The Origins story of the Caddo tribe
The turkey dance they did turn out to be a dance that conveyed the history of their nation. The dance said that their tribe emerged from a cave called Chahkanina or "the place of weeping", which was located at the confluence of the Red River in the South and the Mississippi River (in the north, in present-day Louisiana). Their Leader, named Xinesi (Moon), instructed the people not to look back when they started migrating.See Other Native American Tribes in the United States
Caddo is considered a continuation of the Woodland period society, the Fourche Maline and Mossy Grove cultures. They lived in the areas of Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas between 200 BC and 800 AD. The Pawnee and Wichita tribes historically also spoke the Caddoan language, which means they still have a relationship with the Caddo tribe
Culture of the Caddo Tribe
Language
Caddo speaks Caddoan. Caddo means true Leader in their language.Where the Caddo Tribe Lives
The Caddo family does not live on the tepee. They have two different types of houses. They live in a dome-shaped grass house that tapers upwards. The basic materials of the building are wood, rattan and long grass. The house can accommodate 12-13 people. When the house is made, everyone in the village will help build the house. Even the children will have their own roles. The house is also fully furnished in it and feels quite comfortable.
In their heyday, In the 1200s, many villages, hamlets, and extensive maize farms were established throughout the Caddo area, generating surpluses that made settlements even larger. in the Mississippi Caddoan villages, artisans honed their artistic and mound-building skills.
They flourished during the 12th and 13th centuries. Even every village has
their own temple and sports field. Moreover, They built their village on
the fertile land along the Red River. Caddo get most of their food from
farming. They also use bows and arrows to hunt deer, bears, and small
game. They live in dome-shaped houses made of grass embedded in wooden
frames.
What do the Caddo people eat?
The Caddo people are farmers and hunters. They grow beans, corn, Pumpkins, sunflower seeds, Squash, and tobacco in large open areas. The animals being hunted there are various kinds such as wild turkey, quail, deer, rabbit, bull, bear, and other animals in the pine forest around them.This food, like wild turkey, has cultural significance. They also go on plant hunts and gather forest products.
In winter, they will eat dry food hung on a rope.
Art they have
Men use handmade bows and arrows for hunting animals. In addition, most of the tools and everyday items are made by women. They made wooden mortars, pots, and other utensils from clay (pottery). These wooden and clay tools were carved and shaped to help with everyday tasks such as cooking food. These tools are considered with respect so that when one dies, both men and women will be buried with the things they have made.Caddo people also love to decorate their bodies. Men like body modifications and ornaments such as leather paintings, jewellery, ear piercings, and hair ornaments, such as braids, decorated with bird feathers or other animal feathers. While the tribal women wore some jewellery and styled their hair like men, most used tattoo art to decorate their bodies. Tattoos of this type cover the majority of the body, and including face.
Appearance and Clothing of Caddoan
The Caddo men were warriors and hunters, and the women were farming and cooking. The men wore a breech with strings tied and cut their hair into a Mohawk or scalp-lock style. While the women they wear dresses with beaded belt earrings (shell).Besides that, they also knit their own clothes from the cotton plant they grow. They then spin the yarn and dye the yarn with vegetable dyes. The women would then weave beautiful cotton cloth. They will use beading and embroidery work to decorate their clothes. They also wore nose rings and had tattoos on their bodies, as did many other southeastern tribes.
Religion
Caddo focuses on Kadhi háyuh, meaning "Lord Above" or "Lord of the Heavens." In the early days, the people were led by priests, including a chief priest, the xinesi, who were believed to be able to communicate with the spirits who lived near the Caddo temples. Then a ceremonial cycle develops when important periods, such as the corn and tobacco cultivation season, are used for ceremonial events. The priests would drink a purification drink made from wild olive leaves.Religious Leaders (Spiritual Leaders)
The xinesi (pronounced chenesi, meaning Lord of the Moon) inherited the position of spiritual leadership.
Drug and medicine
Connas or coninisi, the first type of Caddo medicinal healer, supposedly used herbs and various ritual practices such as smoking, sweating, incantations, and prophecies to heal the diseased and the wounded. They used to make fires under their beds to heal sick patients and shake the maraca-like gourds while chanting hymns.a Caddo society with a complex and quite sophisticated set of beliefs and practices about the natural and supernatural world. It can be expected that the two worlds are foreign, and neither side truly understands the other.
Through various practices of spiritual traditions, bringing medicine to the people and educating generations within and outside the original community, the vibrant Caddo culture survives to this day.
here are some of the ingredients used to cure
Tabaco's disease: used for rituals
Sage: used for the stomach, colon, kidneys, liver, lungs, skin
Rosemary: medicinal
Osha: a pain reliever highly valued by the Caddo.
Weapons of the Caddo Tribe use
Caddo used bows and arrows made of local bois d'arc wood and were renowned for their superiority. Caddo was said to be capable of shooting an arrow through a bison. Still, bows, arrows, and expert marksmanship could not compete with muskets and mounted soldiers. And other animals, Axes, are used to chop trees and wood.Interaction with other tribes
uniquely Caddo interacts with all other tribes in the southern plains of Osage, Comanche, Kiowa, and Quapaw. Caddo made friends with these tribes, traded goods and intermarried.They are Trading
Caddo probably traded corn, beans, and pumpkin with Wichita and the other Plains for bison meat. They also traded salt, which they obtained from salt springs near the Red and Ouachita rivers, with the southeast Indians.Around 1686, Caddo began trading with Europeans for weapons and ammunition, horses, cooking and farming utensils, beads, blue cloth, and lace. Caddo dealt strategically with Europeans throughout the 1700s, carefully building alliances to maintain access to their goods and military protection.
Location of Caddo Tribe
Formerly Caddo Tribe: The Caddo originates in the lower Mississippi Valley and spreads westward along the river system. Sometimes between 700 and 800, they settled in the area between the Arkansas River and the middle of the Red, Sabine, Angelina, and Neches rivers and adopted agriculture.Now: The Caddo people continue to live in western Oklahoma, primarily in Caddo County near the Caddo Indian Tribe Complex, outside Binger, Oklahoma.
See Other Native American Tribes in the United States
Do the Caddo still exist?
Today, the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma is a federally recognized tribe with its capital city in Binger, Oklahoma. Several Caddo dialects have merged into one language. Currently, there are nearly 6,000 registered member states.
References:
Wikipedia,
https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/,
https://louisiana-anthology.org/,
https://kids.britannica.com/,
https://www.tshaonline.org/