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Southeastern Ceremonial Complex
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The Southeastern Ceremonial Complex (traditionally Southern Death Cult, later also Southern Cult or Chiefly Warfare Cult) is the name given to the regional stylistic similarity of artifacts, iconography, ceremonies and mythology of the Mississippian culture that coincided with their adoption of maize agriculture and chiefdom-level complex social organization from 1200 CE to 1650 CE. Contrary to popular belief, this development appears to have no direct links to Mesoamerica, but developed independently.
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The Southeastern Ceremonial Complex (traditionally Southern Death Cult, later also Southern Cult or Chiefly Warfare Cult) is the name given to the regional stylistic similarity of artifacts, iconography, ceremonies and mythology of the Mississippian culture that coincided with their adoption of maize agriculture and chiefdom-level complex social organization from 1200 CE to 1650 CE. Contrary to popular belief, this development appears to have no direct links to Mesoamerica, but developed independently. This Ceremonial Complex represents a major component of the religion of the Mississippian peoples, and is one of the primary means by which their religion is understood.
Theories and Names
Much of what we call a "complex" is more of an "exchange network." This kind of connection may be illustrated by a pair of gorgets whose representation is so similar as to suggest that they were made by the same artist. One is from southeast Missouri and the other from Spiro in Oklahoma. There are a number of other pairs of extremely similar gorgets that serve to link sites across the entire Southeast. The social organization of the Mississippian culture was based on warfare, which can be identified by exotic motifs and symbols and by costly raw materials such as conchs from Florida, copper from the southeast, lead from northern Illinois and Iowa, pottery from Tennessee, stone tool sources from Kansas, Texas, and southern Illinois. Such objects occur in elite burials, together with war axes, maces, and other weapons. These warrior symbols occur alongside other artifacts which bear exotic cosmic imagery, depicting animals, humans, and mythic beasts. This symbolic imagery bound together warfare, cosmology, and nobility into a coherent whole. Some of these categories of artifacts were used as markers of chiefly office, which varied from one location to another. The term reflects a complex, highly variable set of religious mechanisms that supported the authority of local chiefs.
The S.E.C.C. was organized in 1945 by Antonio Waring and Preston Holder as a series of four lists of traits which they categorized as the Southeastern (centered) Ceremonial Complex. Their concept was of a complex of a specific cult manifestation that originated with Muskogean speakers in the southern United States. Since then scholars have expanded the original definition while using its trait lists as a foundation for critical analysis of the entire concept. In 1989 scholars proposed a more archaeologically centered definition for defining the Mississippian artistic tradition. Jon Muller of SIU proposes the classification of the complex into five horizons, with each as a discrete tradition defined by the origin of specific motifs and ritual objects and the specific developments in long-distance exchange and political structures.
Mississippian Ideological Interaction Sphere Horizons
This redefining of the complex has called for some to suggest a new name, one that exemplifies the new understanding of the large body of art symbols classified as the S.E.C.C. Participants of a decade long series of conferences held at Texas State University have proposed the terms Mississippian Ideological Interaction Sphere or M.I.I.S. and Mississippian Art and Ceremonial Complex or M.A.C.C. Present theories suggest that the complex developed from pre-existing beliefs spread over the midwest and southeast by the Hopewell Interaction Sphere from 100 BCE to 500 CE. The major expression of the complex developed at the Cahokia Site, known as the Braden Style, and corresponds with the Southern Cult Period horizon of Muller. Other regional styles developed as a result of the fusion of ideas borrowed from the Braden Style and pre-existing local expressions of post Hopewellian traditions.
Projected Development of M.A.C.C. Styles
As the major centers, such as Cahokia, collapsed and the trade networks broke down, these regional styles diverged farther from the Braden Style and from each other. During the ensuing centuries the local traditions morphed into the religious beliefs and cosmologies of the different tribes known to exist at the time of European contact.
Cosmology
Most S.E.C.C. imagery focuses on cosmology and the supernatural beings who inhabit the cosmos. The cosmological map encompassed real, knowable locations, whether in this world or the supernatural reality of the Otherworld. S.E.C.C. iconography portrayed the cosmos in three levels. The Above World or Overworld, was the home of the Thunderers, the Sun, Moon and Morning Star or Red Horn / "He Who Wears Human Heads For Earrings" and represented Order and Stability. The Middle World was the Earth that we live in. The Beneath World or Under World was a cold, dark place of Chaos that was home to the Underwater panther and Corn Mother or "Old Woman Who Never Dies". These three worlds were connected by an axis mundi usually portrayed as a cedar tree or a striped pole reaching from the Under World to the Over World. Each of the three levels was also believed to have its own sub-levels. Deeply ingrained in the world view was concept of duality and opposition. The beings of the Upper and Under realms were in constant opposition to each other. Ritual and ceremony were the means by which these powerful forces could be accessed and harnessed.
Motifs
Many common motifs in S.E.C.C. artwork are locative symbols that help determine where the action takes place and where the beings being portrayed are from.
| Motif | Image | Description |
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| Petaloid Motif
| | This motif derives its name from it resemblance to flower petals, but it most likely represents feathers. A Petaloid placed around individuals, objects or supernatural beings denotes its locations as "celestial". | | Quincunx or Cross in Circle Motif
| | The Cross in Circle Motif is prevalent in most Native American religions. It has solar connotations and usually symbolizes the sacred fire that exists in the Middle World. A Cross in Circle Motif combined with a Petaloid Motif symbolized the Above World. | | Swastika in Circle Motif
| | A variation of the Cross in Circle Motif, symbolizing the creative, generative power of the underworld. | | Forked Eye Surround Motif
| | Beings wearing the Forked Eye Surround Motif are understood to reside in the Above World. It is derived from the eye markings of the Peregrine Falcon. | | Eye Surround Motif
| | Beings wearing the Eye Surround Motif resided in the Under World. | | Ogee Motif
| | The Ogee Motif symbolized portals in to the Underworld. It appears frequently on Under World Deities. It may symbolize caves, may be derived from representations of the female genitalia or an human eye motif. | | Striped-Center-Pole Motif
| | The Cedar Tree and Striped Pole Motif represent the Axis Mundi or world tree. A central axis on which all the world rotated and were connected. It would have had alternating bands of red and white. It is often augmented with raccoon skin bundles, Ogee Motifs and anthropomorphic heads. | | Trilobed Motif
| | The Tri-lobed Motif functioned as a serpent marking and may have symbolized a supernaturals ability to travel from the Lower World to the Upper World. | | Bi-Lobed Arrow Motif
| | The Bi-Lobed Arrow Motif is often seen in the headdresses of the warriors/birdmen/chunkey players. A complex symbol, it is a graphic representation of a bow and arrow, an atlatl,or possibly a calumet. In the Red Horn Cycle, Red Horn is also called "He who gets hit with deer lungs", which may be an allusion to the fact that deer lungs with the trachea look like the graphic depiction of the Bi-Lobed Arrow. It may symbolize kinship and adoption rituals related to social hierarchies. Repoussé copper examples have been found in Missisippian sites. | | The Hand and Eye Motif
| | The Hand and Eye Motif is a human hand with an eye gazing out from the palm, was yet another symbol of deity. It was one of the most common motifs in Mississippian symbology and may be related to the Ogee Motif, suggesting it represents a portal to the Otherworld. | | Mace Motif
| | The Mace Motif is usually associated with the warrior image and may be combined with other motifs, especially the Cross in Circle Motif. It is a graphic representation of a warclub or ceremonial mace, such as the chipped flint and ground stone versions found throughout the southeast. | | Columnella Pendant Motif
| | The Columnella Pendant is a graphic representation of the longitudinal center columnella of a whelk shell. Because of the whelk shells association with the black drink ceremony, it is theorized that this symbol is associated with it as well. |
The Birdman
The falcon is one of the most conspicuous symbols of the S.E.C.C. It was simultaneously an avatar of warriors and an object of supplication for a lengthy life, healthy family and a long line of descendants. Its supernatural origin is placed in the Upperworld with a pantheon including the Sun, Moon and Four Stars. In Cahokia the falcon imagery found elaborate figural expression. It is associated with warfare, high stakes gaming, and possibly family dynastic ambitions, symbolized by arrow flights and the rising of the pre-dawn morning star as metaphors for the succession of descendants into the future. Raptor imagery had gained prominence during the Hopewell period, but attained its peak in the Braden Style of the early Mississippian period. It survived afterward in the Red Horn mythological cycle and native religion of the Winnebagos, Osage, Ioway and other plains Siouan peoples. In the Braden Style the Birdman is divided into four categories.
- Falcon Dancers with wings.
- Chunkey players / warriors with wings.
- Club wielding wingless warriors.
- Dancing wingless warriors / chunkey players
Various motifs are associated with the Birdman, including the forked eye motif, columnella pendants, mace or club weapons, severed heads, chunkey play( including chunkey stones, striped and broken chunkey sticks), bellows shaped aprons, and bi-lobed arrow motifs.
Red Horn and his sons
The Red Horn Mythic Cycle is from the Winnebago People. The mythic cycle of Red Horn and his sons has certain analogies with the Hero Twins mythic cycle of Mesoamerica. Redhorn was known by many names, including "Morning Star", a reference to his celestial origin, and "He who is Struck with Deer Lungs," a possible reference to the Bi-Lobed Arrow Motif. In the episode associated with this name, Red Horn turns himself into an arrow to win a race. After winning the race Redhorn creates heads on his earlobes and makes his hair into a long red braid. Thus he becomes known as "Redhorn" and as "He who has Human Heads as Earlobes". In another episode Redhorn and his friends are challenged by the Giants to play ball( or possibly chunkey) with their lives staked on the outcome. The best Giant player was a woman with long red hair just like Redhorn's. The little heads on Redhorn's ears caused her to laugh so much that it interfered with her game and the Giants lost. The Giants lost all the other contests as well. Then they challenged Redhorn and his friends to a wrestling match in which they threw all but Red Horns friend Turtle. Since Redhorn and his fellow spirits lost two out of the three matches, they were all slain.The two wives of Redhorn are pregnant at the time of his death. The sons born to each have red hair, with the older having heads where his earlobes should be, and the youngest having them in place of his nipples. The older brother discovers where the Giants keep the heads of Redhorn and his friends. The two boys use their powers to steal the heads from the Giants, whom they wipe out almost completely. The boys bring back to life Redhorn, Storms as He Walks, and Turtle. In honor of this feat, Turtle and "Storms as He Walks" promise the boys special weapons. In another episode, the sons of Redhorn decide to go on the warpath. The older brother asks "Storms as He Walks" for the Thunderbird Warbundle. After some effort, it is produced, but the Thunderbirds demand that it have a case. A friend of the sons of Redhorn offers his own body as its case. The boys take the Thunderbird Warbundle and with their followers go on a raid to the other side of the sky. Many S.E.C.C. images seem to be of Red Horn, his companions, and his sons. The characters in the myth seem to be integrally tied to the Calumet ceremony, and its association with kinship and adoption. In fact, the Bi-Lobed Arrow Motif may be a graphic depiction of the calumet. Other images found in S.E.C.C. art show figures with Long Nosed God Maskettes on their ears and in place of their nipples.
The Great Serpent
The Great Serpent is the most well known mythological figure from the S.E.C.C. whose roots go back to Hopewell times, if not earlier. It is usually described as horned and winged, although the wings are more an indicator of its celestial origin than an essential form of the creature.In some versions of Shawnee myths it is described as a multi-headed monster with one green and one red horn, horns being a manifestation or marker of its power. In other myths is described as a Cyclopean buffalo with one green and one red horn. The Piasa of the Miamis is described as having the body of a panther, four legs, a human head, impossibly long tail and horns. Mishibizhiw, the Ojibwa Underwater panther, was a combination of rattlesnake, cougar, deer and hawk. Other native peoples also gave descriptions of the being, with the majority seeming to belong to one of two extremes, and a multitude in between.
Distribution of belief in the 2 major forms of the Great Serpent
The Great Serpents, the great denizens of the Underworld, were described as power beings who were in constant antagonism with the forces of the Upper World, usually represented by the Thunderers (Birdmen or Falcon beings). Although men were to be careful of these beings, they could also be the source of great power. Another Shawnee myth tells of the capture and dismemberment of Msi Kinepikwa. The pieces were distributed to the five septs of the tribe, and kept in their sacred "medicine bundles".
Artifacts with S.E.C.C. imagery
S.E.C.C. motifs have been found on a variety of non perishable materials, including shell, pottery, stone, and copper. Undoubtedly many other materials were also used, but many haven't survived the intervening centuries. It can be judged by looking at the remaining artifacts that S.E.C.C. practitioners worked with feathers and designs woven into cloth, practiced body painting and possibly tattooing. as well as having pierced ears. One surviving painting found on a baked clay floor at the Wickliffe Site suggest they also painted designs in and on their dwellings. Paintings displaying S.E.C.C. imagery have also been found in caves, most notably Mud Glyph Cave in Tennessee. Animal images, serpents, and warrior figures occur, as well as winged warriors, horned snakes, stylized birds, maces, and arrows. Their location underneath the Earth probably reflect aspects of Mississippian myth and cosmology concerning the (perhaps sacred) precincts beneath the earth.
| Motif | Image 1 | Image 2 | Image 3 | Image 4 | Image 5 |
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| Engraved Shell
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Sites Associated with the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex
Popular Culture
The goth rock band the Southern Death Cult, predecessor to the the more famous rock band The Cult, takes its name from the culture.
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