Ahihla

Ahihla. Dance Circle. , Our ancestors enjoyed a rich spiritual and ceremonial life. The dance ground, located at a town's center, was the venue where Choctaw religious and social life converged. The stealing partners dance, drink water dance, friendship dance, war dances, and many animal dances, including quail, raccoon, and snake were performed on this ground. Most dances were sacred and private, however a few were social and secular. Clans from other towns and even other Tribes came to social gatherings. For a thousand years, the Green Corn Ceremony was the most important gathering at the ceremonial grounds. It was the time of cleansing, renewal, forgiveness, and rebirth. In modern times, Tribes help provide for ceremonial grounds to maintain this important part of our culture., [Caption:] , Clockwise from above: dancers perform in front of an arbor, in front of the Old Capitol Building, and in the living village at Tushkahoma during the Labor Day Festival. All photos by Choctaw Nation.