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The Chitimacha (, ;〔Robert A. Brightman, 2004, "Chitimacha", In: William Sturtevant (ed.), ''Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 14: Southeast'', p. 642〕 or , 〔Carl Waldman, 2009, ''Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes''〕),also known as Chetimachan or the Sitimacha, are a Native American Federally recognized tribe that lives in the U.S. state of Louisiana, mainly on their reservation in St. Mary Parish near Charenton on Bayou Teche. They are the only indigenous people in the state who still control some of their original land. They currently number about 900 people. They spoke the Chitimacha language, a language isolate. It is extinct, but the tribe is working to revitalize the language, and has started immersion classes. It has used revenues from gaming to promote education and cultural preservation, founding a tribal museum, historic preservation office, and cultural activities. They are one of four federally recognized tribes in the state. In addition, there are several state-recognized tribes. == History == Before the arrival of Europeans, the Chitimacha Indians inhabited the Mississippi River Delta area of south central Louisiana. Tradition asserts that the boundary of the territory of the Chitmacha was marked by four prominent trees. The Chitimacha were divided into four sub tribes: the ''Chawasha'', ''Chitimacha'', ''Washa'', and ''Yagenachito''. Archaeological finds suggest that the Chitimacha and their ancestors have been living in Louisiana for perhaps 6,000 years. Prior to that they migrated from west of the Mississippi River. According to the Chitimacha, their name comes from the term ''Pantch Pinankanc'', meaning ‘men altogether red,’ also meaning warrior. The name ''Chawasha'' is a Choctaw term for ‘Raccoon Place.’ ''Washa'' is also Choctaw and means ‘Hunting Pace.’ ''Yaganechito'' means ‘Big country.’ The Chitimacha spoke a dialect of the Tunica language, an isolate. The Chitimacha established their villages in the midst of the numerous swamps, bayous, and rivers. Such locations provided a natural defense to enemy attack and made these villages almost impregnable. They did not fortify them. The villages were rather large, with an average of about 500 inhabitants. Dwellings were constructed from available resources. Typically the people built walls from a framework of poles and plastered them with mud or palmetto leaves. The roofs were thatched.〔 The Chitimacha raised a variety of crops, and agricultural produce provided the mainstay of their diet. The women tended cultivation and the crops. They were skilled horticulturalists, raising numerous, distinct varieties of corn, beans and squash. Corn was the main crop, supplemented by beans, squash and melons. The women also gathered wild foods and nuts. The men hunted for such game as deer, turkey and alligator. They also caught fish. The people stored grain crops in an elevated winter granary to supplement hunting and fishing.〔 Living by the waters, the Chitimacha made dugout canoes for transport. These vessels were constructed by carving out cypress logs. The largest could hold as many as forty people. To gain the stone they needed for fashioning arrowheads and tools, the people traded crops for stone with tribes to the north. They also developed such weapons as the blow gun and cane dart. They adapted fish bones to use as arrowheads.〔 The Chitimacha were distinctive in their custom of flattening the foreheads of their male babies. Adult men would typically wear their hair long and loose. They were skilled practitioners of the art of tattooing, often covering their face, body, arms and legs with tattooed designs. Because of the hot and humid climate, the men generally wore only a breechcloth, and the women a short skirt.〔 Like many Native American peoples, the Chitimacha had a matrilineal kinship system, with property and descent passed through the female lines. The hereditary male chiefs, who governed until early in the 20th century, came from the maternal lines. This system meant the tribe could absorb and acculturate other peoples, because children of Chitimacha women were considered to be members of the tribe. The Chitimacha were divided into a strict class system of nobles and commoners. They had such a distinction that the two classes spoke different dialects. Intermarriage between the classes was forbidden.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Chitimacha」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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