Photographs (left to right): Anhinga, Everglades, Florida; Mohave Desert, Nevada; Plover, Florida

Wampum Belt Archive

 

Great White Mat

(White Thistle Belt)

17th Century?

Reproduction (R. D. Hamell)

June 20 2011

 

Original Size:	Unknown
Reproduction:	Beaded Length: 36.0 inches. Width: 28.0 inches. Length w/fringe: 60.0 inches.
Beads:	50 Rows Wide by 205 Rows Long. Total beads: 10,250.
Materials:	Warp: Leather. Weave: Artificial Sinew.

Description:

Original size is unknown. No images of this belt (mat) is known. The following is from The Constitution of the Iroquois Nations, the Great Binding Law known as Gayanashagowa (Article 62):

"When the Confederate Council of the Five Nations declares for a reading of the belts of shell calling to mind these laws, they shall provide for the reader a specially made mat woven of the fibers of wild hemp. The mat shall not be used again, for such formality is called the honoring of the importance of the law."

Reference:

http://www.indigenouspeople.net/iroqcon.htm