Postgres postmaster

Hi all,

I'm brand-new to postgres. I have installed version 6.5 on RHL 6.1 (the
rpm). when I try to create a database, I get:
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[workshop(at)hoss workshop]$ createdb donneybrook
Connection to database 'template1' failed.
connectDB() -- connect() failed: Connection refused
Is the postmaster running at 'localhost' and accepting connections on Unix
socke
t '5432'?

createdb: database creation failed on donneybrook.
[workshop(at)hoss workshop]$
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In /etc/services, port 5432 refers to 'postgres'.

I created the postgres user in linuxconf, but fail to see how this makes it
the postmaster. I understand that "postmaster"
refers not to the email boss, but the master of postgres.

Shouldn't these details have been taken care of by the rpm, and if not,
what do I do to fix this?

Thanks
Bill