Quebec City, Quebec
Day 28 we arrived in Quebec City and for the first time in a fortnight, the sun brightened our day! We have toured the historic part of the city in the past, so instead decided to visit the Huron-Wendat (Indian) Village. Located in Wendakt, the reserve is now totally surrounded by greater Quebec City. The early French explorers nicknamed the Wendat "Huron" (meaning boars head in French) because of the men's hairstyle.
Arriving at the village we walked past the Wendat Nation's Church built in 1730. The French converted the natives to Christianity and today they are predominately Catholic.
Across from the church is a park depicting the Nation's "Myth of Creation." According to the legend, The "Sky Tree and Mother of Creation" fell into the "Water World" from the "Sky World" above. Seeing this, the astonished geese, otter, muskrat and beaver sacrificed their lives to rescue her. The turtle gave up his shell to create the land on which they could live.
Nearby we followed a short path to the Kabir Kouba Cliff and viewed a raging water fall on the Akiawenrahk River. The river was important to the Wendat because it provided fish and eels for food and a means to travel through the dense forests and trade with other villages.
Across from the church was the chief's mansion. You may be interested in the fact that the Huron-Wendat women are the center of their society and the "Clan Mother" from each longhouse would meet with her peers from the other longhouses to determine a successor when a new chief was to be selected. (Kind of like the Iowa caucuses?)
Maple trees are just beginning to show fall colors here. We are probably 10-days too early to see them at their peak.
The Wendat may not have a casino but they do have a 4-star hotel. Its architecture was inspired by their traditional longhouses.
We walked to a traditional Wendat site to learn more about how they lived before the French arrived 400 years ago. Each village was enclosed by palisade walls.
A longhouse was constructed on a wood frame covered by bark. Each structure would house multiple families all members of the same matrilineal line (in other words sisters and all their family members). A longhouse could be 150 feet or more long and house 100 people.
This particular longhouse had 3 fire pits indicating 3 sisters and all of their extended family members lived here. It could have housed about 45 people. Each house had a "Clan Mother" who "managed" the Clan. Her responsibilities included overseeing garden and agricultural work, wood cutting, meal preparations, clothing and repairs, raising the children and most important, sitting on the council of Clans Women to elect the next chief. Every thing else was the responsibility of the men: fishing, hunting, trading and making war.
The men would return with fish and the women would dry them in the sun to make fish flakes that would keep over the winter.
This sweat lodge would house 6-8 men. Water was poured over heated rocks (creating a steam room) which was intended to purify the souls of the participants. They remained in the lodge for an entire day.
The Wendat were master canoe builders and continued to make superior boats until carbon fiber and other exotic materials took their market away.
Upon the death of a clan member, their body was wrapped and placed on the top of a tall structure similar to that shown here. It remained there until the village relocated. Then the remains were buried. (Since 85% of the Wendat's diet depended on agricultural, about every 10-15 years the village had to relocate because of diminished crop yields caused by depletion of the soils minerals.)
Arriving at the village we walked past the Wendat Nation's Church built in 1730. The French converted the natives to Christianity and today they are predominately Catholic.
Across from the church is a park depicting the Nation's "Myth of Creation." According to the legend, The "Sky Tree and Mother of Creation" fell into the "Water World" from the "Sky World" above. Seeing this, the astonished geese, otter, muskrat and beaver sacrificed their lives to rescue her. The turtle gave up his shell to create the land on which they could live.
Nearby we followed a short path to the Kabir Kouba Cliff and viewed a raging water fall on the Akiawenrahk River. The river was important to the Wendat because it provided fish and eels for food and a means to travel through the dense forests and trade with other villages.
Across from the church was the chief's mansion. You may be interested in the fact that the Huron-Wendat women are the center of their society and the "Clan Mother" from each longhouse would meet with her peers from the other longhouses to determine a successor when a new chief was to be selected. (Kind of like the Iowa caucuses?)
Maple trees are just beginning to show fall colors here. We are probably 10-days too early to see them at their peak.
The Wendat may not have a casino but they do have a 4-star hotel. Its architecture was inspired by their traditional longhouses.
We walked to a traditional Wendat site to learn more about how they lived before the French arrived 400 years ago. Each village was enclosed by palisade walls.
A longhouse was constructed on a wood frame covered by bark. Each structure would house multiple families all members of the same matrilineal line (in other words sisters and all their family members). A longhouse could be 150 feet or more long and house 100 people.
This particular longhouse had 3 fire pits indicating 3 sisters and all of their extended family members lived here. It could have housed about 45 people. Each house had a "Clan Mother" who "managed" the Clan. Her responsibilities included overseeing garden and agricultural work, wood cutting, meal preparations, clothing and repairs, raising the children and most important, sitting on the council of Clans Women to elect the next chief. Every thing else was the responsibility of the men: fishing, hunting, trading and making war.
The men would return with fish and the women would dry them in the sun to make fish flakes that would keep over the winter.
This sweat lodge would house 6-8 men. Water was poured over heated rocks (creating a steam room) which was intended to purify the souls of the participants. They remained in the lodge for an entire day.
The Wendat were master canoe builders and continued to make superior boats until carbon fiber and other exotic materials took their market away.
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