“Tate has an uncanny ability to synthesize his nationalistic ideas into his musical language…he has clearly taken the Western musical tradition and found a compelling voice that integrates his native culture.”
Photo: Chickasaw Corn Crib by Austrian Lancer
Impichchaachaaha ̍ means "his high corncrib" and is my inherited traditional Chickasaw house name. A corncrib is a small hut used for the storage of corn and other vegetables. In traditional Chickasaw culture, the corncrib was built high off the ground on stilts to keep its contents safe from foraging animals.
Chickasaw house names are similar European surnames. In the 1800's, Chickasaws used their European surnames and their Chickasaw house names interchangeably. I would have been formally addressed as either Jerod Tate or Jerod of Impichchaachaaha ̍.
Im + pichchaa + chaaha ̍
Im = implies "his"
pichchaa = corncrib or silo
chaaha ̍ = to be tall or high up
The entire translation means "his high corncrib."
An underlined vowel indicates a nasal pronunciation of that vowel. An apostrophe indicates a glottal stop (abrupt stopping of the air). A double consonant (chch) sounds like only one, as in the word apple. A double vowel means a slight elongation of that vowel. "I" is pronounced like the word picnic. "A" is pronounced like the word father.
