Also part of the supernatural world were the ghosts of the dead. They lingered near the camps of the living and caused trouble, often in the form of illness.[541]
The Wampanoags also had anthropomorphic supernaturals. One of these was Kiehtan, a high god who was responsible for the creation of the world and all in it, and who could influence the prosperity of the Wampanoags. He was called upon for plenty, victory, and general favor in various undertakings. His home was in the southwest, the place where spirits of the good went upon death.[542] According to some accounts this was also the place where other kinds of spirits lived.[543]
Another supernatural was Hobomock (Abamacho). The Europeans immediately identified this being with the Devil, because he had an association with snakes, seemed to be able to cause harm to people, and was often feared. Actually, he seems to have been capable of both help and harm; his role in the supernatural pantheon is not at all clear. Hobomock would actually appear to the more important Wampanoags, taking the form of an animal or bird, and most frequently a snake. He was called upon in time of sickness to cure people. One never dared to call upon Kiehtan in time of illness for fear it might have been he in the first place who sent the sickness as punishment. If the illness was sent by Kiehtan, however, Hobomock could not cure it.[544]
Mythology had it that people were made by Kiehtan (Kautantowwit). He first made a man and a woman out of stone, but, as he did not like them, he broke them into many pieces and proceeded to make another man and woman out of a tree. These he liked, and their progeny populated the earth.[545] Corn and beans were brought by the crow, who carried in one ear a kernel of corn and in the other a bean, which he had gotten from the field belonging to Kiehtan.[546]
The Wampanoags attributed a great deal of what happened to them in their daily lives to supernatural activity.[547] Sometimes it was hard to determine at once whether a condition resulted from “natural” or supernatural causes. A supernaturally caused illness, for example, would often go unrecognized until conventional herbal techniques proved of no avail in bringing relief. Bad luck and accidents were usually blamed on the supernatural.[548] Winning at games was considered to be done as a result of supernatural aid, which was invoked throughout the period of play. Bargaining, pleading, and threatening were all methods used to bring supernatural favor upon one’s activities and to dispel any unfavorable supernatural influences.
RELIGIOUS PRACTICES
In the event of war, drought, famine, and for some cases of sickness, ceremonial activities which constituted requests for supernatural aid were carried out.[549] To beg for rain, people from all localities of the tribe would gather at some high place and perform supplications until the drought was broken.[550] Other ceremonials were occasioned by a spirit of thanksgiving for peace, health, plenty, and prosperity.[551]
As nearly as can be told, ceremonial activity encompassing all of the above circumstances involved dancing and sacrifice of personal wealth to please the supernatural. The sacrifice of wealth might take either the form of gifts to the poor or actual destruction of property by casting it upon the fire.[552] This latter custom was carried out by the Narragansetts, and the more a man brought to burn up, the more he was esteemed. The Wampanoags said they did not cast goods into the fire, but they acknowledged this to be a powerful practice and attributed to it the Narragansetts’ salvation from the plague.[553] The seeking of supernatural assistance was highly pragmatic; if one supernatural source did not send the desired aid, another was tried until the proper combination was discovered.[554]
The Wampanoags placed a great deal of importance upon dreams. A bad dream was considered to be a threat from the supernatural, and a man awakening from one would fall to offering prayers of supplication. If the vision were especially ominous, a man might call in his friends to keep watch with him. He would offer them food, but he himself kept a fasting and wakeful watch for several days and nights.[555]
Among the Wampanoags, names had supernatural significance. “Obscure and mean persons amongst them....” had no names.[556] Probably such persons were resident non-members of the tribe and youngsters who had not yet undergone initiation. Once received, a name was a closely guarded piece of personal property. It was considered discourteous to refer to or call a person by his true name. Instead, a circumlocution or a substitute pronoun was used.[557]