Ninihúsa (Merveilles des Morte)

Ninihúsa Confederacy Ninihúsa Skapélag
c. 1400s–1534
Flag (c. 1530)
Capital	Daelstaðr
Common languages	Daelic, Vinlandic, Iroquoian languages, Marklandic, Mi'kmawi'simk
Religion	Vinlandic mythology, Midewiwin, Iroquoian
Government	Tribal confederacy
Goði
• f. 1400s	Ólaver Sunkasook
• 1534	Hadyusanin Owandahsson
Historical era	Colonial period
• Daelstaðr founded	c. 1400s
•	c. 1400s
• Disestablished	1534
Population
• 1500	c. 2,000

The Ninihúsa Confederacy (Daelic: Ninihúsa Skapélag), also known by its capital of Daelstaðr was a Vinlandic-Indigenous hybrid nation that existed for about a century before its conquest around the year 1534. According to legend, the Ninihúsa are descended from a collection of tribes on the island of Vinland. The Vinland interior and south, collectively known as Barðsland, was known to be outside the purview of the urbanized goðorð that ruled the coastlines, and was instead populated by the Beothuk, Mi’kmaq, and settlers known as Tvennufolkish, who were mixed race inhabitants descended from Vinlanders and indigenous peoples. Vinlandic sagas depict the south as less “civilized” and pagan compared to the Christianized urban centers found elsewhere in Vinland, leading to a syncretism of Vinlandic and indigenous culture.

By the start of the 15th century and the reign of Tíseðun the Great as Goði of Lágrstrǫnd, the island of Vinland began to be rapidly united into a series of smaller domains ruled by the storgoðar, who made numerous inroads into the interior. This encroachment sparked the largely nomadic and disorganized tribes of the interior to unite behind Nonosbawsut of Kaasomoot, who was declared “King Beyond the Walls”. Nonosbawsut waged a several year campaign against the cities of Vinland, before ultimately being defeated by Tíseðun at the Battle of Kaasomoot in 1415. This rebellion would mark the beginning of the end for the independent Vinlandic tribes.

According to legend, around the same time as Nonosbawsut’s War, or perhaps directly after, a group of tribes became loosely united by another leader named Ólaver Sunkasook, who would lead a vast exodus from Vinland to the city of Daelstaðr. However, the theory of a large scale exodus from Vinland at one time, as compared to a gradual migration through Markland and the Wabanaki over the course of centuries, is disputed by modern historians. Genetic testing, as well as linguistic and textual evidence from the 15th century seems to suggest that a small, transplanted population of partially European settlers made up the initial population of Daelstaðr, which was likely augmented by later settlement in the 16th century.

Daelic oral tradition states that within the first generation after settlement the various tribes of Daelstaðr declared the Ninihúsa Skapélag, roughly translating to “Five House Confederacy”, in reference to the union of five legendary Vinlandic clans. It is unknown to what extent these settlers supplanted, replaced, or intermarried with local natives, who were primarily Iroquoian. In the early 16th century Daelstaðr emerged as an important city state and trade hub on the St. Naðún River. It was first visited by Basque explorers in 1506, and later by the Scottish after 1512, who later incorporated the Ninihúsa into the colony of Nova Scotia.

History

Foundation

The exact origins of the Ninihúsa is unknown, and is heavily tied with Vinlandic oral tradition. According to legend, the later Ninihúsa were descended from an alliance of tribes in Barðsland, who first united around the year 1400. These tribes were said to either be separatists who had not joined the cause of Nonosbawsut, or were perhaps refugees from his failed campaign after 1415. The primary historical source on the conflict and the potential foundation of the Ninihúsa is the Norðstríða, however, this text is written from a Vinlandic perspective and makes little mention of the tribes that might become the Ninihúsa. According to this text, a Beothuk leader had emerged named Nonosbawsut who united the various tribes of central Vinland. He claimed descent from the ancient sorcerer Izzobath, a figure who had united the island against the Vinlanders during the legendary Battle of Boghmoot, and he was a distant relative of Ðinyun Sheboðr, the founder of Kaasomoot in northern Barðsland. Through these claims, Nonosbawsut made his intentions clear of unifying the island against the emerging powerful kingdoms concentrated on the coasts, and so he claimed the title of "King Beyond the Walls" to differentiate himself from the non-tribal inhabitants of the island. Through diplomacy and war Nonosbawsut managed to unite all the various tribes of the region, creating a considerable host that threatened the entire island.

This began nearly a decade of conflict between the tribal alliance of Nonosbawsut and the Vinlanders, who elected Tíseðun the Great as their leader. Nonosbawsut would eventually be defeated around the year 1415, marking the end of the independent tribal era in the interior, and the beginning of Vinland's consolidation into a unified kingdom. The Ninihúsa trace their origins to this event. Oral tradition holds that there was a collection of tribes who had not joined the alliance of Nonosbawsut, but nonetheless had recognized the threat that Vinlander encroachment posed and so united into their own alliance. Later Vinlandic tradition lists among them the Fráhamr and Fyrirtúlka, led by Einráði and Einráði respectively, as well as a third led by a chieftain named Ólaver. Ólaver was said to be as tall as a mountain, earning him his nickname of "Sunkasook", and was able to battle or debate the other chieftains into relinquishing command to him. It is said that Ólaver proposed a different solution, as he believed that the city dwellers could not be uprooted, and instead elected to sail south for a new land. Five of the six tribes agreed to this proposal, becoming the legendary five clans.

There is much debate among historians regarding the historicity of this origin myth and the figure Ólaver Sunkasook, who has alternatively been proposed as a foundationary myth created decades after the settlement. Whereas traditionally the settlement of Daelstaðr was treated as a large exodus in the aftermath of the failed tribal war, modern historians have proposed that Daelstaðr may have been gradually settled over time by several different waves of Vinlander settlers over the course of a century. There are no surviving records contemporary with the founding of such a city, although subsequent generations would claim descent from Ólaver Sunkasook. Lending credence to the theory that Daelstaðr was gradually settled by more local settlers, rather than by a mass exodus from Vinland, is the existence of several sagas from Markland attesting to exploration as south as the future site of Daelstaðr and beyond, leading historians to speculate if the camp mentioned in the saga of Úystunr Magecatcher may have developed into Daelstaðr.

The foundation of Daelstaðr is traditionally dated to around 1414 or 1415, which would have been around the time of the death of Nonosbawsut. This is generally seen as the birth of the Ninihúsa, although such a name would not be adopted until years later. The name Ninihúsa would be adopted from the Daelic phrase "Five Houses", in an allusion to the legendary five clans that founded the confederacy.

Pre-Kolumbian Era

It is unknown to what extent the present location of Daelstaðr was uninhabited prior to the time of the Ninihúsa. According to Marklander sagas, there possibly existed a city called Stadacona settled by a Iroquoian-speaking tribe, which may have been at or near the location of Daelstaðr. It has been hypothesized that the introduction of European diseases, as well as wafare between the Wyandot Confederacy and the Iroquois, led to the banks of the St. Naðún River (St. Lawrence River) becoming completely depopulated. The settlement of Stadacona seemingly collapsed or was abandoned by the end of the 14th century, with the area instead becoming a Mohawk hunting ground. Alternatively it has been proposed that any pre-existing settlement that may have existed was conquered and assimilated into the early Ninihúsa Confederacy, as was custom among its neighbors, such as the Iroquois.

The Iroquois were known to have differed from many of their neighbors in that they often did not shy away from foreign traders and their technology, and subsequently the Iroquois settled the southern edge of St. Naðún River to take part in the growing northeast fur trade. Oral tradition claims that the Iroquois developed a symbiotic relationship with the early Ninihúsa and helped establish the town of Daelstaðr, because the Iroquois recognized that the foreigners brought with them favorable trade goods and technology which the Iroquois sought to exploit. Whether or not this truly occured is unknown, as there is also archaeological evidence of frequent warfare in and around the settlement, suggesting the initial settlement may not have been peaceful.

Nonetheless, Daelstaðr persisted and seems to have developed into a highly important trade hub in the south, and was a nexus of the fur trade. Early European explorers to the region would record that the Iroquois had developed canoes possibly inspired by those employed by the Mi'kmaq, and that both land and sea-based trade criss-crossed the St. Naðún River and neighboring gulf. It is estimated that Daelstaðr likely housed 1-2,000 inhabitants, making it one of the largest towns in the region, and was home to traders from numerous nations. As such Daelstaðr appears to have cultivated a reputation as a neutral trading hub at which all the various nations of the northeast could meet. Due to their proximity to the Iroquois, the Ninihúsa appear to have intermarried with them the most prevalently. Ninihúsa culture is heavily derived from that of the Iroquois, with the Ninihúsa adopting many of the the Iroquian customs and traditions.

By the end of the 15th century the settlement at Daelstaðr experienced a period of rapid development and the Ninihúsa likely expanded beyond the relative safety of the island fortress. The favorable position southwest of the city on the opposing bank of the river became home to a new settlement that persisted into the next century, known as Moosjóta. This would eventually lead to the region being nicknamed the "Three Cities" by later European travelers, noting the three distinct settlements at the meeting of two rivers (including the Iroquios' settlement on the southern bank). The Ninihúsa initially prospered due to their reputation as a neutral meeting ground, however, as the confederacy grew in size and power it came into conflict with its neighbors on occassion.

European Discovery

Beginning in the 1490s the northeast region were contacted by European explorers. It is unknown at which point the Ninihúsa gained knowledge of these foreign voyages, but it is speculated that due to Daelstaðr's importance in the fur trade it likely received word of these arrivals soon after. The first definitive expedition to reach Daelstaðr directly was by the Basque in 1504. In 1512 Daelstaðr was again visited, this time by the Celtic Union, who intended to create a more permanent presence in the region.

Footnotes