SWANTON] BELIEFS AND USAGES OF CHICKASAW 245 
MEASURES AND INTERCOMMUNICATION 
Adair says of the Chickasaw: 
They count the day also by the three sensible differences of the sun, like the 
Hebrews—sunrise they term Hassé kootcha meente [haci kutca minti], “the 
sun’s coming out’’; noon, or midday, T'abookore [tabokoli] ; and sunset, Hassé 
Oobea [haci abia], literally, ‘the sun is dead”; likewise, Hasse Ookka’ tora 
[haci okatula]; that is, “the sun is fallen into the water’’; the last word is 
compounded of Ookka [oka], water, and Htora [itola], to fall; it signifies also 
“to swim,” as instinct would direct those to do who fell into the water. And 
they call dark, Ookklille [oktili], derived from Ookka [oka], water, and Illeh 
[illi], dead ;* which shows their opinions of the sun’s disappearance according 
to the ancients, who said the sun slept every night in the western ocean. They 
subdivide the day by any of the aforesaid three standards—as halfway between 
the sun’s coming out of the water, and in like manner by midnight or cock- 
crowing, ete.” 
On the subject of seasons I will quote the following from an earlier 
paper: 
Adair says that the Indians divided the year into four seasons—spring, sum- 
mer, autumn, and winter—and numbered the years by any one of them. He 
gives the names of these periods in the Cherokee and Chickasaw languages. 
The last are “ Otoolpha, Téme palle, AshtOraméona, Ashtdra.”’® He derives 
Otoolpha from ‘ oolpha, the name of a bud, or to shoot out,’ but I am unable to 
identify the word in Choctaw unless it is alba, ‘vegetation, herbs, plants, 
weeds,’ and it may be a Chickasaw term. Tome palle signifies ‘ bright and warm’ 
or ‘warm brightness.’ Palle, or palli, is a Chickasaw word, and it would seem 
from Byington’s dictionary ™ that it was later used by itself to signify ‘ summer,’ 
The next name would be in Choctaw hactula hiniona or hactulammona, ‘ the be- 
ginning of winter,’ and the last hactula. Hadctula means ‘ winter’ in Choctaw as 
well as Chickasaw, but autumn is hactulahpi, ‘the beginning of winter,’ the 
significance being about the same. The Choctaw, however, use tofa for sum- 
mer and tofahpi for spring. 
Adair says of the Indians of his acquaintance: “They pay great regard 
to the first appearance of every new moon, and, on the occasion, always repeat 
some joyful sounds, and stretch out their hands toward her—but at such times 
they offer no public sacrifice.” And in another place he remarks that they 
“annually observed their festivals . . . at a prefixed time of a certain moon.” ™ 
The names of the months were probably nearly identical with 
those used by the Choctaw. All that I know regarding the latter 
has been given under the head of “ hashi” in Byington’s “ Dictionary 
of the Choctaw Language.” ** 
In the eighteenth century they figured out mercantile transactions 
on the ground, calling this system “ yaka-ne Tlapha,” © or “scoring on 
4SThe etymology is probably altogether wrong. 
49 Adair, Hist. Am. Inds., p. 76. 
50 Tbid., p. 74. 
% Bull. 46, Bur. Amer, Ethn. 
52 Adair, op. cit., p. 76. 
°3Tbid., pp. 99-100. 
% Bull. 46, Bur. Amer. Ethn., pp. 146-147, 
5 Yakni tapa, “ground spread out.” 
