What does the Choctaw symbol mean?
The three arrows symbolize the three great Choctaw Chiefs – Apuckshunnubbe, Pushmataha, and Moshulatubbee – who signed the Treaty of Doak’s Stand (1820), by which the United States assigned the tribe a vast domain west (all of Southern Oklahoma) in exchange for land in Mississippi.
What were the Choctaw beliefs?
Choctaw religion never worshiped idols, or any works of their own hands, as other Indian nations. They believed in the existence of a Great Spirit, and that He possessed super-natural power, and was omnipresent, but they did not deem that He expected or required any form of worship of them.
What does a broken arrow symbolize?
In contrast to arrows being a tool of war, they are also a symbol of peace. A broken arrow represents the idea of burying the hatchet, or putting aside a quarrel for the greater good—whether that be the self or an external element.
What is Choctaw head flattening?
In their religion the Choctaw believed in a deity and had many names for him. The Choctaw observed many practices; one was called head flattening, which involved attaching a board to the heads of male infants in order to flatten them. This was a common custom among the southeast Indians.
What is the Choctaw word for spirit?
shilup
In traditional Choctaw thought, a person has shilup, or spirit, and a shilombish or shadow.
What does the arrowhead symbolize?
The Arrowhead symbol appears on most of their artworks and has a deeper meaning for them. It symbolizes bravery, achievements, heroism, spirit guides, and significant event in their life. These days, the arrowhead is also used as a pendant.
What did the Okla Choctaw symbols stand for?
The Choctaw people believed in the Great Spirit (God) in that their life followed an imaginary road. [The design symbolizes] that when they give aid to someone sick, they come off this imaginary road, and when the sick was well, he returned to this road and continued,.
What kind of culture did the Choctaw Indians have?
Choctaw mythology is part of the culture of the Choctaw, a Native American tribe originally occupying a large territory in the present-day Southeastern United States: much of the states of Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana. In the 19th century, the Choctaw were known to European Americans as one of the ” Five Civilized Tribes .”
What’s the symbol for protection from the evil eye?
The Hamsa is a talisman from the ancient Middle East. The original Hamsa amulet was shaped like a hand with 3 fingers in the middle and the thumb and small finger in a curved shape on either side of the hand. The symbol offers protection from harm caused by the evil eye.
What does the circle mean on a Choctaw stick ball?
6. The ball design, filled in circle, represents the ball used in the Choctaw stickball game. According to Buster this design was worn only on the garments of the male stickball players. This design is apparently obsolete, as I have never seen it in use in either Mississippi or Oklahoma.