Abenaki Life essays

Abenaki Life essays The Abenaki placed their villages near large water sources. The villages were made up of cornfields, cemeteries, family residencesand specialized buildings and spaces (the main area), and special huts andcamps. Groups of trails connected thedifferent parts of the village together. TheAbenaki spent some of the year in the main village. Here there were many bark houses with fires inside and holes inthe top for the smoke to come out. Their furniture consisted of woven mats, braches covered with hides, andmany furs for bedding. The longhouseswere large multiple family dwellings which housed 30-60 people. They used someof the special buildings for rituals, the shamans hut, and the sweat lodge.They would spend winter here, and would hunt and gather to survive. Summer would also be spent here, improvingthe village. There were not manyproblems in village life until European invasions. Therewere many seasonal camps for the Abenaki. In the early spring, they would go to camps to collect different kindsof bark and other building materials. They gathered different types of wood and bark for roofs, weapons,tools, and other necessary items. Inmid-spring the Abenaki would go to fishing camps. Since many of the villages were close to large water sources,people could often go home after a day of fishing. There was always plenty of fish and the leftover ones were storedin the main village. When the leavesbegin to turn (at the beginning of autumn) the Abenaki went to huntingcamps. They used bow and arrow, knife,lance hunting dogs, and later rifles. They hunted moose, deer, and bear. The women would skin and prepare the animals and the men would hunt. Thespecialized areas in the village were the council house, the dance ground, theshamans hut, the sweat lodge, the cemeteries, fields, and rock chambers. The council house usually faced the dancingground. Outside the house was the chief...