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A Belt to Bind Them, to Find Them, to Bring Them all Back Home

Un collier pour les lier, un collier pour les trouver, un collier pour les ramener tous chez eux
Nikolaus Stolle
p. 60-77
Traduction(s) :
Un collier pour les lier, un collier pour les trouver, un collier pour les ramener tous chez eux [fr]

Résumés

Pendant plus de deux cents ans, les colliers de wampum ont entretenu des relations étroites avec la guerre et les casse-têtes chez les Iroquoiens. Ce texte se propose d’en expliquer la fonction à partir de l’étude de quelques-uns des plus anciens casse-têtes connus à ce jour appartenant à des collections parisiennes. Les wampums étaient nécessaires pour compenser la perte d’un proche. En adoptant leurs prisonniers, les Premières Nations parvinrent à lutter contre la baisse démographique dans leurs rangs. Les colliers de wampum teintés de rouge ont disparu mais leur souvenir est resté, car ils identifiaient publiquement les chefs de guerre. Tombés en désuétude après la Révolution française, les casse-têtes collectionnés sous l’Ancien Régime, extrêmement bien conservés, offrent une occasion unique de se pencher sur le passé. Ils sont le témoin de pratiques de communication non verbale révolues dont la disparition coïncide avec la perte d’autonomie des Premières Nations.

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Texte intégral

1Wampum and war could provide the substance for a promising novel, because the title can easily be adapted to the successful “Lord of the Rings” saga, with a similar story full of dramatic situations leading to the ultimate dissolution of bondage and the beginning of peaceful times. However, we are not in the Shire, and neither is the bearer named Frodo. My intention is to immerse the reader in the Indigenous North America of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, a period of ongoing conflicts between the colonial powers France and England. Most of the bearers also remained anonymous, but some left their experiences for posterity. None of the reddened wampum belts, however, have survived, because, like the ring of bondage, they were dismantled after use. Since these belts were not only a burden but also a privilege to carry, leaders recorded them visually on their personal weapons and accoutrements.

2In order to reflect the historical significance of wampum and war, we will focus on war clubs dating from the Ancient Regime period, from the 17th to the end of the 18th century. Some of these special testimonies of wampum are in Parisian museums without precise information about their origin, age, or meaning. A close examination of these weapons will help us gain a better historical understanding of wampum and war in Indigenous North America. These are not representative examples of all the clubs that have survived from this period. Nevertheless, the surviving pieces reflect a historical depth that is applicable to further material evidence from Native North America. Before addressing the topic of wampum and war in more detail, I will provide a brief introduction to the region in question and clarify some of the terminology.

Study region

3Incised figurative and geometric patterns on wooden clubs and pipe tomahawks were widely used in Native North America (Meachum 2005; 2007; King 2007; Stolle 2012; 2018). However, the incorporation of wampum belts, or white and purple tubular shell beads woven into bands, in this pictographic repertoire correlates to the area of usage of wampum. It comprises a vast region extending from the Atlantic coast in the east to the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers in the west and from the Great Lakes in the north to the Appalachian in the south (Map 1). This territory was inhabited by many different Nations, who were grouped by scholars into four distinct language families: the Iroquoian in the east (clustered into northern or Huron-Wendat, and Haudenosaunee (Six Nations Iroquois), and southern or Cherokee) (Forster 1996: 100f.), and the Algonquian (divided regionally into three groups, based on their subsistence patterns, into eastern [such as the Abenaki], central [such as the Sauk and Mesquakie], and Plains inhabitants [such as the Blackfeet]), who fall outside the scope of this study, because they live northwest of the Missouri (Goddard 1978: 70ff; Forster 1996: 98-100). The third group comprised the Muskogean in the south (such as the Chickasaw and Choctaw) (Forster 1996: 109f.), and the fourth group comprised the numerous members of the Siouan language family (with, for example, the Catawba in the east and the Dakota in the west) (Forster 1996: 100ff.). Because of this huge area, it is surprising that most weapons lacking a sufficient provenance received a tribal attribution, varying between the generic Iroquois and Huron. Like pictographic representations of wampum belts incised on wooden handles and hafts, inlaid wampum beads date from the period of wampum’s universal usage. This defines the period of Native American autonomy, and, more precisely, dates from the introduction of the first woven belts of wampum in the early 17th century to the decline in their use in the early 19th century (see the articles of Lainey, and Núñez-Regueiro and Stolle in this issue).

Terminology

  • 1 As a second meaning “the name of a great sweat apple” is given (Cotgrave 1611: n. p.) alluding to t (...)
  • 2 The Shawnee are central Algonquian speakers who were expelled by the Seneca or Western Iroquois fro (...)
  • 3 At that time, the term “casse-teste” also refers to excessive alcohol consumption “causing headache (...)

4Written records, especially when they focus on their etymological significance, are extremely valuable, because they provide a unique insight into the evolution of languages and the shifting of words and their meanings, which would otherwise be unknown. In the Ancien Regime, French people used different terms to define foreign weapons. During the early Colonial period, all close combat weapons were named massue, which translates into English as “a club” (Cotgrave 1611: n. p.).1 At the end of the 17th century, it became more explicitly defined as “[a]rme faite d’une grosse piece de bois, lourde & grosse par un bout, & armée de plusieurs pointes. L’arme d’Hercule étoit sa massue [a weapon made of a large piece of wood, heavy & large at one end, & armed with several points. Hercules‘ weapon was his club” (Furentière 1690, 2: 576). The definition of Hercules’ club as a “massue” gives us a more precise idea of the possible shape of these striking weapons with a flaring head, and sometimes even with short, pointed boughs. The word “massue” retained its meaning throughout the 18th century (Boyer 1729: n. p.). At the end of the 17th century, French speakers introduced a second term to describe striking weapons. Henri Joutel, an explorer and soldier, used the word in March 1687, when he learned that the Shawnee2 wanted to cut the wood for their “casse-tetes,” that is to say „espèces de massues que les Sauvages font et dont ils se servent dans leurs surprises pour casser la teste [types of clubs which the Savages make and which they use in their surprises to break the head” (Margry 1876: 328).3 It defined a particular kind of club, or head breaker. However, what did these weapons look like? Two more detailed descriptions give us an idea. The first dates from before 1701 and characterizes the weapons as “bâtons qui ont la figure de coûtlas [sticks that have the shape of cutlasses]” (Bacqueville de la Potherie 1722, 3: 96), and the second from 1709, defining it as a weapon “a la figure d’une machoire est fait d’un bois dur et pesant, et a une masse ou une boulle au bout [in the shape of a jawbone made of a hard and heavy wood, which has a round piece or a ball at the end]” (Rochemontei 1904: 76). Obviously, two different kinds of wooden weapons were defined as “casse-tête” at that time, one with a three-dimensional carved bulge or ball at one end and the other a crescent-shaped club in imitation of a European cutlass or short sabre. French uses both meanings to describe war clubs in Native North America today. As early as 1744, the term “casse-tête” gained an additional connotation, when Dumont de Montigny, a French officer in Louisiane, described it as “une petite hache portative [a small portable axe]” (Bnf Ms 3459 (1744) fol. 169). This denotation, as a small hatchet, changed again in the second half of the 18th century, after the pipe tomahawk became a trade good in North America. Pierre Marie François Vicomte de Pagès provided an excellent description in 1767 during his stay in Louisiana: “[l]e [casse-tête du chef] est une espèce de hache d’armes, dont le manche creux communique au dos de la hache, sur lequel est attachée une tête de pipe en fer “[the] [chief’s] club is a kind of battle axe, the hollow handle of which communicates with the back of the axe, on which is attached the head of an iron pipe]” (Bérenger 1790, 6: 12).

5This development and the shift in meaning of terms — from a head breaker to hatchet and pipe tomahawk — clearly demonstrates how difficult an interpretation of historical written sources is, if there is no additional description; but it tells us much about the evolution of combat weapons in Native North America. The introduction of multifunctional devices like the hatchet, a tool and weapon, followed by the pipe tomahawk, with an addition or third function — a tobacco pipe — , eventually led to the displacement of the older wooden weapons, which were monofunctional.

The links between the oldest zoomorphic ball-headed club and a belt of wampum

  • 4 Some Algonquian, Muskogean, and Siouan Nations considered the otter a clan animal. The lack of a li (...)
  • 5 The X for a headless human dates back to early times, when heads were cut off and taken as trophies (...)

6Of the more than 120 different kinds of clubs, dating from the 17th to 18th century, the following ball-headed club is, to my knowledge, the only specimen with the striking head or ball carved with a zoomorphic face (Fig. 1). This club consists of a single piece of maple wood, carved from a tree trunk with its root shaped into a three-dimensional face of a predator. The round head, its close-set eyes, and the characteristic snout separated from the upper lip identify the animal as either a wolverine or fisher. Above the head, the flat shaft extends, divided at the front into two separate arms which take on the top the shape of mammals. Their reduced form, consisting of an elongated body, tail, and short legs, points to otters. Two thirds of the flat shaft is rectangular in cross section, whilst the remaining third ends in an oval profile intended as a two-handed grip. Both flat sides bear incised geometric decorations and the left side also bears a figurative pattern in differing depths of cut. The left side features an outlined, rectangular human torso with a round head, including three dots denoting eyes and a mouth colored in red. This figure represents the owner himself with, on his chest, light outlines of two predators looking at each other (Meachum 2007: 69-70; Stolle 2018: 72-73). These are similar to the three-dimensional carved otters, but have a shorter, more solid body with upturned ears on the head. They most probably represent wolverines with their characteristic, pointed tails, in contrast with fishers’ bushy tails. They refer to the owner’s guardian, which he had tattooed on his chest and carved into the ball of his club, intended to hit the enemy in battle. However, the outlined otter denoted his family or clan.4 Underneath his figure are incised 13 Xs, which are barely visible because they are very lightly cut. The same number of Xs is incised deeply into the surface, extending from the left side to the center of the handle. Each X represents one human without a head nor arms. The thirteen Xs show the number of enemies killed or scalped during his life, connected above by a line.5 There are some light incisions visible beside the last X consisting of parallel bars, and the lowest is crowned by a hook. This pattern is particularly interesting, because it represents a belt of wampum. The following paragraph will explain the meaning of this representation; used as a record, warriors could link wampum to their weapons.

Fig. 1. Anthropomorphic ball-headed club: head of a wolverine (?) and two otters. Northeastern North America, 1700s. Maple wood (root ball), traces of red and black paint, paper label, stamped label, length 59.3 cm. Paris, Musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac, 71.1917.3.11 D. Former Collection of Prince de Condé, château de Chantilly, before 1793.

Fig. 1. Anthropomorphic ball-headed club: head of a wolverine (?) and two otters. Northeastern North America, 1700s. Maple wood (root ball), traces of red and black paint, paper label, stamped label, length 59.3 cm. Paris, Musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac, 71.1917.3.11 D. Former Collection of Prince de Condé, château de Chantilly, before 1793.

© musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac, photo Pauline Guyon.

Wampum belts and warfare

  • 6 Edmund Bauley O’Callaghan first published an English translation, which sometimes differs from the (...)
  • 7 The only exception is the sixth representation of the “famille de la pomme de terre [family of the (...)

7The earliest visual representation of a war belt of wampum dates to circa 1666 and is part of a French copy of a Native American drawing, (Fig. 2). The accompanying description of the copy begins with “[l]a Nation Iroquois est compose [the Iroquois Nation is composed]” (ANOM, C11 A 4, n. d. [c. 1666]: fol. 264; see O’Callaghan 1849: 3).6 Scholars attributed the copy to the Seneca or the most western Nation of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois), because of the nine clans shown in profile in the upper half (Fenton 1978: 299). Each clan animal bears a weapon for close combat, such as a ball-headed club, hatchet, or cutlass.7 In the lower center of the copy are depicted two animals facing each other, marked by the letter “G” and described as “Conseille de Guerre entre La famille [clan] de L[‘]Ours et celle du Castor ils sont frere [War Council between The family [clan] of the Bear and that of the Beaver they are brothers]” (ANOM, C11 A 4, n. d. [c. 1666]: fol. 266r; see O’Callaghan 1849: 7). On the left, a bear (H) offers to a beaver (I) a belt of wampum, identifiable on hand of the fringes at both ends. The wampum belt (L) is described as “un collier qu[‘]il tient dans ses pattent [pattes] pour aller venger la mort de quelqu’un et il est apres conserver de cela avec son frere le castor [a wampum belt that he holds in his paws to go and avenge the death of someone and then he keeps it with his brother the beaver]” (ANOM, C11 A 4, n. d. [c. 1666]: fol. 266r; see O’Callaghan 18491: 7).

Fig. 2. Pierre-Joseph-Marie Chaumonot (attributed to), Reproductions of Indigenous pictographs indicating in particular clan names attributed to the Seneca Nation, c. 1666. Ink drawing on paper, 49 x 35 cm. Aix-en-Provence, Archives nationales d’outre-mer, C11 A2, fol. 263.

Fig. 2. Pierre-Joseph-Marie Chaumonot (attributed to), Reproductions of Indigenous pictographs indicating in particular clan names attributed to the Seneca Nation, c. 1666. Ink drawing on paper, 49 x 35 cm. Aix-en-Provence, Archives nationales d’outre-mer, C11 A2, fol. 263.

© ANOM.

  • 8 Unfortunately, Lafitau’s publication contains observations made by his mentor Julien Garnier, a mis (...)

8Obviously, belts of wampum were presented by a relative of the deceased to a member of another clan to repair the loss, as in this case by a bear to a beaver in a council of war. This short description says much about the historic Iroquois (today’s Haudenosaunee). First, any loss, whether natural or violent, had to be substituted; secondly, the repair had to be made by someone from outside the clan who was not affected by the death and mourning, and thirdly a belt of wampum was presented to initiate this action. To understand the need for condolence for individual losses, Joseph François Lafitau,8 a Jesuit who stayed among the Mohawk of Sault Saint Louis (today’s Kahnawake) from 1711 till 1717, provides the most insightful explanation:

The families, [clans…], are sustained only by the number of those composing them, whether men or women. It is in their number that their main force and chief wealth consist. The loss of a single person is a great one, but one which must necessarily be repaired by replacing the person lacking by one or many others, according to the importance of him who is to be replaced.
(Lafitau 1977[1724], 2: 99)

  • 9 See the rest of the notes p.68)For example, in the case of the Huron at Lorette (today’s Huron-Wend (...)
  • 10 Mats, made of plant fibers, were used to sleep on, and each warrior had his own mat. He took it wit (...)

9This quote explains the reason for waging war among the Iroquoian, which is obvious, and valid for the Algonquian, the Siouan, and the Muskogean as well, because they were small in number at that time and the endless wars between the European colonial powers led to a decline of their members.9 Without the strategy of adopting Native and Euro-American captives, most Nations would probably have been dissolved. When someone died or, using the metaphoric language of the time, was placed on the mat,10 the clan mother turned to the most capable individual among her male members, a successful warrior, to satisfy her desires by offering him a belt of wampum to set up a war party and make up for the loss (Havard 2007: 109 ff.).

Fig. 3. Ball-headed club inlaid with white and purple wampum. Northeastern North America, before 1688. Maple wood (root ball), sea snail, quahog (Mercenaria mercenaria), traces of red and black paint, paper label, length 50.8 cm. Paris, Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève, 128. Former Collection of the Cabinet Du Molinet, before 1688.

Fig. 3. Ball-headed club inlaid with white and purple wampum. Northeastern North America, before 1688. Maple wood (root ball), sea snail, quahog (Mercenaria mercenaria), traces of red and black paint, paper label, length 50.8 cm. Paris, Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève, 128. Former Collection of the Cabinet Du Molinet, before 1688.

© Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève.

Raising a war party and handling a belt of war

  • 11 Sir William Johnson, Superintendent of Indian Affairs for the northern British districts in North A (...)

10However, as explained above and documented in 1666, a belt of wampum was presented by an individual to raise an Iroquois war party. Women could not wage war nor conclude peace, meaning they were not autonomous (Lafitau 1724, 2: 164). But, behind the scenes women were influential, and they could initiate a campaign by offering a belt of wampum to a warrior, as explained above.11 Then the future leader performed the ceremonies necessary for the formation of the war party, which will not be described or analyzed in detail as it is not the focus of the present study. Nevertheless, Lafitau provided a short description giving a general idea of the procedure, when talking about the Iroquoian warriors and their obligations:

  • 12 The same procedure was described more than a century earlier in 1639 by Paul le Jeune, a Jesuit pri (...)

He who wants to raise a party or thus engaged to do so, furnishes a wampum belt or, if he has received it, shows it to those whom he wants to enroll in his expedition as the sign of his engagement and of theirs.
(Lafitau 1724, 1: 167; Fenton 1998: 26f.)
12

11Consequently, a belt of wampum could be provided in two ways: firstly, as an invitation by a woman or any other member of the clan, who wanted to replace some of their deceased relatives, or, secondly, by the future leader of the raid himself.

  • 13 Pierre Pouchot (1712-1769) maintained good relations with the Native Americans during his time as c (...)

12Let us start with the final act the leader performed with the belt of wampum, to find his followers and mates for the future campaign. Pierre Pouchot,13 commander of Fort Niagara, maintained cordial relations with the natives; indeed, they were prime allies for the French in the war against Britain:

  • 14 Pouchot was in close contact with the Iroquois at the mission of La Présentation, as well as with M (...)

The war chief […] announces his plan with a[s] threatening an air as he can manage & invites those who are courageous to follow him. He ends by throwing disdainfully to the ground a belt of black wampum with red paint on it, inviting those men with pluck to pick it up & announcing that he will award it to the man who shows himself to be the bravest.
(Pouchot 1781, 3: 339f.)
14

  • 15 There is a lack of an analysis of the significance of colors and their meaning in Algonquian cultur (...)

13The belt of black or purple wampum was coated or rubbed with red paint, or vermillion as is sometimes recorded (NYCD 1856, 7: 385). By coloring the belt, its meaning changed from signifying an earnest desire to being a belt of war. The color red was defined by the Iroquoian in historic times as “anti-social states-of-being” or the color of blood and life (Hamell 1992: 456f.).15

14In the same way, tribal and national war parties were formed. Louis Antoine de Bougainville, aide-de-camp of Marquis de Montcalm, commander in chief of the French forces during the French and Indian War (1754-60) in North America, wrote in 1757:

The term to untie means to send back and is taken by the fact that one invites the Savages to an expedition by presenting them with a necklace, and when they accept it, it is a pledge that they bind themselves to follow the general in the name which it is presented and for the expedition which is announced to them.
(cf. Hamilton 1964: 98; Bougainville 2003 [1756-1760]: 176)

  • 16 The Oneida belong to the Six Nations Iroquois. They settled in the west next to the Mohawk, or “Kee (...)
  • 17 The same source described the belt as a “French Hatchet Belt, very large, consisting of 6,000 wampu (...)
  • 18 The best description is provided by Bougainville in a letter addressed to Marc Pierre de Voyer de P (...)

15His comment evokes the campaigns initiated privately and the function of these belts of wampum — to bind them or keep their promise. Besides the commonly shared meaning, the war belts were much larger than their private counterparts. Bougainville noted the same year that the “Marquis de Vaudreuil [governor of New France] laid at the feet of the Oneidas16 a war belt of six thousand beads, painted red, and on which a hatchet was shown” (Hamilton (1964: 111; Bougainville 2003 [1756-1760]: 186). Actually, the belt’s size increased its value and importance, in order to attract attention and invite an entire nation. But, unlike the wampum belts used for small war parties, communal belts of wampum often had the figure of a hatchet worked in with white wampum. In colonial times these belts, which were painted red with vermillion, were called “hatchet belts.” Vaudreuil’s belt was mentioned again at the eve of the war in 1759, as Conoquieson, an Oneida chief, handed the belt over to Sir William Johnson accompanied by the following speech: “I here present you with a Hatchet (Belt of wampum with ye figure of a Hatchet worked on it) for you to use against the English” (NYCD 1856, 7: 385).17 These national war belts were delivered to the single largest nation that took part in a campaign, because they provided the principal number of warriors.18 This act of giving the wampum belt recalls the quotation above — the privately offered belt was given to the most courageous warrior. In both cases, the belt was rewarded for strength and bravery. If the belt was taken up from the ground, the nation or warrior accepted the invitation to join a war. This belt-related obligation also explains why Indigenous people often wanted to get rid of the national belts, because they were related to human suffering and death. One such instance was, for example, recorded in 1795 when Tarke, chief of the Wyandot (Huron-Wendat), argued:

“You may burn it if you please, or transform it into a necklace for some handsome squaw and, thus change its original design and appearance, and prevent, for ever, its future recognition. It has caused us much misery, and I am happy in parting with it”.
(Clark and Lowrie 1832, 4: 574)

Dead or alive

  • 19 The meaning and use of scalps in Indigenous North America are poorly understood. This lack of under (...)
  • 20 Illustrations of women from the period show that the belt resembled a choker, a kind of necklace th (...)

16Taking a captive was one of the greatest achievements a warrior could attain, because of the difficulty of escorting a prisoner back to his camp in a speedy and inconspicuous way. Firstly, adult captives tried to escape, and, secondly, Euro-Americans, in particular, were not used to the great hardships that the warriors endured on their forced marches — they went for days without food and hardly slept or drank to prevent a surprise attack (Snow et al. 1996: 64-66). Scalps19, whether taken from the dead or living, were only considered a substitute for a prisoner, since the main aim was to strengthen one’s own community and to replace the deceased. As soon as the homecoming warriors reached their ancestral territory, they paused to indigenize their captive, to cut their hair and clothe them according to the prevailing tribal fashion. In this context, the captive had a red-colored wampum belt tied around the neck. Pouchot described these belts as “comme nos Dames le portent [sort worn by our ladies]” (Pouchot 1781, part 3: 351; see Snow et al. 1996: 65). His comparison implies the wampum belts were small.20

Fig. 4. Ball-headed club, Northeastern North America, 1700s. Maple wood (root ball), traces of red and black paint, paper label, stamped label, length 59.3 cm. Paris, Musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac, 71.1917.3.11 D. Former Collection of Prince de Condé, château de Chantilly, before 1793.

Fig. 4. Ball-headed club, Northeastern North America, 1700s. Maple wood (root ball), traces of red and black paint, paper label, stamped label, length 59.3 cm. Paris, Musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac, 71.1917.3.11 D. Former Collection of Prince de Condé, château de Chantilly, before 1793.

© musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac, photo Pauline Guyon.

Fig. 5. Redrawing of incised records on the handle of the ball headed club 71.1917.3.11 D: representation of a wampum belt and mats serving as carpets.

Fig. 5. Redrawing of incised records on the handle of the ball headed club 71.1917.3.11 D: representation of a wampum belt and mats serving as carpets.

© Nikolaus Stolle.

  • 21 Most of his experiences are based on his observations made among the Christianized Iroquois of the (...)
  • 22 As mentioned before (see supra, n. 12), the belt of wampum is linked with the name of the deceased. (...)
  • 23 The name-giving ceremony was first documented among the Huron (today’s Huron-Wendat) in 1642. “This (...)

17Fortunately, he is one of the few witnesses who provided an explanation for the meaning of the act, which “signifies his status as a slave” (ibid.). This insight into the meaning of Iroquoian and Algonquian21 actions enables a comparison with other rites in which a wampum was placed around the neck.22 Nowadays, Haudenosaunee (Six Nations Iroquois) still say, when an individual receives a name, that it is “hung around the neck,” which means that it is bestowed by the clan which owns the names (Shimony 1994: 214).23 Indeed, at this moment the nation is incorporating the individual into the community, even if for the time being he is a subordinate member or captive. In spite of the original decision to adopt a prisoner and therefore to put the wampum belt around his neck, the plan could still change. This mainly happened when the future family did not agree with the allocation of the captive for adoption. Then the captive was handed over to the young warriors and all the other members of the nation to be tortured. If the campaign was unsuccessful, a prisoner was sacrificed anyway, in particular if the deceased was a chief or high-ranking individual (Pouchot 1781, part: 357). But in the case of adoption, the belt of wampum was taken from the neck and presented by the leader of the campaign to the bravest warrior, a symbolic act to encourage warriors to do heroic deeds in future. Now that this belt was no longer needed, the new owner could dissolve it, i.e. give the beads other functions, as Tarke, chief of the Wyandot (today’s Huron-Wendat), explained in the aforementioned quote: “transform it into a necklace for some handsome squaw” (Clark and Lowrie 1832 [1789-1815]: 574). This explains why some reddened beads have been found in other belts, such as religious or votive belts (Fig. 6).

Fig. 6. Detail of a votive wampum belt with red-covered shell beads. Huron (Huron-Wendat), Jeune-Lorette (Quebec), before 1700. Sea snail, quahog (Mercenaria mercenaria), hide, red pigment, vegetable fibers, length 77cm. Paris, Musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac, 71.1878.32.155. Former Collection of the Cabinet des Médailles [Coin Cabinet], Bibliothèque nationale de France.

Fig. 6. Detail of a votive wampum belt with red-covered shell beads. Huron (Huron-Wendat), Jeune-Lorette (Quebec), before 1700. Sea snail, quahog (Mercenaria mercenaria), hide, red pigment, vegetable fibers, length 77cm. Paris, Musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac, 71.1878.32.155. Former Collection of the Cabinet des Médailles [Coin Cabinet], Bibliothèque nationale de France.

© musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac, photo Nikolaus Stolle.

A symbol of status

  • 24 In reference to the Mohawk of Caughnawaga (today’s Kahnawake), and Oka, the Huron-Wendat of Wendake (...)

18During the campaign against the Iroquois on July 7, 1687, Louis-Henri de Baugy, aide-de-camp of the Marquis de Denonville, stated that “nos sauvages24 ayant mis a terre ont découvert les pistes de 5 Hiroquois, le casse teste d’un a esté trouvé qui a esté reconnue pour estre d’un Onontague [our Savages having landed discovered the tracks of 5 Iroquois, the war club of one was found which was recognized to be of an Ondondage” (Baugy 1883: 92). This interesting statement suggests that striking weapons were once identifiable by tribe, which identification is not possible today because there is a lack of reliable and accurate information. In addition, the description indicates that weapons were deposited as legible symbols, not only because of their form but also because of the patterns incised on them. The written sources inform us that warriors did not only incise or paint their deeds on debarked trees at prominent places as landmarks. They also depicted them on their personal weapons, which were constantly updated to document their latest actions; and these patterns beside their guardian spirits and clan symbols were worn tattooed on their skin; they remained visible throughout the warrior’s lifetime (Meachum 2007; Stolle 2018: 70). Radisson, for example, stated that his father, a prominent war chief, “killed 19 men with his own hands, whereof he was marked [on] his right thigh for as many [as] he killed” (Snow et al. 1996: 81).

  • 25 Presumably, these incisions were once highlighted in color. At least this is what some surviving sp (...)
  • 26 Like Lafitau, the circa 1666 source includes a drawing and a description of the pattern: “Voila com (...)

19Some of the oldest clubs from Indigenous North America are held in France, attesting to conflicts and alliances, and also the deeds of their former owners. Most of the incisions on the clubs dating from the 17th and 18th centuries are rather light and have therefore often been overlooked.25 Fig. 5 shows a drawing of the light incisions on the ball-headed club, which was described and shown above (Fig. 4). It shows the way Native American warriors commonly recorded their deeds in paintings or as incisions, side by side or one on top of the other. Fortunately, the French drawing and description, dating from circa 1666, provides an explanation, which Lafitau and other contemporaries confirmed more than half a century later (Meachum 2007: 70f.). The rectangle, sometimes filled with additional bars as in this case, represents a mat, which Lafitau explained: “Indeed, the mat is still today the symbol that they represent in their hieroglyphic paintings to designate the number of their campaigns.” (Lafitau 1724, 2: 195).26 If this explanation is applied to the club, the owner took part in four campaigns, and during the fourth he took the lead, because he received a belt of wampum or in Lafitau’s words “he commanded the party” (1724, 3: 39, pl. 3). The belt of wampum signifies his status as a leader, someone who reached an honorary position inside his community, and earned the right to paint, incise, and tattoo it on himself and his belongings.

  • 27 The ball-headed club bears two different marks of the Musée de l’Artillerie. The abbreviation in an (...)

20The history of this outstanding example dates back to the first half of the eighteenth century. It originates from the collections of Louis V Joseph de Bourbon, Prince de Condé (1736-1818). He inherited one of the most impressive collections of natural history, including forty-nine ethnographic objects, described in 1793 as “quelques parties d’armures de Sauvage comme un carquois plein & fleches, et une masse [some parts of armor from the Savages like a full quiver & arrows, and a mace]” (AN, AJ/15/836, 1793-1794; see Bandau et al. 2010: 56; Lacour 2019: 122f., 164, 212). Prince de Condé’s collection was confiscated and transferred in its entirety to two rooms in the Museum national d’histoire naturelle, while the arms and armor were placed in the Depôt de l’Artillerie in 1798 (AN, F/17/3978, 1793). In the transfer list the ball-headed club and a second club are described as “deux casse-tête de Sauvages [two war clubs from the Savages].” The description was used in the second published guide of the Musée de l’Artillerie in 1826: “No. 2 Deux casse-têtes ordinaires des sauvages du Canada [Two ordinary war clubs from the Savages from Canada]” (Anonymous 1826: 38).27

21Warriors did not only incise or paint belts of wampum on their wooden clubs, they even inlaid beads of wampum or glued them on the surface like marquetry. There are some ten very elaborate clubs in the world bearing these decorations, two of which are held in Paris. The first is a ball-headed club, made out of a maple trunk with its ball carved out of the tree root; the surface is embellished with chip carving, as well as inlaid beads of wampum (Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève, 113) (Fig. 3). The pattern along the crest of the haft comprises fifteen inlaid white beads. Fourteen beads are placed across the upper edge, but the fifteenth bead, next to the grip, has been turned up to make the hole visible. Below are three X designs in chip carving followed by a single purple bead set horizontally. The meaning of the inlaid beads remains unknown. Traces of red and black pigments are visible on the highly polished surface.

22This club is believed to have originated from the collection of Nicolas Fabris de Peiresc (1580-1637), who reportedly collected ethnographic objects. But so far no evidence has been found to confirm this. The first reliable documentation is an engraving dating from before 1692. It shows part of the ethnographic material of the Cabinet of Curiosities at the Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève, but lacks an accompanying description (Du Molinet 1692: n. p.; Zehnacker and Petit 1989: 78; Feest 1992: 78). The inlaid purple bead helps to date the club to c. 1637-1640, the period the first purple beads are dated to, which makes an association with Peiresc unlikely (Stolle 2016: 251).

23The second ball-headed club is in the collection of the Musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac (71.1917. 4.14 D) (see Fig. 1 in Núñez-Regueiro and Stolle’s article in this issue). It consists of a single piece of maple wood with its root carved into the ball. This weapon is much larger and heavier than the preceding club, and is comparable in size to the zoomorphic club described previously (Fig. 1). The entire upper edge of the rectangular shaft is inlaid with alternating double rows of white and purple wampum beads. Additional beads of wampum in purple and white are inlaid in a V-shaped form on the left and right side of the two-handed grip. The meaning of the inlays is unknown. The club is well-balanced, making it a functional weapon for close combat. Like the preceding club, this splendid weapon belonged to an outstanding member of the community, who could afford and had the right to embellish his weapon, reflecting his position. Similarly, in Europe and elsewhere, metal weapons were elaborately decorated for aristocratic individuals (Breiding 2003).

24Unfortunately, it has only been possible to reconstruct the provenance up to the time of transfer from the Cabinet des Médailles in 1861-1865. In the transfer list the club was subsumed under numbers “127-131. Casses-têtes [War clubs]” (ANP F/17/3436, 1861-1878). The entries of the inventory of the former Musée de l’Artillerie, dating to 1865, are more specific, giving the origins of these clubs as Africa, Brazil, Oceania, and North America. Under number 401 the ball-headed club is described as “Un casse-tête de l’Amérique du Nord [A war club from North America]” (MA inventaire, 1865). Nevertheless, the club, with its characteristic form, the two-handed grip, and the inlaid wampum beads, can be dated to the early eighteenth century or even before. Unfortunately, almost nothing is known about its usage or origin. Further research is needed to find answers to these questions. However, historical images support the dating. For example, the oil painting of Etow Oh Koam, King of the River Nation, a Mahican, baptized Nicholas, by John Verelst (Fig. 8), and the engraving by John Simon in 1710, show a similar type of club in size and proportion (Garratt and Robertson 1985: 7, 98; Hinderaker 1996: 512). In the background of the oil painting, a scene to the right of Etow Oh Koam shows the usage of these wooden clubs. Two warriors are fighting each other, one lying on the ground with his ball-headed club held in a defensive position, while the other is swinging his club back to strike (Brasser 1978: 201).

Fig. 7. Claude-Charles Le Roy de La Potherie, also known as Bacqueville de la Potherie. Plate by Jean-Baptiste Scotin, engraver. "Ball-headed club" and "calumet of peace", in La Potherie, Histoire de l'Amérique septentrionale, vol. I, Rouen, 1722, p. 76. Engraving, 12.5 x 15.8 cm.

Fig. 7. Claude-Charles Le Roy de La Potherie, also known as Bacqueville de la Potherie. Plate by Jean-Baptiste Scotin, engraver. "Ball-headed club" and "calumet of peace", in La Potherie, Histoire de l'Amérique septentrionale, vol. I, Rouen, 1722, p. 76. Engraving, 12.5 x 15.8 cm.

Paris, BnF, département Réserve des livres rares, 8-P-340 ( 1 ).

Fig. 8. Etow Oh Koam, King of the River Nation, a Mahican, baptized Nicholas, by John Verelst, 1710, oil on canvas, 91.5 x 64.5 cm. Ottawa, Library and Archives Canada, C-092421.

Fig. 8. Etow Oh Koam, King of the River Nation, a Mahican, baptized Nicholas, by John Verelst, 1710, oil on canvas, 91.5 x 64.5 cm. Ottawa, Library and Archives Canada, C-092421.

© Library and Archives Canada.

Conclusion

25This research article aims to arouse interest in the complex topic of wampum and warfare in Indigenous North America. What becomes clear once again is the extent to which wampum was used in Indigenous societies, especially among the Iroquoian of the Eastern Woodlands. Wampum, in the form of necklaces, and belts in earlier times, was not only used to provide old names to new people, but also as a symbol or marker of property, when hung around the neck of a captive. Specific ritual practices were performed when a wampum belt was given to a warrior, after the ceremony of condolence was conducted. They were given to a warrior — to bind the warrior or leader with the belt and the owner’s name — , with the desire that he would go out and bring back a captive to replace the dead and fill the position in the community. In contrast to all other woven belts of wampum, they were colored red, that is to say their surface was smeared with vermilion. They were also handled in a different way, as the belts were thrown on the ground in order to be picked up by the future participants in a campaign; it was almost done in disgust, highlighting the burden or great responsibility that was associated with lifting up the belt. This was underlined by the color red, as red symbolized the meaning of blood and life for the Iroquoian speakers. The color scheme implicitly evoked the impending task of taking prisoners and making up for their community’s loss. It made no difference whether it was a smaller belt, i.e. a private invitation to a campaign, or a larger national invitation. The lifespan of these belts was most often limited to the duration of the expedition. This was because after the belt had fulfilled its task, the new owner, the bravest warrior or the numerically largest nation, unraveled the belt in order to give it new functions, and free it of its burden. Reportedly, they ended up as jewelry, or became part of belts that symbolized alliances, such as votive belts, or unions between Indigenous communities and Catholic orders, or saints (see Havard, and Núñez-Regueiro and Stolle in this issue).

26Although the life of war belts was physically limited, they were immortalized by their recipients or warriors as important metaphorical symbols, whether incised, carved, or painted on their clubs, trees, and tattooed in their skin. This was done because belts of wampum identified warriors as leaders, acting as a visible sign of rank, fulfilling their role as status symbol, like European military medals. Hence, wampum was a token of appreciation: it was connected to the spoken word, inscribed with the name of the deceased, placed around a captive’s neck, or received by a leader, whose skills were represented by a wampum belt. In this case, it functions even in a two-dimensional form, in a materialized way as well as in a quantified one, through the accumulation of belts, which are visually documented by the leader. So far, it can only be assumed that similar meanings are valid for the clubs decorated with beads. Beads of wampum were valuable, and, when associated with weapons, evoke Euro-American, Arabian, and Asian practices of setting precious stones in valuable metals to ornate weapons. This action clearly reflected the status of the owner, who showed his standing publicly by wearing it. In Native North America their bearers often became chiefs, and among the Iroquois successful war leaders could obtain titles which were not hereditary but bestowed for their merits. The best-known example is the title “Pine Tree Chief,” given to Thayendanega (also known as Joseph Brant), a Mohawk (1743-1807), who received casse-têtes or pipe tomahawks as gifts or symbols of friendship. One of them has a silver plaque bearing the inscription, “Given to my friend Joseph Brant from the Duke of Northumberland 1805” (Green and Fernandez 1999: 53).

Our thanks go to Christine Duvauchelle and Olivier Renaudeau for their generous support for this research project.

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Notes

1 As a second meaning “the name of a great sweat apple” is given (Cotgrave 1611: n. p.) alluding to the form of these clubs.

2 The Shawnee are central Algonquian speakers who were expelled by the Seneca or Western Iroquois from their former homeland in the 17th century. This Shawnee Nation settled in the area of Fort Saint Louis on the Upper Illinois River in the later part of the 17th century (Callender 1978: 622ff.).

3 At that time, the term “casse-teste” also refers to excessive alcohol consumption “causing headaches” (Furetière 1690: n. p.). Some rare records from captives mention that they got headaches from a blow with a ball-head club.

4 Some Algonquian, Muskogean, and Siouan Nations considered the otter a clan animal. The lack of a line (a “power line”) between the owner’s head and his guardian or manitou points to the Muskogean and Siouan, because the Algonquian commonly used a connecting line. Iroquoian had no line and did not consider the otter a clan animal (Meachum 2007: 69; Stolle 2018: 72f.).

5 The X for a headless human dates back to early times, when heads were cut off and taken as trophies (Snow et al. 1996: 88). However, this form of representation is unusual, because the opposite side of the haft is incised with the same number of large and small Xs. Traditionally, only one side bears the number of victims including the symbols for campaigns, while the other is reserved for the number of raids, or is left blank (Meachum 2007: 73ff.; Stolle 2018: 76f.).

6 Edmund Bauley O’Callaghan first published an English translation, which sometimes differs from the original (1849: 3 ff.; 1850: 11ff.). William N. Fenton and William C. Sturtevant identified the author as Pierre- Joseph-Marie Chaumonot, a Jesuit who stayed in Canada from 1639 until his death in 1693. He was a missionary among the Huron, the Neutral, and the Five Nations Iroquois near Lake Ontario (Drolet 1989; Fenton 1998: 25 f.).

7 The only exception is the sixth representation of the “famille de la pomme de terre [family of the potato]” which bears no weapon (ANOM, C11 A 4, n. d. [c. 1666]: fol. 263). This clan was again recorded in 1736 by a Frenchman, identified as Louis-Thomas Chabert de Joncaire, who married a Seneca woman after being taken captive (O’Callaghan 1819, 1: 21). In this case “pomme de terre” refers to the wild potato or Apios Americana (Girard, 2020). This clan dissolved during the 18th century, and is no longer part of the Seneca Nation today.

8 Unfortunately, Lafitau’s publication contains observations made by his mentor Julien Garnier, a missionary to the Oneida, Onondaga, and Seneca in the 1670s; these were borrowed by the latter from published information on the Huron-Wendat. Only the descriptions of the condolence council, building of a canoe, and longhouse are based on his own observations among the Mohawk of Sault Saint Louis (today’s Kahnawake) (Lafitau 1974, 1: XXIX ff.). Nevertheless, his publication is unique and his respect for Native American cultures is obvious, when he praises their self-control, politeness, and hospitality, associated with their peaceful way of life. Despite this, his publication is now often interpreted as polemical, a point of view that definitely requires further investigation based on his published and unpublished written records, taking into account the spirit of the times.

9 See the rest of the notes p.68)For example, in the case of the Huron at Lorette (today’s Huron-Wendat at Wendake), the number of their warriors was given as sixty in 1736 (O’Callaghan 1819: 17). Two years before the outbreak of the French and Indian war (1754-1760), their number diminished to forty warriors (Franquet 1889: 107).

10 Mats, made of plant fibers, were used to sleep on, and each warrior had his own mat. He took it with him wherever he went, and was buried with it (Lafitau 1724, 2: 195; 1977, 2: 115). This usage was shared by warriors of the other language groups mentioned.

11 Sir William Johnson, Superintendent of Indian Affairs for the northern British districts in North America, was aware of women’s influence among the Six Nations Iroquois and married Molly Brant, Joseph Brant’s elder sister, who was born into a family of clan mothers bearing hereditary titles. Lieutenant-Colonel Tench Tilghman, secretary and aide-de-camp to George Washington, noted about Johnson a year after his death in 1775, during his visit to the Mohawk of Canajohare that: “he knew that Women govern the Politics of savages as well the refined part of the World.” Likewise, Tilghman realized “her [Molly’s] influence will give us some trouble, for we are informed that she is working strongly to prevent the meeting at Albany, being entirely in the Interest of Guy Johnson,” William’s nephew, who then became British Superintendent of Indian Affairs (Harrison 1876: 83, 87).

12 The same procedure was described more than a century earlier in 1639 by Paul le Jeune, a Jesuit priest and missionary to the Huron: “when some brave man has been slain by their enemies, if he had a porcelain Collar, or something else of value, his friends offer it to some good warrior, or make him some presents from their own means. If this man accepts them, together with the name of the dead man, which they publicly give him, he binds himself to go to the war” (JR 1898, 16: 203).

13 Pierre Pouchot (1712-1769) maintained good relations with the Native Americans during his time as commander at Fort Niagara. The Seneca, on whose land the fort was built, gave him the honorary title Sategariouaen/ Sategayogen, meaning the “milieu des bonnes affaires [place of the good deals].”After the unsuccessful war in the Colonies, he was accused of failure in France. He therefore began to prepare his diary entries for publication, but his memoirs were published posthumously, as he was killed in action in Corsica on May 8, 1769 (Moogk 2003). However, these circumstances do not affect his description of the Indigenous customs, which match those of other experts and contemporaries, such as Sir William Johnson’s.

14 Pouchot was in close contact with the Iroquois at the mission of La Présentation, as well as with Mississauga (Eastern Ojibwa) and others (Moogk 2003).

15 There is a lack of an analysis of the significance of colors and their meaning in Algonquian culture.

16 The Oneida belong to the Six Nations Iroquois. They settled in the west next to the Mohawk, or “Keepers of the Eastern door.” Their self-name is Haudenosaunee, or “People of the (extended) Longhouse.” This term reflects their traditional way of life in a metaphorical way, which, by extension, described all Nations residing inside a single house or territory (Fenton 1998: 23, 103, 221).

17 The same source described the belt as a “French Hatchet Belt, very large, consisting of 6,000 wampum” (NYCD 1856, 7: 358).

18 The best description is provided by Bougainville in a letter addressed to Marc Pierre de Voyer de Paulmy d’Argenson, Minister of Foreign Affairs, in 1757: “The Iroquois [Mohawk from Kahnawake and Oka] to whom of right the Belt belonged, as being the most numerous of all the Nations present with the army, did the honors on the occasion, in their name, and that of the other domiciliated Indians, out of regard for their character as strangers” (NYCD 1858, 10: 609 ; Bougainville 2003 [1756-1760]: 213). The English translation of these lines introduces the term „domiciliated Indians“ - domiciled - initially used by the French of Canada as by Beauharnois in 1744: the expression referred to their Christian allies among the Native Americans living in the Saint- Laurent River lowland, [...] such as the Abenaki from Saint- Francis, the Huron-Wendat from Lorette (present-day Wendake), the Mohawks - currently Kahnawake and Kanehsatake - as well as the Mi’kmaq/Micmac from Restigouche (Phillips 1998: 83ff.; ANOM, C11 A75, 1741: fol. 138-142v).

19 The meaning and use of scalps in Indigenous North America are poorly understood. This lack of understanding has led to erroneous interpretations. James Axtell’s and William C. Sturtevant’s contribution provides a general introduction to the subject (1980: 451-472). An updated research is provided by Jean-François Lozier (2003).

20 Illustrations of women from the period show that the belt resembled a choker, a kind of necklace that fitted tightly around the neck, made of beads woven together in several rows; it is well documented that the Abenaki and the Penobscot wore such necklaces in later Historic times (see: Sir Joshua Reynolds, Portrait of Lady Janet Anstruther, oil on canvas, 1761, Tate, London, N06243; Bourque and Labar 2009: 24; Stolle 2016: 225). In the case of the Mohawk, the number of beads for such a belt was given as “2000 beads” in 1646 (Snow et al. 1996: 58f.), which corresponds with Pouchot’s description.

21 Most of his experiences are based on his observations made among the Christianized Iroquois of the Fort of the Presentation, and the Mississauga (Eastern Ojibwa), who lived nearby (Moogk 2003).

22 As mentioned before (see supra, n. 12), the belt of wampum is linked with the name of the deceased. The warrior or leader who accepts the belt as an invitation to go to war carries his name as long as he is on a raid. To release the captive, the belt has to be given away, like a bond, which has to be untied, as documented for the Mohawk in 1646, when they delivered up a male captive to the French. “There, [said the leader] is the bond which held him captive; take the prisoner and his chain, and do with them according to the will of Onontio [Governor of New France]” (Snow et al. 1996: 58f.). This is confirmed by Esprit Radisson, who was captured by the Mohawk prior to 1654; he wrote : “My father sings a while; so done, makes a speech, and taking the porcelaine necklace from off me throws it at the feet of an old man, and cuts the cord that held me, then makes me rise” (ibid. 1996: 80).

23 The name-giving ceremony was first documented among the Huron (today’s Huron-Wendat) in 1642. “This ceremony takes place at a solemn feast in the presence of many guests. He who brings back the dead to life makes a present to him who is to take his place. He sometimes hangs a collar of porcelain beads around his neck” (JR 1898, 22: 288f.) As is the practice today, the name was lent to the member for a time, and after death it was returned to the clan to be bestowed to another member.

24 In reference to the Mohawk of Caughnawaga (today’s Kahnawake), and Oka, the Huron-Wendat of Wendake, the Abenaki, and Algonquin (Lozier 2012: 176).

25 Presumably, these incisions were once highlighted in color. At least this is what some surviving specimens suggest. But, apart from a few traces of the previous coloring, there is no longer any paint on most of the clubs (see: CMH III-I-1493 ball-headed club, pre 1747; Meachum 2007: 71).

26 Like Lafitau, the circa 1666 source includes a drawing and a description of the pattern: “Voila comme ils marquent quand Les collier qui dont Eté donné pour lever un partis de[]guerre et Venger La mort de quelqûns, Leur apporteneint ou a quil qu’une dela mesme famille [This is how they mark, when The necklace which Was given to raise a war party and Avenge the death of some people, Brings them or only one of the same family]” (ANOM, C11 A4, n. d. [c. 1666]: fol. 268; see O’Callaghan 1849, 1: 9).

27 The ball-headed club bears two different marks of the Musée de l’Artillerie. The abbreviation in an oval frame reads “MUSÉE DE L’ARTie,” including the separate number “1”, stamped two times into the wood. The number refers to the display room, because the clubs were exhibited in “Galeries No 1 et No 2” (Anonymous 1826: 38). During the ensuing decades the club received additional register numbers, the last in 1862 by Penguilly, “K. 75.” This number is still visible on a printed-paper label glued to the wood. If you wish to discover the (possible) origin for another object from the same collection, read André Delpuch, Benoît Roux, and Geoffroy de Saulieu, who demonstrated in a meticulous way the provenance of a single ethnographic object from Native North America. This object was part of the collections of Prince de Condé, whose ancestor received it from Antoine-Denis Raudot (1679-1737), intendant of New France (1705-1711), and dates before 1735 (2019).

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Table des illustrations

Titre Fig. 1. Anthropomorphic ball-headed club: head of a wolverine (?) and two otters. Northeastern North America, 1700s. Maple wood (root ball), traces of red and black paint, paper label, stamped label, length 59.3 cm. Paris, Musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac, 71.1917.3.11 D. Former Collection of Prince de Condé, château de Chantilly, before 1793.
Crédits © musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac, photo Pauline Guyon.
URL http://journals.openedition.org/gradhiva/docannexe/image/6205/img-1.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 736k
Titre Fig. 2. Pierre-Joseph-Marie Chaumonot (attributed to), Reproductions of Indigenous pictographs indicating in particular clan names attributed to the Seneca Nation, c. 1666. Ink drawing on paper, 49 x 35 cm. Aix-en-Provence, Archives nationales d’outre-mer, C11 A2, fol. 263.
Crédits © ANOM.
URL http://journals.openedition.org/gradhiva/docannexe/image/6205/img-2.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 576k
Titre Fig. 3. Ball-headed club inlaid with white and purple wampum. Northeastern North America, before 1688. Maple wood (root ball), sea snail, quahog (Mercenaria mercenaria), traces of red and black paint, paper label, length 50.8 cm. Paris, Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève, 128. Former Collection of the Cabinet Du Molinet, before 1688.
Crédits © Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève.
URL http://journals.openedition.org/gradhiva/docannexe/image/6205/img-3.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 192k
Titre Fig. 4. Ball-headed club, Northeastern North America, 1700s. Maple wood (root ball), traces of red and black paint, paper label, stamped label, length 59.3 cm. Paris, Musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac, 71.1917.3.11 D. Former Collection of Prince de Condé, château de Chantilly, before 1793.
Crédits © musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac, photo Pauline Guyon.
URL http://journals.openedition.org/gradhiva/docannexe/image/6205/img-4.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 568k
Titre Fig. 5. Redrawing of incised records on the handle of the ball headed club 71.1917.3.11 D: representation of a wampum belt and mats serving as carpets.
Crédits © Nikolaus Stolle.
URL http://journals.openedition.org/gradhiva/docannexe/image/6205/img-5.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 440k
Titre Fig. 6. Detail of a votive wampum belt with red-covered shell beads. Huron (Huron-Wendat), Jeune-Lorette (Quebec), before 1700. Sea snail, quahog (Mercenaria mercenaria), hide, red pigment, vegetable fibers, length 77cm. Paris, Musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac, 71.1878.32.155. Former Collection of the Cabinet des Médailles [Coin Cabinet], Bibliothèque nationale de France.
Crédits © musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac, photo Nikolaus Stolle.
URL http://journals.openedition.org/gradhiva/docannexe/image/6205/img-6.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 272k
Titre Fig. 7. Claude-Charles Le Roy de La Potherie, also known as Bacqueville de la Potherie. Plate by Jean-Baptiste Scotin, engraver. "Ball-headed club" and "calumet of peace", in La Potherie, Histoire de l'Amérique septentrionale, vol. I, Rouen, 1722, p. 76. Engraving, 12.5 x 15.8 cm.
Crédits Paris, BnF, département Réserve des livres rares, 8-P-340 ( 1 ).
URL http://journals.openedition.org/gradhiva/docannexe/image/6205/img-7.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 292k
Titre Fig. 8. Etow Oh Koam, King of the River Nation, a Mahican, baptized Nicholas, by John Verelst, 1710, oil on canvas, 91.5 x 64.5 cm. Ottawa, Library and Archives Canada, C-092421.
Crédits © Library and Archives Canada.
URL http://journals.openedition.org/gradhiva/docannexe/image/6205/img-8.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 1,2M
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Nikolaus Stolle, « A Belt to Bind Them, to Find Them, to Bring Them all Back Home »Gradhiva, 33 | 2022, 60-77.

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Nikolaus Stolle, « A Belt to Bind Them, to Find Them, to Bring Them all Back Home »Gradhiva [En ligne], 33 | 2022, mis en ligne le 15 juin 2022, consulté le 25 septembre 2023. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/gradhiva/6205 ; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/gradhiva.6205

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Nikolaus Stolle

musée du quai Branly–Jacques Chirac
Nikolaus.Stolle[at]quaibranly.fr

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