Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 78-98 |
| Number of pages | 21 |
| Journal | History and Anthropology |
| Volume | 34 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Early online date | 14 Oct 2022 |
| Publication status | Published - 2023 |
Abstract
This article focuses on violent conflict among indigenous groups in the Eastern Woodlands of North America from the seventeenth to the late eighteenth century. Amerindian groups struggled here against European domination and among themselves for various reasons. However, warfare was conceived in spiritual and religious terms and remained a highly ritualized affair. With their long and intense history of martial interaction and the prominent role of women in the war complex, the Iroquoian Amerindians of the Eastern Woodlands are an interesting case of collective violence in non-state societies. In contrast to many stratified pre-industrial societies, neither war nor religion had to legitimize domination by an elite class. Both spheres were individual, kinship, or communal affairs. But religious beliefs played a role in motivating and justifying raids and warfare, which were sanctified by the need to satisfy the souls of dead kinsmen. Failure to avenge a relative’s death meant provoking the wrath of the deceased’s soul. The torture and killing of captives was often a sacrifice to deities and a means to renew the spiritual strength of lineages, clans and villages. While Iroquois women did not go on the war path themselves, the female elders of the clans had, in contrast to most other societies, a say on issues of war and peace and female relatives played a crucial role in instigating raids in revenge for killed relatives. Beyond this, they actively participated in the ritual torture of captives.
Keywords
- Ethnohistory, indigenous North America, Iroquois, religion, social organization, war
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Social Sciences(all)
- Cultural Studies
- Arts and Humanities(all)
- History
- Social Sciences(all)
- Anthropology
Sustainable Development Goals
Cite this
- Standard
- Harvard
- Apa
- Vancouver
- BibTeX
- RIS
In: History and Anthropology, Vol. 34, No. 1, 2023, p. 78-98.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Amerindian war and religion in the Eastern Woodlands of North America, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries
AU - Gabbert, Wolfgang
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - This article focuses on violent conflict among indigenous groups in the Eastern Woodlands of North America from the seventeenth to the late eighteenth century. Amerindian groups struggled here against European domination and among themselves for various reasons. However, warfare was conceived in spiritual and religious terms and remained a highly ritualized affair. With their long and intense history of martial interaction and the prominent role of women in the war complex, the Iroquoian Amerindians of the Eastern Woodlands are an interesting case of collective violence in non-state societies. In contrast to many stratified pre-industrial societies, neither war nor religion had to legitimize domination by an elite class. Both spheres were individual, kinship, or communal affairs. But religious beliefs played a role in motivating and justifying raids and warfare, which were sanctified by the need to satisfy the souls of dead kinsmen. Failure to avenge a relative’s death meant provoking the wrath of the deceased’s soul. The torture and killing of captives was often a sacrifice to deities and a means to renew the spiritual strength of lineages, clans and villages. While Iroquois women did not go on the war path themselves, the female elders of the clans had, in contrast to most other societies, a say on issues of war and peace and female relatives played a crucial role in instigating raids in revenge for killed relatives. Beyond this, they actively participated in the ritual torture of captives.
AB - This article focuses on violent conflict among indigenous groups in the Eastern Woodlands of North America from the seventeenth to the late eighteenth century. Amerindian groups struggled here against European domination and among themselves for various reasons. However, warfare was conceived in spiritual and religious terms and remained a highly ritualized affair. With their long and intense history of martial interaction and the prominent role of women in the war complex, the Iroquoian Amerindians of the Eastern Woodlands are an interesting case of collective violence in non-state societies. In contrast to many stratified pre-industrial societies, neither war nor religion had to legitimize domination by an elite class. Both spheres were individual, kinship, or communal affairs. But religious beliefs played a role in motivating and justifying raids and warfare, which were sanctified by the need to satisfy the souls of dead kinsmen. Failure to avenge a relative’s death meant provoking the wrath of the deceased’s soul. The torture and killing of captives was often a sacrifice to deities and a means to renew the spiritual strength of lineages, clans and villages. While Iroquois women did not go on the war path themselves, the female elders of the clans had, in contrast to most other societies, a say on issues of war and peace and female relatives played a crucial role in instigating raids in revenge for killed relatives. Beyond this, they actively participated in the ritual torture of captives.
KW - Ethnohistory
KW - indigenous North America
KW - Iroquois
KW - religion
KW - social organization
KW - war
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85140048918&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/02757206.2022.2060211
DO - 10.1080/02757206.2022.2060211
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85140048918
VL - 34
SP - 78
EP - 98
JO - History and Anthropology
JF - History and Anthropology
SN - 0275-7206
IS - 1
ER -