| Total population | |
|---|---|
| Extinct 40[1] (1715) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| OnCongaree River near present-dayColumbia, South Carolina.[1] Later onWaccamaw River inHorry County, South Carolina[2] | |
| Languages | |
| Unclassified PossiblySiouan[1] | |
| Religion | |
| Native American religion | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Catawba,[1]Keyauwee,Santee,[2]Wateree[2] |
TheCongaree were a historicIndigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands who once lived within what is now centralSouth Carolina, along theCongaree andSantee rivers, above and below the confluence of theWateree River.[3] The Congaree joined theCatawba people in company of theWateree several years after temporarily migrating to theWaccamaw River in 1732.[2] They spoke a language distinct from and unintelligible to localSiouan languages. The language today isunclassified, though, some academics in the late 19th and early 20th centuries believe that the language was related toCatawba.[1]
| Congaree | |
|---|---|
| Native to | United States |
| Region | South Carolina |
| Ethnicity | Congaree |
| Extinct | 18th century |
unclassified (Siouan?) | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | None (mis) |
071 | |
| Glottolog | None |
English explorerJohn Lawson noted in 1709 that members of the Congaree tribe were distinguishable from other nearby tribes by their appearance, customs, and language.[4] During the middle of the 18th century, Congaree was one of the languages spoken on theCatawba Reservation.[2]
During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, American scholars thought the Congaree were likely part of theSiouan language family, given their geographic location and characteristics of neighboring tribes like the Catawba.[1] Since the late 20th century, scholars have suggested that the Congaree people did not speak a Siouan language due to their language not being intelligible to their immediate Siouan-speaking neighbors, theWateree.[5] LinguistBlair A. Rudes suggested that the name "Congaree" is possibly a rendering ofkųkari• Catawban for 'over there, out of sight'.[6] He noted that if this is the case, the name is anexonym and not the name members of the tribe would have called themselves.[6]
Only one word of the Congaree language is known, beingCassetta 'king (chief)'.[7]
In Native American practice, people taken as captives in warfare, particularly women and children, were often enslaved. European colonists encouraged the tribes to take and sell Indian captives into their domesticslave trade. By 1693, the Congaree,Esaw, and Savannah slave-catchers had pursued theCherokee as "objects of theslave trade to the extent that a tribal delegation was sent" toGovernor Thomas Smith. They sought protection, claiming that Cherokee had been sold in theCharles Town slave market.[8][9][10]
In 1698, the Congaree lost "most tribe members tosmallpox."[citation needed] The Native Americans suffered high mortality from new infectious diseases that had becomeendemic for centuries among Europeans, leading to some acquiredimmunity for the latter.[11]
The English explorerJohn Lawson encountered the survivors in 1701, apparently on the northeastern bank of the Santee River below the junction of theWateree. Lawson described their village as consisting of about a dozen houses, located on a small creek flowing into the Santee River. He described them as a small tribe that lost population due to tribal feuds and raids, but especially bysmallpox which had depopulated whole villages.[3] A 1715 map shows their village as located on the southern bank of the Congaree and considerably above the previous area, perhaps near Big Beaver Creek, or about opposite the future site of Columbia, on the eastern boundary ofLexington County. They may have been moving upriver to get further from English colonists.
At that time, Keyauwee Jack, a Congaree by birth, had become chief of theKeyauwee by marriage.[12]
During theTuscarora War of 1711, the Congaree fought on the side of English colonistJohn Barnwell, who raised a militia.[9] In early 1715, John Barnwell took a census that identified the Congaree as living in one village, with a total population of 22 men and 70 women and children.[13]
During theYamasee War of 1715–17, the Congaree joined with other tribes in the fight against the colony of South Carolina. Over half were either killed or enslaved by the colonists andCherokee; some were sent into slavery in theWest Indies.[14] Following that, surviving Congaree moved upriver and joined theCatawba, with whom they were still living in 1743.[15]
In 1718, Fort Congaree was established near the Congaree village, near today'sColumbia. It became an important trading station and a European-American settlement formed around it.[3]
In the subsequent decades, Congaree survivors merged with the largerCatawba people. Different tribes lived in their own villages within the loose Catawba federation of peoples. The Congaree maintained their distinction until the late 18th century, as they had a language different from the Siouan Catawba, but they became extinct as a tribe. Their descendants intermarried with the Catawba and other peoples of the confederation.
Based on colonial accounts, American anthropologistJames Mooney (1928) described the historic Congaree as: "A friendly people, handsome and well built, the women being especially beautiful compared with those of other tribes."[15]
Some members of the present-dayCatawba and other tribes of theCarolinas are likely genetic descendants of the Congaree, among others.
Namesakes of the tribe include:
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