INTRODUCTION
Attending gatherings and ceremonies during my dissertation research
with the Muskogee Indians, a Southeastern Native American tribe, made me
aware of differences between the linguistic behaviors of Muskogee and
Anglo men and women in public space. I began by carefully documenting the
behaviors and the settings in which the behaviors occurred, hoping that a
relatively clear correlation among event, genre, and gender would emerge.
However, it soon became obvious that, in order to come to grips with and
explain the variation in linguistic behaviors among Muskogee men and
women, I needed to explore and include aspects of Muskogee language and
gender ideology. This article exposes how rich a description and
explanation of linguistic behaviors can be when ideologies about distinct
aspects of social life are included in the analysis.
Muskogee gender ideology provides for gender roles that are
complementary, with women in charge of the familial and domestic and men
in charge of the extra-familial and commercial. In line with the
observations of Rosaldo (1974:19), Ortner 1974, and others, the community's
valuation of women's roles within society is lower than that of
men's. Concomitant with this, men's speech is frequently
described by Muskogee people as being more important and weighty than
women's speech because it concerns activities of the wider community
and interaction with outsiders. Upon investigation, however, women's
speech can be shown to be just as important and powerful, though in
different contexts and concerning different topics than men's speech.
This power, which becomes most evident when women utilize certain genres
in the context of social interactions, including traditional Muskogee
ceremonies, is derived from the combination of Muskogee language ideology
with gender ideology.
To understand how women's speech is a means of accessing power, I
will utilize observations made by researchers who have examined how
language ideology is one of several factors that affect access to
linguistic forms, styles, and arenas for use (see Schiffman 1996, Hill 1998,
Irvine 1998, Bauman &
Briggs 2000, Errington 2000, Philips 2000). In this tradition, factors such as
power relations, differential access to means of production, social class,
and ethnic identity work in tandem with language ideology to promote
differential access and use of linguistic forms and styles. Given that a
society's gender ideology affects every individual's standing
within that society, a focus on the ways in which these two ideologies are
used or ignored by speakers can inform discussions about both gender and
language.
Eckert & McConnell-Ginet (1992:473)
identify the “modes of participation available to individuals”
as the primary locus where language and gender come together. However, as
Kulick 1998 shows, particular genres and
linguistic structures can become associated with a gender and may be
positively or negatively valued because of this association. In
Kulick's (1998) work, it becomes clear that
Taiap, the vernacular language of Gapun, a village in Papua New Guinea,
has become associated with an argumentative genre (kroses)
utilized primarily by women and with other social features inhibiting
development and progress. Women's kroses run counter to
Gapun cultural and linguistic ideology regarding the necessity of discreet
management of disputes and anger, and they are thought to expose anger in
a dangerous manner. Kulick (1998:99–100)
suggests, quite convincingly, that the negative connotation arising from
this association is contributing to the loss of the Taiap language among
villagers.
Gapun language ideology, particularly that governing what Taiap
represents and how it is valued, has thus been strongly affected by Gapun
gender ideology. Kulick (1998:94) notes that men
do perform kroses at times, but that these generally involve
women either as recipients or causal agents, so the connection of
kroses with women is not directly challenged when men perform
them. Throughout Kulick's (1998) work, the
lesser status of women is shown to be a factor influencing how villagers
evaluate Taiap.
Kulick 1998 takes Rosaldo's (1974) and Ortner's (1974) claims about the power and social standing of
women as a given, without investigating whether women's
kroses challenge this. In contrast, I will show that Muskogee
women's speech acts as a means for them to achieve and display social
power and status. This is discerned by noting that Muskogee language
ideology positions language as a vehicle for affecting the world through
usages that may be performed by either males or females. At the same time,
Muskogee gender ideology, while privileging male activities and concerns,
recognizes that women have greater power and knowledge than men in regard
to some aspects of social life. It is by using a genre that relates to
these facets of both ideologies that Muskogee women appear to find and
assert their power in the midst of an event that men are acknowledged to
control.
The Muskogee genres to be discussed in this paper are este
oponicvkat eskaketos ‘(plural speakers) talking about
people’, cencokopericeyes ‘we
were visiting’, nakonakocen ponayes ‘(single speaker)
telling stories’, etepelicaket ‘(reciprocal) teasing,
joking’, and naket
stomecet ometvtat enkerretan komen
emonayetoks ‘giving advice about something’.1
The language of the Muskogee is written in the
orthography adopted by the Muskogee (Creek) Nation in the 1890s. In this
writing system, /e/ is a high front vowel, /e/
is a long high front vowel, /i/ is a mid-high front vowel,
/a/ is a long low front vowel, /v/ is a mid-central vowel,
and /o/ is a mid-high back vowel. For the most part, Muskogee
consonants have values equivalent to the identical International Phonetic
Alphabet symbols. The exceptions to this rule are /c/ and
/r/, which are equivalent to
,
respectively. Additionally, syllable-initial voiceless consonants are
voiced when following and preceding a voiced sound.
The first
genre, ‘talking about people’, is also glossed as
‘gossip’ and is performed almost exclusively by women.
‘Visiting’ and ‘telling stories’ may be performed
by either men or women equally, though these terms are most often used to
describe social interaction among men in public spaces.
‘Joking’ is performed most often by men in public spaces and
may be directed toward either men or women. ‘Giving advice’
may be performed by either gender, though this term is most often used to
describe men or women talking about serious topics, including those having
to do with social conduct and/or family matters, and usually in
private settings.
For both genders, these genres are what Goffman (1974:201–46) terms “subordinated
activities” in the public events discussed in this article.2
“Subordinated activities” are those
that lie outside the main focus of the event and are frequently
“disattended” or overlooked by participants. Many of the
subordinated activities Goffman (1974:201)
discusses are those that are “treated as something apart” when
treated at all. Muskogee women's talk certainly falls in this
category during ceremonial and social dances, since it never takes the
role of main focus, even for those women who devote the largest amount of
time to its production.
The primary focus of the event is a
ceremonial dance, with the main action dedicated to this ritual. A portion
of the main ritual is a form of talk performed solely by men in particular
styles associated only with the performance of these rituals (for a
discussion of these oratorical styles see Bell
1984:171–72, 297–310;
Bell 1985;
Innes 1997). At
these events, the ritual talk is considered to be most important because
it is through this speech that tradition and history are relayed, social
ties between ceremonial groups are acknowledged, and social mores
important to the successful completion of the ceremony are iterated.
Ritual talk actually makes up very little of the speech performed at
these ceremonial events, however. Special speakers broadcast speeches at
various points throughout the ceremony, and some of these may be quite
long (7–10 minutes), but the majority of the ceremony is spent
dancing and socializing without ceremonial speech taking place. It is
during these periods that the side talk to be analyzed in this article is
conducted, with the use of the various genres occurring throughout the
duration of the ceremony. Thus, these genres make up the majority of the
speech that occurs at the events considered here, and they can be observed
among all groups in attendance.
The means through which the Muskogee distinguish ‘gossip’,
‘visiting’, and ‘telling stories' from one another
are of interest because these genres are performed in the same kinds of
settings and cover similar topics, but are used differentially depending
on speakers' and audience members’ gender. It is interesting
that such distinctions in genre assignment exist and that the genres are
assessed differently by Muskogee men and women. Past research (Bell 1990) has offered an explanation for the genre
separation and reasons for men's evaluations of the
‘gossip’ genre, but this work incorporates only one reading of
Muskogee gender ideology and little language ideology. In this current
work, which is informed by both language and gender ideology, a more
balanced view of language use in the Muskogee community is presented, and
the view of Muskogee women's talk as “a symbolic expression of
distance from power, or lack of interest in power” (Lakoff 1990:206) is challenged.
THE MUSKOGEE COMMUNITY
The Muskogee originally inhabited the river valleys of Alabama,
Georgia, and Florida until they were removed to Indian Territory (now
Oklahoma) in the early 1830s. After Removal, the Muskogee reestablished or
maintained many of their pre-Removal social systems, including a
matrilineal clan system, a representative form of government, and an
agricultural economy. Swanton (1928a:276–334, 1928b:614–21), Opler (1952:167, 172–75), and Innes
2004a note that men filled public political and religious roles in
Muskogee society after Removal. Men also acted as traders with outsiders
when excess agricultural goods were to be bartered or sold. (See Braund 1993 for pre-Removal evidence of men's
movement into such trading roles.) Women were influential in the private
sphere, maintaining family cohesion and contributing to decisions about
food production (Swanton 1928a:384–88).
As noted by Bell (1984, 1990:335–40) and Innes (1991:44–57), a similar division of influence and
labor exists in Muskogee society today, with men occupying most public
governmental and religious roles and women occupying roles influencing
familial and community relationships. Bell 1990
asserts that women's roles in Muskogee society are defined through
their opposition to men's roles. Muskogee women's means and
modes of production, positions of power, and agency, including how they
are evaluated as speakers, are established and evaluated only in
comparison with men's performances in comparable but separate
activities (Bell 1990).
Given that they occupy roles governing behavior and interaction of
entities larger than the family, control of modes and means of production
is an important focus for Muskogee men. In her work on gender roles and
the concomitant ways of speaking about them, Bell
1990 identifies Muskogee men with culture and Muskogee women with
nature. Men and their actions thus define what falls into the realm of
controlled or enculturated aspects of life, while Muskogee women's
activities, including their talk, symbolize an unregulated, uncontrolled
force (nature) that can actually work against society (Bell 1984:76–88, 1990).
This leads Bell to say that “[w]omen do not speak in most
public and ritual contexts, especially at stomp grounds…. Women
freely assent to withhold their speech in these public contexts as a sign
that they are not dangerous” (1990:338).
In contrast, men do speak in these contexts, and it is their speech that
controls the event.
Bell's analysis of men's and women's speech habits in
the structuring and control of society is only partially accurate. It is
true that men tend to focus on public issues and take the leading roles in
the public sphere. Following Rosaldo (1974:23)
and Sanday (1974:190), the public sphere is
where activities that concern units larger than individual families are
performed. Women, who tend to deal with private, family issues, play
secondary roles in the public sphere. In the private sphere, however,
where activities dealing with individual family or limited numbers of
relationships take place, women control much of the action. These spheres
are not mutually exclusive for the Muskogee: The topics generally dealt
with by one gender may be dealt with by the other in both arenas, public
and private. In order to understand the ways in which Muskogee speakers
mediate the public/private boundaries, it is necessary to understand
Muskogee language ideology.
LANGUAGE IDEOLOGY
There are many facets of nature that are considered to be unregulated
and uncontrolled in Muskogee society (see Swanton
1928b for details). Muskogee people utilize tangible items,
including medicine, fetishes, and other magical implements, to assist them
in controlling these forces (Swanton 1928b,
Howard & Lena 1984). One of the most
forceful and powerful means of combating disorder and lack of control is
language. Innes 2004b describes how language,
specifically language used by medicine men, is equated with control and
action. To speak in Mvskoke, the language of the Muskogee, is to cause
things to happen in a controlled, predictable way.3
In order to reduce confusion between the name for the language
(Mvskoke) and the name of the Muskogee people, the language name is
spelled in the Mvskoke orthography.
The means through which a
Mvskoke statement or formula is voiced affects its potency. As among
several other Southeastern groups, the most potent form of vocalization is
a song or a chant, though speech performed in a calm voice also is deemed
powerful.
Muskogee medicine men, like those of other Southeastern peoples,
infuse plants in water, chant over the infusion, and then blow into the
mixture with a hollow cane when making medicine for ritual or healing
ceremonies (Mooney 1891, 1932; Speck 1911:211–35; Howard &
Lena 1984). Without the application of the linguistic component,
the medicines are dangerous because of their uncontrolled nature. If a
medicine is not treated with language, it is not possible to predict what
effect the medicine will have on people who take it. The natural force
contained by the plant will not have a direction or guide to follow as its
power is unleashed.
Once the correct chant has been applied to the medicine, the nature of
the medicine is controlled, and one can predict what effect it will have
on the patient and “ground” members (see explanation below).
The linguistic component moves the plant-water mixture into the category
of “medicine” by instilling it with efficacy. Invigorating the
medicine with the chant or song directs the power of the medicine, just as
a man leads another along a path. The speech, song, or chant thus acts on
the medicine in a specific way, causing it to become something it would
not otherwise be and to do something it might not otherwise do.
Traditional stories, especially those involving healing or the
retention of health, also show that language is a means of controlling
and/or activating powers and items. In a story describing how
Turtle's shell came to have its present shape and pattern, an elder
woman, LA, recounted that Turtle was crushed by women grinding corn with
the traditional mortar and pestle (keco and kecvpi).4
This story is very similar to the story
“How the Terrapin's Back Came To Be in Checks” in
Tuggle's collection (1973:295).
He
managed to survive the beating, but found that his shell was so badly
cracked that he was unable to move easily. Just as he was about to give up
and die, he learned a song that he sang four times. After singing this
song, which translates roughly to ‘rock rub together, rock sits
there (whole),’ he found that his shell had been restored, though
the areas that had been cracked were still noticeable. Turtle was healed
by singing the song, by utilizing words denoting a process similar to that
which healed his shell. The words that Turtle sang restored the order of
his shell and caused his shell to repair itself. The song, in effect, was
the curative action. Similar references to speech having active qualities
are found in some of the Muskogee stories gathered by W. O. Tuggle (
1973:165–67, 287–89, 319–20), and in
several stories in a collection compiled by Earnest Gouge, a Muskogee
informant who worked with Swanton (
Martin, Mauldin
& McGirt 2004).
Women's talk is affected by the Muskogee ideology that considers
language as a form of action. According to Bell (1990:337–38), one of the means through which
Muskogee women can wreak havoc with societal structure and order is
through their gossip. Bell's analysis5
The genders of Bell's informants are not identified in
her article. The negative evaluation of women's talk suggests that
the evaluators of this talk are males, or women talking about the effects
of other Muskogee women's talk. I have not found any
Muskogee women who denigrate their own talk, even when it is described as
‘gossip.’
brings her to the following conclusions
about women's talk:
A potent aspect of women's gossip is that it brings
about a context where men must battle – kill and arrest
“growth.” Menstruation and gossip are equivalent signifiers of
women's endogenous capacity to “flow.” This
“flow” challenges men to “kill” and thereby shape
– define – situations into appropriate Creek social form.
(1990:338)6
The
Muskogee are also known as the Creek. Early English traders recognized
certain of the Muskogee as the Creek because of the location of their
habitations along Ochesee Creek (see Sturtevant 1971:98; Wright 1986:2–3; Moore 1988:170–71).
This evaluation of Muskogee women's gossip rests on gossip's
uncontrolled and therefore dangerous nature. However, the Muskogee men and
women I have spoken with about women's talk and their position in
society do not envision women or their actions to lie outside the arena of
Muskogee culture. Nor do they find women's gossip to be as dangerous
as portrayed in Bell's (1990) article,
though most acknowledge that they become a little anxious when women spend
a great deal of time “gossiping.”
Men, too, take part in talk regarding topics in the private sphere:
personal relationships, childrearing, and interpersonal conduct. Some of
this talk takes place in private – in one's home or the home of
one's listener, involving few other participants (fewer than four)
– but some of it takes place in public arenas. In the public realm,
men's talk about such matters is often glossed as
‘visiting’ or ‘telling stories’, neither of which
has ever been assessed as a potentially dangerous activity by any of the
Muskogee speakers whom I have asked about these matters. Still, both men
and women acknowledge that this kind of talk happens more rarely among
men, in both public and private spheres, than does women's talk about
such “private” issues. Once we take Muskogee gender and
language ideology into consideration, we can approach reasons for this
difference in frequency and for the varying views on the power of gendered
talk about private issues, as well as a rationale for placing such talk in
separate genres.
SETTING
Data on the genres to be discussed here were collected during the
course of my dissertation research from 1990 to 1997. During this period,
I attended social and religious ceremonies involving the traditional
Muskogee stomp ground population. This population retains a ceremonial
cycle of ritual performances (dances, ball games, taking medicine) that is
shared by several peoples removed to Oklahoma from the Eastern Woodland
and Southeastern regions (Fogelson 1962; Roark-Calnek 1977; Jackson 2000, 2003). Individual
stomp grounds – social units made up of members who participate in
the ceremonies, have a matrilineal connection to the ground, or both
– host the dances and ball games that are the public manifestation
of the ritual performance. The women's and men's speech genres
analyzed in this article are performed by members of these
“grounds.”
The ceremonial cycle is made up of four night-long dances (stomp
dances) performed during the summer months. Many, but not all, of the
stomp grounds also host social dances during the winter months which only
last until midnight or 1 a.m. At these dances, members of
individual grounds arrange their seats around a central dance area so as
to maintain a cohesive group. Depending on the size of the dance area,
there may be 5 to 10 feet between different grounds' seating
arrangements, though at the winter dances there often is less than this
amount of separation between groups.
The primary foci of all visitors at these dances are first, to dance
and show fellowship with the hosting ground, and second, to socialize with
old friends. The foci of the host ground members are first, to carry out
the ceremonial dance in an appropriate manner (if this is a summertime
dance), second, to socialize with old friends, and third, to reap some
money to support the ground's summer activities (if this is a
wintertime dance). Talking with others, members both of different grounds
and of one's own ground, is a large part of the activity at these
dances.
It is at such dances that the various genres of speech are readily
apparent. Men and women spend a good deal of time talking with others,
about many of the same topics and in very much the same way. The
‘gossip’ genre associated with women happens when women from
both the same and different grounds interact at these events, though it is
more often performed among women from the same ground. Men's
‘telling stories’ and ‘joking’ also often occur at
these dances and are performed among one's own ground members and
with members from other grounds. ‘Visiting’ is carried out by
both men and women at these events and is most frequently applied to talk
with members of other grounds, though it may be conducted with members of
one's own ground. These genres are repeatedly performed throughout
the night, though an overlap between them and ritual talk is thought to be
inappropriate. The items that appear to differentiate which genre is
occurring in the talk of both men and women at such events are discussed
below.
WOMEN'S TALK
We will begin with women's talk, which, whether it takes place in
public or private settings, is frequently about social relationships and
critiquing behavior. In the many cases of women's talk that I
witnessed or in which I took part, Muskogee women talked about social
relationships, threats to the Muskogee way of life, and maintenance of
Muskogee culture and tradition. Women also talked about other topics, such
as the price of goods, the demands placed on them at work, and
recreational activities that they enjoyed, but the topic of social
relationships was discussed most frequently.
The genres through which women talk about social relationships in
public include ‘gossip’, ‘visiting’, and, more
rarely, ‘telling stories’. Of these, ‘gossip’ is
an activity almost solely performed by women. ‘Visiting’ is
performed equally by men and women, and both genders touch on social
relations while they ‘visit’. Reasons for glossing
women's talk about social relationships as ‘gossip’
rather than ‘visiting’, and the outcomes of doing so, are
explored below. ‘Telling stories’ is an activity pursued much
more frequently by men than by women, because it is a means of broaching
personal subjects or viewpoints obliquely.
Women's talk at public events
Muskogee women allied through participation in the same ceremonial or
social group typically arrange their chairs so that they can sit together
at dances and meetings. Generally, these groups number between four and
ten women and span 5 to 15 feet of linear space in the setting –
usually one row of women sitting side by side, with an occasional second
row of women sitting just behind the first. Although women in these groups
do not often present themselves as speakers to the crowd as a whole, they
speak among themselves in a normal tone of voice, loud enough to be heard
by the women sitting within 5 to 10 feet of the speaker. Conversations,
even those about relationships involving people situated near the
conversation, are carried on with normal volume. Thus, it is possible for
those sitting near the conversation, including relatives of the
individuals in a relationship being discussed, to become involved in the
discussion and ensuing evaluation.
When a member of the group has information to share with a select
group of individuals, she taps the addressee on the shoulder, arm, or leg,
or makes sustained gaze contact to alert the listener. This act also
alerts the rest of the group that the ensuing communication is not for
public consumption – though the information communicated in this
manner may be aired later in the evening by someone reporting what an
undisclosed source has said. When such a movement occurs among members of
the group, those not invited to participate in the conversation continue
talking among themselves about the initial topic or raise a new topic for
consideration. The women sitting closest to the individuals involved in
the focused conversation usually take part in the group conversation or
remain silent but turned away from the focused discussants. Despite these
movements of turning away and directing their focus toward other speakers,
those closest to the focused discussants generally overhear what is being
discussed and may bring up the information at a later time with the
introduction, “I heard that …” This introduction both
announces that the speaker has some confidence in the information she is
presenting and also acts to retain the anonymity of the original
informant. Thus, it is always somewhat unclear whether the speaker gained
her information from someone outside the group or overheard a focused
conversation.
‘Gossip’
As mentioned above, topics commonly discussed in Muskogee women's
talk carried out in public settings range across a wide spectrum. Changes
in or maintenance of ritual practice, the effects on individuals and their
families of policy decisions made at the level of Muskogee (Creek) Nation
or local governmental agencies, the strength or weakness of community
alliances, and the appropriateness of relationships with non-Indians are
topics that often arise in women's talk in public arenas. Discussion
on each of these topics allows women to critique and assess
individuals' behaviors, community solidarity, ethnic and tribal
maintenance, and retention of traditional practices and values. The women,
then, cover those issues that are central to women's roles as
caretakers and guardians of the private sphere. This does not differ
greatly from Western notions of topical choice for gossip (see Jones 1980, Johnson & Aries
1983, Coates 1988).
The number of women taking part in talk about such private topics is
much larger than one tends to find taking part in Anglo-American gossip
(Jones 1980, Johnson &
Aries 1983, Bergmann 1993). Public arenas
provide access to many voices and allow dissemination of a range of
viewpoints on the topic under discussion. While the discussion
occasionally becomes heated and communication ceases, women generally tend
to hear each other out even when they disagree with the other discussants.
In general, when a woman raises a point or brings up a contentious issue,
she is listened to and a response to her view is usually offered.
Gossip sessions carried out in public can become similar to debates,
with divergent viewpoints offered and rebuttals returned. As MT, an
elderly Muskogee woman, explained following a discussion regarding a
relationship involving a full-blood Muskogee woman and a non-Indian
man:
We have to talk about all kinds of things with this.
Sometimes non-Indians can take better care of a family than a Creek man
can, but sometimes they stop their women and kids from going to dances and
speaking the language. There are good sides and bad sides to this kind of
thing, and we want to think as much about it as we can so we can help them
make the right decision.
As MT points out, Muskogee women believe they have the prerogative to
talk about relationships involving people they know, including those to
whom they are not actually related, and that this discussion will assist
all involved – even those who are the subjects of the
discussion.7
None of the participants in this
discussion was related, either directly or through clan-ties, to the woman
who was the subject of this discussion.
In order to help the
decision makers reach the best decision, it is necessary for Muskogee
women to debate several points of view, which leads to a better-informed
consensus in the end.
Airing of different viewpoints also occurs when such talk is conducted
in a public space because of the presence of a larger audience. A large
audience creates a buffer in the public sphere. Even if a woman knows her
views are quite divergent from those of some of her friends involved in
the discussion, she can feel fairly confident that there will be someone
in the larger audience who shares her view to some extent. When those who
hold similar but less extreme views raise their points in the discussion,
they form a bridge between widely dissenting views, allowing the
discussion to continue as both sides come to understand the rationale
behind the differing views. In a smaller group, especially one of friends
whose views are already known, a dissenting voice may cause one to lose
support and can lead to long-term disagreements when there are no other
participants to offer the bridging dialogue.
‘Visiting’
When women talk about their own behavior or offer a recitation of
their or their family's activities, their talk is often glossed as
‘visiting’. This kind of talk provides women with a means of
learning about one another's health, activities, and predicaments,
and it may involve some discussion of these items in relation to other
members of the speaker's family. This kind of talk takes place as
women are greeting each other and providing information about events and
activities that have taken place since the participants last met.
As with ‘gossip’, the information offered during this kind
of talk is available to the women sitting within 5 to 10 feet of the
speaker, and those who do not appear to be directly addressed may respond
to portions of the conversation if they desire. Women who are
‘visiting’ can signal that they want to converse with
particular members of the group by maintaining gaze with an individual,
dyad, or small group, bending over, crouching, or sitting next to the
addressee, and speaking at a lower volume to this individual. When this
occurs, other women talk among themselves and do not overtly attend to the
conversation.
‘Visiting’ with women from other ground groups often
provides information or topics for discussion with members of one's
own ground group. This is not to imply that offering information gathered
from ‘visiting’ with other women always leads to
‘gossip’, however. In many cases, those who have been
‘visiting’ are known to others in the relater's group,
and the information being shared is offered simply to relay news about the
original speaker's experiences. In some cases, though, information
shared by the original speaker leads to ‘gossip’ –
evaluations of the experience, activity, or outlook presented.
‘Telling stories’
Occasionally, women ‘tell stories’ to one another. This
genre is performed through the recitation of a story or tale, generally
relating in some way to a topic or comment raised earlier in the
discussion. Stories may be taken from the narrator's own life
experiences, from the experiences of others, or from a corpus of
traditional narratives (for examples of traditional narratives see Tuggle 1973; Swanton 1929:2–117; and Martin et al.
2004). The story has a moral or insight relevant to the topic that
was under discussion when the story was initiated, though the connection
between the moral content and topical reference is often slightly obscure.
Stories provide women with a means of making comments and raising moral
concerns without being entirely responsible for the message, since it can
be ascribed to a character or widespread folk belief rather than to the
narrator. In this respect, women's ‘telling stories’ is
identical to men's performance of this genre, discussed below.
Women do not tend to tell stories as a means of commenting on
behaviors or attitudes as frequently as men do. Women use stories,
instead, as a means of indicating their rationale for their beliefs and
opinions. This occurs when a woman is asked to justify her comments about
a given topic – which does not happen very often, since requesting
or demanding such justification has the appearance of an open challenge
and can be considered hostile. When a woman responds to a request to
justify her stance and relates a story, the validity of her story is never
challenged, though listeners may then relate stories with different
outcomes or moral content. Thus, the use of stories in women's talk
allows the viewpoints and opinions of anonymous or fictional characters to
be raised, without necessitating any woman's ownership of the views
and opinions.
This lack of ownership of the message is, perhaps, one reason why
women do not utilize ‘telling stories’ as frequently as men
do. In each of the other genres, women demonstrate their views directly
and are quite clear about their positions on the issues under discussion.
A narrator does not completely remove herself from the message of the
story, for she does select which story – with a known moral content
– she will tell. However, the phrasing of the message and the result
of following a particular course of action are elements that can, and
often are, credited to previous narrators or characters in the story.
Thus, although a narrator's views are evident covertly through her
choice of story, the overt message emanates from the characters or earlier
tellers. This differs radically from the other genres of talk, in which
women exhibit much greater interest in stating their own views and
opinions.
MEN'S TALK
During the same events, men too ‘visit’, ‘tell
stories', and ‘joke’. Each of these genres indicates
men's interest in and knowledge of social relationships to some
degree, but none results in the kind of discussion of these relationships
found in women's ‘gossip’. Instead, each of the
men's genres allows for acknowledgment of the norms and ideology
surrounding social relationships among the Muskogee, but it does not
require men to make overt personal or group assessments of
individuals’ behaviors.
‘Visiting’
‘Visiting’ is practiced by men much as it is performed by
women. Men tend to ‘visit’ with other men, though some will
‘visit’ with women – especially if they are related to
the female participants. The topics covered in men's
‘visiting’ also are similar to those covered when women
‘visit’. Men discuss the activities and events they have been
involved in since the participants last interacted. When an event has
great significance or elicits negative emotional responses for an
individual, he may display the topic's emotional load through vocal
changes (e.g., quivering voice, rising intonation, staccato pace) and
nonverbal behaviors (e.g., tearing eyes, clenched fist, clenched jaw
muscles, bowed head). These behaviors are rarely displayed, however, since
much of men's ‘visiting’ at public events concerns topics
that are not highly emotional or that have a positive emotional
content.
Also in common with women's ‘visiting’, men offer
their own views on the events related through this genre. Listeners may
respond with “ho” or “yes, that's
good/bad,” and emphatic nodding or head shaking as backchannel
cues signaling acceptance of the speaker's view, similar to the use
of backchannel cues noted among women (see Coates
1988, Fishman 1980). Listeners also may
provide backchannel cues that simply acknowledge the speaker's view
and do not indicate agreement with what the speaker has said, such as
“hmm”, “yeah,” or minimal nods or head shakes,
much like backchannel use among groups of Japanese speakers (see Yamada 1997). The way in which men position themselves
also mirrors this behavior among ‘visiting’ women. Men make
direct eye contact intermittently with the speaker but generally make
sidelong glances at one another as they sit side by side or at a slight
angle to one another while conversing.
‘Joking’
Men's ‘joking’ is a means of entering women's
conversations, generally picking up on some characteristic of the subject,
either the person or the general topic under discussion. Men's
additions to women's talk are followed by responses by the women to
the male speaker, though these often occur in the form of jokes made by
the women. ‘Joking’ performed between men and women involves
an initial joke with only one or two witty exchanges. Men open these
exchanges with much greater frequency than do women, though some women
occasionally make jokes about a man's behavior or actions.
Women accept men's comments via jokes as additions to the debate,
which provides yet another source of information and voice in the
discussion (whether ‘visiting’ or ‘gossiping’). In
the case of a joking comment from a man, women consider the speaker's
intent to be simply making the women aware that they are being heard, and
that the men are enjoying the conversation in their midst. As HB, a
middle-aged woman, explained:
When the men joke like that, they're just trying to make
us laugh. They're just helping everybody have a good time. If we keep
on about someone and we notice something funny they did, the men will make
a joke from that, too.
Thus, ‘joking’ provides feedback to the women, letting
them know that a larger audience is attending to their talk and that the
talk is not being considered “dangerous” or harmful by at
least one male. The primary motivation for ‘joking’ is evident
in HB's second sentence: Joking is a means of keeping the tone light
and humorous. People are attending the event to have a good time, and
women's ‘gossip’ and ‘visiting’ should not
detract from this.
Men also joke with one another about issues that have not been raised
by women. Interaction at the ground or at ground-related events is
supposed to be jovial and good-natured. ‘Joking’ is a means of
providing levity and indicating that the relationship between those who
are joking is solid.
This is not to imply that the jokes are completely benign in their
content, for men occasionally refer to very serious topics in their jokes.
However, because these kinds of jokes are shared only with those with whom
one has a very strong, solid relationship, the recipient usually does not
become openly angry or uncomfortable. Instead, the men laugh and then
immediately turn to ‘telling stories’ or
‘visiting’ as a means of support or advising the listeners,
including the joke recipient. If the joke recipient exhibits discomfort
with the joking, the topic is dropped in this public realm and is
discussed only with close friends in private, if at all.
‘Telling stories’
‘Telling stories’ is a means of entertaining listeners and
of presenting the speaker's view about the topic last up for
discussion. Men ‘telling stories’ narrate tales from the
memorable past that relate to some aspect of the topic of conversation.
Personal stories are similar to the kind of information related when
‘visiting’, except that the activities related in the stories
took place more than a month or more previously (more recent activities
are spoken about when ‘visiting’, unless it has been a longer
time since participants last saw each other), and more background
information is provided to situate the narrative.
The physical arrangement and use of backchannel cues among men
‘telling stories’ is very similar to that used while men
‘visit’. Speakers sit side by side or at an angle to their
audience. Men show agreement with and participation in the story through
the backchannel cues described under ‘visiting’. Speakers
exhibit more frequent direct gaze and increased vocal volume as they near
the climax of the story, and audience members respond with more frequent
cueing at these points. At the end of a story, audience members respond
with laughter, shakes of the head, or interjections (e.g.,
“ho,” “uh-huh,” “mvto”) in
accordance with the emotional tone of the story.
The volume of a man's voice while telling a story is the same as
that used by women who are ‘gossiping’. Men relate their
stories so that they may be heard by many of those present and rarely
perform them for single individuals in public settings. Stories are told
at regular speaking volume and can be heard by those within 5 to 10 feet
of the speaker.
The topics covered when men tell stories are quite different from
those of ‘visiting’ (among either men or women) and
women's ‘gossip’. When men ‘tell stories’,
they are relating a tale, the outcome of which has some relation to a
topic raised while ‘visiting’ or ‘joking’ with
others. Stories may be offered as oblique critiques of behavior or
advisory statements, as commentary on the topic, or as a means of changing
or maintaining the emotional tone of the conversation.
The emotional tone of a story may continue or deviate from the
emotional tone of the preceding conversation. When conversation has turned
too serious or discordant, men introduce stories that are humorous or
concern rather mundane behaviors and activities. Stories such as these
tend to relieve the serious nature of the interaction and restore the
participants to a lighter mood, much as HB noted about men's joking
behavior. Men also present stories when they believe a serious matter is
being made light of, as when joking concerns behavior that may affect the
public perception of a particular ground's members. Elder men, in
particular, relate stories about the results, mostly negative, of similar
behaviors they have witnessed among members of other grounds. Stories of
this type cause the men to treat the matter with less levity and to become
introspective, though they do not generally cause the conversation to
become morose or stop altogether. After a story of this sort is related,
the topic is changed and a new item is brought up for conversation.
Men's ‘telling stories' is akin to women's
‘gossip’ in that moral content is contained in all stories,
even those that are humorous, and this content usually is related to
something said while ‘visiting’ or ‘joking’ took
place. Thus, ‘telling stories' provides men with a means of
assessing and evaluating some aspect of the preceding topic, just as
women's ‘gossip’ does. However, unlike women's
‘gossip’, the speaker's, target's and
listeners’ faces are never directly threatened when men tell
stories. Even when the apparent motivation for storytelling is to critique
the behavior, attitude, or character of someone mentioned in the
performance of the ‘visiting’ or ‘joking’ genres,
the multiple interpretations of and numerous voices reported in most
stories provide enough ambiguity that the speaker's motivation and
personal assessment are not overtly signaled. The target of a moral story
also is not directly signaled – though, as noted by several men
asked about this, most understand who is intended as the recipient of the
story, in much the same way that Western Apache stories work (Basso 1990:99–137). Listeners’ reactions to
these stories are interpreted as simply that, a reaction to another
man's account, and only risk the listener's face if he responds
inappropriately to a story (e.g., laughing at a sad or eerie story).
UNDERSTANDING THE GENRE SEPARATION
In public settings, including stomp dances, Muskogee women are
involved in the genres of ‘gossip’, ‘visiting’,
and ‘joking’. Of these, ‘gossip’ consumes much
more of the time and focus of the women at the event. Among women from one
ground at an indoor stomp dance in 1997, approximately two-thirds of the
time was spent ‘gossiping’. In contrast, men devote much more
time to ‘telling stories’ and ‘joking’ than to
‘visiting’. Of these, storytelling is the most time-consuming
genre. Men almost never ‘gossip’ at public events and women
spend little time ‘telling stories’.
It is necessary to explore both Muskogee language and gender ideology
in order to understand the reasons behind the division of genres between
genders. Looking at the division through the lens of Muskogee ideology
makes it apparent that the separation arises from forces identified by
other researchers utilizing either the difference or the dominance
paradigm.8
Coates (1988:65–72) presents a good overview of both
approaches and clearly describes how the two affect the analysis of
gendered language use. Lakoff 1975 is the
premier example of work based on the dominance approach. Maltz & Borker 1982, Johnstone
1993, and Tannen 1994 are good examples
of work informed by the difference approach.
Indeed, knowledge of
Muskogee ideologies shows that this genre separation is a powerful and
logical structure in this community. These insights come from an
outsider's perspective, though; most Muskogee do not tend to discuss
or philosophize about the variation in genre use between the genders.
Language ideology and the genres
Bell (1990:338) states that women's
gossip about relationships and moral conduct brings about situations in
which men have to battle a perceived enemy in order to reassert
appropriate Muskogee social form. However, women's perception of the
results of their talk is that communal and personal relationships will
fail if the women's talk becomes primarily negative, and action is
generally not required from men. They also assert that negative talk
occurs when someone perceives an inappropriate Muskogee social form, so
women's talk itself is maintaining appropriate social order. I am
aware of at least eight romantic relationships, including five
well-established ones, that dissolved after women began making frequent
negative remarks about them. In two of these cases, the relationship
involved a non-Indian and a Muskogee woman, and in another case, two
individuals related by clan.9
The clan
structure has continued to diminish in importance in many areas of
Muskogee society, as Spoehr 1947 noted. However,
Muskogee women are still vigilant about relationships involving partners
with the same clan identity because this is widely thought to be an
incestuous liaison.
None of these relationships were terminated
because of violent or hostile actions perpetrated by male relatives or
friends of those around whom the talk centered. Instead, when the
relationships ended, the women who had been talking negatively about them
cited their talk as one of the causal factors leading to the breakup.
The same idea holds true when individuals are criticized in
women's talk for breaking or bending Muskogee mores. Women frequently
discuss possible results of breaking social norms, including illness and
family misfortune. Since relatives or friends of the transgressor may be
within hearing or even involved in the conversation, warnings are often
offered. An example of this occurred during a discussion of improper
behavior at one of the ceremonial grounds. During this discussion, one
woman noted that “if H doesn't watch his step and stop drinking
before he comes to the [ceremonial] ground, he's going to
get sick.” The assumption among the women was that if H did not
follow this warning – to be relayed to him by a friend participating
in the talk – illness would result from both the spiritual forces
that guard the ceremonial grounds and the fact that women had
been talking about his becoming sick.
Maintenance of distinct Muskogee tribal identity, traditional values,
and traditional practices is highly valued in Muskogee women's talk.
When the subject of discussion is thought to have strayed far from
acceptable norms, women weigh the projected outcomes arising from the
behavior and then speak for or against the subject's behavior. Women
do not always hold steadfastly to tradition; as Innes
2004b notes, some women find moderate alterations of traditional
practices either innocuous or positive. No matter the final outcome of the
discussion, women spend a great deal of time working through topics that
have an effect on Muskogee social structure and the workings of Muskogee
society. Their attention to these matters and the amount of (active) talk
generated about them is striking because it positions the speakers in the
role of guardians of Muskogee social structure within the private
sphere.
It is noteworthy that women's talk makes some men anxious.
Women's talk is something that men do not control, and within it
women exert power by discussing men's behavior. The last thing a man
wants is to become the target of women's talk, unless it is of a
positive nature, which does occur. If we allow that women's talk is
governed by the same “talk is action” ideology that governs
men's public and religious talk, then the reason for men's
wariness becomes clear. It is not due only to men's inability to
control the nature of the talk, but also to the fact that it can affect
men's relationships, social standing, health, and welfare.
This outlook differs radically from Western ideas about gossip, which
is generally considered to be a linguistic genre utilized almost solely by
women (Jones 1980, Johnson
& Aries 1983, Bergmann 1993). Despite
this deprecating view, gossip has been of interest to feminist scholars
because of women's central role in its production. Indeed, much
research on women's talk has found that women utilize this genre
precisely because it provides them with agency and voice; it is a means
for reifying or challenging gender and social ideology, and arguing
against differential access (see Bernikow 1980,
Jones 1980, Kramarae
1981, Johnson & Aries 1983, Bergmann 1993). Despite the positive reasons for
women's participation in this genre, Johnson & Aries (1983:354) note that “folk wisdom pejoratively
places women in the position of having nothing better to do with their
time than talk and of having nothing important to talk about.”
In that quote, it is obvious that women's talk, in the Western
view, is doing nothing in and of itself. Talk takes women away from
productive activities and focuses their minds on frivolous topics,
implying that they are wasting time and energy that should be expended on
more important ends. A similar view has been expressed about Muskogee
women's talk by Bell (1990:338–39).
However, according to Muskogee ideology, Muskogee women's talk is
powerful and useful, and it is another means of shoring up Creek society.
Men, then – contrary to Bell's (1990:340–41) assertion – are not the sole
bearers of the burden of maintaining appropriate Muskogee social forms,
thanks to the power of women's ‘gossip’.
The manner in which ‘gossip’ is carried out – women
relating information about a topic, then presenting their own opinions
about the topic – makes it possible for a group of women to make
specific decisions about the item being discussed. The elder women in the
group listen to all of the opinions expressed and work to bring all women
into consensus. The decision-making process is guided by these elders but
is informed by the opinions of all present. Individual women are clear
about their opinions and do not leave much ambiguity for the listeners to
consider as the group consensus is formed. In this way, all of those
involved, including those guiding the consensus-building process, are able
to gauge how many of the cohort are leaning one way or another as the
conversation develops. Thus, the options of reactions to the topic and the
range of opinions are clear for all to see.
The genres most frequently utilized by men, ‘telling
stories’ and ‘joking’, while often dealing with the same
kinds of topics covered in women's ‘gossip’, do not lead
to talk that acts on the figures in the way women's talk does. Both
‘telling stories’ and ‘joking’ allow men to
reference the item up for discussion without making an overt, clearly
personal evaluation of it. Men can thus indicate to everyone listening,
including women, that they are aware of the kinds of topics that women
discuss without positioning themselves as holders of any particular
opinion on the matter and without expressing a clear group-held
opinion.
As performed by Muskogee men, ‘joking’ raises or connects
with a topic discussed either by the men or women in the context of
‘visiting’, or by the women in the context of
‘gossiping’. For example, after the women had been
‘gossiping’ about an unwed woman's pregnancy, with
several comments about the problems unwed mothers have and the lack of
foresight shown by the couple, one man from the same ground cohort said
loudly to the group, “Hey, H, I hear you're learning a new
trade.” “What trade?” and “When did he start
that?” were heard from other men in the group, while H looked down.
“Yeah, he's learning how to be a baker. He and J have a new
cake in the oven,” J being the pregnant girlfriend. All of the men,
including H, and several of the women laughed. The men then asked H what
his plans were for his and J's future with the baby, but there were
no statements from the men about the lack of judgment shown by this
couple. The women, however, after laughing with the men, went back to
talking about the unwed couple who had been the initial topic of their
conversation and continued evaluating their behavior as irresponsible.
Jokes, then, are humorous observations about the kinds of topics that
get discussed thoroughly by women when ‘gossiping’. Jokes,
however, do not lead men to take up the topic in great detail, nor do they
require the men to come to some decision about the item raised in this
way. They appear to do the opposite, in effect, by indicating that men are
aware of the topic but are willing to treat it lightly from the outset; in
addition, since jokes are delivered by individuals, they do not involve
the group. ‘Joking’ sends a message to the women that, despite
the men's knowledge of the topic, they are quite willing to leave the
deep discussion and evaluation of it to the women.
‘Telling stories’ is yet another means for men to indicate
their acquaintance with a topic without performing “active”
talk. As mentioned earlier, the relationship between stories containing a
moral statement that may apply to the conversational theme and the theme
itself is generally not explicitly stated. Activities, characters, and
locations of moral stories told in public settings never match completely
with the conversational topic, although stories brought up in response to
a topic will have some oblique relation to it. For instance, when women
had been talking about the lack of response by a division of Muskogee
(Creek) Nation to an elder's problems, one man told a story about an
elder he had known who had problems getting assistance from his sons. In
the end, the sons and their families ran into difficulties themselves
which could have been avoided had their families worked together for the
good of all. This was a parable about the path that the Muskogee tribe is
taking, with some (unspecified) difficulties forecast for all unless they
begin taking care of one another.
The ambiguity that arises owing to the lack of direct connection
between such stories and all features of an earlier conversational topic,
along with the fact that men occasionally offer stories in order to pass
the time and entertain without thought to connecting with preceding
conversation, allows individual men to voice an opinion on a topic without
having to state it categorically for the audience. Audience members also
are able to avoid airing their opinions clearly, since it is acceptable
for men to acknowledge such stories with responses that do not indicate
any particular emotional stance. Frequently, one story of this sort will
lead to men telling other stories that connect with the first through the
same characters, similar activities, or the same overall narrative
quality. Thus, while there are thematic, topical, or qualitative threads
connecting stories, a single focus is never clearly identifiable, so the
reasons behind the choices of many stories are not always obvious.
Even the teller's evaluation of the actions and attitudes
described in his story may be difficult to discern. Multiple voices are
often present in a Muskogee story, and, in the case of a story that is not
presented in the first person, the narrator's voice may not even
enter the story. Men utilize these voices to present information from a
number of different viewpoints, so that the narrator's own view is
only one of many, if it is presented at all. Stories can be vehicles for
relaying information or evaluations without assigning the content to any
person present at the telling, which releases all of the men and women
from responsibility for them. A man, then, can tell stories with high
moral content without incurring the liability of asserting that he
believes the moral content is applicable to the persons or actions
previously discussed in ‘gossip’, ‘visiting’, or
‘joking.’
Gender ideology and the genres
Muskogee gender ideology, accurately reported by Bell 1990, supports a differentiation of men's
and women's activities. Women are most active in and control the
private sphere. Men are active in and control the public sphere.
Considering the separation of the genres between the genders through the
lens of Muskogee gender ideology suggests that it occurs as a result of a
balance of power between the genders in Muskogee society. Jones 1980 has noted that within Western cultures,
gossip is a means of maintaining and transmitting information about the
values and concerns that women hold, and issues with which they are
confronted. While Muskogee women's talk serves these same purposes,
it is also a means of retaining and transmitting women's control of
the private sphere in a society where talk is considered to be action.
The gender ideology iterated by Muskogee men and women suggests that
there is a balance between men's regulation of behaviors and
expectations in the public sphere and women's regulation of behaviors
and expectations in the private sphere. This ideology closely resembles
that found in Colpied, a French village by Reiter (1975:252–73). However, unlike Reiter's
(1975:272–73) realization that the
ideology espoused by inhabitants of Colpied proved false when one examined
the influence of the genders in economic and political roles outside the
village, the proposed Muskogee ideology is not inaccurate. Both genders
work in tandem to keep the Muskogee world in balance through discursive
practice, as well as through economic and political activity.
The active talk produced when women ‘gossip’ concerns
exactly those kinds of topics that are considered to be in the private
sphere. Social relationships, identity issues, caregiving activities,
women's health, and individuals' health and welfare issues,
among others, are appropriate topics for ‘gossip’. It is
appropriate for women to air their personal views on these topics and for
a group of women to reach a fairly unified conclusion. Information and
reactions are spread among a number of women, leading to an increased
number of women lending their voices to the language-based cause of
creating change in their community. Their genre provides them with the
linguistic means of policing the private sphere, guarding against
inappropriate, immoral, or inopportune modifications of Muskogee life and
customs, which often arise because of the influence of the non-Muskogee
world.
These same issues are not appropriate for men to discuss at length,
primarily because they concern the private sphere, which is under the
control of women. When it is deemed necessary, men become physically
active to deal with the kinds of issues raised in women's
‘gossip’ (e.g., male relatives may protect or provide for a
female relative in need of assistance, or men assist families in dire need
of basic supplies), but men do not discuss what they think of these
situations in groups beforehand. Men discuss these topics with their
female and male relatives, but not in large groups in public settings.
Thus, men leave discussion and evaluation of conduct in private matters to
women. If the behavior affects public institutions or involves people from
a number of families, men take these matters up for consideration and come
to a decision ratified by the group dealing with the matter. This occurs
only when the matter has become important in the public sphere and has
crossed over from a purely private affair to one that affects the public
good.
‘Joking’ and ‘telling stories’ are means
whereby Muskogee men can indicate that they are aware of matters occurring
in the private sphere, without taking over women's roles in acting
these through language. As a group, the women are able to gauge the
men's views through the tenor of the stories told and the features
around which the jokes revolve. Thus, should women's linguistic
action not be successful so that the need arises for men to act
physically, women can be fairly certain who among the men will answer
their call for activity that either supports or disputes the behavior,
actors, or attitudes to which it is directed. Men's use and
women's interpretations of these genres keep women's talk as the
primary form of action, while men overtly communicate their positions on
the subject – with most men tending to support the women's
conclusions.
Although women do not perform the genres associated with ritual talk
in ceremonial contexts, they clearly perform ‘gossip’,
‘telling stories’, ‘visiting’, and
‘joking’ while in the public arena. As discussed above, gossip
is occasionally evaluated as a dangerous genre, which suggests that the
performance of this genre during ceremonial (public) events is a very
significant act. It can be read as a rebellious and threatening act,
demonstrating women's unwillingness to be controlled by men in an
event that men appear to dominate linguistically and actively. Gossip at
such events also may be viewed as women's demonstrating their ability
to control power discursively, since their language causes things outside
men's control to happen in the world. “Good” performance
of this genre maintains traditional Muskogee social relations and
structure through the act of women's talk, just as a
“good” performance of the ceremony maintains these elements
through men's activities. Talk of this type signifies to all aware of
Muskogee gender and language ideologies that women command a discursive
power that is, for the most part, equivalent to men's, and that is
relevant to social relations complementary to those dealt with in the
ceremonies directed by men.
Insights when both ideologies are considered
The separation of genres between Muskogee men and women, the ways
these genres are performed by women and men at public events, and both
genders' reactions to the other's genre usage are quite logical
when we look at them with knowledge of the Muskogee community's
gender and language ideologies. Women are considered to be the managers of
the private sphere, taking steps to maintain appropriate familial and
cultural structures. Men are managers of the public sphere, directing and
performing those activities and guarding those spaces that affect the
wellbeing of corporate groups. With this division of influence in mind, it
is no wonder that much of women's talk at public events concerns
issues from the private sphere, while men indicate that they have some
knowledge of these issues but do not dwell on them because they do not
have immediate consequences for the larger public.
The separation also makes sense when we consider that language is
action in the Muskogee worldview. Women's ‘gossip’ lets
the women reach a balanced decision, arrived at only after long discussion
and the presentation of different points of view. Utilization of this
genre consolidates group opinion and causes the women's voices to
become as one. This makes their voice a powerful one that is unified and
directed to curing a single social ill, much like the curative verse
recited by a medicine man over a medicine for a specific ailment. Just as
a medicine man must diagnose the ailment and determine the appropriate
cure, so must women determine the cause and potential outcome of a problem
and craft a response that satisfies the knowledgeable and experienced
audience. The far-ranging discussions and consideration given to alternate
views position women's conclusions as authoritative pronouncements on
the topic, much as the medicine man's curing language is the result
of his expertise in treating disease.
Men, not formulating a group response or exploring the issue in great
detail, do not present their language in such an active way. No
large-scale group voice or outlook results from men's talk, and the
issue is not clearly raised as the central topic of conversation, which
keeps men's talk about these issues from becoming active language.
Men's conclusions and views about such topics never are clearly or
repeatedly stated and do not coalesce into a strong, unified stance, which
prevents their talk on such issues from demonstrating that it is an
effective force emanating from authorities on the matter. By performing
the genres that they do, which keeps their language from becoming a
force-filled tool of change, men maintain the gendered division of
influence over the private and public spheres espoused in Muskogee gender
ideology.
Given the ideologies, it also is no wonder that men and women have
different assessments of each other's genre use. Bell 1990 notes several times that men find
women's ‘gossip’ a dangerous, potentially harmful form of
talk. If we allow that women's talk in this genre is an active form
of speech that can affect relationships, individuals' welfare, and
social structure, then it should come as no shock that those who generally
do not participate in this genre (men) are wary of its use. Men also do
not control women's use of this genre and do not openly reprimand
women for the views they express through this genre, though they may
attempt through ‘joking’ to cause women to lighten their tone
at times, or may present an alternate view of the issue through a story.
It is the women's voices and not the men's, however, that
accomplish the action through language by using a genre that men may
observe but do not direct. Men are affected by this talk/action and
may be called on to perform physical action in response to or in support
of the talk, but they are the patients, not the agents, in this linguistic
formula. As such, men's observations that women's
‘gossip’ is dangerous reflects their position as the objects
of this talk, affected by what women say and how they say it.
In contrast, men view ‘visiting’, ‘joking’,
and ‘telling stories' as relatively secure, positive acts.
These are linguistic genres pursued out of a sense of friendship and
camaraderie that do not challenge existing social relationships or
structures. Indeed, their performance indicates that the speaker's
and listeners' social relationships are solid and healthy.
‘Joking’ and ‘telling stories’ can indicate that
the speaker perceives a small problem with some aspect of his or her
relationship with the target of the narrative, but they raise the problem
obliquely and without directly threatening the face of the target. Using
these genres to point out problems indicates that a friendly relationship
still exists and that the speaker desires the difficulty to be overcome by
those involved in the relationship. This view covers men's assessment
of both women's and men's performance of these genres, with no
difference in interpretation arising out of the gender identity of those
in the speaker's or listeners’ positions.
Women, in contrast, have slightly different readings of the use of
these genres. For women, ‘gossip’ is a powerful tool. As
described earlier, women believe their use of the genre is a key means of
enforcing and maintaining appropriate social behavior and relationships.
This does not scare women, for it is they who control this genre and are
charged with overseeing the private sphere. Women do express some
trepidation about the use of this genre by those in other social groups,
since the others' language may be directed toward their own friends
and acquaintances. However, just as medicine men and preachers may use
medicines and language to battle those who are using their power to
achieve opposite goals, groups of women can use their speech to oppose the
language/actions of other groups.10
Medicine men and preachers are called upon to battle
stekenne ‘witches’, who are often
identified as the forces causing difficulty or illness for a person,
family, or corporate group (Swanton 1928b:632–36; Schultz
1999). The witch affects his or her victim through the use of
charmed items and medicines doctored with chants calling on dark forces,
and spells. Witches, then, also use language in an active manner to effect
negative outcomes for the victim. A witch's power is negated by the
application of medicines and treatments empowered by the positive language
of a medicine man or preacher.
Women do not tend to portray the
language of another group as dangerous or pointedly disruptive unless one
of the members learns or imagines that her enemies have directed the other
group's decisions. Generally, women consider the speech of other
groups to differ from that of their own but not to be overtly hostile, so
the talk that arises when differences in groups' opinions are
perceived is thought to represent alternate routes that will achieve the
same positive outcome.
The other genres are not considered to be practices that utilize
active language, so they are generally viewed as being entertaining or
informative without effecting change in the lives of those discussed.
Women acknowledge that men and other female participants use
‘joking’ to make women aware that their talk has become so
serious or potentially harmful that it is challenging the expectation that
interaction at ceremonial and social events will be fun and entertaining.
Stories may be used in a similar manner. Presentation of a story can, on
one hand, indicate a connection with the topic of ‘gossip’ and
an intent to express the teller's outlook to the group. On the other
hand, storytelling can cause a break in the ‘gossip’, making
women aware that others are listening and may be finding the discussion
too serious or dangerous. In essence, jokes and entertaining stories
remind the women that the linguistic activity they are doing through
‘gossip’ is located within a larger public event where people
are to be welcomed and supported, not harmed or wounded.
Given this usage, it is logical that men utilize the genres of
‘telling stories’ and ‘joking’ more often than do
women, since they are directly concerned with the conduct of people within
the public sphere and have a stake in monitoring the language use of their
women in a public event. If a ground's women's linguistic
practices appear to be placing others in danger at a dance, it is likely
that others will come to view the ground's hospitality and
camaraderie as suspect and will not lend their support to the
ground's dances and fundraising events. Thus, men's and
women's joking and storytelling behavior can be used as a constraint
on women's ‘gossip’ to some extent, though most
frequently they are performed to entertain all participants.
CONCLUSION
In Muskogee society, talk is a powerful means of acting within and on
the world. Talk is one means by which Muskogee women and men control their
world, though most Muskogee men do not appear to grant that they need
women's help in this matter. Muskogee women's and men's
talk is a locus of power used to demonstrate and maintain control in the
areas of life administered by each gender. For women, a symbol of their
control of the private sphere resides in their use of talk to manipulate,
modify, and fashion social relations. Men active in the stomp dance
religion demonstrate their control of the public sphere through talk,
particularly through the discourses of medicine men and other ground
leaders.11
Control of specialized discourse
styles is an important facet of men's roles at the stomp grounds. Men
holding the position of mekko ‘chief’,
oponayv ‘speaker’, or empohvtkv ‘stick
man’ must command the discursive practices and/or styles
associated with these roles. Chiefs are to speak to the assembled crowds
only through their speakers, though they may speak directly to small
groups or individuals when moving among the crowd. Speakers utilize a
distinctive style when making speeches on behalf of the chief to ground
members and visitors. For descriptions of this style see Bell 1985 and Innes, Alexander & Tilkens (2004, CD2). Stick men determine the order of song
leaders during the dances and have a style for use when announcing the
next leader. Men also command specialized discourse styles and genres at
Muskogee churches. For descriptions of preaching, praying, and other
distinctive styles performed at church gatherings, see Schultz 1999.
Women and men exert control over
different realms of Muskogee social life as a result of Muskogee gender
ideology and are able to perform the verbal work that they do through the
Muskogee language ideology that equates language/speech with
action.
Given this, it is no wonder that Muskogee men and women exhibit
differential use of speech genres in public events. Rather than being
silent participants who withhold their speech so as not to be dangerous,
as suggested by Bell (1984:224–25, 1990:338), women perform a speech genre roughly
equivalent to Western notions of gossip in public arenas. This genre of
speech provides a forum in which many women's voices are heard and
assessed, which is appropriate when one considers that Muskogee women are
dealing with large and important societal issues in their
‘gossip’. Inclusion of multiple viewpoints also is supported
by the Muskogee belief that decisions about taking a course of action are
to be made after gathering as much knowledge and input as possible. This
practice allows Muskogee women's messages to coalesce and become
strong in unison, and, as a result of the debating process, the
women's conclusion becomes authoritative. Both features support the
view that Muskogee women's ‘gossip’ is active language
capable of effecting change.
Men, on the other hand, utilize the genres of ‘visiting’,
‘joking’, and ‘telling stories’, but do not
‘gossip’, at these same public events. Men are able to
indicate to women that they are listening to their conversations, that
they are aware of the topics being discussed, and are monitoring the
emotional tone of the conversation. The genres used by men allow them to
present their views without co-opting the women's talk and do not
bring the men's speech up to the level of action that women's
talk reaches. Men also are able to cause the women to “lighten
up” when they are becoming too serious or forceful in their
conversation – extremes that would disrupt the tone of the event
itself and challenge the host ground's men's control of the
public event. By not partaking in ‘gossip’ of their own or
disrupting women's ‘gossip’, men maintain Muskogee gender
role differentiation.
The discomfort of men and of women considering another group's
talk noted in this article and by Bell 1990 is
yet another indication of the power wielded by women through their
‘gossip’. This implies that, rather than being another example
of subordination of the private to the public as has been frequently
suggested (Paine 1967, Harding 1975, Haviland 1977,
Bernikow 1980, Jones
1980), women's ‘gossip’ and the utilization of it
as a form of power over the private sphere is acknowledged by men and
women in Muskogee society. As it is used in the ways described here,
women's language is powerful – it is language that does
something upon its utterance – and it provides women with a realm of
power monitored but unregulated and unmediated by Muskogee men.
That Muskogee women's talk accesses the same power as men's
words through the equal application of the Muskogee “language is
action” ideology allows us to consider that men's unease at
women's talk is an indication of relatively equal linguistic footing
among Muskogee genders. In her discussion of the regulation of
pornography, MacKinnon (1993:13) notes that
“social inequality is substantially created and enforced –
that is, done – through words and images” (emphasis
in original). What we have in Muskogee society is, indeed, unequal access
to power in the public and private spheres, with men talking about
(controlling) the public, and women talking about (controlling) the
private. That women's talk creates and enforces the reality found in
the private sector gives them an area of control to which men do not
demonstrate equal access. When women's talk assumes the same active
character as men's, they have gained access to a realm of power
available to both genders equally, though the power is used to control
different spheres. Muskogee women will not allow men to take their
speaking power away, and they laugh off or talk about any men who attempt
to control women's speech. Men, for their part, joke or tell stories
about men who try to control their wives too much or who appear too
willing to partake in women's ‘gossip’. Thus, both
genders maintain access to the powerful language genres they control
– men's public oratory styles and genres are not open to women,
nor are women's private oratory styles or genres open to men.
Thus, it would appear that Bell's (1990) assertion that Muskogee women symbolize the
natural world, and that Muskogee social order is attained solely through
the work of men, is incorrect. Muskogee women, through the power of their
talk, create and maintain the Muskogee social order within the private
sphere. Men may create forms of Muskogee social order for outsiders to
see, but it is the women who control the social order insiders live in and
maintain through proper behavior. When Muskogee women begin to critique
another's actions, they are building the fences to keep disorder out
and work to mend the fabric of social life. The separate genres used by
the genders at public events shows that both genders cooperate in such a
way that each has access to powerful linguistic usages.
Examination of the differential use of the genres by men and women
also points out that the Mvskoke term for each of these genres is a
metapragmatic “shifter” in that it evokes both the linguistic
and the social features characterizing its performance (Silverstein 1977:146–51). Muskogee people are able to
describe many of the linguistic and social features surrounding
appropriate performance of each of the genres, and they are able to
expound on what the uses of these genres signify. However, it is only when
the genres are explored within the context of Muskogee gender and language
ideologies that we begin to see how the discursive separation fits within
larger social constructs. Thus, as Silverstein (1977:151) asserts, combining insights from both the
emic and etic perspectives is necessary to understand fully how both
genders utilize the genres successfully within Muskogee culture.
