Wampum

The rare and beautiful beads that have a unique history and value to the people of Martha's Vineyard.

As a first timer or a return visitor, you may come across some Islanders wearing bracelets or necklaces made of purple and white beads. The rare beads, called wampum, are made from the shell of the quahaug clam.

Native Americans on Martha's Vineyard, as well as in other parts of the country, first discovered the beauty of wampum. Native Americans used a variety of seashells to create earrings, pendants and decorations for clothing. They began to appreciate the deep purple beads that could only be made from the quahaug shell.

The Iroquois and Algonquin peoples, who resided in the Northeast, highly valued wampum and used it for tribal records, ceremonial belts, gifts and eventually as a form of currency. The Wampanoag Indians of Martha's Vineyard are a tribe who made bracelets, ornaments and belts from strung wampum beads. Though wampum was bartered it wasn't used in the same capacity that money is in modern society.

Native Americans considered wampum extremely valuable because before white man's tools it was hard to make, and the darker form of wampum could only be made from quahaug shells.

The shells are mostly white but have a purple section which sometimes has such a deep purple hue it appears black. The most valued wampum is cut from this part of the shell.

Originally, Indians cut out round disks from the shell of the clam with stone tools. The disks were then polished, and a hole was cut through the center so the beads could be strung together. The average shell yields only two to three disks from which the beads are made.

Another reason Native Americans highly valued wampum was for its ability to communicate. Belts were made with particular patterns which could carry the history of a tribe, declare peace or instigate war. Wampum woven belts were often given to confirm treaties in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, when wampum was plentiful. Today wampum is much more scarce, and is rarely used to make belts.

Native Americans highly valued gift giving. Native Americans offered presents for the naming of a child, weddings and in the event of a death. A hunter was expected to share the meat from a good hunt with tribal members. Northern American Indians regarded wampum as the most valuable gift of all.

Native Americans so valued wampum that white men established factories in New Jersey and Long Island where wampum was cut and polished much more effeciently than using primitive methods. Originally Native Americans gave wampum for traditional and ceremonial reasons. Over time its rarity caused changes in its uses.

Today wampum is primarily found in the form of jewelry and can be located in stores around the Island. You'll find traditional, hand-crafted wampum made on the Island, as well as wampum and other shell jewelry manufactured off Island.

There has never been an exorbitant amount of wampum found on Martha's Vineyard, but Islanders understand its unique history. Vineyarders love the jewelry today for its beauty as the Native Americans loved wampum for its significance among tribal members in the past.

©1999 Best Read Guide/Martha's Vineyard
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