Desert Plants, Volume 19, Number 2 (December 2003)
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Desert Plants, Volume 19, Number 2 (December 2003) Item Type Article Authors Ferg, Alan Publisher University of Arizona (Tucson, AZ) Journal Desert Plants Rights Copyright © Arizona Board of Regents. The University of Arizona. Download date 29/09/2021 11:23:18 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/555911 Volume 19, Number 2 December 2003 Desert Published by The University of Arizona for the Boyce Thompson Southwestern Arboretum Plants Traditional Western Apache Mescal Gathering as Recorded by Historical Photographs and Museum Collections AlanFerg Desert Plants 2003 2 Desert Plants Volume 19, Number 2, December 2003 A journal devoted to broadening knowledge of plants Published by The University of Arizona for the indigenous or adapted to arid and sub-arid regions and to Boyce Thompson Southwestern Arboretum encouraging the appreciation of these plants. 3 7615 East Highway 60 Superior, Arizona 85723 Margaret A. Norem, Editor 2120 E. Allen Road Copyright 2003 Tucson, Arizona 85719 The Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of The University ( 520) 318-7046 of Arizona [email protected]. edu The Boyce Thompson Southwestern Arboretum at Superior, Arizona is cooperatively managed by the Arizona State Parks Board, The Boyce Thompson Southwestrn Arboretum Inc., and The University of Arizona. From the edit01: .. Producing this issue of Desert Plants has been a tremendous Mr. F erg reminds us the agaves seem to inspire a certain experience. The author, Mr. Alan Ferg, Archivist at the amount of doggerel. In addition to Adams and Adams's Arizona State Museum, is a dedicated and hardworking worthy effort published in the pages of Desert Plants anthropologist who is capable of transmitting his enthusiasm ( 1998:11 ), he refers the reader to a stanza from 120 years about the Apaches and their culture to anyone who sits earlier penned by Charles D. Poston, the "Father of Arizona", down with him for an hour. I became amazed by the work of in his epic poem Apache-Land ( 1878:69): the early anthropologists who documented many activities that otherwise might be lost to history. Alan arranged for me This aloe grows on mountain-sides, to meet and spend time with Jeanette Cassa, the Chair of the In desert lands its beauty hides, San Carlos Elders Cultural Advisory Council ofthe San Carlos And yields to man its saccharine bread, Apache Tribe and Seth Pilsk, a non-Apache ethnobotanist About the size of cabbage-head; who works with the tribe. Jeanette reminisced about the The head is cut and shorn of thorn harvesting of mescal and brought Alan's text to life. And flower which its top adorn, Then placed in oven, underground, Transcribing words in Apache languages has paralleled And roasted till its meat is found - those in closely related Navajo. In this issue the Navajo font The substitute Apache bread, made available by San Juan School District on their website Which nature forms from maguey-head. has been utilized. To transcribe Navajo words in the late 1800s, Washington Matthews used a mix of symbols standard at the time. In the early 1900s Father Berard Haile and the Franciscans at St. Michael's Mission published a dictionary of Navajo words. In 1916 the American Anthropological Association published a suggested orthography for Indian languages devised by anthropologists and linguists Franz Thank you for your contribution: Boas, Pliny Goddard, Edward Sapir and Alfred Kroeber. Contemporary orthography for Navajo probably developed Underwriter out of those used in the 1950s by the Bureau oflndian Affairs 1. John Pierce and by Robert W. Young and William Morgan, Sr. in their Navajo dictionaries, by Wycliffe Bible Translators in the Supporter 1960s, and the Navajo Times newspaper. In recent years 1. B.L. Turner several dictionaries of Mescalero and Western Apache have now become available. For a detailed history of the development of orthographies for North American Indian languages, interested readers are directed to the first three Cover. EdwardS. Curtis, Spring 1906, south ofBlack River; chapters of .. Languages''. Volume 17 of the Smithsonian ''Mescal Bakers", NAA Neg. No. 76-4671, SIRIS No. NAA Institution Handbook of North American Indians, 1996. INV 3012500. Ferg Mescal Harvest 3 Traditional Western Apache Mescal Gathering as Recorded by Historical Photographs and Museum Collections Alan Ferg Arizona State Museum The University of Arizona Tucson. Arizona 85721 ferg@ u.arizona.edu Table of Contents Introduction .. .. .. .. .. .. ... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 4 Ethnographers in the Field Edward S. Curtis - 1906 Trip ..................... ............................................................. 5 Pliny E. Goddard - 1910 Trip.................................................................................. 6 Pliny E. Goddard - 1914 Trip .. .. .. ... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 6 Grenville Goodwin- 1931 or 1936 Trip ................................................................. 6 Western Apache Mescal Gathering - A Photographic Montage . .. .. .. .. .. .. ... .. ... .. ... .. .. ... 7 Additional Ethnographic Notes ........................................................................................ 30 Artifact Collections . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ... 34 Mescal Chisels . ... .. .. .. 34 Mescal Knives .......................................................................................................... 35 Trimmed Mescal Heads ........................................................................................... 38 Mescal Litters .......................................................................................................... 38 Mescal Pulping Pits and Pestles ... ............... ... .. .... ............... ... 40 Mescal Pulping Stones ............................................................................................ 40 Mescal Pulping Mat . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 40 Mescal Juice Baskets .............................................................................................. 40 Mescal Forming Trays . .. .. .. .. .. .. 40 Mescal Drying Racks ............................................................................................... 40 Cakes or Sheets of Cooked Mescal .......................................................................... 40 Mescal Carriers ........................................................................................................ 42 Glossary .. .. .. ....... ... ... ........ ..... ..... ..... ...... ............ ..... ... .. ... ... ... ... .. ................. .... .. ........ .. .. .. ... .. 42 Mescal Roasting as Cultural Preservation . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 44 Significance for Archaeological Investigations and Culture-History Reconstructions .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 46 Acknowledgements .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 48 References . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 49 4 Desert Plants 2003 Introduction individuals, most of these can be considered primary Then Coyote saw lots ofmescal somewhere in the documents in that they are observations made by their mountains. "We might just as well go out and work authors. These include, but are doubtless not limited to, on this, " he said. Bourke (1891:130; in Woodward 1943:40), Buskirk (1986:169-174), Curtis (1907:15-19), Gallagher (1977:46- And Coyote proceeded to teach Western Apaches how to 52),Hrdlicka(1908:257-258),Palmer(1890:168-169),Reagan harvest and trim the different kinds of mescal with stone ( 1930:293). Buskirk ( 1986) is a published version of his 1949 knives, how to dig a roasting pit and gather wood, stones, Master's thesis; likewise, Gallagher (1977) is her 1972 leaves and grasses, how to ritually start the fire, how many Master's thesis. Reagan (1929) is more commonly cited, but days to cook the mescal, how to make brush drying racks the data on mescal is identical with that presented in Reagan and sotol forming trays, how to pound up the cooked mescal, ( 1930) which is more readily available. and how to spread it into sheets (nahilgane), and let the sheets dry for two days. So Anna Price recounted in the For an overview ofthe prehistoric and historic use of mescal 1930s (Goodwin 1939:56-58). She was a member of the by tribes throughout the Southwest, Castetter et al. (1938) Eastern White Mountain Band, and a daughter of Chief is essential reading; their information on mescal use by Diablo. Highly respected, extremely knowledgeable about Apaches is primarily drawn from Mescaleros and traditional Western Apache lifeways, and equivalent to a Chiricahuas, as is that presented by Castetter (1935:10-14) head-woman, she was around 100 years old when she died and Castetter and Opler (1936:35-38), but many practices in 1937 (Goodwin 1942:viii). are similar or identical to those of Western Apaches. Gifford ( 1940: 11, 12, 93-94, 114-115) gives comparative infonnation Known and reported variously as mescal, mezcal, agave, on Apachean and Puebloan groups in the Southwest.