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Wenro (to come later)
The Wenro were a small tribe of somewhere between
1,200 and 2,000 people who lived in an unknown number of villages.
From the pattern of their dispersal in 1639, there were probably
either two or three villages in total - not a great amount. The
Wenro ceased to exist as a tribe in 1643. Any descendents would be
found among the Iroquois, the Seneca of Oklahoma, or possibly the
Wyandot (a later name applied to Huron remnants.
What little is known about the Wenro has come down
to us from the Huron, since there was no direct contact between the
Wenro and Europeans until after a large group of Wenro refugees came
to the Huron villages in 1639.
Oil was highly prized by the Iroquoian tribes in
the region for its medicinal properties, and the trade for this
commodity was the major reason the Wenro maintained good relations
with the Huron. It can safely be presumed that the Wenro lived in a
manner very much like their other Iroquoian neighbours. If true, they
farmed extensively (corn, beans, and squash) with hunting, gathering,
and fishing providing the remainder of their diet.
Political and social organisation are unknown, but
since all other Iroquoian people traced their descent through the
mother, it is probable that the Wenro did also.
None of their village sites have been specifically
identified, so a certain amount of guesswork is involved in deducing
the tribe's composition. However, the use of large longhouses was
common, and this was what was used by the Iroquois who lived in the
area after the Wenro had been scattered. It is not known whether their
villages were fortified, but considering their situation, this should
have been the case.
The history of the Wenro can be found in a
separate feature (see sidebar links).
The only records of the early Wenro come from their
near-neighbours and possible sister people, the Huron,
so it is to be expected that Wenro settlements would
have looked very similar to this Huron one