ABOUT THUNDERHANDS



About Me: "Wakiya" (Thunder)
I am a Tribal, Musician, Writer, Artist. I try to walk the path and have studied the tradition of the "Wisdom keepers" like Lame Deer, Fools Crow, Black Elk, and Rolling Thunder from the tribes of this region, and Lao Tzu, Buddha, Bodhidharma, Yeshua, and other enlightened ones from the many various tribes of the earth. I understand the worlds religions and belief systems, and realize the division this can cause by the lack of understanding the "real message" from the Masters. My intention, and life's prayer is to try to live in harmony with Grandmother Earth, Grandfather sky, (Nature) and "the spirit that moves in all things," and help in any way I can to build a bridge between all men and tribes so they can walk their path in a manner that will benefit themselves, the Earth and others. I open up, and ask Great Spirit, The creator, The Tao, The Universe, to work and direct healing and positive energy through me by different means, like the Flute, drums, Words, Prayer, and Touch. I try to be loving and accept others from the heart, and practice forgiveness. I honor all people, the winged one's, and four legged ones considering us all equal, not one being above another. I honor the bountiful Harvest from Mother earth in the form of plant life, water, air and herbs which sustain our oneness with her. I pray all tribes should re-unite as one, so we may protect the planet and live in harmony. Within you, without you.

Mitakuye Oyasin
( all my relations)
Wakiya

Friday

Longhouses


Bed


Inside


Outside

Longhouses were built by native peoples in various parts of North America, sometimes reaching over 100 meters long (330 feet) but generally around 5 to 7 meters wide (16-23 ft). The construction method was also different: the dominant theory is that walls were made of sharpened and fire-hardened poles (up to 1,000 saplings for a 50 meter house) driven into the ground. They had a roof of leaves and grass. Strips of bark were then woven horizontally through the lines of poles to form more or less weatherproof walls with doors usually in one end of the house, although doors also were built into sides of especially long longhouses.They were long and had fireplaces that kept them warm.

The Iroquois (Haudenosaunee or People of the Longhouses) who lived in New York and Ontario built and lived in longhouses. Longer than they were wide, these longhouses had openings at both ends that served as doors and were covered with animal skins during the winter to keep out the cold. On average a typical longhouse was about 80 feet (24 m) long by 18 feet (5.5 m) wide by 18 feet (5.5 m) high (24 x 5.5 x 5.5 m) and was meant to house up to twenty or more families. Poles were set in the ground and supported by horizontal poles along the walls. The roof is made by bending a series of poles, resulting in an arc-shaped roof. The frame is covered by bark,and twigs that is sewn in place and layered as shingles, and reinforced by light poles.

At the outer regions of the woodland housing locality were inviolable protective palisades that stood fourteen to sixteen feet high safeguarding the housing region from foreign nations and wild animals.

Ventilation openings, later singly dubbed as a smoke hole, were positioned at intervals possibly totaling five to six along the roofing of the long house.

Tribes or ethnic groups in the northeast of North America, south and east of Lake Ontario and Lake Erie that had traditions of building longhouses are, among others, the Iroquois Confederacy (Haudenosaunee) including the Five Nations Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida and Mohawk. Also the Wyandot and Erie. Another large group that built longhouses, among others, were the Lenni Lenape, living from the lower Hudson river, along the Delaware river and on both sides of the Delaware Bay, and the Pamunkey of the maybe-related Powhattan Confederacy in Virginia.

1 comment:

The Rambling Taoist said...

I've been trying to add your blog to my Google Reader for some time, but, until today, it never worked. I'm happy that it finally stuck. :)