Description
The Hainai were a Native American tribe that lived in what is now east Texas. The Hainai (also sometimes called Aynais, Aynay, Ainai, Ioni, Huawni and Ayonai) were the leading group in the Hasinai confederacy. They were a part of the Caddo Nation, and traditionally lived on the Neches and Angelina rivers to the west of present-day Nacogdoches. In 1805, the group was reported to consist of 80 warriors by Dr. John Sibley, the Indian agent of the United States at Natchitoches, Louisiana. In 1837 the Republic of Texas makes reference to the Hainai in connection with Yowani Choctaws living on Attoyac Bayou in what is now southeastern Rusk County, Texas. Part of this group was later associated with a Native community in east Texas known as the Mount Tabor Indian Community. The historian Mooney also noted the Yowani as a part of the Caddo Confederacy.
Language
Hainai differs dialectically from both Hasinai and Kadohadacho forms of spoken Caddo.
Culture
The Hainai had a culture that consisted of the hunting and gathering dynamic. The men hunted year round, while the young and healthy women were responsible for the gathering of fruits, seeds, and vegetables for the tribe. Elderly women planted and cultivated the seeds for the season's crop. Gathered items included corn, sunflowers, beans, melons, tobacco, and squash during the warm seasons. Acorns and roots were gathered and processed to provide food other than meat in the cold seasons when crops did not grow. The men used handcrafted bows and arrows to hunt animals such as wild turkey, quail, rabbits, bears, and bison during winter months. Most tools and items were made by women. They made wooden mortars, as well as pots and other utensils out of clay. These wood and clay tools were carved and molded to help with daily jobs like cooking meals for the tribe.