Natchez (people)

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Natchez

Natchez or Nauchee (also Nah'-Chee , derived from the self-name W'Nahk'-Chee , quick warriors 'or from the Choctaw Nahni-Sakti Chata , warriors of the high cliff') were an Indian people from the Hoka-Natchez language group that to Muskogee - language family counts. They lived in what is now the state of Mississippi and some of the neighboring states. The name Natchez goes back to the French immigrants. The Natchez themselves originally called themselves Théoloels , which means "people of the sun".

Culture and religion

Their culture is considered the ultimate representative of Mississippi culture . The Natchez built earth pyramids and called the rulers of their theocratic chiefdom The Great Sun , while the lowest class of the people were called stinkers . At the center of their religion was Coyocop-Chill , a high and creator god who was equated (probably in a pantheistic way) with the sun. In the myth of origin, a “sun-like shining” cultural hero - who was a relative of God - and who sent his wife to the people to bring them moral rules of life that are similar to the Ten Commandments. The Natchez chiefs and their rulers sippen traced their lineage back to these messengers of the gods and they alone had access to the Temple of Sun and Fire and could communicate with Coyocop-Chill . Hence, they enjoyed almost divine worship. Every morning the great sun offered a smoke offering with the holy pipe to welcome the sun on behalf of its people. There were also various ritual specialists (rainmakers, healers, etc.) for the people.

history

Plagues and four lost wars (First, Second and Third Natchez War and the Natchez Uprising ) against the French destroyed the once thriving tribe with its remarkable culture.

Some survivors dispersed among the neighboring tribes, such as Muskogee , Chickasaw and Choctaw, and mixed with them.

Today only about 5,000 Natchez exist, mostly in Mississippi, but also in Alabama and partly in Georgia . The Natchez had their heyday in the 18th century when there were around 22,000 of them.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Natchez Trace and the People
  2. ↑ The Natchez Indians
  3. ↑ George Edward Milne: Natchez Country. Athens 2015.
  4. ↑ Christian F. Feest : Animated Worlds - The religions of the Indians of North America. In: Small Library of Religions , Vol. 9, Herder, Freiburg / Basel / Vienna 1998, ISBN 3-451-23849-7 . Pp. 166-168.

literature

  • Schroeter, Willy: Great sun and his people. Notes on the Natchez. In: Magazine for American Studies, Issues 1 and 2, 1999
  • Horns, Karl-Hermann: The Natchez. Neckenmarkt 2011