Waban (16041685) was a Native American of the

Nipmuc The Nipmuc or Nipmuck people are an Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who historically spoke an Eastern Algonquian language. Their historic territory Nippenet, "the freshwater pond place," is in central Massachusetts and nearby part ...

group and was thought to be the first Native American convert to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

Life

Waban was born about 1604 at Musketaquid, near the present town of

Concord Concord may refer to: Meaning "agreement" * Pact or treaty, frequently between nations (indicating a condition of harmony) * Harmony, in music * Agreement (linguistics), a change in the form of a word depending on grammatical features of other ...

. While there is no proof that he actually did so, it is believed that his conversion to Christianity came on October 28, 1646 (

Julian calendar The Julian calendar, proposed by Roman consul Julius Caesar in 46 BC, was a reform of the Roman calendar. It took effect on , by edict. It was designed with the aid of Greek mathematicians and astronomers such as Sosigenes of Alexandr ...

), when the

missionary A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

Reverend John Eliot preached his first sermon to Native Americans in their own language in Waban's large

wigwam A wigwam, wickiup, wetu (Wampanoag), or wiigiwaam (Ojibwe, in syllabics: ) is a semi-permanent domed dwelling formerly used by certain Native American tribes and First Nations people and still used for ceremonial events. The term ''wickiup' ...

in Nonantum, Massachusetts, and Waban and many of his tribe listened but were later forced at gunpoint to move from their land. Waban maintained close and friendly relations with the white settlers of Massachusetts and, in April 1675, reported to a New England

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judic ...

that trouble was brewing amongst the

Wampanoags 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. ...

. Within two months, Waban's predictions came to pass when a Wampanoag named

Metacomet Metacomet (1638 – August 12, 1676), also known as Pometacom, Metacom, and by his adopted English name King Philip,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 ...

. Metacomet's subsequent death in August 1676 signalled the end of the brief war, and the rebellion soon collapsed due to a lack of leadership. Nevertheless, Waban, falsely accused of being a conspirator, was imprisoned in October 1675. After a brief period of captivity, Waban was released in the spring of 1676 and returned to his settlement of

Natick Natick ( ) is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is near the center of the MetroWest region of Massachusetts, with a population of 37,006 at the 2020 census. west of Boston, Natick is part of the Greater Boston area. ...

, Massachusetts. Waban is often considered to be

tribal chief A tribal chief or chieftain is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribe The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of western Afroeurasia. Tribal societies are sometimes categorized a ...

of the

Nonantum tribe Nonantum (from Massachusett "I bless it"), also known as Silver Lake or The Lake, is one of the thirteen villages within the city of Newton in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, located along the Charles River at the site of a forme ...

, but this is a misnomer. According to John Eliot, Waban was actually "the chief minister of justice", not a "''

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 ...

''", but the title "chief minister of justice" is not used by Native Americans. In reality, Waban did not hold an authoritative, political position within his own nation. The exact date of Waban's death is not known, with it being reported as early as late 1676 or early 1677 and as late as when Rev.

Daniel Takawambait Daniel Takawambait (c. 1652-1716) (also spelled Takawombait or Tokonwonpat or Takawambpas or Tookumwombait or Tokkohwompait or Takawombpait and sometimes Daniel of Natick) was likely the first ordained Native American Christian pastor in North Am ...

wrote down and published the final words of Waban and several other Indians in a pamphlet entitled "Dying Speeches and Counsels Of such Indians as dyed in the Lord."

Namesakes

One of the villages of the city of Newton, Massachusetts, is named Waban, while Nonantum is another village in the city. A lake in Wellesley, Massachusetts, partially on the grounds of Wellesley College, is named Lake Waban. Waban Hill is a geologic feature in the village of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, in the eastern part of Newton, Massachusetts.Praying Indians
/ref> One

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

ship, USS ''Waban'', a steamer in commission from 1898 to 1919, has been named for Waban, and kept the name (as ''SS Waban'') while in post-Navy mercantile service from 1919 to 1924.

Notes

References

*Jennings, Francis. ''The Invasion of America: Indians, Colonialism and the Cant of Conquest.'' New York: W.W. Norton, 1975. *Tinker, George (Tink). ''Missionary Conquest: The Gospel and Native American Cultural Genocide.'' Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1993.
U.S. Naval Historical Center, ''Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships'': USS ''Waban''
(ship namesake information)

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Waban Converts to Protestantism from pagan religions Native American leaders Newton, Massachusetts People of colonial Massachusetts 1600s births 1680s deaths People from Middlesex County, Massachusetts Massachusett people Native American history of Massachusetts Native American people from Massachusetts

Life

Namesakes

See also

Notes

References

External links