Habitations of Darkness 1: Spiritual Mysteries in Colonial America | Native v. Puritan Perspectives

This episode covers the religious history of New England, beginning with the first migrations of the Clovis people, to the journey of the pilgrims  to Massachusetts and through the early colonial period, leading up to the beginning of King Philip’s War. 

We explore the spiritual philosophies of both the Puritans as well as Native American Algonquin tribes of the region, comparing and contrasting them as it relates to their attitudes toward nature and what constitutes sacred space. The American wilderness was a complex symbol that embodied many different ideals for its inhabitants, filled with spirits which were in constant communication through the medium of signs and omens. We hear from a variety of historical sources documenting Wampanoag traditions and their devotion to a mysterious dark god called Hobbamock that haunted the local swamps and forests, which the colonists believed to be the devil himself. Indeed, they believed that America was the kingdom of Satan, and that their destiny was to build a bulwark against him. 

In the discussion of sacred sites, we place a particular emphasis on the swamp, as the source of native shamanic power and the colonists’ existential dread. 

This the first part of a series which will eventually lead us into the Bridgewater Triangle and its heart, the Hockomock Swamp. By doing this, I hope to not only shed light on the energies which may linger on in this paranormal hotspot, but also put its story into a broader context of humanity’s changing relationship with nature and definition of the sacred.