Description
The Mougoulacha were a Native American tribe that lived near Lake Pontchartrain in Louisiana. Some sources indicate that the Mougoulacha may have been the same tribe as the Quinipissa, Acolapissa, and the Tangipahoa. John Reed Swanton suggests that the Quinipissa merged into the surviving Mougoulacha. In 1699, Pierre Le Moine d'Iberville traveled east of the Mississippi River Delta and encountered the Mugulacha. d'Iberville was surprised to see that the Mughracha chief was wearing a blue serge coat. The chief said the coat was given to him by Henri de Tonti when he explored the area many years ago. Chief Mughulasha then showed d'Iberville a letter written in French. d'Iberville determined that this letter was left by Tonti to the Quinipisa people 14 years earlier. This led d'Iberville to believe that the Muguracha were actually the remaining members of the Quinipisa tribe.
Language
The Mougoulacha language was closely related to Choctaw and Chickasaw, which are both Muskogean languages.
Culture
The name Mougoulacha (Imongolosha) is believed to mean "People from the other side". The tribe maintained perpetual fires burning in two village temples. The temples were the same size as their homes but decorated with animal carvings. The explorer d'Iberville said that he saw many carvings of possums which they called choucouacha in their native language along with offerings of deer, bear, and bison skins inside the temple. A Jesuit priest named Paul du Ru said that the Mougoulacha had two temples in each village located on opposite sides of a large plaza.