Wampanoag Burial Traditions

The Wampanoag today. Photo credit: wickedlocal

With Thanksgiving underway, we look to the funeral traditions of perhaps the most famous of the Native American peoples: the Wampanoag. It is estimated that these Native Americans lived in the New England region for over 10,000 years, with over 60 tribes in their nation. Of course, when batches of colonists began to arrive in 1620, the tribes faced unimagined obstacles — particularly holding onto their traditions. The Wampanoags had established an immense presence in the region; it was the richest in cultural traditions that the colonialists had never seen. And it is among this heritage — that is so famous for its creation myths, incredible medicine and health advances and culture of story-telling —  that we can also uncover the Wampanoag end of life beliefs.

Wampanoag beads would often be placed in a burial site for a loved one. Credit: Wikipedia

Bring up Thanksgiving and one inevitably brings up the sensitive discussion of the Native American plight — the ensuing tragedy inflicted upon the Wampanoags and countless others by colonists who, as we all learned in elementary school, left their own homeland to escape persecution. Today, a group of Native Americans gathers on Cole’s Hill in Plymouth every Thanksgiving for a “National Day of Mourning,” in which they “honor Native ancestors and the struggles of Native peoples to survive today.”

Needless to say, when we look down at our turkey dinner we can’t help but think about a tense historical relationship. Perhaps in revisiting the Wampanoag traditions surrounding death, we can make an effort – however miniscule – to keep some facets of their cultural identity intact.

“Needless to say, when we look down at our turkey dinner we can’t help but think about a tense historical relationship.”

Wampanoag historian Chester Soliz; one among many in the tribe’s community who aims to preserve their culture. Credit: Tufts Now

According to Wampanoag legend, the islands of Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard were created by the hand of a giant named Maushop. By emptying his shoe of sand, Maushop created not only territories for the Native Americans, but continued to teach them the ways to cultivate corn and survive. So, when a Wampanoag passed away, they would be buried with the tools necessary to cultivate their own land in the afterlife. The family would all gather, faces painted in black soot for mourning, to lament and grieve openly beside their loved one.

Credit: ourmothertongues.org

The actual mat the family member passed away on was placed over the burial site, along with the bowl from his last meal. Beside the burial site, a final mark of remembrance would be hung on a surrounding tree: a fine coat of animal skin.

“Beside the burial site, a final mark of remembrance would be hung on a surrounding tree: a fine coat of animal skin.”

“The Chappaquiddick Wampanoag believe in the cycle of life,” states a non-profit Wampanoag organization today (The Chappaquiddick Tribe Of The Wampanoag Indian Nation, Corp.) and that includes coming together in the face of death. Staying together is a process, says the organization, but it is also “[their] duty to act upon [their] beliefs… to promote cultural preservation, [to] embrace [the] Wampanoag language and repatriation and protection of ancestral burial sites.”

Related SevenPonds articles:

• Traditional Burial Rites for the Maori
• Unlocking the Meaning of Dia de los Muertos
  
• Preserving the Totem Poles of the Northwest