Weetamoo
This article may need clearer distinction between fact and fiction.(December 2011) |
Weetamoo | |
---|---|
Wampanoag leader | |
In office ? –1676 | |
Preceded by | Corbitant |
Personal details | |
Born | Namumpum Weetamoo 1635 present day North Tiverton, Rhode Island |
Died | August 6, 1676 Taunton, Massachusetts | (aged 40–41)
Cause of death | Drowning |
Spouse(s) | Winnepurket, Wamsutta (Alexander), Quequequanachet, Petonowit, and Quinnapin |
Parent | Corbitant (father) |
Nicknames |
|
Military service | |
Battles/wars | King Philip's War |
Weetamoo (pronounced Wee-TAH-moo)
In the Algonquian language of the Indigenous Peoples of the Northeastern United States and Canada, Weetamoo's name means "speak to them".[citation needed] She lived in Quequechan, now called Fall River, Massachusetts.[3]
Early life
Weetamoo was born in the Mattapoiset village of the
Husbands and children
In her lifetime, she had five husbands: Winnepurket, Wamsutta (Alexander), Quequequanachet, Petonowit, and Quinnapin.
Her first husband, Winnepurket, was the Sachem of Saugus, Massachusetts and died shortly after they were married.
Little is known about Weetamoo's third husband Quequequanachet, while she ended the marriage to her fourth husband Petonowit (called "Ben" by the English[3]) when he sided with the English during King Philip's War.
Her final marriage was to Quinnapin, the son of Niantic Narraganset sachem Ninigret and grandson of powerful Narragansett sachem Canonchet. He was described as "a handsome warrior" and they were married in September or August 1675.[7] This marriage was designed to strengthen and reinforce the Wampanoag-Narragansett alliance against colonists.[8] The marriage appeared to have been strong and the pair had at least one child together, who died in 1676.[5] Quinnapin was captured in 1676.[7]
Political career
Because her father had no sons, she became sunksqua between the death of her husband Wamsutta and her remarriage to Quequequanachet, and was defended by an army of more than 300 men that she commanded.[4] Being a woman did not diminish her authority, despite many colonists' lack of understanding of her position. It has been theorized that some of the lesser-known sachems assumed to have been male may have been female sunksquas, especially since female leaders were not unheard of among the Algonquian tribes.[9]
Weetamoo joined "with King Philip in fighting the colonists" in 1675, in King Philip's War, also known as "Metacomet's Rebellion." King Philip's War is named for the uprising of Metacomet, Weetamoo's brother in law and the younger brother of Wamsutta, who was also known by the English name Philip.[4] Early on in the war, Weetamoo gave support to Metacomet by aiding his forces with the strength of her soldiers.[4] Eventually, the English defeated the Wampanoag in August 1676.
Death
Weetamoo drowned in the Taunton River in 1676.[10] Her dead body was mutilated, and her head was displayed on a pole in Taunton, MA.[11][12] Little else is known about her final days or death, or of the deaths of her soldiers who traveled with her. The story of her corpse being beheaded comes from the writings of minister Increase Mather.[13]
Legacy
Weetamoo/Wattimore appears in Mary Rowlandson's The Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson. In 1676, Weetamoo and her relative Quinnapin, the sachem of Narragansett, attacked a colonial settlement in Lancaster, Massachusetts.[13] Rowlandson, who was captured and held by Quinnapin for three months, left a vivid description of Weetamoo's appearance as well as personality:
A severe and proud dame she was, bestowing every day in dressing herself neat as much time as any of the gentry of the land: powdering her hair, and painting her face, going with necklaces, with jewels in her ears, and bracelets upon her hands. When she had dressed herself, her work was to make girdles of wampum and beads.[14]
Only women of rank were allowed to produce "Girdles of wampom and beads", and Weetamoo's production of these items reinforced her status. Wampum belts would be strung together with shells and were often used among Native Americans to deliver messages accompanied by speeches.[8] Many places in the White Mountains of New Hampshire are also named after her, such as Weetamoo Falls, Mount Weetamoo, the Weetamoo Trail (which includes Weetamoo Glen and Weetamoo Rock), and the Six Husbands Trail, a reference to her marriages. However, there is no evidence that Weetamoo ever went to the White Mountains, and the area's focus on her may come from John Greenleaf Whittier's poem "The Bridal of Penacook," which names her as being from the area.[15]
Weetamoo's adolescent life is depicted in the young adult historical novel, Weetamoo: Heart of the Pocasetts, in The Royal Diaries series.[16][17][18]
Weetamoo Woods Open Space in Tiverton, Rhode Island is named after Weetamoo.[19] A 50-foot vessel, Weetamoo, built in 1902, "was named after the daughter of an Indian Chief in John Greenleaf Whittier's poem Bride of Penacook." The vessel served on Lake Sunapee for 25 years before being scuttled.[20] Lowell YWCA Camp Weetamoo is located on Long-Sought-for Pond in Westford, MA.[21][22]
Notes
- ^ "Life Story: Weetamoo". Women & the American Story. Retrieved 2023-09-15.
- ^ a b Martinez, Donna; Williams Bordeaux, Jennifer L., eds. (2016). 50 Events That Shaped American Indian History: An Encyclopedia of the American Mosaic. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO. p. 139.
- ^ a b c Peirce, Ebenezer W. (1878). Indian History, Biography and Genealogy: Pertaining to the Good Sachem Massasoit of the Wampanoag Tribe, and His Descendants. North Abington, MA: Z.G. Mitchell. pp. 37–51.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4381-0788-2.
- ^ )
- ^ Silverman, David (2019). This Land Is Their Land. New York: Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 352.
- ^ S2CID 142629136.
- ^ .
- ^ Mays, Dorothy A. (2004). Women in Early America: Struggle, Survival, and Freedom in a New World. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO. p. 207.
- ^ Josiah Philips, 41.
- ^ Small, Dan. "What Exactly is a Weetamoo?". Friends of Lynn Woods, Lynn MA. Archived from the original on 2012-02-14. Retrieved 2013-04-24.
- ^ Sultzman, Lee. "Wampanoag History". First Nations Histories. Archived from the original on 2013-07-04. Retrieved 2013-04-24.
- ^ a b Joyce Appleby; Eileen K. Cheng; Joanne L. Goodwin, eds. (2015). Encyclopedia of Women in American History. New York: Routledge. p. 199.
- ^ ""A Severe and Proud Dame She Was": Mary Rowlandson Lives Among the Indians, 1675". History Matters. Retrieved 2013-04-24.
- ^ Boardman, Julie (2001). When Women and Mountains Meet. Etna, New Hampshire: The Durand Press. p. 141.
- ^ "An Interview with Patricia Clark Smith about Weetamoo: Heart of the Pocassets". Scholastic.com. (Rhode Island-Massachusetts, 1653). Retrieved 2013-04-24.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: location (link) - ^ "Weetamoo: Heart of the Pocassets Discussion Guide". Scholastic.com. Retrieved 2013-04-24.
- ^ Scholastic Corporation - The Royal Diaries, Weetamoo: Heart of Pocassets
- ^ "Recreation Department and Open Space Areas". Official Web Site of Tiverton, RI. Archived from the original on 2013-05-30. Retrieved 2013-04-24.
- ^ "Lake Sunapee History". Lake-Sunapee-Living.com. Retrieved 2013-04-24.
- ^ "The Greater Lowell YWCA, One Hundred Years of Service and Advocacy 1891-1991". University of Massachusetts Lowell Center for Lowell History. Retrieved 2013-04-24.
- ^ "Walter Cleven Obituary: Walter Cleven's Obituary by the Lowell Sun". Legacy.com. Retrieved 2013-04-24.
Sources
- Martino-Trutor, Gina M. (2015). "As Potent a Prince as any Round About Her: Rethinking Weetamoo of the Pocassett and Native Female Leadership in Early America". Journal of Women's History. 27 (3): 37–60. S2CID 142629136.
- Tustin, Josiah Philips (1845). A Discourse Delivered at the Dedication of the New Church Edifice of the Baptist Church and Society in Warren, R.I. May 8, 1845. H.H. Brown. pp. 40–41.