Tomocomo
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Uttamatomakkin (known as Tomocomo for short) was a
Powhatan The Powhatan people (; also spelled Powatan) may refer to any of the indigenous Algonquian people that are traditionally from eastern Virginia. All of the Powhatan groups descend from the Powhatan Confederacy. In some instances, The Powhatan ...
holy man ''Holy Man'' is a 1998 American television satirical comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Herek, written by Tom Schulman, and starring Eddie Murphy, Jeff Goldblum, Kelly Preston, Robert Loggia, Jon Cryer, and Eric McCormack. The film was ...
who accompanied
Pocahontas Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, known as Matoaka, 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman, belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She was the daughter of ...
when she was taken to
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
in 1616.Dale, Thomas. Letter to Sir Ralph Winwood. 3 June 1616. Repr. in Jamestown Narratives, ed. Edward Wright Haile. Champlain, VA: Roundhouse, 1998. p. 878. Little is known about Tomocomo's life before his visit to London. He appears to have met
Captain John Smith John Smith (baptized 6 January 1580 – 21 June 1631) was an English soldier, explorer, colonial governor, Admiral of New England, and author. He played an important role in the establishment of the colony at Jamestown, Virginia, the first pe ...
during Smith's time in
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...
, since Smith says that in London they "renewed their acquaintance". His wife, Matachanna, was Pocahontas's half-sister. Tomocomo must have been trusted by Chief Powhatan, as Powhatan requested him to accompany her in order to count the number of people in England. Arriving at
Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to ...
, Tomocomo picked up a stick on which to mark notches to keep a tally, but soon grew "weary of that task".Smith, ''General History''. p. 261. Powhatan also asked him to discover whether Smith was still alive. This was because they were told he was dead, but Pocahontas had told Smith that "your countrymen lie too much."
Samuel Purchas Samuel Purchas ( – 1626) was an English Anglican cleric who published several volumes of reports by travellers to foreign countries. Career Purchas was born at Thaxted, Essex son of an English yeoman. He graduated from St John's College, Cam ...
, a compiler of travel narratives, met Tomocomo at the home of "my good friend Doctor Goldstone, where he was a frequent guest, and where I have both seen him sing and dance his diabolical measures, and heard him discourse of his country and religion." Purchas believed that the Powhatan people were devil-worshippers and tried to persuade Tomocomo to take up Christianity, but Tomocomo said he was too old to learn new ways. Pocahontas and Tomocomo were never given a formal audience before King James. However, on January 5, 1617 they were brought before the King at the Banqueting House in
Whitehall Palace The Palace of Whitehall (also spelt White Hall) at Westminster was the main residence of the English monarchs from 1530 until 1698, when most of its structures, except notably Inigo Jones's Banqueting House of 1622, were destroyed by fire. H ...
, at a performance of
Ben Jonson Benjamin "Ben" Jonson (c. 11 June 1572 – c. 16 August 1637) was an English playwright and poet. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence upon English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for t ...
's
masque The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment that flourished in 16th- and early 17th-century Europe, though it was developed earlier in Italy, in forms including the intermedio (a public version of the masque was the pageant). A masq ...
'' The Vision of Delight''. According to Smith, both Pocahontas and Tomocomo did not realize who they had met until it was explained to them afterward. Tomocomo was disappointed that the King did not offer a present, saying to Smith "You gave Powhatan a white dog, which Powhatan fed as himself, but your King gave me nothing, and I am better than your white dog." When Tomocomo returned to Virginia with
Samuel Argall Sir Samuel Argall (1572 or 1580 – 24 January 1626) was an English adventurer and naval officer. As a sea captain, in 1609, Argall was the first to determine a shorter northern route from England across the Atlantic Ocean to the new English c ...
and Rolfe in March 1617, he reportedly uttered diatribes "against England, English people" and against Thomas Dale, governor of Jamestown. The colonists rebutted his claims in front of the Powhatan leaders, and Tomocomo apparently was disgraced.David Price, ''Love and Hate in Jamestown'' (New York: Vintage, 2003), p. 184. However, Chief Powhatan died the next year, and his successor,
Opechancanough Opechancanough (; 1554–1646)Rountree, Helen C. Pocahontas, Powhatan, ''Opechancanough: Three Indian Lives Changed by Jamestown.'' University of Virginia Press: Charlottesville, 2005 was paramount chief of the Powhatan Confederacy in presen ...
, began planning a massive attack on the settlers. Nothing more is known of Tomocomo's life.


Media

Paul O'Connor voiced him in the Animated Hero Classics 1994 episode ''Pocahontas''. O' Connor also voiced Japazaws who lured the princess with a copper kettle to her abduction by Argall. He was voiced by
Brad Garrett Bradley Henry Gerstenfeld (born April 14, 1960), known professionally as Brad Garrett, is an American actor and stand-up comedian. Possessing a distinctive deep voice, he has appeared in numerous television and film roles in both live-action and ...
in Disney's 1998 direct-to-video film '' Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World''. At the end, he remained in London with John Rolfe's maid, Mrs. Jenkins. In New Line Cinema's 2005 film '' The New World'', Tomocomo is played by Raoul Trujillo. However, in the film's depiction of Pocahontas sailing on her trip to England, she is accompanied by her uncle Opechancanough rather than Tomocomo.


Notes


See also

* {{Commonscat-inline, Tomocomo Religious figures of the indigenous peoples of North America People of the Powhatan Confederacy 17th-century Native Americans