Chapter 7: A Place for Everyone and Everyone with a Place
The word
doodem is sometimes translated as clan and sometimes as caste. Both are true to various degrees.
There are dozens of different doodem. Today, over sixty doodem names are considered common, including Peshu (“Lynx”), Binesi (“Thunderbird”), and Amik (“Beaver”). Each doodem is divided into
endaad, or sub-clans. The most common doodem and the one with the most endaad is the Makwa (“Bear”) doodem. Everything from the tip of the bear’s snout to the hairs on the bear’s tail has an endaad named after it.
Several of the Doodem
[1]
Most doodem date all the way back to the pre-classical period. As social stratification increased, rules around doodem became increasingly complex and codified.
As we discuss these rules, keep three things in mind. First, that our sources are better in periods of political centralization when rules were more strictly enforced. Second, for every rule that was put in place, exceptions and workarounds were made. Third, histories and legends tend to dwell on exceptions.
The classical conception of a doodem is that it was a large family group that had the right to do certain tasks. Only people from certain doodems were allowed to be lords, priests, or other coveted positions. People from other doodems were required to do undesirable jobs such as manure shoveling.
Let’s give some examples. Members of the Lynx Clan were warriors, lords, and royalty. Members of the Thunderbird Clan were singers, poets, lords, and royalty. Members of the Catfish Clan were priests and healers. Members of the Elk Clan were scouts, messengers, and merchants. Members of the Beaver Clan were fishermen, carpenters, smiths, and other skilled laborers. Members of the Bear Clan were farmers. And so on.
In reality, people could and did change their occupation according to their strengths and skills. Being born into the “wrong” doodem was an obstacle but it was not destiny.
When a woman married, she became part of the doodem of her husband. She moved to the longhouse of her husband. She moved from the protection of her father to the protection of her husband. She went from tending the fire of her parents to tending the fire of her husband. A man could marry multiple women (and high ranking and/or rich men often did) but a woman could not marry multiple men.
Doodem were exogamous, meaning that clan members could not marry a fellow clan member. Marriage was also restricted between certain doodem. For example, members of the Lynx clan could marry Thunderbird clan members but not Elk clan members. Elk clan members could marry Beaver and Bear clan members. There were hundreds of possible combinations. Each one was carefully catalogued and regulated to ensure no one married too far above or below their station.
Parallel cousins (the children of your father’s brothers and the children of your mother’s sisters) were considered close family. Cross cousins (the children of your mother’s brothers and the children of your father’s sisters) were not. Relationships with parallel cousins were considered incestuous. Relationships with cross cousins were common. In fact, cross cousins were the most common marriage prospects for young Menominee.
[2]
Elite marriages were arranged. Even among the lower classes, parents often had a large hand in choosing their children’s spouse. However, even the earliest law codes expressly forbid forced marriage.
When a child was born, it was a part of the doodem of its father, not its mother. If a child’s father was unknown, it might be accepted into the doodem of its mother. If not, the child had no doodem and no official place in society.
A woman who married a foreigner remained a part of her father’s doodem. Her children were considered part of their father’s family. The most common form of this was Sioux-Menominee marriages. The children of such unions, regardless of relatedness, were part of the
Ma’iingan (“Wolf”) doodem. Similarly, the children of Ongweh’onweh
[3][Iroquois] and Menominee unions were part of the
Irinakhow (“Snake”) doodem.
Each endaad was headed by an
Ogimaa, who was always male. Every adult member of the endaad, male and female, would vote on who should be the Ogimaa. The eldest male member of the endaad was usually voted in unanimously. If not, further votes would be held until the decision was unanimous. If no decision could be reached, the endaad could split apart. If every man in an endaad was killed, it was possible for a woman to be elected Ogimaa.
The
Ogimaa of each
endaad would wear a wampum belt. This was one of the most important objects the family owned.
Wampum is beads made from multi-colored sea shells. These beads were placed on strings to create patterns, usually a story.
The patterns of the belt of an Ogimaa represented the portion of the communal food stores that was owed to the holder of the belt. In a real sense, it represented the worth of the family and the promise of the community to take care of its own. The most prestigious belts were worth far more than the theoretical value of the wampum used to make them.
Many people were outside the traditional doodem system, including foreigners, slaves, and outcasts.
Slavery had existed on a small scale since the preclassical period. As social stratification and warfare increased, so did the number of slaves. By the classical period, around one-fifth of the population was enslaved.
Slaves had no doodem. Prisoners of war, even Menominee, were stripped of their doodem when captured. There were two types of slaves: field slaves called
Paanii (French: Panis; English: Pawnee) and house slaves called
awakaan.
The word
Paanii is said to be the name of a people that were destroyed and enslaved by the Menominee in prehistoric times. Linguists, archeologists and historians are unsure if this is true or legendary.
Paanii were used to dig irrigation canals, mining, and other dangerous, unpleasant, or menial tasks. Most male slaves were
Paanii.
The word
awakaan is the same word used for house pets. They were mostly women who were used as servants and concubines. Male
awakaan were usually skilled laborers
. Awakaan, unlike
Paanii, could be adopted into their owner’s doodem. Once adopted, they had the full rights and responsibilities of a doodem member.
Next time, we will discuss the development of writing in the Mishigami.
[1] Taken from:
http://en.copian.ca/library/learning/chikiken/page23.htm
[2] This is the Iroquois Kinship system. It was also used by the Anishinaabe peoples and many others.
[3] A lesser known name for the Iroquois. The word “Iroquois” is an exonym that derives from the Algonquin word Irinakhow, meaning snake. Obviously, calling them Haudenosaunee wouldn’t make much sense either because ITTL the longhouse was used by algonkian people first.
[4] Taken from:
https://www.wampumbear.com/Aa_Wyandot Two Row Belt.jpg which represents a treaty between the governor of New York, the Iroquois Confederacy and the Huron nation.
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