Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Interesting Tidbit




While reading through the WIKI for information on my ancestors, I think I am Choctaw, I came across an interesting paragraph concerning the origins of their people that sounded familiar:

"Early 19th century and contemporary Choctaw storytellers describe that the Choctaw people emerged from either Nanih Waiya (an Indian mound) or a cave nearby. The companion story describes their journey from the west, when they were directed by the use of a sacred pole.
'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 Spirit had directed that they should live.' "
Earlier in the WIKI it suggests this was somewhere between 4,000 and 8,000 years ago.  I find a couple of things interesting here; 1)  They migrated East from the Rockies to the Mississippi,  2)  They were lead by a medicine man's staff to the land that would be theirs and 3)  time was measured by winters and not summers.

A people living in a cold climate migrate to warmer lands lead by their own version of Moses.   Maybe the great flood was part of the great melt.

1 comment:

Kelly said...

Are you aware that fellow blogger, Phelonius is also part Choctaw? How cool is that?