First published in 1929, John R. Swanton’s Myths and Tales of the Southeastern Indians is a classic of American Indian folklore. During the years 1908-1914 Swanton gathered the myths and legends of the descendants of Muckhogean-speaking peoples living in Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma, and in this volume he preserved more than three hundred tales of the Creek, Hitchiti, Alabama, Koasati, and Natchez Indians. Myths and Tales of the Southeastern Indians stands as the largest collection of Muskhogean oral traditions ever published. Included are stores on the origin of corn and tobacco, the deeds of ancient native heroes, visits to the world of the dead, and encounters between people and animals or supernatural beings in animal form. Animal tales abound, especially those on the southeastern trickster Rabbit.

Myths and stories of the Creek, Hitchiti, Alabama, Koasati, and Natchez Indians.

"A long-needed study of the creation stories and legends of the Creek Indian people and their neighbors...including the influential Yuchi legends and Choctaw myths as well as those of the Hitchiti, Alabama, and Muskogee." -Charles R. McNeil, Msueum of Florida History, Tallahassee The creation stories, myths, and migration legends of the Creek Indians who once populated southeastern North America are centuries--if not millennia--old. For the first time, an extensive collection of all known versions of these stories has been compiled from the reports of early ethnographers, sociologists, and missionaries, obscure academic journals, travelers' accounts, and from Creek and Yuchi people living today. The Creek Confederacy originated as a political alliance of people from multiple cultural backgrounds, and many of the traditions, rituals, beliefs, and myths of the culturally differing social groups became communal property. Bill Grantham explores the unique mythological and religious contributions of each subgroup to the social entity that historically became known as the Creek Indians. Within each topical chapter, the stories are organized by language group following Swanton's classification of southeastern tribes: Uchean (Yuchi), Hitchiti, Alabama, Muskogee, and Choctaw--a format that allows the reader to compare the myths and legends and to retrieve information from them easily. A final chapter on contemporary Creek myths and legends includes previously unpublished modern versions. A glossary and phonetic guide to the pronunciation of native words and a historical and biographical account of the collectors of the stories and their sources are provided. Bill Grantham, associate professor of anthropology at Troy State University in Alabama, is anthropological consultant to the Florida Tribe of Eastern Creeks. He has contributed chapters to several books, including The Symbolic Role of Animals in Archaeology.

A retelling of twenty-two legends about the creation of the world from a variety of California Indian tribes.

Totkv Mocvse/New Fire presents the work of Earnest Gouge, an important early Creek (Muskogee) author, and makes available for the first time-in Creel and English—the myths and legends of a major American Indian tribe. In 1915, Earnest Gouge was encouraged by ethnographer John Reed Swanton to record Creek legends and myths. Gouge's manuscript lay in the National Anthropological Archives for eighty-five years until two Creek-speaking sisters, Margaret McKane Mauldin and Juanita McGirt, and linguist Jack B. Martin, began translating and editing the document. In Totkv Mocvse/New Fire, Gouge's stories appear in parallel format, with the Creek text alongside the English translation. The stories cover many themes, from the humorous allegories of Rabbit, Wolf, and other personified animals, to hunting stories designed to frighten a nighttime audience in the woods. An insightful foreword by Craig Womack and Jack Martin's introduction frame the stories within Creek literature and history. Martin and Mauldin also provide brief introductions to each story, highlighting key elements of Creek culture.

An agent of chaos and deceit, the trickster has been a favorite character spanning thousands of years and multiple peoples. From legends belonging to Native Americans such as the Creek, Natchez, Seminole and Catawba, to tales borrowed from Africa and Europe, this work discusses 73 trickster tales. Beginning with Creek tales, this book continues with a blend of Native American and African American folktales, organized according to the indigenous people who told them. These stories include the American Southeast's most notorious trickster, Rabbit; his gullible victims such as Alligator, Wildcat and Wolf; and other tricksters such as Buzzard, Pig, Possum and more.