I found a very cool documentary on Period food culture in England.
Showing posts with label History. Show all posts
Showing posts with label History. Show all posts
Thursday, December 18, 2014
Monday, July 21, 2014
Muromachi period
Okay going back to the research for my daughter's garb I think we've decided on being easy on ourselves and doing the Muromachi period. My daughter didn't seem too keen on the 12 layer royal outfits of the Henian period. I figure after spending two plus days researching the clothing of the period she wants her persona in, I should also gather some other info as well for her to get to know.
What is the Muromachi period? (thanks to the MMA)
The era when the Ashikaga family occupied the position of shogun (the clan occupied the shogunate for nearly 200 years). Rivalry between daimyo resulted in the Onin War (1467–77) and the collapse of the shogunate's power. This caused the Age of the Country at War, which extended from the last quarter of the fifteenth to the end of the sixteenth century.Despite the social and political upheaval, the Muromachi period was economically and artistically innovative.Contact with China, which had been resumed in the Kamakura period, once again enriched and transformed Japanese thought and aesthetics. One of the imports that was to have a far-reaching impact was Zen Buddhism. Although known in Japan since the seventh century, Zen was enthusiastically embraced by the military class beginning in the thirteenth century and went on to have a profound effect on all aspects of national life, from government and commerce to the arts and education.
Kyoto, which, as the imperial capital, had never ceased to exert an enormous influence on the country's culture, once again became the seat of political power under the Ashikaga shoguns. The private villas that the Ashikaga shoguns built there served as elegant settings for the pursuit of art and culture. While tea drinking had been brought to Japan from China in earlier centuries, in the fifteenth century, a small coterie of highly cultivated men, influenced by Zen ideals, developed the basic principles of the tea (chanoyu) aesthetic. At its highest level, chanoyu involves an appreciation of garden design, architecture, interior design, calligraphy, painting, flower arranging, the decorative arts, and the preparation and service of food. These same enthusiastic patrons of the tea ceremony also lavished support on renga (linked-verse poetry) and No dance-drama, a subtle, slow-moving stage performance featuring masked and elaborately costumed actors.
An example of a classy Muromachi Period lady, wearing a katsugu on her head
Japanese
Painters of the Muromachi Period (1338-1573) The Chinese-art of ink painting was first introduced to the Japanese through trading during the Muromachi period. The first painters were the Buddist priests who taught Zen Buddism. They regarded these paintings as tools to spread doctrines. As they started to use painting as a medium in Buddism indoctrination, many art forms started to lose its Buddist quality, such as sculpture.
Famous painters of this period were Shubun (1500), Sesshu (1420–1506) and Josetsu (1425). Their inspiration was of landscapes. In this period, paintings on fusuma, or Japanese screen doors, started. Onkoku Togan was another great artist in this period. Inspired by Sesshu, his works include the fusuma paintings found in the Obai-in Temple in Kyoto. In this temple alone can be found 44 fusuma paintings done by him.
What is the Muromachi period? (thanks to the MMA)
The era when the Ashikaga family occupied the position of shogun (the clan occupied the shogunate for nearly 200 years). Rivalry between daimyo resulted in the Onin War (1467–77) and the collapse of the shogunate's power. This caused the Age of the Country at War, which extended from the last quarter of the fifteenth to the end of the sixteenth century.Despite the social and political upheaval, the Muromachi period was economically and artistically innovative.Contact with China, which had been resumed in the Kamakura period, once again enriched and transformed Japanese thought and aesthetics. One of the imports that was to have a far-reaching impact was Zen Buddhism. Although known in Japan since the seventh century, Zen was enthusiastically embraced by the military class beginning in the thirteenth century and went on to have a profound effect on all aspects of national life, from government and commerce to the arts and education.
Kyoto, which, as the imperial capital, had never ceased to exert an enormous influence on the country's culture, once again became the seat of political power under the Ashikaga shoguns. The private villas that the Ashikaga shoguns built there served as elegant settings for the pursuit of art and culture. While tea drinking had been brought to Japan from China in earlier centuries, in the fifteenth century, a small coterie of highly cultivated men, influenced by Zen ideals, developed the basic principles of the tea (chanoyu) aesthetic. At its highest level, chanoyu involves an appreciation of garden design, architecture, interior design, calligraphy, painting, flower arranging, the decorative arts, and the preparation and service of food. These same enthusiastic patrons of the tea ceremony also lavished support on renga (linked-verse poetry) and No dance-drama, a subtle, slow-moving stage performance featuring masked and elaborately costumed actors.
Painters of the Muromachi Period (1338-1573) The Chinese-art of ink painting was first introduced to the Japanese through trading during the Muromachi period. The first painters were the Buddist priests who taught Zen Buddism. They regarded these paintings as tools to spread doctrines. As they started to use painting as a medium in Buddism indoctrination, many art forms started to lose its Buddist quality, such as sculpture.
Famous painters of this period were Shubun (1500), Sesshu (1420–1506) and Josetsu (1425). Their inspiration was of landscapes. In this period, paintings on fusuma, or Japanese screen doors, started. Onkoku Togan was another great artist in this period. Inspired by Sesshu, his works include the fusuma paintings found in the Obai-in Temple in Kyoto. In this temple alone can be found 44 fusuma paintings done by him.
Friday, June 27, 2014
DvD: Explorers of the World; French Explorers final part - Lewis Joliet and Jacques Marguerite, also Sieur de La Salle… Steampunk Research?
I had debated whether to go any further since the stuff was now way off the cutting point for the SCA time range, but just in case I need this information for the steampunk stuff I do (or anyone else reading it needs it) I think I’m going to finish summarizing the information I gather from the DVD. The next explorers are a partnership of Lewis Joliet and Jacques Marguerite. Jacques Marguerite was actually a priest but turned out to be an explorer as well. He came to Québec Canada in 1666 (yes I get the irony of that number) and learned the languages of the local groups so he communicate more effectively with them, something he ended up being very good at. He ended up going west to a mission where he ministered to the Ottawa tribe. It was there he heard about a great river, the Mississippi, and decided he was going to carry his ministry there. Marquette befriended a man called Lewis Joliet who was born in Québec and had become a fur trader. When the governor of New France gave Joliet the job of exploring the Mississippi River in 1673, he allowed Joliet to bring Marquette along. In their journey they came across the Missouri River, and at the time believed it to be the Northwest passage to the Pacific French explorers had so long sought. But their job was the follow the Mississippi River which they did past where the Ohio River meets the Mississippi, all way down to the Arkansas River, claiming the land in the name of France as they went. Though they were supposed to journey to the end of the Mississippi River the natives of the area warned them that further down the river was heading into Spanish territory so Joliet and Marquette were forced to stop there. They couldn’t risk capture from the Spanish if they wish to return with what they had learned, including the fact that according to the natives the Mississippi opened up until Gulf of Mexico not into the Pacific Ocean.
The explorer that helped the French to expand the land claims Lewis Joliet and Jacques Marguerite had helped to discover, was René Robert Cavalier, Sieur de La Salle (now there’s a mouthful). La Salle was a fur trader who had a passion for exploration. The Seneca, part of the Iroquois Federation, taught him how to travel in any season, living off the land and carrying only dried corn as provisions. The government of New France gave La Salle permission to build a fort on Lake Ontario, Fort Frontenac, then he persuaded the king, Louis XIV, to give him the right to explore the area between Florida and New Mexico and to build forts to protect French settlers for trading. La Salle journeyed down the Mississippi and claimed everything there for his King, naming it Louisiana. That was in 1682.
DvD: Explorers of the World; French Explorers pt 3 - Samuel de Champlain
The next voyage by Samuel de Champlain didn’t happen until 1603, which is a tad off of the SCA time period range, but just in case I’m going to cover it anyway. One of the reasons it took so long for them to return was the war brewing between Spain and France. There was a new king on the throne, Henry IV, and he was the one who sent Champlain back to the New World, with far less resources than previous explorers had at their disposal. Because of lack of funds the king gave fur traitors a monopoly to encourage them to colonize the area. This was the core of the mission given to Champlain in 1603. I find myself wondering how strict the SCA 1600 cut off date is… whether there’s a bit of wiggle room to play with this time period. Anyway, back to Champlain.
He had already traveled to places like Mexico, Cuba, and Panama where he built a canal connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Champlain followed Cartier’s route up the St. Lawrence River to Québec before returning to France. He made 12 more trips after that to the New World to explore and to write about what he saw. As far as research goes this is a good sign because there might be a translated version of his journals like there is for Cartier. In his further journeys he traveled from Nova Scotia past Maine and to Cape Cod. Is believed if the French had not had a run-in with local natives in the area they might have built their colony there. If they had done that they would’ve beat the pilgrims by 15 years. They ended up building a colony near Nova Scotia called Port Royal. That became the first permanent French colony in the New World.
Champlain did not establish his Québec settlement until 1608 which was an important location for the St. Lawrence River trade route. This was in the territory of the Huron and the Algonquin. Champlain was smart enough to know the only way the settlement was to survive was to make allies of his new neighbors. Further up the St. Lawrence was the Iroquois’s territory, and they were another matter. This tribe was the traditional enemy of the Huron and Algonquin. Champlain was wounded several times fighting the Iroquois because of his being allied with their enemies. He also traveled the Ottawa River into what is now Ontario and even as far is New York State. Explored, and colonized, and traded in these areas. I was pleased to learn that not only did Champlain draw excellent maps during his travels but he gave detailed accounts of his adventures and of the people he encountered which is another reason for me to try to get copies of his journals. Champlain explored northeast North America until his death in 1635.
He had already traveled to places like Mexico, Cuba, and Panama where he built a canal connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Champlain followed Cartier’s route up the St. Lawrence River to Québec before returning to France. He made 12 more trips after that to the New World to explore and to write about what he saw. As far as research goes this is a good sign because there might be a translated version of his journals like there is for Cartier. In his further journeys he traveled from Nova Scotia past Maine and to Cape Cod. Is believed if the French had not had a run-in with local natives in the area they might have built their colony there. If they had done that they would’ve beat the pilgrims by 15 years. They ended up building a colony near Nova Scotia called Port Royal. That became the first permanent French colony in the New World.
Champlain did not establish his Québec settlement until 1608 which was an important location for the St. Lawrence River trade route. This was in the territory of the Huron and the Algonquin. Champlain was smart enough to know the only way the settlement was to survive was to make allies of his new neighbors. Further up the St. Lawrence was the Iroquois’s territory, and they were another matter. This tribe was the traditional enemy of the Huron and Algonquin. Champlain was wounded several times fighting the Iroquois because of his being allied with their enemies. He also traveled the Ottawa River into what is now Ontario and even as far is New York State. Explored, and colonized, and traded in these areas. I was pleased to learn that not only did Champlain draw excellent maps during his travels but he gave detailed accounts of his adventures and of the people he encountered which is another reason for me to try to get copies of his journals. Champlain explored northeast North America until his death in 1635.
DvD: Explorers of the World; French Explorers pt 2 - Jacques Cartier
The next part of the DVD is on the guy I’ve been reading the memoir of, Jacques Cartier. Like a lot of the other French explorers, Cartier was looking for silver and gold which was rumored the Spanish had found in the New World. Ships reached Newfoundland in 1534. The trader character mentions Cartier meeting the Huron and the 2 teenage boys (I thought they were men but apparently they were teenagers which I guess at that time teens counted as men to their own people and to the French) that Cartier took back to France, and who learned to speak French. The narrator states that the two boys were taken and that their father, the chief, only let a happen because there was nothing he could do about it. Cartier was sent back to the New World a second time by the King, who was still looking for a passage to the Spice Islands. The discovery of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the St. Lawrence River was not only a gateway to the content itself and into the Great Lakes through the other river systems, but it became an important travel method for trading later on. Through the St. Lawrence River they reached places like Québec and Montréal. With the intention to head back Cartier return to Québec where they built a fort to shelter them through the long winter.
During that winter the crew was hit by horrible scurvy that made their teeth fall out, and might have died from it if the locals hadn’t shown them how to make a tea from the bark of a type of you tree, boiled to produce a medicine. It was foul tasting but in a week all the men that drank it were cured. The harsh winter killed off many of Cartier’s men, but if not for the medicine and the help of the natives it would have been a lot worse. The chief of the area told Cartier many stories about places rich with gold, so the Frenchman captured the chief and his two sons and took them back to France with him. The chief’s stories must’ve been convincing because the King of France sent Cartier back a third time in 1541. On the third voyage Cartier filled his crew complement with mostly criminals because it was so dangerous they were the only ones willing to volunteer to take the risk of trying to colonize the areas. The local fishermen and sailors other folks were perfectly happy up in the Newfoundland area coast so they weren’t interested on going further in. Cartier tried to take a smaller boat down the river to find this place of legend but he was not able to make it through the rapids before having to turn back. No long after he returned to the encampment a group of natives attacked them forcing Cartier and the survivors to flee, eventually boarding the ship and returning to France.
DvD: Explorers of the World; French Explorers pt 1 - Giovanni da Verrazano
Taking a break from Cartier’s memoirs to check out a DVD I got from the Library called Explorers of the World; French Explorers. One I needed a break from the book. I don’t know if his writing is just bad, or the translation is faulty, but Cartier is is very hard to follow at times. The back of the DVD mentions how the French explorers established New France and claimed most of present-day Canada. They mention people like Jacques Cartier (St. Lawrence River area), Giovanni da Verrazano (the first European to sail into New York Bay), Samuel de Champlain (Quebec), as well as Lewis Joliet and Jacques Marguerite (Mississippi River Valley), and several others. This DVD series apparently has one on Spanish explorers and one on Vikings that I may want to check out at some point. The study guide is useful giving me a basic timeline of who went to where and when. I don’t know if they’re going to follow the timeline order as far as which Explorer is discussed when, but I guess I’ll find out. I apologize now if I seem to jump around a lot since this is mainly just taking notes from the video.
Okay first warning to anybody planning to watch this video, its horribly cheesy. Is supposed for 5th to 8th graders, but honestly it’s a bit too cheesy for them I think. They have 2 kids walking from their school into some art gallery with portraits that talk to them like something out of Harry Potter. They did have a picture of a guy in some really nifty French trader outfit that’s got some serious possibilities towards Metis wear. He’s got some high moccasin boots, the puffy pants, what looks like a capote coat with minor fringe, and a simple belt. There looks like there’s some sort of shirt under his coat that looks like it has small lacing at the neck and what might be a bandanna on his head. Okay I admitted I notice weird stuff, blame the ADD. The guy introduces himself as Pierre Castor, a French trader from Montréal. He talks about New France which I had thought was mostly Canada but it seems is not only part of Canada but a good chunk of land in the center of the US right around the Mississippi River. I’ll have to check the dates, but Cherokee territory is in the section they note on the map. He mentions beaver fur was a very popular trading item in Europe, that everyone wanted a beaver skin hat or trim in their clothing. I know that beaver skin is very water resistant and not overly coarse.
He says that French exploration of the New World began with Giovanni da Verrazano. What amuses me is one of the kids mention that name doesn’t sound French, which was honestly the first thing I thought of I saw the name on the back of the DVD case. Apparently were both right. He was an Italian explorer working for the King of France who was looking for a passage through the New World east to the Spice Islands for trading purposes, something closer and easier to use than Magellan’s route. The French king at the time was King Francis I. The King was also concerned at the amount of land the Spanish were claiming on the southern end of North America into South America, and that the English had claimed the area up by Newfoundland so I guess King Francis wanted his piece of the pie before all the good parts were taken.
Verrazano left France in 1524 and landed at Cape Fear, North Carolina. On hearing the location I was hopeful he encountered Cherokee there since I know that’s part of their territory at the time, but it seems he didn’t stop there he just sailed north up the coast. When he saw Pamlico Sound Verrazano thought he was seeing the Pacific Ocean since from the entrance to the waterway the land is completely invisible. He continued to sail north looking for passage through all the way up to Newfoundland. At this the actor playing the trader mentions there were some contact with the local peoples during Verrazano’s journeys. According to the teacher narrating the French’s purpose wasn’t conquest so the interactions with the people they met were far friendlier then other explorers. There is no mention here what tribes Verrazano encountered, but this is still positive news regarding my research on my persona, because it shows that the interactions happen with the French as early as 1524. I tried going online to look up what tribes he might’ve encountered, and the interesting thing I learned was that 4 years after Verrazano’s journey began he ran into some people in the islands around Florida and the Bahamas that happened to be cannibals and who ate him. I will point out the eaten by cannibals section was not mentioned in in this educational DVD. This means I need to do a little further research on this explorer to figure out which tribes he encountered during his journeys.
Okay first warning to anybody planning to watch this video, its horribly cheesy. Is supposed for 5th to 8th graders, but honestly it’s a bit too cheesy for them I think. They have 2 kids walking from their school into some art gallery with portraits that talk to them like something out of Harry Potter. They did have a picture of a guy in some really nifty French trader outfit that’s got some serious possibilities towards Metis wear. He’s got some high moccasin boots, the puffy pants, what looks like a capote coat with minor fringe, and a simple belt. There looks like there’s some sort of shirt under his coat that looks like it has small lacing at the neck and what might be a bandanna on his head. Okay I admitted I notice weird stuff, blame the ADD. The guy introduces himself as Pierre Castor, a French trader from Montréal. He talks about New France which I had thought was mostly Canada but it seems is not only part of Canada but a good chunk of land in the center of the US right around the Mississippi River. I’ll have to check the dates, but Cherokee territory is in the section they note on the map. He mentions beaver fur was a very popular trading item in Europe, that everyone wanted a beaver skin hat or trim in their clothing. I know that beaver skin is very water resistant and not overly coarse.
He says that French exploration of the New World began with Giovanni da Verrazano. What amuses me is one of the kids mention that name doesn’t sound French, which was honestly the first thing I thought of I saw the name on the back of the DVD case. Apparently were both right. He was an Italian explorer working for the King of France who was looking for a passage through the New World east to the Spice Islands for trading purposes, something closer and easier to use than Magellan’s route. The French king at the time was King Francis I. The King was also concerned at the amount of land the Spanish were claiming on the southern end of North America into South America, and that the English had claimed the area up by Newfoundland so I guess King Francis wanted his piece of the pie before all the good parts were taken.
Verrazano left France in 1524 and landed at Cape Fear, North Carolina. On hearing the location I was hopeful he encountered Cherokee there since I know that’s part of their territory at the time, but it seems he didn’t stop there he just sailed north up the coast. When he saw Pamlico Sound Verrazano thought he was seeing the Pacific Ocean since from the entrance to the waterway the land is completely invisible. He continued to sail north looking for passage through all the way up to Newfoundland. At this the actor playing the trader mentions there were some contact with the local peoples during Verrazano’s journeys. According to the teacher narrating the French’s purpose wasn’t conquest so the interactions with the people they met were far friendlier then other explorers. There is no mention here what tribes Verrazano encountered, but this is still positive news regarding my research on my persona, because it shows that the interactions happen with the French as early as 1524. I tried going online to look up what tribes he might’ve encountered, and the interesting thing I learned was that 4 years after Verrazano’s journey began he ran into some people in the islands around Florida and the Bahamas that happened to be cannibals and who ate him. I will point out the eaten by cannibals section was not mentioned in in this educational DVD. This means I need to do a little further research on this explorer to figure out which tribes he encountered during his journeys.
Thursday, June 26, 2014
A Memoir of Jacques Cartier cont...The Huron
The next group of people the Frenchmen met are noted as being different than the ones they had previously encountered, but doesn’t explain very well how they were different except they have shaved heads save but a tuff of hair the top of their head. According to the footnotes this hairstyle is called a “scalp lock” and is worn by the Huron. Looking up the Huron I find them also referred to as the Wyandot people or Wendat. It also mentions that these people flip over their boats to use as shelter much as a group mentioned by Viking explorers called the Skraelings (which according to what I found simply means not like us, barbarians). Cartier traded knives, paternosters, glass, hair combs, and other things he considered very little worth but that’s the Huron seemed very happy with. The manuscript goes on to say that they traveled further in to where the Huron were and were greeted well by the men but most the women were frightened and ran into the woods. The few women that stayed were given hair combs and bells, and eventually the other woman returned our also gifted with little tin bells which the women were very pleased with. Some of his comments after this confused me, he mentions the Huron sharing all this food with them but then calls them thieves without any explanation of why. There was a bit of fuss a few days later when the Frenchman planted a cross on the land, but with a bit of diplomacy and some more iron trade goods, that was all smoothed over. Cartier even manages to convince one of the Huron leaders to leave his sons on the visitor’s boat with the promise they would return soon. There was no mention whether the explorer planned to keep his promise, but somehow I doubt it. Even after meeting more Huron on their journey no mention was made of the men they had taken captive. And all month after they sailed for home, marking the end of their first voyage.
The second voyage is listed as occurring between 1535 and 1536, and starts off much as the first one did with a visit to the Isle of Birds. I don’t know if this is a sign that he’s taking the same path or and it’s just the easiest way into that area. Cartier does make a note of moving off to the West to explore the other islands where at a harbor they named St Nicholas they planted another cross. He make some mention about “ by the savages we had we were told this was the beginning of the Saguenay, and inhabited land, and from it came the red copper…” which to me sounds like he had some of the First Nations folks with them, the Huron men taken during the first voyage giving him information. Since his last voyage had they in that year been converted and were now serving Cartier as guides? He does make reference later on to his “two men of the country of Canada” and the Footnote at this point simply calls them Cartier’s Indians. He doesn’t calls them by name nor talks about them as if they were equals as part of the crew, but he certainly used them later on to lore other Huron on board the ship. There is no mention on what happened with that encounter, if it was trading, if the other Huron left the ship, but I’m assuming they did since it sound like it was more than just a couple of them.
When Cartier encounters the next group of people they are afraid of the Frenchmen until the two Huron with Cartier talk to them. At this point their names are mentioned as Taigoagny and Dom Agaya and when they introduce themselves to the people everyone is happy and no longer afraid. As before items the Frenchmen consider worthless are traded to the people who seem very pleased with them. At this point a couple names crop up. There is someone Cartier refers to as the Lord of Canada named Donnacona this title seems to be Agohanna. According to the footnote these too are Huron. At this time Taigoagny and Dom Agaya share with Agohanna the things they seen during her time in France and according to Cartier told the Huron leader how well they have been treated. Reading on this appears to be where they leave the Huron territory since the next group according to the footnote is a new group of people, but the rest will have to wait for tomorrow. I did learn the public and campus library have a great deal on the Huron/Wendat so plenty of good research stuff there for further on this tribe.
The second voyage is listed as occurring between 1535 and 1536, and starts off much as the first one did with a visit to the Isle of Birds. I don’t know if this is a sign that he’s taking the same path or and it’s just the easiest way into that area. Cartier does make a note of moving off to the West to explore the other islands where at a harbor they named St Nicholas they planted another cross. He make some mention about “ by the savages we had we were told this was the beginning of the Saguenay, and inhabited land, and from it came the red copper…” which to me sounds like he had some of the First Nations folks with them, the Huron men taken during the first voyage giving him information. Since his last voyage had they in that year been converted and were now serving Cartier as guides? He does make reference later on to his “two men of the country of Canada” and the Footnote at this point simply calls them Cartier’s Indians. He doesn’t calls them by name nor talks about them as if they were equals as part of the crew, but he certainly used them later on to lore other Huron on board the ship. There is no mention on what happened with that encounter, if it was trading, if the other Huron left the ship, but I’m assuming they did since it sound like it was more than just a couple of them.
When Cartier encounters the next group of people they are afraid of the Frenchmen until the two Huron with Cartier talk to them. At this point their names are mentioned as Taigoagny and Dom Agaya and when they introduce themselves to the people everyone is happy and no longer afraid. As before items the Frenchmen consider worthless are traded to the people who seem very pleased with them. At this point a couple names crop up. There is someone Cartier refers to as the Lord of Canada named Donnacona this title seems to be Agohanna. According to the footnote these too are Huron. At this time Taigoagny and Dom Agaya share with Agohanna the things they seen during her time in France and according to Cartier told the Huron leader how well they have been treated. Reading on this appears to be where they leave the Huron territory since the next group according to the footnote is a new group of people, but the rest will have to wait for tomorrow. I did learn the public and campus library have a great deal on the Huron/Wendat so plenty of good research stuff there for further on this tribe.
A Memoir of Jacques Cartier cont...The Micmac
It was quite awhile before they mentioned meeting anyone
else, but the next time he did it was a group of boats, about 40 or 50, who
this time did not seem pleased the strangers were in their territory. Seeing they were outnumbered at the time Cartier
and his men tried to leave, but a couple of the boats followed them. The
Frenchmen came to discover that the people in the boats actually wanted to be
friends. Of course the Frenchman got nervous, started shooting a bunch of
warning shots, and that was about it for that interaction. It seems however these people showed up later
at the big ship and some trading occurred now that Cartier felt less outnumbered.
They traded for knives and other types of iron goods along with a red hat to
give to their leader, in exchange for the skins the people had, including the
skins they were wearing at the time. He mentioned that people plan to return
the next day with more skins, but it doesn’t say they actually returned. It is
noted fortunately in the footnotes that the people Cartier met on this occasion
were the Micmacs. This is useful to
know when start researching possible tribes for the French name persona. I’m not
surprised to see them mentioned since the herald I talked to that had a native
persona with a French name was playing a Micmac.
Reading a bit further on it seems several days later the Micmac people returned in their boats and even hunted up some seals to share and cook as a gift for the visitors. Cartier in exchange gave them hatchets, knives, paternosters (from what I can figure out they are historical versions of prayer beads/rosary), and other goods which made the Micmac very happy. There were women and children there, and Cartier mentions the woman touch them without fear. The Micmac were very friendly and Cartier seem to take this as a sign they would be easily converted. This seems to be the last of the contact with the Micmac people for this voyage. Doing some further research online I found the Micmac referred to as the Mi'kmaq Nation. Our local library didn't seem to have very much on the Mi'kmaq Which was frustrating, though there does seem to be a fair bit at the campus library once I have the time to dig through it all.
Reading a bit further on it seems several days later the Micmac people returned in their boats and even hunted up some seals to share and cook as a gift for the visitors. Cartier in exchange gave them hatchets, knives, paternosters (from what I can figure out they are historical versions of prayer beads/rosary), and other goods which made the Micmac very happy. There were women and children there, and Cartier mentions the woman touch them without fear. The Micmac were very friendly and Cartier seem to take this as a sign they would be easily converted. This seems to be the last of the contact with the Micmac people for this voyage. Doing some further research online I found the Micmac referred to as the Mi'kmaq Nation. Our local library didn't seem to have very much on the Mi'kmaq Which was frustrating, though there does seem to be a fair bit at the campus library once I have the time to dig through it all.
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Research and Personas... An Introduction
Because I am doing non traditional personas outside the typical Eurocentric cultures most often used in the SCA, I have been advised to keep detailed records of my notes and resources to share with others that may be interested in following my lead. As I mention in the blog intro, I am mainly focused at the moment in building a Native persona either #1 from my own tribe who had contact with Hernando de Soto in 1540 or #2 a Canadian Metis persona, likely Cree, who are one of many of the First Nations people Jacques Cartier write about in the mid 1500s.
Now I know a decent bit about Metis as a culture and the Cree, even more about my own tribe, so a lot of the harder work and research involved has to do with how to find my notch with SCA which is mostly Western Europe centered. A lot of folks have been very supportive of my choice in persona, even excited about it, but others seem unsure... for this and many other reasons I have a large hill to climb n the way of detailed documentation and pictorial record keeping. The past few month the task has seem daunting, between the work needing to be done and the concept of the expensive supplies I will need to create my garb and tools, as well as the camping stuff I will need to do event with my kids.
For this reason and my sanity I am starting slow, playing around with other garb style and learning all I can over all which I work on my main persona and plans. I hope folks like the info I collect on this blog, and feel free to share idea, resources, feedback. Collaboration is half the fun.
Now I know a decent bit about Metis as a culture and the Cree, even more about my own tribe, so a lot of the harder work and research involved has to do with how to find my notch with SCA which is mostly Western Europe centered. A lot of folks have been very supportive of my choice in persona, even excited about it, but others seem unsure... for this and many other reasons I have a large hill to climb n the way of detailed documentation and pictorial record keeping. The past few month the task has seem daunting, between the work needing to be done and the concept of the expensive supplies I will need to create my garb and tools, as well as the camping stuff I will need to do event with my kids.
For this reason and my sanity I am starting slow, playing around with other garb style and learning all I can over all which I work on my main persona and plans. I hope folks like the info I collect on this blog, and feel free to share idea, resources, feedback. Collaboration is half the fun.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)