Choctaw mythology

The Choctaw tell the following creation story of their coming to this land, and how Nanih Waiya Mound, built of earthwork by ancestors, came to be.

Two brothers, Chata and Chicksah After travelling for a mind-bogglingly long time, they finally came to a place where the pole stood upright.

In this place, they laid to rest the bones of their ancestors, which they had carried in buffalo sacks from the original land in the west.

Alfred Wright wrote that the Great Spirit was referred to as Nanapesa, Ishtahullo-chito, or Nanishta-hullo-chito, Hushtahli, and Uba Pi̱ke or Aba.

The terms lshtahullo or nanishtahullo are applied to any person or object thought to possess some occult or superior power – such as a witch.

Anthropologists theorize that the Mississippian ancestors of the Choctaw placed the sun at the center of their cosmological system.

If the day of a conference were cloudy or rainy, Choctaws delayed the meeting, usually on the pretext that they needed more time to discuss particulars, until the sun returned.

The sun as a symbol of great power and reverence is a major component of southeastern Indian cultures.

The Choctaw venerated Sinti lapitta, a horned serpent that visited unusually wise young men.

Some of the history writings refer to Kashehotapalo, a combination of man and deer who delighted in frightening hunters.

If the Choctaw angered Kashehotapalo, he would race ahead of them and warn the enemy or animals being hunted.

Hoklonote was a bad spirit who could assume any shape it desired; it was believed to read people's thoughts.

[3] If individuals allowed evil thoughts or depression to enter their minds, Impa Shilup would creep inside them and eat their souls.

Hashok Okwa Hui'ga (Grass Water Drop) was believed to have a connection to what is termed will-o-the-wisp.

The shilombish was supposed to remain upon the earth, and wander restlessly about its former home, often moaning, to frighten its surviving friends.

It was also supposed to assume the form of a fox, or owl; and by barking like the one, and screeching like the other at night, cause great consternation, for the cry was considered ominous of bad things.

Although it does not harm man, it takes delight in their fright as it yells a sound that resembles a woman's scream.

If opa (a common owl) perched in a barn or on trees near the house and hooted, its call was a foreboding of death among the near relatives of the residents.

If he landed on a tree in a family's yard early in the morning, some "hasty" news would come before noon.

For example, in Choctaw history, solar eclipses were attributed to black squirrels, and maize was a gift from the birds.

Despite his size, her mate, Melatha, was extremely fast and left a trail of sparks as he streaked across the sky.

It decided to rid itself of its poison and called the chiefs of the snakes, bees, and wasps because they had all been trampled on and accidentally killed by the men.

The chiefs of these small creatures came to an agreement to take and share the vine's poison among themselves as a warning and deterrent against being trampled.

The next to take the poison were the wasps, who said they would buzz in the ear of man as a warning before they attacked to protect their nests.

As the men emerged from the hill and spread throughout the lands, they would trample on many other grasshoppers, killing and harming the orphaned children.

Fearing that they would all be killed as the men multiplied while continuing to emerge from Nanih Waiya, the grasshoppers pleaded to Aba, the great spirit, for aid.

In an act of mercy, Aba transformed these men into ants, allowing them to rule the caverns in the ground for the rest of history.

When the Choctaw people emerged at the top of the hill from the passageway called the Nane Chaha, they experienced the light of the Sun.

Storytelling is important to the Choctaw Nation and many other Indigenous groups because the person sharing the story helps the younger generation understand their history and people.

For example, before the creation of a written language, history was established by sacred myths, legend, and personal reminiscences.