| Weetamoo | |
| Tribe: | Pocasset Wampanoag |
| Birth Name: | Namumpum Weetamoo |
| Birth Place: | present day North Tiverton, Rhode Island |
| Death Place: | Taunton, Massachusetts |
| Death Cause: | Drowning |
| Predecessor: | Corbitant |
| Nicknames: |
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| Battles: | King Philip's War |
| Spouse: | Winnepurket, Wamsutta (Alexander), Quequequanachet, Petonowit, and Quinnapin |
| Parents: | Corbitant (father) |
Weetamoo (pronounced Wee-TAH-moo)[1] (c. 1635 - 1676), also referred to as Weethao, Weetamoe, Wattimore, Namumpum, and Tatapanunum, was a Pocasset Wampanoag Native American Chief. She was the sunksqua, or female sachem, of Pocasset tribe, which occupied contemporary Tiverton, Rhode Island in 1620.[2] The Pocasset, which she led, was one of groups of the Wampanoag.
Weetamoo was born in the Mattapoiset village of the Pokanoket or at Rhode Island's Taunton River area.[3] She was also close friends with another female sachem Awashonks. Weetamoo was also close friends with brothers Wamsutta and Metacomet as young girl. Weetamoo went on a vision quest that "kills the child soul" which is a right of passage for males.young Weetamoo is an early example of gender fluidity. She performed duties of both male and female Native Americans. Weetamoo learned the ways of agriculture, building permanent and temporary shelters, prepare hides, hunting small animals, fishing, and cooking. Weetamoo was also trained to fight and learned diplomacy and leadership by observing her father and other elders like Massasoit. Her father was Corbitant, sachem of the Pocasset tribe in present-day North Tiverton, Rhode Island, c. 1618–1630.
In her lifetime, she had five husbands: Winnepurket, Wamsutta (Alexander), Quequequanachet, Petonowit, and Quinnapin.
Her first husband, Winnepurket, was the Sachem of Saugus, Massachusetts and died shortly after they were married.
Wamsutta (alternatively known by the English as Alexander, a name which he retained until his death), her second husband, was the eldest son of Massasoit, grand sachem of the Wampanoag and participant in the first Thanksgiving with the Pilgrims. They were married in or before 1653,[4] and [it is speculated that] she had one child with Wamsutta, although the date of birth and name are unknown. During their marriage, the tribe allied with the English against the Narragansett, though the English later broke their treaty with the tribe. Wamsutta became sick and died during negotiations with the English and his brother Metacom (Philip) succeeded him as Chief of the Wampanoag. Metacom's wife was Weetamoo's sister, Wootonekanuske.[5]
Little is known about Weetamoo's third husband Quequequanachet, while she ended the marriage to her fourth husband Petonowit (called "Ben" by the English) when he sided with the English during King Philip's War.
Her final marriage was to Quinnapin, the son of Niantic Narraganset sachem Ninigret and grandson of powerful Narragansett sachem Canonchet. He was described as "a handsome warrior" and they were married in September or August 1675.[6] This marriage was designed to strengthen and reinforce the Wampanoag-Narragansett alliance against colonists.[7] The marriage appeared to have been strong and the pair had at least one child together, who died in 1676.[8] Quinnapin was captured in 1676.
Because her father had no sons, she became sunksqua between the death of her husband Wamsutta and her remarriage to Quequequanachet. Being a woman did not diminish her authority, despite many colonists' lack of understanding of her position. Weetamoo was depicted "as potent a Prince as any round about her, and had as much corn, land, and men, at her command" as King Philip.
Weetamoo's leadership arose from her role as a cultivator of diplomacy.kin It has been theorized that some of the lesser-known sachems assumed to have been male may have been female sunksquas, especially since female leaders were not unheard of among the Algonquian tribes.[9] As a leader of her people Weetamoo traveled to different nations as an ambassador for the Wampanoag people. She was entrusted to represent Pocasset intertwined interests and sovereignty. By 1663, Weetamoo, had learned the colonial "deed games".Brooks
As tensions grew prior to King Philip's War, Weetamoo, was a highly sought after ally from both Metacom and the English.Martino-Trutor Many believe Weetamoo sided with Metacom was out of revenge for the death of Wamsutta. Another reason she may have sided with Metacom is a group of English soldiers attacked her canoes in June 1675. The group of soldiers thought the canoes were Metacom's.Martino-Trutor This solidified Weetamoo's decision to ally with Metacom. In addition, Weetamoo forged alliances to fortify her authority and territorial integrity. Her strategy intertwining with other leaders and their families to protect those who depended on them.Brooks
Her role in King Philip's War was significantly decreased by the English particularly by Mary Rowlandson and Increase Mather. In reality, by 1675 Weetamoo was the leader of all allied tribes in the Wampanoag Confederation. In February of 1676, Weetamoo led a raid on the English in the Battle of Blood Rock that resulted in the capture of Mary Rowlandson. At the Battle of Blood Rock Weetamoo commanded an army of more than 300 warriors.
Weetamoo drowned in the Taunton River while leading a charge against the English in 1676. Her body washed ashore in Swansea which was a prominent English colony. The story of her corpse being beheaded comes from the writings of minister Increase Mather.[10] The English were so afraid of Weetamoo’s power, they cut off her head and mounted it on a pike. They left her head on display in front of a settlement in order to prove she really had died.
When the remaining Wampanoag people saw what the English had done Increase Mather stated:
"They made a most horrible and diabolical lamentation, crying out that it was their queen's head. If to lament the sad end of their queen was diabolical on the part of the Indians, what was this cruel mockery of their grief by a Christian minister, and what had the heathen to gain by listening to his teachings, or adhering to his practice?"Peirce
Weetamoo/Wattimore appears in Mary Rowlandson's The Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson. In 1676, Weetamoo and her relative Quinnapin, the sachem of Narragansett, attacked a colonial settlement in Lancaster, Massachusetts. Rowlandson, who was captured and held by Quinnapin for three months, left a vivid description of Weetamoo's appearance as well as personality:
A severe and proud dame she was, bestowing every day in dressing herself neat as much time as any of the gentry of the land: powdering her hair, and painting her face, going with necklaces, with jewels in her ears, and bracelets upon her hands. When she had dressed herself, her work was to make girdles of wampum and beads.[11]
Only women of rank were allowed to produce "Girdles of wampom and beads", and Weetamoo's production of these items reinforced her status. Wampum belts would be strung together with shells and were often used among Native Americans to deliver messages accompanied by speeches. Many places in the White Mountains of New Hampshire are also named after her, such as Weetamoo Falls, Mount Weetamoo, the Weetamoo Trail (which includes Weetamoo Glen and Weetamoo Rock), and the Six Husbands Trail, a reference to her marriages. However, there is no evidence that Weetamoo ever went to the White Mountains, and the area's focus on her may come from John Greenleaf Whittier's poem "The Bridal of Penacook," which names her as being from the area.[12]
Weetamoo's adolescent life is depicted in the young adult historical novel, Weetamoo: Heart of the Pocasetts, in The Royal Diaries series.[13] [14] [15]
Weetamoo Woods Open Space in Tiverton, Rhode Island is named after Weetamoo.[16] A 50-foot vessel, Weetamoo, built in 1902, "was named after the daughter of an Indian Chief in John Greenleaf Whittier's poem Bride of Penacook." The vessel served on Lake Sunapee for 25 years before being scuttled.[17] Lowell YWCA Camp Weetamoo is located on Long-Sought-for Pond in Westford, MA.[18] [19]
To the Wampanoag people Weetamoo was a sunksqua, a bead worker, a dancer, a war chief, a storyteller, and so much more. Weetamoo was one of the best examples of a smart and intelligent sachems. She is also remembered for her remarkable beauty. Weetamoo was known as "Squaw Sachem." Weetamoo gained status among the Wampanoags by virtue of her having been the Wampanoag queen as the wife of the sachem Wamsutta.