Chapter 39: The People of the South Wind
Chapter 39: The People of the South Wind
The Wasioto basin [Nashville basin] was particularly hard hit by the disruptions of the 530s and 540s. The Yuchi people who inhabited the Wasioto Basin may have seen as much as a 50% drop in population (from either death or migration) in less than 20 years. After the volcanic clouds dissipated, the area slowly rebuilt.
When Opihale [Louisville, KY] had granted Mozacala land, they had given Mozcala land that had either been depopulated by the aftermath of the 536 AD volcanic eruptions or was undeveloped to begin with. Much of this land was south of the Ohiyo [Ohio] River, near the settlements of the Yuchi people. In fact, this is where the term Shawnee comes from. Shawnee translates as “the People of the South Wind” or “People from the South”.
As Mozcala grew, more and more uninhabited forest was transformed into farmland. This encroached on the traditional hunting lands of the Yuchi. The situation came to a head in the early 570s when a group of Yuchi noblemen visited Mozcala to make their displeasure known. They insulted the Shawnee and their religious practices. This enraged the then-King of Mozcala Keannekeuk. He quickly ordered the army to march against these insolent barbarians. This was the first time Mozcala would go to war.
This first conquest was successful. Too successful in a way. Keannekeuk captured a large number of Yuchi prisoners. This posed a problem. Mozist teachings banned human sacrifice but the captured soldiers were clearly not suitable as slaves. They refused to work and when forced to work they sabotaged what they could. All of them repeatedly tried to escape. Some of them demanded to be sacrificed as a matter of honor. A few even killed themselves rather than face the indignity of slavery.
One of the captured soldiers, a man by the name of Muccutay took a different approach. He did not resist his enslavement. Instead, Muccutay studied the Mozist religion and was persuaded of its truthfulness. He converted to Mozism and petitioned to be allowed to fight for Mozcala in the future.
Keannekeuk rejected this petition at first as he did not trust a slave to fight for him. However, his Keeper of the Seal, Eshkibagikoonzhe, was moved by Muccutay’s story. Eshkibagikoonzhe persuaded Keannekeuk to allow Muccutay to prove his worth. Keannekeuk sent Muccutay on a very dangerous mission to rescue a prisoner held by the Yuchi.
Muccutay braved many dangers but managed to rescue the prisoner, though he was gravely wounded in the attempt. Rather than let him die, Eshkibagikoonzhe ordered his personal healers be sent to Muccutay. In time, Muccutay would return to health. Muccutay would serve Mozcala loyally for many years. He was marked out from the other soldiers with a sun tattoo on his hand. In the future other Yuchi slave soldiers would also be given such tattoos.
It is unclear how much of this story (which is found in the Shaanii Aadizookaan) is truthful and how much of it was fabricated later. It certainly follows the format of a hero’s adventure but that does not mean it is false. It may simply be an embellishment of a real story. In any case, it serves as a way for the Shaanii Aadizookaan to explain the origin of the Yuchi slave soldiers.
The Shawnee conquest of the Wasioto Basin continued through the reigns of Keannekeuk, Memiskondinimaaganeshiinh and Mahomet. We will not discuss every campaign and battle recorded in the Shaanii Aadizookaan. Here are some highlights:
The Assembly of Equals would symbolically declare war on the Yuchi at the beginning of every year.
In 591 AD, the city of Hogohegii [Murfreesboro, TN] was captured. The city resisted for a long time and when it finally fell it was burned and looted by the Shawnee. The entire population of the city was taken as slaves and were to be force marched back to Mozcala. Many of the children were unable to keep up with the quick pace of the soldiers. Rather than slow down, the Shawnee commander instead ordered anyone unable to keep marching to be drowned in the nearby river. This river is now called the Papoose River [Stones River in Tennessee] for the many infants, called papoose by the Shawnee, who were drowned on that day.
Under Memiskondinimaaganeshiinh, a special group of Yuchi converts were made into a bodyguard for the emperor. They had no ties to the nobility or anyone except the king. Memiskondinimaaganeshiinh treated them well and lavished gifts on them. This made them fanatically loyal. Later kings would follow his example, slowly expanding the Yuchi forces until they made up the bulk of the royal armies.
Map of the Shawnee Empire circa 626 AD
As Mozcala came to control more and more of the Wasioto basin, they began to appoint local governors to rule smaller areas. These men were given the title odaakewigimaa and ruled over parcels of land called aki. We will use the terms “prefect” and “prefecture” when referring to these concepts.
Prefects were were given large estates where slaves would grow food and cash crops. The more prestigious the post, the more slaves and land they were given. However, they were not given lands that they had any claim or connection to. Each prefect swore loyalty to Mozcala and had to give military aid whenever asked. If they didn’t they could be dismissed from their post or even executed for disloyalty. When a prefect died, their sons did not inherit their post. This made their position very precarious and dependent on loyalty to the King of Mozcala.
Even Yuchi soldiers who had served Mozcala could be given tracts of land. After they became too old to fight, they were settled in oshki’aki ruled over by eshpabid. We will use the terms “colonies” and “barons” when referring to these concepts.
Barons were chosen from among former Yuchi slave commanders. Those who settled in the colonies were bound to part time military service for their entire lives. Their sons would take up their duties after the original colonists died. In this way, Mozcala always had soldiers which it could call upon when needed.
The last Yuchi settlement was taken in 626 AD and the Assembly of Equals formally declared the war with the Yuchi won. The then-King of Mozcala, Mahomet, took the title Ba Wasioto, which translates as “Lord of the Wasioto”. This sort of title had typically been used by the Kings of city-states that built small empires centered on a river valley. So the King of Nepernine [Cincinnati] would conquer most of the Ohiyo basin and assume the title Ba Ohiyo. The title of Ba would prove the basis of the later imperial titles of the Shawnee.
Some of these things are also discussed in the Book of War, which was supposedly written by King Mahomet. We will discuss that book in a supplemental next week.
Characters
- Muccutay- first captured Yuchi soldier to convert to Mozism; name means “black”
- Keannekeuk- the nephew of Tenskwatawa and Tecumseh; an early ruler of Mozcala
- Eshkibagikoonzhe- Keeper of the Seal for Keannekeuk; a government bureaucrat; inventor of the civil service exams
- Memiskondinimaaganeshiinh- early ruler of Mozcala; name means “red shouldered bird”.
- Mahomet- early ruler of Mozcala; writer of the Book of War.
Comments? Questions?
1Taken from: https://www.citizen-times.com/gcdn/...th=1200&disable=upscale&format=pjpg&auto=webp