Religious Beliefs And Medical Practices Of The Creek Indians

Men and women could be shamans in the Creek way, and those who combined medical and priestly functions were called the "knowers," and were viewed as prophets. The first thing they were taught were three ways to treat gunshot wounds. Creeks were susceptible to communicable diseases. Traditional view of sickness was that it was caused by animals such as deer, panthers, and others. A person who had been struck by lightning and had recovered could cure diseases of all kinds. Traditional medicines cured deer diseases, the wildcat and panther diseases, mole disease, opossum disease, the beaver and otter and muskrat diseases, the eagle disease, the buzzard disease, the many-snakes disease, the gathers-in-the-water disease, and several others. Excerpts only.