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| Mythology |
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Muscogee mythology (previously referred to by itsexonym "Creek") is related to aMuscogee tribe who are originally from thesoutheastern United States, also known by their original nameMvskoke (orMuskogee), the name they use to identify themselves today.[1]Mvskoke is their name in traditional spelling. Modern Muscogees live primarily inOklahoma,Alabama,Georgia, andFlorida. Their language,Mvskoke, is a member of the Eastern branch of theMuskogean language family. TheSeminole are close kin to the Mvskoke and speak an Eastern Muskogean language as well. The Muscogee were considered one of theFive Civilized Tribes.
The early historic Muscogee were probably descendants of theMississippian culture peoples who lived along theTennessee River, in what is now modernTennessee[2] and Alabama, and possibly related to theUtinahica of southern Georgia. More of a loose confederacy than a single tribe, the Mvskoke lived in autonomous villages in river valleys throughout what are today the states of Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama also consisted of many ethnic groups speaking several distinct languages, such as theHitchiti,Alabama, andCoushatta. Those who lived along theOcmulgee River and theOconee River were called "Creek Indians" by British traders fromSouth Carolina; eventually the name was applied to all of the various natives of creek towns, becoming increasingly divided between the Lower Towns of the Georgia frontier on theChattahoochee River (seeApalachicola Province), Ocmulgee River, andFlint River and the Upper Towns of theAlabama River Valley.
The Lower Towns included Coweta, Cusseta (Kasihta,Cofitachequi), Upper Chehaw (Chiaha), Hitchiti, Oconee, Ocmulgee, Okawaigi,Apalachicola,Yamasee (Altamaha), Ocfuskee, Sawokli, and Tamali. The Upper Towns included Tuckabatchee,Abihka,Coosa (Kusa; the dominant people ofEast Tennessee andNorth Georgia during the Spanish explorations), Itawa (original inhabitants of theEtowah Indian Mounds), Hothliwahi (Ullibahali), Hilibi, Eufaula, Wakokai, Atasi,Alibamu, Coushatta (Koasati; they had absorbed the Kaski/Casqui and theTali), and Tuskegee ("Napochi" in the de Luna chronicles).
Cusseta (Kasihta) and Coweta are the two principal towns of the Muscogee Nation to this day. Traditionally the Cusseta and Coweta bands are considered to the earliest members of the Muscogee Nation.[1]
Many Muscogee creation stories revolve around how human beings arrived on the earth rather than the earth's origins. Muscogee creation stories differ among tribal groups that became grouped colonially by language similarities, but stories from Kasihta, Kasihta-Chickasaw-Coweta, and Coweta origins all include humans emerging from beneath the earth in the West and journeying to the East.[3] Muscogee creation stories referenceHesaketvmesē (meaning "Maker of Breath"[4][5] or "the One Above who holds life's breath";[6][7] pronounced Hisa'kita immi'si[8]), asolar deity also calledEpohfvnkv ("the Creator" or "the One Above us"[8]), who spoke to and guided the Muscogee on their journeys.
In Muscogee beliefs, the cosmos is divided into three worlds: The Upper world, primarily home to Maker of Breath, the Sun, the Moon, and Thunder, The Middle World, inhabited by humans, and the Lower World, notably occupied by the creature known as the Tie Snake or theHorned Serpent.[9] The Middle World is the balance between the order and chaos between the Upper and Lower Worlds.[10]
In Muscogee legends, the Tie Snake and the Horned Serpent are underwater serpents seen frequently as a chaotic figure. The two creatures are sometimes interpreted to be interchangeable but the Horned Serpent is larger. Across different legends, key points of the Tie Snake and Horned Serpent origin stories involve one of two hunters eating prohibited food, causing them to transform overnight into a snake.[11] This story signals the importance of respecting the cosmic balance between the worlds.[12]
Another significant figure in Muscogee mythology is Corn Woman, whose origin varies across legends. One version tells the tale of corn falling from a woman's feet after she rubbed them together. In another, corn poured out of Corn Woman's thigh after she scratched it. Many of the legends end in the Corn Woman sacrificing herself to allow corn crops to grow. The legend of Corn Woman symbolizes how life comes from death and women's fertility.[13][14]
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