Owl Ancestor-Spirit of Creek

ancestor-spirit · United States · North America

Among the Muscogee (Creek), owls were regarded as vessels for the spirits of the dead: great horned owls and screech owls were thought to be embodied ghosts, restless spirits, or wizards in bird form, and an owl's cry was an omen of death. This is the closest Creek tradition to an owl ancestor-spirit, though no named guardian owl is recorded.

Open in the interactive archive →