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Lake Ronkonkoma, NY, Indian Princess Scary Urban Legends, Myths and Curse in Sayville History

Lady of the Lake Ronkonkoma, New York & Sayville

Lady of the  Lake Folklore - She was from Sayville


 There is a lake called Lake Ronkonkoma that is very deep. It is believed by Kids in Sayville that it is bottomless. Before the white man civilized the area, there was a tribe of Secatogue Indians living in what is now Sayville. In this tribe there was a princess. She was in love with an Indian prince from what is now Bayport who were Poospatuck, on the other side of Brown's River where she was forbidden to go. One day they snuck off together to Lake Ronkonkoma and took their canoe to a romantic spot after dark to make love. The spirits did not approve of this, as people on opposite sides of the river should not mix. So the boat sunk, and their bodies fell forever and ever down into the bottomless lake.

So every year the angry Indian princess kills two lovers and pulls their souls to the bottom of the lake. And every year at least one young couple dies.
 
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Why according to the legend the princess came from SAYVILLE, and not what is now the village of Lake Ronkonkoma:

1. The stories say they ran off together. From where? That means they came from outside the lake area.

2. The indians lived almost entirely along the south shore on the bay because that was where the food source was, and their major source of income: quahog (Clams) to make wampum.

3. Lake Ronkonkoma was shared by 4 tribes - the south of it was controlled by the Secatogue that lived in Sayville. There were no major Indian villages near Lake Ronkonkoma , only to visit.

4. The inland of Long Island was empty of people. That is one of the reasons why it was considered a sacred place. The lake was used as a far off place to go off to for ceremonies. It was one of the most remote areas from the populated areas. That is why it was the main place of spirits on Long Island.

5. Straight south from the lake down Lakeland Ave.. is Sayville. Where the Secatogue lived was the closest major population center to the lake. Like I said, almost all the Indians lived on the bay. That is why the Indian word for Long Island was the word from clam.

6. "Ronkonkoma / Raconkamuck,'' means "`the boundary'' Algonquian. It was a no man's land where the four tribes boundaries met. That is why it was the meeting place of the Sachems.

7. The ENTIRE LAKE  is part of the Town of Islip, though much of the shore is not. Sayville is in Islip.

8. This story has been floating around in Sayville for years. Of course the story is not true, that is why it is called a legend, although this legend has some basis in fact.



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Notes:

quahog
Secatogue means "black meadow lands".

http://lakeronkonkoma.greatnow.com/indians/indians.htm.
Four of the thirteen tribes on Long Island shared its shoreline as a common fishing station and meeting place for sachems. These tribes were the Setaukets, the Nissequogues, the Secatogs and the Unkechaugs.
Islip, Smithtown and Brookhaven formed separate townships with the right to purchase land beginning at the shoreline of Lake Ronkonkoma. This precluded the possibility of ever having a single community with the lake as its natural center.
Lake Ronkonkoma in the Brookhaven section originally belonged to the Setauket and Unkechaug Tribes, in Smithtown, the Nissequoges, and in Islip, the Setalcotts.    [Secatogue]

lakeronkonkoma.greatnow.com/legends/legends.html
Lake Ronkonkoma has been called a place of haunting mystery



http://www.longislandgenealogy.com/reflections.html
Indeed, several historians believe that a careful interpretation of old Norse sagas has produced evidence that Karsefni, Leif Erickson's son-in-law may have landed at Belle Terre near Port Jefferson. It is claimed that Karsefni released two Irish slaves directing them to explore the
land to the South. If these men did explore in 1010 AD as claimed, they were among the first Europeans to see this area.


Sayville.com/history
Secatogue means "black meadow lands". The Secatogue Indians were mostly peaceful and friendly, and showed the first settlers how to plant potatoes, sweet corn, squash, and other native American crops.
In the Great South Bay is the hard clam, called by the Indians "quahaug." The dark purple spot on the clam shell was carved into cylindrical beads and strung on sinews, called "wampum".


http://www.newsday.com/extras/lihistory/spectown/hist004i.htm
Raconkamuck,'' which translates as ``the boundary fishing place'' in the Algonquian language. What is now known as Lake Ronkonkoma served as a boundary between lands occupied by four Indian communities: Nissequogues, Setaukets, Secatogues and Unkechaugs.













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