Ibitoupa Indians. A small tribe of unknown affinity, but the theory that they were connected with the Chickasaw has more arguments in its favor than any other. In 1699 they formed one of the villages mentioned by Iberville 1 as situated on Yazoo River, Ibitoupa being near the upper end of the group between the Chaquesauma (Chakchiuma) and the Thysia (Tioux), according to the order named, which appears to be substantially correct, although Coxe 2 who omits Thysia, makes the Ibitoupa settlement expressly the uppermost of the series. The Ibitoupa and Chakchiuma, together with the Tapoucha (Taposa), were united in one village on the upper Yazoo by 1798. What eventually became of them is not known, but it is probable that they were absorbed by the Chickasaw.
Alternate Spellings
- Bitotoupa – Pénicaut (1700) in French Hist. Coll. La., n. s, I, 61, 1869.
- Epitoupa – Coxe, Carolana, 10, map, 1741.
- Ouitoupas – Pénicaut in Margery, Déc., V, 401, 1883.
- Outapa – Iberville (1699), ibid., IV, 1880.
- Outaypes – Martin, Hist. La., I, 249, 1827.
- Witoupo – Alcedo, Dic. Geog., V, 343, 1789 (misprint).
- Witowpa – Esnauts et Rapilly, map, 1777.
- Witowpo – Phillipeaux, map of English Col., 1781.
- Ybitoopas – Romans, Fla., I, 101, 1773.
- Ybitoupas – Baudry des Lozières, Voy. à la Louisiane, 245, 1802.
For Further Study
The following articles and manuscripts will shed additional light on the Ibitoupa as both an ethnological study, and as a people.
