Totkv Mocvse/New Fire: Creek Folktales

by Earnest Gouge, Craig S. Womack (Foreword), Jack B. Martin (Editor)

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.

Genres: Indigenous

160 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2004

Reviews

[Kevin Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was interesting getting to read more folktales. There were some that I've recognized and some that I hadn't heard. The inclusion of the lion in the Creek tales was weird, but heard that was the influence of other cultures. Mainly that people brought lions over to see at carnival shows and the like. They aren't all winners either. Some are just very strange stories that it was hard to know why that came to the conclusion that it did. The Wolf Wants Spots was weird and very long. It actually felt like 3 stories in one. I did like the one about the fox ladies that will kill you if you are tricked by them because they disguise themselves as your significant other. Otherwise an interesting read and further enriching my knowledge of Creek myth.