St. Tammany Parish LA

Choctaw Divisions of the Year

It is asserted by the women at Bayou Lacomb that the Choctaw year was divided into twelve moons; but it is highly probable that thirteen not twelve is correct. The native method of reckoning the divisions of the year is no longer practiced, or do the present Choc­taw remember the names of all the moons; they assert, however, that the year begins in December instead of the first of January. The only names they can recall are English Month Choctaw Month English Translation April Tans hashe Corn [planting] moon December Una’fa hashe Cold moon February Hashe kapo’sha Moon of snow … Read more

Skate’ne

Late one afternoon several children were playing near their house when suddenly they saw a woman approaching. She was very old and stooping, and her hair was white. The children were greatly frightened and ran into the house, but soon returned to the old woman, who said to them: “Children, do not be afraid of me, for nothing will harm you. I am your great-great-great-grandmother, and neither you nor your mother has ever seen me. Now, go to the house and tell her that I have come.” The children did so. Then they took a deer skin and spread it … Read more

Place Names In St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana

As before shown, certain names still in use were known and applied to the streams at the time of the earliest French exploration of the region. Therefore it is not unreasonable to suppose that many, if not all, of the names now employed by the Choctaw to designate the rivers and bayous were used in precolonial days. The names are given here as they appear on the maps of the United States General Laud Office, together with the English trans­lations. Abita The name of a spring, and also of a river which is one of the principal tributaries of the … Read more

Kwanoka’Sha

Kwanoka’sha is the name of a little spirit—a man, but no larger than a child two or three years of age. His home is in a cave under large rocks, in a rough, broken part of the country. Now, when a child is two or three or even four years old, it is often sick, and then runs away from its home and goes among the trees. When the little one is well out of sight of home Kwanoka’sha, who is on the watch, seizes it and leads it away to his dwelling place. In many instances they have to … Read more

Transportation of the Louisiana Choctaw

Dugouts were employed on the creeks and bayous, but evidently only to a small extent. The Creoles make dugouts at the present time which they use on the streams of St. Tammany parish. These are hollowed from single pieces of black gum; most of them measure from 8 to 12 feet in length. Many of the roads now used probably follow the courses of Indian trails. A road leading from just west of Chinchuba to Lake Pont­chartrain is known as the “Indian road;” this passes within a few feet of the Chinchuba Creek mound, and evidently follows the trail that … Read more

Kashehotapalo

Kashehotapalo is neither man nor beast. His head is small and his face shriveled and evil to look upon; his body is that of a man. His legs and feet are those of a deer, the former being covered with hair and the latter having cloven hoofs. He lives in low, swampy places, away from the habitations of men. When hunters go near his abiding place, he quietly slips up behind them and calls loudly, then turns and runs swiftly away. He never attempts to harm the hunters, but delights in frightening them. The sound uttered by Kashehotapalo resembles the … Read more

Bayou Lacomb Choctaw Creation Myth

Creation Myth . Many generations ago Aba, the good spirit above, created many men, all Choctaw, who spoke the language of the Choctaw, and understood one another. These came from the bosom of the earth, being formed of yellow clay, and no men had ever lived before them. One day all came together and, looking upward, wondered what the clouds and the blue expanse above might be. They continued to wonder and talk among themselves and at last determined to endeavor to reach the sky. So they brought many rocks and began building a mound that was to have touched … Read more

Choctaw Medicine

The Choctaw treat boils and ulcers with applications of salve made of pine pitch mixed with grease or tallow. This salve is applied also to wounds caused by splinters and thorns. Severe or deep cuts are filled with sugar and bandaged tightly. Various remedies are employed for snake bites: Smoke from strong tobacco is blown into the wound. The bitten limb is inserted into a hole in the ground dug for the purpose, which is then filled with earth and water. The limb is allowed to remain thus, in thoroughly saturated earth, for several hours. A quantity of the leaves … Read more

Louisiana Cemetery Records St. James to St. Tammany Parish

Louisiana Cemetery records are listed by parish then name of cemetery within the Louisiana parish. Most of these are complete indices at the time of transcription, however, in some cases we list the listing when it is only a partial listing. St. James Parish Oak Alley Plantation Cemetery (hosted at Interment) St. John Parish St. John Memorial Gardens (hosted At St. John Parish, Louisiana Tombstone Transcription Project) St. Landry Parish Following Cemeteries (hosted At St. Landry Parish, Louisiana Tombstone Transcription Project) Bellevue Cemetery Cason Cemetery Guillory Cemetery Guillory Cemetery Odom Cemetery St. Louis Cemetery St. Louis Cemetery St. Thomas Cemetery … Read more

Hunting and Fishing Among the Bayou Lacomb Choctaws

The primitive blowgun was used until recently in hunting squirrels, rabbits, and various birds. Only one specimen was found at Bayou Lacomb; this was said to have been made some ten years ago. The man Toshkachîto (Joe Silestine) is shown holding the blowgun in position for shooting in the image below. The blowgun (kaklu’mpa) is about 7 feet in length; it is made of a single piece of cane (Arundinaria macrosperma; Choctaw, uske),formed into a tube by perforation of the joints, which was given a smooth bore of uniform diameter through­out. The darts (shurma’nte) are made of either small, slender … Read more

Slave Narrative of Charlie Moses

Interviewer: Esther de Sola Person Interviewed: Charlie Moses Location: Brookhaven, Mississippi Age: 84 Charlie Moses, 84 year old ex-slave, lives at Brookhaven. He possesses the eloquence and the abundant vocabulary of all Negro preachers. He is now confined to his bed because of the many ailments of old age. His weight appears to be about 140 pounds, height 6 feet 1 inch high. “When I gits to thinkin’ back on them slavery days I feels like risin’ out o’ this here bed an’ tellin’ ever’body ’bout the harsh treatment us colored folks was given when we was owned by poor … Read more

Choctaw Baskets

The Choctaw are excellent basket makers, although their work at the present time is greatly inferior to that of a generation ago. The best baskets are made of narrow strips of cane, Arundinaria macro­sperma (Choctaw, uske), though now, at Bayou Lacomb, they are using the stems of palmetto, Serrenoa serrulata (Choctaw, tala), as cane is no longer found nearby, and to obtain it a journey has to be made to Pearl river, some fifteen or twenty miles away. The baskets now made, with few exceptions, are very crude and rather poorly formed. Brilliant aniline dyes are used in the place … Read more

Choctaw Artifacts

Comparatively few articles are now made by the Choctaw, much of their ancient art having been forgotten. At the present time they purchase the necessary tools and implements at the stores, and other objects are no longer used. The list which follows is believed to include all things of native origin now made by the Choctaw at Bayou Lacomb (1900): Wood Artifacts Mortars and pestles Scrapers, two forms of, used in preparing skins Drum Ball club Blowgun and darts Canoes Leather Artifacts Straps for carrying baskets. Narrow strips used on the ball clubs. Untanned skins used for the heads of … Read more

Okwa Naholo

The Okwa naholo (“White People of the Water”) dwell in deep pools in rivers and bayous. There is said to be such a place in the Abita River; the pool is clear and cold and it is easy to see far down into the depths, but the surrounding water of the river is dark and muddy. Many of the Okwa naholo live in this pool, which is known to all the Choctaw. As their name signifies, the Okwa naholo resemble white people more than they do Choctaw; their skin is rather light in color, resembling the skin of a trout. … Read more

North America Indian Names of Places in Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and Louisiana

The Indians all over this continent had names, traditions, religions, ceremonies, feasts, prayers, songs, dances all, more or less, with symbolism and allegory, adapted to circumstances, just as all other races of mankind. But the world has become so familiar with the continued and ridiculous publications in regard to everything touching upon that race of people that a universal doubt has long since been created and established as to the possibility of refinement of thought and nobleness of action ever having existed among the North American Indian race, ancient or modern; and so little of truth has also been learned … Read more

History of the Bayou Lacomb Choctaws

Unfortunately very little is known of the history of the people of whom this paper treats. The earliest writers, as well as the oldest maps of the region, designate the Ncolapissa as the tribe occupying the region now included within the limits of St. Tammany parish, at the time of the discovery and settlement of lower Louisiana by the French. The Acolapissa were so closely connected with the Choctaw proper that it is not possible now to distinguish between them. They spoke the same language, probably with only slight local variations. Their manners and customs, in all probability, were similar … Read more

Crimes and Punishment Among the Choctaw

Until a very few years ago no Choctaw could be brought legally before a court in Louisiana to answer for any crime, even murder, provided such crime was perpetrated against another member of the tribe. Murder was the one great crime recognized by the Choctaw, and the life of the murderer was invariably claimed by the friends or rela­tives of the victim. It is Said that murderers seldom attempted to escape, holding it a duty to their families to receive the punishment of death. To attempt to escape was regarded as a cowardly act, which reflected on every member of … Read more

Choctaw Tanning Method

two tanning processes

The hair having been removed, the skin is placed in a mortar, or in a hole cut a log (see image below) which serves the purpose. Eggs and cornmeal mixed with a little water are then poured over the skin, which is thoroughly beaten with a long wooden pestle. The skin is then taken from the mortar and wrung rather dry; a number of small holes are cut around the edge and through these cords are passed, which serve to hold the skin stretched between two upright posts, as shown in plate 12, a. While in this position it is … Read more

The Choctaw of Bayou Lacomb

Tosh­kachîto Demonstrating Usage of a Blowgun

This collection depicts the specific culture and history of the Choctaw tribe residing within Bayou Lacomb, Louisiana. Included are the geography, history, society, language, ethnology, and myths, legends and religion of the Choctaws who resided within the area of Bayou Lacomb. By the people of the tribe, or, more correctly, that portion of the tribe now under consideration, they themselves are called the Chata’ogla or the Chata’ people or family. According to them, the first word can not be translated as it is merely a proper name.