Nanih Waiya
Encyclopedia
Nanih Waiya is an ancient earthwork
mound
in Winston County, Mississippi
, constructed by indigenous people during the Middle Woodland period, about 0-300 CE
. Since the 17th century, the historic Choctaw
have venerated Nanih Waiya as their sacred origin location in traditional beliefs.
Today the mound of Nanih Waiya is about 25 feet (7.6 m) tall, 140 feet (42.7 m) wide, and 220 feet (67.1 m) long. Evidence suggests that it was originally a platform mound
, which has eroded into the present shape. At one time it was bounded on three sides by a circular earthwork enclosure about ten feet tall, which encompassed about a square mile. In 2008 the state of Mississippi returned Nanih Waiya and its associated 150-acre park to the control of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians
, a federally recognized tribe. Nanih Waiya has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places
.
, during the Middle Woodland culture, when it was likely constructed. This made Nanih Waiya contemporaneous with the Hopewell culture
, as well as ancient sites such as the Pinson Mounds in Tennessee
and Igomar Mound in Mississippi. The dating was based on surface artifacts; no archeological excavation of the mound has been undertaken. Occupation apparently continued at least through 700 CE, the Late Woodland period. Originally the site included a large earthwork circular enclosure on three sides, about ten feet high and encompassing a square mile.
Archaeologists have not documented use by the succeeding Mississippian culture
, but generally they suggest that Nanih Waiya has been used for religious purposes throughout its history. The 19th-century naturalist
and physician Gideon Lincecum
recorded a surviving Choctaw oral history of their coming to the area and constructing the mound. According to tradition, the people had been wandering in the wilderness for 42 Green Corn Festivals, through which they carried the bones of their dead, who numbered more than the living. They found the leaning hill here, where the magical staff indicated they could stay. It was a bountiful land. The council proposed that they build a mound of earth in which respectfully to inter the bones of their ancestors, and so they agreed to do. First they erected a frame of branches, then covered these over, and then added layers of earth, between their domestic tasks, until the mound had reached great size. After they finished, they celebrated with their 43rd Green Corn Festival since they had been in the wilderness. They also said that smaller conical earthen mounds were used for single burials after the first major mound had been built.
The mound has been a site of pilgrimage by the Choctaw since the 17th century, but they have not had any major festivals there. Their religion was more private, and involved rituals related to death and burial, and communication with spirits. Despite the account above, aome anthropologists have noted that, unlike other tribes, the Choctaw did not appear to have practiced the Green Corn ceremony. In the 1850s, observers noted small mounds near Nanih Waiya, but these have apparently been plowed away, and were never dated. They may have been constructed by later Mississippian-culture peoples, or even later Native American groups. As there is neither archaeological data, historical records, nor Choctaw stories of the roles of these small mounds, nothing more may ever be known about them.
believe that Nanih Waiya is the "Mother Mound" (Inholitopa iski) where the first Choctaw was created. As told by some Choctaw storytellers, it was either from Nanih Waiya or a cave nearby that the Choctaw people emerged. There are many variations of the story. According to some versions, the mound (or nearby cave) is also the origin of the Chickasaw
, Creek people
, and possibly even the Cherokee
.
Others believe Nanih Waiya is the location where the Choctaw tribe ceased their wanderings and settled after their origin further to the west. George Catlin
's Smithsonian Report in 1885 included a story of the Choctaw following a prophet from an origin in the west:
They say that Nanih Waiya, which means "leaning hill," "stooping hill," or "place of creation" in Choctaw, was the final destination of their migration.
, drawn up September 15-27, 1830, the Choctaw ceded millions of acres of their territory, including Nanih Waiya, to the United States. In the 1840s, the Choctaw Claims Commission of the United States investigated violations of the treaty by U.S. citizens. J.F.H. Claiborne later wrote about the investigations, "Many of the Choctaws examined... regard this mound as the mother, or birth-place of the tribe, and more than one claimant declared that he would not quit the country as long as [Nanih Waiya] remained."
The state of Mississippi preserved Nanih Waiya as a state park for years. It was recognized as a significant site by the federal government, which listed it on the National Register of Historic Places
.
In 2006 the Mississippi Legislature State Bill 2803 officially returned control of the site to the Luke Family, of whom T. W. Luke had deeded it to the State with the condition that it be maintained as a park. The 150-acre property reverted back to the Luke family when the State stopped maintaining the park.
In August 2008, the Luke family deeded the mound to the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians
, a federally recognized tribe, so the Choctaw have regained a sacred place. That November they held a celebration for more than 1,000 people at the mound to mark the occasion. They have declared August 18 as a tribal holiday to mark the return of the mound, and have used the occasion for telling and performances of dances and stories of their origin and history.
Earthworks (archaeology)
In archaeology, earthwork is a general term to describe artificial changes in land level. Earthworks are often known colloquially as 'lumps and bumps'. Earthworks can themselves be archaeological features or they can show features beneath the surface...
mound
Mound
A mound is a general term for an artificial heaped pile of earth, gravel, sand, rocks, or debris. The most common use is in reference to natural earthen formation such as hills and mountains, particularly if they appear artificial. The term may also be applied to any rounded area of topographically...
in Winston County, Mississippi
Winston County, Mississippi
-Demographics:At the 2000 census, there were 20,160 people, 7,578 households and 5,471 families residing in the county. The population density was 33 per square mile . There were 8,472 housing units at an average density of 14 per square mile...
, constructed by indigenous people during the Middle Woodland period, about 0-300 CE
Common Era
Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...
. Since the 17th century, the historic Choctaw
Choctaw
The Choctaw are a Native American people originally from the Southeastern United States...
have venerated Nanih Waiya as their sacred origin location in traditional beliefs.
Today the mound of Nanih Waiya is about 25 feet (7.6 m) tall, 140 feet (42.7 m) wide, and 220 feet (67.1 m) long. Evidence suggests that it was originally a platform mound
Platform mound
A platform mound is any earthwork or mound intended to support a structure or activity.-Eastern North America:The indigenous peoples of North America built substructure mounds for well over a thousand years starting in the Archaic period and continuing through the Woodland period...
, which has eroded into the present shape. At one time it was bounded on three sides by a circular earthwork enclosure about ten feet tall, which encompassed about a square mile. In 2008 the state of Mississippi returned Nanih Waiya and its associated 150-acre park to the control of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians
Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians
The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians is one of three federally recognized tribes of Choctaw Indians. On April 20, 1945, the tribe organized under the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934. Also in 1945 the Choctaw Indian Reservation was created in Neshoba and surrounding counties...
, a federally recognized tribe. Nanih Waiya has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
Archaeological evidence
The first archaeological evidence of occupation at Nanih Waiya is dated to 0-300 CECommon Era
Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...
, during the Middle Woodland culture, when it was likely constructed. This made Nanih Waiya contemporaneous with the Hopewell culture
Hopewell culture
The Hopewell tradition is the term used to describe common aspects of the Native American culture that flourished along rivers in the northeastern and midwestern United States from 200 BCE to 500 CE. The Hopewell tradition was not a single culture or society, but a widely dispersed set of related...
, as well as ancient sites such as the Pinson Mounds in Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
and Igomar Mound in Mississippi. The dating was based on surface artifacts; no archeological excavation of the mound has been undertaken. Occupation apparently continued at least through 700 CE, the Late Woodland period. Originally the site included a large earthwork circular enclosure on three sides, about ten feet high and encompassing a square mile.
Archaeologists have not documented use by the succeeding Mississippian culture
Mississippian culture
The Mississippian culture was a mound-building Native American culture that flourished in what is now the Midwestern, Eastern, and Southeastern United States from approximately 800 CE to 1500 CE, varying regionally....
, but generally they suggest that Nanih Waiya has been used for religious purposes throughout its history. The 19th-century naturalist
Naturalist
Naturalist may refer to:* Practitioner of natural history* Conservationist* Advocate of naturalism * Naturalist , autobiography-See also:* The American Naturalist, periodical* Naturalism...
and physician Gideon Lincecum
Gideon Lincecum
Gideon Lincecum was an American pioneer, historian, physician, philosopher, and naturalist. Lincecum is known for his exploration and settlement of what are now the U.S. states of Alabama, Mississippi and Texas, which was then beyond the western borders of the Thirteen Colonies...
recorded a surviving Choctaw oral history of their coming to the area and constructing the mound. According to tradition, the people had been wandering in the wilderness for 42 Green Corn Festivals, through which they carried the bones of their dead, who numbered more than the living. They found the leaning hill here, where the magical staff indicated they could stay. It was a bountiful land. The council proposed that they build a mound of earth in which respectfully to inter the bones of their ancestors, and so they agreed to do. First they erected a frame of branches, then covered these over, and then added layers of earth, between their domestic tasks, until the mound had reached great size. After they finished, they celebrated with their 43rd Green Corn Festival since they had been in the wilderness. They also said that smaller conical earthen mounds were used for single burials after the first major mound had been built.
The mound has been a site of pilgrimage by the Choctaw since the 17th century, but they have not had any major festivals there. Their religion was more private, and involved rituals related to death and burial, and communication with spirits. Despite the account above, aome anthropologists have noted that, unlike other tribes, the Choctaw did not appear to have practiced the Green Corn ceremony. In the 1850s, observers noted small mounds near Nanih Waiya, but these have apparently been plowed away, and were never dated. They may have been constructed by later Mississippian-culture peoples, or even later Native American groups. As there is neither archaeological data, historical records, nor Choctaw stories of the roles of these small mounds, nothing more may ever be known about them.
Choctaw beliefs
Some ChoctawChoctaw
The Choctaw are a Native American people originally from the Southeastern United States...
believe that Nanih Waiya is the "Mother Mound" (Inholitopa iski) where the first Choctaw was created. As told by some Choctaw storytellers, it was either from Nanih Waiya or a cave nearby that the Choctaw people emerged. There are many variations of the story. According to some versions, the mound (or nearby cave) is also the origin of the Chickasaw
Chickasaw
The Chickasaw are Native American people originally from the region that would become the Southeastern United States...
, Creek people
Creek people
The Muscogee , also known as the Creek or Creeks, are a Native American people traditionally from the southeastern United States. Mvskoke is their name in traditional spelling. The modern Muscogee live primarily in Oklahoma, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida...
, and possibly even the Cherokee
Cherokee
The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
.
Others believe Nanih Waiya is the location where the Choctaw tribe ceased their wanderings and settled after their origin further to the west. George Catlin
George Catlin
George Catlin was an American painter, author and traveler who specialized in portraits of Native Americans in the Old West.-Early years:...
's Smithsonian Report in 1885 included a story of the Choctaw following a prophet from an origin in the west:
The Choctaws a great many winters ago commenced moving from the country where they then lived, which was a great distance to the west of the great river and the mountains of snow, and they were a great many years on their way. A great medicine man led them the whole way, by going before with a red pole, which he stuck in the ground every night where they encamped. This pole was every morning found leaning to the east, and he told them that they must continue to travel to the east until the pole would stand upright in their encampment, and that there the Great SpiritGreat SpiritThe Great Spirit, also called Wakan Tanka among the Sioux, the Creator or the Great Maker in English, and Gitchi Manitou in Algonquian, is a conception of a supreme being prevalent among some Native American and First Nations cultures...
had directed that they should live.
They say that Nanih Waiya, which means "leaning hill," "stooping hill," or "place of creation" in Choctaw, was the final destination of their migration.
Nanih Waiya: lost and regained
By the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit CreekTreaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek
The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek was a treaty signed on September 27, 1830 between the Choctaw and the United States Government. This was the first removal treaty carried into effect under the Indian Removal Act...
, drawn up September 15-27, 1830, the Choctaw ceded millions of acres of their territory, including Nanih Waiya, to the United States. In the 1840s, the Choctaw Claims Commission of the United States investigated violations of the treaty by U.S. citizens. J.F.H. Claiborne later wrote about the investigations, "Many of the Choctaws examined... regard this mound as the mother, or birth-place of the tribe, and more than one claimant declared that he would not quit the country as long as [Nanih Waiya] remained."
The state of Mississippi preserved Nanih Waiya as a state park for years. It was recognized as a significant site by the federal government, which listed it on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
In 2006 the Mississippi Legislature State Bill 2803 officially returned control of the site to the Luke Family, of whom T. W. Luke had deeded it to the State with the condition that it be maintained as a park. The 150-acre property reverted back to the Luke family when the State stopped maintaining the park.
In August 2008, the Luke family deeded the mound to the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians
Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians
The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians is one of three federally recognized tribes of Choctaw Indians. On April 20, 1945, the tribe organized under the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934. Also in 1945 the Choctaw Indian Reservation was created in Neshoba and surrounding counties...
, a federally recognized tribe, so the Choctaw have regained a sacred place. That November they held a celebration for more than 1,000 people at the mound to mark the occasion. They have declared August 18 as a tribal holiday to mark the return of the mound, and have used the occasion for telling and performances of dances and stories of their origin and history.
External links
- "State Bill 2803", Mississippi State Website