Ais (people)
The Ais , also Ays , were a North American Indian tribe who lived in an area on the central Atlantic coast of Florida at the time of European contact . Like the rest of the natives of Florida, the Ais suffered particularly from the European diseases introduced and have been considered extinct since around 1760.
residential area
The Ais inhabited the Atlantic coast in east Florida from today's Cape Caneveral in the north to St. Lucie Inlet in the south and the St. Johns River in the west. The tribal area included what is now Brevard , Indian River , St. Lucie and northern Martin Counties . They lived in small nomadic bands in villages on the banks of the Indian River and a large lagoon , which the Spanish called Rio Ais and which is also called Indian River today . The coastal area was the preferred location for winter camps, while at the beginning of summer, higher inland areas were sought out to avoid the persistent mosquito or mosquito exposure . The name Ais comes from one of their most important caciks . The tribe was made up of a number of small villages, each of which was led by its own chief or cacique. They lived in simple huts, the sides and roofs of which were made of wooden posts and frameworks and were completely covered with palmetto branches. The largest house in each village belonged to the chief and was usually in the center. In the house there was a place of honor for the chief and additional seats for the deputy and his advisors. From here the chief passed the laws for the village, ruled and acted as judge over his people.
Language and way of life
Little is known about the language of the Ais. It has been assigned to the Muskogee language by some scholars , while others suggest that it is related to the idiom of the Arawak .
Some observations about the appearance, livelihood and customs of the Ais come from the Englishman Jonathan Dickinson , who, as a shipwrecked man, lived with the tribe for some time in 1696 with the survivors of his crew. The Ais were of relatively short stature compared to other contemporary Indigenous people of Florida. Nevertheless, they were considered aggressive and warlike, were excellent hunters and were able to use bows and arrows, as well as other weapons.
The Ais did not farm but instead fished with spears and fishhooks made from animal toe bones. They hunted deer and other game with bows and arrows and gathered fruits and edible roots from local plants. Their main diet consisted of fish that they caught in the Indian River, which they called Aysta-chatta-hatch-ee (River of the Ais) and which the Spanish called the Rio d'Ays . The men wore loincloths made of plaited palm leaves or animal skins, while women probably, like the neighboring women of the Tequesta , wore skirts made of Spanish moss or plant fibers that hung from a belt. This information comes from decorations and drawings on stones, bones and shells found during archaeological excavations.
According to Dickinson, their city was called Jece and was near the present-day city of Sebastian . It was the main town of the Ais and all other towns and villages on the coast between Jupiter Inlet in the south and Cape Canaveral in the north. Jece was located about 800 meters from the water of the lagoon on the mainland, surrounded by a swamp area, the mangrove forest of which blocked the view of the sea. The house of the cacique was 40 feet (12.20 m) long and 25 feet (7.60 m) wide, and covered with palmetto branches on the roof and sides.
history
The Ais had their first contact with Europeans around the middle of the 16th century. In 1565, the Spanish admiral and later governor of Florida Pedro Menéndez de Avilés built a mission and a fort near a city of the Ais, which the Spanish called Santa Lucia. After an attack by warriors of the Ais, in which 23 Spanish soldiers and an unknown number of Indians were killed, the Spaniards gave up their fort and mission. Eventually the Spaniards were able to gain the trust of the Ais and were even considered friends by them, while they considered the rest of the Europeans as enemies. A member of the Ais was kidnapped by the British from Jece to use as a diver to investigate a shipwreck east of Cuba. He was able to escape and eventually came back to Jece via Havana and St. Augustine .
In 1597, the Spanish governor Pedro de Ibarra of Florida estimated the Ais tribe to be the most populous in the region. In 1605 he sent the soldier Alvaro Mexia on a diplomatic mission to the Ais. The trip was successful because he was able to convince the tribe to rescue shipwrecked sailors for ransom. The region was feared by seafarers because of the frequent cyclones. Later on, numerous artefacts of European origin were found during archaeological excavations in the former settlements of the Ais . When Dickinson's group reached Jece, they met other British wreckers there. At that time, European and African shipwrecked people were often stranded on the Florida coast.
The sinking of the Ais presumably occurred shortly after Dickinson's stay. Around 1710 settlers from the British province of Carolina and their Indian allies raided the villages of the Ais. Many of them were killed or taken to Charleston to be sold as slaves. In 1743 the Spaniards built another mission on Biscayne Bay near what is now Miami . The priests there confirmed the presence of some Indians who they named Santa Luces . It can be assumed that they were members of the Ais from Santa Lucia , which was north of Biscayne Bay. After that, nothing was heard from the Ais and they have been considered extinct since around 1760.
See also
literature
- Raymond D. Fogelson (Ed.): Handbook of North American Indians . tape 14 Southeast . Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington DC 2004, ISBN 0-16-072300-0 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Before the White Man. Retrieved January 14, 2017 .
- ^ A b Charles and Evangeline Andrews: Jonathan Dickinson's Journal or God's Protecting Providence . Yale University Press, 1981.
- ^ A b c Donald B. Ricky: The Encyclopedia of Florida Indians: Tribes, Nations, and People of the Woodlands Area . North American Book Dist, 1998, ISBN 978-0-403-09952-8 , pp. 72-73 .