The heir of the chief wore gold in an ornament on his forehead and beads on his legs. ( Public Domain ), Featured image: Calusa people fishing. After suffering decimation by disease, the tribe was destroyed by Creek and Yamasee raiders early in the 18th century. The Iroquois, on the other hand, placed the shaman at the head of all things spiritual. They also claimed authority over the tribes of the east coast, north to about Cape Canaveral. Office: Old St. Luke's Hospital. Florida Museum artifact photos by Jeff Gage. They developed a complex culture based on estuarine fisheries rather than agriculture. Calusa v. Iroquois: Religious Beliefs. Milanich, Jerald. When the Spanish explored the coast of Florida, they soon became the targets of the Calusa, and this tribe is said to have been the first one that the explorers wrote home about. [7] The contemporary archeologists MacMahon and Marquardt suggest this statement may have been a misunderstanding of a requirement to marry a "clan-sister". However, archeological digs on Sanibel Island and Useppa Island have revealed evidence that the Calusa did in fact consume wild plants such as cabbage palm, prickly pear, hog plum, acorns, wild papaya, and chili peppers. [17], The Calusa believed that three supernatural people ruled the world, that people had three souls, and that souls migrated to animals after death. Native Americans of the California Coast: The Chumash By Damian Bacich The Chumash are a widespread group of California native people who lived along the southern California coast and the Santa Barbara Channel Islands. [16], Ceremonial or otherwise artistic masks have been discovered and were previously described by the Spanish who first encountered the Calusa. They had three specific deities that they believed their cacique interpreted for. By interceding with these spirits, it was believed that the chief was ensuring that his people would be well-supplied by the land. What was the Calusa religion? The Calusa kingdom was eventually devastated by European diseases as well as slave raids by enemy tribes. [Online]Available at: http://www.calusalandtrust.org/who_were_the_calusa/who_were_the_calusa.htm, Ripley, K., 2016. The Calusa were descended from people who had lived in the area for at least 1,000 years prior to European contact, and possibly for much longer than that. This article first appeared in the magazines fall 2020 issue. Their language was never recorded. "Chapter 10. Hernando de Escalante Fontaneda, an early chronicler of the Calusa, described "sorcerers in the shape of the devil, with some horns on their heads," who ran through the town yelling like animals for four months at a time. He struck an uneasy peace with their leader Caluus, or Carlos. He had a council which may have included one or more head priests and one or two high-ranking individuals involved in political and religious decision-making. What formation processes resulted in the complex of mounds and other features there? The Calusa believed that the three souls were the pupil of a person's eye, his shadow, and his reflection. Historically located in northwest Florida, the Apalachee were allied with the Spanish, but maintained their autonomy through political and social traditions. In the wake of conflict and European-borne disease, the Calusa were extinguished by the second half of the 18th century. No Zamia pollen has been found at any site associated with the Calusas, nor does Zamia grow in the wetlands that made up most of the Calusa environment. The Calusa people based most of their diet on seafood. Calusa society developed from that of archaic peoples of the Everglades region. Native American art,