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Wizard’s Council: On The Names of the Ilvermorny Houses

By W&W Staff

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Our Wizard’s Council convenes to consider the question of the hour: What do you think about the revealed names of the Ilvermorny houses?

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Welcome to the Wizard’s Council. Back in olden days, before the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy in 1692, the Wizarding world was governed by the Wizard’s Council. This was the longest serving ruling body over the Wizarding World in history, and though it was disbanded in 1707 with the founding of the Ministry of Magic, it was still considering one of the wisest and august bodies to ever rule the UK and Irish Wizarding Worlds. (Sadly, the same cannot be said for the Ministry, which seems to only be as good as it’s current Minister.) Here at Wizards and Whatnot, we come together once again as this august body to think deeply on the issues of our time.

Philosophical Question of the Hour: What do you think about the revealed names of the Ilvermorny houses? Which one do you think you might find yourself sorted into, based on your Hogwarts house?

KATIE: When this new info was dropped, my mind went in three different directions: curiosity, hesitancy, and disdain. Not necessarily in that order, but that’s the way in which I’ll break down the roller coaster of my thoughts.

  • From the little information we have thus far, I’m not sure how students are sorted based on the characteristics of each house. While boldness and a penchant for showboating may play a part in Gryffindors’ sorting such as my own, what makes a Wampus? While Ilvermorny should have its own practices and an overall different culture than Hogwarts, based on name alone, Horned Serpent and Thunderbird sound like the Ilvermorny equivalents of Slytherin and Ravenclaw, and the Wampus cat seems the most like Gryffindor’s lion, which would leave Pukwudgie to be likened to Hufflepuff (which, for some reason, seems fitting). I hope this is unintentional, or we’re looking at the makings of nothing more than a U.S.-based Hogwarts, which would quite frankly be boring in its repetitiveness. In the meantime, I’m most intrigued by the magical properties of the Horned Serpent—they’re the most detailed of the houses so far, and offer a little more to mull over.
  • I don’t know that it’s entirely appropriate for JKR to use elements of Native American folklore to name Ilvermorny’s houses. Perhaps it’s a sign of acknowledgment or respect, but her implementation of indigenous cultures certainly backfired (and rightfully so) when the North American wizarding history was released, and I don’t know if continuing in this vein is digging a deeper grave or not. The only people who could answer that are those who share the heritage.
  • Full disclosure, but regardless of houses, I don’t care for the idea of Ilvermorny so much. Cool name, but the concept doesn’t jive: American boarding schools aren’t common practice, and in fact an estimated fewer than 100,000 students across the country attend. While “magic” would certainly fall under the umbrella of liberal arts—a common theme for the boarding schools we do boast here—considering our cultural and educational practices, private day and charter schools would make far more sense. (Home-schooling magic is also a possibility, but poses a host of its own issues, one of which is how witches and wizards of No-Maj birth would be educated.)

Perhaps my tune will change when more substantial information about Ilvermorny is revealed, but buzzkill I may be, for now I’m torn. I’m sure the official house descriptions will be just as interesting as Hogwarts’ and just as fun as reading up on your zodiac sign, but my aforementioned disinclination is, for now, at the forefront of my mind.

DAN: The first thing that jumped out at me when I read these House descriptions was that Rowling seemed to be basing them off Native American mythology, and like Katie, I have some trepidation about that. I was a little uncomfortable reading about the Native American elements in Rowling’s invented history of magic in North America, and I was a little uncomfortable reading these. There’s something vaguely insensitive about it, although I imagine all of these details have been set in stone for a while–there’s likely no changing them now.

But still, it’s not like snakes and badgers and eagles are native the UK–why couldn’t Ilvermorny have had more generalized animal mascots? House Cow all the way.

And actually, Katie, before I read your entry, it hadn’t occurred to me that the idea of a magic boarding school doesn’t fit as well in the US as it does in the UK, but you’re right: there’s not as much of a tradition of that kind of thing over here. And with the knowledge that Ilvermorny (which is a great name) has four houses, it’s starting to look like Rowling is trying to reproduce Hogwarts across the pond, which seems like a missed opportunity.

So I guess what I mostly have to offer are complaints. I am helpful. Much will depend on execution, though.

As for the Houses themselves, I don’t feel like we have enough information to make intelligent judgments about what they’re like and what kinds of students they accept. Does the thunderbird’s propensity to create storms as it flies mean that students in House Thunderbird have forceful personalities? Maybe, but maybe not. I want to know more.

Also, I think the reason that Pukwudgie seems like a natural Hufflepuff analogue is because both words sound funny.

RYAN: Ever since Rowling revealed there was a wizard school in North America, I was overjoyed. I anticipated every shred of news about Ilvermorny, eager to find more about the school. The article I did for the possible Ilvermorny location, simply put my curiously into overdrive.

With the leak of the Ilvermorny House names and descriptions though, I’m sad to say, my curiosity has slightly died.

The thought of a North American wizarding school is still very intriguing to me, don’t get me wrong. Like Katie and Dan, I also LOVE the name Ilvermorny. It’s just, I find the Houses a bit lackluster. I know Rowling is trying to tie in Native American culture and creatures into the school, but it seems to fall short. Ilvermorny seems like a Native American version of our beloved Hogwarts. Something just doesn’t sit well with me about the House names. Maybe as we get more information about the school, my tune will change about the matter…

With that said, and the nitpicking over with, I’m still biting at the bit of a Ilvermorny location, how it runs, and like Katie said, how wizards and witches of No-Maj parents are taught magic. I’m really hoping for the school to be tucked behind Niagara Falls, I really am. And if so, how do they get there? One minute there’s a bunch of kids on a ferry, the next a empty ferry comes out of from under the falls? This is just one my MANY questions about the school and the North American wizarding community itself.

I will be patiently waiting for more information about Ilvermorny and if there are other methods of magical education in North America. I just hope Rowling doesn’t keep us waiting too long.

KELLY: I understand why my fellow wizards are a bit disappointed and “meh” about the house names and new Ilvermorny info. I wouldn’t say I’m disappointed, but rather underwhelmed, but only because I have been trying to reign in my excitement until the movie comes out. I mean could you imagine hearing the names of Hogwarts houses without having the story of Harry potter woven into it? It would seem meaningless as well. The reason the Hogwarts Houses have so much hype, is because of the detail and history surrounding them. We know none of this about Ilvermorny. We don’t even know a famous graduate or current student.

Also, I get people are concerned about JK Rowling basing Ilvermorny on Native American culture, especially after the negativity surrounding the history of American magic, but I just think she did it because it made sense. I think people would have been offended if she completely ignored Native American culture. It’s the same basis she used for the Potterverse, mixing together different elements of mythology to create her own fantasy world – and it’s just that – a fantasy world. She has every right to use it as inspiration and I’m glad she did because it is fascinating and interesting. Of course, I hope she did her research and had help from an expert, but I digress…

Back to the Ilvermorny houses, I’m quite excited to find out more and would be perfectly happy if it was very similar to Hogwarts. However, I do hope the houses aren’t direct equivalents and hope it’s “Americanized” somehow and there is a different sorting system (mostly because I want to take a fun, new sorting house quiz).

Although I’m sorted as a Ravenclaw at Hogwarts, I have no idea which Ilvermorny House I would be in, perhaps Thunderbird based on Katie’s reasoning. If I had to choose one based solely on the names and the meaning of each, I think I would like to call myself a member of HORNED SERPENT. Shape-shifting, invisibility, and hypnotic powers are all high on my list of magical abilities I would love to have. Controlling the weather would also be very handy and fun as well. So, Horned Serpent House all the way… until we find more information about the other houses…

MARNIFER: I think Rowling deserves the benefit of the doubt for now — this information is clearly a starting structure and not the final product, which we have no idea when she was actually planning to release publicly. Having an unfinished product out there to be poked at is never fun.

The potential trampling of indigenous cultures’ myths aside, Ilvermorny’s house creatures are quite similar to the Hogwarts mascots. I am also hoping this isn’t just an American recasting of the British model. Personally, I like the four creatures we’ve been given here. There was already a passing mention of the Wampus cat in “History of Magic in North America” — their hair is used for wand cores. I find it interesting that with the exception of the Wampus, the other creatures can all control weather or earth elements. And in extended folklore the Wampus is associated with shapeshifting, a trait shared by the Horned Serpent and the Pukwudgie. I’m not sure what these connections mean, I’m just noticing them.

Based solely on the attributes mentioned, I would want to be in Horned Serpent House. Cool storm powers, plus invisibility, hypnosis…that’s a pretty wicked combo. I’m really looking forward to a new sorting ceremony test!

AYESHA: I want to reserve judgment about the Ilvermorny house names until we hear the official release. However, I have concerns about her use of indigenous culture in her construction of magic in the US. I understand that it’s important to acknowledge the influence of indigenous peoples in North America, but it’s important to remember that Native Americans have had their history being rewritten by Europeans for centuries. The reality of colonization isn’t something in the long-distant past, it’s something that still causes a lot of marginalization for them today.

Looking at the composition of the houses themselves, it really does seem to be an echo of the UK model. A snake, a big cat, a bird, and seemingly more benign animal. The only amendments seem to be incorporating the elements and giving “Pukwudgie” (the clear Hufflepuff equivalent) a little more bite than the reputation of its counterpart. It’s particularly of note that Pukwudgie is tied to what seems to be the Gryffindor equivalent, Wampus, with the element of shapeshifting into a cougar.

I’m not actually opposed to the idea of an American model which draws from the structure of Britain because historically, that tends to be the case for any place which has a settlement. My biggest concern is having a Native American model which draws from Britain, because rewriting the relationship between Europeans and indigenous peoples to paint colonizers as a source of “inspiration” for the colonized is at best inaccurate, and at worst, harmful.

Setting all those concerns aside, I have to assume I’d be in Wampus, since it feels the most like Gryffindor. Daring, nerve and chivalry all the way.

Next: A Rundown of Everything We Know About Ilvermorny So Far

Our Wizard’s Council meets every other week, unless there is an emergency session. Check out our other entries here.

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