Mythologies of the Chitimacha Tribe

The Chitimacha Tribe’s language is unique and is an isolate, unrelated to any other language. Our language has been highly documented by many ethnographers dating back to the late 1800s. The majority of the work on our language comes from two Tribal members as sources, Chief Benjamin Paul and Mrs. Delphine Decloux Stouff, the last two fluent speakers of our language. Chief Paul died in 1932 and Mrs. Stouff in 1940. Morris Swadesh recorded over 200 hours of conversations with these two tribal members who were dedicated to preserving our language. Without the work of these individuals, the memories of current tribal elders, dedicated tribal member employees and the linguists the Tribe has worked with, we would not have been able to revive our sleeping language, which is now being taught at our tribal school, early learning center and through a grant from the RosettaStone company, to all interested tribal members around the globe who have requested the software.

The Chitimacha (/ˈtʃɪtɪməʃɑː/ CHIT-i-mə-shah; or /tʃɪtɪˈmɑːʃə/ chit-i-MAH-shə) are a federally recognized tribe of Native Americans who live in the U.S. state of Louisiana, mainly on their reservation in St. Mary Parish near Charenton on Bayou Teche. They are the only Indigenous people in the state who still control some of their original land, where they have long occupied areas of the Atchafalaya Basin, “one of the richest inland estuaries on the continent.” In 2011 they numbered about 1100 people. The people historically spoke the Chitimacha language, a language isolate. The last two native speakers died in the 1930s, but the tribe has been working to revitalize the language since the 1990s. They are using notes and recordings made by linguist Morris Swadesh around 1930. They have also started immersion classes for children and adults. In 2008 they partnered with Rosetta Stone in a two-year effort to develop software to support learning the language. Each tribal household was given a copy to support use of the language at home. The Chitimacha have used revenues from gambling to promote education and cultural preservation, founding a tribal museum and historic preservation office, and restoration of their language.

Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana
P.O. Box 661
155 Chitimacha Loop Charenton, LA 70523
(337) 923-4973 phone
(337) 923-6848 fax
info@chitimacha.gov

The Chitimacha Indians and their ancestors inhabited the Mississippi River Delta area of south central Louisiana for thousands of years before European encounter. Tradition asserts that the boundary of the territory of the Chitimacha was marked by four prominent trees. Archaeological finds suggest that the Chitimacha and their indigenous ancestors have been living in Louisiana for perhaps 6,000 years. Prior to that they migrated into the area from west of the Mississippi River. According to the Chitimacha, their name comes from the term Pantch Pinankanc, meaning “men altogether red,” also meaning warrior. The Chitimacha were divided into four sub tribes: the Chawasha, Chitimacha, Washa, and Yagenachito; these terms were what the Choctaw people called sub tribes based on the character of their geographic territories. The name Chawasha is a Choctaw term for “Raccoon Place.” Washa is also Choctaw and means “Hunting Pace.” Yaganechito means “Big Country.”

How the Great Spirit Made the World

The Great Spirit made the world, and all that is in it, from His own body. First, there was nothing, except for water, hiding the earth everywhere. The Great Spirit made fish and shellfish to live in the water. Then, He told the crawfish to dive under the water and bring up mud to make the earth. As soon as the crawfish had done this, the Great Spirit made man. He called the land and the men “Chitimacha.” He did not like man, because He had no eyes and no ears. However, He could see everything, could hear everything, and He knew everything. The Great Spirit gave the Chitimacha laws to live by. For a while, all was well in the world. Then, the Chitimacha became careless and forgot the laws. The world was no longer good ,and men did not care to live. The Great Spirit knew that something must be done. He thought, and thought, and finally made tobacco and women. These, He gave to the Chitimacha. The world needed light and heat, so the Great Spirit made the moon and the sun. The moon was a man, and the sun was his wife. The Great Spirit told them that they must bathe often in order to be strong enough to give off light and heat. The sun did what the Great Spirit said. She bathed often, and kept herself bright and shining. The Chitimacha have always honored the sun, and she has always been kind to them. The moon did not obey the order of the Great Spirit. He took no baths. To this day, he is pale and gives off no heat. He can still be seen chasing across the sky to catch the sun, who runs from her disobeying husband.

Legend of Bayou Teche

Many years ago, in the days of the Tribe’s strength, there was a huge and venomous snake. This snake was so large, and so long, that its size was not measured in feet, but in miles. This enormous snake had been an enemy of the Chitimacha for many years, because of its destruction to many of their ways of life. One day, the Chitimacha chief called together his warriors, and had them prepare themselves for a battle with their enemy. In those days, there were no guns that could be used to kill this snake. All they had were clubs and bows and arrows, with arrowheads made of large bones from the garfish. Of course, a snake over ten miles long could not be instantly killed. The warriors fought courageously to kill the enemy, but the snake fought just as hard to survive. As the beast turned and twisted in the last few days of a slow death, it broadened, curved and deepened the place wherein his huge body lay. The Bayou Teche is proof of the exact position into which this enemy placed himself when overcome by the Chitimacha warriors.

First Canoe

A story has always been told that the Chitimacha learned how to make their canoes from the Great Spirit. One day, the Great Spirit came and took several of the men out to the woods. The Great Spirit told them to take some mud, place it around the tree about shoulder high, set the trunk afire and let it burn until it fell. The mud was packed thigh high so that the fire could not go above it. When the tree had fallen, He showed them how to pick the right part of the tree and length that they needed for a canoe. The Chitimacha were then shown how to burn off the bottom and ends, also using the mudpack to control the fire. When the burning was complete, they were told to take clam shells and scrape all the charred parts off With the outside complete, the canoe was set upright; a fire was made on the top of the log for the full length. This was left to burn the desired depth, and if they wanted to stop it from burning too much on the sides, they would pack it with mud so that the burning could go to the right depth. The canoe was then scraped in the same manner for the bottom.

The Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana is the only tribe in Louisiana to still occupy a portion of their aboriginal homeland. The Chitimacha, according to oral history, “have always been here.” Unfortunately, over thousands of years the Chitimacha land base has significantly decreased. The Tribe’s lands once encompassed the entire Atchafalaya Basin, lands westward toward Lafayette, Louisiana, southward to the Gulf of Mexico and eastward to the New Orleans area. The Chitimacha Tribe currently maintains a reservation adjacent to the town of Charenton, in St. Mary Parish, Louisiana. Based upon documentary evidence and upon information from tribal informants, a brief sketch of the Chitimacha Tribe prior to contact with Europeans can be constructed. The Chitimacha were arranged in a class system. This system was more rigid than the famous Natchez system, employing different forms of address, both polite and common. Clans also existed; the wolf, bear, dog, and lion clan were documented in the early 1900s. Clan membership was based on matrilineal descent. The Chitimacha subsisted on maize, potatoes, and wild game. They preferred deer, alligator, and aquatic species. Hunting and fishing were accomplished with the aid of bone, stone, or garfish scale pointed arrows, or through the use of blow guns and wooden darts, as well as, nets and traps for fishing. The Chitimacha were prolific ceramics producers until about 200 years ago when those techniques were lost to history, however the designs are said to have been similar to those employed in basketry.

The Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana is known worldwide for their wonderful, expertly crafted baskets. This art has been passed down through tribal families for thousands of years. These baskets are made from local river cane, which is a variety of bamboo. Chitimacha basket colors are red, black, yellow and the natural color of the cane. Traditionally, dyes were made from local plants, but today commercial dyes are used. Chitimacha baskets are made in a variety of shapes and styles. They are either single or double woven. Single woven baskets include bowls, trays, sifters, heart-shaped, and elbow baskets (for picking berries). Double woven baskets, the baskets with lids, were primarily used for storing things. Some of these were capable of holding water. Basket designs originated from things in the environment, such as plants and animals. There are about 50 designs made today by four weavers. The Chitimacha Tribe is interested in obtaining Chitimacha baskets through donations, loans, and purchases (when funds are available). If you have a Chitimacha basket and are interested in any of these possibilities, please send pictures of your basket(s) to basketinfo@chitimacha.gov.