Timucua

Background

The Timucua (Tim- u- kwa) was a group of Native Americans that lived in current-day southern Georgia and northern Florida. The name originated from; an exonym created by the Saturiwa (chiefs) to refer to another native tribe at the time. The Timucua society was divided into two categories. The Saturiwa clan were the superior of the two and were responsible for settling disputes among their people. The common people had to show the Saturiwa the utmost respect at all times as they were viewed as the lesser of the two.[1] The name Timucua came from the Spanish pronunciation of “lord” or “chief”. However, the Spanish came to use the term more broadly for other peoples in the area and was used more commonly for all people that used the Timucua language. The language was spoken in around thirty-five separate chiefdoms with various dialects. These chiefdoms may have spoken the same language however they had very different social, cultural and political practices.[1] Each tribe had different values and went about their daily lives in completely different ways. The Timucua had a diverse diet as they were agricultural people that farmed by growing a variety of crops. However, most of their diet consisted of fishing, hunting and gathering berries, nuts and acorns as they were coinvent and nearby. The Timucua typically had more permanent villages, unlike other native tribes. They had a communal area where cooking was done, and meals were held. Written proof from members of the Calusa shows that there was a sense of community in the tribe. The children typically played ball games, archery and canoeing which allowed them to gain valuable skills they would take with them into adulthood and battle. They were thought to be skilled hunters and fishermen as they typically made their tools.

Figure 1. The Timucua territory.

Appearance

Due to the warm climate in Florida, the Timucua typically lived and worked outside therefore had a darker skin tone in comparison to the French and Spanish and were described by Europeans as having an olive complexation.  The Timucua people wore little clothing woven from moss or handmade garments crafted from animal skins. They typically had dark/ long hair tied in a topknot and were thought to be strong and have a  muscular build. They were thought to have distinguishing features, nothing the Europeans had seen before. Written proof from Timucua allows us to believe that Europeans found Timucua’s physical appearance fascinating and vice versa. When the Timucua converted to Christianity, they would cut their hair short in the European style.[1] Tattooing was a big part of the Timucua culture. Being tattooed was an honour and was only permitted for men and the wives of chiefs.[1] Tattooing marked your achievements within the tribe, your social status and allowed you to pay tribute to your spiritual and religious beliefs. The Timucua would honour this by tattooing their bodies in colours such as red, black, and yellow which followed no pattern or image. As mentioned in the ‘Calusa’ wiki, the colours represented success, power and wealth which was important to the Timucua people.

Figure 2- This is an image of a Timucua warrior with brightly coloured paint and beads around their neck.

Spanish invasion

The Timucuan Indians rebelled in 1656 because they were being mistreated by the Spanish following De Soto’s invasion. Timucua disagreed with the forced labour policy with governor De Rebolledo which he was set to enforce upon them. The Timucua were expected to grow food supplies and travel great distances to deliver them to the St Augustine settlement when they would experience shortages and were expected to travel 100 leagues each way to deliver the goods.[1] This was a form of slavery and was a heavy burden for the Timucua people because they had no choice on the matter due to the Spanish rule. The Timucua’s soil had become worn due to the overproducing of food for not just themselves but another settlement as well. This led to their being a scarce supply of food along with the fact the Timucua had to travel great distances to supply food for this struggling settlement. The Timucua chiefs were completely outraged by this treatment which sparked a rebellion amongst the people. This, therefore, led to the Timucua revolt between the Timucua people and the Spaniards in 1656.

Religion

The Timucua worshipped mainly the sun and the moon and had various other gods they respected. They believed in extreme rituals that were important to everyday Timucua life. A spiritual ritual that was popular amongst the Timucua people was that when a man died their possessions and weapons would be scattered across their grave. The widow would cut her hair below her ears and would not be allowed to remarry until it was past her shoulders.[1] Many Europeans were severely horrified and shocked by the Native American religious beliefs and practices. They simply did not agree with the sacrificial ceremonies which would restore a relationship in a sacred manner after the death of a tribe member. European records have uncovered that they thought whoever followed these ludicrous values were “devil worshipers”.[1] They were simply not tolerated by the European and they were willing to do anything to get rid of them entirely. A discussion between Pedro Menendez and the Spanish Crown concluded that they had to establish missions among the Timucua and other native peoples.[1] This intended on bringing all aspects of Hispanic life to the Timucua people. The Spanish had the intention of converting the Timucua people to Christians, forcing them to speak the language and adapting to their cultural beliefs and values. They were then known as the Indian Christians as their own native religious beliefs and practices were merged with Christianity views.

Extinction of the Timucua

The Timucua traded with both the Spanish St Augustine and the French settlement of Fort Caroline as they were very close geographically. The Timucua only had previous experience with local tribes and no experience with the old world. Due to this new exposure along with the introduction of infectious diseases brought by Europeans. The demographic of Timucua dropped as diseases such as the plague and smallpox took over the population.[1] The Timucua had no immunity to these diseases which ultimately caused the population to decline rapidly. By the middle of the seventieth century, only 2,000 Timucua was remaining compared to the 200,000 population that was recorded.[1] This got progressively worse after numerous attacks at the hand of the British, for example, the acquisition of Florida in 1763. This left only around 125 Timucuan people remaining, and the rest were thought to have been captured by the Seminole population.[1], Unfortunately, by 1763 the Timucua population was extinct.