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ANTHROPOS
105.2010: 47–56
On the Ethnohistory of Powhatan Ritual Gestures
Guillermo Bartelt
Abstract. – An ethnohistory-of-communication approach is ap- guages as Mobilian Jargon. Since the publication of
plied to examine such extra-linguistic behavior as greeting and Drechsel’s seminal paper, other sociolinguists have
religious gestures in seventeenth-century Powhatan. A case is added their endorsements for the systematic study
made for early colonial documents as a source of data for
descriptions of bodily movements. Incorporating ethological, of communicative behavior through time based on
interactional, semiotic as well as pragmatic perspectives, it is data derived from historical documentation.1 In ex-
suggested that Powhatan greeting gestures are extensions of in- panding this line of philological inquiry, Drechsel
vocative kinesic motions. [North America, Algonquian peoples, (2007) has even advocated the inclusion of semi-
Powhatan, language, ritual gestures, colonial contact]
fictional works as a resource. For example, in his
Guillermo Bartelt, a linguist at California State University, attempt at the reconstruction of a maritime Polyne-
Northridge, has focused on Amerindian language contact issues. sian pidgin, Drechsel makes a compelling argument
After receiving a Ph. D. from the University of Arizona, he was for accepting Herman Melville’s (1968) autobio-
a postdoctoral scholar at the University of California at Berkeley graphical novels “Typee” and “Omoo” as legitimate
and a Fulbright recipient at the University of Kassel.
sources of sociolinguistic data. This article repre-
sents another attempt to consider archival material
for the reconstruction of past communicative be-
Introduction havior, specifically the ritual gestures of Virginia
Algonquian, or Powhatan, a seventeenth-century
The ethnohistory of communication, the diachronic speech community, for which, surprisingly enough,
counterpart of the ethnography of communication, the English colonial record has yielded a consider-
has as its goal, according to Drechsel (2007), the able amount of ethnographic detail.
restoration of linguistic as well as extralinguistic
attestations by triangulation of comparative evi-
dence whose interpretation is informed by ethno- Native Kinesic Acts
logical criteria. The feasibility of such an approach in Seventeenth-Century English Sources
was first proposed in Drechsel’s (1983) critical
interpretation of extralinguistic acts identified in Regarding communicative behavior, colonial
eighteenth-century descriptions of Mobilian Jargon sources certainly have their limitations and for that
obtained from such archival sources as Le Page reason have been suspect. The tacit assumption has
du Pratz’s (1758) reports on Louisiana. Focusing been that European travelers of previous centuries
on formal protocols for greetings, of which Le were simply too ethnocentric to be trusted with the
Page du Pratz sketched in relatively detailed fash- objective recording of Native languages and cul-
ion two scenes of speaking, Drechsel pointed out
the value of such information about etiquette as
symbolic action in piecing together the structure 1 Hanks (1987); Choque (1989); Paulson (1990); Silverstein
and function through time of such moribund lan- (1996); Bartelt (2008).
https://doi.org/10.5771/0257-9774-2010-1-47-1
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tures, and thus their necessarily biased descriptions These ethnocentric seventeenth-century “opin-
are too tainted to be of any value for the systematic ions” about perceived Native behavioral peculiar-
study of communicative behavior (Galloway 2006). ities must be placed in the sociohistorical context
However, instead of quickly giving in to the tempta- of prevailing English expectations of “appropri-
tion of dismissing the seemingly incomprehensive ate” extralinguistic acts. The clash of sensibilities
Europeans as not meeting the research standards that seems to be implied in the recollections of
of the time-honored tradition of fieldwork, socio- English colonists may have been heightened, in
linguists have been encouraged to approach such fact, by increased constraints on bodily gesturing in
historical documents as if confronting depositions Elizabethan discourse preferences. A survey of the
by hostile witnesses. The “cross-examinations” courtesy manuals of the era conducted by Hübler
of their statements make available bits and pieces (2007) clearly indicates that expression by voice
of descriptions of communicative behavior that rather than by body began to be emphasized in the
seemed to have been “impressive” to European sixteenth century to accommodate evolving mod-
observers (Drechsel 2007). Furthermore, as Drech- els of politeness and moderation. Therefore, sub-
sel (1983: 166) and Silverstein (1996) have advo- jecting bodily movements to greater control and
cated, a greater time-depth in the ethnography of restraint may have necessarily resulted in losing
speaking (or communication) needs to be incorpo- some of their functions to equivalent devices in
rated. Even in areas where sociolinguistic field- lexis and prosody. For example, certain idioms,
work conditions for indigenous languages are more such as “to throw down the gauntlet,” certainly re-
accessible than in present-day Virginia, communi- semble gestures in propositional content and may
cative forms no longer occurring in a given speech have emerged as verbal substitutes for them. In-
community are nevertheless relevant to the analysis deed, the earliest citations of such expressions, ac-
of culture change. cording to Hübler’s search in the Oxford English
In this regard, the reinterpretations of historical Dictionary, date to the sixteenth century. In ad-
statements can provide crucial data for the restora- dition, the nascent rules of courtesy underscored
tion of extralinguistic phenomena that contribute to the role of volume, tempo, and pitch of utterance,
a more comprehensive picture of extinct languages leading Hübler (2007: 158) to claim that intonation
such as seventeenth-century Powhatan, for which may have been instrumental in the compensation
limited data have survived. Only fragments of Pow- for suppressed gesturing as well as gesticulation.
hatan words and phrases can be found strewn about Thus, it should be of little surprise that English
early accounts of the Jamestown colony. Two at- comments concerning what must have been a rich
tempts at supplying helpful vocabularies, possibly, and lively Virginia Algonquian body language ap-
for potential colonists, are attached in Smith (2006) pear at times to be infused with a considerable
and in Strachey (1953). Unfortunately, Early Mod- amount of exasperation. Consider the following ex-
ern English spelling was still so erratic that Smith’s cerpt of a description by John Smith (2006: 34),
forty-six random words and ten phrases as well in many ways one of the more capable observers,
as Strachey’s list of about one thousand entries of a meeting between high-status individuals at a
have presented somewhat of a puzzle for compar- Powhatan town:
ative linguistics. Remarkably enough, though, the
phonological reconstitutions based on these lim- After this doe two or more of their chiefest men make
ited morphological and lexical data have apparently an Oration, testifying their loue. Which they doe with
revealed sufficient patterns for such Algonquinists such vehemency, and so great passions, that they sweat
as Frank Siebert (1975) to postulate at least three till they drop, and are so out of breath they can scarce
Powhatan varieties: Chikahominy, Pamunkey, and speake. So that a man would take them to be exceeding
Nansemond. On the other hand, the few comments angry, or stark mad.
on extralinguistic phenomena offered in such oth-
erwise thorough ethnological treatments as Roun- Ironically enough, these hyperbolic and, perhaps,
tree’s (1989) and Feest’s (1978) appear somewhat even somewhat irritated characterizations of a ki-
vague and open to a great range of interpretations. nesic saliency, as perceived by speakers of Early
However, a closer look at the same “biased” early Modern English, a mode of discourse which deval-
colonial documents, which previously had been ued vigorous bodily motion, turn out to be worth-
successfully mined for phonological, morphologi- while sociolinguistic data for exploring issues rele-
cal as well as ethnographic reconstructions, reveals vant to an ethnohistory of communication.
a number of intriguing comments regarding “pecu-
liar” Native extralinguistic behavior.
Anthropos 105.2010
https://doi.org/10.5771/0257-9774-2010-1-47-1
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Native American Body Language significant place in the ethnography of communi-
cation research agenda. Assumed to be universally
Apparently, Europeans encountered vigorous forms organized as adjacency pairs, greeting exchanges
of body language in many places throughout the have been generally interpreted as strategic choices
Americas, and their misinterpretations of such be- from a culturally defined set of verbal and kinesic
havior led many to conclude that Native languages acts.2 At a very basic level, according to Goffman
consisted of such “primitive” structures for which (1967), greetings provide an effective way to tem-
the supplement of gestures seemed to be necessary porarily suppress hostilities in order to manage the
in order to communicate effectively. However, as establishment as well as the continuity of social
if in a triumph of logic, Amerindian languages are relationships.
now supplying some of the data in support of ar- The suppression of hostilities and the establish-
guments for the conceptual, linguistic, and socio- ment of trading relationships to obtain food was an
cultural complexity of gestures. For example, Hav- urgent objective for English ship crews exploring
iland (2003), after being unable to elicit a specific the Chesapeake Bay in 1607. According to an ac-
lexical item for the act of pointing in Tzotzil, dis- count by George Percy, who briefly served as Gov-
covered, instead, that its speakers regard associated ernor of the Jamestown colony, mariners found the
gestures as equivalent to spoken forms, much like adoption of one particular Native greeting gesture
quotative devices. Furthermore, in various semantic to be indispensable in their ability to establish what
domains such as direction, shape, and proximity, Duranti (1997) has referred to as a shared field of
systematic relationships appear to exist between interaction with speakers of Virginia Algonquian.
pointing form and linguistic function. Even for rela-
tively well-defined semantic fields such as pronoun Thirtieth day, we came with our ships to Cape Com-
and determiner usage, Haviland’s data clearly indi- fort, where we saw five savages running on the shore.
cate the indispensable role pointing plays. Presently the captain caused the shallop to be manned;
so rowing to the shore, the captain called to them in sign
Such findings have, in fact, aided the challenge
of friendship, but they were at first very timorsome until
to the former relegation of bodily movements as an they saw the captain lay his hand on his heart. Upon that
automatic auxiliary to speaking and have strength- they laid down their bows and arrows and came very
ened the argument for according them the status of boldly to us, making signs to come ashore to their town,
utterances in their own right, thus elevating them which is called by the savages Kecoughtan (Percy cited
in semiotic potential to spoken language. In dis- in Haile 1998: 91).
course contexts, Kendon (2004) argues, verbal and
gestural communication practices, which are, for Thus, for the understandably suspicious Powha-
the most part, culturally shaped in form and usage, tans, whose previous contacts over several decades
carve out ecological niches impacting on each other with Europeans, especially slavers, had frequently
formally as well as semantically. This position been violent, the English captain’s act of plac-
builds, of course, on the Hymes’ (1974) concept ing a hand in the breast area of the body accom-
of communicative economy, which also recognizes plished not only the interactants’ recognition of
that combinations of participants, channels, codes, each other’s presence in the same perceptual field
topics, and other variables are necessarily con- but also an implied pledge for the suppression of
strained. As culturally constructed signs, gestures potential hostilities. Especially in cases of distance
not only have a perceptible form with meaningful beyond auditory range, making recognition of the
content but also clear rules regarding combinations gesture visually available to the other party appar-
with speech and other signs as well as contextual ently constituted an effective greeting in and of
conditions for appropriate use. In this framework, itself.
even gesticulation, which has often been deemed as In cases of sufficient auditory range, as observed
lacking in systematic formal properties, is consid- by Gabriel Archer, one of Jamestown’s secretaries,
ered to be bound by cultural convention, governing visual recognition seems to have been followed by
both structural form and combinatorial constraints. verbal recognition.
Further we certified him that we were friends with all his
Powhatan Greeting Gestures people and kingdoms, neither had any of them off’red
Among the Powhatan gestures that seemed to be 2 Irvine (1974); Sacks (1975); Schegloff (1968); Schegloff
salient for the English were those associated with and Sacks (1973); Schiffrin (1977); Sherzer (1983); Yous-
greetings, a form of behavior which has received a souf, Grimshaw, and Bird (1976).
Anthropos 105.2010
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us ill or used us unkindly. Hereupon he very well under- act clearly involves a two-part sequence which at-
standing by the words and signs we made the significa- tempts to test the interactants’ intentions and com-
tion of our meaning moved of his own accord a league of mits them to a cooperative relationship at close
friendship with us, which our captain kindly embraced, physical proximity. Furthermore, the level of mu-
and for concluding thereof gave him his gown, put it tual recognition, understanding, and trust is clearly
on his back himself, and laying his hand on his breast
saying, “Wingapoh chemuze,” the most kind words of
heightened by a sequential format which calls for
salutation that may be, he sat down (Archer cited in Haile participants to engage in a joint sensory activity.
1998: 107). Since gestures have now been accorded the status
of utterances, the Powhatan index-finger adjacency
In the more extensive of the surviving Powhatan pair sequence by itself should be viewed as meeting
word lists, which was compiled around 1612 by Sacks’ (1975) criterion for a minimal proper con-
William Strachey (1953: 205), a law clerk for the versation.
colony, the parallel entries winggapo and wingapo Certain Powhatan greetings were carried out in
are translated as “my beloved friend” (205). In- ways to identify a particular class of individuals,
terestingly enough, in a comparative Algonquian such as headmen (werowance), priests, and any
analysis which covered Powhatan, Lenape, Natick, strangers who appeared to exhibit an elevated social
Nanticoke, and Otchipwe, Forbes also (1972: 22) status. Such greetings must have undoubtedly been
lists chemuze as “friend.” On the other hand, in a accompanied by special terms of address which re-
recently edited and expanded version of Strachey’s grettably were not recorded by the English. How-
(2005: 57) original vocabulary, which was supple- ever, other context-dependent signs that identified
mented with thirty-eight items mentioned in the participants as belonging to certain social groups
writings of other colonists such as Archer, wingapo appear to be evident in early observations, such as
appears as “welcome, or the word of greeting.” the following by John Smith (2006: 34), a compe-
Very likely, by itself it may have been an abbre- tent soldier whose military intelligence gathering
viated form, as the following of Archer’s recollec- activities serendipitously yielded a wealth of ethno-
tions seems to confirm: “Now spying 8 savages in graphic detail as well.
a canoa, we hailed them by our word of kindness
wingapoh, and they came to us” (Haile 1998: 103). If any great commander arriue at the habitation of a
The full phrase “wingapoh chemuze” may have Werowance, they spread a Mat as the Turkes doe a Carpet
indeed expressed Archer sentiments of “the most for him to sit vpon. Vpon another right opposite they sit
themselues. Then doe all with a tunable voice of shouting
kind words of salutation that may be,” a formula- bid him welcome.
tion which is echoed verbatim in the recent revision
of Strachey’s (2005: 102) list.
In close physical proximity, the Powhatans had Thus the approach of a high-status newcomer to a
an additional gesture of greeting and friendship Powhatan town required the headman and his kins-
involving the interlocking of index fingers, which men to acknowledge his or her (the English men-
Rountree (1989: 125) interprets as equivalent to tion “kings” as well as “queens”) social class by
the modern handshake. Notwithstanding Strachey’s making available mats woven of marsh reeds on the
(1953: 116) vague explanation regarding the asso- ground in a particular seating arrangement (Roun-
ciated verbal expression, his account provides a tree 1989: 60). Apparently, the body of a high-sta-
clear picture of the kinesic component. tus individual could not be in direct contact with
the ground, and the proper way to sit, as pointed
If they will expresse that wee and they wilbe or are all out by Edward Maria Wingfield, one of the early
one freinds or brothers as their word is they ioyne the presidents of the Jamestown council, was “crossed-
Indices or twoo Fore-fingers together of either hand as legged, as is their custom” (Haile 1998: 185). The
the Indians of Noua Francia or ells Clasping their fingers interactional frame further required the collective
within ours, they will saye, so and so close ioyned and performance by the community of an act of ver-
neere wee are vnto their Loves. bal ceremonial welcome in the form of a long but
carefully controlled shout, as Smith’s mention of
Even without an accompanying verbal expression, agreement in pitch seems to indicate. However, as
which may not have been strictly required, just as is Duranti (1997) has argued, such verbal expressions
the case of the modern handshake, the index finger are, in fact, contingent upon the utilization of the
gesture meets Schegloff and Sacks’ (1973) criteria human body as a social semiotic device. As a result,
for an adjacency pair format. Establishing an ex- the spatial allocations described by Smith during
pectation for a very specific type of response, this his encounters with Powhatan headmen need to be
Anthropos 105.2010
https://doi.org/10.5771/0257-9774-2010-1-47-1
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viewed as central, rather than complementary, in 4. If it be Peace, the chief of the Strangers takes a Whiff
the interpretation of the social moves utilized by or two in the Pipe, and presents to the next great Man of
the actors. In other words, the allocation of social the Town they come to visit; he, after taking two or three
space appears to have been the defining element in Whiffs, gives it back to the next of the Strangers, and so
recognizing the crucial role of the human body as a on alternately, until they have past all the Persons of Note
on each side, and then the Ceremony is ended.
signifier for high status. After a little Discourse, they march together in a friendly
The exact area in the town reserved for the greet- manner into the town, and then proceed to explain the
ing interaction’s spatial allocation seems to have Benefits upon which they came.
been deemed too inconsequential for Smith to in-
clude in his “intelligence” assessment. However, he For the Powhatans, who lived with the constant
may have inadvertently ignored a crucial compo- threat of intertribal warfare as well as intratribal
nent of the act. Fortunately, a few decades later, feuds, the determination of a visitor’s intensions
a more sympathetic observer of Native life, the at a safe distance was critically important. Refus-
Virginia-born naturalist Robert Beverley, filled in ing the pipe ritual, an ancient and powerful sym-
some of the gaps (1722:159). bol of safe passage throughout eastern and central
North America going back to, perhaps, as far as
They have a remarkable way of entertaining all Strangers the Adena, Hopewell, and Mississipian traditions,
of Condition, which is perform’d after the following
could thus be interpreted as a sign of potential
manner. First, the King or Queen, with a Guard and a
great Retinue, march out of the Town, a quarter of half treachery and ambush (Moorehead 1922; Willey
a Mile, and carry Mats for their Accommodation; when 1966). Therefore, such an elaborate process as the
they meet the Stranger, they invite them to sit down upon Powhatan’s use of ceremonial greetings made avail-
those Mats. Then they pass the Ceremony of the Pipe, able a formal protocol through which an implicit
and afterwards, having spent about half an Hour in Grave distinction between valuable and nonvaluable inter-
Discourse, they get up all together, and march into the locutors could be made.
Town. Consequently, some greetings, as Duranti
(1997) has argued, cannot be classified as entirely
Since these types of ceremonial greetings seemed predictable nor lacking in propositional content,
to have been exchanged only when a high-status even though, compared to other kinds of inter-
individual arrived at a town, they were necessar- actions, they consist of highly predictable behav-
ily framed as public events, which required a rel- ior. As a semiotic resource, the pipe ritual made
atively large space to accommodate not only the possible the exchange of new information without
interactants but also the rest of the community as relying on verbal language. Therefore, its role in
spectators. Many Powhatan towns, especially those a greeting process extended the overall protocol
situated near enemy territories, were palisaded, and from a purely expressive to a directive illocutionary
the interior dimensions of the stockade must have act. In addition to the highly conventionalized as-
presented an inadequate venue. pects of reciprocal recognition of the interactants’
However, Beverley’s description hints at a more high status, this particular ceremonial greeting re-
compelling motivation for staging important greet- quested, in the strongest possible terms, informa-
ings outside of the fortifications. The fact that a tion as a form of social control. By insisting on
pipe ceremony was included in the event indicates an adequate response, the town signaled its right
a decidedly cautionary stance, as Beverley’s (1722: to public scrutiny of an individual’s venturing into
157) following outline of that ritual reveals. its territory. The sacredness and power associated
They have a peculiar way of receiving strangers, and with the pipe guaranteed that a response to such
distinguishing whether they come as Friends or Enemies; a greeting implied a commitment to truthfulness.
tho’ they do not understand each other’s Language: And Thus receiving a high-status person at the Pow-
that is by a singular Method of smoking Tobacco; in hatan town required, in addition to acknowledg-
which these things are always observ’d. ing social identities, a critical security assessment
1. They take a Pipe much larger and bigger than a com- of the visitor’s intensions. Among the interacting
mon Tobacco Pipe, expressly made for that purpose, with semiotic resources utilized in such a greeting were
which all Towns are plentifully provided; they call them
nonverbal expressions primarily realized as bodily
the Pipes of Peace.
2. This pipe they always fill with Tobacco, before the movements in conjunction with an intertribally rec-
Face of the Strangers, and light it. ognized symbolic item of material culture which
3. The chief Man of the Indians, to whom the Strangers communicated directive illocutionary acts.
come, takes two or three Whiffs, and then hands it to the A final aspect worth mentioning regarding the
chief of the Strangers. significance of nonverbal behavior in Powhatan
Anthropos 105.2010
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greeting exchanges is the role of silence as a code vpon the heart, and sometimes they haue bene vnderstood
in and of itself. The following comments by a cler- to sweare by the Manes of their dead father (Strachey
gyman of the 1680s, possibly the Reverend John 1953: 116).
Clayton, seem to capture a Native sense of polite
caution in the preference for gestures over speech. Thus the same gesture of placing a hand on the
breast, which served as a reliable signifier of the
When a stranger comes to their house, the chiefe man in suppression of hostilities for greetings, seemed to
it desires the stranger to sit down; within a little while, he overlap with the affirmation of truthfulness. The
rises and toucheth the stranger with his hand, saying You simultaneous gesture of lifting the other hand to-
are come; after him, all the rest of the house doe the same. ward the sun clearly invoked a deity. Although no
None speaketh to him, or asketh him any questions, till citations have survived, the English record seems
he think fit to speak first (Pargellis 1959: 241). to imply vaguely that at times formulaic texts re-
ferring to the paramount ruler or “king” Powhatan,
In his classic study of “Silence in Western Apache himself worshipped as a demigod, or the spirits of
Culture,” Basso (1972) came to the conclusion ancestors were uttered in conjunction with the oath
that unpredictability of the interlocutor’s behavior gestures. However, even by themselves, such ki-
seemed to trigger a preference for taciturnity as the nesic motions, especially in the absence of literacy,
appropriate response. Strangers would certainly fall must have had an affidavit-like power to commit in-
into that perceptual category. In ethological terms, dividuals to tell the truth. Thus giving commissive
greetings have been viewed as strategies to coun- illocutionary acts a living image, Powhatan oaths
teract potentially aggressive behavior during face- transmitted through gestures religious as well as
to-face interactions. Relevant in this regard might political power in a public venue.
also be Kendon and Ferber’s (1973) claim that fear The prominent place the worship of the sun oc-
largely motivates eye-gaze aversion during certain cupied was expressed by the Powhatan at dawn and
types of encounters. Possibly, silence in conjunc- dusk through reverential gestures preceded by an
tion with avoidance of eye contact may have func- offering of dried tobacco, sprinkled in a circle on
tioned in Powhatan greetings as a sign of nonthreat- the ground or on water. In addition to the following
ening behavior and, by extension, as a marker of accounts of this daily Native ritual by George Percy
politeness. and William Strachey, who may have merely para-
phrased Percy, the observations by William White,
among the first colonists to actually live in a Pow-
Powhatan Religious Gestures hatan town for an extended period of time, are par-
ticularly noteworthy.
Since it permeates so much of a traditional culture,
religious belief is always difficult to separate from These People have a great reverence to the sun above all
other aspects of Native life. In fact, some of the other things: At the rising and setting of the same they sit
Powhatan greeting gestures appear to have been down, lifting up their hands and eyes to the sun, making
extensions of bodily movements associated with a round circle on the ground with dried tobacco. Then
worship. The intimate relationship between spiri- they began to pray, making many devilish gestures with
a hellish noise, foaming at the mouth, staring with their
tual dispositions and ritual gestures can be clearly eyes, wagging their heads and hands in such a fashion and
recognized, for example, in George Percy’s and deformity as it was monstrous to behold (White cited in
William Strachey’s accounts of oaths. Haile 1998: 98).
The seventh and twentieth of July, the King of Rapahanna We vnderstand they giue great reverance to the Sun
demanded a canoa, which was restored; lifted up his hand for which both at his early rising and late sytting they
to the sun, which they worship as their god, besides he Couch themselves downe, and lift vp their handes and
laid his hand on his heart that he would be our special eyes, and at certayne tymes make a rownd Circle on the
friend. It is a general rule of these people when they grownd with Tobacco, into which they reverently enter
swear by their god, which is the sun, no Christian will and murmure certayne vnhallowed wordes with manie a
keep their oath better upon his promise (Percy cited in deformed gesture (Strachey 1953: 97f.).
Haile 1998: 98).
William White reporteth these their ceremonies of hon-
We haue observed, how when they would affirme any oring the sun: By break of day, before they eat or drink,
thing by much earnestness and triuth, they vse to bynd the men, women, and children above ten years old run
yt by a kind of oath, either by the life of the great king, into the water, and there wash a good space till the sun
or by pointing vp to the Sun, and clapping the right hand arise; and then they offer sacrifice to it, strewing tobacco
Anthropos 105.2010
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on the land or water; the like they do at sunset (Haile They haue also another superstition that they vse in
1998: 141). stormes, when the waters are rough in the Rivers and
Sea coasts. Their Coniurers runne to the water sides, or
Curiously enough, ethnological assessments of passing in their boats, after many hellish outcryes and
Powhatan religion do not speculate much regarding invocations, they cast Tobacco, Copper, Pocones, or such
the significance or meaning of the sun as a deity. In trash into the water, to pacifie that God whom they thinke
to be very angry in those stormes (2006: 36).
almost a hedging statement Rountree (1989: 137)
suggests that “[i]n the early seventeenth century,
at least, the Powhatans showed a special reverence Although somewhat vague in his recollections,
for the sun” and then proceeds to provide only a Smith’s lexical choices of “solemnly” and “invoca-
short paragraph-length summary of the daily rit- tions” seem to imply accompanying gestures signi-
ual described in the English accounts. Even more fying the expressive illocutionary act of appeasing
remarkable is Feest’s neglecting to mention the a vengeful god. According to Feest (1978: 262) the
sun as a deity altogether in his Powhatan survey deity Oke or Okewis, whose image was kept in tem-
for the “Handbook of North American Indians” ples and was also carried into battle, dominated the
(1978). However, it would seem that a god whose Powhatan belief system. Deceased headmen and
acknowledgement required a twice-daily offering rulers were believed to be reincarnated into this
of tobacco and the lifting of hands as an expressive frightful and punishing god, who could take human
illocutionary act must have occupied the crucial po- shape. In fleshing out Robert Beverley’s superficial
sition in the pantheon which was impressed upon inquiry into Native religion conducted with Pow-
the English observers. hatan informants in the late seventeenth century,
In this regard, Powhatan religion should perhaps Rountree (1989: 136) describes this deity as closely
be connected more decidedly to the other agricul- monitoring people’s behavior and as demonstrating
tural traditions of the Southeast, where the sun de- his displeasure through weather disturbances such
ity was not only central but also where hereditary as thunderstorms or by causing personal as well as
rulers were regarded as direct descendants from it. collective misfortunes such as illnesses and crop
In sites of the Hopewellian and Mississipian eras, failures.
the presence of the hand-and-eye motif has been in- Nevertheless, this feared supernatural force
terpreted as symbolic of the ritual gesture for greet- could be conciliated with a tribute of the most val-
ing the sun deity (Brose and Greber 1979: 262). In ued commodities. A gift of tobacco, perhaps the
addition, Swanton (1911: 166) cites French colo- most sacred of the items listed by John Smith, was
nial sources which mention the Natchez of the not only binding but also difficult for anyone, in-
lower Mississippi valley as approaching their tem- cluding the supernatural, to refuse. Another sought-
ples by raising their hands and making “howling” after treasure, thinly hammered copper functioned
noises. Similarly, De Pratter (1991: 60) offers a de- as a form of currency and, often together with shell
scription of priests greeting the rising sun with a beads, was a prized decorative material for jewelry,
series of “howls,” while presenting a smoking pipe clothing, and tobacco pipes (Rountree 1989). Since
and drawing the hand across the sky in a motion the Late Archaic period the significance of the
from east to west. possession of copper as a status symbol had been
In addition to sacred tobacco, the Powhatan of- evolving in central and eastern North America, and
fered other valuable items such as copper, shell this marker of wealth had apparently also spread
beads, and puccoon, most likely in conjunction to Virginia Algonquians (Fogel 1963: 145 f.). The
with propitiating gestures, to another of their prin- last item mentioned by Smith, puccoon, or blood-
cipal deities, as the two following excerpts from root, was the source for a red pigment used for
John Smith’s account indicate. body paint, a symbol of not only high social sta-
tus but also, perhaps more importantly, physical
Vpon the top of certaine red sandy hils in the woods, beauty. Since bloodroot grows with more frequency
there are three great houses filled with images of their in North Carolina, as the botanical designation
Kings, and Devils, and Tombes of their Predecessors. Lithospermum caroliniense indicates, its rarity in
Those houses are neare sixtie foot in length built arbour-
Virginia made it a valuable trade and tribute item
wise, after their building. This place they count so holy
as that but the Priests & Kings dare come into them; nor (Rountree 1989: 76). Regaled with a share of such
the Salvages dare not goe vp the river in boats by it, but riches in conjunction with the postulated accompa-
they solemnly cast some peece of copper, white beads, nying gestures of propitiation, Oke’s anger could
or Pocones into the river, for feare their Okee should be presumably be controlled.
offended and revenged of them (Smith 2006: 35). Continuous fires were kept by women in the
Anthropos 105.2010
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houses, and the sacred fires of the temples were fact that sacred tobacco also played a role in greet-
carefully guarded by priests (Rountree 1989: 51, ings is a strong indication of their invocative aspect.
134). For other ritual purposes the temples may Thus Powhatan greeting gestures can be interpreted
have also provided the appropriate sacred fires, as a subset of bodily motions associated with wor-
which apparently demanded acknowledgement ship. Finally, it is hoped that the feasibility of an
through a gesture of, perhaps, gratitude or thanks- ethnohistory-of-communication approach with re-
giving. gard to such extralinguistic phenomena as ritual
gestures has been demonstrated. An expansion of
Before their dinners and suppers the better sort will take this line of inquiry could even include a “prehis-
the first bit, and cast it in the fire, which is all the grace tory” of communication by appealing to archae-
they are knowne to vse (Smith 2006: 36). ological evidence of symbols representing ritual
gestures, such as the Hopewellian and Mississipian
Since Powhatan eating habits, according to Roun- hand-and-eye motif.
tree (1989: 54), appeared to be irregular, Smith may
have been referring to special meals presented dur- I wish to thank Mario Garcia for reading an earlier draft
ing ceremonial occasions such as visits by high- of this article. Remaining errors are, or course, my sole
status individuals. Thus this type of fire was most responsibility.
likely imbued with religious significance and must
thus be placed in a ritual context, much as the cer-
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Anthropos 105.2010
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105.2010: 57–71
“Sin maíz vamos a morir”
Mais im Zentrum von Ökonomie, Religion und Identität
Patricia Zuckerhut
Abstract. – Corn is of central meaning for Nahuat-speaking Gewalttätigkeit vor allem bei Männern einhergehen
people of Sierra Norte, Puebla, Mexico. It is an integral part of können, eingegangen.
personhood und closely related to ideals of harmony, of (gender)
cooperation and (hierarchical gender) complementarity. The ar-
Ich beginne mit einer kurzen Darstellung der
ticle explores the relation of disturbed male harmony, resulting Bedeutung von Mais für indigenes Menschsein
from missing opportunities, to adequate corn production in the und Identität, da dieser, neben religiösen Konno-
context of globalization. This may lead to increased illegitimate tationen, wesentliche Implikationen in Bezug auf
gendered violence by men. Besides, it will also be demonstrated die Ideologie der Geschlechterverhältnisse hat: Um
how new forms of cooperation and complementarity between
husband and wife are developed and may contribute to less Mais zu erzeugen und für die Menschen genieß-
hierarchical and less violent gender relations. [Mexico, Nahua, bar zu machen, müssen Mann und Frau zusam-
gendered violence, corn, personhood] menwirken, in komplementärer Weise zusammen-
arbeiten. Daher bezieht sich der zweite Teil des
Patricia Zuckerhut, Dr. phil. (Approb. Wien 1996); Dissertati- Artikels auf dieses ideale Modell der Kooperation,
onsthema: “Produktionsverhältnisse im Alten Mexico”. – Kul-
tur- und Sozialanthropologin, freie Wissenschafterin und Lehr-
Komplementarität, und – damit einhergehend – der
beauftragte an der Universität Wien. – Mehrere Forschungsauf- Harmonie zwischen den Geschlechtern, in der Fa-
enthalte in Mexiko zwischen 2001 und 2007. – Publikationen milie und der Gesellschaft. Konnte dieses Ideal
u. a.: “Pop-Korn und Blut-Maniok. Lokale und wissenschaftli- schon in der Vergangenheit kaum realisiert werden,
che Imaginationen der Geschlechterbeziehungen in Lateiname- so stehen seiner Verwirklichung in der heutigen
rika” (mit B. Grubner und E. Kalny; Frankfurt 2003); siehe auch
Zitierte Literatur. Zeit strukturelle Zwänge entgegen, die die “richti-
ge” Produktion von Mais verhindern. Auf der einen
Seite reagieren die Männer nun mit verstärktem
Konsum von Alkohol und physischer Aggressi-
Der folgende Beitrag1 befasst sich mit der Frage on, auf der anderen werden neue Möglichkeiten
der Geschlechterverhältnisse in indigenen nahuat- gesucht und angewandt und “neue” Traditionen
sprachigen Gemeinschaften der Region um Cuet- der Kooperation, Komplementarität und Harmonie,
zalan (Puebla, Mexiko) als Beziehungen zwischen und somit neue Möglichkeiten, vollständiges (in-
Männern und Frauen, die wesentlich durch die öko-
nomischen Verhältnisse geprägt, aber auch durch 1 Die Daten entstammen Feldforschungen in den Jahren
religiöse und ideologische Vorstellungen bezogen 2003 – 2007 sowie einer Reihe von Gesprächen wie auch
auf Weltbild und Harmonie, Komplementarität und lebensgeschichtlichen Interviews unterschiedlicher Dauer,
Hierarchie mitbeeinflusst sind. Dabei wird primär ebenfalls aus diesem Zeitraum. Die Erhebungen erfolgten im
Kontext meines noch nicht abgeschlossenen Habilitations-
auf den Zusammenhang zwischen strukturellen projektes “Households at the Crossroads of Hierarchy and
Ungleichverhältnissen und gestörten Subjektbezie- Agency”. Einige der hier präsentierten Erkenntnisse finden
hungen, die auch mit verstärkter Aggressivität und sich auch in Zuckerhut (2008).
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digenes) Menschsein oder besser “Mannsein” zu ses Cintéotl und der Göttin von Mais Chicome-
erlangen, geschaffen. Im letzten Abschnitt werde cóatl (Sieben Schlangen) gewidmet. Junge Mäd-
ich daher die Möglichkeiten dieser Strategie in Hin- chen brachten den Mais des vergangenen Jahres,
blick auf die Schaffung stärker egalitärer (Gender-) um die Samen segnen zu lassen (Sahagún 1989: 84,
Beziehungen in nahuatsprachigen Haushalten dis- 114 ff.).
kutieren. Im Kontext der Zeremonien und Rituale um den
Mais war das Weibliche – in Form von Göttinnen
wie auch von Charakteren – von besonderer Be-
Die Bedeutung von Mais deutung.4 Allerdings war sein Ursprung als
menschliche Nahrung einem männlichen Gott zu-
Mais ist in Mesoamerika mehr als nur ein Nah- geschrieben, dem berühmten Quetzalcóatl (Quet-
rungsmittel. Er ist ein wichtiges Symbol mesoame- zalfederschlange),5 der diesen den Ameisen gestoh-
rikanischer, insbesondere indigener Identität. Aus len haben soll, um den neu geschaffenen “ech-
diesem Grund ranken sich um ihn eine Vielzahl von ten” Menschen der fünften Sonne6 menschliches
Vorstellungen, Mythen und Ritualen, die größten- (im Unterschied zum göttlichen) Essen zu geben
teils vorkoloniale Wurzeln haben, im Verlauf der (González Torres 1991: 145; León-Portilla 2000:
Geschichte der Kolonisierung und Christianisie- 166 ff.).
rung allerdings von christlichen und anderen Ideen Diese vorkoloniale Legende von Quetzalcóatl
und Denkmustern mitgeprägt wurden. als “Vater des Maises” findet sich in der postko-
In vorkolonialer Zeit war der Mais ein we- lonialen Erzählung von Sentiopil wieder, wie sie
sentlicher Bestandteil wichtiger Agrarzeremonien, bei den nahuatsprechenden Gruppen (masehual-
die alle mit dem Kalender in Verbindung standen: mej) der Sierra Madre Oriental im Bundesstaat Pue-
Bei den Nahua Zentralmexikos, insbesondere den bla, Distrikt Cuetzalan, verbreitet ist: Selbst ein
EinwohnerInnen von Tenochtítlan-Tlaltelolco (bes- Sohn des Maises (den der Vogel Chupamirto ge-
ser bekannt unter der Bezeichnung “AztekInnen”), schaffen hatte), bewahrte Sentiopil sein Korn an
wurde im sechsten Monat des Jahres (etzalcualiztli, einem Platz namens Cuescomatepec, von wo es die
23. 5.–11. 6.) das Fest des jungen Maises (elotl) Menschen sich holten. Ameisen hatten ihnen den
gefeiert. Erst danach war es erlaubt, den frischen Weg gezeigt. Zuerst kamen die Hochländer. Diese
Mais zu essen.2 Die Feierlichkeiten im elften Mo- nahmen sich die größten Körner. Sie waren achtlos
nat ochpaniztli (31. 8.–19. 9.) (Besenfest), einem und ungeduldig und traten auf den Mais. Daher gab
Fest, das eng mit weiblichen Aktivitäten (insbe- es für die Tiefländer, die später kamen, nur noch
sondere der Ärztinnen und Hebammen) verbunden kleine und flache Körner (Argueta 1994: 44 ff.).
war und daher auch wichtige Beiträge von Frauen Aber Sentiopil in seiner Funktion als Kulturhe-
enthielt, waren mit Wachstum und den Erdgotthei- ros, der den Menschen den Mais brachte, ist nicht
ten assoziiert, wie beispielsweise der Göttin Toci nur mit dem vorkolonialen Gott Quetzalcóatl as-
(unsere Großmutter), auch Teteo Innan (Mutter der soziiert. In ihm zeigt sich auch christliches Erbe,
Gottheiten) genannt. Weiters gab es Zeremonien wenn er als “Sohn Gottes” bezeichnet und damit
für Iztac Cinteotl (Gottheit des weißen Maises) und
für Tlatlauhqui Cinteotl (Gottheit des roten Mai- 4 Für die Bedeutung von Göttinnen in Verbindung mit Frucht-
ses) (Codex Magliabechiano 1970: 38v f.; Sahagún barkeit siehe beispielsweise Báez-Jorge (2000).
1989: 91, 147 ff.).3 Dabei wurden alle Arten von 5 Berühmt deswegen, weil er in einer Erzählung nach der
Mais – weißer, gelber, roter und blauer – unter Eroberung als Figur geschildert wird, die nach Osten über
die Leute gestreut: Junge Priesterinnen brachten das Meer ging und versprach zurückzukommen: als die
Spanier kamen, hätten die Indigenen gedacht, Quetzalcóatl
die Maiskörner, die die Fruchtbarkeit der Pflan- sei zurückgekehrt (González Torres 1991: 146).
zen ebenso repräsentierten wie die der Menschen. 6 In den Vorstellungen der vorkolonialen mesoamerikanischen
Das Fest im vierten Monat des Jahres, huey tozozt- Gesellschaften gab es fünf Zeitalter oder Sonnen. Jede/s ging
li (13. 4.–2. 5.), war speziell dem Gott des Mai- durch eine Katastrophe zu Ende. Das letzte, das fünfte Zeit-
alter nun war das, in dem die “echten” Menschen, das heißt
die AztekInnen (und ihre ZeitgenossInnen) lebten. Fünf hat
2 Broda (1979: 61); Codex Magliabechiano (1970: 33vff.); in der mesoamerikanischen Kosmogonie auch die Bedeu-
Sahagún (1989: 86, 122ff.). tung des Zentrums: Es gibt fünf Himmelsrichtungen – tlap-
3 Cinteotl galt in diesem Zusammenhang als Tocis Sohn. Des- copa (“Ort des Lichts” oder Osten), cihuatlampa (“Richtung
halb ging der Priester, der Cinteotl darstellte (und die Haut der Frauen” oder Westen), mictlampa (“Richtung der Toten”
des Oberschenkels einer Frau trug, die als Repräsentantin oder Norden), huitzlampa (“Richtung der Dornen” oder Sü-
der Göttin Toci geopfert worden war), zusammen mit einem den) sowie das Zentrum xictli (Nabel). Zu den Himmels-
anderen Priester, der Toci selbst repräsentierte, zum Tempel richtungen und ihren geschlechtlichen Implikationen vgl.
von Toci um zu opfern. Zuckerhut (2007).
Anthropos 105.2010
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