University of California Archaeological Survey No
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Reports of the UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY NO. 68, PART Ill ETHNOGRAPHIC NOTES ON CALIFORNIA INDIAN TRIBES III. ETHNOLOGICAL NOTES ON CENTRAL CALIFORNIA INDIAN TRIBES C. Hart Merriam Compiled and Edited by Robert F. Heizer University of California Archaeological Research Facility Department of Anthropology Berkeley December 1967 ETHNOGRAPHIC NOTES ON CALIFORNIA INDIAN TRIBES III. ETHNOLOGICAL NOTES ON CENTRAL CALIFORNIA INDIAN TRIBES PART I. ETHNOGRAPHIC NOTES ON CALIFORNIA INDIAN TRIBES PART II. ETHNOLOGICAL NOTES ON NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA INDIAN TRIBES Acknowledgment is made to Dr. S. Dillon Ripley, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, of a grant from the E. H. Harriman Fund for partial support of the publication of REPORT No. 68, Parts I, II, III. REPORTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY NO. 68, PART III ETHNOGRAPHIC NOTES ON CALIFORNIA INDIAN TRIBES III. ETHNOLOGICAL NOTES ON CENTRAL CALIFORNIA INDIAN TRIBES C. HART MERRIAM Compiled and Edited by Robert F. Heizer UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH FACILITY Department of Anthropology Berkeley December 1967 CONTENTS WINTOON FIELD WORK AMONG THE WINTOON 257 CLASSIFICATION OF WIN-TOON STOCK 259 ETHNOBOTANY . 263 FOODS 265 NOM -LAK- KE VILLAGES 266 POc -E-WIN TRIBE OF WINTOON STOCK 270 CHOO-HEL'-NEM-SEL NOTES 272 KO-ROO VILLAGES ON MOUNDS 281 POMO MAH-KAHIV-MO CHUM-MI OF CLOVERDALE VALLEY 282 SHO-KO-A'H OF HOPLAND . a 283 ME-TUM'-MAH OF LITTLE LAKE VALLEY 286 HRAM-FO 295 YOKIAH POMO 299 BO-YAH 303 MIDOO FIELD WORK AJMONG MIDUAN TRIBES 305 KUM-MO -WIN . 313 MI-CHOPW-DO 314 NE -CE-NON 319 NIS'-SIM PA/-WE-NAN 320 MEWUK CLASSIFICATION OF NEWAN STOCK 323 FIELD WORK AMONG THE ME'-WUK 325 SOUTHERN MEWUK . 340 MIDDLE NEW'-WAH OF TUOLUMNE 346 NORTHERN MEWUK . 354 HOO-KOO-E-KO OF BODEGA BAY . 364 THE WIV-PA, A MOCOZZUNME SUBTRIBE 367 REMNANTS OF MEWKO TRIBES NEAR PLEASANTON 368 TIV-NAN OR KOZ'-ZUM-ME VILLAGES 369 OLHONEAN . a . 371 MONTEREYANO VOCABULARY . 394 - vii - YOKUTS FIELD WORK AMONG THE YOKUTS TRIBES 404 YOKUTS DOCTORS 421 WIKTCHUMNE NOTES 423 A TOO-HOOK -MIJTCH WOODEN MORTAR 425 YOKUTS DUCK HUNTING AND BALSAS 425 TRIBES AND LANGUAGES AT TEJON 429 ETHNOGRAPHIC NOTES SECURED AT TEJON 436 SHOSHONEAN FIELD WORK AMONG CALIFORNIA PIUTES 439 NIM OF NORTH FORK OF SAN JOAQUIN RIVER 439 VALLEY OF SOUTH FORK OF KERN . 442 NEW-OO-AH . a . 444 KO-KO-HE -BA OF SYCAMORE CREEK VALLEY 446 - viii - ILLUSTRATIONS Map 5 Distribution of tribes of the Wintoon stock and bordering areas of adjacent stocks, by C. Hart Merriam . 260 Map 6 Distribution of the Mewan stock, by C. Hart Merriam . 324 Plate 35 TahW-che Yokuts mat-covered house . 407 Plate 36 Wooden mortar of the Too-hook -mutch tribe 426 Figure 29 Klet-win cradle . 259 Figure 30 Hramfo dance design on feathered baskets . 296 Figure 31 Hramfo pump drill . 297 Figure 32 Cloth grave cover of the Hramfo 298 Figure 33 Fish-catching basket of the Hram-fo 299 Figure 34 Deep coiled cooking basket of Necenon 312 Figure 35 Mew -ah twined basket with handle 330 Figure 36 Southern Mew-ah basketry designs 331 Figure 37 Ancient stone mortars and pestle used by Me-wuk 364 Figure 38a Tah -che cradle . 406 38b Tah -che choke-mouth basket . 406 38c Weave of Tah'-che twined tule mat 406 Figure 39a Tah'-che house frame of willow poles 408 3 9b TAhV-che baby cradle of tule matting . 408 Figure 40 Toom -nah tribal emblem 418 - ix - 257 ETHNOLOGICAL NOTES ON CENTRAL CALIFORNIA INDIAN TRIBES WINTOON Field Work Among the Wintoon, 1903 Nomenkla, Stony Ford, Colusa County On June 20, 1903, I visited the Stony Ford rancheria which is in dense chemise chaparral, intermixed with plenty of smoke brush (Ceanothus cuneatus), on a knoll north of the river, at the foot of a chaparral cov- ered spur from Mt. St. John, about two miles west of Stony Ford settlement. The rancheria consists of four houses and an earth covered sweat house, about twenty feet long and twelve feet high, with a small entrance on one end through which I crawled on my hands and knees. The fireplace is in the middle. The chief, Pum-muk-ky, told me that when they catch cold in the winter, they go in and build a fire and sleep there all night. The houses have pole and brush canopies in front or at one side, or both. The chief and his wife are rather old but still active and bright. They are surprisingly intelligent and kind. They have a daughter with a young baby and husband. Besides these we saw and talked with three old women, all of whom have the chins and lower cheeks heavily tattooed. The usual plan seems to be: three single or double vertical lines on the chin, an oblique line running down from each corner of the mouth (making five), and a heavy double or single zigzag line running straight back (horizon- tally) from just above the corner of the mouth across the lower part of the cheek. Besides this, two had tattooing on the nose and one on the forehead. One family is now absent, picking apricots in the valley near Elk Creek. Pum-muk-ky, the chief, told me that the present rancheria has been built only about twelve or thirteen years. Before that they and many others lived in a very large village or rancheria where the flour mill now stands, half a mile west of the present town of Stony Ford. The people were very numerous when he was a young man-hundreds he says-and a white man who has lived here over thirty years tells me that there must have been a hundred living here for years after he first came, and he has seen two or three hundred at the big ceremonials and dances they had here in early times. The few left here now work on the ranches and go off to the fruit pickings; the women do washing and make baskets. 258 Pum-muk-ky was making wampum beads of clam shells when we arrived; he was rubbing the edges smooth and round on a flat stone. He was also making a net, of fine fiber which he had wet and twisted, for catching fish. This fiber was exceedingly strong. He showed me masses of it before it was worked up into string. It was in straight skeins, say two and a half to three feet long by an inch in diameter., and wet. It was reddish brown in color, or whitish with a reddish brown tinge. I suppose it is from Indian hemp (Apocynum), although I am not sure. The mortars are small holes in squarish flat stones, averaging per- haps two feet in diameter, and sometimes set in the ground. They have and use also basket mortars which they set on flat stones. We gave them some beads and other trifles which pleased them and put them in a good humor. One of the women is very old and sick. June 21: On the way back from Fout's Springs I again visited the Indians at the rancheria on the north side of the river and got a good vocabulary from the old chief Pum-muk-ky, and took photographs of him and the much tattooed old woman. Also had a good talk with them. The chief gave me the names in his language for thirty-four species of trees and shrubs, of which I showed him fresh specimens. The only reason he did not give me more was because I didn't have any more samples. Klet-win or 'Ket-kla Indians, Cortena Creek, Colusa County The Indians at the rancheria on the north branch of Cortena Creek told me (June 15, 1903) the name of their tribe is 'Ket, others gave it as 'Ket-klah or 'Klet-klah (name of place). They call their people Win. They live in two places: two families live at the entrance of the side valley coming in from the north where they have two houses and some grow- ing corn under spreading valley oaks in a picturesque spot. The main rancheria is up about a mile and is on a low knoll high up in the valley and surrounded by hills. There are many blue oaks about the rancheria which consists of a number of wooden houses, mainly of split shakes. There are about seven families here. The men are large and both men and women are good looking. They call the place Wil'-lak (the ran- cheria) and the main creek Ko-teen--ah. Their numerals are the same as those of the Pah-tin on the Sacramento, but about half of their words are different. Their flour or meal tray sifter (or winnower) is circular and per- fectly flat, and very thick and solid. They call it tso-pol and hach-e. Besides this, they all have a large concave meal tray (a very shallow bowl) 259 which they call toi or toy -ken-ny, and also ken-ne. Their basket mortar is the largest and flattest (most flaring) I ever saw. They call it kah- we or kaw-we. It is placed over a flat stone, and the pestle is flat .instead of round at the end. Their papoose basket (to-nok) is wholly different from those of the Sierra. It is a simple scoop, truncate at the top, where it has a large strong hoop at right angles to the back (fig. 29). The child's head is just under this hoop and something is thrown over it when needed.