Historical Letter Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Historical Letter - Essay Example The Iroquois lived in villages and were mainly farmers who stayed near their fields of crops. We only lived and cultivated lands within the period of 10-20 years after the soil proved infertile due to the worn out form of farming. Although we stayed along the streams, we later moved on to hilltops so that we could protect ourselves from the attacking tribes and even used palisade which had watch towers to spot invaders (De 17-27). Farm lands were cleared by men and women followed with the actual planting by using tiny wooden spades in creating mounds. We believed that mounds would play a major role in protecting the seeds from cold, and that the three crops grown could provide both physical and spiritual sustainers of life. We used a companion planting method in growing corns. We used to plant three main agricultural crops which included corn, squash, and beans which were commonly referred to as â€Å"Three Sisters†. We always planted the crops together in a very close distanc e where some flat topped mounds of soil were created for every cluster of crops. Every mound was almost 30cm high and 50cm wide, and numerous corn seeds were collectively planted in the middle of the mounds and rotten fish or even eels were buried together with the seeds to act as fertilizer (De 17-27). It was interesting to note that the crops mutually benefited from each other like the maize provided its stalk for the beans to climb, beans provided nitrogen for other plants to utilize, while squash nicely covered the ground to prevent the growth of weeds and retain moisture in the soil. We strongly believed that the mixture of maize and beans provided a great balanced diet. The natural relationship of the three crops was very vital, hence, requiring us to plant them together. During the harvest crops were gathered, women and seniour girls did the part of scrapping the kernels off the corn ears immediately the corns dried and later stored in the containers made of bark. We made a n ice soup from the dry corn and bread with the grounded ones (Kleinberg, Boris & Ruiz 30-35). Apart from the three crops, we grew sunflowers so that we could use oil from their seeds in cooking, protecting us from the sun or cold after rubbing on our bodies and even in healing cuts. Women could gather fruits at times as men hunted bear, beaver, rabbit or deer using bows and arrows or even trapping the animals in snares. Despite the abundance of food, we ate only one great meal in the late morning using our wooden spoons, bowls or shells. We used deerskin and other animals’ hides and furs to make our clothes which we commonly used both for protection and decoration. We wore our clothes considering different times of the year: during the summer we used loincloths of soft deerskin, while during cold weather men got dressed in leather leggings and tunics and women in skirts and leggings. Shells, beads, and porcupine quills provided a lovely decoration for the clothes, necklaces, a nd bracelets (Kleinberg, Boris & Ruiz 30-35). Our customs and beliefs were simply amazing. We believed that there existed numerous spirit forces that were created by a supreme being such as the sky spirit which included the moon and the sun as well as the earth spirits that included animals and plants. Every Iroquoian believed that their dreams would become true, and it was, therefore, common to see someone cutting him or herself in a harmless way whenever he or