How did the clan system work in the Iroquois?

Clans are headed by clan mothers. Their duties include: choosing the chiefs, reminding the chiefs of their duties, giving clan names to children, distributing the goods of those who have died, and meeting obligations to medicine societies. They can remove a chief from office when necessary.

What were the 9 Iroquois Clans?

Five different nations founded the Iroquois Confederacy: the Seneca (Sen-e-kuh), Cayuga (Ky-you-guh), Onondaga (On-on-da-guh), Oneida (O-nee-duh), Mohawk (Mo-hawk). Each nation kept its own territory, language and culture. Before the founding of the Confederacy, the nations fought wars against each other.

What are the clans of Six Nations?

The resulting confederacy, whose governing Great Council of 50 peace chiefs, or sachems (hodiyahnehsonh), still meets in a longhouse, is made up of six nations: the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora.

What are the 5 Iroquois groups or nations?

The five original Iroquois nations were the Mohawk (self-name: Kanien’kehá:ka [“People of the Flint”]), Oneida (self-name: Onᐱyoteʔa∙ká [“People of the Standing Stone”]), Onondaga (self-name: Onoñda’gega’ [“People of the Hills”]), Cayuga (self-name: Gayogo̱hó:nǫ’ [“People of the Great Swamp”]), and Seneca (self-name: …

How are clans decided?

Family names and clans are passed down from mother to child. For example if a man belonging to the turtle clan were to marry a woman of the wolf clan the children would be of the wolf clan. Within certain clans there may also be different types of one animal or bird.

What were clans named after?

Clans are the Seneca’s traditional social unit. Clans are groups of families that share a common female ancestry which are named after animals that provided special assistance to the Seneca. They are divided into two categories, birds and animals.

What is the Turtle Clan?

Turtle Clan In the Iroquois Creation Story, the earth was created on the back of a turtle. It was there that life began to grow. The Turtle Clan represents the shifting of the earth and the cycles of the moon. The people of the Turtle Clan are considered the well of information and the keepers of the land.

What is clan system?

Clan, kin group used as an organizational device in many traditional societies. Membership in a clan is traditionally defined in terms of descent from a common ancestor. This descent is usually unilineal, or derived only through the male (patriclan) or the female (matriclan) line.

What is the difference between tribe and clan?

• Clan is a group of people who have actual or perceived ancestry. They are also called sub-groups of tribes. Tribe is a group of people who share almost the same ancestry and mostly self-sufficient.

What are the names of the nine Iroquois clans?

The creatures of the sky are Hawk, Heron & Snipe. Before the Iroquois Confederacy was created, there were many more clans but after the Peacemaker, only these nine remained. Click on the name of an Iroquois clan for more information. Bear | Wolf | Turtle | Snipe | Deer | Beaver | Heron | Hawk | Eel.

Who are the clans of the Six Nations?

All of the Six Nations have members from the Bear, Wolf, and Turtle clan while some nations also have members from some or all of the remaining 6 clans. Clans are headed by clan mothers.

How are the Iroquois related to each other?

The Iroquois Confederacy is composed of six nations. Each nation has clans. A person’s clan is the same as their mother’s clan. The members of each clan are all related to each other through their mothers. This is called a matrilineal system.

What are the animals of the Iroquois Confederacy?

Each clan is represented by a different animal. There are nine clans, divided into animals from three earth elements: Land, Air & Water. The land creatures are Deer, Wolf and Bear. The water creatures are Turtle, Beaver & Eel.