HOSPITALITY OR WELCOME BELT

Reprinted from WAMPUM BELTS of the IROQUOIS

By Tehanetorens

This belt records certain laws of the Confederacy and was used in the League councils by the presiding Chief in welcoming other nation delegates. A review of some of these laws is as follows: It is provided thus; when a chieftainship title is to be conferred, the candidate chief shall furnish the cooked venison, the corn bread, and the corn soup together with other necessary things and the labor for the conferring of the title’s festival. The Otiianer Women of the League, heirs of the chieftainship titles, shall elect two women of their family as cooks for the Chiefs when the people shall assemble at this house for business or other purposes. It is not good nor honorable for a Chief of the League to all his people whom he has called to go hungry. When a chief holds a conference in his home his wife, if she wishes, may prepare the food for the Union Chiefs who assemble with him. This is an honorable right which she may exercise, and is an expression of her esteem.