MYTHS AND LEGENDS

BUSHNELL]

THE CHOCTAW

OF

BAYOU LACOMB, LOUISIANA 29 known.

All

who

enter this paradise

become

equally virtuous with- out regardto their statewhile

on

earth.

The unhappy

spirits

who

^fail to reach the

home

of

Aba

remain

on

earth in the vicinity of the places

where

they

have

died.

But

Nanapolo, the

bad

^{spirit, is}never ableto gainpossessionof thespirit of a Choctaw.

Dreams

The Choctaw

^hold that it is possible for the ^{'^}spirit" to leave the

body

even duringlife,

and by

thatbeliefexplain

dreams

thus:

At

night

when

aperson^isresting

and

all is cpiietthe "spirit"steals

away from

the

body and wanders

about the country, seeing

many

peo})le

and

things,

which

are

known

to the individual

when

he awakes.

If, during its wanderings, the spirit meets large animals of

any

sort, thepersonwillsurelysuffermisfortunebefore

many

days

have

passed.

Witchcraft

Witchcraft {hoVckunda)

was

practised

by many

persons, both

men and

w^omen. It

was

never definitely

known

whether a person pos- sessed the

power

to bewitch or

when

one

was making

use ofit.

Old

people ofboth sexes, however, were

most

often suspected of possess- ing this power.

The manner

of exerting this evil influence against others

was

believed to be after this fashion:

Those

having proper

knowledge

could

remove

at night their viscera, thus reducing their weight to so great an extent that they could fly through the air to the individual they wished to harm.

Accompanying them

always were several ^spirits, otherwise resembling

men,

but

no

larger than a

man's thumb. On

reaching the person against

whom

the spell

was

tobedirectedthewitch

would

stop

and

^point

toward

him,

whereupon

one ofthe littlespirits

would

go noiselessly

and

touch him, afterward remaining

and

doing a great deal of mischief about the place.

The

spirit

was

able to pass with ease through cracks,

and

thus to reach places not accessible to a larger being. After directing the little spirit,wdiich

was

leftto continue itswork, thewizard

would

^fly

back

to his village or'house

and

again

assume

hisnatural condition.

Such

is the beliefof the

Choctaw

even at the present day.

Itissaid

by

theseIndians that

no

herbs wereever

added

tothefood ofindividuals to cause illness or misfortune.

They

do not appear to

have

followed practices similar tothoseinvolved inthe

voodooism

of thenegroes of Louisiana.

30

^{iBUEEAU OF}

AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY

^[bull.48

of the folklore of the

Choctaw

is preserved in the

form

of songs, of

which

they

have

(so they say) a great

many,

adapted to various occasions.

Creation Myth

^{'^}

ManygenerationsagoAba,thegood spiritabove, createdmanymen,all Choctaw, whospokethelanguageoftheChoctaw, and understood oneanother. These came fromthebosomoftheearth,being formedofyellowclay,andnomenhadever lived beforethem. One dayall cametogetherand, lookingupward, wondered whatthe cloudsandtheblue expanseabove might be. They continuedto wonder andtalk

amongthemselves 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 the heavens. Thatnight,however, thewindblewstrongfromaboveandthe rocksfell

fromthe mound. The second morning they again began work on the mound, but asthemensleptthat nightthe rockswereagain scatteredbythe winds. Oncemore, onthe third morning,the buildersset totheir task. Butoncemore,asthemenlay near themound thatnight, wrappedinslumber, thewindscamewithsogreatforce that the rockswere hurleddownon them.

The

men

werenotkilled,butwhen daylightcame andtheymadetheirwayfrom beneaththe rocksand beganto speaktooneanother, allwere astoundedaswellas alarmed

—

^{theyspokevarious}languagesandcould notunderstandoneanother. Some continued thenceforward tospeaktheoriginaltongue, thelanguageoftheChoctaw, andfromthesesprungtheChoctawtribe. Theothers,whocould notunderstandthis language,began to fightamongthemselves. Finallytheyseparated. The Choctaw remainedtheoriginalpeople; the othersscattered, somegoing north,someeast,and others west,andformedvarioustribes. Thisexplainswhythereare somanytribes throughoutthecountryatthepresent time.

Kwanoka'sha

^{^}

Kwanoka^shaisthename^ofalittlespirit

—

aman,butnolargerthana childtwoor three yearsofage. Hishome^isinacaveunderlargerocks,ina rough,brokenpartof the country.

Now, whena childistwoorthreeorevenfouryearsold,it isoften sick,andthen runsawayfrom itshomeandgoes amongthetrees.

When

the littleoneiswellout ofsight ofhome Kwanoka^sha,who^isonthewatch, seizesitandleadsitawayto his dwelling place. In many instances they have to travel a considerable distance throughthe country.

When

Kwanoka^shaandthe child enterthespirit'shomethey aremet by three otherspirits, all veryold, with whitehair. Approachingthe child thefirstoffersita knife; thesecondabunchofherbs,allpoisonous; the third abunch

ofherbs yieldinggoodmedicine. Now,ifthe child accepts the knifeheiscertain to

becomeabad man,andmayevenkillhis friends. Ifhetakesthebunchofpoisonous herbshewillnever beabletocureorotherwisehelpothers; butifhewaitsandaccepts thegoodherbs, then heis destined to becomeagreat doctorand an important and influentialmanofhis tribe,andtohavetheconfidenceof allhispeople. Inthisevent Kwanoka'sha and the three old spirits tellhim howto make ^{use ofthe} herbs

—

^the

secrets ofmakingmedicinesoftherootsandleavesandof curingandtreatingvarious feversandpains.

"VersionrelatedbyPisatuntema(Emma)atBayou Lacomb,April15, 1909.

bThislegend, as relatedtothe writerbyAhojcobe (Emil John),^isgivenbytheChoctawas explain- ingwhysome men do good and help others,whilemany areignorant and harm thosewhom they shouldassist. Theexistenceofa "spirit"such^asKwanoka'sha wasevidently believed firmlybyall,as it isbythefewnowliving atBayou Lacomb.

ei:siinell]

the CHOCTAW

OF

BAYOU LACOMB,

LOtJISIAlSrA 31 Thechildremains with thespiritsthree days, afterwhichhereturnstohishome, butdoesnottellwhere hehasbeenorwhat hehas seenandheard. Notuntilthe child hasbecomeamanwillhemakeuseoftheknowledgegainedfromthespirits; but never willherevealtoothershowitwasacquired.

The Choctaw say that fewchildren waitto accept the offering of the goodherbs from thethirdspirit, and hence there are comparatively fewgreatdoctorsandother

men^of influenceamongthem.

Kashehotapalo

^°-

Kashehotapaloisneither mannor beast. Hisheadissmallandhis faceshriveled and evil to look upon; his body is thatof aman. His legs andfeet are those ofa deer, the former being covered with hair and the latter having clovenhoofs, lie lives in low, swampy places, away fromthe habitations of men.

When

hunters go nearhisabidingplace,hequietlyslipsupbehind themandcallsloudly, 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 cry of a woman, andthatisthe reason forhisname(kashcho, "woman;" tapalo, "call").

Okwa Naholo

The Okwanaholo("White People oftheWater") dwell indeeppools in riversand bayous. Thereissaid tobe sucha placeintheAbitariver; the poolisclearandcold andit iseasy toseefardowninto thedepths, butthesurroundingwateroftheriver isdarkandmuddy. ManyoftheOkwanahololivein this pool,whichisknownto all theChoctaw.

Astheirnamesignifies, theOkwanaholoresemblewhitepeoplemore thanthey do Choctaw; theirskinisratherlightin color,resembling the skinofatrout.

When

the Choctawswim inthe Abita near thepool, the Okwanaholoattempt to seizethem and todrawthemdownintothe pooltotheirhome,'^where they liveand become Okwa naholo. After the third day their skin begins to change and soon resembles the skin ofa trout. They learn to live, eat, and swimin the same way

asfish.

WTieneverthefriendsof apersonwhohasbecomeoneofthe Okwanaholo gather on theriverbanknear the poolandsing, heoftenrises tothesurface andtalkswith them, sometimes evenjoininginthesinging.* Butafterliving inthe pool threedays thenewlymadeOkwanaholocannot leave^itforanylengthof time; ifthey should go out^of thewatertheywoulddie afterthemanneroffish, fortheycannotlive in theair.

aThismythwas told byAhojeobeatBayouLaconib inMarch,1900,and heassured the writer that onl}-afew daysbeforeoneoftheboys,whilehuntinginaswampnotfarfromtliebayou,had been frightenedbyKashehotapalo,whomhesawdistinctly,andthatheimmediately ranhomeandrelated his experience.

Thegreat similaritybetween the subject of thismyth andthe Faunof Latinmythology at first glancewouldleadonetosuspect thattlieconceptionhadbeen acquiredbytheChoctawaftertheircon- tactwith Europeans. Butsuchdoesnotappeartohave beenitsoriginwiththetribe. Sofirmly con- vincedaretheythatsucha''spirit" exists thatit isprobablethe traditionhasbeenhandeddownthrough manygenerations.

iiIleleema(Louisa),oneofthewomen livingatBayou Lacoihb,claims thatwhena^child,someforty years ago, shehadanexperiencewiththeOkwanaholo. Sherelateditwiththe greatestsincerity. One summerday,whenshewassevenoreightyearsof age,shewasswimminginthe Aljitawithmanyother Choctawchildren. Shewasashortdistanceawayfromthe otherswhensuddenlyshefelttheOkwanaholo drawing herdown. Thewaterseemedtoriseaboitherandshewasstrugglingand endeavoringto free herselfwhen someofherfriends, realizingherdangerandthecauseofit,wenttoherassistanceand, seizing herbythehair,drewhertothe shore. Neveragaindid the childrengoswimmingnearthe poolwhere thisincident occurred.

32 BUEEAU

OF

AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY

^[bull.48

Why 'Possum has a Large Mouth

Ithadbeenadry seasonandtherewas verylittlefood for Deer,consequentlyhe had become thin and rather weak. One day Deer met 'Possum and exclaimed:

"Why! 'Possum,howveryfatyouare.

How

doyou keepsofatwhenI cannotfind enough to eat?" And 'Possum answered, "I live on persimmons,and as theyare unusually large this year, Ihave all I want to eat." "Buthowdo youget persim- mons, whichgrowsohighabovetheground?" "Thatisvery easilydone,"replied 'Possum. "Igotothe topofahighhilland,runningswiftlydown, strikeapersim-

mon

tree sohard with

my

head^thatallthe ripepersimmonsfalltotheground. Then

I sitthereandeatandeat untilIcannotholdmore." "Indeed,thatiseasilydone,"

answeredDeer; "nowwatchme."

So 'Possum waitednear thetreewhileDeerwenttothe topofanear-byhill. And whenDeer reachedthetopofthehill, he turnedandthenranquicklydown,striking thetreewithsogreatforcethathewaskilledandallhisboneswerebroken.

^\^len 'Possum sawwhatDeerhaddone, he laughedsohardthathestretched his mouth, whichremainslargeevento thisday.

The Hunter who Became a Deer

Onenight ahunter killed adoeand soon afterward fell asleep near the carcass.

The next morning, justat sunrise, thehunter wassurprised andstartled to seethe doeraiseherhead andtohearherspeak, askinghimtogowithhertoherhome. At

firsthe wassosurprised thathedid not know whatto reply, sothedoeagainasked himwhether he would^go. Thenthehuntersaid that he wouldgo withher,although hehadnoideawhereshewouldleadhim. So theystartedandthedoeledthehunter throughforestsandoverhigh mountains, until atlastthey reacheda largeholeunder arock,whichtheyentered. HerethehunterwasledbeforetheKingof allthedeer, animmensebuck, withhugeantlers andalarge blackspot onhis back. Soon the hunter became drowsy and finally he fell asleep.

Now

^all around the cave were piles ofdeer'sfeet,antlers,andskins. Whilethehunterwasasleepthe deerendeav- ored to fit to his hands and feet deer's feet which they selected for the purpose.

Afterseveralunsuccessfulattemptsthe fourth^setprovedtobejusttheright sizeand werefastened firmly onthe hunter's hands and feet. Then a skin was found that covered him properly, and finally antlers were fitted to his head. And then the hunterbecamea deerandwalked onfourfeet afterthemannerofdeer.

Manydayspassed, andthe hunter'sAotherandallhis friendsthought hehad been killed. One day when they were in the forest they found his bow and arrows hanging onabranch ofthe tree beneath which hehadslept beside thebody ofthe doe. All gathered around the spotand began singing, when suddenly they saw a herdofdeerbounding toward themthrough theforest. Thedeerthen-circledabout thesingers. Onelargebuckapproachedcloserthantheothers,andthesingers,rush- ing forward, caughtit. To the greatastonishment ofall it spoke, whereupon they recognized the voice of the lost hunter. Greatly distressed, the hunter's mother beggedhercompanionstoremovefrom herson thedeer skinandantlersandfeet,but they told her he wouldcertainly die if theyshould doso. She insisted, however, sayingshewouldratherburyher son thantohavehimremainadeer. Soherfriends begantearingaway theskin, whichalreadyhadgrown^tothe hunter'sbody,and,as they continuedtheireffortstoremoveit, thebloodbegantoflow. Finally thehunter died. Thenhisbody was takenback to thevillage and was buriedwith thecere-

monyofa great dance.

The Hunter and the Alligator

Onewinter thereweremanyhuntersliving inavillage,allofwhom,with oneexcep- tion,hadkilledagreatmanydeer. Butonehadmetwith verypoorluck,andalthough heoftensucceededingettingclose todeer, justreadytodrawhisbowon them, they