‘Echo’: Who Is Chafa & How Is She Connected to Choctaw People?
MCU’s first TV-MA show was just released, and we’ve seen Echo’s path from a villain to somewhat of an anti-hero. As it turns out, Echo comes from a long line of powerful women since she can trace back her roots to Chafa. Now, Chafa is a new name in the MCU, and this is why we decided to tell you more about her.
Chafa was the first Choctaw, and she was fashioned out of clay
The first episode of ‘Echo’ started with a flashback to the creation myth of the Choctaw people. Originally, Choctaws lived underground and were made out of clay or mud, with a powerful source of magic under their command. When Chafa drank from the magical source of power, glowing circular symbols appeared on her palms.
The cave in which the first Choctaws lived eventually started to collapse, and Chafa saved both herself and her people from a certain death. When Chafa and the rest of the Chocktaw tribe came to the surface world, they noticed that their clay skin had started to shed, and they looked just like regular humans. However, the superpowers didn’t abandon Chafa. She became the first leader of the Chocktaw tribe and subsequently started a lineage that will continue for thousands of years to come.
From Chafa’s blood rose powerful Chocktaw women such as Lowak, Tuklo, Echo, and Taloa. It’s presumed that Echo has her powers due to hereditary ancestral powers because Chafa drank from that magical source when she was created. Echo is also not the only one from her family to have access to that magic, as her cousin, mother, and grandmother also have a degree of power within them.
Was Chafa based on a real person?
Chafa is not based on a real person but her similarity does have connections to Choctaw lore. First, the Choctaw people refer to themselves as Chahta, and the term Choctaw is an anglicized version of this autonym. The meaning of Chahta is unclear, with anthropologist John R. Swanton proposing that it might be linked to an early leader.
Second, Chafa’s story from the beginning sounds like the early creation myth that Choctaw used to believe in. The Choctaw origin story begins with the creation of the first people from the great mound called Nanih Waiya by the Creator. These people emerged through a dark cave and became the first Choctaw.
After living in the area for years, a flood forced them to flee by canoes to an island guided by a dove. They later returned to Turtle Island’s coast but faced unfriendly inhabitants, prompting a journey down the southern coast for hundreds of years. Eventually, they traveled across the Yucatán in canoes, fought for territory in the land of giants, and rebuilt their sacred mound, Nanih Waiya, placing their ancestors’ bones in a sacred home.
So it’s clear that Chafa’s story was based on that myth of creation, but it’s unknown whether an individual named Chafa truly existed in the mythology.
Who plays Chafa in the MCU?
Chafa is played by Julia Jones. Julia Jones, born on January 23, 1981, is an American actress recognized for her roles as Leah Clearwater in ‘The Twilight Saga’ films and Kohana in the HBO series ‘Westworld.’ Additionally, she co-stars in ‘Dexter: New Blood.’
Julia Jones has a background in modeling for various brands and appeared in Chuck Wicks’s music video for ‘Hold That Thought.’ She ventured into independent films before gaining recognition in the Quentin Tarantino-produced biker remake ‘Hell Ride,’ which premiered at Sundance in 2008. Jones also portrayed Dr. Kaya Montoya on ‘ER’ during its final two seasons. In 2009, she participated in the Culture Clash play Palestine, New Mexico, at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles.
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