Description
The Abihka were the remnants of the 16th century "Chiefdom of Coosa," andhe bulk of the Natchez people settled with the Abihka after being dispersed by the French in the 18th century. The name "Abihka", is sometimes used to refer to all the Upper Creek peoples. The members of the Abihka were Upper Creek Indians. Their main place of residence was along the banks of the Coosa and Alabama rivers,[2] in what is now Talladega County, Alabama. Besides the town of Abihka, the Creek had established other important towns in their territory: Abihkutchi, Tuckabutche, Talladega, Coweta, and Kan-tcati. The Abihka constituted one of the most ancient divisions of the true Muskogee, appearing in the oldest migration legends, and are reckoned one of the four “foundation towns” of the confederacy. In ceremonial speeches they were called Abihka-nagi, though what nagi signifies no one at the present time knows. They were also called “the door shutters” because they guarded the northern border of the confederacy against attack. Hawkins says that among the oldest chiefs the name of this tribe was sometimes extended to the entire Creek Nation.
Language
The Natchez language is the ancestral language of the Natchez people who historically inhabited Mississippi and Louisiana, and who now mostly live among the Muscogee and Cherokee peoples in Oklahoma. The language is considered to be either unrelated to other indigenous languages of the Americas or distantly related to the Muskogean languages.
Culture
The Abihka town as it appeared in 1799 called Au-be-coo-che, is on Nau-chee creek, five miles from the river, on the right bank of the creek, on a flat one mile wide. The growth is hard-shelled hickory. The town spreads itself out and is scattered on both sides of the creek, in the neighborhood of very high hills, which descend back into waving, rich land, fine for wheat or com; the bottoms all rich; the neighborhood abounds in limestone, and large limestone springs; they have one above, and one below the town; the timber on the rich lands is oak, hickory, walnut, poplar, and mulberry. There is a very large cave north of the town, the entrance of which is small, on the side of a hill. It is much divided, and some of the rooms appear as the work of art; the doors regular; in several parts of the cave saltpetre is to be seen in crystals. On We-wo-cau creek there is a fine mill seat; the water is contracted by two hills; the fall twenty feet; and the land in the neighborhood very rich; cane is found on the creeks, and reed grows well on these lands.