Edward F. Castetter Willis H. Bell

EDWARD F. CASTETTER WILLIS H. BELL PIMA AND PAPAGO INDIAN AGRICULTURE INTER-AMERICANA SERIES (Dealing with Latin-America and cultural relations in the Southwest of the United States) J. ORTEGA, General Editor SCHOOL OF INTER-AMERICAN AFFAIRS THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO Published by the University of New Mexico Press in the following sections SHORT PAPERS STUDIES DOCUMENTARY SOURCES INTER-AMERICAN TRANSLATIONS MISCELLANEA INTER-AMERICANA STUDIES I Pima and Papago Indian Agriculture EDWARD F CASTETTER WILLIS H. BELL THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO PRESS ALBUQUERQUE, N. M. 1942 COPYRIGHT 1942 BY EDWARD F. CASTETTER AND WILLIS H. BELL PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA BY THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO PRESS 1 6)'7q) q- FOREWORD The work of publishing this first number of our Inter- Americana Studies was well under way when the war broke out. Pima and Papago Indian Agriculture is strictly an aca- demic study, and we are glad that it is so and that our series begins true to the spirit in which it was planned: to provide, within our unfortunately too modest means, facilities for the publication of scholarly monographs bearing on Latin Amer- ica and the American Southwest. It is one of the avowed objectives of the new School of Inter-American Affairs of The University of New Mexico to encourage research. The pursuit of knowledge for its own sake is not luxury but one of the noblest functions and responsibilities of the university. The war is rightly causing a paucity, and may cause the elimination of all that is not directed towards winning it; yet democracies have a way of keeping the printing presses running. England, for instance, has continued producing scholarly literature. Within the established aims of the series, however, the present emergency calls for a realistic policy, and the coming issues will deal with topics closely connected with the problems of cultural relations in this region. Many intelligent Americans agree that the solution of problems of cultural adjustment between our nation and the Hispanic minorities is almost a necessary prerequisite to the establishment of human bonds between the two Americas. The coming num- bers in this series will contribute, we hope, much information and guidance on the question. Our School will set in motion every resource it may command toward a rational approach to the relationship of the Anglo-Saxon and Hispanic groups within and without our borders. Clarity from the point of view of conception, significance of content, comprehensiveness and critical range, lucidity in V presentation, and reasonable standards of literary form and interest, shall be expected and looked for in the manuscripts submitted for this series. The authors of Pima and Papago Indian Agriculture have had the benefit of financial assistance and individual and institutional collaboration from several sources. No more eloquent tribute than this interest on the part of others could have been paid to the efforts of Drs. Castetter and Bell. I should like to add that Dr. Alan Swallow of the English department, and Mr. Fred Harvey, director of the University Press, have rendered valuable help in the supervision of the physical make-up of the book. JOAQUiN ORTEGA General Editor of the Series vi PREFACE Scattered data on the early agriculture and other aspects of the economic life of various Indian groups in the South- west are available in the literature, but treatises covering the primitive basis of subsistence of specific Indian groups, such as Hill's The Agricultural and Hunting Methods of the Navaho Indians and Whiting's Ethnobotany of the Hopi, are rare. Wilson's Agriculture of the Hidatsa Indians, a Plains tribe, must be regarded as the best account of the technique of Indian agriculture yet published. It is our purpose, therefore, to issue within the next few years a series of comprehensive studies, of which this is the first, presenting the early basis of subsistence of the several Indian groups in the Southwest, with special emphasis placed on agriculture. The material herein presented is based upon field studies made by the authors among the Pima-Papago in the fall of 1938, 1939 and 1940, supplemented by data gleaned from the relevant historical, ethnographical and archaeological literature. The field studies were made among the Pima on the Gila River Indian Reservation, centering at Sacaton, Ari- zona; the Papago on the Papago Indian Reservation with headquarters at Sells, Arizona; the Papago on the reservation at San Xavier; and a few Papago on the so-called Maricopa Indian Reservation at Maricopa, Arizona. The method followed in doing the field work was for the authors to work independently, each with his own informants and interpreters, then compare notes at the end of each day. Obviously, differences in agricultural technique exist in different parts of the Papago and Pima territories. There is always danger of over-formulating procedures, such as the method of planting, and the reader is cautioned against regarding any such operation or aspect of agriculture as stereotyped. It is realized that among both peoples sub-units vii exist and that among different villages, and even different individuals, variations occur. The following account of Pima and Papago agriculture and of the general basis of subsistence of these people represents a composite picture drawn from a number of informants variable in background, technical knowledge, ability to impart what they knew etc., and no one of whom would be capable of presenting all the ethnographic information herein contained. A deliberate effort has been made to present as complete a picture as possible of the early basis of Piman subsistence, indicating local or individual departures from the general situation wherever these appeared to be significant or were consistent with the limita- tions imposed by space. Fortunately the Pimans, particularly the Papago, are a people among whom primitive methods of agricultural technique and of food gathering are still functional and therefore recoverable. Thus it was not difficult to find old informants, especially Papagos, whose knowledge of the old crops, techniques and procedures is extensive. Following is a list of our main informants and interpreters. Although we have interviewed many additional Pima and Papago informants to obtain data on specific aspects of agriculture, it has not been deemed necessary to list them. Papago Informants: Papa go Interpreters: Chico Bailey—Pisinemo Peter BlaMe—Sells Alvina Geronimo—Big Fields Martin Maristo—Topawa Ismilio Lewis—Emika Joe Raphael—San Xavier José Petero—Silnakya Ralph Gonzales—San Xavier Bernabé Lopez—San Pedro Rev. Bonaventura Oblasser also San Pablo—Santa Rosa kindly assisted in interpreting Santiago Maristo—Komelik and as a medium of contact. Mattias Hendricks—Vamori Mariano Domingo—Kohatk Pima Interpreters: José Santos—San Xavier Paul Azule—near Sacaton Leonard Lowe—near Sacaton Pima Informants: Isaac Paul—Sweetwater Manuel Lowe—near Sacaton Nicolas John—Sweetwater Lewis Nelson—Casa Blanca Vanico—near Saca ton Paul Azule—near Sacaton viii No work as extensive as this can be executed without the assistance of a number of specialists in various fields. We have found it necessary to call for help upon a number of individuals, every one of whom has responded most gener- ously. It is, therefore, a genuine pleasure to acknowledge our obligations. Most of all we wish to express our gratitude to the officers of the American Philosophical Society who made the field work possible by two grants. We are especially indebted to Dr. Leslie Spier, who has assisted in a number of ways, most tangible of which was a careful and critical reading of the manuscript. The manuscript has been read and criticized by Volney H. Jones of the Ethnobiological Laboratory of the University of Michigan; by C. J. King, Senior Agronomist, U. S. Field Station, Sacaton, Arizona, who has assisted also in supplying data on modern Pima agriculture; by H. A. Ire- land, Agricultural Extension Agent of the Gila River Reservation; and parts of the manuscript have been checked by Dr. D. D. Brand, Professor of Anthropo-geography at the University of New Mexico. C. B. Brown, Agricultural Agent for Pima County, Arizona, has kindly furnished information on modern Papago crops. To H. V. Clotts, Assistant Direc- tor of Irrigation, Office of Indian Affairs, we are especially obligated for data on Pima and Papago irrigation and for making it possible to borrow from the Office of Indian Affairs rare copies of unpublished reports on Pima-Papago irrigation. Apart from those mentioned specifically in the footnotes to the text, we are indebted to others for definite technical information. Deserving special mention are: Dr. Forrest Shreve, Carnegie Desert Laboratory, Tucson, Ari- zona; Dr. Charles T. Vorhies, Economic Zoologist, University of Arizona; Dr. Lyman Benson, Assistant Professor of Botany, University of Arizona. We are particularly obligated to T. B. Hall, who, during the time of our studies among the Papago, was Superintend- ent of the Papago Indian Reservation, and who was very helpful in facilitating our work among these Indians; also to ix Superintendent A. E. Robinson of the Gila River Indian Reservation, who assisted in making contacts among the Pima. To Dr. Fabian Garcia, Experiment Station Director and Horticulturist of the New Mexico State College, we wish to express our appreciation for permission to grow our Piman crops on the Conservancy District Agricultural Experiment Substation farm near Albuquerque. Finally, we wish to thank the General Editor of the Inter- A m ericana series, Dr. Joaquin Ortega, and the Committee on Publications of the School of Inter-American Affairs of the University of New Mexico, for sponsoring this edition, for a careful checking of the manuscript, and for rendering faithfully other editorial assistance. A number of references are cited frequently and in the interest of brevity these are given the following designations: Bartlett, Narrative—Bartlett, Personal Narrative of Explorations and Incidents in Texas, New Mexico, etc.

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