Weetamoo (c. 1635–1676), also referred to as Weethao, Weetamoe, Wattimore, Namumpum, and Tatapanunum, was a
Pocasset Wampanoag
The Wampanoag , also rendered Wôpanâak, are an Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands based in southeastern Massachusetts and historically parts of eastern Rhode Island,Salwen, "Indians of Southern New England and Long Island," p. 17 ...
Native American Chief. She was the ''sunksqua'', or female
sachem
Sachems and sagamores are paramount chiefs among the Algonquians or other Native American tribes of northeastern North America, including the Iroquois. The two words are anglicizations of cognate terms (c. 1622) from different Eastern Al ...
, of Pocasset tribe, which occupied contemporary
Tiverton, Rhode Island
Tiverton is a New England town, town in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 16,359 at the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census.
Geography
Tiverton is located on the eastern shore of Narragansett Bay, across the Sa ...
in 1620.
In the
Algonquian language of the Indigenous Peoples of the Northeastern United States and Canada, Weetamoo's name means "speak to them". She lived in Quequechan, now called Fall River, Massachusetts.
Early life
Weetamoo was born in the Mattapoiset village of the
Pokanoket
The Pokanoket (also spelled PakanokickKathleen J. Bragdon, ''Native People of Southern New England, 1500–1650'', page 21) was the village governed by Massasoit (Wampanoag, c. 1581–1661). The term broadened to refer to all peoples and lands go ...
or at Rhode Island's Taunton River area,.
She was known as a bead worker/quiller and dancer.
Her father was
Corbitant
Corbitant was a Wampanoag Indian sachem or sagamore under Massasoit. Corbitant was sachem of the Pocasset tribe in present-day North Tiverton, Rhode Island, c. 1618–1630. He lived in Mattapuyst or Mattapoiset, located in the southern part of ...
,
sachem
Sachems and sagamores are paramount chiefs among the Algonquians or other Native American tribes of northeastern North America, including the Iroquois. The two words are anglicizations of cognate terms (c. 1622) from different Eastern Al ...
of the Pocasset tribe in present-day
North Tiverton, Rhode Island
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.
Etymology
The word ''north'' is ...
, c. 1618–1630.
Husbands and children
In her lifetime, she had five husbands: Winnepurket, Wamsutta (Alexander), Quequequanachet, Petonowit, and
Quinnapin Quinnapin (also known as Quawnipund, Quanopen and Sowagonish) (died 1676) was a Narragansett leader during King Philip's War.
Quinnapin was the son of Cojonoquond and nephew of Miantonomoh. Quanopen was married to three different women, Onux, Wee ...
.
Her first husband, Winnepurket, was the Sachem of
Saugus, Massachusetts
Saugus is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. The population was 28,619 at the 2020 census. Saugus is known as the site of the first integrated iron works in North America.
History
Native Americans ...
and died shortly after they were married.
Wamsutta
Wamsutta ( 16341662), also known as Alexander Pokanoket, as he was called by New England colonists, was the eldest son of Massasoit (meaning Great Leader) Ousa Mequin of the Pokanoket Tribe and Wampanoag nation, and brother of Metacomet.
Life
W ...
(alternatively known by the English as Alexander, a name which he retained until his death
), her second husband, was the eldest son of
Massasoit
Massasoit Sachem () or Ousamequin (c. 15811661)"Native People" (page), "Massasoit (Ousamequin) Sachem" (section),''MayflowerFamilies.com'', web pag was the sachem or leader of the Wampanoag confederacy. ''Massasoit'' means ''Great Sachem''.
Mas ...
, grand sachem of the
Wampanoag
The Wampanoag , also rendered Wôpanâak, are an Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands based in southeastern Massachusetts and historically parts of eastern Rhode Island,Salwen, "Indians of Southern New England and Long Island," p. 17 ...
and participant in the first
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden and ...
with the
Pilgrims. They were married in or before 1653,
and
t is speculated thatshe had one child with Wamsutta, although the date of birth and name are unknown. During their marriage, the tribe allied with the
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 ...
against the
Narragansett, though the English later broke their treaty with the tribe. Wamsutta became sick and died during negotiations with the English and his brother Metacom (Philip) succeeded him as Chief of the Wampanoag. Metacom's wife was Weetamoo's sister, Wootonekanuske.
Little is known about Weetamoo's third husband Quequequanachet, while she ended the marriage to her fourth husband Petonowit (called "Ben" by the English
) when he sided with the English during King Philip's War.
Her final marriage was to Quinnapin, the son of Niantic Narraganset sachem
Ninigret
Ninigret (also known as Juanemo according to Roger Williams) (c. 1610 This source confirms 1662 as the date of his land sales.-1677 This source suggests a date of 1667 for his land sales and a 1647 war against the Mohegans.) was a sachem of the ea ...
and grandson of powerful
Narragansett sachem
Canonchet
Canonchet (or Cononchet or Quanonchet, died April 3, 1676) was a Narragansett Sachem and leader of Native American troops during the Great Swamp Fight and King Philip's War. He was a son of Miantonomo.
Canonchet was a leader of the separatist Na ...
. He was described as "a handsome warrior" and they were married in September or August 1675.
This marriage was designed to strengthen and reinforce the Wampanoag-Narragansett alliance against colonists.
The marriage appeared to have been strong and the pair had at least one child together, who died in 1676.
Quinnapin was captured in 1676.
Political career
Because her father had no sons, she became ''sunksqua'', and was defended by an army of more than 300 men that she commanded.
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.
Weetamoo joined "with King Philip in fighting the colonists" in 1675, in
King Philip's War
King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1676 between indigenous inhabitants of New England and New England coloni ...
, 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.
Early on in the war, Weetamoo gave support to Metacomet by aiding his forces with the strength of her soldiers.
Eventually, the English defeated the Wampanoag in August 1676.
Death
Weetamoo drowned in the Taunton River in 1676. Her dead body was mutilated, and her head was displayed on a pole in
Taunton
Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...
, MA. 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
Increase Mather (; June 21, 1639 Old Style – August 23, 1723 Old Style) was a New England Puritan clergyman in the Massachusetts Bay Colony and president of Harvard College for twenty years (1681–1701). He was influential in the administrati ...
.
Legacy
Weetamoo/Wattimore appears in
Mary Rowlandson
Mary Rowlandson, née White, later Mary Talcott (c. 1637January 5, 1711), was a colonial American woman who was captured by Native Americans in 1676 during King Philip's War and held for 11 weeks before being ransomed. In 1682, six years after h ...
'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
Lancaster is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, in the United States. Incorporated in 1653, Lancaster is the oldest town in Worcester County. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 8,441.
History
In 1643 Lancaster was first ...
.
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.
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.
Many places in the White Mountains of
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
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.
Weetamoo's adolescent life is depicted in the young adult historical novel, ''Weetamoo: Heart of the Pocasetts'', in ''
The Royal Diaries ''The Royal Diaries'' is a series of 20 books published by Scholastic Press from 1999 to 2005. In each of the books, a fictional diary of a real female figure of royalty as a child throughout world history was written by the author. ''The Royal Diar ...
'' series
Weetamoo Woods Open Space in
Tiverton, Rhode Island
Tiverton is a New England town, town in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 16,359 at the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census.
Geography
Tiverton is located on the eastern shore of Narragansett Bay, across the Sa ...
is named after Weetamoo. A 50-foot vessel, ''Weetamoo'', built in 1902, "was named after the daughter of an Indian Chief in
John Greenleaf Whittier
John Greenleaf Whittier (December 17, 1807 – September 7, 1892) was an American Quaker poet and advocate of the abolition of slavery in the United States. Frequently listed as one of the fireside poets, he was influenced by the Scottish poet ...
's poem ''Bride of Penacook''." The vessel served on
Lake Sunapee
Lake Sunapee is located within Sullivan County and Merrimack County in western New Hampshire, the United States. It is the fifth-largest lake located entirely in New Hampshire.
The lake is approximately long (north-south) and from wide (east ...
for 25 years before being
scuttled
Scuttling is the deliberate sinking of a ship. Scuttling may be performed to dispose of an abandoned, old, or captured vessel; to prevent the vessel from becoming a navigation hazard; as an act of self-destruction to prevent the ship from being ...
.
Lowell YWCA
The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries.
The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...
Camp Weetamoo is located on Long-Sought-for Pond in
Westford, MA.
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weetamoo
1635 births
1676 deaths
People from Massachusetts
Deaths by drowning
Female Native American leaders
King Philip's War
Native American women in warfare
17th-century women rulers
17th-century Native Americans
Women in 17th-century warfare
Wampanoag people
People of colonial Rhode Island
Native American people from Massachusetts
17th-century Native American women