Manahoac

Manahoac Tribe

Manahoac Indians (Algonquian: ‘they are very merry.’ – Tooker). A confederacy or group of small tribes or bands possibly Siouan, in north Virginia, in 1608, occupying the country from the falls of the rivers to the mountains and from the Potomac to North Anna river. They were at war with the Powhatan and Iroquois, and in alliance with the Monacan, but spoke a language different from any of their neighbors.  Among their tribes Smith mentions the Manahoac, Tanxnitania, Shackaconia, Ontponea, Tegninateo, Whonkenti, Stegaraki, and Hassinunga, and says there were others.  Jefferson confounded them with the Tuscarora.  Mahaskahod is the only … Read more

The Manahoac Confederacy

The Manahoac confederacy of Virginia consisted of perhaps a dozen tribes, of which the names of eight have been preserved. With the exception of the Stegarake, all that is known of these tribes was recorded by Smith, whose own acquaintance with them seems to have been limited to an encounter with a large hunting party in 1608. Smith, however, was a man who knew how to improve an opportunity; and having had the good fortune to make one of them a prisoner he managed to get from him a very fair idea of the tribes and territories of the confederacy, … Read more