Native American Beadwork

Example of these traditions includes the wampum belts that were used by the Native Americans. This paper will explain the cultural and the economic uses of Wampum belt by the Iroquois tribe. History of Iroquois It is associations of six tribes that are linguistically related and are found in the northeastern woodlands. According to Ingersoll, (1883) this association is also referred as The Iroquois Confederacy. At the beginning of the 17th, before the white explorers encountered them, the Confederacy had 5,500 people and was a sophisticated society. About 1600, the beads were made of Channelled Whelk and Knobbed Whelk and by speakers of Algonquian speakers such as Pequots and native people among other. Wampum was important in the native diplomacy since it was used as a medium of exchange because of its mystic qualities that were never understood by the Europeans.

Beads which were also referred as grains had a very definite value inform of deerskins, beaver pelts and in some instances English coins (Becker, 2008). Currently, the context in which these materials were used by natives and colonists who lived in the northeast is clearly understood and the surviving wampum beads are continuing to attract more attention. The strings, shell beads, and the belts were used among the Five Nations Iroquois and other native groups. Also according to Becker, (2008) the tribesmen used both the white and the dark wampum beads. A white wampum was created using the inside part of a conch and a marine shell. The color dark wampum bead was either blue or purple color and was inclining to black and was made of Quahog, which was a profuse American clam.

Their sizes varied. These beads were laced together using a deerskin that was cut into strips and they produced bracelets, necklaces, griddles, collars, and belts. The economic systems of the Native Americans are variations of subsistence economies that depend on maintaining the relationships, and the harmony of the people involved. When the Native Americans got involved with the Europeans during the 17th century, their subsistence economy was running smooth. They exchanged their wampum beads with food other items and they did not perceive the beads as a form of money. The Europeans did not believe this when they saw that. They started to break the promises they made with the Iroquois Confederacy and this disappointed them so much since wampum belt was very important to them.

For example, to carry on diplomatic relations, Sir William Jonson needed a large supply of wampum and to do that he constantly met with head tribesmen of the northern Indians with an aim of winning friendship. In his accounts on the Indian expenses, he was able to buy large allotments of around 3,000 grains of wampum. He bought the beads alongside leather where he later used them to make the belts. The wampum belts required a lot of experience and time to make one. Making the beads was very tedious and so the Indians were very patient in doing so and in addition to that they also increased their supply. They had different ways of measuring the quality of the string like measuring them to make six beads, they measured the length of their thumbs i.

e. from the where the nails end to where the first joint started. When the burghers saw the profit and the wealth that was laying in possession of wampum they thought it as the easiest way of getting rich and so they began to make their own wampum. They used their tools of steel and this was done rapidly and because they were not as careful as the Indians, the value of wampum was lost and wampum started to depreciate. The construction of the belts was done in accordance with the events where for any specific events the belts larger belts were constructed (Joyce, 1931). The greater the size of the wampum belt the more valuable the event was and if the belt accompanied any speech then the speech became more emphatic.

The string and the belt in every case served as either a word or a complete sentence. The wampum beads on the belt were created with symbolic patterns and these patterns were passed from one tribe to another and from one generation to generation and these belts were traded from west and south. After the Native Americans who were living near the coast learned than the inland people loved beads and that they desired them so much they made them more all these caused ultimate trade between them. Many of these wampum beads were given as present especially the white ones. This is because the white color meant purity and was given to occasions that expressed purity such as childbirth. The white ones also meant that something was good and of peace.

A purple one had a meaning of more important affair, for instance, affairs of civic nature. To send messages to women they were courting and wanted to marry, the Iroquois men sent the wampum belt. In case a member of a clan was killed, then the clan was supposed to hand a wampum belt to a warrior who was known. If the warrior accepted the belt then it means he has accepted to take responsibility of revenging for the clan to uphold their honor and that of the members. If the warrior dropped the belt down, it means that he was not going to accept the responsibility of taking revenge. To mark ceremonies the belt played a huge role. For instance, the Tuscarora taken in the belt was an indication that Tuscarora was entering the Iroquois Confederacy.

By doing so, it was believed that the person was talking the truth and this was used mainly in ceremonies to ensure that the speaker tells the truth. People listening also knew the importance of holding the wampum and so they were required to keen, attentive, and respectful to the speaker and the message delivered. The functions of wampum belts continue to reign even today. They still remain to be mnemonic and historical communicative devices and not forgetting as legal documents. The belts are assigned their functions differently and the beads contain words that were spoken by the speaker and they can be translated to a specific meaning. When requesting for a fort to build for the Oneidas, the Mohawks used the belt.