Brief History:
The Choctaw Tribe can be traced to Mississippi and some parts of Alabama. Due to the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek in 1830 more than 20,000 Choctaw had to move to Oklahoma and many did not survive the journey. This Journey was called "The Trial of Tears." Now the tribe has established a Tribal Government that benefits the Choctaw people.
http://www.fivecivilizedtribes.org/Five-Tribes/Choctaw/Choctaw-History
Traditions:
Choctaw use traditional song and dance to bring the tribe together and to pass on traditions and values from one generation to the next.Song:
- Similar to other Indian cultures.
- Group leaders generally start off singing alone and after the first few lines the rest join in.
Dance:
- Reflects aspects of Choctaw life.
- Dancers follow the rise and fall of a chanter's voice.
- Rhythm is set by striking Choctaw dance sticks together
- Choctaw Drums (alepa chito) is the oldest traditional instrument
- still used to signal the call to dance and during stick-ball games
- Three Categories:
- Social Dances: These dances reflect the ties that intertwine Choctaw communities.
- Wedding Dance: celebrates marriage
- Friendship Dance: recognizes close bonds
- House Dance: integrates Anglo-American square dance, fiddle tunes, and dance steps from the French square dance (quadrille), fiddle and guitar used sometimes.
- Animal Dances: Honor the creatures they use for survival and their resources.
- Quail Dance: Honors the bird's ability to camouflage, a skill the Choctaw use to emulate for hunting.
- War Dances: Used to prepare for battle.
- One of the few dances where the women dance along the men.
- Each Choctaw Community have slight variations to dances.
- Nanena hitkla (Man dance)
- Shatene hitkla (Tick dance)
- Kwishco kitkla (Drunken Man Dance)
- Tinsanale hikla
- Fuchuse hitkla (Duck dance)
- Hitkla Falama (Dance Go-and-come)
- Siente hitkla (Snake dance)
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