Ahihla

Choctaw ancestors sustained a rich spiritual and ceremonial life centered on the dance ground at the middle of each town, where religious and social life came together. Dances performed there included the stealing partners dance, drink water dance, friendship dance, war dances, and animal dances such as quail, raccoon, and snake. Most dances were sacred and private, though some were social and secular, and 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, a time of cleansing, renewal, forgiveness, and rebirth. In modern times, Tribes help provide for ceremonial grounds to maintain this important part of Choctaw culture.

Durant, Oklahoma · United States