Creek

Creek

Alana Rosenbaum Brooks Hauser Megan James

Esaugetuh Emissee is the master of breath, the first principle, and the creator. The universe began with a large flood that covered all things, and Esaugetuh Emissee hovered, watching and waiting for the flood to end (Esaugetuh). At this point, the universe consisted of only water and air. This area was populated by water beings and air beings, many of which were in the form of animals that displayed human tendencies (Grantham 14). Because there was so much water, there was a newfound need for land. The Creator gathered a council of different animals to concoct a plan for creating land. Among these living animals were the Wolf, the Raccoon, the Bear, the Turkey Buzzard, the Crawfish, the Loon, and the Ring-necked Duck (Grantham 91-92). To take care of this, Crawfish dove to the bottom of the deep water and found mud, which he stirred up and took to use. This angered the mud people, but Crawfish carried on quickly with his work. He brought up more and more mud, which created more land materials. To dry the mud, Buzzard soared over it and flapped his wings. This also created mountains and valleys on the land (Leeming). After this land was created, it was understood by Crawfish and the Council, a group of other powerful animal gods, that animals and birds could live on the land. Because of this, the land and water must be prepared for its new inhabitants. To do this, Eagle rolled the soil from the Crawfish and rolled it between his legs. After this was finished, he soared high into the air. At first, the Council was concerned that he was stealing the soil, but then he hurled the soil towards the water, and this created land. He then dried the soil with the flap of his wings, and it was finished (Ryal 2). Once the Earth was completed, Esaugetuh Emissee was able to send two doves in search of land. They were successful and found a mountain with grass on it. On this mountain, he built a mud house there, and created mud people (Esaugetuh). After breathing life into them, he needed a way to dry them in this cold, dark place. First, Star gave him light, but it was still too dark. Then, Moon added his light, but the people still would not dry. Finally, Great Mother, the Sun, said she would make light for the world, and traveled across the sky (Leeming). The more impatient people swam through the water to start their lives, and these were the white-skinned peoples. The fully baked, good, patient peoples were the red-skinned peoples. Esaugetuh Emissee then carved channels and provided these good, patient peoples with hunting ground (Esaugetuh). Among all the plants on these grounds, these peoples found tobacco to be very important. It had its beginning when early man and woman slept together for the purpose of procreation. When some time had elapsed, the man visited the spot where he had lain with the woman and a beautiful plant was growing there. He showed the plant to his people and explained how it had come about. He named it tobacco. Because tobacco began at a place of union, it represented peace and friendship among the various clans (Grantham 239-240). After their various creations, the Council thought that, since they had given the people a wonderful area to live in, that they should give them the regular occurrence of night and day. They assigned this task to the animals. The animals got together and realized that first of all, they needed some light. They asked the panther to run from the east to the west. He did this, but the animals didn't approve. Next they asked the Star(spider). He also went from east to west, but the light he brought was too dim. They asked the Moon to do the same. His light was better but not enough. Lastly the sun was asked to bring light from the east to the west and it was perfect. The Chipmunk complained that animals would need a break from the brightness for rest and procreation. Darkness was restored at regular intervals. The Star(spider) and the Moon were enlisted for partial visibility in the darkness. The panther felt left out and vented his anger by slashing the Chipmunk's back, thus explaining forevermore the stripes on a chipmunk's back (Grantham 96-98). There were many suggestions of longer days or nights, depending on what that animal preferred, but after much debate, Ground Squirrel made a suggestion. “Like the equally divided rings on Raccoon’s tail, first a dark color then a light color, is how we should divide day and night,” he said to the Council. His plan was then adopted and day and night, separated equally, cycled on and on over time (Arkansas). Though the peoples were in a good area and the world was now complete, they still could not see. They wandered blindly, and became lost. This caused them to be very fearful of their unknown surroundings, so they stayed in small, close groups to keep from being alone. After a time, the Master blew away the surrounding fog and allowed them to see. The people celebrated, and vowed brotherhood to those who had made them feel safe in their time of blindness. This created the clans, which remained together throughout the ages, and protected their clan as they would their family. They also worshiped the Master, because he had given them life and sight (Ryal 1).

Bibliography Arkansas Archiology Survey, comp. Indians of Arkansas: Archeology, History, and Culture. Arkansas Archiology Survey, 3 Mar. 2007. Web. 31 Oct. 2010. .

"Esaugetuh Emissee." Bloomsbury Dictionary of Myth. London: Bloomsbury Publishing Ltd, 1996. Credo Reference. Web. 07 November 2010.

Grantham, Bill. Creation Myths and Legends of the Creek Indians. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2002. Print.

Leeming, David, and Jake Page. The Mythology of Native North America. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1998. Print.

Ryal Public School, comp. "How The Clans Came to Be." Ryal Public School: Home of the Warriors. Ryal Public School, n.d. Web. 4 Nov. 2010. .

Ryal Public School, comp. "How the Earth was Made." Ryal Public School: Home of the Warriors. Ryal Public School, n.d. Web. 4 Nov. 2010. .