The Documentary History of the State of New York/Volume I/Chapter I/Article I

THE NINE IROQUOIS TRIBES. 1666.
[Paris Doc., I.]

The Iroquois Nation consists of nine tribes, which form two divisions; one of four tribes, and the other of five.

They call the first division Guey-niotiteshesgué, which means the four tribes; and the second division they call it Ouiche-niotiteshesgué, which means the five tribes.



The first is that of the Tortoise, which calls itself Atinaiathin. It is the first, because they pretend, when the Master of Life made the Earth, that he placed it on a tortoise; and when there are earthquakes, it is the tortoise that stirs.

The second tribe is that of the Wolf, and calls itself Enanthayonni, or Cahenhisenhonon, and brother of the Tortoise tribe. When there is question of war they deliberate together; and if the affair is of great moment, they communicate it to the other tribes to deliberate together thereupon; so of all the other tribes. They assemble in the hut of a war-chief when the question is of war, and in the hut of a council-chief when it is for ordinary matters of state.



The third tribe is that of the Bear, which they call Atinionguin.

The fourth tribe is that of the Beaver, and brother to that of the Bear. These four tribes compose the first division, which they call Guey-niotiteshesgué.

SECOND DIVISION.

The fifth tribe is that of the Deer, which they name Canendeshe.

The sixth is that of the Potatoe, which they call Schoneschioronon.



The seventh is that of the Great Plover, which they call Otinanchahé.

The eighth is that of the Little Plover, which they call Asco, or Nicohes.



The ninth is that of the Kiliou [Eagle], which they call Canonchahonronon. They call these five tribes Ouiche-niotiteshesgué.

These nine tribes formerly occupied nine villages, which were finally collected together in order to sustain war more easily.

The ninth tribe derives its origin from a cabin that was in the interior (dans les terres), and composed of several fires or establishments. In the middle of the cabin was a partition which divided the cabin in two.

Weary of knowing no one, and consequently unable to marry, they all married among themselves; which is the reason that their name signifies two cabins united together.

Each tribe has in the gable end of its cabin, the animal of the tribe painted; some in black, others in red.

When they assemble together for consultation, the first Division ranges itself on one side of the fire in a cabin; and the other Division places itself on the other side.

When the matter on which they have met has been discussed on one side and the other, they accompany the decision with much ceremony.

The Division which decides the matter gives two opinions, so that the best may be adopted, and offers all possible opposition in proposing its opinions, in order to shew that it has well considered what it says.

They adopt, usually, the first opinion, unless there be some strong motive to the contrary.

When they go to war, and wish to inform those of the party who may pass their path, they make a representation of the animal of their tribe, with a hatchet in his dexter paw; sometimes a sabre or a club; and if there be a number of tribes together of the same party, each draws the animal of his tribe, and their number, all on a tree from which they remove the bark. The animal of the tribe which heads the expedition is always the foremost.

They generally have a rendezvous when they propose to strike a blow, where in case of pursuit, they leave a part of their clothes and ammunition. When they fight, they are very Molochs, and have merely the waistcloth on, with a pair of mocasins on the feet.

When the expedition is numerous they often leave a party a hundred or a hundred and fifty leagues (lieues, qy. paces?) from the village which they are about to attack. When they have finished, if they have casse-tetes or clubs, they plant them against the corpse inclining a little towards the village of the slain.

On their return, if they have prisoners or scalps, they paint the animal of the tribe to which they belong, rampant, (debout) with a staff on the shoulder along which are strung the scalps they may have, and in the same number. After the animal are the prisoners they have made, with a chichicois, (or gourd filled with beans which rattle), in the right hand. If they be women, they represent them with a Cadenette or queue and a waistcloth.

If there be several tribes in the war party, each paints the animal of his tribe with the scalps and prisoners it has made, as before, but always after that which is head of the party.

When they have scalps they give them to one or two men who suspend them behind them to their girdle.

These men who carry these scalps follow the others at a distance, that is to say, at a quarter of a league, because they pretend that when they retreat and have scalps, if these precede the others they cannot march any further because they are seized with terror at the sight of the dripping blood. But this is only the first day, sometimes the second and third when they are pursued.

When they come again together, they proceed to notify the others and then each one takes his station or awaits the enemy. When night falls they make a hole in the earth where they kindle a fire with bark to cook their meat, if they have any, and that during three or four days.

They tie the prisoners to stakes set in the ground, into which they fix their leg or rather foot, and this stake is closed by another tied together at a man’s height. They place a man at each side who sleeps near them and who is careful to visit the prisoners from time to time, during the night.

When they have lost any men on the field of battle they paint the men with the legs in the air, and without heads and in the same number as they have lost; and to denote the tribe to which they belonged, they paint the animal of the tribe of the deceased on its back, the paws in the air, and if it be the chief of the party that is dead, the animal is without the head.

If there be only wounded, they paint a broken gun which however is connected with the stock, or even an arrow, and to denote where they have been wounded, they paint the animal of the tribe to which the wounded belong with an arrow piercing the part in which the wound is located; and if it be a gunshot they make the mark of the ball on the body of a different color.

If they have sick and are obliged to carry them, they paint litters. (boyards) of the same number as the sick, because they carry only one on each litter.

When they are thirty or forty leagues [Three or four miles.– Colden] from their village they send notice of their approach, and of what has happened them. Then every one prepares to receive the prisoners, when there are any, and to torment each as they deem proper.

Those who are condemned to be burnt are conveyed to the cabin which has been given them. All the warriors assemble in a war cabin and afterwards send for them to make them sing, dance, and to torment them until they are carried to the stake.

During this time two or three young men are preparing the stake, placing the fuel near and keep their guns loaded. When every thing is ready, he is brought and tied to the stake and finally burnt. When he is burnt up to the stomach they detach him, break all his fingers, raise the scalp which was left hanging behind by a small tongue of skin to the head. They put him to death in these agonies, after which each takes his morsel and proceeds to make merry.



A. This is a person returning from war who has taken a prisoner, killed a man and a woman whose scalps hang from the end of a stick that he carries.

B. The prisoner.

C. Chichicois (or a gourd), which he holds in the hand.

D. These are cords attached to his neck, arms and girdle.

E. This is the scalp of a man, what is joined on one side is the scalp-lock.

F. This is the scalp of a woman; they paint it with the hair thin.



G. Council of war between the tribe of the Bear and that of the Beaver; they are brothers.

H. A Bear.

I. A Beaver.

L. Is a belt which he holds in his paws to avenge the death of some one and he is conferring about it with his brother, the Beaver.



K. Council for affairs of state.

M. The Bear.

N. The Council fire.

O. The Tortoise; so of the other tribes, each ranges at its own side.



P. Canoe going to war.

Q. Paddles. They know hereby how many men there are in the canoe, because they place as many paddies as there are men. Over these is painted the animal of the tribe to which they belong.

R. The canoe.



S. This is a man returning from hunting who has slept two nights on the hunting ground and killed three does; for when they are bucks, they add their antlers.


 * What is on his back, is his bundle.

T. Deer’s head. This is the way they paint them.

V. This is the manner they mark the time they have been hunting. Each mark or rather each bar is a day.



Y. Fashion of painting the dead; the two first are men and the third is a woman who is distinguished only by the waistcloth that she has.

As regards the dead, they inter them with all they have. When it is a man they paint red calumets, calumets of peace on the Tomb; some times they plant a stake on which they paint how often he has been in battle; how many prisoners he has taken; the post ordinarily is only four or five feet high and much embellished.



a. These are the punctures on his body.



b. This is the way they mark when they have been to war, and when there is a bar extending from one mark to the other, it signifies that after having been in battle, he did not come back to his village and that he returned with other parties whom he met or formed.

c. This arrow, which is broken, denotes that they were wounded in this expedition.

d. Thus they denote that the belts which they gave to raise a war party and to avenge the death of some one, belong to them or to some of the same tribe.

e. He has gone back to fight without having entered his village.



f. A man whom he killed on the field of battle who had a bow and arrows.

g. These are two men whom he took prisoners, one of whom had a hatchet, and the other a gun in his hand.

g. g. This is a woman who is designated only by a species of waistcloth.

h. This is the way they distinguish her from the men.

Such is the mode in which they draw their portraits.



A. This is the manner they paint the tribe of the Potatoe and not as it is on the other plate.



b. Is a stick set in the ground to the extremity of which two or three pieces of wood are attached, to denote the direction in which they went when they are hunting; and on the nearest tree they paint the animal of the tribe to which they belong, with the numbers of guns they have; that is to say if they are three men, they paint three guns, if they are more and there are some who have a bow and no gun, they put down a bow.

When they return from hunting and are near the village they do the same thing and add the number of beasts they have killed – that is to say, they paint the Deer, and the Stag from the head to the neck; if some are male they add antlers; they paint the other animals entire; if they are some days at the chase they mark the number as you see on the other plate.



c. Club which they use to break the skull when they are at war.



Stake to tie the prisoners. They place his leg between these two posts in the hollow of the larger – that is the two posts catch the leg above the ankle, and they afterwards join one to the other and tie them at a man’s height – some times higher, so that it is impossible to withdraw the foot without untying the cords.