Catawba people

“ The best accounts of the Catawbas are those of two masters in the field of the history of Southern Indians, Mooney (Siouan Tribes of the East, 67-88) and Gatschet (Migration Legend of the Creeks, 15) . John Lederer was among them in 1669-70, and describes them as “a cruel generation and prey upon people”; their women “delight much in feather ornaments, of which they have great variety; but hold Peacocks in most esteem because rare in those parts; the men are more effeminate and lazy.” ”

“ His father and mother were both dead, and so also was his wife, and the heart of Ma-Ko-nah was very desolate. So endeth the story of The Fire-Water Sacrifice.
203 ORIGIN OF THE CATAWBA INDIANS.
There was a time when the world was an unbroken waste of rocks, hills, and mountains, save only one small valley, which was distinguished for its luxuriance, and where reigned a perpetual summer. At that time, too, the only human being who inhabited the earth was a woman, whose knowledge was confined to this valley, and who is remembered among the Catawbas as the mother of mankind. ”

“ He has accordingly hit upon the practical expedient of keeping a certain number of wives in each of his villages: thus, when he makes a journey through his territory, he is always at home. This multiplicity of wives has been so successful that Katchiba has one hundred and sixteen children living—another proof of sorcery in the eyes of his people. ”

“ Ferodia the chief commands Tifum to give him counsel. My counsel is this, O chief. Katalambula’s village is strong—the warriors are many—the palisade is lofty and close, and the villages round about are more than can be counted. Ferodia’s tribe is small and weak; it is like a handful of sand compared to the sand of all the plain. Alone, we may not venture on a war with all the Watuta. Let us, then, send messengers to the people of Kinyala, whose chief Katalambula killed, and who are yet resentful. To the chiefs of Marungu, and to those of Itawa by the lake. ”

“ Savages can be ruled by two powers—"force," and "humbug;" accordingly, these are the instruments made use of by those in authority: where the "force" is wanting, "humbug" is the weapon as a "pis aller." Katchiba having no physical force, adopted cunning, and the black art controlled the savage minds of his subjects. Strange does it appear, that these uncivilized inhabitants of Central Africa should, although devoid of religion, believe implicitly in sorcery; giving a power to man superhuman, although acknowledging nothing more than human. ”

“ If Casembé dream of any man twice or three times the man is supposed to be practising secret arts against his chief, and is accordingly put to death. If one be pounding or cooking food for him, silence must be invariably preserved. At Katanga the people are afraid to dig for gold, because, as they believe, it was hidden there in the earth by “Ngolu,” which means, as the Arabs say, Satan, and also departed spirits. ”

“ Katalambula was wise. Ah! I am young, I am not wise; but I have Soltali, Katalambula’s friend, with me. I have the same elders, the councillors, and the magic doctors; their wisdom they will give me when trouble comes, and by their wisdom shall I be wise. There is peace in the land to-day; the Watuta are rich and prosperous. There is no sickness amongst the people, neither is there disease in the herds, or in the flocks. But the dark days may come, when a strong enemy shall come upon the land; yet not before Kalulu shall know it. Sickness may come ”

“ He was out a-scouting last night and came in an hour before daybreak with the news that Colonel Tarleton was set upon hanging a spy of ours. From that to our little ambushment—"
"I see," said I, wanting space to turn the memory leaves. "This Catawba: is he a man about my age?" Captain Forney laughed. "God He only knows an Indian's age. But Uncanoola has been a man grown these fifteen years or more. ”

“ I determined to make a reconnaissance south towards the dreaded Asua, or, as the Obbo people pronounced it, the Achua river, and to return to my fixed camp. Accordingly I arranged to leave Mrs. Baker at Obbo with a guard of eight men, while I should proceed south without baggage, excepting a change of clothes and a cooking pot. Katchiba promised to take the greatest care of her, and to supply her with all she might require; offering to become personally responsible for her safety; he agreed to place a spell upon the door of our hut, that nothing evil should enter it during my absence. ”

“ Xaira. No, I will not violate my principles, even to gratify the Inca?—Both are guilty; and whether seducing, or seduced, is a matter of total indifference. To his own face I will tell the king the same,—I will sound it in the ears [76] of the people—and if Ataliba no longer trembles before the gods, he shall at least tremble before his own subjects.
High-Priest. Conscience is his law, and it ought equally to be ours. We are to judge Cora and Alonzo, but let us not forget that we ourselves are one day to be judged by a superior power. ”

“ With the news of the discovery of the Katipunan and the cruelties of the hysteria in high places that followed next, the revolution spread swiftly to the provinces. Cavite, Batangas, Zambales, Tarlac rose as the clans rose in Scotland; a remarkable fact, for here had been no preparation, and the Katipunan had not gone far beyond Manila walls. Nothing would seem to show more plainly that the psychology of the people had been all misread. At Rizal’s school he had noticed that the Spaniards deemed the natives submissive to kicks and insults when in reality wrath burned in the native heart. ”

“ Practical and useful magic is all that is esteemed by the savage, the higher branches would be unappreciated; and spirit-rapping and mediums are reserved for the civilized (?) of England, who would convert the black savages of Africa.
Notwithstanding his magic, Katchiba was not a bad man: he was remarkably civil, and very proud at my having paid him a visit. He gave me much information regarding the country, but assured me that I should not be able to travel south for many months, as it would be quite impossible to cross the Asua river during the rainy season ”

“ Ever have the Tcha been a loyal and law-abiding people until now. It is their duty to obey me, as their hereditary Supreme Ruler, descended from the first Ama who ever reigned in this valley. That Katalat should dare defy me is not so strange as that my people support him in his rebellion. Have I not done my full duty in these trying times? Can anything be justly urged against me? But even so I am supreme in the Vale of Tcha! My word is as powerful as the law itself, for it is the law. ”

“ Kathaba was thunderstruck at hearing such an unbecoming language [26] from the mouth of the Rahan Thoubat. [85] He said to himself: “If at this time, when there are only seven days since Buddha entered Neibban, there are to be found people holding such a language, what will [86] happen hereafter? These persons will soon have followers who will embrace the profession of Rahans, and then the true religion shall be totally subverted: the excellent law shall be in the hands of such persons like a heap of unstrung flowers that are scattered by the wind. ”

“ It is only recently that a definite decision has been reached respecting the relationship of the Catawba and Woccon, the latter an extinct tribe known to have been linguistically related to the Catawba. Gallatin thought that he was able to discern some affinities of the Catawban language with “Muskhogee and even with Choctaw,” though these were not sufficient to induce him to class them together. Mr. Gatschet was the first to call attention to the presence in the Catawba language of a considerable number of words having a Siouan affinity. ”

“ Kallolo and Maco belonged, they told us, to the Acawoios, a tribe living towards the head waters of the Essequibo. They are superior in domestic virtues to any other tribe, though warlike, and ready to defend their country as bravely as any people. Their women are virtuous, good housewives, and attentive to their husbands and male relatives, both in sickness and old age; while the men, in return, pay them more respect than do any other savage people. The young mother is never allowed to work, or to prepare food for her husband, in order that she may attend to her child. ”

“ Hatibu and his companions had as many questions to ask about the fate of those they had left behind, and how the road was in front. The road, we heard, was good, and the people peaceful, the only trouble that had lately occurred being an attack made on a caravan by the Watuta (a predatory nomad tribe) , who had been beaten off with severe loss, and would not likely give trouble again for a long time. ”

“ Under this policy, too, have the leading nations of Cavitorus, with the Shadowas [Pg 38] in the lead, developed their present civilisation. Under such a policy they have been able to adjust the population to the possibilities of the land, and thus while they have been building their opulent present, they have developed the finest type of people mentally, morally and physically, that ever inhabited this planet.
“Oseba explained the quickness of the soil in Cavitorus, the length of the seasons and of the days, with their peculiar irregularities. ”

“ Kabba Rega had always declared that the natives would work for me and obey every order when the slave-hunters should have been expelled from the country. Although the people who were lately a portion of the slave-hunter's company had now been enlisted in the service of government, not one man remained in Masindi, as I had sent them all away to Fatiko, at the particular request of Kabba Rega. ”

“ Why should we come thus far, O Ferodia, if it were not to greet thee as King of all the Watuta? Katalambula, the great King, is dead. He is no more. There is nothing left of him. He is in the ground. The Watuta tribes have now no leader, no chief, no king; they are like unto the flocks on the plain, bleating for the shepherd that cannot be found. They are going astray after one who is not old enough to be their shepherd. They have elected the boy Kalulu, who is but a child, and is not yet a warrior. ”

“ I hope some of the people of my nation will place their children with white people, that they may see how the white children live.
“My Friend,—I have nothing more to say, but to thank you.”
After the speech of White Cloud, Mr. J. Cadbury, at the head of a deputation from the “Temperance Society” (to which the Indians had sent also the sum of 36l. 8s.) , presented himself, and read an address from that association, thanking them for the amount received, and advising the Indians to abstain from the use of “fire-water” and to practise charity, which was one of the greatest of virtues. ”

“ When in Calcutta everything reminded us that we had left our own country behind, though not all our own people. We saw them on every side, but they were a mere handful in the midst of a strange people in a strange land, where man and nature presented entirely new aspects. ”

“ True patriots were they, risking their all for their duty to their native land. Their families were left in secluded valleys, often at long distances apart, exposed to danger alike from the Tories and the Indians. Before them lay the highest peaks of the Alleghanies, to be traversed only by way of lofty and difficult passes. No highway existed; there was not even a bridle-path through the dense forest; and for forty miles between the Watauga and the Catawba there was not a single house or a cultivated acre. ”

“ Katalewe's owner (taukei ni vatu) , that is to say, the senior member of the Navokai family, could harness the power of the stone to his own needs if he had an enemy to injure, or to his own profit if other people had enemies and were willing to pay for his services. It was not necessary that the doomed person should himself be made to touch Katalewe; it was enough if the victim's clothing, or hair, or scraps of food he had been eating were laid against the stone with suitable prayers by the taukei ni vatu. ”

“ Here also is held the assembly of the head men and chiefs, when any matter of importance requires their attention. Each of those divisions is governed by a head man, who is under the control of a chief, subject to the king of Katoba. The town is pleasantly situate in an extensive plain, and bears the marks of cultivation to a considerable distance, surrounded on all sides, except the SW., by gently rising hills, covered with wood. The town is plentifully supplied with water of a good quality, from wells nine fathoms deep, at the bottoms of which is a stratum of solid rock. ”

“ Martin, "who found their last resting place so far from their native lands beneath the mounds that were easily distinguishable in the gloom of the thick forest. This battle had been between the Catawbas of the [64] Carolinas and the Delawares. [38] An hereditary enmity existed between these two tribes, distant as they were, the one from the other. A large band of Delawares, pushing into the territory of the Catawbas had severely punished that tribe, and victorious, were travelling northward to their home. ”

“ Kalloyi Gadabas, who are the only section which will touch a horse (professional palki-bearers naturally have no love for the rival animal) and are contemned by the others accordingly; and Kápu and Kattiri Gadabas, who are the more civilized sections living on or near the plains. Each of these subdivisions is again split into totemistic septs, but some of the low-country Gadabas have abandoned these.
Gadaba men dress like other hill, people, but the women of the tribe have perhaps the most extraordinary garb of any in this Presidency. ”