Religion and Conjurers

The Conjurers constituted the Priest class in the Powhatan society. 

The chiefs ( werowance ) used the conjurers  as consultants on policy matters. ( primarily the wars with the neighbors outside of the confederacy ) 

The priests motivated the dance rituals which are depicted in the English paintings from that period. The priests job, as you can probably imagine, is to conjure up the sense of contact with the gods through the ritual.. 

The priests were noted for their psychic abilities and would be able to identify wrong doers and as such there was no crime because the priest would know who did it ( these populations were very small and probably had the dynamics of a small town where everybody knew every body's business anyway )

 In Smith's publication of ca 1620, "THE DESCRIPTION Of Virginia" , there is a long section on religion which is presented verbatim below with annotations. This is followed with excerpts from History of Virginia published around 1706 which critiques Smith's description of a ritual of passage into the Priesthood.

The Indians were, as is typical of pre-modern societies, polytheistic.  The lack of rain during the 1607-09 period became the source of a very humourous anecdote..  One Indian, in coversation with Smith, complained that their gods had not answered their requests for some rain, and would he [Smith] put in some prayers to his Christain god to deliver some rain.

Of their Religion

       There is yet in Virginia no place discovered to bee so Savage in which the Savages have not a religion, Deare, and Bow and Arrowes. All thinges that were able to do them hurt beyond their prevention, they adore with their kinde of divine worship; as the fire, water, lightning, thunder, our ordinance, peeces, horses, &c.

       But their chiefe God they worship is the Divell. Him they call Oke and serve him more of feare than love. They say they have conference with him, and fashion themselves as neare to his shape as they can imagine. In their Temples, they have his image evill favouredly carved, and then painted and adorned with chaines, copper, and beades; and covered with a skin, in such manner as the deformity may well suit with such a God.

       By him is commonly the sepulcher of their kings. Their bodies are first bowelled, then dryed upon hurdles till they bee verie dry, and so about the most of their jointes and necke they hang bracelets or chaines of copper, pearle, and such like, as they use to weare: their inwards they stuffe with copper beads and cover with a skin, hatchets, and such trash. Then lappe they them very carefully in white skins, and so rowle them in mats for their winding sheetes. And in the Tombe, which is an arch made of mats, they lay them orderly. What remaineth of this kinde of wealth their kings have, they set at their feet in baskets. These Temples and bodies are kept by their Priests.

 [ Painting by J White ca 1590 from the Roanoke area ]

  For their ordinary burials, they digge a deep hole in the earth with sharpe stakes; and the corpes being lapped in skins and mats with their jewels, they lay them upon sticks in the ground, and so cover them with earth. The buriall ended, the women being painte all their faces with black cole and oile, doe sit 24 howers in the houses mourning and lamenting by turnes, with such yelling and howling as may expresse their great passions.

       In every Territory of a werowance is a Temple and a Priest 2 or 3 or more. Their principall Temple or place of superstition is at Uttamussack at Pamaunke, neare unto which is a house Temple or place of Powhatans.

       Upon the top of certaine redde sandy hils in the woods, there are 3 great houses filled with images of their kings and Divels and Tombes of their Predecessors. Those houses are neare 60 foot in length, built arbor wise, after their building. This place they count so holy as that but the Priestes and kings dare come into them: nor the Savages dare not go up the river in boats by it, but that they solemnly cast some peece of copper, white beads, or Pocones, into the river, for feare their Oke should be offended and revenged of them.

       In this place commonly is resident 7 Priests. The chiefe differed from the rest in his ornaments: but inferior Priests could hardly be knowne from the common people, but that they had not so many holes in their eares to hang their jewels at.

       The ornaments of the chiefe Priest was certain attires for his head made thus. They tooke a dosen or 16 or more snake skins, and stuffed them with mosse; and of weesels and other vermine skins, a good many. All these they tie up by their tailes, so as all their tailes meete in the toppe of their head, like a great Tassell. Round about this Tassell is as it were a crown of feathers; the skins hang round about his head necke and shoulders, and in a manner cover his face.

       The faces of all their Priests are painted as ugly as they can devise. In their hands, they had every one his Rattell, some base, some smaller. Their devotion was most in songs which the chiefe Priest beginneth and the rest followed him: sometimes he maketh invocations with broken sentences, by starts and strange passions, and at every pause, the rest give a short groane.

       It could not bee perceived that they keepe any day as more holy then other: but only in some great distresse, of want, feare of enimies, times of triumph and gathering togither their fruits, the whole country of men women and children come togither to solemnities. The manner of their devotion is sometimes to make a great fire in the house or fields, and all to sing and dance about it, with rattles and shouts togither, 4 or 5 houres. Sometimes they set a man in the midst, and about him they dance and sing; he all the while clapping his hands as if he would keepe time. And after their songs and dauncings ended, they goe to their Feasts.

       They have also divers conjurations. One they made when Captaine Smith was their prisoner; (as they reported) to know if any more of his countrymen would arive there, and what he there intended. The manner of it was thus.

       First they made a faire fire in a house. About this fire set 7 Priests setting him by them; and about the fire, they made a circle of meale. That done, the chiefe Priest attired as is expressed, began to shake his rattle; and the rest followed him in his song. At the end of the song, he laid downe 5 or 3 graines of wheat, and so continued counting his songs by the graines, till 3 times they incirculed the fire. Then they divide the graines by certaine numbers with little stickes, laying downe at the ende of every song a little sticke.

       In this manner, they sat 8, 10, or 12 houres without cease, with such strange stretching of their armes, and violent passions and gestures as might well seeme strange to him they so conjured; who but every houre expected his end. Not any meat they did eat till, late in the evening, they had finished this worke: and then they feasted him and themselves with much mirth. But 3 or 4 daies they continued this ceremony.

       They have also certaine Altar stones they call Pawcorances: but these stand from their Temples, some by their houses, other in the woodes and wildernesses. Upon these, they offer blood, deare suet, and Tobacco. These they doe when they returne from the warres, from hunting, and upon many other occasions.

       They have also another superstition that they use in stormes, when the waters are rough in the rivers and sea coasts. Their Conjurers runne to the water sides, or passing in their boats, after many hellish outcries and invocations, they cast Tobacco, Copper, Pocones, and such trash into the water, to pacifie that God whome they thinke to be very angry in those stormes.

       Before their dinners and suppers, the better sort will take the first bit, and cast it in the fire; which is all the grace they are known to use.

NOTE: The ritual described below by Smith is likely an initiation event for  tribal

officers and priests. Following this interesting section is a critique written about

it ca 1700. 

       In some part of the Country, they have yearely a sacrifice of children. Such a one was at Quiyoughcohanock, some 10 miles from James Towne, and thus performed.

       Fifteene of the properest young boyes, between 10 and 15 yeares of age, they painted white. Having brought them forth, the people spent the forenoone in dancing and singing about them with rattles.

       In the afternoone, they put those children to the roote of a tree. By them, all the men stood in a guard, every one having a Bastinado in his hand, made of reeds bound together. This made a lane betweene them all along, through which there were appointed 5 young men to fetch these children. So every one of the five went through the guard, to fetch a child, each after other by turnes: the guard fearelessly beating them with their Bastinadoes, and they patiently enduring and receaving all; defending the children with their naked bodies from the unmercifell bowes they pay them soundly, though the children escape. All this while, the women weepe and crie out very passionately; providing mats, skinnes, mosse, and drie wood, as things fitting their childrens funerals.

       After the children were thus passed the guard, the guard tore down the tree, branches and boughs, with such violence, that they rent the body, and made wreathes for their heads, or bedecked their haire with the leaves. What else was done with the children was not seene; but they were all cast on a heape in a valley, as dead: where they made a great feast for al the company.

       The Werowance being demanded the meaning of this sacrifice, answered the children were not al dad, but that the Oke or Divell did sucke the blood from their left breast, who chanced to be his by lot, till they were dead. But the rest were kept in the wildernesse by the yong men till nine moneths were expired, during which time they must not converse with any : and of these, were made their Priests and Conjurers.

       This sacrifice they held to bee so necessarie, that if they should omit it, their Oke or Divel and all their other Quiyoughcosughes (which are their other Gods) would let them have no Deare, Turkies, Corne, nor fish: and yet besides, hee would make great slaughter amongst them.

       They thinke that their Werowances and Priests, which they also esteeme Quiyoughcosughes, when they are dead, doe goe beyound the mountaines towardes the setting of the sun, and ever remaine there in forme of their Oke, with their heads painted with oile and Pocones, finely trimmed with feathers; and shal have beades, hatchets, copper, and tobacco, doing nothing but dance and sing with all their Predecessors.

       But the common people, they suppose shall not live after death.

       To divert them from this blind idolatrie, many used their best indeavours, chiefly with the Werowances of Quiyoughcohanock; whose devotion, apprehension, and good disposition much exceeded any in those Countries: who though we could not as yet prevaile withall to forsake his false Gods, yet this he did beleeve, that our God as much exceeded theirs, as our Gunnes did their Bowes and Arrows; and many times did send to the President, at James towne, men with presents, intreating them to pray to his God for raine, for his Gods would not send him any.

[ The polytheism of primitive peoples is well known, this example shows that everyone was struggling during the drought of that period - the severity of the drought has since been validated by tree ring dating. ]

       And in this lamentable ignorance doe these poore souls sacrifice themselves to the Divell, not knowing their Creator.

--------- Critique of Smith's reports, ca 1700 -------------

From: Lith. of Ritchies & Dunnavant Richmond.

( source document:  http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/jamestown-browse?id=J1001 ) 

 CHAPTER VIII. CONCERNING THE RELIGION, WORSHIP, AND SUPERSTITIOUS CUSTOMS OF THE INDIANS.

How far Captain Smith might be misinformed in this account, I can't say, or whether their Okee's sucking the breast, be only a delusion or pretense of the physician, (or priest, who is always a physician,) to prevent all reflection on his skill when any happened to die under his discipline. This I choose rather to believe, than those religious romances concerning their Okee. For I take this story of Smith's to be only an example of huskanawing, which being a ceremony then altogether unknown to him, he might easily mistake some of the circumstances of it.

      The solemnity of huskanawing is commonly practiced once every fourteen or sixteen years, or oftener, as their young men happen to grow up. It is an institution or discipline which all young men must pass before they can be admitted to be of the number of the great men, officers, or cockarouses of the nation; whereas, by Capt. Smith's relation, they were only set apart to supply the priesthood. The whole ceremony of huskanawing is performed after the following manner:

      The choicest and briskest young men of the town, and such only as have acquired some treasure by their travels and hunting, are chosen out by the rulers to be huskanawed; and whoever refuses to undergo this process dares not remain among them. Several of those odd preparatory fopperies are premised in the beginning, which have been before related; but the principal part of the business is, to carry them into the woods, and there keep them under confinement, and destitute of all society for several months, giving them no other sustenance but the infusion, or decoction, of some poisonous, intoxicating roots; by virtue of which physic, and by the severity of the discipline which they undergo, they became stark, staring mad; in which raving condition, they are kept eighteen or twenty days. During these extremities, they are shut up, night and day, in a strong inclosure, made on purpose; one of which I saw belonging to the Pamunky Indians, in the year 1694. It was in shape like a sugar loaf, and every way open like a lattice for the air to pass through, as in tab. 4, fig. 3. In this cage, thirteen young men had been huskanawed, and hadnot been a month set at liberty when I saw it. Upon this occasion, it is pretended that these poor creatures drink so much of that water of Lethe, that they perfectly lose the remembrance of all former things, even of their parents, their treasure, and their language. When the doctors find that they have drank sufficiently of the wysoccan, (so they call this mad potion,) they gradually restore them to their senses again, by lessening the intoxication of their diet; but before they are perfectly well, they bring them back into their towns, while they are still wild and crazy, though the violence of the medicine. After this, they are very fearful of discovering anything of their former remembrance; for if such a thing should happen to any of them, they must immediately be huskanawed again; and the second time, the usage is so severe, that seldom any one escapes with life. Thus they must pretend to have forgot the very use of their tongues, so as not to be able to speak, nor understand anything that is spoken, till they learn it again. Now, whether this be real or counterfeit, I don't know; but certain it is, that they will not for some time take notice of any body, nor anything with which they were before acquainted, being still under the guard of their keepers, who constantly wait upon them everywhere till they have learnt all things perfectly over again. Thus they unlive their former lives, and commence men by forgetting that they ever have been boys. If, under this exercise, any one should die, I suppose the story of Okee, mentioned by Smith, is the salvo for it; for, (says he) Okee was to have such as were his by lot, and such were said to be sacrificed.

      Now this conjecture is the more probable, because we know that Okee has not a share in every huskanawing; for though two young men happened to come short home, in that of the Pamunky Indians, which was performed in the year 1694, yet the Appomattoxs, formerly a great nation, though now an inconsiderable people, made a huskanaw in the year 1690, and brought home the same number they carried out.