gatgęhetse:s, ladle, wooden

gatgęhetse:s, ladle, wooden

gatgęhetse:s, ladle, wooden

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Introduction

This relative is a Hodenosaunee wooden gatgęhetse:s (ladle or spoon) with a wide bowl, painted black in one section. The gatgęhetse:s was used in the ganǫhse:s (Longhouse) for giving out corn soup. 

It was collected from Jerry Aaron of the Six Nations of the Grand River Reserve in Ontario, Canada, likely by anthropologist, Frank Speck who travelled to the Six Nations Reserve in 1933-36 and 1944-45 and wrote about meeting Aaron.  Speck's student, Samuel Pennypacker, bequested the ladle to the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology around 1969, where it currently resides.

Name of Maker(s): Maker Unrecorded
Maker role: Artist
Nation of Maker: Hodenosaunee/Haudenosaunee Cayuga Mohawk
Reasons for connecting this relative with particular nation(s)

This relative belonged to Jerry Aaron, who is recorded as being Mohawk and Cayuga in Speck's book (Speck, Frank G. Midwinter Rites of the Cayuga Long House. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2016.)

Place of Origin: Six Nations of the Grand River Territory
Date Made or Date Range: Before 1945
Summary of Source(s) for this Relative

The information in this record is based on museum documentation and the writings of Frank Speck.

Materials

wood; black paint; three nails; string or twine.

Techniques or Format

The handle appears to be a commercial wooden spoon, to which a hand carved ladle bowl has been nailed. The middle section is painted black. A string is tied to the top of the handle.

Original and Subsequent Uses

This gatgęhetse:s was used for serving corn soup in the ganǫhse:s (Longhouse). Corn soup was typically served at the feast accompanying a ceremony (such as that outlined in Dodge, Ernest S. “A Cayuga Bear Society Curing Rite.” Primitive Man 22, no. 3/4 (1949): 65–71. https://doi.org/10.2307/3316303.)

Dimensions: 22.2 × 11.5 × 0 cm
Reasons for connecting this relative with particular times, materials, styles and uses

Frank Speck travelled to the Six Nations Reserve in 1933-36 and 1944-45.

Current Location: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Catalogue, Accession or Reference Number: 70-9-227
Link to Institution's Collections Database: https://www.penn.museum/collections/object/47394
Date of Acquisition by the Institution: 1969
Who the Institution Acquired the Relative or Heritage Item From: Bequest of Samuel Pennypacker, Schwenksville, Pa., 1970.
Date Relative was First Removed or Collected from its Community Context: 1933 to 1936 or 1944 to 1945
Collection Narratives and Histories

It was collected from Jerry Aaron of the Six Nations of the Grand River Reserve in Ontario, Canada, likely by anthropologist, Frank Speck who travelled to the Six Nations Reserve in 1933-36 and 1944-45 and wrote about meeting Aaron. The gatgęhetse:s was used in the Longhouse for giving out corn soup. Speck's student, Samuel Pennypacker, bequested the ladle to the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology around 1969, where it currently resides.

Source for Provenance information

Information on the Collector:
Tooker, Elisabeth. "The 'Speck Iroquois Collection' in The University Museum." Expedition 29, no. 1 (1987): 49.

A record of a ceremony with corn soup:
Dodge, Ernest S. “A Cayuga Bear Society Curing Rite.” Primitive Man 22, no. 3/4 (1949): 65–71. https://doi.org/10.2307/3316303.

Speck's accounts:
Speck, Frank G. Midwinter Rites of the Cayuga Long House. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2016.

Museum documentation.

GKS Reference Number: 26180
How to Cite this Item

Maker, Unrecorded. Gatgęhetse:s, ladle, wooden. GRASAC ID 26180. University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, 70-9-227.

Record Creation Context

This information was gathered during a GRASAC study visit, participants included: David Penney, Ruth Phillips, Stacey Loyer, and William Wierzbowski, on December 3, 2009.
This record was augmented by Joy Kruse on March 10, 2025.

Approximate Place of Origin

43.068868179739, -80.11805879999

Source of Information about Places

While the exact address is unclear, Jerry Aaron lived in Ohsweken on the Six Nations Reserve. This does not reflect a known place of origin, but instead one place associated with the relative's life. 

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