Choctaw Religion

Choctaw mythology is a part of the culture of the Choctaw, a native American tribe that originally a large territory in the present-day Southeastern United States (portions of Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana). In the 19th century, the Choctaw were known to European Americans as one of the Five Civilized Tribes. Today the Choctaw have three federally recognized tribes. The largest is the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. The next largest is the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, made up of descendants of individuals who did not remove in the 1830s. The smallest is the Jena Band of Choctaw Indians, located in Louisiana. Thousands of years of accumulated myths and stories contribute to Choctaw enthnic identity, and they continue to tell and write about these legends. Early reports indicate that the Choctaw believed in a great good spirit and a great evil spirit. Contemporary Choctaw oral histories mention numerous supernatural beings, including what might be called the Great Spirit or God and the Devil. The Great Spirit of the Choctaw was referred to by various names. One of these, Chitokaka, means The Great One. The terms lshtahullo or nanishtahullo are applied to any person or object thought to possess some occult or superior power, for example a witch. Anthropologists theorize that the Mississippian ancestors of the Choctaw placed the sun at the center of their cosmological system. Mid-eighteenth-century Choctaws viewed the sun as a being endowed with life. Choctaw diplomats spoke only on sunny days. If a conference day was cloudy or rainy, Choctaws postponed the meeting until the sun returned. They also believed in a little man, Bohpoli, who dwelled alone in the depths of the woods. Bohpoli was never seen by common Choctaw, but only by the prophets and shaman. Indian shamans or doctors beleived that Bohpoli assisted them in creating their medicines. Some stories relate that Bohpoli would steal little children and take them into the woods to teach them about herbs and medicines. After returning home, these children would grow up to become doctors of the tribe. The Choctaw have stories about shadow beings. Nalusa Chito was a great black soul-eater, a great black being. If people allowed evil thoughts or depression to enter their minds, this shadow being would creep inside of them and eat their souls. It was believed that every man had a shilombish (an outside shadow) which always followed him, and a shilup (an inside shadow, or ghost). After death, the shilup goes to the land of ghosts and the shilombish remained upon the earth to wander restlessly about its former home. The shilombish often moaned to frighten its surviving friends, hoping to force them to seek another place to live. It would assume the form of a fox, and bark like one, or the form of an owl and screech like one at night, cause great consternation. These cries were considered ominous of bad things. It was possible to distinguish a shadow being from a real fox or owl because when the shilombish imitates the sound of either animal, no response is heard. Ishkitini, or the horned owl, was believed to prowl about at night killing men and animals. Many believed that when ishkitini screeched, it was a portent of sudden death such as a murder. If the ofunlo (screech owl) was heard, it was a sign that a child under the age of seven in a family was going to die.