Thanks to Deborah Cavel-Greant
Creek Clans come in 'White' or 'Red'
Hathaga (White Side)
Hota'lga'lgi "Wind Clan" (ho'tvle)
Kona'lgi "Skunk Clan" (ku'nu)
Itchaswa'lgi "Beaver Clan" (echaswv)
Nokosa'lgi "Bear Clan" (nokuse)
Yaha'lgi "Wolf Clan" (ya'hv)
Fuswa'lgi "Bird Clan" (fuswv)
Tchokota'lgi (Red Side)
Aktayatcha'lgi, said to be the old name.
Tcla'lgi "Fox Clan" (cu'lv)
Katca'lgi "Panther Clan (ka'tcv)
Kowakatcu'lgi "Wildcat Clan" (all cat clans come from it)
(kowa'kuce)
Ahalagu'lgi "Potato Clan" (aha')
Halpata'lgi "Alligator Clan" (hvlpv'tv)
Wotka'lgi "Raccoon Clan" (wotko)
Sopakta'lgi "Toad Clan" (supak'tv)
Itcoa'lgi "Deer Clan" (eco)
HoHopothili - good little boy (Alexander McGillivray was
called this)
Lower Creeks -- those who lived on the Chattahoochie and Flint
Rivers
Red Sticks -- as regards to those that Tecumseh called to war,
those Indians that chose to go to war; voting to do so by raising fiery
clubs above their heads.
Upper Creeks-- those who lived on the Alabama River, Coosa River
and Tallapoosa River.
Waupum--items for trade, early on would have been shells, animal skins
and pelts.
White Sticks-- those who voted not to go to war, who raised clubs covered
with ash.
Got any terms to share?? Please send them to me Carol Middleton.
At the University of Georgia Hargrett
Mauscript Collections site,
you may download the book
A Grammar of the Maskwke, or Creek Language
Lessons in Spelling, Reading, and Defining.
by H. F. Buckner
Note: You will need Adobe Acrobat to view the pdf. files. (Click here to go to the the Adobe site. to download a free copy of Adobe Acobat)
Thanks to Yargee descendant Shirley Hall, Joan Case, and also to Deborah Cavel-Greant for sharing many of these terms.
a-cee -- black drink
Ace Aspe - Corn 1
Ac ce ta Alin ce - Blanket 1
Aha la Kalgee
Bog Potatoe-grows wild 1
A hoe ret Lok ha ca - let standing up 1
(Ak tay atsalgee) -
ats hi algee (acealkee) Maize or Corn 1
Apes wa Ok ne - Meat 1
ak faski - forks
(as of a river) 1
alick tchalge"
- great physic makers (doctors) 1
atchina - cedar
1
Aye Are gi- to go 1
Ca lak ke Cala kke - Cherokee Tribe 1
cananee - crooked
Cap po ce and
Chuts-Chuste --Son and daughter 1
Ca se Cok se - Pumpkin 1
Cas ta le Cas tol akee - Water melon 1
Charte (Cvte) Ke fes ce- Red 1
chat-to - stony
Chicasa (Chickasah) - Chickasaws
Chito (Chetto) Cente- Snake 1
choote -- house
chufee - rabbit
Coko Cehe - House 1
Co rak ko Kawaye- Horse 1
co-wag-gee - partridge
Cv-po-se --grandmother
1
cuko - house
Ec ca Ef ce - Gun 1
Eco Ece- Deer 1
Ec he ta Ca nap le ta- to shoot 1
Efv Efe- Dog 1
enchau ulger (henihi) -- second in command
Este Yate - Person 1
fixigo - mean
foulantche .. Frenchman
hadjo - joker
Halp a dalgi means
aligator 1
hasse - old
hat-che(e) -- creek
He ce tal ke He oc ta re- Hichities 1
heniha -- aide
henihalgi -- peace advocate
hilis haya -- medicine man or healer
Hok toce Tiko ce- Girl 1
Hokte Tike - Woman 1
Honan wa Nak ne - Man 1
hothlibonaya -- war speaker
Hukstalgi or Hus wal kee
means Bird 1
Hutal Kalalkee
- Wind 2nd word akta ya teal ki-one Indian says - means wind 1
Hvtkee Hat ke- White 1
ika hal h-
or scalps of the Enemy
imala (emarthla) - good leader
imathla thlako -- big imathla
imathla labotke -- little imathla
Is panal Kee or
Itamalkee or Itch has ualkee or Ecchaswa means (Beaver) 1
isti atcagagi -- distinquished by past government or military
accomplishments
istidji - little man
istilusti - Black man
istifani - skinny man or skeleton
itcho -- deer
Itch oak=lkee meaning
(Deer) 1
jankova - sweat lodge
ka -- yes
Kats al Ke "
(Panther or Tiger) 1
Koa Ko ts alke or Kowa kuce means (Wild Cat) or Bob Cat 1
Ku-ni-hal-gi "
(Skunk) 1
La ne Lak ne- green or yellow 1
Laste (hvstc) Lo ce- Black 1
Liketa Ct ko le- to sit down 1
mado -- very well
micnggee -- secondary councellor
mikagi -- board of chiefs
Mvs ko ke Oce se - Creek Tribe 1
miko (also seen micco)-- head chief, headman
Noko sal ke (Bear)
1
Ods schi sal gi -- oce sal ke -- (Hickory nut) 1
Oe Kiwa O kaw ke - Spring water 1
Oewa Oke - Water 1
Ok tchu nu al gi or okevn Wal Kee -- (Salt) 1
Osanalgi or Osanal ke --
otter) ==(osvnnv) right nam
Oske Okobe- Rain 1
ossa or hossa - black
pah-gee - pigeon
Pa ho salgi -- Sopak talke
= (Toad) 1
paskova - central square (of a town)
Po cos wa Ce ya fe- Axe 1
Rano Alkee
Fish 1
Sok ha Soke - Hog 1
stikini - screech owl
Tak like Palaste - Bread 1
Ta Ku sal gi -- Ta ko alke -- (Mole) 1
Tala ko Tala ke - Beans 1
tal-lo-fau - town
tasikayalgi -- like a private in men
tastanagi thlako -- big warrior
tastanagi or tustenuggee -- warrior
thlot-lo -- fish
thlucco - 'great' (as in large or as a title)
toc-co-gul-egau - tad pole
tolosa- chicken
Tot to lose Ta fa ya he - Chicken 1
Tsu lal gi -- Cu la al ke -- (Fox) 1
tum-cau - rumbling
tuskaya-hinina - head man warrior
Tutka- fire 1
uxau (ushau) - head
Wah lak algi -- Wot kal kee --
(Racoon) 1
Waka Wa ke- cattle 1
we-wau - water
woc-coo - calf
Ya Halgi -- (Wolf)
A Creek Indian says that Bear and wolf are one, or close related 1
yatika -- interpreter
yoholo - loud whooper or good speaker
1. extracted from the diary of L. C. Perryman
Got any terms to share?? Please send them to me Carol Middleton.
The Creek Indians raised maize or corn in the fields outside the walls to their villages. The ears were roasted over fires, then the corn was dried and the kernels pounded into meal for corn bread, ghost bread, or hard bread plus there was parched corn for travel. A soup was also prepared from corn; it was called sofkee and bits of venison might be added to it if available. See the recipe. The sofkee pot was kept bubbling over the fire and family members ate when they wished. They also raised squash, beans, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, sunflowers for seeds. Fish, game and fresh water mussels provided an excellent source of protein for their diets. Berries were found growing wild in fields and forests -- blackberries, mulberries and strawberries. The roots of the lovely smilax vine was also harvested, as was the kunti --both were good starchy vegetables. Honey could be gathered from beehives in the forests.
In the 18th century, because of the contact with traders, the Creeks began to cultivate fruit trees and so had access to many fruits -- apples, pears, orange, pears. It is written that Alexander McGillivray had apple trees at Hickory Ground. They also added peas and carrots to their crops. Poultry and hogs were showing up in barnyards and gave greater variety to diet. They acquired nets and traps for better hunting and fishing. Sugar, rice, and wheat flour began to appear in the villages.
Thanks to Joan Case
Here is a recipe for sofky that appeared in the Chronicles of Oklahoma
Sofky (correct form "osafki" -- Hominy): Shell good, clean and dried flint corn fromt the cob, enough to have a peck or more of the shelled grain to prepare sofky for several meals. Cover the shelled corn with cool water, and soak over night. Pound the soaked corn, or a portion, lightly in a wooden mortar enough to break the grains in half. Place the pounded corn in a fanner, and clean out the hulls. Put the clean, broken grain into a large vessel, cover with water and boil until thoroughly done. Add water if necessary from time to time to keep the hominy in a loose fluid. When it is cooked thoroughly, add ash-lye solution in the proportion of a cupful to a gallon of the boiling hominy, stirring it regularly for it will scorch easily. Boil the hominy with the ash-lye solution for at least another half house, then pour it into a stone jar to keep and serve. The Creek informant for this method of making sofky added an old saying: "As long as the Indian can eat and drink osafki, he will not go dead." Based on a manuscript of penciled notes written by Charles Gibson (Creek) of Eufaula in 1918 sent to Dr. Joseph B. Thoborn.