Like our other classmates, I also found the idea of captives quite interesting. Initially I assumed that if Indians or colonists took captives it was for political or trading purposes. Sort of as blackmail. I was shocked to learn that Indians often used European captives as either replacements of family members or friends who died, or to sacrifice them in mourning of those they lost.
I wish the book had expanded on this, because I think it's a facsinating concept. How did the natives decide which captives would be the "replacements" and which would be killed? The book explained that women and children were often saved and the men and elderly captives would be tortured and eventually killed. Once again, the natives' spirituality comes into play, because killing captives or keeping them to replace loved ones was a way for the natives to come to peace with their losses.
My biggest question regarding the idea of captives is how much was this a result of European colonization? Did natives take captives before Europeans came? In class we've talked about tension and dislike that has always existed among tribes, but I wonder if the number of captives taken by natives increased when Europeans arrived and brought disease and violence.
2 comments:
So here is a question.. If the Natives were using captives as replacements, wouldn't you think that the male captives would have fit in the best? A lot of the people being replaced were probably hunters/warriors that had been killed. The only thing i can think of is that the Natives might have thought men would be the toughest to change to "indians".
I also thought that replacing a dead loved one with a European captive was an interesting idea. I'm sure that people still grieved for and missed their deceased friend or relative but it is interesting that they would utilize a European to replace this person when it was more than likely a European that had something to do with taking that person's life. Grief works in different ways for different people and in different cultures, I suppose.
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