The Huron: Farmers of the North

The ideal Huron man was a brave warrior who was self-reliant, intolerant of restraint, and indifferent to the pain that others might try to inflict on him (98). Women and children received equal concern from the Huron society. Women expressed their opinions and did as they wished, even without heir husbands' wishes. If the women wanted a divorce, it was just as easy for them as it was for men. It was easy for the women to defend their collective rights. The Huron also refused to use corporal punishment to train children and this was because they believed that the child had rights and needs and did not need formation. .
             The high rate of sensitivity in the Huron society reflected in a high suicide rate. People would take their own lives because of excessive grief over the death of relatives or because of the humiliation that others had caused them. Some men have taken their lives because of gambling problems or even because of a divorce. The Huron society would indulge children to avoid suicide.
             There are numerous aspects of informal and institutionalized inequality in the Huron society. The most important political offices were hereditary within particular lineages and chiefs had close relatives as their deputies and counselors. The chiefs and their families were politically and economically privileged groups. They lived in larger houses, controlled particular trade centers, and took better gifts at rituals. Witchcraft and sorcery were seen as social control mechanisms. The Huron feared becoming the victims of witchcraft practiced either consciously or unconsciously by men and women who envied or hated them. The Huron feared individuals who were thought to be skilled in the use of magical spells. According to the text, with the aid of spirits, men and women could inflict injuries or even kill their targets. It was agreed that witches, or oki ontatechinte (those who kill by spells) caused misfortune.