The Valley Nisenan (20 pages)

278 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. [Vol 4 . Kroeber: The Valley Nisenan i 279 brought him into the k’um. ‘‘Who are youf Why do you whisper and whistle. about?’’ ‘‘I was whispering ‘food’ because I was hungry.’’ They gave him: food, but all he would eat was teoka. ‘‘I was whispering nothing bad,’’ he said, a and they believed him. They went to sleep. Overhead was a bird singing the. i g Gl night through and guarding the bears. At last it too fell asleep. Skunk to aa . his spear and killed the two bears. He ran and the warning was given. As the others chased him, he shot them (with his scent), one after the other. All about his place their bones lay like timber. a Son-in-law’s trials —An old man had a fine daughter. Whenever any one came to marry her, the old man gave him poison tobacco to smoke. When he fell dead, the old man hooked him with his claws and threw him away: BFar in the south lived a man who was powerful and wise. He told his wife” he was going. She warned him, but he took his ‘‘gun’’ and went. When he came to where there was much game, he shot once and killed everything. He saved the quail and put a duck’s head on the end of a stick. ; When he arrived, the old man asked his old woman to give him his tobacco, and lit it. The visitor made a hole in the ground and drew the smoke into it. . The old man, disturbed, asked his wife for stronger tobacco. But the visitor eae) STE SET T TY “and Maidu are fewer, even though, valley and hill Nisenan speech are ‘ather closely similar. Subsistence habits determined by physiography and ecology evidently colored the socigl and religious culture mone ~ a ‘than did linguistic affiliation. — . From the San Joaquin valley, on the other hand; open and contiguous as it lay to our Nisenan, the cultural outlook appears to have been relatively averted; perhaps on account of hostility, perhaps because the Mokelumne and delta peoples shared patterns and attiEindes of a different culture centering farther south. Unfortunately 4 he Plains Miwok and northern valley Yokuts broke up before more “than scant notes of their culture were recorded, and it is only the "central and southern Yokuts of whom something is known. The fe Plains Miwok, however, if the present that the culture of this an Joaquin portion of the SIS: nt ees ae Si ATP RANA A BLINDS YA Nisenan ignorance of t jnformant’s attitude is typical, suggests people was Yokuts in type, and that the S Great valley formed a cultural sub-unit distinctive from. the Sacra: ento portion, the line falling in the plains between the American and Cosumnes, and the joint delta belonging with the San Joaquin. ~The following trait distributions are evidence of these affiliations : did the same with it. Then a quail head flew from him and around and around the house. The old people were frightened and let the man have their daughter. In the morning the old man said he was hungry for meat. The man went out, shot once, and killed everything about. ‘‘ What is that?’’ asked his father-in-l when he heard the shot. The man returned and told his wife, ‘‘I have killed one.’? When they went out, there was a pile of game. There was so much, was divided among all the village. i 5 Next day the old man said he was sick and wanted to eat birds. His son-inlaw went to the lake and at one shot killed everything there. At dark he returned, . ‘Well, I killed one little thing,’’ he said and stood his gun up in a corner. The . family went out and found birds piled up as high as a hill. es vs oeareerameeninen ppeecer ses movtap mony eae nena eT RAS — Relations with the Sacramento valley peoples —Geographical knowledge and communications; dependence on fish and water fowl; geese and duck nets ; shaped 0g raft; duck feather blanket; wooden mortar; roasting salt in pits; fathom measuring; general type of Kuksu cult; lack of specific ghost society in Kuksu cult. cis with Sacramento valley and Pomo.—Feathered baskets; coarseaskets made by men; fan-tan type guessing game;~two secret societies ; poe absence. or slight development of victory dance, dance at girl’s shaman’s paraphernalia bags; een S papa at OPER ar wap roe Again the old man was sick and wanted fish, The man made a net and drew — in} one haul (ete., as per pattern). < He asked for fresh salmon. The son-in-law took a harpoon and put a feather — on his head. He speared a gigantic salmon, which almost drew him under, but he — finally killed it with a stone. (Pattern as before.) f ef The old man asked his son-in-law to make him a good fire in his sweat-house 1 il But in it he had a fawn and two bad bears. The son-in-law took his hair net H) He drew the bears out, one after the other, killed them, and brought them to { the old man, . ‘¢Well, I am going now,’’ he said, and took his wife. Part way home they \ made camp. There she had a baby. They arrived and he lived there with both — j his wives. ‘i This story seems to be a fusion of native and non-Indian elements. eremony ; : n adolescence, images in mourning anniversary; taught, little dreaming. ee Pot ountain Nisenan and Maidu.—Calendar of less than exhibitions or contests. : —The wooden mortar, the shamans’ public dance, reappear in the middle San Joaquin ? Relations with San Joaquin valley. contest, the ab of an adol valley, the northern portion being without data. s, ; Fthers Valley Nisenan peculiarities of culture.—Cordage of ptu” instead of Asclepias or Apocynum; stone whorl for spinning; shell knife; mumu necklace pasket ; human eyes used for bewitching enemy; primacy of Akit dance. PLACE AND RELATIONS OF THE CULTURE : ) Of these twenty-nine characterizing traits, six are local, twenty are shared with valley Maidu and Patwin, ten with Pomo, three with ball Nisenan and Maidu, three with Yokuts. Roughly, these proportions seem to describe the affiliations of the culture. Culturally the Nisenan of the lower American and Sacramento rivers affiliated most closely with the other tribes of the Sacramento — plains and waterways—the northerly Nisenan, Maidu, and Patwin. A number of traits unite them also with the Pomo of the Coast ranges — in the same latitude. Resemblances to the hill and mountain Nisenan ~ %

278 University of California Publications in Am. Arch. and Ethn. [Vol 4 . Kroeber: The Valley Nisenan i 279 brought him into the k’um. ‘‘Who are youf Why do you whisper and whistle. about?’’ ‘‘I was whispering ‘food’ because I was hungry.’’ They gave him: food, but all he would eat was teoka. ‘‘I was whispering nothing bad,’’ he said, a and they believed him. They went to sleep. Overhead was a bird singing the. i g Gl night through and guarding the bears. At last it too fell asleep. Skunk to aa . his spear and killed the two bears. He ran and the warning was given. As the others chased him, he shot them (with his scent), one after the other. All about his place their bones lay like timber. a Son-in-law’s trials —An old man had a fine daughter. Whenever any one came to marry her, the old man gave him poison tobacco to smoke. When he fell dead, the old man hooked him with his claws and threw him away: BFar in the south lived a man who was powerful and wise. He told his wife” he was going. She warned him, but he took his ‘‘gun’’ and went. When he came to where there was much game, he shot once and killed everything. He saved the quail and put a duck’s head on the end of a stick. ; When he arrived, the old man asked his old woman to give him his tobacco, and lit it. The visitor made a hole in the ground and drew the smoke into it. . The old man, disturbed, asked his wife for stronger tobacco. But the visitor eae) STE SET T TY “and Maidu are fewer, even though, valley and hill Nisenan speech are ‘ather closely similar. Subsistence habits determined by physiography and ecology evidently colored the socigl and religious culture mone ~ a ‘than did linguistic affiliation. — . From the San Joaquin valley, on the other hand; open and contiguous as it lay to our Nisenan, the cultural outlook appears to have been relatively averted; perhaps on account of hostility, perhaps because the Mokelumne and delta peoples shared patterns and attiEindes of a different culture centering farther south. Unfortunately 4 he Plains Miwok and northern valley Yokuts broke up before more “than scant notes of their culture were recorded, and it is only the "central and southern Yokuts of whom something is known. The fe Plains Miwok, however, if the present that the culture of this an Joaquin portion of the SIS: nt ees ae Si ATP RANA A BLINDS YA Nisenan ignorance of t jnformant’s attitude is typical, suggests people was Yokuts in type, and that the S Great valley formed a cultural sub-unit distinctive from. the Sacra: ento portion, the line falling in the plains between the American and Cosumnes, and the joint delta belonging with the San Joaquin. ~The following trait distributions are evidence of these affiliations : did the same with it. Then a quail head flew from him and around and around the house. The old people were frightened and let the man have their daughter. In the morning the old man said he was hungry for meat. The man went out, shot once, and killed everything about. ‘‘ What is that?’’ asked his father-in-l when he heard the shot. The man returned and told his wife, ‘‘I have killed one.’? When they went out, there was a pile of game. There was so much, was divided among all the village. i 5 Next day the old man said he was sick and wanted to eat birds. His son-inlaw went to the lake and at one shot killed everything there. At dark he returned, . ‘Well, I killed one little thing,’’ he said and stood his gun up in a corner. The . family went out and found birds piled up as high as a hill. es

vs oeareerameeninen ppeecer ses movtap mony eae nena eT RAS — Relations with the Sacramento valley peoples —Geographical knowledge and communications; dependence on fish and water fowl; geese and duck nets ; shaped 0g raft; duck feather blanket; wooden mortar; roasting salt in pits; fathom measuring; general type of Kuksu cult; lack of specific ghost society in Kuksu cult. cis with Sacramento valley and Pomo.—Feathered baskets; coarseaskets made by men; fan-tan type guessing game;~two secret societies ; poe absence. or slight development of victory dance, dance at girl’s shaman’s paraphernalia bags; een S papa at OPER ar wap roe Again the old man was sick and wanted fish, The man made a net and drew — in} one haul (ete., as per pattern). < He asked for fresh salmon. The son-in-law took a harpoon and put a feather — on his head. He speared a gigantic salmon, which almost drew him under, but he — finally killed it with a stone. (Pattern as before.) f ef The old man asked his son-in-law to make him a good fire in his sweat-house 1 il But in it he had a fawn and two bad bears. The son-in-law took his hair net H) He drew the bears out, one after the other, killed them, and brought them to { the old man, . ‘¢Well, I am going now,’’ he said, and took his wife. Part way home they \ made camp. There she had a baby. They arrived and he lived there with both — j his wives. ‘i This story seems to be a fusion of native and non-Indian elements. eremony ; : n adolescence, images in mourning anniversary; taught, little dreaming. ee Pot ountain Nisenan and Maidu.—Calendar of less than exhibitions or contests. : —The wooden mortar, the shamans’ public dance, reappear in the middle San Joaquin ? Relations with San Joaquin valley. contest, the ab of an adol valley, the northern portion being without data. s, ; Fthers Valley Nisenan peculiarities of culture.—Cordage of ptu” instead of Asclepias or Apocynum; stone whorl for spinning; shell knife; mumu necklace pasket ; human eyes used for bewitching enemy; primacy of Akit dance. PLACE AND RELATIONS OF THE CULTURE : ) Of these twenty-nine characterizing traits, six are local, twenty are shared with valley Maidu and Patwin, ten with Pomo, three with ball Nisenan and Maidu, three with Yokuts. Roughly, these proportions seem to describe the affiliations of the culture. Culturally the Nisenan of the lower American and Sacramento rivers affiliated most closely with the other tribes of the Sacramento — plains and waterways—the northerly Nisenan, Maidu, and Patwin. A number of traits unite them also with the Pomo of the Coast ranges — in the same latitude. Resemblances to the hill and mountain Nisenan ~ %