution: Women, Blacks and Native American Cherdae O. Kirkland History 121 02A Instr. Shuman April 19, 2011 Introduction The American Revolution began in 1775. It was a war fought between Great Britain and thirteen British colonies. It was also called the American Revolutionary War, United States War of Independence. The conflict between the British troops and the colonist began in Lexington and Concord Massachusetts when the Patriots (colonists who rebelled against British control) fired at British Soldiers in April 1775. Tensions were mounting from the Patriots or colonists, who were an angry about having to pay British taxes with little or no parliament representation. The Patriots wanted their independence from British rule and the opportunity to form the own government system. Although the war was originally a civil war between the British and the thirteen colonies, it quickly turned into an international conflict. This war lasted for eight years. “The turmoil of the revolution disrupted traditional class and social relationships and helped transform the lives of people who had long been relegated to the social periphery---African Americans, women and Indians.” Role of Women in the American Revolutionary War During the American Revolution, women played an active role in the British and American armies. Many of these women were wives and daughters of the soldiers. A lot of the women made small contributions to the war, but those...
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...Abstract The Iroquois Indians are regarded as the original inhabitants of New York State and Ontario. Prior to being colonized by the Europeans, mainly the British and French, there were five sub-tribes in the Iroquois nation. The Iroquois Indian has existed in North America for the last 4000years. The tribe consists of a well structured social, political, cultural and economic set up. Iroquois confederacy served the purpose of uniting the Indian tribes. The confederacy consisted of six Indian nations. This union provided the Indian tribes with an upper hand when negotiating with Europeans. The Iroquois Indians also had a council known as Onondaga that formed the purpose of serving the entire Indian tribes. The tribe was able to protect its farmland as a result of establishing strong military and efficient governance. Their association with the Dutch enabled the tribe to conquer the neighboring tribes. The union, that brought five tribes together and later joined by the Tuscarora in 1712, provided the native tribes of North America authority in terms of fighting for their rights in the mainstream society. The Iroquois Indians The Iroquois are part of the Indian tribes considered in history as the original occupants of Northern America. They are believed to originate from the soil just like trees that grow in the forest. This Indian tribe lived in settlements surrounded by lakes, hills, and forests. The Iroquois Indians believe they originated near Oswego...
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... ,The Iroquois Indians, The Iroquois Indians were located in upstate New York. The men of the tribe would burn the forest so that the women could plant seeds weed and harvest the crops. There were three sisters in the vegetable family that were used the most by the Iroquois Indians, these were corn, beans, and squash. The Iroquois Indians lived in longhouses several families lived in one house. The women of the tribe were matrilineally related. They chose one older woman to organize the labor of all of the women to ensure that there was teamwork amongst them. This would make them successful as well as being fair. There was a time of European contact when 65% of the products were produced by the Iroquois women. (Johansen, 1999). The women of the tribe were valued in the community because of the labor that was performed by them, also the contributions that were made to the villages. There were many extratribal conflicts that arose and this did involve the women of the tribe. The Iroquois women were considered as cultivators, which in turn the maize was owned by them. The men were hunters, traders, and warriors, which with the contribution of the maize from the women to the warriors allowed the women to be involved in the trading war. The importance of the maize was that if the women did not like or were against a raiding activity, they were able to hold the maize from the warriors which would cause the warriors not to go.(Nowak,1979). The children of the Iroquois Indians...
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...Name: Instructor: Course: Date: Black Rose. Black Robe is a film that was released in 1991 telling the story of the first contact between Europeans from France and Huron Indians from the region of North America called Quebec. European contact in the film is established through Jesuit missionaries out to spread Christianity in continental America. The lead role is taken up by Lothaire Bluteau, who plays the character of a Jesuit priest, Father LaForgue, who is a fiery priest out to spread the gospel to the furthest reaches of the continent. The film explores various themes that are brought out to the viewer in events that take place in the course of the film. The film is an excellent depiction of real-life Indian lifestyle, cultural and belief systems that came into conflict with the white man’s religion and way of life. An analytical view of Europeans’ foray into the American continent reveals that religion was used as a decoy for colonization. This is a technique that worked well and successfully because even the Christian priests and missionaries were not aware of the role they were playing (Canby n.p). This is depicted by Father LaForgue, who holds firm convictions about his purpose and role of spreading the Christian faith to the Native Indians in order to offer them salvation and redemption. Father LaForgue approaches his quest without acknowledging that his target converts possess an established cultural and belief system that will pose as a challenge...
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...Handsome Lake, a member of the neighboring Seneca nation, received a series of visions that he called the “Good Message.” Handsome Lake had encountered Quakers in 1798 when his brother granted them residence because, unlike other Europeans, the Quakers never coveted Iroquois lands. The Good Message and Handsome Lake’s subsequent evangelical career included elements of both Quaker Christianity, such as silent prayer meetings, and traditional shamanism, such as prophetic mysticism. What work did the men do? The Women do? The children do? Mohawk men were in charge of hunting, trading, and war. Mohawk women were in charge of farming, property, and family. These different roles were reflected in Mohawk government. Mohawk clans were always ruled by women, who made all the land and resource decisions for each clan. But Mohawk chiefs, who made military decisions and trade agreements, were always men. Only men represented the Mohawks at the Iroquois Great Council, but only women voted to determine who the Mohawk representatives would be. Both genders took part in storytelling, artwork and music, and traditional medicine What was their music like? The two most important Mohawk instruments are drums and flutes. Iroquois drums were often filled with water to give them a distinctive sound different from the drums of other tribes. Most Mohawk music is very rhythmic and consists mostly of drumming and lively singing. Flutes were used to woo women in the Mohawk tribe. A young Mohawk man...
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