The Seneca Nation of Indians
Data Sheet #5
Seneca Iroquois National Museum Allegany Indian Reservation
Wampum
Wampum was made of the quahog or round clam shell and was generally a cylindrical shaped bead about 1/4 inch long and half of that in diameter. Originally, wampum beads were drilled by hand either by stone or reed drills, but after the arrival of the colonists, it was more often drilled with iron drill bits. Wampum generally varies between white and purple in color. Early stringing was on elm bast (the soft inner lining of the bark), but more recently on leather thong. The earliest use was probably by Eastern Seaboard tribes as personal adornment, but later they became so widely used that the American colonists not only began to make wampum, they are said to have used it as their first form on currency, it having no other primary value than that of a trade piece.
The primary use of the wampum among the Iroquois has been either in belts or strings which were used as a means of communication between the tribes and villages making up the Iroquois Confederacy. Each belt had a meaning that was recognized by members of the confederacy. Wampum belts were exchanged when treaties were signed, acting as proof and a reminder of the agreement. Laws passed by the Council of Chiefs were recorded by a wampum string or belt. Thus, the proper belt or string would be carried when the leadership wished to invoke a provision under discussion. The fact that the messenger carried the belt or string acted to verify the message and avoid false messages.
Each nation among the Iroquois had a special string of wampum to represent them. For the Seneca, it was four strings tied together, two purple beads alternating with two white beads.
Archaeologically recovered wampum has lost its original meaning, as there has been a break in the oral history of the string or belt and the actual pattern or design has little or no inherent meaning. When a belt is recovered during an archaeological excavation, the beads are painstakingly excavated and then restrung in the exact same pattern as they were found. Thus, the archaeologically recovered belts will look almost exactly the same as they did in earlier times unless the beads have been disturbed for some reason before the excavation. The beads themselves are generally impervious to the chemical erosion of the soil than would be the leather or elm bast on which they were strung. Thus, during an excavation, it would be common to find the beads relatively unchanged except for some loss of color, but the material on which they were strung completely rotted away. The beads, protected by their soil cover, would lie in the same position unless they were disturbed by some factor, such as animal burrows, more recent diggings, etc.
Belts can and do change meaning over time. When a belt represented business no longer important to the confederacy, it was assigned new meaning. Thus, some belts are much older than the events which they are known to represent, and their earlier meanings are now long forgotten.
In Seneca:
Wampum bead = o ya
Wampum belt = ga swe'dha
Wampum string = ot' go' a
The following wampum belts are important to the Iroquois Confederacy and can be found on display at the Seneca-Iroquois National Museum:
Womens Nomination Belt: Under the traditional Iroquois chieftainship, women have the responsibility of nominating the chiefs, and, if necessary, deposing them. This belt would be carried to signify that action on a chief's position was necessary.
Seneca Condolence Belt: This belt was used in the mourning ceremonies for a chief. The diamonds represent the two moites, one of which mourned while the other condoled. The V-shaped design represents the symbol of chieftainship or authority.
Huron Alliance Belt: Following the conquest of the Huron by the Iroquois in 1650, many Hurons were adopted primarily by the Seneca and Mohawk. This belt belonged to the Seneca to commemorate this relationship, although it may have originally been a Huron belt marking an affiliation between the Huron and some of their neighbors.
Five Nations Alliance Belt: The belt originally had five white diamonds to represent the Five Nations united under the Confederacy. It may have signified the voice of the Confederacy. It is unknown when and why the section of the belt containing the two additional diamonds was removed.
Cornplanter Condolence: The personal belt of Chief Cornplanter, only this belt and a tomahawk remain of his known personal possessions. Its use was to signify mourning for deceased chiefs.
Gyantwaka Treaty Belt: This is a portion of a belt given to Chief Cornplanter (Gyantwaka) at the signing of the treaty of the Cornplanter Reservation. The belt was divided among his heirs at Cornplanter's death in 1836, and most of the pieces were broken up into individual strings.
Ely S. Parker Belt: Ely S. Parker was prophesied before his birth to be distinguished among his own people as a peacemaker; that he would be seen as both a white man and an Indian. The prophecy further stated that, despite an education, he would not desert his people. Parker studied law, but was prevented from entering the New York State Bar because Indians were not then United States citizens. He became a civil engineer and worked on many federal projects until the outbreak of the Civil War where he rose from Captain to General by the close of the war. Under the U.S. Grant administration, Parker was the first Indian to become Commissioner of Indian Affairs.
Seneca Nation Belts: A group of archaeologically recovered belts from Seneca sites in the Genessee Valley. Their meanings are lost; however, they remain of significance to the Seneca people because of their association with the Seneca homeland and their early history. The purple color of the belts is bleached out due to acidic ground water.
Additional Resources:
Courtesy of the Warren County Historical Society