Chahtah and Chikasah
According to ancient traditional history, under the leadership of two brothers Chahtah and Chikasah, the Choctaw and Chickasaw migrated from present-day Mexico to present-day Mississippi. After a great national council meeting, the people decided to leave their oppressive country and seek a nation of peace, prosperity, and happiness. “When the appointed day arrived it found them at the designated place fully prepared and ready for the exodus under the chosen leadership of two brothers, Chahtah and Chikasah, both equally renowned for their bravery and skill in war and their wisdom and prudence in council. . . . The evening before their departure a ‘Fabvssa’ (pole) was firmly set up in the ground at the centre point of their encampment, by direction of their chief medicine man and prophet, whose wisdom in matters pertaining to things supernatural was unquestioned and to whom, after many days fasting and supplication, the Great Spirit had revealed that the Fabvssa would indicate on the following morning, the direction they should march by its leaning” (Cushman, History 63). The pole leaned east, and the people marched toward the rising sun. Each day they followed the direction that the pole indicated until reaching the domain east of the Mississippi river.
Hvshi Aiokatula Hopaki Fehna (Very Far West)
Cushman (1899) stated that when Mr. Gaines (United States agent to the Choctaws in 1810) asked Apushamatahaubi (an eminent Choctaw chief) about the origin of his people, Apushamatahaubi replied: “A hattak tikba hvshi aiokatula hosh hopaki fehna moma ka minti [tok]” (66). (All of my forefathers came from the very far west.)
“The same response was always given by all the ancient Choctaws living east of the Mississippi river, when the inquiry was made of them, whence their origin? By this they only referred to the country [present-day Mexico] in which their forefathers long dwelt prior to their exodus to the east of the Mississippi river” (Cushman 66).
Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Chakchiuma
Adair (1775) stated that according to the Chickasaw tradition, the Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Chakchiuma, “came together from the west as one family” (Adair, History 352). When the Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Chakchiuma, “left their own native land, they brought with them a sanctified rod by order of an oracle, which they fixed every night in the ground; and were to remove from place to place on the continent towards the sun-rising, till it budded in one night’s time; that they obeyed the sacred mandate, and the miracle took place after they arrived to this side of the Mississippi, on the present land they possess. This, they say, was the sole cause of their settling here—of fighting so firmly for their reputed holy land and holy things” (Adair, History 163-162).
Nanih Waiya
The following account is from “Choctaws: Religious Opinions, Traditions” (1828):
“The Creeks, Chickasaws, and Choctaws emigrated together, from a distant country far to the west. The Creeks were in front; the Choctaws in the rear. The Choctaws emigrated under the conduct of a great leader and prophet. While residing at the west, they were led to believe, that there was a good country at a great distance towards the rising of the sun, and they were induced to take a long and perilous journey in search of it. . . . In consequence of the great distance, their provisions failed, and they stopped the warm season to plant corn to furnish themselves with food for the remainder of the journey.
Their great leader and prophet had the direction of all their movements on their journey. He carried the hobuna, sacred bag, containing all their sacred things, and a long white pole as the badge of his authority. When he planted the white pole, it was a signal for their encamping. He was always careful to set this pole perpendicularly, and to suspend upon it the sacred bag. None were allowed to come near it, and no one but himself might touch it. During the time of their encampment, whether for one night or more, the pole was invariably found to alter its position, and incline towards the rising of the sun. This was a signal for them to proceed on their journey. The pole continued to incline to the east till they reached Nanih Waiya, and there it remained in its perpendicular position. From this, they concluded that they had found the country of which they were in search. They remained at this place under the direction of their leader, and there adopted their civil policy” (Wright, “Choctaws” 215-216).
The following is an excerpt from “A Choctaw Migration Legend” (1894):
“The ancestors of the Choctaws and the Chickasaws lived in a far western country, under the rule of two brothers, named Chahta and Chikasa. In process of time, their population becoming very numerous and their territory overcrowded, they found it difficult to procure subsistence in that land. Their prophets thereupon announced that far to the east was a country of fertile soil and with abundance of game, where they could live in ease and plenty. The entire population resolved to make a journey eastward in search of that happy land. In order to more easily procure subsistence on their route, the people marched in several divisions, of a day’s journey apart. A great prophet marched at their head, bearing a pole, which, every evening, on camping, he planted erect in the earth in front of the camp. Every morning the pole was always seen leaning in the direction they were to travel that day. After the lapse of several moons, they arrived one day at Nanih Waiya. The prophet planted the scared pole at the base of the mound. The next morning the pole was seen standing erect and stationary. This was interpreted as an omen from the Great Spirit that the long-sought-for land was at last found. It so happened, the very evening the advanced party camped at Nanih Waiya Creek that a party, under Chikasa, crossed the creek and camped on the eastern side. That night a great rain fell, and it rained several days. In consequence of this, all the lowlands were inundated and Nanih Waiya Creek and other tributaries of Pearl River were rendered impassable. After the subsidence of the waters, messengers were sent across the creek to bid Chikasa’s party return, as the oracular pole had proclaimed that the long sought-for land was found, and the mound was the center of the land. Chikasa’s party, however, regardless of the weather, had proceeded on their journey, and the rain having washed all traces of their march from off the grass the messengers were unable to follow them up, and so returned to camp. Meanwhile, the other divisions in the rear arrived at Nanih Waiya and learned that here was the center of their new home and that their long pilgrimage was at last finished. Chikasa’s party, after their separation from their brethren under Chahta, moved on to the Tombigbee—and eventually became a separate nationality. In this way the Choctaw’s and the Chickasaws became two separate though kindred nations” (Halbert 215).