Muskogee Creek Nation
Muskogee Creek Nation
Creek Religion
The religious ceremonials centered around the celebration of the corn harvest. The cultivation of corn was one of their chief occupations, so Creek religious activities were highly concerned with this important product. The Creek people sing and dance around a fire seasonally for their sacred ceremonies. These people were known as Stomp Dancers. The native Creek beliefs were that all creations and nearly all reasons for being alive were simply attributed to the “Master of Breath” or “Hesaketvmese.” They believed a good life would be rewarded. They also had prophets who they believed conferred with the supernatural in diagnosing disease and predicting the future. The Creeks highly regarded the prophets because they believed their special powers came from the One above. In the 1700s the Stomp Dancers would not let the Creeks convert to Christianity. The early Christian Indians had to hide or be punished for the new religion and life they had accepted. Many of them broke away from much of the Creek culture. Today the Creek people in Oklahoma still belong to the two factions: the traditional and those professing Christianity. The later are predominantly Methodists and Baptists.
Near by each dwelling, the Creek women maintained a small garden plot for their family. Their main food supply, however, was grown in a much larger field which belonged to the entire town. Corn, beans, squash, pumpkins, and melons were plentiful. Wild fruits were also available for their use. They dried meat, corn, pumpkin, peaches and apples. When beef dried, they sliced the meat into very thin slices and placed it on clean cloths in the hot sun on the roof of the house. They turned this jerked meat over several times a day. Hickory nuts and acorn were pounded and the mashed nut meat was placed into boiling water. The oil was then skimmed off the top and used in much of their cooking, especially in preparing hominy and corn cakes. Deer was the main meat eaten, but they also fished. Sweet corn was preserved by boiling it until tender. Then the kernels were cut off the cob. This, too, was processed in the same manner as the meat and fruit. The corn was cooked with lye or mixed with ashes and beaten to make hominy grits or meal. Their most important food was sofkey which was beaten corn cooked with water and lye. This would even be consumed after setting two or three days and turning sour. Another Creek dish was “blue dumplings” which was made of beaten corn and with bluish burned shells of the field pea added. Abuske or “cold flour” was a drink enjoyed by the Creeks.
grounds winter dance in late September or October when the weather is cool. The game is commonly played on or adjacent to the stomp dance grounds. There are two types of stick ball games. One is the social game or fun game putting men against women. Each man uses two ball sticks about 3 ½ feet long