Chitimacha Baskets

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Chitimacha Baskets

Chitimacha River Cane

Baskets

Chitimacha River Cane Baskets

For countless generations the split cane basketry of the

Chitimacha people has been known as the best in the

Southeastern United States.

Living along the Bayou Teche in St. Mary Parish,

Louisiana the basket makers of the Chitimacha formerly found the cane they use in basketry nearby; today they sometimes must travel many miles from their homes

because modern agriculture and pollution have destroyed most of the local cane. “Technological data from groups like the Chitimacha suggest that these artifacts forms have never ceased to be made and that techniques show little change in hundreds, if not thousands, of years.” (Gregory and Webb 1975:25)

Chitimacha basketry is known as a truly handmade

basket, because after the cane is gathered, it is split into long strips. The split cane is then peeled with the teeth, or when the basket maker becomes elderly and have no teeth, they grasp the end of the cane under the chin and peel it with the fingers.

The cane is dyed for designs, (black from black walnut, red from the dock plant, and yellow from a lime solution), the cane is then ready to be used in a basket. Cane with joints as far apart as possible is chosen purposely in order to give the surface of the cane a smooth finished

appearance.

Single and double weave baskets are made into many shapes and sizes; the double weave baskets are made with lids. The single weave basketry shapes include a heart shaped basket, a triangular shape basket used as a wall

basket, square shallow fanning (tray) baskets in which

cornmeal is prepared; open weave sifter baskets with the same shape as the fanner (tray) baskets; and taller square baskets to hold prepared corn, cornmeal, wild fruits, berries, and fish. Other single weave baskets were the wall pouch, el-bow, bowls, and mats. The trays and sifter baskets were once ‘nested’; that is, larger sizes of the baskets were made that fitted outside of the smaller baskets, but now these

baskets are made and sold singularly.

There are several different double weave shapes, a carba (square shaped), the trunk shaped (rectangular shaped), large pouch, and a tobacco case.

Formerly, single weave and double mats were made about six-feet long and four feet wide. They were used as floor coverings, as partitions in commercial houses, as

sleeping mats or sitting places for honored guests, while plainer ones were used for roof and side coverings for the houses. At one time, the bodies of the dead were rolled in mats before burial. Currently, only miniature mats are made.

The Chitimacha basket makers have kept the traditional colors, shapes, and designs of their baskets. Some

Chitimacha designs include worm track, bulls eye, perch or little trout, blackbirds eye, mouse tracks, bottom of basketry ( bow tie), rabbits teeth, turtle with a necktie, dots,

muscadine rind, alligator entrails, snake (the teche), bears earring, broken plaits, and too many others to name here.

Certain baskets are made for the sole purpose of being kept by the basket makers because they have the traditional intricate designs woven into them. If a duplicate is made, then the original can be sold, but at least one basket is kept so the designs can be copied. The single weave designs can be learned and kept “in the head’ so pattern single weave baskets need not be kept. Museum specimens can be copied is some are obtained by the Chitimacha basket makers.

At the present time, a limited amount of

traditional Chitimacha Basketry is still made on the Chitimacha Reservation in Charenton, Louisiana.

Out of approximately 975 descendants of the ancient Chitimacha Tribe, only four people are active

weavers. These Chitimacha basket makers remain traditional in their design usge.

The future of split cane basket making among the Chitimacha is not bright as most of the younger

people of the Chitimacha Tribe refuse to learn the time consuming processes to prepare the cane, to dye it , and to make the basket.

Several attempts by the Chitimacha weavers to pass on their basketry knowledge to the younger

generation have mostly failed. Chitimacha weaver Melissa Darden has been teaching her three sons, Eric, Robert, and Derek Brown, but as of now they are still in the process of learning. They have all made a few baskets they just still have to learn all the designs and they also still need a little help from mom.

Hopefully one day they will learn it well enough to pass on the tradition to their children.

Melissa Darden is one of four Chitimacha Basket

Weavers that remain. She presently resides on the

Chitimacha Indian Reservation in Charenton, Louisiana. She has three boys ages 13, 19, and 20. She also works full time at Cypress Bayou Casino. She has

obtained her Bachelors of Science with a Major in Business Management in February 2005.

Melissa started weaving Chitimacha Baskets in

January 1992. Her grandmother Lydia Darden taught her the basics and for the designs she went to different

museums and looked at and took pictures of the old

Chitimacha baskets.

The art of basket weaving is important to Melissa,

because each design has a meaning and a story behind it. She feels that this is a way of preserving the

natural history of her culture.

Traditionally, baskets were weaved for utility means and then it became a source of income for the Chitimacha

People. In some ways that is still the same, these baskets provide a better living for her and her family.

In late June, early July of 1996, she was invited to the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, DC., to demonstrate the Chitimacha basket weaving at the Folklife Festival. While she was there, she was interviewed for the archives. One can also read about Melissa in the Book “As Long As the Waters Flow,” Written by Frye Gaillard.

How to purchase a Chitimacha Basket?

One can call Melissa Darden at her home and place an

order for a basket, but there is anywhere from a two to four year waiting list. When she is doing a show she will try to have a few baskets for sale, but this is not normally very many and she normally sells out very fast.

To find out more information on Melissa Darden go on-line to the Louisiana Cultural Resources Directory

Http://www.crt.state.la.us/crd