Part 5

Recreation took two basic forms: sporting contests and gambling. Both were spectator sports as well as activities for the participants. The only team sport was a game that the English observers dubbed “football”. The ball was about the size of a handball. The game was played on long sandy beaches, the goal posts set a mile apart. If the rules followed the same form as those in other areas of North America where the game was played, the object was to get the ball over the goal without using one’s hands. The game might go on for two days before one goal was made, in which case the spot of play was marked at the end of the day and the game resumed there on the following day. When one tribe played against another the goal posts were hung with a great deal of wealth in wampum and other goods to go to the team that won. Players left their weapons in a common heap before play began and painted their faces as for war.[368] Before the game, men from the opposing teams met and shook hands. If the Wampanoag version of “football” was comparable to that in other places where the game was played, it was rough, and broken bones were not uncommon. In the course of a game players wrestled for possession of the ball and might be dunked in the ocean. Despite the vigorous play, however, tempers were seldom lost, and quarrels were rare. Great multitudes of people gathered for these games; women and children provided a noisy audience, calling out praises to their favorite players. When the play had ended, all joined for a great feast.[369]

Other sporting contests matched individual skills in archery, swimming, and running. Again, the contestants might be members of opposing tribes and the match one of great public interest. Marksmanship with bow and arrow was keen. The bowman held the arrow between his thumb and forefinger. In one form of shooting match the archer shot at his opponent, who would try, usually with success, to dodge the arrows. This was considered good practice for war.

European observers remarked that the Indians were excellent swimmers. Their style was designed for endurance, approximating what we would call a side stroke.[370] Children learned to swim while very young. Like swimming, running was a matter of balancing endurance against speed; the runner had to be able to keep jogging along easily for a day or more.[371]

Gambling was less active but no less competitive. Two types of gambling games were played. One, called _Puim_, was played with 50 or 60 reeds, each about a foot long. These were shuffled and dealt out to the players in such a way that different numbers fell to each; whoever had the most was counted ahead. A man that was a skillful player at this game wore some of the reeds through his ear as a challenge to anyone who might like to try to beat him.[372]

The other game was called _Hubbub_. It involved placing five bone dice, painted black on one side and white on the other, in a wooden platter, hitting the platter hard on the ground to make the dice jump up, and betting on the outcome of the color combination.[373] When this game was a contest between communities, a special arbor was built for the players who represented each group. Four poles of 16 to 20 feet high were set into the ground in a square to make this structure, and it was draped with the large quantity of wampum that was bet on the game. Hundreds of spectators would be present at an inter-tribal contest, described as having been a solemn affair. The spectators would chant “Hub Hub Hub” as the dice were being thrown, and the noise carried for a quarter of a mile.[374]

Not all gambling was a great public spectacle. It was a common activity of men at all times. It was pursued with great diligence and for high stakes; a group of men might sit for twenty-four hours without interruption for sleep, drink or food, until all had systematically gambled away the totality of their possessions—including even their moccasins.[375]

Gamblers invoked supernatural good will, sometimes by carrying a rock crystal charm. These were thought to be pieces of thunderbolts.[376] Gambling was usually a serious undertaking. In most cases players parted company in peace, however occasional disputes arose which led to violence and might ultimately result in killings.[377]

ENTERTAINMENT

Occasions for entertainment were usually activities aimed at purposes other than mere diversion. Songs, dances, and even public games had a ceremonial cast to them. A close tie-in with magic and the manipulation or propitiation of the supernatural is suggested in most cases.[378]

At various times of the year great public gatherings were held, in which the members of several local groups met for feasting, dancing, and playing games. At least two such public gatherings were held each year. One was in the spring, when large numbers of people had already congregated at certain fishing places.[379]

The other time of general public congregation was in the fall at harvest time. A dance house was built for the occasion. Dances were held at night, sometimes continuing for a week with the participants sleeping during the daytime. Both men and women gathered as spectators in the dance house; they sang accompaniment while the dancers performed one at a time. As he danced, the dancer would hand out money, knives, clothing, and the like to the needier members of the audience. When one dancer had given all he had, another would follow him, and so on.

Besides the great public gatherings, there were smaller private gatherings for various purposes.[380] One sort, to be discussed later, was to call for supernatural aid. Another was the Nikomo feast, held in the winter by members of a family for a select group of guests.[381] The host would give away as much of his wealth as he could to those who attended the feasting and dancing.[382]

Another favorite type of entertainment was story-telling and oratory. People listened with rapt attention to news and speeches. The discourse of one man might go on for an hour or two, while a large audience listened and smoked in silence; the manner of presentation was dramatic and accompanied by a great deal of gesture.[383]

The music which accompanied dances was provided mainly by singing.[384] Sometimes dances were accompanied by beating on the ground with sticks or hands along with muttering, humming and singing, but aside from these there were no musical instruments among the Wampanoags.[385]

The dances themselves are described as being “vehement in their motion”. At some dances a single dancer would perform; at others a few men and women would dance together.[386] Larger numbers of performers participated simultaneously in war dances.

PROPERTY

Adapted as they were to a mobile existence, the Wampanoags did not own large numbers of personal possessions judged by our standards. A typical list of an individual’s possessions would probably include his clothing, whatever tools he used from day to day, and his “wealth” in the form of wampum, skins, and the like. Even adding in such personal possessions as pipes and jewelry, the amount of property in this class would not have been large. At least some of this property was buried with its owner at his death.[387]

Land and the right to use it was apparently owned by the sachem. The boundaries of territory owned by a particular sachem were well defined, and from this land he allotted certain parts of it to his followers for their use. Not much is known, however, of the basis of land allotment.[388]

The sachem retained certain rights over the land used by his followers. When a deer was shot in his territory he was due the forequarters. He was also to be given the skins of deer taken in water that was in his territory. An annual tribute of food was given him by all the people, in return for, among other things, the use of his property.[389]

TERRITORIAL ORGANIZATION

In regard to the subdivision of Wampanoag territory, Vaughan offers the following statement:

Anthropologists recognize nine subdivisions on the mainland, an additional four on Martha’s Vineyard, and several others scattered throughout the offshore islands and coastal promontories. The mainland sub-tribes were generally quite cohesive, largely because of the strong leadership offered by Massasoit and his immediate heirs. The leading Wampanoag sachems kept their principal headquarters at Pokanoket (now Bristol Rhode Island)....[390]

The actual organization of the territory into political units is difficult to discover from information recorded during the seventeenth century. Ideally, there would have been a sachem over each of the Wampanoag subdivisions and under him various sub-sachems who exercised some authority over more localized areas.[391] Probably, as the passage by Vaughan suggests, true organization on a “tribal” basis was an ephemeral thing.[392]

When a leader arose who could attract and hold the loyalty of the various subdivisions of the Wampanoags, then he came to exercise some authority beyond whatever tract of land would have been considered his “territory”—that is, the land which he had the right to allot. Massasoit was such a leader. He controlled a certain territory but also commanded the support of other sachems and received gifts from them as tokens of their loyalty.[393] The absolute authority of a tribal leader like Massasoit was solid only as long as he could keep his followers in agreement with him, and dissension was not unexpected.[394] Upon the death of a sachem, there was probably considerable shuffling and re-shuffling of territorial affiliation.

GOVERNMENT

The chief Wampanoag official was known as the sachem. The same official was also sometimes called sagamore. The office was hereditary through the male line—that is, a man’s son would normally succeed him upon his death or retirement. There were some variations upon this arrangement, and occasionally wives, daughters, and nephews succeeded to the position of leadership. If the heir was too young to undertake the responsibility of leadership, the position was usually held for him until he was of age. The arrangements of regency in this event are not known. Usurpation of the sachemship did occur, and if the man who took the position away from the rightful heir could find support and proved a good leader, he could retain the position.[395]

The sachem oversaw the allotment of lands and collected tribute from his followers. This tribute was the source of his wealth. The more followers the sachem could hold, the greater his wealth, therefore people seeing his vast wealth would know he was a powerful sachem. He took pains to please his followers, since those who did not like his policies could leave and join with another sachem.[396] He provided for the poor of his domain and gave presents to his followers.[397] Probably some of the feasts recounted by European observers were given by sachems to express gratitude to loyal followers.

Several special practices were associated with the sachemship. The sachem might have several wives. The first wife (who was the “official wife”) had to be of chiefly descent. The sachem lived in a house that was more elegant than those of his subjects.[398] When strangers came to the territory they were lodged at the sachem’s residence. This allowed the sachem to display his hospitality and also gave him the opportunity to enquire into their business.[399]

A sachem made an annual tour of inspection of his lands, visiting and talking with people and generally evaluating the situation of his territory.[400] A formal tribute of corn was collected once a year, overseen by officials who were designated as _pnieses_. The corn was brought to a place near the residence of the sachem, and the pnieses officially informed him of the gift. He would then express gratitude verbally and by giving gifts to his people.[401]

The sachem alone did not decide upon the policy of the group. There were other individuals who had a voice of authority in important matters.[402] The pnieses functioned as a tribal council, without whose approval the sachem could not act in some cases.[403] In addition they were also war leaders and a personal bodyguard for the sachem when he went abroad. Old men were respected for their advice (which they frequently dispensed in long formal orations) and were consulted in decisions.[404] Likewise, a powow whose powers were respected and feared would have an influence upon the governmental sphere of tribal activities.[405]

The governmental structure also included “sub-sachems” with more local authority.[406] Their role was mainly one of attending to the needs of their own groups. Among their functions were the settling of quarrels and acting as general intermediaries between the local group and higher authority.[407]

LAW AND JUSTICE

Among the Wampanoags, and likewise with other primitive societies who lack full-time legal and judicial specialists, the business of punishing wrongdoers and settling disputes was often a matter of selecting the most expedient course of action in the current situation.[408] For certain sorts of cases, however, there were well-established patterns observed and recorded by the seventeenth century chroniclers.

The chief judiciary was the sachem. He also functioned as the jury, sometimes with the additional counsel of other wise men, and in most cases he carried out whatever punishment was decreed.[409] Regularly recognized crimes were robbery, adultery, murder, and treason. For theft, the first offense resulted in a degrading public rebuke. If the offender stole a second time, he was beaten by the sachem “with a cudgel on the naked back”. The third offense resulted in a more severe beating, and he “... hath his nose slit upwards, that thereby all men may both know and shun him”.[410]

Adultery was punished by the wronged party, who would beat the offender, sometimes to death—in which case his death could not be revenged. The adulterous wife was kept or sent away at the husband’s wish. If the husband was the offender, his wife might leave him, but there is no other form of punishment recorded.[411]

Death was the punishment for murder. The regular procedure was to bring the offender before the sachem, who would pass judgement. The condemned man was then blindfolded, compelled to kneel and was bludgeoned to death by the sachem. Revenge was eagerly sought by the kinsmen of a murdered man.[412] They might take matters into their own hands and seek out the offending party, especially if the formal channels of justice did not first offer them satisfaction.[413] This was more likely to happen when the suspect belonged to another tribe.[414] If he were a valuable man, his sachem might be reluctant to execute him.[415] In lieu of the actual offender, one of his close relatives might be executed for the offense.[416] It was also possible to escape retribution by purchasing forgiveness of the offended group of kinsmen if enough wampum or other goods could be given.[417]

Treason also was usually punished by death.[418] When the offender fled before his treachery was discovered, the sachem sent special messengers with his own knife to find and execute the guilty party. The head and hands were brought back to the sachem as proof of a mission accomplished.[419] This procedure was also used to dispatch suspected leaders of intrigues against the sachem when it was feared that a public execution might throw sentiment to the side of the traitor’s faction.[420]

Etiquette required that all punishments, whether beatings or death, were to be borne with a show of outward calm. If one were to cry out, show pain, or try to escape, it was considered to be an unspeakable disgrace.[421]

Serious disputes that could not otherwise be worked out might be settled by combat between the two parties involved. In this case, each man was armed with his bow and a quiver of arrows. They would cast lots for a choice of the tree to use as a shield. From behind their respective trees they would shoot at each other until one or the other was killed. The scars of wounds received in this kind of combat were displayed with a great deal of pride.[422]

Inter-tribal justice, as the preceding suggests, was of a dubious nature. If one tribe were wronged by a member of another, emissaries were sent to ask for compensation. Whether or not it was given was a matter up to the tribe of the offender. Satisfaction might involve taking the offender’s life or the payment of a fine to compensate for loss through theft or killing. If satisfactory reparations were not made the offended party usually tried to forcibly take the equivalent in lives or goods to what had been lost.[423]

SOCIAL PROBLEMS

Wampanoag society also had its problems of insanity, widows, orphans, old people, and poverty. Friends or relatives usually provided for those in need of care. If they could not, however, it was up to the sachem to see that the needy were sustained; it is said that no one in the tribe went unprovided for.[424]

SOCIAL STRATIFICATION

There were three basic divisions within Wampanoag society: (1) the sachem and members of the “royal family”; (2) ordinary members of the community; (3) resident non-members (generally captives of war) who acted as servants.[425] However, within these categories there was considerable difference in the wealth and importance of members. There were also statuses within the groupings that carried special implications, such as warrior, powow, wife of sachem, older man, etc.

There were certain visible signs of social standing in Wampanoag society. The person of wealth or noble birth wore zoomorphic tattoos on his face.[426] His house had mats of an especially fine quality.[427] He wore a lot of wampum and had it woven into caps and aprons to show his lack of immediate need for this money.[428] He could have more than one wife.[429] He might have servants to do household tasks, and his wife could have a nurse for the children.[430]

INTERPERSONAL RELATIONS

English observers of the Wampanoags were impressed with the hospitality the Indians showed toward one another.[431] Any visitor was provided with a share of whatever food the household had, even if provisions were low.[432] Regardless of when a guest arrived, the courteous thing to do was to first offer him food.[433] The guest was provided with a place to sleep—usually in the family bed. In the summer the visitor might be provided with a space by having a member of the household sleep outside.[434]

Hospitality can be linked to a basic cultural pattern of value placed on, and presumably prestige afforded by, generosity. The practice of giving away goods in a public display of generosity was previously discussed. By the same token, ingratitude was accounted the worst breech of manners. Not only did the donor thus lose his goods, but also the prestige of being acclaimed a generous man if his sacrifice was not noted by the proper thanks.[435]

The Wampanoags’ hospitable attitude also extended to the English, who were fed, sheltered, guided through the woods, and advised of the movements of strangers.[436] It would have been a great discourtesy for the English guests to have refused to join their Wampanoag host for a meal, even though they found some of the food un-palatable.[437]

Certain matters of protocol seem to have been highly formalized. A greeting gesture was to stick the tongue out as far as it would go and lick the hand from wrist to finger tips.[438]

When a visitor came calling to discuss a serious matter, the occasion began with solemn formality. He entered the house and sat silently by the fire. Remaining silent, he smoked a pipe of tobacco. Having finished his pipe the visitor presented his host with a gift. The host gratefully acknowledged the gift, and then the visitor explained his business in the course of a long speech.[439]

MARRIAGE AND FAMILY

When a man wished to marry he spoke first to the woman and then to her family. Permission of the sachem was also necessary.[440] The bride’s parents were paid a sum of wampum or other goods to compensate for the loss of their daughter, and the union was solemnized by the sachem.[441] A man might get help from his relatives to pay the bride-price.[442]

If a woman felt that she was being ill-treated or became displeased with her husband for some other reason she would leave him.[443] One way was to run away and join whatever tribe her husband’s group happened to be warring with at the time.[444] When a man wished to be rid of his wife, he sent her away from him. Adultery was one reason for divorcing a wife.[445] A woman with the reputation of an adulteress might not be able to find another man who would marry her; such women sometimes became prostitutes.[446]

Wampanoags were polygynous. When a man took additional wives, one, usually the first, remained as the chief or principal wife with some degree of authority over the other wives.[447] In actual practice, not many men had more than one wife at a time. Sachems, powerful powows, and men of rank and wealth might have additional wives; apparently not all of these chose to do so.[448]

There were two reasons given for having multiple wives. First, an additional worker made a more productive household.[449] Second, a man might take an additional wife after the birth of a child; sexual relations between husband and wife were prohibited until the infant was weaned, which might be a period of more than a year.[450]

It was not common for anyone to live alone. Single persons lived with their families, and widows, widowers, or divorced persons usually also lived with relatives until another marriage was made.[451]

REPRODUCTION

Expectant mothers did not vary their normal routine of heavy work. Observers of the period noted this practice and attributed to it the ease with which women were able to deliver children. In the case of a difficult birth, the services of the powow’s magic were sought.[452]

INFANCY AND CHILDHOOD

The few observations that were recorded suggest that the Wampanoags had a high birth rate and rather high infant mortality.[453] The high number of infant deaths may have been due in part to the fact that within three days after its birth the baby was being carried about on the mother’s back in all the tasks that she went about outside.[454] Moreover, the Wampanoag style of cradle board made no provision for a device to shield the infant’s face.[455]

A baby’s clothing consisted of a coating of grease and a beaver skin or other fur wrapping in which he was bound onto the cradle board. The child was tied so that his knees were drawn up against his stomach, then when the board was set down and leaned somewhere he would be in a sitting position.[456]

Babies were soothed by the lullabies of their mothers.[457] It is said that they were generally very quiet infants and cried little. The Wampanoags were extremely fond of their children, giving them a great deal of indulgence and affection.[458] Infants were not weaned until they were over a year old.[459] Such child-rearing practices resulted in children that were “sawcie, bold, and undutifull”, according to English eyes.[460]

EDUCATION

Education was probably for the most part informal. Children learned their adult roles by watching adult activities and by being encouraged in their attempts to copy. Such practical skills for survival as swimming were taught at an early age.[461] Little boys played at shooting toy bows and arrows.[462] Girls played with miniature cooking pots, and they also participated in the work of planting and tending the fields as soon as they were old enough.[463]

An education in the beliefs and values of the Wampanoag people was gained in part by listening to the stories told by parents and grandparents.[464]

INITIATION