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fire would report any transgressions to Hashtahli even though it cooked their food and warmed them on cool nights. Once each month, the sun's wife would send the children out to play and begin cleaning house. The full moon was a clean house. And then the children would dirty it up again until (when the last quarter moon arrived) mother again started her monthly cleanup. The ancient Choctaws recognized evil in the world, but rather than a full blown Satan or Devil such as is known to Christianity, evil and frightening things were invested in a number of lesser beings or spirits. Among these were: Na Lusa Chito -a big black being which would pounce on and eat any person it found alone in the forest, particularly women and children. If a Choctaw's medicine bag was ever stolen, destroyed, or lost, his effectiveness as a warrior, a hunter, a digger, a builder, or whatever was his profession, was gone and he could not operate until he had found or built himself a new item.
In this manner was created the three historic Choctaw districts: Ahai Apet Okla (potato eating people), Okla Hanalli (six people or six towns) and Okla Falaya (long people). The ancient Choctaw did not possess a "soul" in the strictest Christian sense of the term.
Instead he possessed an inner shadow ,or spirit: "Shilup" (which now means ghost); and an outer spirit, "Shilombish" (which now means soul).
Upon the death of a Choctaw, the Shilup or inner shadow immediately began its long trip to the west toward the "Happy Land". And the Shilombish or outer shadow remained about the place of its abode in life for a more or less indefinite period of time. The Shilombish generally remained around the home until funeral ceremonies had been completed, and then if all were well with its family it would slowly fade away.
However, if the body to whom the Shilombish belonged had been troubled in life or was murdered, the outer shadow would remain around the family until the problem was solved. In this event, the Shilombish would let the family know at night that it was still about by issuing pitiful moans or barking like a fox or hooting like an owl near the house.
How did you know that a Shilombish was around your house?
When a fox barks or an owl calls, another will answer from a distance away. However, when a Shilombish cries, there is no answer from another fox or another owl. In the meantime, the Shilup or inner shadow has made the long journey westward toward the "Happy Land." It has felt neither hunger nor thirst nor the need for sleep pressing on westward for days and days until it reaches the Happy Land.
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY BISHINIK, newspaper of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.
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