wampumpeag

[prettygoodword]

wampumpeag (WOM-puhm-peeg, WAWM-puhm-peeg) - n., cylindrical beads made from shells (mostly white but also purple), pierced and strung, used in Eastern North America by Native Americans as a medium of exchange, for ornaments, and for record-keeping.



Thanks, WikiMedia!

Because the shells were found on the coast, and because working them with stone tools was labor intensive, the scarcity of wampumpeag made it valuable as, effectively, a form of money. The shells used were mostly whelk (white) and quahog (purple), and the two colors allowed the makers to create designs. The terms has been used in English since the early 1620s, from either the Massachusett or Narragansett word for it, from wamp/wompi, white + umpe/api, string + -ag, plural suffix.

Usage note: the shortened form wampum was formerly more commonly used, but because was used as a synonym for money in a way that demeaned Native Americans and their customs, it is now considered an offensive term, even when used for wampumpeag.

---L.

Comments

[med_cat]

Very interesting, thanks

[prettygoodword]

Méi guānxi

[lokifan]

Interesting! I didn't know beads on string were used for record-keeping in North America. I wonder if there's a connection with quipu down among the Incas - my understanding is the contact between North America and the Andes was probably v limited but far from not non-existent. I know basically nothing about it though!

[prettygoodword]

My understanding is that there has never been much exchange, cultural or commercial, across/around the Darien Gap. Yes, there was some diffusion through the Caribbean chain, but something like this would have left traces in its wake, such as some of the transfusers also using it.