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St. Tammany Day A forgotten Holiday Celebrated for over 100 years in the American Colonies

Who was Tamanend?

Tamanend (1628-1698) was a Sachem, or chief, of one of the clans that made up the Lenape Nation in the Delaware Valley at the time Philadelphia was established.

There are no known historical images of Tamanend from when he was alive.

Who were the Lenape?

The Lenape people are the original caretakers and inhabitants of Delaware, New Jersey, Eastern Pennsylvania, and Southern New York.

Map of the Lenape Nation

What is Tamanend known for?

Tamanend is one of the Sachems who established peaceful relations between the Lenape and the English settlers. He met with other leaders of the Lenape Nation, and the leaders of the Pennsylvania colony under a large elm tree at Shakamixon in 1682 to sign the first treaty between these peoples.

There, Tamanend is reported to have announced that the Lenape and the English would, “live in peace as long as the waters run in the rivers and creeks and as long as the stars and moon endure.”

Penn's Treaty with the Indians by Benjamin West, painted 1771/2.

Tamenend signed his mark to several deeds from 1682-84 granting land to William Penn. Land which is known to us today as Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia Counties.

A map of William Penn's Colonial Land Purchases from The Lenape People

In 1694, the Pennsylvania Provincial Council met with the Lenape to encourage their continued friendship. At this meeting Tamanend was quoted as saying, “ We and the Christians of this River have always had a free roadway to one another, & though sometimes a tree has fallen across the road yet we have still removed it again & kept the path clean, and we design to continue the old friendship that has been between us and you. ”

The Mark of Tamanend

How did St. Tammany Day come to be a holiday?

In 1732, the Schuylkill Fishing Company designated May 1 (the traditional beginning of the fishing season) as an annual holiday to celebrate Tamanend. They claimed that their fishing rights in the Schuylkill River had been given to them by Tamanend, himself.

Commemorative plate from the Schuylkill Fishing Company
Commemorative plate from the Schuylkill Fishing Company
Commemorative plate from the Schuylkill Fishing Company

Within a decade, the Company began to fictionalize Tamanend describing him first as King and later Saint Tammany, the Patron Saint of America. The Company motto "Kawanio Chee Keeteru" which translates to mean "This is my right, and I will defend it," was a Lenape phrase they attributed to Tamanend.

Seal of the Pennsylvania Committee of Safety adopted in 1775

It later became a rallying cry during the American Revolution, and in 1775 was even made the motto for the Pennsylvania Committee of Safety. European Colonists began to call themselves "Americans," and St. Tammany and the indigenous people of this land, became a symbol of their resistance to England.

Cartoon showing America as a Native holding the Liberty Pole and Cap. Drawn by Thomas Colley: Pub. by W. Richardson, N68 High Holborn, 1782, Dec. 8

Yet, even as these Lenape words were becoming a part of the Revolutionary mantra, by 1768 the original homeland of the Lenape, had been incorporated into the Pennsylvania Colony and the majority of the indigenous people had been ousted from their homeland.

Colonial Era Acquisitions making up the Colony of Pennsylvania

How was St. Tammany day celebrated?

Before the Revolution, citizens would erect a May Pole on St. Tammany Day. They would decorate it with wild flowers as they did back home in England. However, they nailed buckhorns near the top of the posts, and each wore a piece of buck's tail in their hats. In this way, the traditional English rite of spring became "Americanized”.

A 19th-century engraving of Captain Miles Standish observing the Maypole festivities.

Today we might frown upon the cultural appropriation which characterized the earliest celebrations of St. Tammany day. All the townspeople would gather in a ring around the May Pole and perform a “Lenape war dance.” At some point the company would be interrupted by a group of white men, " dressed like Lenape”, who rushed into the room, singing war songs, giving a whoop, and dancing in the “style of the Lenape.”

Later, during the Revolution, the May Pole became known as the Liberty Pole. It was topped with the liberty cap which was worn as a symbol by those fighting for the Revolution. When the Liberty Pole was erected in Town Squares, townspeople would gather to discuss their views.

America holding the Liberty Pole and Cap

Every St. Tammany Day, through the Revolution, annual banquets were held during which grand toasts were drunk. 13 toasts per year reflecting the 13 colonies, their allies and the progress of the fight for independence.

Sample of actual St. Tammany Toasts from 1772-1784

Why do we no longer celebrate St. Tammany Day?

Tamanend had become the Patron Saint for America, but also the namesake for a popular American Society, the Tammany Society. In the 19th century this society became disgraced through political scandal, muddying the name Tammany in the public eye. Unfortunately this stigma extended to the man himself.

Statues erected in Tammened's honor were renamed after other indigenous heroes like Tecumseh, and the May Day celebration of St. Tammany Day fell away to obscurity. Attempts have been made to restore the holiday. A bill was drafted in Congress in 2003 to resurrect St. Tammany Day as a National Holiday, but it was not passed.

On Sunday, May 1, 2022, visitors came to the Erwin Stover House to celebrate May Day, honor Tamanend and the lost holiday of St. Tammany Day. We raised the Liberty Pole and recreated the Toasts of St. Tammany. We were entertained by the Millstone River Morris Dancers, took a turn around the May Pole and tried our hand at the Colonial games of Rolling Hoops and Tossing Graces.

Explaining St. Tammany Day to the Gathered Crowd
Toasting to the proud and immortal memory of King Tammany!
Donning The Liberty Cap and Raising the Pole
The Millstone River Morris Dancers perform a traditional folkdance
Playing Colonial Games-Tossing the Graces
Millstone River Morris Dancers salute the crowd
Colonial Game of Rolling Hoops
Traditional May Pole Dance
Performing in front of the Stover Barn
Many thanks to all who performed, volunteered and participated

In Honor of St. Tammany Day, we acknowledged the Lenape as the original caretakers of this land and honored the Lenape that still live in this region as well as those who were displaced to other locations across North America.

This presentation was created by Amy Hollander, Historic Properties Manager for Bucks County Department of Parks and Recreation
Created By
Amy Hollander
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