Location: The Natchez were among some of the last native American groups to live in the area which is now known as southwestern Mississippi.
History: There is some archaeological evidence that indicates that the Natchez culture began around 700 AD and lasted until the 1730s. This is when the tribe was involved in a war with the French. The Natchez language seems to be related to the Muskogean language family. This indicates that the Natchez probably developed from earlier cultures in the Lower Mississippi River Valley.
Daily Life: The Natchez were farmers who supplemented their diets through hunting and gathering. The daily life of a Natchez would with no doubt consist of these very things. This would be providing for the tribe. The Natchez society is organized into what anthropologists call a chiefdom. This chiefdom was divided into two ranks: nobility and commoners. Membership in one rank or the other was determined by heredity through the female line. This system used by the Natchez is called matrilineal descent and was also common among other Native American groups. Being in a certain social class also determined the daily activities done. If one were a “commoner” they would be responsible for the farming, hunting, and gathering of wild fruits and vegetables. If one were of nobility they were responsible for the decisions of the tribe and also for the tribe’s well being and success.
Best Known Features: The Natchez may be known mostly for
their religious beliefs and customs. The Natchez religion consisted of building
mounds, or “moundbuilding,” as an expression of their complex tribal
religion. The mounds served as bases for sacred building. The people of the
tribe would work together to construct and maintain these mounds, many of which
still stand today. The mounds were flat-topped ceremonial mounds. Only a few of
the highest-ranking officials lived at the mound centers on a permanent basis.
The people of the tribe who lived over a wide area on family farms often
gathered at the mound center for social and religious meetings, rituals, and
activities. The Chief of the Natchez was referred to as “Great Sun.”
This man would be carried on a litter carried by eight men. These men would
relay the litter and move as fast as possible. The theology of the chiefdom was
quite complex. It was based on a supreme deity who lived in the sky and was
connected with the sun. It was believed by the Natchez that in the distant past
the son of the deity came to earth and brought civilization as his own people
giving them laws, customs, ceremonies, and arts which made them powerful. The
deity was retired into a stone that was forever preserved in the main temple.
This sounds much like the beliefs of Christianity. The grand Village of the
Natchez Indians is now appropriately named Natchez, Mississippi. This was the
site of the tribe’s main ceremonial mound during the early period of
French colonization in the Lower Mississippi River Valley. The mounds
constructed at the Grand Village were most likely done in stages, beginning in
the thirteenth century.
“Native American religious beliefs and practices-Natchez.” http://ipmwww.ncsu.edu:8080/tserve/eighteen/ekeyinfo/natcult.htm September 2000.
“The Natchez Indians.” http://mshistory.k12.ms.us/features/feature1/natchezindians.html
by, Matthew Parliament