humara region, the prepared stalks are eaten with ‘‘gue’- 
huali’’ (Spanish: esquiate), toasted corn ground with 
water, and ‘‘cobisi’’, but this practice is not common in 
the western region. ‘The stalks of species of the subgenus 
Agave are eaten, while those of the members of sub- 
genus Littaeca are not because of their bitterness or 
small size. 
If the stalks be allowed to develop, the unopened flow- 
ers with the inferior ovaries removed are cooked and 
washed to remove the bitter constituent. The cooked 
flowers can be eaten boiled, fried or made into tortillas. 
The sweet nectar is likewise gathered with a small tube 
for consumption. The flowers of sfeave bovicornuta, A. 
pacifica, A. Shrevet and A. Wocomahi are eaten. The 
flowers of 4. bovicornuta are preferred as food because 
of their better taste and as they are available when there 
is little other food. On the other hand, flowers of 4. 
Wocomah, which appear during the rainy season, are not 
often collected, since there are many other preferred 
greens (Spanish: quelites) available at that time. 
Tortillas made from the perianth of the maguey flow- 
ers are especially valued by Western Tarahumara. The 
unopened flowers are cut from the large inflorescence. 
Usually a hooked pole is used to gather the flowers, so 
that the stalk is not broken, and the underdeveloped 
flower buds are allowed to develop tor future gathering. 
The flowers are put on the house roof and collected early 
the next morning, when they are much sweeter. They 
are cooked well and washed overnight in the arroyo to 
remove the bitterness. The next day they are ground 
with lime-cooked maize, or “*najpili” (Spanish: nixta- 
mal), and made into tortillas. Some cooked flowers are 
retained for later frying to be eaten with tortillas. 
Fibre is extracted from the leaves of Aeave multifih- 
fera and A. pacifica. The larger leaves are cut, beaten 
— 90 
