Performative Effectiveness of Textual Cohesive Structures in Creek Long Talks

An integrated anthropological and linguistic analysis of Creek oratory shows oratory to be part of a ritual cycle which recreates both the fundamental Creek cultural system and the Creek towns, the basic political units of Creek society. 1 Creek individual and group identities are thus defined and integrated into the Creek political system. This paper describes the performative effectiveness of textual cohesive structures through which Creek oratory functions in its cultural contexts.