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Iroquois Longhouse |
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A traditional Iroquois
longhouse was usually made from tamarack trees, which is a very
hard wood, and the longhouse could last twenty to twenty-five
years. Layers of bark, mud, moss and pine tar pitch were used
as insulation, as well as animal skins on the interior walls.
The only openings were smoke holes on the roof and the doorways,
one at each end of the longhouse. Bark lashed together or animal
skins and hides were used to cover the door openings. Smoke
holes would have a leather flap for use in heavy rains or snow
to keep the interior dry. |
An indication of the number of families living
in a longhouse was the number of smokeholes on the top, as each
family would have their own fire for warmth and cooking. Sleeping
areas in a longhouse were along the sides of the structure,
and beds were constructed like bunk beds made of corn husk mattresses
and animal skins. Some longhouses had cedar chips on the floor
for insulation in winter.
Longhouses were usually built in the spring of the year, as
the wood was most porous at that time. Tree trunks were bent
over and lashed together with ropes made of vines and plant
fibers that were twisted or braided together. The Iroquois were
not nomadic people and preferred to live in one area for an
extended length of time. When the longhouse would begin to decay
and fall apart, the land was usually also unfarmable and herds
of game in the area diminished. This was the time when the people
of the longhouse would seek another location to build their
villages.
Above the doorway of the longhouse was the clan symbol as an indication of the wolf, bear or turltle clan that resided there. |
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