Tag Archives: Samson Occom

Happy Samson Occom Day!

14 Saturday Jul 2018

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Brothertown has been significantly blessed throughout the centuries with industrious, well-educated, and noteworthy citizens who have spent their lives in service to our people and others. Joseph Johnson, David Fowler, William Fowler, Alonzo D. Dick, William H. Dick, and Thomas Commuck are a few of these names. Probably the most well-known, however, is the name of Samson Occom (Mohegan/Brothertown).

Occom’s notoriety goes well beyond Brothertown, Native America, or even the century in which he lived. He was instrumental in the founding of Dartmouth College, helped establish the community of Deansboro (“old Brothertown”) in New York and fathered the Brothertown Tribe; all of which continue to exist more than two centuries later. He wrote hymns that are still sung; was the first person to publish an interdenominational hymnal; wrote the first Native American autobiography; and penned letters, sermons, and journals that are read and studied in classroom settings across the nation. Occom was the second Native American to be published (about 6 months after son-in-law Joseph Johnson (Mohegan/Brothertown)), and the first to be published internationally when his A Sermon Preached at the Execution of Moses Paul was printed and sold in England.

Occom died in New York on July 14, 1792. Although he was a Presbyterian minister, the Episcopal Church has set this date aside as an annual feast day in tribute to him. Let us mark our own calendars and join them each year on July 14th in remembering this truly remarkable Brothertown man.

2018 Upcoming Brothertown Events

23 Friday Feb 2018

Posted by in Brothertown Founding Fathers, Brothertown History, Current Events, Joseph Johnson, Samson Occom

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Sunday, February 25th at 6:30pm CT/7:30 ET, Brothertown Forward will be hosting an online community discussion on the Thomas Commuck shape note singing event held at Yale on February 3rd.   This event is open to everyone; whether you attended and would like to discuss your experience there or would simply like to hear how it went.  To log in, please go to https://zoom.us/j/2529226987 or dial +1 646 876 9923 and enter the Meeting ID: 252 922 6987.

For a sneak peek of the day itself, please see https://youtu.be/h42vaBNZLUo.

Sunday March 4th at 6:00pm CT/7:00 ET, Ms. Laura Murray, author of To Do Good to My Indian Brethren, will be speaking to us about her research and book on Joseph Johnson, the youngest of our Brothertown founders.  The log in information for this discussion is the same as the one above.

Saturday June 2nd, we will be meeting in “Old Brothertown” New York to perform annual cleaning and maintenance at our Brothertown cemeteries.  In addition to overgrowth and the accumulation of trash, normal yearly rainfall causes dirt to run over onto the slabs where grass and weeds quickly begin to grow. Without yearly maintenance, the graves of our ancestors not only fall into ruin and decay but run the risk of being lost to us forever.  Please consider donating one weekend every year, or even every few years, to go to New York and fulfill your duties to those who have walked ahead.  We are working on putting carpools together as well as trying to obtain sponsorship to defray the cost of lodging, eating, and other travel-related expenses.  If you would like to donate your time but travel costs are prohibitive; if you are willing to drive or looking to carpool; if you can’t attend but would like to make a donation; or if you’d simply like to be put on a contact list for future trips, please contact me at brothertown citizen at aol.com.

For a calendar listing additional Brothertown-related dates, please see the Tribe’s website at BrothertownIndians.org.

“What’s In A Name?” Part IV: Happy Eeyawquittoowauconnuck Day!

07 Tuesday Nov 2017

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Today, November 7, 2017, marks the 232nd anniversary of the “incorporation” and naming of Brothertown.  On Monday November 7, 1785, Occom noted in his journal that, “we named our town by the name of Brotherton, in Indian Eeyawquittoowauconnuck.”  By virtue of the fact that Occom included this “Indian” name in his journal, we can make the assumption that this detail was important.  However, while we know that Eeyawquittoowauconnuck means “Brotherton”, ideas vary a bit on exactly how Eeyawquittoowauconnuck would be translated.

In his book, Becoming Brothertown:  Native American Ethnogenesis and Endurance in the Modern World, Craig Cipolla makes the claim that Eeyawquittowauconnuck means “town or plantation of equals or brothers,” or “many eat from one dish” (p95).  In The Collected Writings of Samson Occom, Mohegan, Joanna Brooks quotes Stephanie Fielding (great great great niece of Mohegan linguist Fidelia Fielding*) who “believes that [it] translates as “he does so like someone looking in a certain direction or a certain way.”  Phrased differently, this meaning might indicate a group united by a distinctive shared perspective” (p 25, footnote).

While the proffered translations may not be exact and are each a little different, Eeyawquittoowauconnuck reflected the desire of its founders that it be a distinct place where inhabitants with a common vantage point were bonded to one another within a caring community.

…..to be continued.

* ling.yale.edu/news/Stephanie-fielding-interviewed-wnpr

What’s In A Name Part III: “The E-Word”

01 Wednesday Nov 2017

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“The E-word”

Daunted by its 22 letters and 7 syllables, some people simply refer to it as “the E-word”.   However, Eeyawquittoowauconnuck is not just a word; it is a name.  It is our name; one that holds meaning and value for us as a People.  For those who are not already comfortable using it, it is well worth taking a few minutes to become more familiar with “Eeyawquittoowauconnuck”*.

For the sake of ease, let’s start by dividing Eeyawquittoowauconnuck into 7 manageable syllables.  They look like this:

  • Ee
  • Yaw
  • quit
  • too
  • wau
  • con
  • nuck

Now, lets pronounce them*.  Try saying these out loud:

“Ee” (pronounced just like it looks…like the long sound of the letter “e” as in “me”)–Ee

“Yaw” (rhyme it with “paw”)–Yaw

Next, put those 2 together:  “Ee”+“Yaw”= “Eeyaw”.

Say it out loud so your tongue and ears get used to it.

 

Next, is

“quit”(pronounce it with a long “ee” sound in the middle so it rhymes with “tweet”)—quit

“too”(also like the English word too)—too

Now put them together and say them out loud.  “quit”+”too”=“quittoo”.

Let’s go back and pick up the first part and pair it with this:  “Eeyaw” + “quittoo”=“Eeyawquittoo”

Good job, we’re almost done!

The next 3 syllables are:

“wau” (rhyme it with “la”)—wau

“con” (like the English word con)—con

“nuck” (rhymes with truck)—nuck

Now, put those 3 together:  “wau”+”con”+”nuck”=“wauconnuck”.  Say it again, “wauconnuck”.

Finally, lets put the entire word back together: “Eeyawquittoo”+”wauconnuck”=”Eeyawquittoowauconnuck”. 

Congratulations, you did it!  Now keep using it.  Try it out at the next Brothertown gathering, teach it to your kids, greet one another with it.  Eeyawquittoowauconnuck is who we are.  Say it often and say it proudly: Eeyawquittoowauconnuck!

 

*It should be noted that the above pronunciation of “Eeyawquittoowauconnuck” is based on the author’s personal estimation of Occom’s spelling of the word as found in his journal entry of November 7, 1785.  Occom had a strong grasp of the phonetic sounds of English letters and wrote the name accordingly.  The author acknowledges that there is, however, some room for variation.  For example, the double o’s in the 4th syllable, “too,” suggest that Occom heard it as either the “oo” sound as in “too”(as presented here) or possibly, the “Uh” sound as in “book”.   Mohegan linquist, Stephanie Fielding, suggests that Eeyawquittoowauconnuck, in Mohegan orthography today, might be spelled “Iyáhqituwôkanuk”(1).  Using the Mohegan pronunciation guide(2), as found in Fielding’s work at http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/collections/MoheganDictionary.pdf, the pronunciation of this 4th syllable (“too”/”tu”), might change the sound into “uh” as in “pup”.

  • Brooks, Joanna. The Collected Writings of Samson Occom, Mohegan. p25, Footnote 28.
  • Fielding, Stephanie. A Modern Mohegan Dictionary, 2006, pp 9-10.

Brothertown Hymnody: An Enduring Tradition

30 Thursday Mar 2017

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Introduction

            When our ancestors left their original homelands to re-organize themselves into a new Tribe in New York, they carried very few possessions with them.   Besides themselves and their families, some of the most important things they did carry were their faith in God and their practice of communal hymn singing (hymnody).  The type of hymn singing they engaged in was very distinctive and unique to the New England area.  By 1801, this general type of singing would come to be known as “shape note singing” although the New England Indians had their own unique version of it and particularly excelled at its practice.   Not only did their own version of shape note singing travel with our ancestors from New England to New York, but it was still with them when they relocated to Wisconsin (still Michigan Territory) in the early part of the 1800’s.

Part One:  Occom’s Hymnal and Brothertown, New York

                        Samson Occom, the famous Native American minister, led an extremely productive and influential life.  One of his noteable achievements was the 1774 publication of a hymn book (words only) with many reprinted songs and a couple of Occom’s own (available at http://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/evans/N10659.0001.001?rgn=main;view=fulltext).   This has earned him the distinctive honor of being “the first American writer of Presbyterian hymns.”(1)  This hymn book, no doubt, accompanied him 13 years later on his journey to Oneida County New York and the political formation of Brothertown.

            We read in Occom’s journal concerning the night he arrived in New York at his brother in law’s (David Fowler’s) house on October 24, 1785 that, “as we approach’d the House I heard a Melodious Singing, a number were together Singing Psalms hymns and Spiritual Songs”(2).  They sang a bit more before retiring for the night. The next day, October 25th, he noted, “In the evening Singers Came in again, and they Sang till near ten o: c.”

            On Wednesday, he wrote of more singing; as well as on Friday where they sang at “Abraham Simons” house.  On Saturday, the “huskers Sung Hymns Psalms and Spiritual Songs the bigest part of the Time, finishd in the evening,— and after Supper the Singers Sung a while”.  On Sunday it went on longer.  To say that they sang a lot may be an understatement.

            It was not just our early years there in New York that we pursued hymnody, but it continued throughout our time there.  In a letter dated December 26, 1791, Occom wrote, “one Jo–Quinney is… our Singing Master too, and he is Instructing the People in Singing Constantly, two or three Evenings every week.”(3)

            While Occom tells us that they sang “hymns Psalms and Spiritual Songs”, he doesn’t mention much more besides noting their frequency.  Yet, there was something special to be said about Brothertown singing; something that set our ancestors apart.  Partial clarity on this matter can be gained through a review of historical Native America in the New England area as well as by reviewing the education that our founders, including Occom, had received at Moor’s Charity School.

                        …..to be continued

(1)    http://www.nndb.com/people/556/000115211/

(2) October 4, 1785 Journal p12r & following https://collections.dartmouth.edu/occom/html/diplomatic/785554-diplomatic.html

 (3) https://collections.dartmouth.edu/occom/html/diplomatic/791676-diplomatic.html