Description
The Hasinai Confederacy was a large confederation of Caddo-speaking Native Americans who occupied territory between the Sabine and Trinity rivers in eastern Texas. Today, their descendants are enrolled in the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma and the Natchitoches Tribe of Louisiana. The name Hasinai (with the variants Hasini, Asenai, Asinai, Assoni, Asenay, Cenis, Senis, and Sannaye) means "our own people" in Caddoan. The Spanish knew the Hasinai as the Tejas or Texas, from a form of greeting meaning "friend", which gave the state of Texas its name. When the Spanish and the French encountered the Hasinai in the 1680s, they were a centrally organized chiefdom under the control of a religious leader, known as the Grand Xinesi. He lived in a secluded house and met with a council of elders. The chieftainship consisted of several subdivisions, which have been designated "cantonments". Each was under the control of a Caddi. There were also men designated as Canahas and Chayas, who helped the Caddi run the system.
Language
The Caddo language is known as Hasinai to its native speakers.
Culture
The cultural core of the Caddoan region was characterized by intensive horticultural pursuits based on maize, beans, and squash. At the Davis site was found a village composed of oval to circular shaped houses that were probably covered with mats or grass thatch like later Hasinai dwellings. The temple and interment mounds and the lack of them elsewhere indicate that this was a politico-religious ceremonial center that was accompanied by a hierarchy within the social system. These people planned such centers, directed construction, utilized them, and then were given elaborate burials. The origin of Hasinai ceremonialism could have been indigenous, but it could have also come from outside sources.