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The basic house type of northern Iroquoian peoples such as the HURON and IROQUOIS, the longhouse sheltered a number of families related through the female line. It was established throughout the Iroquoian area by the 12th century. They were 8 m wide but of variable length (one 94 m long was uncovered at the Moyer site in southern Ontario). Longhouses described by the early French explorers and by the Jesuit missionaries in the 17th century were somewhat shorter. In the 18th century, longhouses were replaced by single-family dwellings for residences, but continued as political and ceremonial structures. Followers of the HANDSOME LAKE RELIGION continue to refer to the buildings that house their ceremonies as longhouses.


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Material Culture

The 17th-century dwelling was constructed by driving flexible poles into the ground at fixed intervals. These were then bent over and lashed together. Horizontal poles strengthened the frame, and cedar-bark (Huron) or elm-bark (Iroquois) sheathing covered the structure. Sleeping platforms ran the length of the house. Each of the 3 to 5 hearths, 6 m apart down the middle of the longhouse, was shared by 2 nuclear families of 5 or 6 persons. Firewood was stacked in vestibules near the entrances at either end of the structure. The Iroquois characterized their confederacy as a longhouse of 5 fires.

Iroquois Longhouse Interior
Iroquoian Longhouse interior (artwork by Lewis Parker).

Exterior of Reconstructed Longhouse
Ste-Marie Among the Hurons, near Midland, Ontario. Built c. 1640, reconstructed 1960s (photo courtesy Ste-Marie Among the Hurons).

Author RENÉ R. GADACZ


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A superb multimedia website dedicated to native dance traditions from coast to coast in Canada. Features audio and video clips, in-depth interviews and articles for students, the image research database for scholars, downloadable resource kits for teachers, and more. Produced by Carleton University and The Sumner Group Inc., with the assistance of many other organizations and contributors.

Site Droulers-Tsiionhiakwatha
The Tsiionhiakwatha/Droulers archaeological site interpretation center, a prominent Iroquoian village in Quebec lies. Circa 1450, approximately 500 St.Lawrence iroquoians established a village near the La Guerre River in what is now the municipality of Saint-Anicet.

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