Journal oFCalifornia and Great Basin Anthropology Vol. 5. Nos. 1 and 2. pp. 66-86 (1983).

Basin Religion and Theology: A Comparative Study of Power (Puha)

JAY MILLER

HE Great Basin has been the focus of Hokan-speaking Washoe, all historic Basin Tkeen anthropological interest for some groups belong to the Numic family of lan­ time, primarily because the efficient sim­ guages within the Uto-Aztecan language plicity of societies indigenous to the region stock. Although there is some disagreement, it reveals much about the persistence, stamina, appears that Numic-speakers fanned out from and ingenuity that people need to survive in a the vicinity of Death Valley and diversified strenuous environment. The major concern of into three closely related branches (Lamb Basin studies has been with ecological theory, 1958). Southern Numic includes Kawaiisu, but these have all but ignored the traditional Chemehuevi, about a dozen Southern Paiute ideology that was the basis of native lifeways. (Nuwuvi), and Ute. Central Numic encom­ Aside from some important contributions to passes Panamint, Western Shoshoni (Newe), general ethnography, cultural ecology in the Gosiute, Northern Shoshoni, and Eastern Basin lias dealt with ecology to the virtual (Wind River-Comanche) Shoshoni. Western exchision of culture. Numic embraces Mono and several Northern Recently, with the possible deployment Paiute (Numa) bands, distinguished by lake- of the MX missile, the mining of subsurface based economies and the development of minerals, and the expansion of energy trans­ salmon fisheries in otherwise arid regions of mission systems. Basin religious sites have Oregon and Idaho. been destroyed or threatened at an alarming Today, most people live on reservations, rate, much as local food resources were often on or near their aboriginal territories or, destroyed over a century ago by settlers and in the interest of steady employment, they livestock (Andrus 1979; Hartigan 1980; reside in colonies (reserved housing blocks Inter-Tribal Council of Nevada 1976a, 1976b, close to ranches, towns, and cities). As was 1976c). For this reason, an overview of Basin traditional, extensive visiting and travel be­ religion and theology has been greatly needed, tween areas are the norms, but the need for one which treats the published information in wages has all but replaced foraging as a factor a systematic fashion with the cooperation of in the movements of individuals and families, native peoples. This study is a preliminary except for some elders (Facilitators 1980). step in this direction.' Previous publications have been primarily While there are many named groups in the concerned with ecology, subsistence strategy, Basin, on the whole it is a homogeneous area and general ethnography, although fieldwork- within Native America. Except for the ers collected data on a greater variety of subjects than their publications suggest. Sometimes, researchers were sent into an area Jay Miller, American Indian Studies, GN-05, Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195. to fill out a prior study. Thus, in 1935,

[66] BASIN RELIGION AND THEOLOGY 67

Kroeber sent Frederick Hulse and Frank tures are equivalent in that Culture is a Essene to Owens Valley to collect folklore distinctively human adaptation augmented by and other information lacking in the work by language and technology. Culture is some­ Steward (1933). times used as a cover term for shared ideas or It was Steward who set the tone for Basin all aspects of a society, but this muddles its research with a "gastronomic orientation" clarity. Cultures are basically the same; it is that encouraged a disinterest in culture, ideol­ only their reflection and realization in society ogy, and religion in their own right. The that differs, congruent with biology, habitat, singular exception is the study of shamanism ecological cycles, and population size. by Willard Park (1938), who also collected Only in this manner can the Basin be valuable information on Northern Paiute ritu­ considered at the lower end of any scale of al and ceremony. complexity. While Basin cultures were as Some recent correctives to this functional elaborate as any others. Basin societies display view have been supplied by Hultkrantz (1966, concern with practicality and efficiency. By 1976), working with data from Wind River ignoring this important distinction, Linton Shoshoni. While they are located on the (1940: 117), commenting on the study by eastern margin of the Basin and adopted a Harris (1940), made the absurd comment that heavy veneer of Plains features. Wind River "Aboriginal White Knife culture was so simple people seem to have remained faithful to a and amorphous that there was little to be generalized Basin theology. Nonetheless, Hult­ destroyed by European contact." krantz discusses it in terms of a religious Because cultures are subject to change ecology based on the subsistence technology, over time, yet each seems to maintain some slighting the interaction of symbols with the distinctive axiomatic principles, they have total environment which lies at the heart of sometimes been likened to configurations the ideological system. with a stabilizer that keeps them on a given Aside from Park (1938) and Hultkrantz course. Such a stabilizer has been called an (1966, 1976), discussions of Basin religion armature, ethos, paideuma, and so forth. have been limited to unanalyzed treatments Elsewhere, I have called it a Strucon (Miller of the Circle, Bear, and Cry dances (cf. 1979), an abbreviation for structural configu­ Fowler 1970), which are variations on the ration, consisting of a reverberating axiomatic system rather than basic to it. tension called an Echo and relationships called a Matrix. CULTURE, SOCIETY, AND MATRIX The component relationships form a triad In all, previous research in the Basin has of exclusive, inclusive, and inclosive members. dealt with society rather than culture. Society The exclusive/inclusive consist of a dialectical consists of manifestations of behavior, subsis­ duality, with the exclusive as a special case of tence, and institutions. It is the obvious the inclusive. Hence, the exclusive is tightly empirical data shared among the social or defined, marked, and delimited, while the human sciences, defined by time, place, and inclusive is indefinite, unmarked, and open. events. Culture, by contrast, is the semantic For example, many cultures regard both dimension that informs and renders meaning­ female and left as exclusive, in opposition to ful all the experiences of a human as a male and right as inclusive. In this case, member of a society. females and the left hand are under various While societies differ in terms of their restrictions, such as negative evaluations that level of integration and complexity, all cul­ limit theh range of activity or application 68 JOURNAL OF CALIFORNIA AND GREAT BASIN ANTHROPOLOGY

(Needham 1973; Miller 1979). Levi-Strauss male activity, and red with both males and (1978: 469) has identified these relationships females on joyous occasions, they are exclu­ in his sweeping mytho-logic of the Americas sive and inclusive, respectively. Its association as disjunction, conjunction, and mediation. with the sacred and spiritual links white with The inclosive member is the most com­ the inclosive. The associations of the other plex because it shares attributes both of the colors are not as well developed, although exclusive and the inclusive and of other yellow sometimes substitutes for black. members of the class of mediators. In ad­ In his composite model of the Southern dition to culturally specific attributes, all Ute world, Goss (1972: 128) attributes white mediators have in common the image of a to the sky, yellow to the Upper Earth, permeating nexus (Miller 1979). It is these blue-green-gray to the Middle Earth, red to mediators within a Strucon and culture which the Lower Earth, and black to the Under­ weave together all of the other dyads into a world. Apparently, symbolism varied througli consistent whole. the Basin since Northern Paiute assign colors While the Matrix occurs in all cultures, the to the cardinal directions and black to the character of the Echo sets each culture apart. center. This matter is complex enough to Levi-Strauss has argued for a set of categories deserve further study. which I interpret to be the universal Echo of Recognizing the distinctions between Human Culture. It consists of Culture as society and culture, exemplified by Echo and predictable and exclusive. Nature as acciden­ Matrix, our concern is less with what people tal and inclusive, and Mind, reason and brain, do and more with what they think, recogniz­ as inclosive. For specific cultures, however, ing that the two are very closely related. In these universals are subject to various combi­ addition, the thoughts of some people are nations of internal developments, historical more helpful than those of others, much as accidents, and external influences that assert the advice of an expert is more informative the priority of a particular duality as the than that of a novice. In practice, these Echo. At present, about a dozen possible profound thinkers were or are often shamans, Echoes have been identified, with those of but sometimes they are people able to devote right/left, man/woman, and animal/plant considerable thought to a subject. Often they playing significant roles. are mentally curious but physically handi­ An example of a Matrix in the Basin is capped. provided by color symbolism. Although five is According to percentages reported by the pattern number and there seem to be five Whiting (1950; 28) for Northern Paiute and primary colors (white, red, black, yellow, and Reichel-Dolmatoff (1971) for the Desana of blue-green-gray), only tlie first three carry Colombia, only about 20% of a population heavy symbolic loads. Powell (1971: 162) possesses such informed knowledge, and less reported "Red paint signifies joy," with black than 5% of these have a systematic overview "signifying war." Among the Gosiute, boys of the valued information. Most often such and girls were painted red at their puberty adepts were supernaturally empowered by festivals, and white before embarking on a heredity and personal inclination, together vision quest (Malouf 1974: 62, 53). Formerly, with an arduous training period in self- patients during a shamanic curing were paint­ discipline, empathy, esoteric languages, and ed white, as they still are among the Duck- special techniques (Handleman 1967). In the water Shoshoni. process, they perfect skills of mind-body Because black was associated with war, a control such as hypnosis, meditation, and BASIN RELIGION AND THEOLOGY 69 breathing exercises to induce trance. of Americanist research into New World POWER (PUHA) religions. While these belief systems are usual­ ly mentioned in the plural, my work across The intent of this training was the ability the continent has convinced me that there to control the supernatural power-energy- was and is a common system for North force after it was conferred by a spirit in a America, variously expressed by the accep­ recurrent dream, which usually was due to the tance, rejection, and differential emphasis of initiative of the spirit, either because it was basic tenets. The appeal of Numic and Washoe familiar with the family or because it took a religion is that it seems to be an elementary liking to the dreamer. This bonding took expression of the larger system. place without suffering, hardship, or mortifi­ In all, this unitary concept of power is cation, although profound grief might bring most like the crucial concept of the Holy Wind out a power already lurking nearby. Often, where "Navajo naming of a particular aspect power (puha, bulla, or similar variants in of the Wind does not thereby differentiate it Numic languages or wegeleyu in Washoe) was as a kind of Wind having no relation to the inherited by shamans through family lines, whole of which it is a part, just as our naming while at Yomba it seems to skip alternating of a sea does not imply that the waters generations (Leiber 1964: 22). Once acquired, referred to are distinct from the great body of power can be used either to benefit others, water encompassing the whole Earth" (Mc- followmg sanctioned practice, or to advance Neley 1981: 17). personal desires, which is selfish and leads to Further, continuing work on the concept sorcery. Power in and of itself is merely a of power has taught me much about the significant gift to a human by one of the parallel concept of Culture, especially when Immortal supernaturals, frequently the used politically as in Red Power. Assuming "boss," "owner," or "master" (large and that there is a Human Culture, with the beautiful progenitor) of a species, who has boundaries differently drawn by different existed from the dawn of creation, the first or cultures, then each variant must be a selection a subsequent one, according to mythology from the whole adapted to local biota and (Park 1938: 16; Liljeblad 1969: 52). landscape. Similarly, power seems to have a Belief in this mana-like power appor­ universal source or locus, abstractly phrased tioned by spirits was fundamental to all North as the memory of the Creator, who knows American religions (Miller n.d.a). Hence, this everything from past, present, and future, and discussion of the Basin concept can be ex­ shares aspects of this with the other Immor­ tended and ampUfied by occasional compari­ tals. The Creator, Immortals, and their inter­ sons, which have the additional advantage of actions with humans are chronicled in the protecting Numic concerns for their own origin saga of the group, which also specifies religion. Southern Paiute and Western Sho­ the particular practices and commandments shoni advisors are sometimes reluctant with that a tribe had to follow. Each group good reason to share their theology with respected both its own doctrines and those of outsiders, so in conformity with their wishes, other tribes, knowing that all of them were I have used the expedient of citing close intermeshed to maintain cosmic balance. parallels to Numic practice from neighboring Thus, the whole was greater than the sum of tribes. This enables my account to be reason­ its parts, and each tribe was only a portion of ably full without violating confidences. It also the pattern. places Basin religion within the larger context Discussions of power often overlook its 70 JOURNAL OF CALIFORNIA AND GREAT BASIN ANTHROPOLOGY

emotional aspects. Other groups felt a keen Earher, Park (1938; 17) heard at Pyramid loss when another way of life became extinct, Lake that night had two aspects; "Only for it impoverished them all. The belief was shamans can see this second night. The people that each life way was entrusted with a see only darkness. They cannot see the night particular way of dealing with power, so the under it." Because night is primordial, it is loss of any of them had philosophical and powerful and immortal. Among the Kawahsu, emotional sequences. These emotions were "supernatural beings are somehow associated both communal and personal, in that the with the sky and/or the night" (Zigmond experiences of an individual had to be con­ 1972; 133). gruent with community expectations. Some­ The stars are people who left the earth to one receiving the gift of power felt it immedi­ dwell in the sky "where they are compelled to ately, often describing it as like an electric travel in appointed ways" (Powell 1971: 75). shock or jolt. Although the term in English Stars are considered to be females or women. also conveys something with a "pow," "jolt," The song and dance by Whippoorwill (Powell or "charge," it has been toned down to agree 1971: 221) caused a Frog to rise into the air more closely with the lack of affect in and become the moon, accompanied by his modern religions. seven wives, the sisters of Wolf and Coyote, In the Basin version, the universal order who became stars, and his son who became that establishes power and its flow was the Venus (Powell 1971: 221, 229). It is signifi­ myth age "when animals were people" and cant for the argument below that stars were everything was undifferentiated, having a women and solitary planets were men, both sameness based on full potentiality such that obligated to travel in appointed ways. beings could take many forms with many The sun is the most important being in abilities. According to Powell (1971; 73), the the sky. Among the White Knife Shoshoni, primal world consisted of the "original facts Sun Father was the source of supernatural or primary concepts that there is a land and a power, distinguished from Ocean Woman, the sea, an abyss below, and a night above." Of creator in the southern Basin (Harris 1940; these basic elements, night and water were 56). Among the Chemehuevi and others, sun among the most sacred. has a sky home (of crystal) surrounded by Night was the universal condition until animals that include pet bears. He is also the stars, moon, seasons, and sun were cre­ called Sun Spider, with the form of a black- ated. It was a night of both time and space, widow. He was formerly much more brilliant with "the face of the night meaning the sky and destructive, but some say that Cottontail or apparent firmament" (Powell 1971; 73). shattered him into his present size and inten­ Because it was of the very beginning, night sity, others that Coyote burned the old one remains the most appropriate time for cur­ up and made a smaller new one. As Powell ings, gatherings, and dances to capture power, (1971; 75) noted, the Numa have "a host of especially around midnight and the blackness mythological stories giving the reason why the just before dawn. Northern Paiute personified sun . . . who should have a will of his own—is night as the spirit who sent messengers and yet compelled to travel by a definite trail aid to the shamans. Olofson (1979: 13) was along the face of the night." told that the spirit of night "is everywhere Southern Paiute mythology details the and sends animal messengers to the doctor; it origin and development of the world under is for this reason that shamans prefer to work the direction of Ocean Woman, a creator who at midnight when their power is strongest." sprinkled particles of her skin upon the primal BASIN RELIGION AND THEOLOGY 71

sea to create a patch of earth, which she last one provides a tiny speck for the creation. stretched out to present size by stimulating In another. Wolf is the wise creator of a world the process of birth with her body. Among in several, usually five, layers with the sun in the Chemehuevi, Ocean Woman was aided by the sky, people on the earth, and short giants Wolf, Coyote, and Cougar. Of these, Wolf is a in an underworld. Often, there is a shaft or wise and magical—also pompous and humor­ axis mundi linking together the various layers. less-shaman using a pooro, the crooked rod In all these versions. Coyote is the marplot that is the insignia of his calling. Coyote is instituting frailties. innovative, sensuous, foolish, and selfish, an From Jim Jones in Owens Valley, Hulse idea man who estabHshed the less than perfect (1935: 150.3, item #29) recorded a modern­ patterns that humans now follow. Cougar is ized version of the creation of humans. not well delineated, probably to avoid men­ Because it is an adaptation that nonetheless tioning that he is dangerous, malevolent, and conveys important features of Basin tradition, frenzied in that "the mountain lion and the I summarize it here. rattlesnake . . . conferred upon their possess­ The man who was to be the father of all ors the power to do great harm" (Laird 1974; Indians sat in his cave weaving a blanket from 22). the skin of a rabbit he killed with his bow and After Ocean Woman had made the flat arrow. His rock house was near the rock art earth disk and expanded it, humans were site in Round Valley. When he looked up created by the union of Coyote as father and from his work, he saw a pretty girl ("Her hair Louse as mother (Laird 1976). Coyote was shown like a spider web right after the rain") given the task of carrying the basket rilled walking swiftly througli the rocks up Pine with the forming humans from the island of Creek Canyon. He got up and followed her, Ocean Woman to the land emerging from the but he could not catch up. Then he knelt and primal water. Laird (1976; 310) called this rubbed fine earth on his legs, praying to the Self-Mythologizing or Immortal Water, Mother Earth to grant him the life of wind so but I term it the Self-Chartering Sea. To cross he could overtake the woman. They went up it. Coyote took the form of a water spider the slope until they reached Pine Creek Lake but, as always, his curiosity got the better of and he called to her to rest on a flat rock at him and he opened the basket before he had the summit. She did so and he hurried to sit reached the center of the world. Conse­ beside her as the sun set. They decided to quently, humans jumped out and scattered make camp together for the night. By morn­ everywhere, thwarting the divine plan to have ing, they were married and moved down to them radiate out evenly from this nexus. camp at the mouth of the canyon. There the Moreover, humans have remained imperfect woman became the mother of many children, ever since because they "follow the way of who grew up quickly. The father gave bows Coyote." Similarly, they take after their and arrows to the boys and baskets to the mother because "her offspring have assuredly girls, sending the best looking of them away crept like Hce over the beautiful body of the to choose the languages that they wanted. He earth" (Laird 1976: 214). kept the most homely and mean ones with While this southern creation is best him because they were the best warriors. known, there are others (Liljeblad 1969; Hence, the Paiute of today are not good Zigmond 1980). One is the Earth Diver motif looking but very strong. The woman eventu­ where a series of water animals attempt to ally became a rock in the vicinity. bring up dirt from the ocean floor until the While this story is an updated version of 72 JOURNAL OF CALIFORNIA AND GREAT BASIN ANTHROPOLOGY

Coyote and Louse (Steward 1937; 365-368), Having, appropriate because its 12,000-foot the animal counterparts of the characters are elevation collects abundant snow which melts not given. It is significant that the woman to feed many summer streams.^ took the definite lead and the man pursued, Other peaks of lesser altitude also func­ following the path of a waterway flowing off tion in the overall pattern since they are a mountain peak. Also noteworthy was his sacred centers meshing together into an over­ attraction to her in terms of a glistening web. all network with Charleston Peak at the heart, Among the Tiibatulabal (Voegelin 1938; 53) at least for the southern Basin. and the Kawaiisu (Zigmond 1980; 47), myths Allowing for variation, the beginning make it explicit that men had an inferior earth was everywhere flat and the same until position until they tricked the highly com­ many parallel sawtooth ranges and wide val­ petent women into turning over control of leys were created. The Gosiute attribute these society. changes to Hawk slashing the earth with his Mountains have an important role in Basin wings (Malouf 1974). With "the origin of cultures, as they do in the areal ecology. surface relief commenced the scattering of the Throughout the region, people can point out nations, for there was now a diversity of a particularly high or prominent peak as the country and each one chose for himself a sacred center where creation began or an special habitat" (Powell 1971; 77). Among Immortal lived. One such is Job's Peak in the the difficulties encountered by this diaspora Stillwater Range near Walker Lake, recog­ was the loss of a common language and much nized by several Northern Paiute groups as the of the accredited wisdom of the Myth Age. center of the world. Coyote saw to it that life would be precarious Of all these centers, the most powerful in and laborious, so it would not be easy or the south and central Basin is Charleston Peak humans would regard it lightly. He also in the Spring Mountains west of Las Vegas. arranged that there be diversions and thrills to Goss (1972; 128) argued from Southern Ute make life interesting at times. material that their model of the world most In keeping with this mythic sameness, the closely matched with the five biotic levels on population, while bearing the names of mod­ this peak, although he could not be definite ern species, had no fixed forms, being simul­ about this attribution. Yet, both Isabel Kelly taneously human, spirit, and biota. In her and Alfred Kroeber earlier identified Charles­ precise way. Laird (1976; 209ff) described ton Peak as an important cosmic center. When these Immortals as constantly shimmering I visited the peak, "physical evidence" of among the forms. This nicely describes the these mythological traditions was pointed predominant characteristic of the Myth Age out. Thus, not only is Charleston Peak the beings thoughout the Americas, at the least. It most significant center, but Ocean Woman also captures the great value placed on move­ left a memento of herself there as the ment, the kinetic and dynamic, by Native wrinkled and reclining figure called Mummy Americans. It is qualitatively different from Peak. A cave on a nearby slope marks the that of Europe, emphasizing stages and states, home of Wolf and Coyote before they wan­ and so is frequently misunderstood. dered off to the north. Natives continue to visit these sites to pray, leave offerings, and POWER AS KINETIC FLOW meditate. Possibly, this peak was the initial Flux, action, and process are character­ central island, left high and dry after the istic modes of the Americas, difficult to grasp primal sea receded. Its native name is Snow- because the Enghsh language best deals with BASIN RELIGION AND THEOLOGY 73

things and events, while they are assumed in Accordingly, once Badger was able to the grammars of Amerindian languages. In his match his flow of power with his song and sketch of the American language stocks, Sapir dance, he moved through the ground to (1929) indicated that verbs are the most emerge beside the deceased and attuned them elaborated and complex component of these to the power by making their blood flow. languages. Further, from time to time, at­ Since this flowing sometimes seems to be tempts have been made to show that lan­ more Uke flying and hovering, Harris (1940: guages like Nootkan and Salishan lack a 56-57) reported that power was bird-like. noun/verb distinction, relying heavily on ab­ Among the Columbian Salish, 1 know that the stract verbal stems. Nouns are almost always generic for bird also includes pet and guardian auxiliary in these grammars. Thus, people spirit, while among the Lakota, birds are speak of living not life and moving not messengers between earth and sky, humans staying, implying ongoing interactions and and spirits, because they fly and are bipeds reciprocities. like humans. In addition to these avian Similarly, power is not the best tenn for qualities, supernatural birds conferred great characterizing the Hfe force—energy. It is not power, such as the Eagle for hunting and the static or concrete, but rather kinetic, always Hummingbird for healing by sucking. In all, moving and flowing throughout the cosmos, birds are more an attribute of power than a underpinning all facets of the universe in a source. way that a physicist could appreciate. Yet, convention and English usage place innate WOMEN AND MEN constramts on finding a more suitable term, The flow of power influenced all of hfe, aside from the classic treatment of mana in particularly humans. In the Basin lifeway, Polynesia. men and women scattered over their territory The primary attribute of power is this between strategic camps enabling them to processual dynamic, affiliating it with hfe. Its hunt and gather particular resources. The quahty of flowing is well represented in the basic social unit was the kindred composed of tale of how Badger revived the wife and son a married couple together with their children of Owl after they were killed by the fatal and a few other bilateral relatives. Bilaterality fumes of an angry Skunk (Powell 1971; Laird made for extensive kin networks, but the 1980; 80). Further, it shows the importance membership of functional kindreds remained of singing and dancing for controlling power small because foods, primarily seeds, were by becoming attuned to it since all are thinly spread and ripened precipitously, mak­ rhythmical. ing it difficult to harvest efficiently. Also, After Badger had his attention called to animals and vegetation fluctuated from year the lifeless bodies on his special plot of to year because of variable rainfall. Large ground, gatherings were only possible with a sudden He painted himself and danced a dance and abundance of some resource, occurring either sang a song known only to himself. Then he naturally like pine nuts or socially via coordi­ dug a hole and burrowed along under the nated drives for grasshoppers, mudhens, rab­ ground until he came to a point just under bits, and antelope. A valley with a reliable the bodies and there he emerged from the water source had a larger population as a earth. Standing by the bodies of the woman and child, he pierced them with his medicine result and its leader was stronger, within the knife until the blood ran and they returned parameters of his title meaning "talker," a to life... [Powell 1971: 260]. reference to his use of oratory alone to 74 JOURNAL OF CALIFORNIA AND GREAT BASIN ANTHROPOLOGY

maintain decorum. In addition, camps usually ting, and men set the inside supports. At had a shaman with the supernatural clout to Pyramid Lake, "Men and women cooperated orchestrate communal drives and undertake in putting up the wikiup, the former erecting curings. Sometimes, the talker and the sha­ the framework, the latter making and tying man were the same person, but more often the tule shingles" (Lowie 1924; 220). While they had overlapping authority. both sexes worked harvesting pinyon trees, The wife of a talker seems to have had only men climbed the trees since modesty charge of female activities, which were especi­ kept women on the ground (Lowie 1924; ally cooperative (Steward 1938; 99; Kelly 203). Further, in terms of periodicity, the 1964: 29). If a chief had more than one wife, relation of time to activities, women were they apportioned the duties of house, chil­ engaged in constant, continuous tasks, while dren, gathering, and hospitality among them­ those of men were intermittent. selves, under the guidance of the senior wife. A woman shared her food with coresident Among the Chemehuevi, "Everything to kin, but large game was shared with everyone do with the gathering and preparation of present at the time, presumably because it seeds and fruits and with weaving belonged to was so perishable. If a woman gave food to the women's side. To the men appertained all other kin or neighbors, it was phrased as a that had to do with game, especially big game gift, requiring a return (Steward 1938; 74), (except the packing of it into camp, when although Kelly (1964; 122) lists a term for a there was a woman available for the task). distant relative meaning "someone you feed." The hunter, using his awl, sewed or laced Nonetheless, the sexes did not contribute together buckskin clothes for himself and his equally to the larder since women suppUed family" (Laird 1976; 6). most of the food eaten from day to day. More generally, "Both sexes usually made Througliout the Basin, except during sucker things used by both-houses, rabbitskin blan­ runs at Pyramid Lake, plants provided the kets, and clothing" (Steward 1938: 44). Men bulk of the food compared to meat, although and women worked together during the pine- hunting had a greater prestige value. nut harvest and the hunting of small rodents. As Kelly (1964; 132) was bluntly told by Most often, men engaged in solitary tasks, the Southern Paiute, "Women dug roots and working and hunting alone (Steward 1938: men ate them." Obviously, men were at a 231, 236, 266; Whiting 1950; 68). Women disadvantage since they were takers from shared their economic activities together, women givers. "A man, then, is closely tied to although they also divided any necessary and dependent on his mother and sisters" labor among themselves since food gathering (Whiting 1950; 73), providing males with and child care, major female tasks, required recurring frustrations that sometimes end in different use of time and skills. It was not suicide. Primary loyalty goes to blood rela­ unusual in a camp to have two women divide tions, so wives and affines were subject to up the routine so that the younger gathered suspicion and emotional outbursts. In all, food and the older, often a grandmother, women defined the quality of relationships tended children (Whiting 1950; 68). and, even now, they are the mainstays and the While men and women cooperated for buffers against economic and psychological specific activities, they had different symbolic uncertainty (Knack 1976). associations. For example, while both sexes In terms of the Matrix, therefore, the worked on the house, women had primary prominence of women in the Basin indicates responsibility for the covering, brush or mat­ that they are inclusive, reversing the more BASIN RELIGION AND THEOLOGY 75

common pattern. Men, engaged in soUtary the eastern Subarctic. Some anthropologists tasks and supplemental economics, are exclu­ felt that they were aboriginal, while others sive, a special case within the inclusive which argued that they were a product of the fur contributes to male feelings of anxiety. trade, a strategy to monopolize the pelts in a Such ambivalence toward females seems region. Tanner (1979) recently resolved the reflected in beliefs about Water Babies. Each debate; these territories were aboriginal, but Water Baby has a home in an artesian spring, their religious basis was compromised by and sometimes people will leave offerings economic motivations. Traditionally, each there. The bubbling of the spring comes from plot was inherited on the basis of a combina­ their breathing, just as hot springs are caused tion of descent and of acquaintance with the by their cooking fires. Like any other resident terrain such that routine success at the hunt of the Basin, they are seldom home, prefer­ was taken to mean that the spirit responsible ring to travel widely along all waterways, for the plot was pleased with that individual. includmg irrigation ditches. They are power­ Thus, a hunter, relative or not, who retains ful, dangerous, and closely associated with good relations with that spirit is regarded as shamans. "owner" of that plot, which is inherited by Descriptions of them vary, but many the hunter who best meets these same qualifi­ people claim to have seen them. In general, cations. In this context, "to own" means to each is about three feet high with long hair know the terrain intimately while maintaining and a hard shell-like skin that makes them good rapport with its spirit warden. virtually impossible to kill. Some have wings In the same way, spring "ownership" by or a mustache. They are feared because some male inheritance through coresidents suggests draw unsuspecting people, especially women the same kind of special partnership between and children, to the edge of the water and human and spirit, most likely a Water Baby. drown them. Others take the place of a baby Much as the "ownership" of springs was and eat the mother when she begins to suckle. concerned with proper relations with spirits According to Hoebel (MS; 13) "These are and power involved in the flow, so too was small females standing about twelve inches the possession of songs as an aspect of the high." The Washoe believe that Water Babies rhythm of life. Laird (1976; 9) was told by are a tribe, with members of all ages and both her husband that Chemehuevi "owned" land sexes, but hke human societies, the women because males inherited rights to it through have the predominant role. One Washoe even either the song of the Mountain Sheep to "my saw tiny footprints indicating that one Water very own land" or the song of the Deer to Baby has taken to wearing high heels. "my very own mountain," depending upon Water Babies are also involved in the the trail described in the song.^ "ownership" of particular springs. Kelly As power has a profound affinity for the (1964; 7, 22, 93) was baffled by reports from living, some of it lingers as long as there is any Kaibab that "Theoretically, watering places vestige of hfe. Hence, there is always some were inherited by the oldest child; in practice, power around graves, but by its nature it is they seem to have passed to the nearest male less vital and so more likely to cause harm or relative (either by blood or by marriage) who be used in sorcery. It appears to be power happened to be at hand and who continued to that has been trapped and stagnated, only live at the site." released when decomposition is complete. Her remark calls to mind the controversy Therefore, graves were generally avoided, over "family-owned hunting territories" in both from uncertainty about the power there 76 JOURNAL OF CALIFORNIA AND GREAT BASIN ANTHROPOLOGY

and the intentions of any lingering ghosts. Similarly, at festivals, "women are formed Because the protection of graves is specifi­ in a circle and dance in a slow shuffling cally legislated in the American Indian Relig­ manner, the men standing within dance on ious Freedom Act (AIRFA), people are being their toes with heels turned out and body encouraged to speak about this reluctant bent forward leaping high in the air, and as topic. Througliout native America, life and they leap giving a yell and whirling a musical death are aspects of a continuous process, instrument [a bullroarer], which they hold in such that community sentiment is intensified their hands and which gives out a curious rather than severed after death. The dead shriek" (Powell 1971; 63). Sometimes only merge into a vague ancestral group distin­ women dance in the Circle Dance, or men and guished by a few famous leaders and they women alternate in the ring with the center provide a subtle corporate continuity for the occupied by a post and a male song leader society and culture. Hence, a Yomba or a (Kelly 1964; 104). Note that because Woman Moapa soul continues its identification with is the inclusive category, associated with the kindred and community long after the body outer ring, either women or men and women dies, remaining loyal to those it can benefit can appear there, while the inside was exclu­ and expecting the same from the living. sive to men. I have found no references to Similarly, while graves are generally avoided, only men dancing in a ring and suspect it was the location of family graves is taught to highly unlikely. younger generations. In this way, recognized During periods of fasting and abstinence family and tribal claims to an area are marked associated with birth, puberty, and death, by permanent residents in the ground, while women are usually under restrictions for 30 the living were engaged in seasonal transhu- days, and men for only 5 days. This nicely mance among the camps. illustrates how the exclusive 5 is a special case Some people received power from ghosts of the inclusive. and some shamans kept vigil at graves, but In sum, Woman is associated with Outside these usually resulted in malevolent use of and Man with Inside, with their interaction power. In some areas, graves occur in places complementary and cooperative. In native also having religious import, concentrating America, an individual has oblique responsi­ much power in the vicinity because of the bilities such that he or she should be more overlap of several sources. The best places for concerned with the welfare of others rather this are high mountains with caves, springs, than of the self. In the Basin and elsewhere, rock cairns built during vision quests, rock this takes the form of food sharing and art, and graves in close proximity. While such motivates the few leading "old families" in ties to ancestors and places are not well each group to responsibly coordinate com­ described in the literature, this is an oversight. munity activities for the greatest good. Hence, In the southern Basin, land and its attri­ Ocean Woman shared the process of creation butes were created by Ocean Woman, reflect­ with Wolf, Coyote, Louse, Cougar, and ing the realities of the position of women in others, instituting a network of reciprocity these societies. Women were the cooperative from the inception of the world. In native unit and the suppliers of most of the staples. America, generally, the only people who work Since the house is routinely viewed as a alone in disregard of others are both selfish microcosm of the ordered world, it is signifi­ and hkely sorcerers. This was especially cru­ cant that men supplied the inside posts and cial in the Basin since survival depended on women the covering. the intense cooperation of a few people. BASIN RELIGION AND THEOLOGY 77

With this background, we can define the expose her genitals and shame her by spitting sexes more closely. Among the Southern Ute on them" (Harris 1940; 68). Quite explicitly, and others, stars and flocks of birds are then, men are "kept in their place" in ways considered to be females (Goss 1972; 124, that women are not. 126). Similarly, lice are regarded as women. These associations are not unique to the These share the characteristic of uniform size Basin or the Americas, although they seem to and diffuse distribution, appropriate meta­ occur infrequently. In Italian "the feminine is phors for women of the Basin. The sun and bigger because it embraces and envelopes large mammals, regardless of biology, are while the masculine penetrates" (Ervin 1962: considered to be males because, like men, 256, note 14). they are solitary and larger. In all, Man refers to pronounced parts of the environment and THE PULSATING WEB OF POWER Woman to open, even expanses. By analogy, All of these interpersonal interactions then, the relations between Man/Woman are took place in a series of camps near resources those between figure/ground, inside/outside, across the landscape. Sudden abundances en­ taking/giving, concentration/dispersal, prob­ abled larger groupings to appear who engaged ing/spreading, promontory/plane, and exclu­ in communal rituals, often Round Dances. sive/inclusive. The metaphors of promon­ The hub of all these activities was the winter tory/plane are especially appropriate for Basin encampment, usually located near pine-nut topography where rows of broad valleys are caches in the uplands. As Steward mentions divided by sawtooth mountain ranges. again and again. In addition, these genders also have graph­ Encampments tended to cluster with respect ic sexual references in that Woman spreads to mountain masses rather than valleys .... and Man probes or pierces, as exemplified by Mountain ranges not only capture but retain the awl of the hunter and the rod of the greater precipitation. As more than half of shaman. In a quasi-appropriate if neo-classical the annual precipitation generally falls in winter throughout most of the area, it is vein. Laird (1976; 216) also noted "That retained as snow on high mountain summits regenerating rod of power, by which those until well into summer (The Sierra of Cali­ Immortals who had been killed in various fornia even have small glaciers) and is re­ ways were revived and by which in later times leased gradually in springs and streams. The the shaman performed his curative work, is run-off of moisture, however, depends upon mountain structure [Steward 1938: 232, 12, primarily the generative organ, the phallus see also 14, 124, 141]. .... Here is evidence clearer even than that afforded by Coyote's partnership with his Therefore, while a balanced anticline penis, of the existence of a phallic cult such as waters the valleys on both sides of it, most one would expect to find associated with the Basin mountains are monoclines with sharp worship of the [Mater Magna] Goddess." and sloping sides. Most often, drainage is best Harris (1940; 62, 104) reported that men on the western side, making such valleys the could become ill or go bhnd by seeing female usual population centers, such as the Reese genitals. He underscored this with an account River Valley of the Toiyabe Range rather than of a baby health contest which ended in the Smokey Valley immediately to the east. disarray when "the nurses completely un­ As with any rule, there are notable excep­ clothed the female babies." This taboo ap­ tions, such as the Snake Mountains draining plied only to men, specifically, since a jealous east into Snake Valley rather than west into wife "might beat her rival and rip her skirt. Warm Spring Valley (Steward 1938; 126). 78 JOURNAL OF CALIFORNIA AND GREAT BASIN ANTHROPOLOGY

Settlement pattern is influenced by the quan­ was intended to communicate between hu­ tity as well as the location of water, so mans and other "people" (spirits, animals, gathering areas are smaller near rivers than in plants, rocks, and other sapients) of this and the arid scrub. Of course, the amount of other times, aspects, and dimensions (Miller reliable water near these rivers significantly n.d.b). Rock art serves to remind them all just increased the diversity and density of local what the appropriate activities are for certain vegetation, enabling people to harvest more areas for all eternity. Heizer and Baumhoff effectively in a smaller area. In all, camp sites (1962) have argued that Basin rock art was were selected for the availability of water, deliberately located near ambush sites along firewood, seeds, berries, nuts, animals, and game trails, but I would counter that such moderate temperatures (Steward 1938; 232). sites were selected to notify the Animal Ultimately, water was the most important People about human intentions there, rather of all of these considerations, the most vital than to work some nebulous hunting magic. component of living successfully in the Basin. In sum, power in Basin cultures, as else­ Hence, it is the keystone of Basin religion where, can be traced to the memory of Ocean because power, with its affinity for life, was Woman in the south and to Wolf or Sun in the strongly attracted to water, "a purifying agent north because, like Merlin in the Arthurian . . . spoken of as being like the human breath" legend, time is continuous in their minds as (Whiting 1950: 40). Whether as rain, snow, memory. Water both permeates the universe lakes, streams, or springs, water determined in a thin scattering and in definite concentra­ the location and movement of life in the tions with currents, generally where life is also Basin. As it fluctuated, so too did biotic clustered. Power has the same distribution, populations. diffusely scattered everywhere and flowing Power is fundamental to all of these along waterways. For example, Charleston relations because it preceded them all. Close Peak is called Snow-Having because it concen­ to the life force, it was the most cosmic of trates water and power, sending them down mediators, pervading the universe and sym­ along regular routes. bolizing thought in its full expanse. In the All water is sacred, therefore, because southern Basin, it is the source for the power adheres to its reservoirs, as clouds, rain, immortality of the first beings, particularly snow, springs, seeps, lakes, streams, or the Ocean Woman. For all of native America, the occasional river in the desert. Similarly, deep ultimate source of power is the mind of the caves on slopes are sacred because they shelter focal being involved in creation, most especi­ Ufe and collect water by seepage while re­ ally the process of memory, which is crucial maining moist and dark like the initial world. for imparting immortality (Miller n.d.a). Tliey also are believed to open into the Memory is the basis for transmitting know­ Self-Chartering Sea below the earth. In their ledge, particularly in elite families that supply formation, caves evoke the conceptual nexus, consistently provident leaders. Their children particularly if they consist of a main and were specially trained to memorize family, branching chambers. Hence, caves are sacred, community, and tribal traditions, best encap­ vital in the flow of power. In the same vein, sulated in mythology and rituals. salt is sacred because it was carried by water Memory was aided by many mneumonics, and deposited in caves and elsewhere, attract­ among which, although not usually consid­ ing human and animal life. ered as such, is rock art. Among Interior While power closely follows the flow of Salish, I have been instructed that rock art water, they are not identical because power is BASIN RELIGION AND THEOLOGY 79

definitely more significant. As in the Christian power within the generahzed dispersion are tradition of Lourdes and Fatima, power can webhke, moving both in radial patterns and in manifest itself by producing a spring in a recursive concentric ones, out from the center previously dry location. In myths, Coyote and back again, like water in terms of a wills springs to appear on occasion, usually mountain top. This web image is obvious in for his own convenience. Park (1938) re­ population movement patterns so it is no ported that the springs of Water Babies never accident that Coyote assumed the form of a go dry, but I was told that if the Baby leaves water spider to carry humans to land and that or is (rarely) killed, then the water will go Sun takes the form of a spider webbing the away, too. firmament. In overall pattern, all these waterways are People in the Basin were most successful conceptualized as webbing hnked to a peak when their movements duphcated those of with or without an alpine lake. In this way, power. Without recognizing its full signifi­ the web is centered at the summit, with its cance, many scholars have noted this web- or radials moving out along slopes and valleys, all net-like character. interlocking with the master web of the central world peak. The temporary and shifting intervillage alli­ ances of this region, therefore, instead of Hulse (1935: 104.3, item 24) heard about consistently allying people to well-defined a Water Baby with a spring in the Fish Lake territories, entailed a linkage of village with Valley that connected by tunnel with a village which extended net-like, througliout foothill along the road between Benton and the area [Steward 1938: 247]. Bishop. When someone came too close to this Communal hunts and ceremonies, reciprocal water hole, tiny fish would appear and flash economic obligations, seasonal residence, colorfully, keeping the observer's attention intermarriage and transient membership of until the Water Baby arrived to drown him or both camp and winter communities wove a loose net or linkages which spread through­ her. The network of such tunnels must have out Western Shoshonean society [Harris been extensive since every Water Baby was 1940:55]. supposed to have at least one for travel into This network of moral-mystical interdepend­ other waterways. Among the Tewa, the un­ ence among people, with the pact between derground is similarly believed to be honey­ shaman and spirit at the center, probably did combed by a labyrinth of interconnecring much to define the limits of Northern Paiute tunnels (Ortiz 1969: 160, note 10). society [Olofson 1979: 247]. In theory, all of these linked waterways While the partnership of shaman and spirit were considered animate in their own right was important in the Basin, it was not the and often personified. The situation is similar only one because humans identified with the to the Navaho where, "Each mountain is a landscape through links to its spirit residents. person. The water courses are their veins and These partnerships and linkages were, of arteries. The water in them is their life as our course, more in the nature of mental or blood is to our bodies" (notes by Alexander psychic ties than of physical contacts. Yet, Stephen, quoted in Reichard 1974; 20). they did produce concrete expressions, ob­ Like moisture, power is diffused every­ servable in tenns of personal health, success, where in conrinuous flux and flow, which, and rewards. Shamans and others kept in however, is not haphazard because, as an contact with their spirit helpers by means of a aspect of memory, power is rational. From all process called mind (sonimifii), involving tele­ available evidence, the routes of concentrated pathy and more (Olofson 1979; 17). 80 JOURNAL OF CALIFORNIA AND GREAT BASIN ANTHROPOLOGY

By close cooperation, humans were able Believers say there is a path between the to work for the support of all, merging all of center and each member, continuing beyond the important features for amassing and at­ into hfe outside the tipi. All these paths lead tuning power within the Round or Circle to the universal center where all religions Dance, "concentrating power within the meet (d'Azevedo n.d.). In all, then, the circle, by heightening the religious and empa- peyote road has the pattern of a web. thetic feelings of the people" (Olofson 1979; This web is not static hke that of a spider 19). After leaving the dance, people take because the webbing actually consists of the some of this power with them in other flow of power, rather than filaments per se. directions, giving behavioral form to a web of Rather, the web is pulsating and multidimen­ power. sional, even having aspects of a spiral, some­ More recently, other religious events have times regular and sometimes erratic, inter­ come into the Basin from other areas, but secting with the radials from the center. This each of them has been fitted into the web spiral movement is represented most graphic­ pattern and associated with water flow. ally by an in-dwelling soul of a person, seen The mourning ceremony of the Colorado escaping the body at death as a whirlwind. River Yumans has been spreading in the Basin Belief in this universal web may have been as the Cry Dance. In the origin story devel­ esoteric knowledge in some regions, but it was oped to explain it, a council was held in a far widely distributed. For example, among the western country that resulted in the dance. Yurok, "A character called . . . 'world maker' "That place where they had danced turned to fashioned the empyrean vault after the man­ stone, and then from it trails arose in all ner and pattern of a fish-net ... in an directions. It is in this way that the Cry has enormous circle" and when finished threw it come to be" (Sapir 1930; 347). up, "as it sailed aloft it became solid, and now Northern and Eastern Shoshoni have stretches over us as the great blue sky" adopted a version of the Plains Sun Dance, (Waterman 1920: 130). using a framework of outer posts and a center The attraction of power for life is such post with radiating roof poles. Within the that any gathering, particularly of humans, enclosure, dancers form a circle but each will concentrate it, while a closed dance circle moves separately towards the center. Here contains it for a time. In the same fashion, again, the pattern is like a web. At a Fort Hall rabbit, antelope, mudhen, grasshopper, or fish Shoshoni Sun Dance, a bison head hung atop drives will encourage power to concentrate the center post. "The symbolism of the while some of it is transferred from the slain buffalo is associated with his ability to with­ creatures to human beneficiaries, provided the stand thirst for long periods, as well as the former were treated with respect. Such a fact that the bull leads the herd to water. transfer of power is at the root of any type of Furthermore, it is maintained that the buffalo sacrifice. After such a concentration, power was the source of strength and life as the apportions itself among the participants, go­ food-giver of the people and hence deserved a ing along with them as each takes separate place of prominence in the worship" (Hoebel trails radiating away from the central loca­ 1935; 576). tion. Similarly, during meetings of the Native For this reason, trails in the Basin are American Church, members sit in a circle sacred. "Trails were regarded by Native Amer­ within a tipi, concentrating on the Grand­ icans not only as highways for travel, but as father Peyote in the center beside the fire. sacred pathways which symbolize the cultural BASIN RELIGION AND THEOLOGY 81

continuity of ancient and modern peoples" meating nexus, reaching out from a center. (HDR 1980: 71). A century ago, Powell Hence, many of the important animals men­ (1971: 39) also noted "with what tenacity an tioned in mythology are burrowers; Badger, Indian clings to a trail." Each is considered Mouse, Rabbit, Bear, and Frog. Of course, immutable because of these associations with burrowing is a typical adaptation to desert the ancients and the eternal flow of power. conditions, but it has been culturally recog­ They are never replaced by newer or more nized and elaborated. Animal burrows appear convenient ones because these lack the long in myth as main rooms and side tunnels, like a bonds with power. All trails, whether human permeating nexus. While Cottontail was trying or animal, are sacred because all direct the to shatter the sun, he hid in such a burrow. flow of life. Moreover, some trails are not In addition to such herbivores, there were earth bound since rising tobacco smoke pro­ also prominent carnivores; Wolf, Coyote, vides a traO between humans and spirits. Short Giants, and Water Babies. While some Support for the associations of power insects appear in stories, only Spider has a flow, water, and trails occurs in the closeness variety of roles, indicating his significance as a of the Shoshoni words for these: power web keeper. Plants do not appear very often, (puha), water (paa), and path (po'ai) (Crapo presumably because they are not as active in 1976; 64, 71, 72). The associarion of water the flow of power. In Northern Paiute, and breath has already been noted, but animals are called "movers" and plants are Shoshoni does this one better in the word sua, "bloomers" (Fowler and Leland 1967). meaning to breathe and to think, bringing us The listing of Frog among the burrowers full circle back to the overall mediation of the relates to the fact that, in mythology, frogs mind and memory (Crapo 1976; 77). dig the tunnels from the Self-Chartering Sea Invariably, throughout the Americas, the to the surface of the earth, creating springs equipment of a shaman includes prismatic (Poweh 1971; 91). Among the Chumash, quartz crystals. Usually they are described as frogs are the source of fresh water since it is scrying stones, but beyond this, they repre­ their urine (Blackburn 1975: 91). This is not sent crystahzed thought and memory. The distasteful because frogs have great power English word "crystal" comes from Greek since they are both aquatic and changeable, meaning "solid water," so the Basin is not from tadpole to amphibian, like the phases of unique in associating crystals with water, the moon who began as a frog. Among tnbes power, and memory. Often they are the result of the Pacific Northwest, Frog is a powerful of some life fluid. Among the Papago, they shaman of the Animal World. are the sohdified saliva of an Immortal; other The animal mediators form a graded series tribes attribute them to tears. In his impor­ based on their conceptual distance from tant article, Levi (1978) reports that some humans. The sequence seems to be Spider, Yumans regard them as living rocks which are Mouse, Rabbit, Frog, Badger, and Bear. Spi­ either male or female, depending on their der is closest to humans because it weaves inner tint. People are aware that crystals thought-like webs and lives with humans; grow, and some say that each bed has a large Mouse moves between houses and desert; central one that serves as leader. While the Frog lives in water around humans; Badger is animate attribute of crystals is well reported, a shaman because he roots around plants at their function as cosmic mediators is not, nor night; and Bear is a humanoid animal living is their association with memory. away from humans. All mediators have the quahty of a per­ Another sequence seems likely for the 82 JOURNAL OF CALIFORNIA AND GREAT BASIN ANTHROPOLOGY

carnivores, with Coyote, Wolf, and Cougar gotten lazy." They hold that power is stih moving away from the human zone. Dogs there in an endlessly recursive flowing from were not often kept in the Basin—as with source to summary and back again. The horses, it strained local resources to keep difficulty is that no one (or very few) wih them—otherwise they would occupy the posi­ make the effort to train and discipline them­ tion closest to humans. selves to be attractive to power. Another figure prominent in mythology is As more of the Basin is threatened or Bat, guardian of the land of the dead, destroyed by massive building projects, more probably because it is nocturnal and occupies people have been motivated to seek out the an ambivalent position between animals and old ways and revive them. In those famhies birds, calling it to the attention of thoughtful where power has always come unbidden, but individuals. has been turned away unth recently, some Ahowing for some slight local variation, natives are beginning to accept their responsi- these patterns and practices are remarkably bihties again. uniform throughout the Basin. The only Power remains diffused everywhere whhe possible exception might have been Owens also concentrated in web-like pathways. It can Valley, but after fieldwork there, 1 am con­ sthl be encountered accidentahy whhe travel­ vinced that the importance of sweat lodges, ling, provided that close attention is paid to borrowed from the Yokut, and of irrigation surroundings. The location of power concen­ (Lawton etal. 1976) are merely intensifica­ trations can be predicted from the distribu­ tions of the Basin pattern. After all, both the tion of water and life forms, but it can only muusa communal sudatory and the irrigated be contacted through dream, vision, fasting, plots reflect a concern with power, water, and meditation, trance, or vigh. Only then can it their advantageous flow. be understood and controhed for the greatest Lastly, the place of Man and Woman in good. It has been these necessary partnerships the web needs to be specified. In terms of the that have not been forged during recent times, Matrix, Man is exclusive. Woman inclusive, leaving power to flow untapped. and Mind-Memory inclosive. Within the web, Sources for power are not only watering the radials wandering out in separate paths places, but also wherever hfe gathers for seem appropriate to the exclusive, whhe the however long. Thus, some have taken the concentric bands linking together the radials easier path of Christianity, with the source for are apt for the inclusive. The central intersec­ its power in the mind of God and the memory tion or nexus, represented by mountain peaks of Jesus. Others adhere to the Native Amer­ and crystals, is the inclosive. ican Church, approaching power via peyote. POWER IN THE MODERN BASIN None of these belief systems is antithetical in the native view because they ah lead to the People living today often disparage theh same center. Many people wih belong to loss of the old ways, blaming a breakdown in several religions and participate in Round an orderly transfer of knowledge across gener­ Dances and fandangos, following the tradi­ ations. They reproach themselves for a loss of tional teaching "the more religions you have memory and some have used this to suggest the better for the welfare of self and family." that the notion of power is essentially en- This is not hypocracy, an Anglo notion tropic. Thoughtful elders, however, point to anyway, but rather indicates good sense in themselves for the lack of manifest power at appreciating the multiple sources that power present, saying "We modern Indians have can have within its universal pulsating web. BASIN RELIGION AND THEOLOGY 83

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Bird, Sheep, Deer, Quail, Salt, Cut Hair, and Coyote. In the notes, Charieston Peak is identified as Snow- This article supercedes an earher one Having, the home of one of the last two chiefs, Tecopa, who died near Mantz, Nevada (Museum of based largely on a literature review pubhshed Northern Arizona Research Center Library, manu­ m Anthropos (Miller 1980). For help and script #6315, published as Van Valkenburg [1976]). encouragement with both manuscripts, I sin­ cerely thank Sven and Astrid Liheblad, Don REFERENCES and Kay Fowler, Jackie Brady, Gary and Jean Palmer, Mike and Susie Ostanik, Claude War­ Andrus, Cecil ren, Margaret Lyneis, Martha Knack, and Fred 1979 American Indian Religious Freedom Act Eggan. Warren d'Azevedo helped improve the Report (PL 95-341). Federal Agencies Task earlier draft and provided Washoe examples. I Force. thank advisors among six Southern Paiute and Blackburn, Thomas Western Shoshoni groups, particularly those 1975 December's Child, A Book of Chumash Oral at Moapa, Yomba, Duckwater, and Gosiute. Narratives. Berkeley: University of Califor­ nia Press. For timely help with elusive references, I thank Dorothy House at the Museum of Crapo, Richley Northern Arizona Research Library and Laura 1976 Big Smokey Vahey Shoshoni. Reno: Desert Research Institute Publications in the Social Holt at the Museum of New Mexico Labora­ Sciences No. 10. tory of Anthropology. d'Azevedo, Warren n.d. This Herb. Manuscript in possession of the NOTES author. 1. This article is based on material and thought Ervin, Susan assembled before, during, and after I was Principal 1962 The Connotations of Gender. Word 18(3): Investigator on a contract between Ertec of Seattle 248-261. and Facilitators of Las Vegas to prepare an overview Facilitators of religious concerns in the Great Basin with particu­ 1980 MX/Native American Cultural and Socio- lar reference to the MX impact area. Economic Studies Draft. Manuscript in pos­ 2. I venture to suggest that sacred mountains serving session of the author. as cosmic centers all seem to consist of many smaller Fowler, Catherine peaks around a summit. This is the case with 1970 Great Basin Anthropology—A Bibliography. Charieston Peak for the Paiute-Shoshoni, the San Reno: University of Nevada Desert Research Francisco Peaks for the Hopi, Mount Taylor for the Institute Publications in the Social Sciences Navaho and Pueblos, and Moses Mountain for the No. 5. Colville Salishans. In Salish, the name of the last peak means that it is a big brother surrounded by siblings. Fowler, Catherine, and Joy Leland Given the communal ethic and sense of oblique 1967 Some Northern Paiute Native Categories. responsibihty so important to native America, such Ethnology 6: 381-404. mountains are appropriate images for expressing these values in stone. Goss, James A. 1972 A Basin-Plateau Shoshonean Ecological 3. The Chemehuevi had other song cycles, but Model. In: Great Basin Cultural Ecology: A recollection of them is dim. Some were named Salt, Symposium, D. D. Fowler, ed. Reno: Desert Quail, and Day Owl, with the Talking Song reserved Research Institute Publications in the Social for use in chiefly families (Laird 1976: 18ff), Sciences No. 8: 123-128. presumably because its rhythms were especially pow­ erful. Notes taken by Van Valkenburg in 1938 also Handelman, Don mention that "hunting grounds belonged to certain 1967 The Development of A Washo Shaman. groups of people" and list songs and dances called Ethnology 6: 444-464. 84 JOURNAL OF CALIFORNIA AND GREAT BASIN ANTHROPOLOGY

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