The Lenape lived in settled villages but did not stay in one place for the whole of their lives.  Every ten or twelve years they had to move their entire village to a new site because they had used up many of the natural resources of their area.  During the year, small groups might re-locate to temporary camps farther removed from the main village.  Here they would stay for an indefinite time until they procured the desired materials or foods.  

The Lenape dressed for snow and icy winds or for sticky heat, depending on the season.  For men, light clothes would be a breechclout and leggings tied to a belt, and for women, a short, wrap-around skirt.  Clothing worn next to the body was usually made of deerskin or beaver skin.  In colder weather people added a hide shirt, fur robes, and perhaps mittens and fur caps.  Everyone wore soft-soled deerskin moccasins.

They kept themselves clean and were accustomed to a daily swim or used a sweat lodge or steam bath. The women wore their hair long and when working around fires, kept it in a braid or bun in the back of their head.  For decoration, they might wrap their hair with a snakeskin or give their hair a gloss by applying bear grease. 

Young men often would cut their hair or pull it out by the roots so that only a small round spot on the crest of the head would remain.  Although Lenape men did have sparse facial hair, most got rid of it by plucking it out.  Men typically wore a hairpiece called a “roach,” made out of porcupine hairs and dyed deer hair.  They might also wear feathers in their hair, but usually only about two – never the big war bonnets worn by the Plains tribes.

The women used a type of red paint made from the bloodroot plant mixed with bear grease to put a round dot on each cheek, on their ears, and where they parted their hair.  Men often painted their face, chest and shoulders.  

The Three Sisters

Drying and Storing
Plant foods were also stored away for the wintertime.  Ears of corn were tied in bundles and hung from the ceilings of the houses to dry.  Corn kernels and beans were removed and stored in skin or woven bags.  Pumpkins and squash were cut into rings, put on a stick, and hung up to dry in the sun. Meat and fish could also be sun-dried or sometimes were placed over a smoldering fire to slowly smoke dry.  As long as these foods were kept dry, they would not spoil.  When a Lenape woman wanted to use dried food, she cooked it in water.  The water made the dried food swell up and became soft enough to eat.  

Some Lenape women dug deep, wide holes or storage pits into the earth.  Dried meat, dried fish, nuts and other dried edibles were placed in these storage pits.  These subterranean storage areas were lined with mats or grasses to keep food free of dirt and keep out mice and other vermin.  Stored foods enabled the Lenape to survive the cold winter.

The Indians of Lenapehoking used different kinds of transport according to the season and the area in which they lived.  Often they simply went on foot, making their own trail or following animal tracks or a dry streambed.  Both men and women often carried heavy loads.  They would rest the bundle on their back and support some of its weight with a strap called a tumpline.  This was attached at each end to the bundle and passed in a loop around the wearer’s forehead.  

In summer, when streams and lakes were not frozen, it was sometimes easier to travel by water than by land.  The Lenape used dugout canoes for this purpose.  The canoes were made from a hollowed-out tree, which could carry several people.

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The Lenape also admired strength and liked to compete with one another in contests or games.  Young men wrestled or tried to see who could throw a large stone the greatest distance.  To be able to run fast was an important skill and so races were often held.  Boys tried their skill with the bow and arrow, or with a pole that had to be thrown through a rolling hoop.  The “cup and pin” game, made from deer toe bones and a stick, was a favorite pastime, and gambling appears to have been very popular.  For this, pieces of bone or wild plum pits were painted on one side and then thrown into the air from a wooden bowl.  Points were scored depending on how many of each color came up.  In the moccasin game, one person would take four moccasins and hide something under one of them; the other players would have to guess where it was.  

Both males and females enjoyed team games.  Lacrosse, a very popular sport among neighboring Indian tribes, may or may not have been played by the Lenape.  A kind of football called Pahsaheman may also have been played.  In this game, the ball was made of deerskin stuffed with hair and both men and women engaged, though the rules were different for each sex.  Men could catch the ball but could not carry it or throw it; they had to kick it.  Moreover, the men were prohibited from tackling or grabbing the women.  Women, however, could catch the ball, run with it, pass it, or kick it, and they could tackle the men, sometimes tearing off their shirts.

Music
Musical instruments consisted of simple hide-and-water drums, 
bird bone whistles or possibly wooden flutes, and rattles made of turtle shell, bark, and gourds. Dancing accompanied by music and singing was a favorite pastime.   Early writers noted that “the women, who always follow the men, dancing in a circle, act with decency and becoming modest … (but) the men shout and leap and stomp with such violence that the ground trembles under their feet” (Zeisberger 1910:118).  

Storytelling
Stories were often fun to listen to and in winter people told stories to pass the time.  But stories also served a serious purpose.  Stories explained beliefs about creation, past events and social values and were an important part of a child’s upbringing.  Children looked forward to long winter evenings by the fire, listening to the tales told by the Elders.  Children were expected to be good listeners and have good memories.

Click Here for a Lenape Story