The Ibi, also known as the Yui or Ibihica, were a

Timucua The Timucua were a Native American people who lived in Northeast and North Central Florida and southeast Georgia. They were the largest indigenous group in that area and consisted of about 35 chiefdoms, many leading thousands of people. The v ...

chiefdom in the present-day U.S. state of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

during the 16th and 17th centuries. They lived in southeastern Georgia, about 50 miles from the coast. Like their neighbors, the Icafui (or Cascange) tribe, they spoke a dialect of the

Timucua language Timucua is a language isolate formerly spoken in northern and central Florida and southern Georgia by the Timucua peoples. Timucua was the primary language used in the area at the time of Spanish colonization in Florida. Differences among the ...

called Itafi. The chief's main village was Ibihica, and he controlled four other villages in the area. The Ibi first encountered

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

friars in 1597, and soon became integrated into the Spanish mission system. A mission,

San Lorenzo de Ibihica San Lorenzo de Ibihica was a Spanish Franciscan mission built in the early 17th century in the southeast of the present-day U.S. state of Georgia. It was part of Spain's effort to colonize the region of Spanish Florida and convert the Timucua to C ...

, was founded after 1616. The town and mission appear to have been destroyed by the Spanish following the Timucua Rebellion of 1656, and the people relocated. Surviving Ibi may have merged with other Timucua groups or moved beyond the Spanish sphere of influence.

Name

The Ibi are also known as the Yui, though this appears to be a manuscript error: the letter ''u'' has been substituted for ''v'', which is pronounced as, and often substituted for, ''b'' in contemporary

. As such the correct spelling would be ''Yvi'' or ''Ybi'', standardized to ''Ibi'', a Timucuan word generally referring to

water Water (chemical formula ) is an Inorganic compound, inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living ...

. Anthropologist John Worth prefers referring to them as the Ibihica, the name of their main village where their mission was located.Worth vol. I, p. xxiv.

History

Little is known of the native population of southern

in prehistory. Archaeological study of the region has been limited and the ceramic chronology is not well established, but the area as a whole appears to have been a "transitory zone" between the Savannah and St. Johns culture regions. The Ibi first enter the historical record during the Spanish mission era, at which time they were noted as living on the Georgia mainland 14 leagues (about 50 miles) from Mission

San Pedro de Mocama Mission San Pedro de Mocama was a Spanish colonial Franciscan mission on Cumberland Island, on the coast of the present-day U.S. state of Georgia, from the late 16th century through the mid-17th century. It was built to serve the Tacatacuru, a M ...

, the mission to the

Tacatacuru Tacatacuru was a Timucua chiefdom located on Cumberland Island in what is now the U.S. state of Georgia in the 16th and 17th centuries. It was one of two chiefdoms of the Timucua subgroup known as the Mocama, who spoke the Mocama dialect of Timuc ...

chiefdom on

Cumberland Island Cumberland Island, in the southeastern United States, is the largest of the Sea Islands of Georgia. The long-staple Sea Island cotton was first grown here by a local family, the Millers, who helped Eli Whitney develop the cotton gin. With its ...

.Milanich, p. 50. The Ibi numbered between 700 and 800 people living in five villages under one chief, whose main village was known as Ibihica. They spoke a dialect of the

known as Itafi or Icafui, which was also spoken by their neighbors, the Icafui (also known as the Cascangue) tribe. Farther west, perhaps on the east side of the

Okefenokee Swamp The Okefenokee Swamp is a shallow, 438,000-acre (177,000 ha), peat-filled wetland straddling the Georgia–Florida line in the United States. A majority of the swamp is protected by the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and the Okefenokee ...

, were another Timucua group, the Oconi. The Ibi became involved in the Spanish mission system relatively early. They were visited by the Franciscan Fray Pedro Ruíz in 1597, and later that year their chief traveled to the Spanish colonial capital of St. Augustine to render obedience to the Spanish king. However, the 1597 revolt of the

Guale Guale was a historic Native American chiefdom of Mississippian culture peoples located along the coast of present-day Georgia and the Sea Islands. Spanish Florida established its Roman Catholic missionary system in the chiefdom in the late 16t ...

tribe, who lived farther north on the Georgia coast, caused Ruíz to be recalled. Still, the Ibi and the neighboring Oconi were visited with some regularity by friars from the nearby missions of San Pedro de Mocama and San Juan del Puerto. These visits were evangelically successful, but affected the local population, as by 1603 the Spanish noted that some Ibi were "leaving their towns" and relocating to the coastal missions. After 1616 the Ibi were given their own mission,

, established in the main town. The town and mission continued to exist until 1656, the year of the Timucua Rebellion against the Spanish government. At this time both Ibihica and nearby Oconi village were apparently destroyed by the Spanish.Worth vol. I, p. 74.Worth vol. II, p. 117. Surviving Ibi appear to have merged into other communities or moved outside the sphere of the Spanish colonial government.

Notes

References

* * * * {{authority control Native American tribes in Florida Native American tribes in Georgia (U.S. state) Spanish Florida Pre-statehood history of Georgia (U.S. state) Timucua Extinct Native American peoples