HIS 117 - A Comparison of CASS: Cherokee, Anglo-Saxon and Saami societies

A Comparison of CASS: Cherokee, Anglo-Saxon and Saami societies

Melissa J. Dawson

Southern New Hampshire University

HIS-117-Q3149 World Civilizations to 1500

Introduction

            Societies can be viewed in a similar manner as biological entities. Just as an animal or plant adjusts to changing physical conditions around them, so do societies and civilizations adjust, evolve and cease to exist when outside pressures become too much. However, in that process they have formed a chain of societal norms that have responded to changing political, religious or ethical factors in order to become the societies we live in today. As such, there is value in learning more about these past iterations and what each group learned, did not heed and how they passed that shared historic memory on to us.

            Moving back through the centuries I believe the first groups were formed out of primal need. Need for extra hands to hunt down large game, a recognition of protection in numbers and a wider mating pool where more desired traits could be passed on to their offspring. Only once the primal and basic needs of food, shelter and sex were no longer in question, could humans begin to consider the more abstract things that form what we today consider essential for a functional society: Laws, Art, Music, Self-Expression, Spirituality and Science & Technology.

             I will be looking at the following three groups for further study and analysis: the Cherokee Nation Federations prior to contact with Europeans [Americas], Laplanders known as the Saami, in what is now Northern Finland, Sweden and Norway during the Iron Age [Northern Scandinavia], and the Anglo-Saxons prior to the Norman Conquest of 1066 [Europe]. I will be looking at the diversity of how dwellings and communities were structured and situated, as well as the evolving complex rules of law and societal norms each group developed.

            These three societies were chosen for specific, and personal, reasons. On my Father’s side I have a great-great-grandmother who was full Cherokee. Due to where the family was living in the 19^th Century they were not part of the infamous Trail of Tears so therefore have maintained a longer continuity of experience. On my Mother’s side, both great-grandparents immigrated to the United States from Raahe, Finland. As such I have a great interest in many aspects of Finnish culture and traditions, including the Laplanders and the indigenous Saami people. And finally, I am a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA), my persona is based on a woman living just outside of Berwick, England in the 11^th to 12^th Century C.E. Yet the more I learn about the Anglos that controlled the trade and water routes in that area prior to the Battle of Hastings, the more interested I am in this society that was more technologically advanced and sophisticated than we have given them credit for in the past.

            These three examples, just like all other human created societies, states, and empires prior to 1500 C.E. were initially formed in order to maximize the ability to feed themselves and their families by distribution of the labor involved in collecting, preparing and preserving food resources during varying conditions and seasons.

Research and Analysis

            The Structure of Complex Societies

            During the Eleventh Century C.E. the global climate was still in a warming trend that would last another 200 years (Easterbrook, 2011). This meant that more Northern areas, such as Lapland, which covers the top quarter of Norway, Sweden and Finland were not as cold as they are today, leading to larger grazing lands for reindeer. Crops that would be difficult to grow in modern day England were cultivated by the Anglo-Saxons, such as grapes which in today’s climate would not thrive. Some of the Cherokee clans originally residing along the present-day US-Canadian border moved into the Southeast portion of the continent following the herds of deer that had wider range options (Cherokee Nation). For most humans who lived before 1500 C.E., one of the strongest driving forces of their daily lives was finding enough food to sustain themselves. Before the innovations of long-range weaponry or established domestication of food animals, the hunting and bringing down of an animal, or number of animals, large enough to feed a family or community was a very labor-intensive affair. And with little guarantee of success, there were real advantages to having a coalition of hunters assisting each other in this endeavor.

            As these migrations were taking place and different cultural groups moved into new lands, they brought with them, and had to create or adjust, the parameters of how living in settlements and community would function (The Anglo Saxons). When looking at where new societies settle the common factor is always a source of clean water. Water is vital for the survival of any community, even nomadic ones such as the Saami. Then the function(s) of each member of that society needs to be agreed upon and adhered to. Variations will always exist between groups based on cultural or religious norms, what is most important is that everyone follows the same set of rules, and that clear consequences are made known in response to the violation of that group’s norms, such as written by an Anglo-Saxon King (King Æthelberht’s Law Code).

A Sami family in front of a goahti in the foreground and a lavvu in the background (the picture is taken around 1900).

The Saami nomads of Lapland did not set up established communities or dwellings until the late 1800s, as with most nomadic groups their housing structures needed to be easily assembled, broken down, and transported from place to place (Kildahl, 2013). Their livelihood was intrinsically tied to the seasonal migration of their herds of reindeer along with spawning seasons of various fish, both fresh and salt water varieties.  As such their social structure was a Patriarchy headed up by

the eldest male of the household. Each Patriarch setting the rules for his household and dictating the limits of what the others were, or were not, allowed to do. Family units would come together at regular times to trade with other societies that wanted the fine furs and leathers made by the Saami, they were highly regarded and sought out for the quality of their goods (Demir, 2019).

Anglo-Saxon society was more established and structured even during the start of their emigration. They were primarily Germanic tribes who had crossed the Channel to take more productive lands and mineral resources for themselves on the main British Isle. Some had arrived prior to the onslaught of Viking raids along the East coast, others afterward. They brought with them established laws, a
court-system and settlement guidelines (Lambert, 2019). By the 11^th Century C.E. the jockeying for power amongst the nobles had been resolved and they had settled into four distinct and powerful

kingdoms, of which only Essex would remain after the Norman Invasion of 1066 C.E. Danelaw and the system of reciprocity, which they called comitatus, were structuring the social standards of each Kingdom and village. These communities were deeply connected to the land, and of the three societies discussed in this paper, would be considered the wealthiest in terms of material items. They built more permanent structures, some in stone and many more of wood.

            The Cherokee of the Southeastern part of North America had a similar living arrangement that combined both seasonal nomadic groups along with established villages. Villages were situated at sections of a river that would offer not only food sources but a means of transportation between other settlements (Georgia Tribe of Eastern Cherokee). By the 11^th Century C.E. they had not only a common language but long-standing sets of regulations and rules that governed punishment, the process for declaring war and agreed upon compensation options for a community

member that had been wronged. Similar to the Anglo-Saxons there were class stratifications that fell along the lines of skills and talents rather than just circumstances of birth. For example, the best hunters and trackers would follow migrating herds as they passed through the tribes’ territory to add to the community larder, while others would follow and prepare hides and meat for transport (Cherokee Nation). 

for transport (Cherokee Nation).

Class and Gender Structures

All three of the societies this paper looks at had very different sets of hard and fast regulations around the roles of men and women. The Cherokee did not sort their communities into class

structures based upon who your parents were as the Anglo-Saxon did. Instead your status within the village and larger tribe was based upon your own merit and efforts. If you showed an aptitude for herbalism and studied under the group’s shaman or healer, then it did not matter if your parents were merely tenders of a field. And for millennia, the Cherokee have been a Matriarchal Society, one of the few remaining such in the world today. When the early European settlers met with local men of the tribe and offered terms of working together or trade, they were shocked to be told that the men had to return and discuss the offer with their women before accepting. Women of the tribe control the majority of property and all children. When a woman marries it has to be from another village, to keep from introducing inbred issues. That husband then takes her family’s name and should they divorce he is ousted back to the village of his birth with only what he brought with

A reconstruction of an Anglo-Saxon woman based on a grave find in Dover dated to circa 575-625 AD. Dover Museum, Dover UK

 

him (History of American Women, 2018).

While not willing to give that much power to women, the Anglo-Saxon did acknowledge certain rights for women even within their carefully monitored class system. Rulers of kingdoms, villages and families were always men, and it was not likely that you could move up a class level from the one you were born into, so a peasant would not have the ability to become a free-holder or a soldier. Yet women were able to own land in their own names, assume the running of

a kingdom or business after the death of a father or husband, retained ownership of her own personal property and could not be forced into a marriage if she did not wish, this was regardless of your social status. Each class knew their place and their responsibilities. The Eoldorman expected martial service from the thanes and thanes in return expected the Lord to offer them protection (Lambert, 2019).

For the Saami the role of women carried some honor by virtue of being primary caretakers of children, passing on their culture and her skill in making clothing to protect her family during the brutal winters. However, this was a very patriarchal society with the father, or eldest male of a family group, making the decisions regarding who may marry, when they would move onto new lands and setting consequences for improper behavior as he saw fit. As technology was introduced to the Saami and clothing could be purchased, the role of the woman began to lose its importance, an issue that

modern-day Saami women are working to change (Andrews, 2019). Similar to most other nomadic cultures there is no defined class system, status in the great society is acquired based on the size of one’s herd or success in trade.

Intellectual and Religious Structures

            When they first arrived in England the Anglo-Saxons honored a variety of deities, similar to those the Celts and Picts in the area revered. Deities were associated with

specific events or phenomenon such as the changing of the seasons, a good harvest, protection in childbirth etc. However, around the 5^th Century C.E. there began to be a widespread conversion to Christianity, so that by the 11^th Century C.E. all four Kingdoms were officially Christian and a system of Priests,
Bishops and Monasteries had been established. Yet the traditional pagan feasts and festivals were still celebrated by most people in respect to their roots (Harrison, 2019). Gradually these became incorporated with Christian celebrations such as Easter. Similar to other European societies of the time the Anglo-Saxons were literate and kept copious written records about almost everything related to community life: deaths, baptisms, treaties and royal commands. Some of the best written records to survive from this period come from the venerable Bede, and English Benedictine monk (Bede, 731).

            The Saami never developed organized religious institutions, the ancient groups practiced a form of polytheism and animism. There is some archaeological evidence to suggest that early groups may have been influenced in part by their contact with Norse Vikings and their mythology. The belief system has a strong emphasis placed on the importance of personal spirituality along

with a deep connection to the natural and spiritual worlds (Mulk, 2008). The various offshoots of Saami that shared grazing lands each had its own distinct language originally, by the 12^th Century C.E. many of these had blended into the ten recognized today, though three are considered on the verge of extinction. Their alphabet is loosely based on the Latin Vulgate characters with an addition of what we would see as Nordic adaptations, however they developed written language rather late in their cultural life (sometime in the 19^th Century C.E.), and very little written records have survived due to a lack of safe or permanent storage – and the impermeability of the writing surfaces such as papyrus or hide (Kildahl, 2013). 
 

       Cherokee, as with almost all the North American tribe, practiced an oral tradition of history and culture for centuries. With each tribe having a specific language there were also some common languages that allowed Mohicans to communicate with the Saginaw and the Lakota with the Snoqualmish. Among all the Native American tribes the Cherokee were the first to have a standardized written language, but not until 1821 when Chief Sequoyah set it down (Library of Congress). Prior to that the history of a village or group was kept alive by the

Story Tellers who memorized all important events going back into the mists of time. There have also been discovered in Caves throughout the American Southeastern States, drawings and paintings that depict figures and animals. Not much is understood about their meaning as they have only begun to be studied in the last decade (Hunt, 2019). The Cherokee religion not only has deities for specific functions but they also believe that every living thing has a spirit and should be honored as such which is why they pray to that creature’s spirit before a hunt, or before felling a tree (Mails, 1992). 

Economic and Political Structures

            As mentioned previously each of these three civilizations did not live completely isolated and cut off from others around them. The Saami were well known in the Trading networks that sought skins, hides and furs for Southern markets, the Anglo-Saxons had a stellar reputation for their intricate gold-work – and the discovery of the Staffordshire Hoard highlighted their skill when it was unearthed in 2009. Cherokee villages would trade with other tribes who had access to items not within the tribe’s lands such as beads, ocean coastal shells or heavier furs like bear. Metal objects were also prized trade goods since the Native American tribes did not have the skill sets to forge their own. However, each had distinctly different forms of governmental systems.

       According to their official history the Cherokee’s first contact with Europeans was a meeting with the explorer Hernando DeSoto in 1540 (Cherokee.org). Regular contact with Europeans and exposure to their methods of government would not happen until the late 17^th Century C.E. Where the Saami power player was the male head of a household, in Cherokee villages it

was a council of senior women and men who would discuss problems, trade offers and other events that would affect the group as a whole and come to a consensus as to the correct way to proceed. Cherokee society overall was organized into seven clans – clan affiliation determined who you could marry, your political alignment and was determined by who your mother was (Georgia Tribe).  Each village had two distinct units of government – the White Chief headed up a peacetime governing body and the Red Chief who ruled over a governing body during times of war. Medicine Chiefs were responsible to resolving disputes between the Red and White Chiefs.

            Prior to 1500 C.E., and European colonization, the Cherokee engaged in political battles, or war, over matters such as water rights and access or to protect hunting grounds and resources. Tribes traded with each other for items not readily accessible in their own territory or for specific goods. The Cherokee being known for their fine pottery pieces, just as others had acclaim for their weavings or decorative works (NCAI.org). Like the Saami, the Cherokee Nation today still maintains its own sovereignty within the modern political borders of another country – in this instance, the United States.  

As a people made up of small family groups that lived a nomadic existence following wild reindeer herds and migrating fish species, the Saami did not have any centralized or codified set of laws until their way of life changed in the 18^th Century C.E.  (Ojala, 2009). At that time the ruling houses of the

Nordic region began to pay closer attention to the previously ignored frozen regions of their kingdoms and started levying taxes and enforcing boundary rules. This caused the Saami to convert to more sedentary breeders of domesticated reindeer. They did not have recognized autonomy as a unique culture and allowed to have self-rule until the late 19^th – early 20^th Century. As such they only have begun to form a united political and economic identity that their ancestors in the 11^th Century C.E. did not need in order to support their families. This change over to sedentary animal raising also forced them to move from a bartering economy to one of coin and paper money – specific to the national borders they reside in today (Wallerström,  2000).

In direct contrast the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms were organized into a strict hierarchy, ultimately ruled by one king who had the final say in matters of State. Under the King were other members of the Royal Family, Nobility, Bishops, and other leaders of the Church. At the lowest rung were

slaves (Harrison, 2019). Writings from the 7^th Century C.E. clearly capture the law-code of King Æthelberht of Kent, it outlines a complex system of punishment and compensation for infractions, based on the injured parties social standing and type of injury. For smaller arbitration matters such as a boundary dispute, the local Freeholder or Lord would be the definitive decision maker.

In terms of their economy, typical to most societies of that time it was primarily agriculture based with trade and barter being the main form of “currency”. Scheduled Markets were held for trade and the acquisition of exotic goods and spices from Asia, Northern Africa, Persia and the Mediterranean area. The regular market days were the places where coin money was utilized (GCSE, 2018).

Historical Perspective

When considering the influence Global Networks have had on specific cultures there can be seen both positive and negative after-effects. We are now aware that various societies had contact with each other much earlier than we believed just 20 years ago. Norse Vikings traded as far south as Spain, Northern Europeans with the money to spend would acquire goods from the Mediterranean Sea countries. Expansion of empires such as the Roman, Ottoman, Chinese Dynasties and the Catholic Church made the access to “exotic” items easier decade after decade (GCSE, 2018).

This is the positive side of the influence – commerce that increases market share and eventually lowers prices as goods become more commonly seen. Merchants can make a better living; more people are exposed to items used by counterparts thousands of miles away and local artisans are inspired to create replicas that open up newer markets for those in the middle and lower classes.

The down side however could be seen in the changing attitudes and appreciation for different cultures and places. Even just 100 years ago traveling outside your own territory or country meant that you would be exposed to different ways of dress, food, music and customs. That for me was the thrill of travel – the unknown and new. But with increased trade routes I wonder if some of the excitement of the “new” was jaded by having already seen, tasted or heard those things.

Conclusion

            These three examples, the Cherokee, Saami and Anglo-Saxon, just like all other human created societies, states, and empires prior to 1500 C.E. were formed in order to maximize the ability to feed themselves and their families by distribution of the labor involved in collecting, preparing and preserving food resources during varying conditions and seasons.

            For the Cherokee, the rise and fall of global empires did not affect them much at all. Prior to 1500 C.E. only a small handful of European explorers had set foot on North America’s landmass, and those were of small enough number to be viewed as a curiosity. When you consider the millions of Native Americans living on the continent, the number of those who died from exposure to a previously unknown pathogen, while tragic for the local groups, did not have much of a ripple effect on the much larger population. It would not be until the 17^th Century C.E. when colonization began in earnest that their way of life would be really threatened.

            As nomadic family groups crossing the area known as Lapland, in a physical landscape that was being reclaimed by ice and snow, the Saami were not much affected by changing empires, even along their southern and eastern ranges. As they were inhabiting a place that had no appeal for whichever kingdom was claiming that land as part of their country, they were mostly left alone. The biggest change they probably saw was the ethnic make up of those non-Laplanders they traded with and the fluctuation of prices (Ojala, 2009). Even now the governments of Sweden, Norway and Finland all recognize them as a separate ethnic group and place their lands under protection in order to help them preserve this unique ethnic way of life.

            Not being safely isolated from the ongoing turmoil and changes in Europe, the Anglo-Saxons saw their final kingdom fall when the Normans invaded in 1066 C.E. In the aftermath their way of life, language and customs were quickly subsumed by another empire’s view of how things should be done. And during the 400 years to follow, one ethnic society after another were either assimilated into the current ruler’s paradigm, meaning that a lot of their beliefs and art were lost and never recorded. Some of it we are finding again thanks for archaeological digs, discovery of ancient texts and scholars who are diligently working to translate those texts. And what we are learning will forever change how we view those villages, kingdoms and empires that rose and fell before 1500 C.E. That contrary to what we may have been taught years ago – they were more sophisticated, technologically advanced and socially structured than previously thought. That far from being unwashed, illiterate scavengers living in caves or rickety built shelters they were more like us. Aside from the distance of years – they are us.

Bibliography

Alden, H. (2019). Finns and the Saami – Rich Shamanic traditions. The Cuyamungue
 Institute. Sante Fe, NM. Retrieved from: http://www.cuyamungueinstitute.com/articles-and-news/finns-and-the-saami-rich-shamanic-traditions/

Anderson, W. L. & Wetmore, R. Y. (2006). Cherokee Indians. Encyclopedia of North Carolina. Retrieved from: https://www.ncpedia.org/cherokee/origins

Andrews, S. (2019). Women in Saami Society. University of Texas at Austin, History
Department: Austin, TX   Retrieved from: https://www.laits.utexas.edu/ Saami/ 
dieda/hist/women.htm

The Anglo-Saxons. (2019). The British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved from:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/anglo_saxons/saxons.shtml

Bede. (731). Ecclesiastical History of the English People. British Library, Cotton MS Tiberius C II, f. 5v.

Cherokee Nation. The official tribal website for the Cherokee Nation. https://cherokee.org

Demir, S. W. (01 Jan 2019). Sameland & Samenes Historie – Lapland & History of Sami. SWD Group, Norway.

Easterbrook, D. J. (2011). Geologic Evidence of Recurring Climate Cycles and Their

            Implications for the Cause of Global Climate Changes – The Past is the Key to the

            Future. Evidence-Based Climate Science. Section 5.1.1.6

Easterbrook, D. (2011 & 2016). Medieval Warm Period. Evidence Based Climate Science &

            Science Direct. https://doi.org/10.1016/C2010-0-67154-9

GCSE History Revision: Norman England: Anglo-Saxon Economy. (09 May 2018). Retrieved
 from: https://learnthrumusic.co.uk/news/gcse-history-revision-norman-england-anglo-
 saxon-economy/80862/

Georgia Tribe of Eastern Cherokee Official Website. https://georgiatribeofeasterncherokee.com

Harrison, J. (2019). Who Were the Anglo-Saxons? British Library. Retrieved from:
https://www.bl.uk/anglo-saxons/articles/who-were-the-anglo-saxons

History of American Women (2018). Cherokee Women’s Rights. Retrieved by: http://www.womenhistoryblog.com/2008/12/cherokee-womens-rights.html

Hunt, W. (Nov/Dec 2019). Artists of the Dark Zone. Archaeology. Retrieved from: https://www. archaeology.org/issues/358-1911/features/8074-america-southeast-cherokee-caves ?tmpl=component&print=1

Keith, Angela (2010). The Changing Role of Women in Cherokee culture. Retrieved from: https://etown.digication.com/angela_keith_10-28-10/ The_Changing_Role_of_ Women _ in _ Cherokee_Culture

Kildahl, M. (25 Jan 2013). Pottery grave goods tell us about life. University of Oslo, Norway.
Retrieved from: https://partner.sciencenorway.no/archaeology-forskningno-history/
pottery-grave-goods-tell-us-about-life/1381677

King Æthelberht’s Law Code. (Late 6^th – Early 7^th Century C.E.). Rochester, Cathedral Library, MS A.3.5, f.

Lambert, T. (2019). Daily Life in Anglo Saxon England. Local Histories. Retrieved from:
http://www.localhistories.org/saxonlife.html

Library of Congress. Repository for original treaties, census information and other documents
related to the Cherokee Clans. Retrieved from: https://www.loc.gov

Lowery, Linda (1996). Wilma Mankiller. Minneapolis, MN: Carolrhoda Books, Inc.

Mails, Thomas E. (1992). The Cherokee People. The Story of the Cherokees from Earliest Origins to Contemporary Times. Tulsa, OK: Council Oak Books

Moore, D. G. (2019). Cherokee Archaeology. Western Office, NC Division of Archives and
History, Asheville, NC. Retrieved from: http://www.amonsoquathbandofcherokee.org 
/cherokee-archaeology.html

Mulk. I.M. (24 Jun 2008). The role of the Sami in fur trading during the late Iron Age and  
Nordic medieval period in the light of the Sami sacrificial sites in Lapland, Northern    
Sweden. Acta Borealia: A Nordic Journal of Circumpolar Societies. 13(1), 47-80.
https://doi.org/10.1080/08003839608580447

Ojala, C-G. (2009). Sami Prehistories: The Politics of Archaeology and Identity in
Northernmost Europe. Department of Archaeology and Ancient History, Uppsala
University, Sweden. Occasional papers in Archaeology. 47,353pp.

National Congress of American Indians website. https://ncai.org

Pilø, L. (04 Oct 2018). The Skis That Came In From The Cold. Secrets of the Ice.
Retrieved from: https://secretsoftheice.com/news/2018/10/04/skis/

Wallerström, T. (Jan 2000). The Saami between East and West in the Middle Ages: An archaeological contribution to the history of reindeer breeding. Acta Borealia. 17. 3-39. DOI: 10.1080/08003830008580501

Wallin, J-E, & Segerstrom, U. (1994). Natural Resources and Agriculture During the Iron Age
 in Ostrobothnia, Western Finland, Investigated by Pollen Analysis. Vegetation History
and Archaeobotony. 3(2), Pg 89