siOBX; - Smithsonian Institution
siOBX; - Smithsonian Institution siOBX; - Smithsonian Institution
190 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 103 The two iksa are represented in these headmen, one of them belonging to the Kashapa Ol^la, the other to the ()l
SWANTON] CHOCTAW SOCIAL AND CEREMONIAL. LIFE 191 repeat, the hoops were an ornament, that and nothing else. The statement in Colonel Claiborne's History, relative to this " spirit-ladder " business, must then be taken with many grains of salt; in fact, must not be taken at all. The Choctaws are certainly better judges of this matter than any white man can possibly be.*" In addition to this, as has already been stated, there was no special number of hoops. The " thirteen lunar months " symbolism, as men- tioned in Colonel Claiborne's book, is something that was unknown to the Choctaws, and had its origin only in the white man's imagination. A reference to another matter in this same connection. There never was any " dancing-the- spirit home " ceremonies, as likewise recorded on the same page of Colonel Claiborne's History. This is another specimen of the white man's fancy. Farther on in this paper will be given an account of the dances that are danced at the last cry. Returning from this digression, the cry at the pole pulling is merely the beginning of the many things that ai'e to be done before the final closing of the funeral ceremonies. The family and the near relatives now go into deep mourning, which the men manifest by letting the hair remain unshorn and the women by going barefoot, and neither sex wearing any kind of ornaments, such as plumes, silver bands, sashes, gorgets, beads, bracelets, finger rings, earrings in short, any ornament peculiar to either man or woman. Under all circum- stances the mourners preserve a grave and dignified demeanor. They converse in low tones, and the men nevea* even so far forget themselves as to shout at a dog. They indulge in no jests, laughter, revelry, or merrymaking of any kind. If approached and asked to participate in a dance, for instance, the invariable response is, " Hihla la hekeyu Tabishi sia hokat "— " I can not dance. I am a mourner." Twice a day—early in the moi-uing and late in the after- noon—they go to the grave, cover their heads, kneel down, and weep over it. If a friend comes to see them they even go oftener, the visitor accompanying them and doing his share of weeping. Etiquette also requires that the visitor himself must always approach the grave and weep a while over it before he enters the house. While the immediate family go, as it were, into conventional mourning by the observances mentioned above, as regards letting the hair grow, going barefoot, and wearing no ornaments, this matter is entirely optional to those of more distant relationship. A first cousin, for instance, can use his own pleasure whether or not, by following these observances, he shall be included in the mourning family. Meanwhile the two headmen confer with each other and appoint the most expert hunters out of the two iksa to go out into the woods, kill as many deer as they can, and barbecue their flesh for " the last cry," or, as it is called by the Choctaws, " yaiya chito "— " the big cry." After a while the mourning family appoint a day for " the little cry '— " yaiya iskitini "—which, of course, is held at the grave. Quite a company generally go to the little cry. The headmen are generally present. There are no ceremonies at the little cry. While there the family agree upon the time for the big cry. This is a kind of communal cry, in which the ciitire town or community participate. The time for the cry is determined by many circumstances, as the state of the weather, the labor of the crops, etc. Sometimes several months elapse between the death and the last cry. As soon as the time is settled upon, the two headmen, just as in the olden time, send around the small bundles of split cane to all the families, far and near, thereby notifying them of the appointed day. •"Yes, as to current beliefs, but it is quite possible for beliefs to change. And Indeed It Is more tban possible. It is common. There may or may not have been grounds for Claiborne's statement. Note that Cushman says the same thing (see p. 177).
- Page 161 and 162: SWANTON] CHOCTAW SOCIAL AND CEREMON
- Page 163 and 164: BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLET
- Page 165 and 166: SWANTON] CHOCTAW SOCIAL AND CEREMON
- Page 167 and 168: SWANTON] CHOCTAW SOCIAL, AND CEREMO
- Page 169 and 170: SWANTON] CHOCTAW SOCIAL AND CEREMON
- Page 171 and 172: SWANTON] CHOCTAW SOCIAL AKD CEREMON
- Page 173 and 174: SWANTON] CHOCTAW SOCIAL AND CEEEMON
- Page 175 and 176: SWANTON] CHOCTAW SOCIAL AND CEREMON
- Page 177 and 178: SWANTON] CHOCTAW SOCIAL AND CEREMON
- Page 179 and 180: SWANTON] CHOCTAW SOCIAL AND CEKEMON
- Page 181 and 182: SWANTON] CHOCTAW SOCIAL, AND CEREMO
- Page 183 and 184: SWANTON] CHOCTAW SOCIAL AND CEEEMON
- Page 185 and 186: SWANTON] CHOCTAW SOCIAL, AND CEREMO
- Page 187 and 188: SWANTON] CHOCTAW SOCIAL AND CEEEMON
- Page 189 and 190: SWANTON] CHOCTAW SOCIAL AND CEREMON
- Page 191 and 192: SWANTON] CHOCTAW SOCIAL AND CEREMON
- Page 193 and 194: SWANTON] CHOCTAW SOCIAL AND CEKEMON
- Page 195 and 196: SWANTON] CHOCTAW SOCIAL AND CEREMON
- Page 197 and 198: SWANTON] CHOCTAW SOCIAL AND CEREMON
- Page 199 and 200: SWANTON] CHOCTAW SOCIAL AND CEREMON
- Page 201 and 202: SWANTON] CHOCTAW SOCIAL AND CEREMON
- Page 203 and 204: SWANTON] CHOCTAW SOCIAL AND CEREMON
- Page 205 and 206: SWANTON] CHOCTAW SOCIAL AND CEKEMON
- Page 207 and 208: SWANTON] CHOCTAW SOCIAL AND CEREMON
- Page 209 and 210: SWAXTON] CHOCTAW SOCIAL AND CEREMON
- Page 211: SWANTON] CHOCTAW SOCIAL AND CEREMON
- Page 215 and 216: SWANTON] CHOCTAW SOCIAL AND CEREMON
- Page 217 and 218: SWANTON] CHOCTAW SOCIAL AND CEREMON
- Page 219 and 220: SWANTONj CHOCTAW SOCIAL AND CEREMON
- Page 221 and 222: SWANTON] CHOCTAW SOCIAL AND CEREMON
- Page 223 and 224: SWANToxJ CHOCTAW SOCIAL AND CEREMON
- Page 225 and 226: SWANTON] CHOCTAW SOCIAL AND CEREMON
- Page 227 and 228: SWANTON] CHOCTAW SOCIAL AND CEREMON
- Page 229 and 230: SWANTON] CHOCTAW SOCIAL AND CEREMON
- Page 231 and 232: SwANTON] CHOCTAW SOCIAL AND CEREMON
- Page 233 and 234: SwANTON] CHOCTAW SOCIAL AND CEKEMON
- Page 235 and 236: SWANTON] CHOCTAW SOCIAL AND CEREMON
- Page 237 and 238: SWANTON] CHOCTAW SOCIAL AND CEREMON
- Page 239 and 240: SWANTON] CHOCTAW SOCIAL AND CEEEMOI
- Page 241 and 242: SWANTON] CHOCTAW SOCIAL AND CEREMON
- Page 243 and 244: swanton] choctaw social and ceremon
- Page 247 and 248: SWANTON] CHOCTAW SOCIAL AND CEEEMON
- Page 249 and 250: SWANTONJ CHOCTAW SOCIAL AND CEREMON
- Page 251 and 252: SwANTON] CHOCTAW SOCIAL, AND CEEEMO
- Page 253 and 254: SwANTON] CHOCTAW SOCIAL, AND CEREMO
- Page 255 and 256: SWANTON] CHOCTAW SOCIAL AND CEREMON
- Page 257 and 258: SWANTox] CHOCTAW SOCIAL AND CEREMON
- Page 259 and 260: SWANTON] CHOCTAW SOCIAL AND CEREMON
- Page 261 and 262: SWANTON] CHOCTAW SOCIAL AND CEEEMON
190 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 103<br />
The two iksa are represented in these headmen, one of them belonging to the<br />
Kashapa Ol^la, the other to the ()l