advanced COSTUMING for cosplay or just to be fabulous

Table of Contents:
1 - TIPS (wigs, adhesives, patterns, dyes for fabric & leather, props, making harnesses for wings)
2- LINKS (quality brands, shopping sources, product recommendations, costuming textbooks, diy videos)
3- CREDITS (where I acquired all this new knowledge)

i went to a fabulous costuming construction lecture led by a troupe from Atlanta featuring Ana Aesthetic, who were appearing at an anime convention held at a downtown Dallas hotel.  The group of girls all looked fabulous but more importantly they made many of their own costumes, wigs, accessories & props.  Many of them explained that they were working on degrees in visual art, fashion design, etc.  They didn't believe in that industry secrets nonsense & were very honestly open about the tools, sources & methods they use to take make & maintain their outfits.  Clever stuff so I took notes so that I might share with you today...

(1) TIPS

To keep your wigs looking nice if you plan to wear them a few times, first they suggested storing & transporting the wigs neatly (such as a gallon ziplock bag for each).  before styling & to keep long wigs looking shiny & untangled, go to the "ethnic beauty aisle" and buy Olive Oil conditioning spray.

 

 the other wig maintenance products recommended were for washing dirtied wigs & can be found at Sally's beauty Supply and are both by Revlon - (1) Dual Conditioner for Synthetic Hair and (2) Texturizing Cleanser for Synthetic Hair

When styling wigs into unnatural or gravity defying hairstyles (like making Lady Gaga's hair bow), they suggest using diluted Elmer's Glue & letting it dry into shape.

If you are creating hair extensions, falls, clip-ins or hair fascinators... my favorite DURABLE yet flexible adhesive is called Beacon 3-In-1 and can be had at Michaels (this is what my friend Bama makes her extensions with)

Attaching heavier props to things like hats, headbands and such often takes something more serious than hot glue (which is a brittle bond).  E6000 is weather resistant, submersible & is also used on art cars... the best adhesive I know of for durable hold even if its different kinds of materials being put together.

They also recommend purchasing a basic modifiable sewing patterns by Simplicity for those designing costumes who need a basic form to start with.

When dyeing fabric, use high quality dyes for intense colors (like Jacquard products listed below).  If you use a washing machine to do the dye be sure to rinse out the machine with vinegar afterwards.

Stiff, tall collars on the neckline are usually created with interfacing, or Stiffy stuff from michaels or diluted elmers glue.

When attaching leather accessories or foam props like "armor" to your outfit, use magnetic strips to hold them onto the fabric (without tearing it or stretching it out).

When molding props in the oven, use a piece of foam or soft plastic slightly larger than the metal pattern it will shape over.  After warming in the oven, slap over the mold & press down.  use a heat gun to finish melting into shape..  Shaping foam into the shape of a prop can also be achieved by using sanding blocks from Home Depot.

Multiple ways offered to create a harness or frame to build wings on.  Any wings will need a frame to hold it to your body comfortably. The skeleton of the wings can be shaped from steel gauge wire, thin pvc tubing, brazing wire or fiberglass flex poles.  You will want to cover the skeleton with something strong & lightweight.  They suggested several methods such as covering it with Buckram (milinary mesh used like paper mache with Mod Podge).  other girls prefered using Cheesecloth and a product from the craft store called Rabbit Skin Glue which is heated during prep and is used to tighten & strengthen the cheese cloth so that it can be sewn through. a samba costumer suggests gluing strips of felt wound around the pokey metal parts for both beauty & comfort.

(2) LINKS

They recommended several online suppliers & product brands (listed below). but to save money & keep the costume cost low, it can be good to find a group of like minded friends to go into together on an order & combine shipping costs.  Divide shipping costs based on the weight of the items being ordered by each person (this is especially useful when one person is buying heavier items than the others such as shoes)

-Fabric suppliers... huge list at this link (cotton, dancewear, leather, trims, feathers, specialty notions like zippers etc) at:  http://meredithplacko.com/?p=189

-recommended BRANDS for speciality costuming supplies-

Jacquard Screen Printing Kit (screen printing of custom fabrics by the bolt as well as fabric paints & dyes) 
www.jacquardproducts.com

Angelus Leather Paint (amazing variety of colors) http://www.angelusshoepolish.com/cat6.html

Inline Metallic Dust additive for leather paint (sparkle) http://turtlefeathers.net/text/angelus/supplies.html

Calsak Plastic (specialty shaped plexiglass)

Sintra PVC sheets (is light & can be shaped like wood, can use acrylic paint) http://www.tri-dee.com/Sintra%20sheets%20information.htm

Amazing Mold Putty (for casting) http://amazingmoldputty.com/

IDye Poly fabric dye by Jacquard (intense colors & even offer neon) http://www.jacquardproducts.com/idye.html

Lumiere 3d metallic fabric paint & adhesive http://www.jacquardproducts.com/lumiere.html

-sources for cosplay accessories -

Tao Bao www.taobaoenglish.com/ (english translations of asian sites & products)

YoyBuy.com (lets you buy from taobao as your agent)

C.C.kids (on tao bao or ebay)

http://yayahan.bigcartel.com (handmade wings & ears)

http://sambacostumes.blogspot.com (handmade harnesses, headdresses & frames)

-costuming BOOKS (both college textbook level found on half.com)-

Pattern Drafting for Fashion by Teresa Gilewska (2011)

The Costume Technician's Handbook by Rosemary Ingham & Liz Covery (1992)

-costuming VIDEOS-

-How to Make Scale Maille (cosplay chainmail or fishscale) video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyyS6_sDZPw

- How to make a Headdress (out of wires, feathers & sparkles) very professional
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUyMgU5k1JY

- How to make a carnivale style backpack harness for wings, etc video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3K6yLg6Ckc8

- how to make a feathered skirt aka bustle & simple feather headdress... easier, but less durable
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHThS7CnKvg

(3) CREDITS

more about the girls that hosted the panel & provided many of these useful links at:
www.facebook.com/anaaesthetic

one of the girls hosting the panel's personal site:  http://meredithplacko.com/?p=189

A-kon is the longest running anime convention in the United States and is held annually in Dallas. This was their 23rd year & there were tons of merchandise vendors, costumes, workshops, lectures, expert panels, viewing rooms, reading rooms, autograph tables & whatever u need to indulge your taste for japanese media  :)  http://a-kon.com

PARADE LOVER procession instructions

INDEX - Starting Time & Place / quickie Summary / parading ORDER / Ending moves / optional stuff / Epilogue

Parade meets up at Sunset on burn night (Sunday at 8:20 ish)

Starting place at Beer & Darts camp (BAD #8)

  

- START

We will meet up at BAD at sunset on burn night & talk about the parade route in person before starting.  (check out the handy map below). our parade meet-up spot is near restrooms, beer, lounge spaces & handy parade posters to help us explain the ENDING plan & parade ORDER to new friendlies who come out to play at the last minute. we're keeping it simple.

follow the leader parading thru the streets rampaging; being loud, spectacular, shiny, talented & fabulous. 

the effigy crew will radio a few of us & help us land this parade at the effigy field at just the right time. we don't want the entire parade route to be tooooo long and i hope it  isn't the shortest most direct walk to the effigy either. we are gonna have FUN together, parade lovers. 

- SUMMARY

start at BAD#8 at sunset. follow the parade leaders making a circus train of burner spectacle as we walk through the streets of pyropolis. route TBD (maybe it will pass your camp, maybe not, join & see). Note the fantastic PARADE INTERSECTION (aka groundhog day where we make turns on the route) found on attached map (the 5 road convergence bt. burning soul lounge & caffeine conundrum camps).

the finale repeats OM & drummed heartbeats as we turn to exit. MAKE A U-TURN in front the effigy perimeter & immediately clear out of the performance area, leaving the way we came. Large instruments & puppets have an alternate exit leading to a Puppet Parking area. But mostly everyone goes back out the same way you entered.) simple. tell your friends in the parade.

- ORDER of PARADE LOVERS

The parade is about the journey & this circus train isn't taking a direct route. This is very much a game of follow the leader, at the front will be 2 pre-selected fire spinners & a cymbal crasher followed by safeties (see Parade Order in attached image or the list below for more specifics). 

LOUD & BRIGHT in front, GONGS & RESONANCE in the back.

We would like talents to be grouped together as you walk in the parade. Drummers in a platoon, bellydancers all together, puppets in same section, etc.  this increases the impact of the parade by concentrating intensity, lets you interact & vibe off of new burners with similar skills & interests. If you offered to walk a puppet, introduce yourself to the other puppet people & find a position that is helpful. Basically, when u get to the parade starting location, find your crew.

FRONTEND - 3 leaders - 2 firespinners & 1 cymbal crasher (they know who they are)

skilltoys & handflags

musicians

drummers.

dancers

hoops

you. him. her

light up costumes

playaflies

stiltwalkers

giant puppets

biiiiig flags

megaphones

BACKEND - gongs, bowls & resonating sounds (the caboose)

(only human powered things in procession, no motorized mutant vehicles, no flamethrowers, please.  be ready to walk. stay hydrated. bring what you need to be spectacular. make sure your feet are attached or mobility device is set to GO)

- ENDING

the END of the parade happens at the effigy field.  This time, they agreed to let the parade route approach the effigy on burn night.  Normally the parade gets to the edge of the crowd at the effigy field & then is dismissed...BUT this year we get to go closer because i BELIEVE the parade can leave simply, UTURN left and exit the perimeter. make that happen.

[[Be reminded that the performance area near the effigy is NOT a circle, it’s a horseshoe shape & behind the effigy is a dangerous No-Man’s land of fire tools & safety gear.  Do not try to go behind the effigy for any reason whatsoever, please.]]

The parade’s finale on the effigy field asks you to perform a unifying action, when done by every parade lover it reminds us to leave the effigy perimeter. It is important to our finale for everyone to know about repeating OM when we turn to u-turn & leave, as the drummers shift from loud noises to a heartbeat's pulse as gongs & bowls continue to resonate.

As the majority of the parade approaches the effigy and retreats, we will begin a loud, deep ॐOMॐ chant to help remind the parade lovers to continue exiting the performance area and our percussion will begin using a heartbeat rhythm till the perimeter is cleared.  If everyone can repeat OM as they leave, it acts like a signal & it sounds really nice with a gong.  (kinda like the telephone game where something is repeated & passed on through the crowd to be heard over the loud noise the parade will make along the rest of the route)

Gongs and singing bowls follow the back of the parade, these sounds continue and will help signal the end of the parade & exit the remaining paraders who have not yet u-turned & emptied the performance area in front of the effigy.

2 flanks of parade lovers (stage right flank will be those carrying large objects like puppets, bass drums, elephants, tubas, etc.) the stage left flank is the majority of the parade who has less to carry.  So imagine the shape of a letter Y (or look at the ending route map lol).  The bottom leg is the entrance that approaches the circle around the effigy.

The right flank will have an exit only lane that extends out the right arm of the Y for Sending our large objects outside the effigy perimeter near the cornfield to the tiny "puppet parking" area where they can safely set down their big stuff before the burn.

The rest of the paraders will make a left u-turn. Entering the bottom leg of the Y and the walking up to the left arm of the Y, making a u turn and going back out the bottom of the Y the way that they came.

It is important that we can shift our high energy parade walking once we get into the effigy performance area enough to ensure everyone leaves in a quick, simple way so that the following burn night acts can go on next (like fire, fireworks & BURNING).

So  (1) remember once you arrive at the effigy to walk in & walk out quickly, like u are in a hurry.  Feel free to be loud on the way in. (2) after your u-turn, repeat loudly “OM” on your way out (3) notice the gongs, singing bowls flow with your om. You will see pairs of people with flags and bamboo lantern poles making big crossed X with their pair of staff so you can see the gesture & remember to exit already cause it is time to clear out of the performance area the way you came in & find a place to watch the burn.  pretty much the parade walks into the effigy perimeter and walks straight out (for most, out the way they came)

We are starting the parade loud & strong with high energy & keeping this force strong as we walk all along our parade route.  This ending is a super duper change from that into low bass tones & clearing out. So the parade melts into the rest of burn night & echoes positive energy in their ears as they return to the default world the next day.

- OPTIONAL STUFF

Special events offered to parade lovers at flipside:

-Optional Body painting around noon on sunday by gregory, hosted at Burning Glam (#81) who offers costuming love during the entire event.

-Optional parade gesture storytelling workshops at Just Your Gesture (#4) fri & sat, at noon & sunset

- EPILOGUE

& btw, if you are feeling out of step or unsure of rhythm at anytime, take a breath & feel your heartbeat. if you have breath in your body, you have the power to choose your path. this performance is orchestrated improvisation and you have accumulated talents your whole life that let you now share this gift with our community.  some of you have a plan & others will pick up something new along the way --  in the parade, as in life.

alright, friendly parade lovers i look forward to hearing & seeing you make a spectacle on burn night.  we've got this. cause YOU bring it.

LED COSTUMING (individual LED bulb version & wiring a circuit)

want your costume to LIGHT UP?  Today’s blog teaches us to use LEDs & etextiles on clothing.  You are empowered to learn how, in this blog there are online instructions & ordering websites listed below.

 
INDEX - instructions / supply list /  online suppliers / appreciation

- ONLINE INSTRUCTIONS (learn by video &/or read the how-to pamphlet) -

12 page written instruction guide -

www.ingamariecarmel.com/handweaver/etextile.html

youtube playlist with instruction videos -

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL59E3463FF233187D&feature=view_all

more photos from the workshop & examples of finished projects -

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hepkatmama/sets/72157629887819067/

- SUPPLY LIST -

(1) Sewing needles with narrow enough eyes to fit through the holes in the battery holder

(2) Threading tool (for running cable like conductive thread through the needle)

(3) Clothing or Accessory (Something to sew onto that you can wear-- something sturdy that holds it's shape)

(4) Needlenose Pliers (smaller sized, e.g. for jewelry or electronics)

 (5) Multimeter (tests the charge. one will be available during workshops if u don't have one of your own)

(6) Chair or whatever you need to be cozy (including eyeglasses if needed). Class is outdoors in the backyard, please LNT.

(7) Parts Kit (buy the contents listed below online): The Basic Startup kit used at our workshop contained 5 LEDs, 4 yds of conductive thread, 1 metal bead, 2 snaps, 1 battery, 1 coin cell holder, and conductive tape.

- WHERE TO BUY SUPPLIES ONLINE -

small orders from www.sparkfun.com or www.adafruit.com 

buy bulk from from www.Superbrightleds.com -or- www.Electron.com

batteries from www.batteriesandbutter.com 

Our Instructor, Marie specifically recommends the following products:

(1) Battery holder - http://www.sparkfun.com/products/8822 -- could also use duct tape, but it's harder to change the battery

(2) Battery - http://www.sparkfun.com/products/338

(3) Conductive thread - http://www.sparkfun.com/products/10867 

(4) LEDs - http://www.sparkfun.com/categories/173 -or-

http://www.sparkfun.com/categories/171 -or-

http://www.sparkfun.com/categories/172

 

- APPRECIATION –

Today’s blog is based on the DiY LED Costuming Workshops held in Austin in April 2012 preparing for the procession I am curating with the theme “Neon Circus Parade Marching Band.”

We are grateful to Inga Marie Carmel for teaching two workshops in April 2012 and for sharing her knowledge with our community.  www.ingamariecarmel.com

Huge thanks to Jane for sharing her space with us to hold the workshop. Amelia’s Retro Vogue is at 2213 South 1^st Street, Austin 78704 www.ameliasretrovogue.com

Deepest appreciation to all of you who explore your potential to learn new things.

Annual Film Festivals in Dallas (dates & links)

Its film festival time in Dallas again, mark your calendars!

International Film Fest:  April 12 -22 http://diff2012.dallasfilm.org/ (formerly the AFI festival)

USA Film Festival: April 25-29 http://www.usafilmfestival.com/ (at Angelika)

Asian Film Festival of Dallas (usually in July) 2011.affd.org

 

Dallas Video Festival Sept. 27-30 http://www.videofest.org/ (at the Dallas Museum of Art)

USA Film Fest is the oldest in Dallas, since it started in 1971. Well rounded programming with both the accessible bigger names as well as the esoteric limited release films.

Second oldest is Dallas Vid Fest which began in 1986.  The majority of its films are artsy, experimental or documentary, but there are some real gems each year.

The Asian Film Festival started humbly in smaller theatres but their fans are ardent for good reason.  Amazing selection of films from quiet documentaries to japanese shock are delivered annually.  This fest gets the least amount of press but it has been going on for over a decade.

 Dallas Intl. Film Fest is the youngest kid on the block starting in 2006 as AFI Dallas sponsored by the Dallas Film Society.  This festival gets the most attention by the media & actually brings performers & directors to town.  It has the largest number of films being screened & most expensive VIP passes.  Excellent selection of films ranging the gamut of genres.  Day passes are a blessing.

Now then, its time for you to make plans to see a flick in a THEATRE, something that you chose not something that just happened to be on when you flipped the channel. A limited release movie at a festival lets you see movies that may NEVER get released or are not typical of wide release studio films (both are rare treats). Go watch a movie on the big screen & enjoy the public interaction with a crowd.  

MOVIES about Girls that could probably Kick your Ass

ACTION MOVIES about Girls that KickAss

-------------------

INDEX

-1- CHIX w/ SWORDS

-2- SCi-Fi

-3- Law Enforcement/Secret Agents/Criminal Anti-Heroines

-4- SUPERNATURAL

-5- in GENERAL hardcore FEMALEs

-6- COMICS / GAMES / Graphic Novels

-7- WESTERNs

-8- TRASH/ B-Movies / Exploitation

-------------------

CHIX w/ SWORDS:
Conan the Destoyer (1984) Grace Jones
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) Michelle Yeoh & Ziyi Zhang
Legend of Fong Sai Yuk (1993) Josephine Siao  (aka The Legend)
Red Sonja (1985) Brigiette Nielsen
Ninja 3:  The Domination (1984) Lucinda Dickey uber cheese
The Messenger (1999) Milla Jovovich
Joan of Arc (1999) Leelee Sobieski

RoboGeisha (2009) Naoto Takenaka

Suckerpunch (2011) Emily Browning

SCi-Fi:
Alien, Aliens, Alien 3, 4 & 5 (1979+) Sigourney Weaver
5^th Element (1997) Milla Jovovich
Mad Max beyond Thunderdome (1985) Tina Turner
Bladerunner (1982) Darryl Hannah
The Matrix (1999) Carrie Ann Moss
Predator 2 (1990) Maria Conchita Alonso
Terminator 2 (1991) Linda Hamilton
Ice Pirates (1984) Angelica Huston 

Law Enforcement/Secret Agents/Criminal Anti-Heroines:
View to a Kill (1985) Grace Jones
Silence of the Lambs (1991) Jodie Foster
Beverly Hills Cop 2 (1987) Brigiette Nielsen
La Femme Nikita (1990) Anne Parillaud (in French with English Subtitles)
Black Cat (1991) Jade Leung
Supercop (1992) Michelle Yeoh
Sister of the Street Fighter (1974) Etsuko Shihomi
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) Diana Rigg
Goldfinger (1964) Honor Blackman
Mr & Mrs Smith (2005) Angelina Jolie
The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996) Gena Davis
The Brave One (2007) Jodie Foster
Jackie Brown (1997) Pam Grier
Domino (2005) Keira Knightley

SUPERNATURAL:
The Hunger (1983) Catherine Deneauve & Susan Sarandon
Ghostbuster (1984) Sigourney Weaver
Species (1995) Natasha Henstridge
Underworld (2003) Kate Beckinsale
Van Helsing (2004) Kate Beckinsale
Queen of the Damned (2002) Aaliyah

in GENERAL hardcore FEMALEs:
G.I. Jane (1997) Demi Moore dir. Ridley Scott
Girlfight (2000) Michelle Rodriguez
Million Dollar Baby (2004) Hillary Swank
Freeway (1996) Reese Witherspoon
Call Her Savage (1932) Clara Bow
Ladies of the Mob (1928) Clara Bow
High Tension (2003) Cecile De France
Deathproof (2007) Zoe Bell (who is also amazing in the 2004 documentary about female stuntwomen called Double Dare)

COMICS / GAMES / Graphic Novels:
Kill Bill v. 1 & 2 (2003) Uma Thurman, Lucy Liu, Darryl Hannah & Vivica Fox
Sin City (2005) Rosario Dawson & Devon Aoki
Tomb Raider (2001) Anglina Jolie
Wanted (2008) Angelina Jolie
PeeWee's Big Adventure () Large Marge lol
XxX (2002) Asia Argento
Resident Evil, 2 & 3 (2002) Milla Jovovich
Resident Evil (2002) Michelle Rodriguez
Batman & Robin (1997) Alicia Silverstone
Batman Returns (1992) Michelle Pfieffer
Catwoman (2004) Halle Barry & Sharon Stone
Xmen or X2 (2000) Halle Barry, Famke Janssen, Rebbeca Romijn, Anna Paquin
V for Vendetta (2005) Natalie Portman
Ultraviolet (2006) Milla Jovovich
Elektra (2005) Jennifer Garner
Aeon Flux (2005) Charlize Theron, but the animated version is way better
KickAss (2010) Chloe Grace Moretz

WESTERNs
Quick & the Dead (1995) Sharon Stone
Gang of Roses (2003) Little Kim, LisaRaye, Monica Calhoun

TRASH/ B-Movies / Exploitation:
Invasion of the Bee Girls (1973) Anitra Ford aka Graveyard Tramps
Serial Mom (1994) Kathleen Turner dir. John Waters
Switchblade Sisters (1975) Monica Gayle
Faster Pussycat! Kill Kill! (1965) Tura Satana dir. Russ Meyer
Foxy Brown (1974) Pam Grier
Coffy (1973) Pam Grier
Original Gangstas (1996) Pam Grier
I Spit on Your Grave (1978) Camille Keaton classic revenge horror
Kitten with a Whip (1964) AnnMargaret
Big Bad Mama (1974) Angie Dickinson produced by Roger Corman

Choctaw Origin Myths

Origins of the Choctaw Nation 

Origins of the Native American Choctaw tribe are relative to what time period you ask about.  Living Choctaws are prevalent in five states today due to earlier forced migration.  Location of Choctaws prior to removal has been written about by English, French and Spanish traders.  Oral tradition suggests Choctaws originated from a mound of earth referred to as "Beloved Mother".  Different scholars have opposing ideas about the true origin of the tribe and even now certain tribal members are quick to point out which state their clan (or ogla) hails from.

 

  
Choctaw tribe is considered a sovereign nation independent of the United States by many countries in other parts of the globe.  Today, the Choctaw tribe is split into five factions within Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Oklahoma and California with a population of a little over half a million Choctaws living on tribal lands.  In the past, Choctaws were democratically governed by three regional chiefs or mikos under the advisement of a head chief.  Issues like war were voted on in an assembly open to all members of the tribe (Swanton 95-96).  Interestingly, the American imposition on the Choctaws has created another system of governance based on location.

 In Mississippi, the Choctaws who refused to be removed from their homeland by American soldiers and missionaries were forced onto oppressive reservations there.  Oklahoma Choctaws were the first members of the Five Civilized Tribes to be moved West in the poorly guided and tragically undersupplied Trail of Tears series of migrations.  It is notable that these first groups traveling to Oklahoma did so voluntarily without military escorts based on the promises of land grant treaties (www.ChoctawNation.com).  At the beginning of the last century prior to the First World War, the American military coerced many Choctaws to move to California.  These patriotic Native Americans were eager to support the war effort working in munitions plants.  They were disappointed to find the promised relocation funding and housing to be inadequate and most were unable to escape the poverty found in California to return to their families in Oklahoma (www.OklaChahta.org).

 At the time of the European invasion of Native American lands, the Choctaw people mainly lived in Mississippi.  Their residence there is confirmed in historical writings by American missionaries in the 1800's, French traders in the 1700's and Hernando de Soto's Spanish conquistadors as early as 1540 (Swanton 4).  Archaeological evidence of prehistoric Choctaws living in Mississippi is especially abundant near the large mounds of earth called "Nanih Waiya" in what is now Winston County.

  Oral tradition says that the Choctaw ancestors could remember living beneath the earth and found their way above ground through a tunnel passage or cave leading to the top of a tall mound of earth (Swanton 35-37).  Details of this origin myth vary.  Some suggest the mounds in Mississippi to be the point of origin,  saying that the tribe emanated from the Nanih Waiya Cave on the other side of the creek nearby the Nanih Waiya Mound. These days, the cave's many entrances are closed to the public (McGinnis p. 165).

Other versions insist the origin story includes a chapter about the people migrating from an original Mother Mound located somewhere far West of Mississippi and that Nanih Waiya was built as part of a citadel complex upon their arrival (Swanton 10-35).

     This migration legend suggests that after "fresh, moist" Choctaws "dried in the sun," they were led across forest and river by two brothers who had a wooden pole, much like an "axis mundi" that pointed them in the right direction to a fertile valley much like the Jewish exodus to their promised land.  This migration was estimated to take about forty years or three generations.  When members of the tribe died along this journey, their bones were respectfully packed and carried along.  The story says that just as the people began to moan under the weight of their relatives' bones, the leaders had found their destination and the wooden pole planted in the ground at each night's campsite finally stopped leaning, directing them East and finally stood upright.

In celebration of finding their homeland, a community project was designed to honor the memory of the dead and create a civic monument.  The Chief of the tribe asked that all the remains be stacked high and earth piled around it for as many days as it took to for the monument to look down on the treetops.  The citadel was built around these earthen monoliths. 

Mississippi's Nanih Waiya contains anthropological evidence of human remains in one of the mounds that suggests it was a burial site and limited crockery and arrowheads near the area within the wall remnants show traces of the civilization that once thrived in the area. (Swanton 21).  Some accounts mention the remnants of a retaining wall around the perimeter of the area adjacent the two mounds (Swanton 8-10). 

    

No evidence has been found to suggest where out west the tribe may have migrated from.  Geological time has more patience than humans are known for.  In plate tectonic theory, magnetic hot spots remain unmoved though mantle plates shift around over time.  These hot spots induce volcanic activity, geysers and shifts in great masses of earth's crust.  The crust of the continental United States is youngest towards the West near California.  One of the most well known hot spots is now situated under Yellowstone National Park.  We haven't uncovered any moist humans emanating from hot spots in Hawaii, Japan or California.  However, they may only recall walking up an earthen passage towards the light of the sun.

 (video of a choctaw stickball game above, a field sport with no protective gear, a tiny ball, more incidental bloodshed than hockey and more tackles than football)

Bibliography:

McGinnis, Helen.  Hiking Mississippi: A Guide to Trails and Natural Areas University of Mississippi Press, 1994.

Swanton, John R., Source Material for the Social and Ceremonial Life of the Choctaw Indians (Contemporary American Indians) Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2001.

Interesting Choctaw Links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choctaw

www.choctawnation.com (Oklahoma band)

www.oklachahta.org (California band)

www.choctaw.org (Mississippi band)

http://www.jenachoctaw.org/ (Louisiana band)

http://www.aiac.state.al.us/MOWA%20tribal%20history.htm (Alabama band)

http://www.uwm.edu/~michael/choctaw/retrace.html (choctaw charity during irish potato famine)

http://www.natchezbelle.org/ahgp-ms/push.htm (pushmataha)

http://mshistory.k12.ms.us/features/feature14/choctaw_removal.html (mushulatubbee)