What was it like to be part of a Tocobaga household? Looking at models of Native Americans from early anthropologists, we learn that most often, it was women who were the first to rise. The young woman and the girl are not mother and daughter. Clan membership was figured through mother/son and father/daughter. The young woman is the girl’s aunt and her teacher. Uncles would have been natural teachers for boys. And so, the relationship between the young woman and the girl is casual, often playful, and only demanding when the need arises. The young woman is not the matriarch of the house. She is the firekeeper this morning.
The firekeeper holds an elderberry wand (branch) to her lips. Although the wood was mildly toxic, elderberry has wonderfully hardwood on the outside and an almost hollow core. A thin twig can be used to finish hollowing the branch out.
Adding a little fuel, the firekeeper uses the wand to blow on the coals still warm from the night before. Her niece holds a palmetto fan.
With sacred fires, it would be inappropriate to breath into the fire. A fan would have been used to bring the breath of the Mother Earth to the embers.
For this family fire, this young woman’s breath would have brought the nurturing spirit of the family to the flames, possibly adding a morning prayer to the new flames. She will begin the first meal of the day.
Women had tremendous spiritual powers. It was believed that those powers could conflict with masculine power. So, during certain celebrations or events, requiring much risk, men could not come in contact with feminine energy. They would create a special fire which was set aside from the community at large. Women avoided that fireplace. This young woman is instructing her niece on the wonder of fire.
The curtain over the door has been drawn back to allow the morning light in. Leaning against the doorjam is a roll of matting. Matting is used by women as a portable floor when they work outside of the home.
To the right of the mat, a minnow net leans against the wall. Just like large fish, minnows are an important food resource. Minnows are caught, thrown up on mats to dry in the sun, and ground into fish meal to be used in the preparation of many foods. A whelk shell ax leans against the other side of the support post, along with a canoe paddle.
A bow hangs above the reclining man, as well as his woven reed quiver and medicine pouch. On the floor below his bed is a lightning whelk hammer, a clam (quahog) bowl and a smudge pot. Corncobs and special leaves smolder in the smudge pot when there are a lot of mosquitos.
There are several clan families living in this home at this time of year. Although they have permanent residences, some families move with the seasons of fishing and hunting. And of course, there is important visiting to be done.
