AD1000 ----- AD 1492 ----- History !----- Vinland !!
Substance and substantiations.
Lingua Vinlandia, Page two, continued.
The issue of presence of grapes in Vinland has come under much discussion since the discovery of the Norse site at L'Anse Aux Meadows on Newfoundland. The discoverer, Dr. Helge Ingstad initiated this question in furtherance of attempt at proving that that site actually must have been Leifsbudir. He proffered alternative llnguistic meaning of ON "vin". However, the section in the sagas that initially identified grape vines and grapes is one of the clearest in the sagas - almost as if the chroniclers wanted to make doubly sure of their description. But we can see that grapes were also mentioned by Thorfinn Karlseffni and also by Thorhall the Hunter and in such a way as to confirm the first remark. Later mention by medieval historians also are explicit on the matter. The importance to the narrators, of course, stems from their earliest days of conversion to Christianity when Catholic doctrine insisted that wine, and grape wine alone must be the blood celebrated in Masses. Wine being such a rare and expensive commodity in the Northlands, Viking discovery of their own sources was, to them, phenomenal good fortune - as good as, if not better than gold.
The word "Hop" in Old Norse had a very precise definition: "a fresh water lake into which salt water flowed at high tide." Only a small percentage of estuaries fit this description. It implies certain geological conditions of a river mouth which restrain tidal flow until near high tide. Often the sudden appearance of salt water is noted as a "tidal bore" - a more or less distinctive incoming wave. Pettaquamscutt does so fit and quite precisely.
The description of Hop said that the river flowed from north to south into a lake, and then into the sea. This also is an unusual topographical description and Pettaquamscutt River flowing into what is called a "cove" (misnomer), which is itself exited by an entirely different river fits this description perfectly. The second river, but a mere ¾ mile long (a ten minute row or walk) is called "Narrow River". It is so distinct that no-one ever tried to connect it to Pettaquamscutt River - the unusual configuration of the waterways are exactly as the sagas say of Hop. A lake as a fresh water feature is very seldom located so near the ocean. More typically "lakes" are situated nearer headwaters and upper reaches of a river.
One of the past Indian settlements - this one on east side of the Bay and therefore Wampanoag - is Causumset, which is now known as "Rumstick Point" near present Warren, RI. As Causumset it is nearly forgotten but while modern residents are happy with the more recent name, little thought seems to have been applied as to how it got the unusual (quite old) name of Rumstick Point. It may have significance, for investigation finds no rational origins for the name "Rumstick" One would suppose, as most do, that it has something to do with manufacture and/or handling of a liquor of the same name. As it happens there is no such tool comparable in English, American Colonial, or Spanish. Rum, a derivative of sugar cane, was widely imported from the Caribbean in colonial days and was used as a food preservative as well as an intoxicant. Being a distillate from huge quantities of sugar cane, it was always distilled near where cane grew - in Cuba and the West Indies. Therefore, "Rumstick" has no rational origin so far as we can see. But it happens that there is a somewhat comparable word in Old Norse - "Romstovkl" or something like that. It means "room - stick (or stave)". The spaces between the ribs of Norse ships were also called "rooms’’ and each one had oarports on either side of the ship (and most likely a permanently assigned section of crew - 4 to 8 men or women). Therefore the word, if it did derive from ON, might well be a meaning simply of "oar", although there are varied other meanings of "roomstick". This idea is not far-fetched. The area of York excavations in England called "Coppergate" have the same confusions. Most assume that the name has something to do with the metal copper and then the concept of gate. In fact, it is from Old Norse and means "Cup (makers?) Street".
Narragansetts and Wampanoags enjoyed what appears to have been an immensely popular gambling game they called "Hub". William Woods, an English tourist of New England of about 1635 described it. Play was of 5 disks, white on one side and black on the other, which were placed in a shallow tray of some 6-8 inches across, itself set in a shallow depression in the earth. A player agitated the tray in such a way as to make the pieces jump while at the same time fanning his free hand above it in attempt to influence the fall of the disks. The resulting fall by proportion of the colors was an object for the game of chance. Precisely what the result was suppose to be, Mr. Woods did not say but I would presume that the object was to get all one color or the other of all the pieces and perhaps one color would be superior to the other. This was played with many spectators - all gambling - and when play was in progress the entire party would shout "hub-hub-hub" so loudly that Woods said you could hear it at a quarter mile distance. Oxford dictionary derives "hubbub" from Scots or Gaelic "hoib" which, however, was only a seldom-used cry and not necessarily repeated. It seems far more likely that the English "hubbub" is derived from New England Narransetts/Wampanoags. This idea is supported by Oxford’s dating of "about 1645" as well as a usage example of near the same date by one Captain Hawkins who said his crew used it as a battle cry in attack on Polynesians adding also that this was "-just like the Indians".
Artifacts from Mettatuxet
This is only a partial segment of the numbers of artifacts the property owner has recovered from his plot, which is located about a hundred yards from waters edge. This site may be of great importance by reason of its proximity to the projected Hop site on the opposite bank and a mile and a half south. It must be one of the first places where the contacts between the two cultures combined and prospered. The object with the hole (about 3/4"dia.) is of interest as resembling the "spindle whorl" discovered at L'Anse Aux Meadows and which proved out that site as Norse. The owner/discoverer believes it to have been a weight for fish nets while I believe it to have been an arrowshaft shaver. If it is, indeed, a net weight, then it may have significance for another reason as it would seem the people there must have had the ability or had access to vegetable fiber to make nets. It is my belief that there are few, if any, fibers of animal origin suitable for making nets. So far as I have been able to determine, NE forest natives did not utilize vegetable fibers until Europeans appeared. It would seem to require additional research.
Since I had been raised in the area and actually had some experience with some of these place names, when I received the letter from Mr. Olafsson, I was immediately struck by the coincidence of presence of a number of other sites with the suffix "-sett’ and also a few including the middle syllable "--gan". It seems incredible that we may have been in the presence of valid Vinland clues in the well known names of Massachusetts and Narragansett, yet, in pursuit of the theme, this seems to be the case. A learned correspondent (in fact, several) aided me in development of the idea and informed me of the identical presence from the same root, place names in the British Isles where it had been transposed to "-ster" but actually stemming from the same Old Norse root suffix "--sett, --saetr". The idea was countered with considerable asperity when recently introduced into an electronic discussion group. A scholar in England retorted that "-ster" was, in reality, from Old English identifying a monastery. It was a pontifical reply yielding no opportunity for reply, but had I that opportunity, I might have debated with the viewpoint that ON is older than OE and that the suffix even as a monastery might still be a valid holdover from the more ancient source. (The interchange gave me some added insight to academic resistance to pre-Columbian contacts, for this particular scholar was, at the time, a student at Cambridge University and refused outright to consider the person of Roger Williams in basic research. Williams had also graduated from the same great University in the 1620’s making the two co-alumni with enormous opportunity for insightful progressive research. Almost certainly Williams must have had some informative correspondence into the University concerning his Narragansett adventures. It is well within the realm of possibility that the English campus may have been visited by Narragansetts themselves. While we do not know if Williams was accompanied by any Amerind friends in his visits to his country of birth in 1643 and 1651(?), it seems not at all impossible, since England was no stranger to a number of Indians such as Pocahontas [Virginia] and Squanto [Massachusetts]. At this time [mid 1600’s], New England was considered almost a parish in equal status with any in the Homeland. A golden opportunity seems to have been lost here. Williams' mention of Narraganset star names in particular is most interesting and likely determined ay his alma mater. )
There seem to have been some 50 or 60 of these "--sett" suffix place names. Some have been lost to time and exist only on archaic maps and in colonial references, but quite a number still exist. They are centered generally in Narragansett Bay with some few in the areas we know Narragansetts to have dominated - and none where Narragansett culture is known to have been absent. Most are located at waterside locales, less often along interior rivers off the Bay. The most distant seems to have been Hammonasett, on Long Island Sound near the Connecticut River, some 60 miles west, and the furthest away on the opposite course in New Hampshire. The furthest inland is a small, sugarloaf Mount Wachusett, some 50 miles NW in Massachusetts. And as it happens it seems that that place might also have been a revered Narragansett site. A captive of King Philip’s War in 1676 - a Mrs. Rowlandson - had been captured in Lancaster, Massachusetts and held there until ransomed (for 20 pounds Sterling - and was well worth it. She was a tough one! I would have paid 22 easily). Her captor had been a Narragansett Warrior named Quanopen and Mrs. Rowlandson had been held in custody for Quanopen by an entirely different tribe for her eleven weeks of captivity. This indicates something of the dominance of Narragansetts in New England. As, perhaps, a demonstration of commonality of human nature, she narrated an incident that happened in her presence. Quanopen, her captor, came to visit along with his wife. It seems to have been an amiable enough occasion – the two conversed at length over several days - but one evening, for some reason, he became annoyed with his spouse and after some words became incensed enough to chase her out of the wigwam and around the structure. What is interesting is that Mrs. Rowlandson remarked that during this interchange his wampum, worn around the neck, was "--jangling around his ankles", which gives us some insight as to what wampum was like, how it was worn, his status, which must have been noble, and any number of things. Her captor seems to have treated her with considerable respect. While she had starved and her infant (both wounded by the same musket ball) died while held in her early days of captivity in a distant tribe, eventually her position improved. She said that she had not been molested in any way in all that time. Insights into day to day behavior in those distant years brings feeling of kindredship to others. Williams described an incident where a Narragansett friend of his asked his nine year old son to get a drink of water for the visitor. As with many other cultures in close contact with nature such as Inuit, Narragansett parents seldom disciplined their children and in this case the boy snappily retorted to his father that he should do it himself! It appeared that this would be the outcome but Williams, interceding, advised the father to respect his position and establish his authority. This the father did with the result that the boy picked up a stick to defend himself and the situation escalated to the two of them exchanging blows. The father won and remarked to Williams that it did seem to be the better way, the boy did get the water, but Williams seemed to imply that the lesson was not long lasting. Ninegret - he of the painting - in later years mounted a raid on a tribe on Long Island which became a matter of colonial Dutch and English record, as the aggrieved people complained to New Amsterdam authorities for redress and return of captives who had been enslaved. The Dutch turned to the Connecticut Settlements who attempted arbitration with Ninegret. It was partially successful in that some of the slaves were returned while others seem to have preferred to remain. Ninegret also took opportunity to retort to the Authorities that he did not interfere with their wars and that therefore they should not interfere with his – touche’, Ninegret. Descriptions of this raid sound typically Viking – a very unique tale unexpected to originate with what we thought we knew of NE forest dwelling Amerinds. As a saga it could as well have been extracted from any of the old Norse epics themselves. The geographic perspective is similar to, say, a raid of Swedes upon Gotland. Long Island at these points is not visible from Rhode Island.)
While most names with the suffix are in or near Narragansett Bay, there are clusters of them near Plymouth and Barnstable Harbors - some 5 or 6 each, and some are duplicated several times. A river near Plymouth is (was) named "Pawtuxet" and another river of the same name enters Narragansett Bay near Providence. Both rivers are of about a size and oriented in identical fashion. The suffix appears as "-set", "-sett", "—sit" and "-xet"; phonetically identical. Usually the names are accented on the syllable prior to "-sett". Thus we find "Paw-tux’-et", "Quon’-set", "Ponn- a-gann’-sett" and a variant "Som’-er-set".
Here is a further sampling of the names: Quidnesset, Aquidnessitt, Chipawanokset, Tippecansett, Mattapoisett, Montponsett, Asawompset, Touisett, Towesett (pronunciation similar but separate places), Pocassett, Saconset, Chacapacasett, Coonampset, Cowesett, Ponnagansett, Aponagansett, Pasquisett, Cohaset, Onset, Cochesett, Siasconsett, Segregansett, Acoaxet, Neponset, Hookset, Wapanayset, Copasnetuxet, Romegansett, Wapanayset, Wannamoiset. Not all these are with Narragansett Bay, but a characteristic is that by numbers they do center within Narragansett Bay or along areas of Narragansett visitation, if not dominance. Nonaquaset and Sowanaset are two upon one small island in the Bay. By far the most are waterside or seaside locales and such locales are alien to most Amerind cultures. Two streets which conjoin at what had been waters edge at Providence River (still salt) in the City of Providence are Westminister and Weybosset, the former derived from early English colonists' nostalgia and the latter from the Narragansett settlement that once existed there. Indeed as "civilization" moved west, the main division between the two cultures was that the invaders came and settled invariably along rivers, while Amerind cultures approached rivers for water but seldom resided there. Around Narragansett Bay, the residual sites seem to vary in size from 20 to 80 acres - as Verrazano described - "--large enough for an army to maneuver." Only a few are located in inland areas; "Neponsett" is one and "Wachuset" (the mountain) is another, but both well within Narragansett dominance; the Massachusetts mountain perhaps a Narragansett stronghold or limit of dominance. Wachusett may be derived from a Marthas Vineyard Island hill called "Wachusade", or perhaps from "Wautchaug" (Watch Hill) in western Rhode Island. Siasconsett is on Nantucket Island and shares extreme easterly placement with Nauset - both exposed sea vista locations atypical of Native Americans dwelling styles. Siasconsett is a Narragansett word translated to "place of many bones" - whale bones from strandings. (Remember the stranded whale in the sagas? All this area of these islands are noted for frequent whale strandings - apparently from many confusing shallows and perhaps rapidly changing sea beds, deepening offshore, shallowing within Nantucket sound). At least one, Mettatuxet, is located along Pettaquamscutt River itself, and several are duplicated. "Ponneganset" and "Apponogansett" both seem to occur in two separate places and perhaps three. Note the "gan" syllable, which is not uncommon. Narragansett Bay is of a size where someone travelling from one place to another by boat is best described as a trip, taking a day or more in transit. Pawtuxet is a good one day boat trip north of Pettaquamscutt and Causumpset/Rumstick Point another similar distance. In fact, while the New England estuary is slightly smaller, it is remarkably similar to Oslofjord in Norway and no one ever thought to identify that as a "bay". The "--sett" sufix is therefore transposed identically in the two languages with identical meanings of "place", "settlement" or "homestead" ("--stead extracted from the same.) It apparently is felt in modern day to mean "point", as a nautical topographical feature which, however, only sometimes is the case - many are upon "points" or headlands.. As a descriptive it would also be unique in the archaic Indian language by being in unusual places - where Indians would not reside but where militarily confident newcomers and their progeny would.
And so we find only these few traces in language to assure us. It would be convenient if we could find that the language of the Narragansetts was identical or nearly so with Old Norse, but the realities of life, the intimate influence of mothers in early years, and the vicissitudes of time do not permit it. But there is something more than nothing, and what we do have is exceedingly supportive and insightful. The opinions of two scholars - Sherwin and Williams – the most enlightened in their fields and contacts with the tribe, can not be ignored. In combination with the powerful anthropological and social indicators it does contribute to the argument that these people, Narragansetts, must have had archaic contact with peopls in or from foreign lands among Old Norse speaking peoples. The fact that Roger Williams accepted the word "Sackmackan" as narrowing his already established opinion of European origins to Iceland is enormously significant.
The value of the "—sett" suffix lies not so much as a proposal of a simple linguistic theory, but in its context of variance in life styles within anthropology. The sites are unusual in Amerind culture; they are more advanced than, perhaps, the equally nautical Northwest Pacific Indians. Despite the objection of the scholar from Cambridge, I remain convinced that what I propose is the case. The argument has the merit of coincidental occurrence in both languages; it has the geographical distribution pointing in the direction of Narragansett Bay; and it has the context of a distinct Anthropological skew in that the lifestyle implicit is so unique among Amerinds and so typical of Norsemen.
The context of all these elements is more of interest than the elements themselves. The existence of the word "prince" itself is an anomaly for Amerind social structure; almost never did Mongolian descendents consider this type of hierarchy – it seems unique to Narragansetts. Indeed the difference in social attitudes toward leadership cannot be more evident than by comparison in the two groups at identical latitudes on opposite sides of the continent. Among NW Pacific Coast Amerinds and by far more typical of Amerinds in general, are the subservience to impoverishment of the chieftains compared to the dominance to rights of execution of the Narragansett Sackmackans.
And last, while taken by itself the linguistic approach might seem feeble, yet the supporting material aids in developing the overall theme. The genetic trait which has been professionally exposed and for which we argue indicates – we believe proves – that Narragansett Amerinds truly are descendents of the Vinland Voyagers.
Frederick N. Brown Glendale, Arizona, USA January, 2000 all rights reserved.