Customs and beliefs. In the
legend which recounts the coming of the Caddo from the underworld it
is related: "First an old man climbed tip, carrying in one hand fire
and a pipe, and in the other a drum; next came his wife with corn and
pumpkin seeds." The traditions of the people do not go back to a time
when they were not cultivators of the soil; their fields surrounded
their villages and furnished their staple food; they were
semi-sedentary in their habits and lived in fixed habitations. Their
dwellings were conical in shape, made of a framework of poles covered
with a thatch of grass, and were grouped about an open space which
served for social and ceremonial gatherings. Couches covered with mats
were ranged around the walls inside the house to serve as seats by day
and beds by night. The fire was built in the center. Food was cooked
in vessels of pottery, and baskets of varying sizes were skillfully
made. Vegetal fibers were woven, and the cloth was made into garments;
their mantles, when adorned with feathers, were very attractive to the
early French visitors. Living in the country of the buffalo, that
animal and others were hunted and the pelts dressed and made into
clothing for winter use. Besides having the usual ornaments for the
arms, neck, and ears, the Caddo bored the nasal septum and inserted a
ring as a face decorations, a custom noted in the name, meaning
"pierced nose," given the Caddo by the Kiowa and other unrelated
tribes, and designated in the sign language of the plains. Tattooing
was practiced. Descent was traced through the mother. Chieftainship
was hereditary, as was the custody of certain sacred articles used in
religious ceremonies. These ceremonies were connected with the
cultivation of maize, the seeking of game, and the desire for long
life, health, peace, and prosperity, and were conducted by priests who
were versed in the rites and who led the accompanying rituals and
songs. According to Caddo belief all natural forms were animate and
capable of rendering assistance to man. Fasting, prayer, and
occasional sacrifices were observed; life was thought to continue
after death, and kinship groups were supposed to be reunited in the
spirit world. Truthfulness, honesty, and hospitality were inculcated,
and just dealing was esteemed a virtue. There is evidence that
cannibalism was ceremonially practiced in connection with captives.
