REEKS
For
centuries, the Muscogee Indians controlled areas in the American southeast.
In their language, the name referred to the flood~prone ground on which they lived,
and a similar convention was applied when the European explorers found them liv~
ing on the banks of creeks and streams: the Europeans called them the Creek Indi~
ans. By that time, in the 1600s, the Creek controlled most of the area that would
later become Georgia and Alabama. As such they were described as the most pow~
erful Indian nations of the age, but in fact, the organizational structure of the Creek
was unlike other Indian nations. Less a nation than a confederacy, they continually
accepted as members, and married into, new tribes.
In early Creek history, the basic social unit was the clan. Made up of families,
the clan had a distinct identity, starting with its name, which was taken from an
animal. MembershiP in a clan determined a person's social relationshiPs, from mat~
ters as small as whom one could joke with to significant questions such as eligibility
for marriage. While the social structure could impose strict rules, in another way it
was extremely open and communal: the clans lived together, six clans usually form~
ing a Creek town. They shared work as well as property, which belonged to every~
one. In turn, as members of the Creek confederacy, the towns fulfilled designated
political functions, ranging from diplomacy to law~making.
Muscogee myths reflected the people's sPiritual beliefs. These illustrate the deep
importance of the natural world to the Creek. Traditionally, they believed in a
supreme being, Esakitaummesee, or the MaSter of Breath. In the myth of the ori~
gin of the clans, the Creek begin as a disunited people who were lost in a thick blan~
ket of fog until the Master of Breath cleared it away. Once they can see, the people
swear an oath of brotherhood, form clans, and become united. As in many other
Creek legends, animals are a significant aspect of their sPirituality. Close observers
of nature, on which they long depended for survival, they believed that humans and
animals could communicate.
The myth concerns another significant aspect of Creek life. Unlike other Native
American nations which were closed societies, the Creek tradition of accepting out~
siders and intermarrying with them is explained as an order from the Master of
Breath. Marriage within the clan is forbidden; indeed, Creek society regarded it as
incest. By decreeing that marriage must occur outside the clan, the myth reinforces
the flexibility and adaptability which were traditional mainstays of Creek culture.
CREEKS / How the Clans Came To Be
How THE
CLANS CAME TO BE
In the beginning, the Muscogee people were born
out of the earth itself. They crawled up out of the
ground through a hole like ants. In those days,
they lived in a far western land beside tan mountains that reached the sky. They called the mountains the backbone of the earth. Then a thick fog
descended upon the earth, sent by the Master of
Breath, Esakitaummesee. The Muscogee people
could not see. They wandered around blindly,
calling out to one another in fear. They drifted
apart and became lost. The whole people were
separated into small groups, and these groups
stayed close to one another in fear of being entirely alone. Finally, the Master had mercy on them.
From the eastern edge of the world, where the sun
rises, he began to blow away the fog. He blew and
blew until the fog was completely gone. The people were joyful and sang a hymn of thanksgiving
to the Master of Breath. And in each of the
away. They called themselves the Wind Family, or
Wind Clan. As the fog moved away from the
other groups, they, too, gave themselves names.
Each group chose the name of the first animal it
saw. So they became the Bear, Deer, Alligator,
Raccoon, and Bird Clans. However, the Wind
Clan was always considered the first clan and the
aristocracy of all the clans. The Master-of-Breath
spoke to them: "You are the beginning of each one
of your families and clans. Live up to your name.
Never eat of your own clan, for it is your brother.
You must never marry into your own clan. This
will destroy your clan if you do. When an Indian
brave marries, he must always move with his wife
to her clan. There he must live and rais~ his family. The children will become members of their
mother's clan. Follow these ways and the
Muskhogeans will always be a powerful face.
When you forget, your clans will die as people."
groups, the peoplej.turned to one another and
swore eternal brotherhood. They said that from
then on these groups would be like large families.
The members of each group would be as close to
each other as brother and sister, father and son.
The group that was farthest east and first to see
the sun, praised the wind that had blown the fog
Creek Lifestyles, Customs and Legends. September
Source:
18, 1996. Creek Home Page at http://
www.edumaster.net/schools/ryal/creek.html
(accessed December 31, 1996).