Tomocomo
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Uttamatomakkin (known as Tomocomo for short) was a
Powhatan Powhatan people () are Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands who belong to member tribes of the Powhatan Confederacy, or Tsenacommacah. They are Algonquian peoples whose historic territories were in eastern Virginia. Their Powh ...
holy man ''Holy Man'' is a 1998 American satirical comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Herek, written by Tom Schulman, and starring Eddie Murphy, Jeff Goldblum, Kelly Preston, Robert Loggia and Jon Cryer. The film was a commercial failure and re ...
who accompanied
Pocahontas Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, also known as Matoaka and Rebecca Rolfe; 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. S ...
when she was taken to
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
in 1616.Dale, Thomas. Letter to Sir Ralph Winwood. 3 June 1616. Repr. in Jamestown Narratives, ed. Edward Wright Haile. Champlain, VA: Roundhouse, 1998. p. 878. Little is known about Tomocomo's life before his visit to London. He appears to have met
Captain John Smith John Smith ( – 21 June 1631) was an English soldier, explorer, colonial governor, admiral of New England, and author. He was knighted for his services to Sigismund Báthory, Prince of Transylvania, and his friend Mózes Székely. Followin ...
during Smith's time in
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
, since Smith says that in London they "renewed their acquaintance". His wife, Matachanna, was Pocahontas's half-sister. Tomocomo must have been trusted by
Chief Powhatan Powhatan (), whose proper name was Wahunsenacawh (alternately spelled Wahunsenacah, Wahunsunacock, or Wahunsonacock), was the leader of the Powhatan, an alliance of Algonquian-speaking Native Americans living in Tsenacommacah, in the Tidewat ...
, as Powhatan requested him to accompany her in order to count the number of people in England. Arriving at
Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...
, Tomocomo picked up a stick on which to mark notches to keep a tally, but soon grew "weary of that task".Smith, ''General History''. p. 261. Powhatan also asked him to discover whether Smith was still alive. This was because they were told he was dead, but Pocahontas had told Smith that "your countrymen lie too much."
Samuel Purchas Samuel Purchas ( – 1626) was an England, English Anglican cleric who published several volumes of reports by travellers to foreign countries. Career Purchas was born at Thaxted, Essex, England, Essex, son of a yeoman. He graduated from St J ...
, a compiler of travel narratives, met Tomocomo at the home of "my good friend Doctor Goldstone, where he was a frequent guest, and where I have both seen him sing and dance his diabolical measures, and heard him discourse of his country and religion." Purchas believed that the Powhatan people were devil-worshippers and tried to persuade Tomocomo to take up Christianity, but Tomocomo said he was too old to learn new ways. Pocahontas and Tomocomo were never given a formal audience before King James. However, on January 5, 1617 they were brought before the King at the
Banqueting House The Banqueting House, on Whitehall in the City of Westminster, central London, is the grandest and best-known survivor of the architectural genre of banqueting houses, constructed for elaborate entertaining. It is the only large surviving comp ...
in
Whitehall Palace The Palace of Whitehall – also spelled White Hall – at Westminster was the main residence of the English monarchs from 1530 until 1698, when most of its structures, with the notable exception of Inigo Jones's Banqueting House of 1622, ...
, at a performance of
Ben Jonson Benjamin Jonson ( 11 June 1572 – ) was an English playwright, poet and actor. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence on English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for the satire, satirical ...
's
masque The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment that flourished in 16th- and early 17th-century Europe, though it was developed earlier in Italy, in forms including the intermedio (a public version of the masque was the pageant). A mas ...
'' The Vision of Delight''. According to Smith, both Pocahontas and Tomocomo did not realize whom they had met until it was explained to them afterward. Tomocomo was disappointed that the King did not offer a present, saying to Smith "You gave Powhatan a white dog, which Powhatan fed as himself, but your King gave me nothing, and I am better than your white dog." When Tomocomo returned to Virginia with Samuel Argall and Rolfe in March 1617, he reportedly uttered diatribes "against England, English people" and against Thomas Dale, governor of Jamestown. The colonists rebutted his claims in front of the Powhatan leaders, and Tomocomo apparently was disgraced.David Price, ''Love and Hate in Jamestown'' (New York: Vintage, 2003), p. 184. However, Chief Powhatan died the next year, and his successor, Opechancanough, began planning a massive attack on the settlers. Nothing more is known of Tomocomo's life.


Media

Paul O'Connor voiced him in the
Animated Hero Classics Nest Family Entertainment is an American family entertainment company based in Coppell, Texas. It was formed on July 1, 1988 as Family Entertainment Network by Jared F. Brown, Stephen W. Griffin, and Seldon O. Young. The company has produced seve ...
1994 episode ''Pocahontas''. O'Connor also voiced Japazaws who lured the princess with a copper kettle to her abduction by Argall. He was voiced by
Brad Garrett Brad H. Gerstenfeld (born April 14, 1960), known professionally as Brad Garrett, is an American actor and stand-up comedian. Garrett was initially successful as a stand-up comedian in the early 1980s. Taking advantage of that success in the la ...
in Disney's 1998 direct-to-video film '' Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World''. At the end, he remained in London with John Rolfe's maid, Mrs. Jenkins. In New Line Cinema's 2005 film '' The New World'', Tomocomo is played by Raoul Trujillo. However, in the film's depiction of Pocahontas sailing on her trip to England, she is accompanied by her uncle Opechancanough rather than Tomocomo.


Notes


External links

* {{Jamestown Colony Religious figures of the indigenous peoples of North America People of the Powhatan Confederacy 17th-century Native American people