The Land of the Lenape
The Lenape (len-AH-pay) or Delaware Indians lived in an area they called
“Lenapehoking,” which means “Land of the Lenape.” Their land included all of what
is now New Jersey, eastern Pennsylvania, southeastern New York State, northern
Delaware and a small section of southeastern Connecticut. As part of the Eastern
Woodlands, Lenapehoking had many rivers, streams and lakes and was densely
forested and rich in wildlife.
We now know that two related but distinct groups of Indians occupied
Lenapehoking; not three as is sometimes stated. Those living in the northern half
(above the Raritan River and the Delaware Water Gap) spoke a Munsee dialect of
the Eastern Algonquian Delaware language, while those to the south spoke Unami –
a slightly different dialect of the same language. The beliefs and cultures of
these two general groups, although very similar, differed somewhat. For
convenience, we will use the word Lenape (“common or ordinary people”) to refer to
both the groups living in Lenapehoking.
The Community
Some of the Lenape lived in large villages of two to three hundred people, but most
of them lived in small bands of 25 to 50 people.
Families were important to the Lenape Indians. There were strong ties between
parents and children, and among all the related families that
made up the clan.
The Lenape had three clans (or phratries) – Wolf, Turtle and
Turkey – which traced their descent through the female line.
For example, if a mother belonged to the Turtle Clan, then
each of her children also belonged to the same clan. The sons had to marry women
from other clans, and their children belonged to their mother’s clan.
Within their own groups the Indians were kind to one another. They felt a sense
of responsibility towards everyone in their community. They did not steal from
anyone in their own village, for there was no reason to do so. The land belonged to
the whole community, shelters were shared, and no one hoarded valuable
possessions.
Many of the groups inhabiting Lenapehoking had well-organized ways
of governing their clans and villages. The chiefs – sometimes
referred to as sachems - were chosen for their behavior, skill in
speaking, honesty, and ability to make wise decisions. The chiefs
also had to know about religion so that they could lead the people in
rituals and ceremonies.
War leaders were different. They gained power through proven bravery and
success in battle. They were able to gather young men together and go off on a
raid without the approval of the chief.
Work between Men and Women
Everyone worked, but men and women were expected to do different tasks.
Starting at an early age, small children began to learn the skills they would need
when they grew up. The boys were taught woodcraft and hunting; the girls,
housekeeping and gardening.
Women’s Work
Women were responsible for the planting and
harvesting of crops and gathering wild foods. Some of
the crops were eaten as soon as it was harvested, but
much of it - together with wild foods like berries, roots
and nuts - were dried for winter use. The women pounded corn into
flour by using a mortar and pestle. Nuts could be ground up and
baked, or were pressed to squeeze out their oil, which was used in cooking.
Maple syrup was made by collecting sap from maple trees in early spring and
boiling it down.
Women were skilled at making clay pots, weaving rush mats and
bags, and making baskets. They wove cornhusks for slippers, mats
and dolls, and made containers from elm and birch bark. With
fibers from plants, they spun and braided cords for binding and
carrying bundles. Women were also responsible for preparing the hides for
clothes and shelters. With bone tools, they scraped the hair from the hides and
cleaned them. Then they smoked them over a fire, cut them into pieces and
sewed the pieces with bone needles.
Men’s Work
Men cleared the land, built and repaired the houses, and
made dugout canoes by felling large
trees and alternately burning and
chopping through them to the desired
shape. They constructed fishweirs
and the large fish baskets to gather the catch. Using bows
and arrows, the men hunted a variety of animals, although
deer, elk and bear were the Lenape’s largest prey. Deer were often hunted by
surrounding or herding them into pens or rivers. This method involved many
people forming into a large a circle as possible and by using fire or noise to drive
the animals to the hunters where they could be easily killed.
Trapping was another means by which the Lenape caught
animals like beaver, otter, muskrat, raccoon, mink and wild
cats. Turkey, eagle and other birds like partridge, pigeon,
wild ducks and geese were also shot or caught in traps to be
part of the Lenape diet.
Men were good warriors and sometimes had to go to war to defend their homes,
but left the management of the house to their wives and often listened to the
advice of the chief matron of his lineage in matters of peace and war.
What kinds of homes did the Lenape live in? How did they dress?
The Lenape made dome-shaped houses
called wigwams where a small family or
individual could live. They pushed a circle
of poles into the ground and then bent
them over one another to make a domed
frame, which they covered with sheets of
bark, skins or woven rush mats. Sometimes
several families lived together in a larger
“longhouse,” still rounded on top, but
longer. Inside the longhouse were platforms of poles on either side that could
be used as seats or beds. Down the center was a row of fires to share.
Openings in the roof let the smoke out. Corn and herbs were hung high in the
roof and there was room to store other goods beside the doorway.
The Lenape lived in settled villages but did not stay in
one place for the whole of their lives. Every ten or
twelve years they had to move their entire village to a
new site because they had used up many of the natural
resources of their area. During the year, small groups
might re-locate to temporary camps farther removed
from the main village. Here they would stay for an
indefinite time until they procured the desired
materials or foods.
Clothing and Decoration
The Lenape dressed for snow and icy winds
or for sticky heat, depending on the season.
For men, light clothes would be a
breechclout and leggings tied to a belt, and
for women, a short, wrap-around skirt.
Clothing worn next to the body was usually
made of deerskin or beaver skin. In colder
weather people added a hide shirt, fur
robes, and perhaps mittens and fur caps.
Everyone wore soft-soled deerskin
moccasins.
They kept themselves clean and were
accustomed to a daily swim or used a sweat
lodge or steam bath. The women wore their
hair long and when working around fires,
kept it in a braid or bun in the back of their
head. For decoration, they might wrap their
hair with a snakeskin or give their hair a
gloss by applying bear grease.
Young men often would cut their hair or pull it out by the roots
so that only a small round spot on the crest of the head would
remain. Although Lenape men did have sparse facial hair, most
got rid of it by plucking it out. Men typically wore a hairpiece
called a “roach,” made out of porcupine hairs and dyed deer hair.
They might also wear feathers in their hair, but usually only
about two – never the big war bonnets worn by the Plains tribes.
The women used a type of red paint made from the bloodroot plant
mixed with bear grease to put a round dot on each cheek, on their
ears, and where they parted their hair. Men
often painted their face, chest and shoulders.
Men tattooed themselves with pictures of
animals, birds, snakes or various geometric designs. Both men and women wore
earrings, necklaces and hair ornaments from many natural objects like shell,
bone, feathers, stones, clay, and animal claws and teeth.
How did the Lenape eat?
ashes.
The Lenape had a great variety of food and believed that food
was there to be shared. People were entitled to what they had
trapped or gathered, but no one should be allowed to go hungry.
Whenever visitors arrived, they were offered food. In turn, the
guests always ate what was given to them. Food was cooked in
clay pots over the fire or wrapped in leaves and set in the hot
The Three Sisters
The three most important planted crops were corn (also called
maize), beans and squash, known as “The Three Sisters” by
many Eastern Woodland tribes. Corn on
the cob was boiled, baked, or fried in bear
grease. Sometimes the women scraped the
corn kernels off the cob, ground the
kernels into a paste and shaped the paste
into patties, which were then wrapped in
leaves and baked or boiled. Corn was also
used to make soup, bread, and puddings. Beans were boiled or
fried, made into soups, or added to meat dishes. Squash was
boiled or baked whole. Greens were added to meat dishes, wild
herbs to soups, and berries to puddings or breads. Utensils
consisted of bark plates or wooden bowls and spoons.
Drying and Storing
Plant foods were also stored away for the
wintertime. Ears of corn were tied in bundles and
hung from the ceilings of the houses to dry. Corn
kernels and beans were removed and stored in skin
or woven bags. Pumpkins and squash were cut into
rings, put on a stick, and hung up to dry in the sun.
Meat and fish could also be sun-dried or sometimes
were placed over a smoldering fire to slowly smoke dry. As long as these foods
were kept dry, they would not spoil. When a Lenape woman wanted to use dried
food, she cooked it in water. The water made the dried food swell up and
became soft enough to eat.
Some Lenape women dug deep, wide holes or storage pits into the earth. Dried
meat, dried fish, nuts and other dried edibles were placed in these storage pits.
These subterranean storage areas were lined with mats or grasses to keep food
free of dirt and keep out mice and other vermin. Stored foods enabled the
Lenape to survive the cold winter.
How did the Lenape entertain themselves?
Games
Not much is known about Lenape games and sport. Children’s toys usually consisted
of miniature tools and weapons for the boys, and cornhusk dolls, small mortars and
pestles, and toy pots for the girls. With these objects, children had fun and began
to learn the skills they needed later in life.
The Lenape also admired strength and liked to compete with one another in
contests or games. Young men wrestled or tried to see who could throw a large
stone the greatest distance. To be able to run fast was an important skill and so
races were often held. Boys tried their skill with the bow and arrow, or with a pole
that had to be thrown through a rolling hoop. The “cup and pin” game,
made from deer toe bones and a stick, was a favorite pastime, and
gambling appears to have been very popular. For this, pieces of bone
or wild plum pits were painted on one side and then thrown into the air
from a wooden bowl. Points were scored depending on how many of
each color came up. In the moccasin game, one person would take four moccasins
and hide something under one of them; the other players would have to guess
where it was.
Both males and females enjoyed team games. Lacrosse,
a very popular sport among neighboring Indian tribes,
may or may not have been played by the Lenape. A kind
of football called Pahsaheman may also have been
played. In this game, the ball was made of deerskin
stuffed with hair and both men and women engaged,
though the rules were different for each sex. Men
could catch the ball but could not carry it or throw it; they had to kick it.
Moreover, the men were prohibited from tackling or grabbing the women. Women,
however, could catch the ball, run with it, pass it, or kick it, and they could tackle
the men, sometimes tearing off their shirts.
Music
Musical instruments consisted of simple hide-and-water drums,
bird bone whistles or possibly wooden flutes, and rattles made of
turtle shell, bark, and gourds. Dancing accompanied by music and
singing was a favorite pastime. Early writers noted that “the
women, who always follow the men, dancing in a circle, act with
decency and becoming modest … (but) the men shout and leap and
stomp with such violence that the ground trembles under their
feet” (Zeisberger 1910:118).
Storytelling
Stories were often fun to listen to and in winter people told
stories to pass the time. But stories also served a serious
purpose. Stories explained beliefs about creation, past events
and social values and were an important part of a child’s
upbringing. Children looked forward to long winter evenings
by the fire, listening to the tales told by the Elders. Children were expected to be
good listeners and have good memories.