The Hasinai Confederacy ( Caddo: ) was a large confederation of Caddo-speaking Native Americans who occupied territory between the

Sabine The Sabines (; lat, Sabini; it, Sabini, all exonyms) were an Italic people who lived in the central Apennine Mountains of the ancient Italian Peninsula, also inhabiting Latium north of the Anio before the founding of Rome. The Sabines di ...

and

Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God th ...

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of w ...

s in eastern Texas. Today, their descendants are enrolled in the

Caddo Nation of Oklahoma The Caddo people comprise the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma, a federally recognized tribe headquartered in Binger, Oklahoma. They speak the Caddo language. The Caddo Confederacy was a network of Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands, who ...

and the Natchitoches Tribe of Louisiana.

Name

The name ''Hasinai'' (with the variants ''Hasini'', ''Asenai'', ''Asinai'', ''Assoni'', ''Asenay'', ''Cenis'', ''Senis'', and ''Sannaye'') means "our own people" in Caddoan. The Spanish knew the Hasinai as the ''Tejas'' or ''Texas'', from a form of greeting meaning "friend", which gave the state of Texas its name.

Government

When the Spanish and the French encountered the Hasinai in the 1680s, they were a centrally organized chiefdom under the control of a religious leader, known as the Grand Xinesi. He lived in a secluded house and met with a council of elders. The chieftainship consisted of several subdivisions, which have been designated "cantonments". Each was under the control of a Caddi. There were also men designated as Canahas and Chayas, who helped the Caddi run the system.

History

During the 17th century, the Hasinai traded with the

Jumano Jumanos were a tribe or several tribes, who inhabited a large area of western Texas, New Mexico, and northern Mexico, especially near the Junta de los Rios region with its large settled Indigenous population. They lived in the Big Bend area in ...

at the western Hasinai city of Nabedache. Some consider the residents of Nabedache to have been a distinct people designated by that name.

Historic populations

It is estimated that in 1520, the people who would become the Hasinai, the

Kadohadacho The Kadohadacho (Caddo: Kadawdáachuh) are a Native American tribe within the Caddo Confederacy. Today they are enrolled in the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma. History The Kadohadacho traditionally lived at the borders of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and ...

and the Natchitoches, numbered about 250,000. Over the next 250 years, the population of these Caddoan-speaking peoples was severely reduced by epidemics of endemic diseases carried by Spanish and French colonists and spread through indigenous trading networks. Native Americans had no acquired immunity to the new diseases, and suffered high mortality. In 1690, the Hasinai numbered in the vicinity of 10,000 people or a little more. By 1720, as a result of infectious diseases such as

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

, the Hasinai population had fallen to 2,000.Anderson, ''The Indian Southwest'', p. 57

Closely related peoples

Arikara Arikara (), also known as Sahnish,
''Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation.'' (Retrieved Sep 29, 2011)

Chitimacha The Chitimacha ( ; or ) are a federally recognized tribe of Native Americans who live in the U.S. state of Louisiana, mainly on their reservation in St. Mary Parish near Charenton on Bayou Teche. They are the only Indigenous people in the st ...

* Natchitoches *

Pawnee Pawnee initially refers to a Native American people and its language: * Pawnee people * Pawnee language Pawnee is also the name of several places in the United States: * Pawnee, Illinois * Pawnee, Kansas * Pawnee, Missouri * Pawnee City, Nebraska ...

* Tula

Notes

References

* Edmonds, Randlett. ''Nusht'uhtiʔtiʔ Hasinay: Caddo Phrasebook''. Richardson, TX: Various Indian Peoples Publishing, 2003. .

External links

The Hasinai Society of the Caddo Nation

Tides.sfasu.ed−Texas Tides: Location of the Tribes of the Hasinai Confederacy in 1716

Texasbeyondhistory.net: Life and Times of the Caddo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hasinai Caddoan peoples Native American tribes in Oklahoma Native American tribes in Texas Native American history of Texas