Cusabo language
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Cusabo or Cosabo were a group of American Indian tribes who lived along the coast of the
Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
in what is now
South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...
, approximately between present-day Charleston and south to the Savannah River, at the time of European colonization.
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
colonists often referred to them as one of the Settlement Indians of South Carolina, tribes who "settled" among the colonists. Five of the groups were recorded by the settlers as having spoken a common language, although one distinctly different from the major language families known nearby, such as Algonquian,
Iroquoian The Iroquoian languages are a language family of indigenous peoples of North America. They are known for their general lack of labial consonants. The Iroquoian languages are polysynthetic and head-marking. As of 2020, all surviving Iroquoian ...
,
Muskogean Muskogean (also Muskhogean, Muskogee) is a Native American language family spoken in different areas of the Southeastern United States. Though the debate concerning their interrelationships is ongoing, the Muskogean languages are generally div ...
, and
Siouan Siouan or Siouan–Catawban is a language family of North America that is located primarily in the Great Plains, Ohio and Mississippi valleys and southeastern North America with a few other languages in the east. Name Authors who call the enti ...
. With the English settling on their land at Charleston beginning in the 17th century, the Cusabo developed a chafing relationship with the colony that persisted through the early 18th century. After the
Yamasee War The Yamasee War (also spelled Yamassee or Yemassee) was a conflict fought in South Carolina from 1715 to 1717 between British settlers from the Province of Carolina and the Yamasee and a number of other allied Native American peoples, incl ...
of 1715, also known as the Gullah Wars, surviving tribal members migrated to join the
Muscogee The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language), are a group of related indigenous (Native American) peoples of the Southeastern WoodlandsCatawba Catawba may refer to: *Catawba people, a Native American tribe in the Carolinas *Catawba language, a language in the Catawban languages family *Catawban languages Botany *Catalpa, a genus of trees, based on the name used by the Catawba and other N ...
.


Political divisions

Subtribes of the Cusabo included the Ashepoo (Ishpow), Combahee, Cusso (also spelled Coosaw, Coosawa, Cussoe, or Kussoe; not the same people as the earlier
Coosa chiefdom The Coosa chiefdom was a powerful Native American paramount chiefdom in what are now Gordon and Murray counties in Georgia, in the United States.Mississippian culture in Georgia), Edisto (also spelled Edistow), Escamacu (also St. Helena Indians), Etiwaw tribe (also Etiwan, Ittawan or Eutaw), Kiawah, Stono, Bohicket, Wando, Wappoo and Wimbee."Cusabo"
South Carolina Indians, South Carolina Information Highway
Non-Cusabo Settlement Indians listed in a 1696 report include the Sewee and Santee.


Language

Although in the 1930s, American anthropologist
John Swanton John Reed Swanton (February 19, 1873 – May 2, 1958) was an American anthropologist, folklorist, and linguist who worked with Native American peoples throughout the United States. Swanton achieved recognition in the fields of ethnology and ethn ...
theorized that the Cusabo may have spoken a form of the
Muskogean language Muskogean (also Muskhogean, Muskogee) is a Native American language family spoken in different areas of the Southeastern United States. Though the debate concerning their interrelationships is ongoing, the Muskogean languages are generally div ...
, linguistic research since the late 20th century disputes this. The language spoken by the Cusabo is virtually unknown and is now extinct. It did not appear to be related to other known language families on the North American continent. There is evidence that at least five tribes on the coast, in the territory from the lower Savannah to the
Wando River The Wando River is a tidewater river in the coastal area of South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of S ...
(east of Charleston), spoke a common language that was different from the
Guale Guale was a historic Native American chiefdom of Mississippian culture peoples located along the coast of present-day Georgia and the Sea Islands. Spanish Florida established its Roman Catholic missionary system in the chiefdom in the late 16t ...
and Sewee languages of neighboring peoples. It is likely the Ashepoo, Combahee, Escamaçu, Etiwan, and Kiawah also spoke this language, which has been referred to as ''Cusaboan''. Only a few words (mostly town names) of this language were recorded in the 16th century by French
explorer Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians. Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...
René Goulaine de Laudonnière Rene Goulaine de Laudonnière (c. 1529–1574) was a French Huguenot explorer and the founder of the French colony of Fort Caroline in what is now Jacksonville, Florida. Admiral Gaspard de Coligny, a Huguenot, sent Jean Ribault and Laudonnière ...
. (One example was ''Skorrye'' or ''Skerry'', meaning "bad" or "enemy"). Most words lack translations. Approximately 100 place names and 12 personal names in Cusabo have survived. The place names do not seem to be related to the Algonquian,
Siouan Siouan or Siouan–Catawban is a language family of North America that is located primarily in the Great Plains, Ohio and Mississippi valleys and southeastern North America with a few other languages in the east. Name Authors who call the enti ...
Iroquoian The Iroquoian languages are a language family of indigenous peoples of North America. They are known for their general lack of labial consonants. The Iroquoian languages are polysynthetic and head-marking. As of 2020, all surviving Iroquoian ...
, and
Muskogean languages Muskogean (also Muskhogean, Muskogee) is a Native American language family spoken in different areas of the Southeastern United States. Though the debate concerning their interrelationships is ongoing, the Muskogean languages are generally div ...
, or languages used by other South Carolina coastal and Piedmont tribes. (In places where the Sewee and Santee lived, the place names are in the
Catawban languages The Catawban, or Eastern Siouan, languages form a small language family in east North America. The Catawban family is a branch of the larger Siouan a.k.a. Siouan–Catawban family. Family division The Catawban family consists of two languages: ...
, likely reflecting earlier dominance by the Catawba.)
John R. Swanton John Reed Swanton (February 19, 1873 – May 2, 1958) was an American anthropologist, folklorist, and linguist who worked with Native American peoples throughout the United States. Swanton achieved recognition in the fields of ethnology and et ...
thought that the ''bou'' or ''boo'' element, presumably the same ''bou'' in the Cusabo word ''Westo boe'' meaning "Westoe River", which occurs in many coastal place names, is related to the Choctaw word ''-bok'' (river). He speculated that Cusabo was related to the Muskogean family. Later scholars of the 21st century think this relation of sounds might have been a coincidence without meaning, especially since the older Choctaw form was (meaning small river, river forming part of a delta). They believe that Cusabo was from a different language family altogether.
Blair Rudes Blair Arnold Rudes (May 18, 1951 – March 16, 2008) was an American linguist and professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte best known for his expertise in Native American languages. He was hired in 2004 to reconstruct the long e ...
has suggested that the -bo suffix and other evidence may indicate a relationship to the
Arawakan languages Arawakan (''Arahuacan, Maipuran Arawakan, "mainstream" Arawakan, Arawakan proper''), also known as Maipurean (also ''Maipuran, Maipureano, Maipúre''), is a language family that developed among ancient indigenous peoples in South America. Branc ...
of the Caribbean indigenous peoples, some of whom originated on the South American continent.Rudes, Blair A
"Pre-Columbian Links to the Caribbean: Evidence Connecting Cusabo to Taino"
paper presented at ''Language Variety in the South III'' conference, Tuscaloosa, AL, 16 April 2004.
If true, it would mean that parts of the Atlantic Coast in North America may have been settled by indigenous peoples from the Caribbean islands.


History

The names of many subtribes of the Cusabo and
Catawba people The Catawba, also known as Issa, Essa or Iswä but most commonly ''Iswa'' (Catawba: '' Ye Iswąˀ'' – "people of the river"), are a federally recognized tribe of Native Americans, known as the Catawba Indian Nation. Their current lands ar ...
may be recognized among the provinces that were described by
Francisco de Chicora Francisco de Chicora was the baptismal name given to a Native American kidnapped in 1521, along with 70 others, from near Winyah Bay by Spanish explorer Francisco Gordillo and slave trader Pedro de Quexos, based in Santo Domingo and the first Europ ...
, a native who was kidnapped from the Pee Dee River area by Spanish in 1521. He was taken by the expedition back to Spain, where he learned Spanish. His ''Testimony of Francisco de Chicora'' was recorded by the court chronicler Peter Martyr and published in 1525. n 1526,
Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón (c. 1480 – 18 October 1526) was a Spanish magistrate and explorer who in 1526 established the short-lived San Miguel de Gualdape colony, one of the first European attempts at a settlement in what is now the United State ...
's party visited this area and recorded some names. The English
colony of South Carolina Province of South Carolina, originally known as Clarendon Province, was a province of Great Britain that existed in North America from 1712 to 1776. It was one of the five Southern colonies and one of the thirteen American colonies. The monar ...
was founded in the midst of Cusabo land, and the loose group of tribes became closely tied to the colony. In the first decade after the founding of Charles Town in 1670, there was conflict and warfare between some of the Cusabo and the English colonists. The Kussoe (Coosa) subtribe was the first to come into violent conflict; Carolina declared war against them in October 1671. The Kussoe went into hiding but remained in the area. In the early years of the colony, the Indians could "lie low" if they wanted. For three years, colonial records make no mention of the Kussoe or the war. In 1674 records note an alleged Kussoe attack in which three colonists were killed. During the same year the Stono, a Cusabo subtribe, fought with the colony. This conflict (not to be confused with the later
Stono Rebellion The Stono Rebellion (also known as Cato's Conspiracy or Cato's Rebellion) was a slave revolt that began on 9 September 1739, in the colony of South Carolina. It was the largest slave rebellion in the Southern Colonies, with 25 colonists and 35 t ...
of African slaves) was similar to the Kussoe War. Colonial records are unclear on how the Kussoe-Stono War ended, except that it was resolved in South Carolina's favor. The colony forced the tribes to cede large tracts of rich land. In addition, they required the Kussoe to make a symbolic tribute payment of one
deerskin Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hogs ...
per month. The Kussoe, Stono, and other Cusabo subtribes remained in the area, living in relative accord with the colonists until the
Yamasee War The Yamasee War (also spelled Yamassee or Yemassee) was a conflict fought in South Carolina from 1715 to 1717 between British settlers from the Province of Carolina and the Yamasee and a number of other allied Native American peoples, incl ...
of 1715. One of South Carolina's first powerful Indian allies was the
Westo The Westo were an Iroquoian Native American tribe encountered in the Southeastern U.S. by Europeans in the 17th century. They probably spoke an Iroquoian language. The Spanish called these people Chichimeco (not to be confused with Chichimeca i ...
tribe, who during the 1670s conducted numerous slave raid attacks on nearly every other Indian group in the region. Contemporary scholars believe the Westo were an
Iroquoian The Iroquoian languages are a language family of indigenous peoples of North America. They are known for their general lack of labial consonants. The Iroquoian languages are polysynthetic and head-marking. As of 2020, all surviving Iroquoian ...
tribe who had migrated from the
Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lak ...
area, possibly an offshoot of the
Erie Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 a ...
during the Beaver Wars. By the late 1670s, South Carolina colonists came into direct conflict with the Westo. The colony demanded that the Westo cease attacking the Cusabo and other Settlement Indians. Continued Westo attacks played a role in South Carolina's decision to destroy the Westo, which they did with assistance from other Native Americans in 1679-1680. By the turn of the eighteenth century, the Cusabo had become fairly integrated into South Carolina's colonial society. They retained their tribal identities and lived in their own villages. A relationship developed between the two groups, with the Indians serving as a kind of police and security force in exchange for trade goods, weapons, and money. The colony paid the Cusabo for killing "vermin", major predators such as wolves, "tigers" (cougars), and bears. The Cusabo also hunted game animals and sold the meat to colonists. But their chief service was in capturing
fugitive A fugitive (or runaway) is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from jail, a government arrest, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals. A fugitive from justice, also known ...
enslaved Africans. South Carolina colonial authorities tried to encourage hostility between the two groups to avoid an alliance between them. They passed laws to reward Indians for capturing runaway slaves, and absolved them of liability if runaways were killed in the process. In contrast, Africans were punished severely for attacking Indians. As late as 1750, reportedly more than 400 "ancient native" (or Settlement Indians) lived within South Carolina, with their "chief service" being "hunting Game, destroying Vermin and Beasts of Prey, and in capturing Runaway slaves." During the
Tuscarora War The Tuscarora War was fought in North Carolina from September 10, 1711 until February 11, 1715 between the Tuscarora people and their allies on one side and European American settlers, the Yamassee, and other allies on the other. This was con ...
, the Cusabo joined the first South Carolina army under
John Barnwell John Barnwell (born 24 December 1938) is an English former football player and manager. He was the chief executive of the League Managers Association. Career Arsenal Born in Newcastle, Barnwell first played as an amateur for Whitley Bay and ...
. They fought against the
Tuscarora Tuscarora may refer to the following: First nations and Native American people and culture * Tuscarora people **''Federal Power Commission v. Tuscarora Indian Nation'' (1960) * Tuscarora language, an Iroquoian language of the Tuscarora people * ...
in North Carolina in 1711 and 1712. These were an Iroquoian-speaking people. Part of the "Yamasee Company", the Cusabo warriors numbered fewer than 15 men. After the Yamasee War, most of the Tuscarora migrated north to western New York, where they joined the Five Nations of the
Iroquois League The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...
, known as the ''
Haudenosaunee The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...
''. They lived near the Oneida in their territory and declared their migration finished in 1722. In 1712, South Carolina granted Polawana Island, near Saint Helena Island, to the Cusabo, where many were already living. Barnwell took a census in early 1715 that listed the Cusabo ("Corsaboy") as living in five villages and having a population of 95 men and 200 women and children. The "Itwan", a Cusabo subtribe, was listed separately as living in one village with a population of 80 men and 160 women and children. During the Yamasee War of 1715, the Cusabo were one of the few Indian groups who sided with the colony of South Carolina. After the war, most of them migrated from the area, joining either the
Catawba Catawba may refer to: *Catawba people, a Native American tribe in the Carolinas *Catawba language, a language in the Catawban languages family *Catawban languages Botany *Catalpa, a genus of trees, based on the name used by the Catawba and other N ...
or the
Muscogee The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language), are a group of related indigenous (Native American) peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands The Catawba territory extended into western North Carolina and the upper Catawba River valley.


21st century

Today, there are groups, outside of the
Muscogee The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language), are a group of related indigenous (Native American) peoples of the Southeastern WoodlandsSeminole The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, ...
, and Catawba peoples, who claim descent from Cusabo peoples. These include the Guaymari Kiawah and the Varnertown Indians. South Carolina recognizes the
Wassamasaw Tribe of Varnertown Indians The Wassamasaw Tribe of Varnertown Indians, is a small state-recognized tribe of Native Americans descended from historic tribes of the Colonial Era. Located in Berkeley County in the Low Country, in 2005 the people were granted recognition as a ...
as a
state-recognized tribe State-recognized tribes in the United States are organizations that identify as Native American tribes or heritage groups that do not meet the criteria for federally recognized Indian tribes but have been recognized by a process established unde ...
; however, this organization does not have
federal recognition This is a list of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States of America. There are also federally recognized Alaska Native tribes. , 574 Indian tribes were legally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the United ...
as a
Native American tribe In the United States, an American Indian tribe, Native American tribe, Alaska Native village, tribal nation, or similar concept is any extant or historical clan, tribe, band, nation, or other group or community of Native Americans in the Unit ...
. The Guaymari Kiawah are not state-recognized, federally recognized, or a
nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
.


Notes

{{authority control Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands Native American tribes in South Carolina Unclassified languages of North America Extinct Native American peoples