MAHICAN BY: Kira, Chris, Kaarina, Christian and Donja ;

The Algonquians believed that all the things in nature – animals,plants, mountains,, rivers – had spirits that could do harm as well as good. They called these spirits, or deities, manitous. Shamans led members of the community in religious cerimonies. They led boys and girls in cerimonies, called rites of passage, when they reached adulthood. Cerimonies were celebrated with singing, dancing, and drums.

You would live with your family in a bark hunt or wigwam, made of trees first of wooden stakes where driven in the ground. Then the tops where bent over and tied with cord. A hole was covered with large pieces of bark. You didn’t need tables chairs or beds in your wigwam. The Mohican didn’t live in teepee’s they lived in small round places.

They hunted, fished, and gathered. They also harvest a lot of maple syrup. The Algonquians grow corn, pumpkins, and squash in there gardens. The men cleared the fields so the women can plant the crops. The men cleared the fields by using there hands. The boys help the dad hunt and clear the fields. The girls planted and picked the crops also they cooked.

Wampum is used as a belt. It is also used as a gift, fairness, peace, jewelry, and sent as messages. It is made by the women and girls. It is made by cutting clam or conch shells into tiny pieces. Holes were drilled through them to make beads. Then they were rubbed on rocks until they were round and smooth. Last, they were strung into necklaces. Moccasins were flat shoes made out of soft leather. Sandals were shoes made from rawhide or plant material. Women wore skirts with leggings. Men wore breechcloths and leggings. They wore sleeved shirts in cool weather. Everyone wore headbands with 1 or 2 feathers, had braided hair, and had tattoed designs on their faces. Today, they wear modern jeans (leather).

The Mohican traveled by canoes and following mammoths and big animals. The canoes were made of bark witch are small and very light, another one is the dugout canoe, witch are very heavy and big. Another way they traveled is by following mammoths and other big animals.

Bibliography The Algonquians of NEW YORK packet