Description
The Kennebec tribe, also known as Norridgewock and Kennebis, was an early Abenaki band who lived in the Kennebec Valley of Maine. Their name comes from the Kennebec River, which was named after the bay it emptied into kinipek meaning “bay” in the Abenaki language. When the valley of the Kennebec was first explored, the Chief Kennebis lived on Little Swan Island, a small island in the Kennebec River opposite what is now Richmond. His home was built of logs in a circular form and strongly fortified. The Kennebec were divided into four bands, each having its own chief. These included the Sagadahoc who lived between Merrymeeting Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, the Cushnoc who dwelt in the vicinity of Augusta, the Tacconet who possessed and occupied the fertile region that is watered by the Sebasticook River at Waterville, and the powerful Norridgewock, who lived in the village of the same name on the Kennebec River. The different clans all paid homage or political deference to the great chief who resided on Swan Island. At this time, it was estimated the tribes’ warriors numbered about 1,500.
Language
Abenaki, also known as Wobanakiak, is an endangered Eastern Algonquian language of Quebec and the northern states of New England.
Culture
The cabins are assembled by planting a center pole and covering it with bark; the fire is in the middle on the ground; their beds and chairs are mats made of reeds that are spread on the earth. The men dress in the skins of animals or in loose robes of red or blue cloth, and the women wear a mantle reaching to the middle of their legs, with stockings of skin or cloth from the knee to the ankle. Their moccasins are of deerskin. Their only ornaments are beads made of shells, both white and black, so arranged in belts and the like to represent different figures. Their children are regarded with the greatest affection, and the utmost respect is manifest towards the aged. Their skill with the bow is great; even children shooting with astonishing accuracy. When they fight, they divide their bands into small companies of five men, each with a knife in one hand and tomahawk in the other; and they are thus very formidable. When they enter the possessions of an enemy, they scour the country in small bands and inspire the greatest dread by attacking all quarters at once.