Six Families Chain of Alliance Belt
There was a time long ago when we were all of one household, a time when our six families entered into an agreement to preserve the chain of alliance which was not to be extinguished under any circumstance,
After the sixth family was directed by Tarenyawagon (Holder of the Heavens) to settle near the mouth of the Gowtano/Cautanoh (Neuse) River, it was here that he left us and returned to our relatives in the North.
Our family (the Sixth Family) was originally one people our name Kautanohakau (People of the Submerged Pine-Tree) being taken by the place in which we settled.
From the Kautanohakau (People of the Submerged Pine-Tree) would emerge two more families, these being the Skarù·ręʔ / Tuscarora (Hemp Splitters) and the Kauwetsʔa·ka / Meherrin (People of the Water).
The sixth family always had a close connection and were known by some early historians as being one of the same. Some say they had their own League/Confederacy.
This belt was created in memory of the Alliance made by the Six Families long ago.
This belt reads across starting right to left with five small squares representing the original five families that remained in the North, these being the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca. The diamond to the left of these five small squares represents the Council Fire of the Haudenosaunee. The Diamond on the far left represents the Council Fire of the Sixth family. The three small squares at the far left side of this belt represents the three Tribes that formed from the sixth family that was led south by Tarenyawagon, these three Tribes being the Kahtehnuʔá·ka·ʔ (People of the Submerged Pine-Tree), the Skarù·ręʔ / Tuscarora (Hemp Splitters), and the Kauwetsʔa·ka / Meherrin (People of the Water).
The path (white row) that connects the two council fires is a white chain of alliance that was originally entered into by the original Six Families which was not to be extinguished under any circumstance. For us it also represents a white root leading us to the Great Tree of Peace where we were given shelter at various times in the past, and a path of peace in which we are still tracing today.
The mark of Chief Harehannah Belt
This belt resembles the signature/mark that Meherrin Chief Harehannah used between April and June of 1680 when signing the addendum to the 1677 Treaty of Middle Plantation.
It is believed it resembles a Snipe bird, one of the five clans of the Meherrin people.
Nottoway, Meherrin and Tuscarora Alliance Belt
This is a Commemoration Belt to honor the ancestors of the Nottoway, Meherrin and Tuscarora.
Eight Years To Tennessee Belt
Belt of the three Rivers and Towns
This belt tells the story of the three rivers traveled by our People, these being the Meherrin River, New River, and the Kanawah River and of three main villages of the Meherrin People these being Kauwitzihocken (Cowinchahawkon), Maharineck (Menderink), and Unote (Unę́·ʔneh).
