Gustoweh feather placement

Gustoweh feather placement is done according to each of the individual tribe to identify the particular   as demonstrated above.

Each male tribal member within the Confederacy is easy to spot by the way they have their gustoweh constructed. The gustoweh is formed with the wood frame and feathers, but each tribe has a different number of upright feathers.

The Mohawk will have three individual sockets, therefore, three distinct upright feathers. The Oneida’s gustoweh has three sockets, but two are for upright feathers, and the third at the back of the frame is laying down, so the large feather will be aimed at a downward slant, also called a side feather. The gustoweh of the Onondaga has two sockets, one is upright, the other is a side feather.

The Cayuga gustoweh has an angled socket, so the feather is not upright or laying down, but at a forty-five degree angle, off to the side. The Seneca gustoweh has one upright, and finally the Tuscarora has a smooth frame for just the wing and body feathers.

It doesn’t not have a socket for an upright feather.

The gustoweh is a fitted hat that men construct and wear. Since the Haudenosaunee are matrilineal, any Haudenosaunee man wishing to wear a gustoweh should wear one according to his mother’s tribe.