In the oldest memory of The People, there was a time when The People
did not have a home. They wandered here and there until their numbers
became many. Everywhere they went they carried the bones of their dead.
It was a great burden, but The People would not abandon the bones.
One day, two of The People were out hunting when they saw a glow of
light on a hill in the distance. They hurried to it but found nothing.
They camped nearby, and the next morning the light appeared again. It
was a woman, who said, “I am very hungry.” The two hunters did not have
much food, but they gave her what they had. She ate a little of it, and
then she said, “Come here tomorrow and I will give you something.”
The next day the two hunters returned. Where the woman had been
standing they found a beautiful plant. It was corn. They took it to The
People. The People learned to grow the corn, but they had to camp for a
long time before it was ready to eat. Before long, some of The People
began to complain when it was time to move.
Two brothers, Chahtah and Chickasah, who were leaders of The People,
heard the complaints and consulted with a hopaii about what to do. The
hopaii erected a pole. He said,”In the morning, if the pole is leaning
in any direction, we must follow it to find a home.” The next morning
the pole was leaning toward the rising sun. Chahtah and Chickasah
gathered The People together. They started on a great journey. Each
night the hopaii planted the pole, and each morning the pole was found
leaning toward the rising sun. The journey lasted a long time. It was a
hard journey and many died. After a while The People found it necessary
to go forward only one half day, carrying the bones of the dead, and
then returning for the rest of the bones.
They came to a great river. It was so mighty that it had to be beyond
age, so they named it Misha Sipokni. They built rafts and spent many
days crossing the river. Not long after crossing Misha Sipokni, they
came to a beautiful stream and followed it to its source. It was time to
plant the corn, so they camped for a long time. The land was abundant
in game and berries and many useful plants. The corn produced a big
crop. When it came time to move, the hopaii planted the pole. But the
next morning the pole was found standing straight. The People rejoiced
when the hopaii announced they had found their home.
The People built a great mound, and when they saw that it was
leaning, they laughed and named it Nanih Waiya. They said this mound
will be our mother and we will spread from here to make our homes.
Chickasah led the first ones out to make their homes. One evening he
was smoking some tobacco and dropped some fire. When Chahtah went out to
see where Chickasah had gone, he found that the fire had destroyed the
trail, and he could not find him.
Many years later the ones who had
followed Chickasah were found again, but they had been gone so long that
their speech had changed slightly. They now call themselves Chickasaws,
and the ones who had followed Chahtah now called themselves Choctaws,
and they became two separate nations, always living near each other.
