arts and crafts

The Cayuga tribe were known for their mask carving.





Bead work and the more demanding porcupine quill work are more common Cayuga crafts.

Dances of Cayuga

Weapons

Cayuga hunters used bows and arrows. Cayuga fishermen used spears and fishing poles with bone hooks. In war, Cayuga men used their bows and arrows or fought with heavy war clubs and shields.

Other important tools used by the Cayuga tribe included stone adzes (hand axes for woodworking), flint knives for skinning animals, and wooden hoes for farming.

music instrument

Cayuga people were having music instrument like water drum. The more popular instruments are the water drum and the flutes.

sports

• The Cayuga have some interesting games and sports that we have now like lacrosse. Lacrosse is a game with a net at the end of a stick. In lacrosse you have a ball and a couple of players. In lacrosse the teams try to get the ball through the other team's net. The first team to get the ball through the other team's net wins. Another game for the boys is to get a dart through a moving hoop. The girls played with dolls. The Cayuga have neat games and sports.

Transportation

Sometimes the Cayuga Indians did use elm-bark or dugout canoes for fishing trips, but usually preferred to travel by land. Originally the Cayuga tribe used dogs as pack animals. (There were no horses in North America until colonists brought them over from Europe.) In wintertime, the Cayugas used laced snowshoes and sleds to travel through the snow.

Cayuga snowshoes

What were Cayuga homes like?

he Cayuga Indians lived in villages of longhouses, which are large wood-frame buildings covered with sheets of e
lm bark. Cayuga long houses were up to a hundred feet long, and each one was home to an entire clan (up to 60 people.)

What were men and women's roles in the Cayuga tribe?

Cayuga men were in charge of hunting, trading, and war. Cayuga women were in charge of farming, property, and family. These different roles were also reflected in Cayuga government. Cayuga Indian clans were always ruled by women, who made all the land and resource decisions for each community. But Cayuga chiefs, who made military decisions and trade agreements, were always men. Only men represented the Cayuga tribe at the Iroquois Great Council, but only women voted to determine who the Cayuga representatives would be.

What language do the Cayuga Indians speak?

Most Cayuga people speak English today, but some Cayugas, especially in Canada, also speak their native Cayuga language. Cayuga is a complex language with many sounds that are unlike the sounds in English. If you'd like to know a few easy cayuga language, "sgę:no" (pronounced similar to SGEH-no) is a friendly greeting, and "nya:węh" (pronounced similar to NYAH-wenh) means 'thank you.'

Where do the Cayuga Indians live?

The Cayugas are original residents of what is now New York states. Many Cayuga people still live there today, though others were forced to migrate to Wisconsin, Oklahoma, and Ontario, Canada.

food

The Cayuga people eat deer,elk,wild turkey,musk rat,beaver and some other birds. Other food components include roots, berries, greens and nuts.

Iroquois fish, and they eat large quantities of salmon, trout, perch and bass. They hunt and fish to catch food.

How do Cayuga Indian children live, and what did they do to past time?

They do the same things all children do--play with each other, go to school and help around the house. Many Cayuga children like to go hunting and camping with their fathers. In the past, Indian kids had more chores and less time to play. But they did have cornhusk dolls, toys, and games, such as one game where Cayuga kids tried to throw a dart through a moving hoop. Lacrosse was also a popular sport among Iroquois boys as it was among adult men. Like many Native Americans, Cayuga Indian mothers traditionally carried their babies in cradleboards on their backs.

clothes

the man wore breech cloths with leggings.


The womens wear wraparound with shorter leggings.

clothes

They have old clothes. Cayuga man wore usually dress with breech cloths with leggings.


The womens were dress wrap around with shorter leggings.

language

the Cayuga people talk Cayuga
here some words:

English (Français)	Cayuga
Two (Deux)	Dekni:
Three (Trois)	Ahsę
Four (Quatre)	Gei:
Five (Cinq)	Hwihs
Man (Homme)	H:gweh
Woman (Femme)	Ag:gweh
Dog (Chien)	So:wa:s
Sun (Soleil)	Ga:gwa:'
Moon (Lune)	Ęni'da:'
Water (Eau)	Ohneganohs
White (Blanc)	Gę'gę: or Hny'
Yellow (Jaune)	Oji:tgwa:'
Red (Rouge)	Otgwęj'ia:'
Black (Noir)	Swę'd'aę'