Wampum

Wampum is a string of brown shell beads fashioned from the North Atlantic channeled whelk (Busycotypus canaliculatus) shell, and is traditionally used by Indigenous Americans, First Nations peoples, Native Americans, hobbyists, business people, and traders, who regarded it as a sacred or trade representative of the value of the artist's work. Wampum is also used for engagement, marriage, and betrothal agreements, as well as for ceremony and condolence ceremonies. The white shell beads of the whelk symbolized internal energies of peace, harmony, and contentment. Wampum is often confused with Sewant, which symbolized the outside energies of a system. Wampum beads (white) are made from the channeled whelk shell. Sewant beads (black or dark purple) are made from the Poquahock, commonly known as the quahog, quahaug, or Western North Atlantic hard-shelled clam.

File:Wampum william penn greaty treaty.jpg

Wampum belt given to William Penn at the "Great Treaty" in 1682

Wampum was not Indian money. The weaving of wampum belts is a sort of writing by means of belts of colored beads, in which the various designs of beads denoted different ideas according to a definitely accepted system, which could be read by anyone acquainted with wampum language, Wampum was commonly strung up into "belts," with the contrast between the dark and light beads making patterns. These patterns had definite meanings, and their interpretation was an important task. Usually a man was designated as "wampum keeper," and kept the wampum of his people, bringing it out when required. Belts were also exchanged, often as a form of treaty.

Wampum did serve as money for the colonists. Many Europeans did not view the American adventure favorably. Whether this "wild country" would ever repay the money invested to colonize it was not certain. There were many failures. And European governments certainly didn't want any of their money lost in the jungles and woods of the New World. So, they didn't send coins. In the adventures of early visitors to America who kept track of their expenses, wampum shows up everywhere.

This use of wampum declined since the treaties were broken anyway, and it did not matter whether they were enshrined in wampum or on paper. Native Americans went through an extremely rough period and those who were not exterminated were thoroughly demoralized. That has changed significantly in the last few decades. Native religious rites have been revived that demand wampum. The wampum collected (not uncommonly by getting the wampum keeper drunk and buying them for a pittance) and housed in museums is now being repatriated. So, after centuries, these little beads are playing the role they were made for once again.

Description

The term "wampum" is derived from a word—"wampumpeag"—in one of the Eastern Algonquian languages meaning "white strings [of beads]" (c.f. Maliseet: wapapiyik "white-strings [of beads];" Ojibwe: waabaabiinyag "white-strings [of beads]"; Proto-Algonquian *wa·p-a·py-aki, "white-strings [of beads]." Traditionally, the white beads come from the inner spiral of the whelk, the North Atlantic knobbie shell. Sewant or suckauhock is often confused for wampum. Sewant is the black or dark- purple shell bead from the quahaug or poquahock clam shell of the western North Atlantic Ocean.

Wampum beads are traditionally made by rounding small pieces of the shells of whelks, then piercing them with a hole before stringing them. Suckauhock means the black-purple beads from the quahaug/quahog shell. The terms for the black and white beads, often confused, are wampi (white) and saki (black). Wampum belts were used as a memory aid in Oral tradition, where the wampum was a token representing a memory. Belts were also sometimes used as badges of office or as ceremonial devices of an indigenous culture such as the Iroquois. When Europeans came to the Americas, they realized the importance of wampum to Native people, but mistook it for money. Soon, they were trading with the native peoples of New England and New York using wampum. Dutch colonists actually began to manufacture their own wampum.

Wampum is also considered the end product of whelk and quahog, i.e. the belts to show leadership.

Perhaps because of its origin as a memory aid, loose beads were not considered to be high in value. Rather it is the belts themselves that are wampum. A typical large belt of six feet in length might contain 6000 beads, or more. More importantly, such a belt would be a great sanctity, because it contained so many memories.

With stone tools the process is labor intensive, and the shells were available only to coastal nations. These factors increased its scarcity and consequent value among the European traders, until the Dutch glutted the market they created with it. Wampum is part of the Coat of Arms of New Brunswick.

In the area of present New York Bay, the clams and whelks used for making wampum are found only along Long Island Sound and Narragansett Bay. The Lenape name for Long Island is "Sewanacky," reflecting its connection to the "black" wampum. By the time of the arrival of the Europeans, the Pequots reputedly used their dominance of tribes around this area to gain control of the sources of the beads.

Use of Wampum

Wampum was not Indian money. Even the best dictionaries tell you it was, but this is an error. Native Americans, especially in the Iroquois Confederacy, greatly valued wampum. It was used to call a council, seat council members in the correct order, speak at the council, elect a chief, depose a chief (the chiefs were always men, but women elected and deposed them), for an adoption ceremony, during mourning, as records and deeds, as gifts and as ornament—but not for money.

Wampum did serve as money for the colonists. Many Europeans did not view the American adventure favorably. Whether this "wild country" would ever repay the money invested to colonize it was not certain. There were many failures. And European governments certainly didn't want any of their money lost in the jungles and woods of the New World. So, they didn't send coins. This was no problem in silver-rich Mexico. The Mexican "dollar" soon became a standard coin all over the world

Without coins, it was difficult for the colonists to do business. But there was already an item that could be used as currency. Wampum had value, was easily divisible and was scarce because it took a lot of labor to make. So, it was adopted as money. It was legal tender in all 13 original colonies, and at least as late as 1701 New York was still setting the official rate. White wampum was made from various shells, but the violet wampum (called also black or blue) came only from the purple portion of the quahog clam and was more valuable. Generally the rate of wampum was six white or three black beads for a penny.

In the adventures of early visitors to America who kept track of their expenses, wampum shows up everywhere. For example, when Jasper Dankers and Peter Sluyter came to New York to look for a home for their Dutch church in 1679, they paid to have their baggage brought from the ship to the hotel, customs duties, meals, ferries (including the Brooklyn ferry) and their tailor all in wampum. Church ministers complained that people were putting broken wampum, undrilled wampum, or imitation wooden wampum into the collection plates.

The Hiawatha belt symbolized the unity of the five tribes. Squares from left to right represented the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga (the "tree;} they are the wampum keepers), Cayuga and Seneca. The line between the figures indicates an alliance.

The Iroquois maintain that Hiawatha (not of the Longfellow poem; he chose the name because he liked the sound of it) formed the Iroquois Confederacy and introduced wampum. There is nothing to contradict this story and the evidence tends to support it, though many scholars prefer to scorn native tradition. Several scholars have, however, pointed out that Benjamin Franklin and others admired the rules of the Iroquois Confederacy and many of its provisions were used in forming the Constitution of the United States of America.

Wampum was commonly strung up into "belts," with the contrast between the dark and light beads making patterns. These patterns had definite meanings, and their interpretation was an important task. Usually a man was designated as "wampum keeper," and kept the wampum of his people, bringing it out when required. Belts were also exchanged, often as a form of treaty. If a quarrel arose between two parties who had exchanged belts, the wampum keeper would bring out the appropriate one and, using it as a mnemonic device, recite the terms of the original treaty.

This use of wampum declined since the treaties were broken anyway, and it did not matter whether they were enshrined in wampum or on paper. Native Americans went through an extremely rough period and those who were not exterminated were thoroughly demoralized. That has changed significantly in the last few decades. Native religious rites have been revived that demand wampum. The wampum collected (not uncommonly by getting the wampum keeper drunk and buying them for a pittance) and housed in museums is now being repatriated. So, after centuries, these little beads are playing the role they were made for once again.

Wampum as transcription

"The weaving of wampum belts is a sort of writing by means of belts of colored beads, in which the various designs of beads denoted different ideas according to a definitely accepted system, which could be read by anyone acquainted with wampum language, irrespective of what the spoken language is. Records and treaties are kept in this manner, and individuals could write letters to one another in this way."

Wampum is also used for storytelling. The symbols used told a story in the oral tradition or spoken word. Since there was no written language wampum is a very important means of keeping records and passing down stories to the next generation. Wampum is also durable and so could be carried over a long distance.

The Wing or Dust Fan belt, the widest known wampum belt, was displayed at council meetings to "keep the dust out of member's eyes." Its motif is a tree, the traditional meeting place of the council.

In modern culture

Musician Tori Amos composed a short piece entitled Wampum Prayer on her Scarlet's Walk album, which is thematically very Native-oriented. The song briefly addresses the Trail of Tears, as well as the importance of prayer to the Aboriginal American peoples.

Wampum is also the name of a popular shareware database management system based on dBASE III used on IBM-compatible PCs in the 1980s and 1990s.

Also, Comedian Mitch Hedberg referred to wampum during his "Three Easy Payments" joke, shouting "That last payment must be made in wampum!"

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Bherer, Harold. Wampum and Letters Patent: Exploratory Study of Native Entrepreneurship, Institute for Rsearch on Public Policy, 1990. ISBN 978-0886451165
• Hagerty, Gilbert W. Wampum, War, and Trade Goods, West of the Hudson, Heart of the Lakes Publishing, 1987. ISBN 978-0932334152
• Montague, Pat. The Wampum Keeper, Double Dragon Publishing, 2002. ISBN 978-1894841986
• Squire, Roger. Wizards and Wampum: Legends of the Iroquois, HarperCollins, 1972. ISBN 978-0200718202

External links

• Wampum History and Background
• 'The Tribes And The States: 100,000-Year History of North America'

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