Did you know the Lenni Lenape was the biggest native tribe in New Jersey, New York, Delaware and Pennsylvania? Lenni Lenape means “Original People.” They were the original people of the mid-Atlantic area. They lived mostly in New Jersey and Delaware and part of New York and Pennsylvania Lenni Lenapes’ lifestyle, culture, and history are important to the making of New Jersey.
The Lenni Lenape led very interesting lives. The men and the women split work. The children helped their parents. If they were boys, they helped their father and if they were girls they helped their mother. If the boys were too young to go with their father, then they worked in the fields with their mother. The role of the men was to hunt and protect their families. The women farmed the land and were responsible for the child care and cooking the meals. Both the mother and the father told stories, and made art and music with their children. They lived in wigwams or longhouses, which…show more content… During their ceremonies and rituals, they honored the good spirits to drive the evil ones out.They believed that the great spirit was Kishelemukong(keh-tah-nuh-tuh-wit). There was one ceremony where a Lenape man is chosen from the tribe to dress up, head to feet, in a bearskin costume with a red and black painted mask. He did this to impersonate one of the spirits called Mesingw(muh-seeng). This spirit would watch over the animals in the forest and people believed that he would wonder in the woods riding a deer. Also, in a tobacco ceremony, Indians would use tobacco smoke for spirit offerings. The Lenni Lenape did not have much tobacco because they did not plant and farm it, instead they would find it in the woodland. When someone in the tribe dies,the person gets buried with a clay pot with food for their long journey to the heavens. Since most indians do not live long,due to disease, bad injuries or sickness, they do not get their official name till they are 3 years
