24 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 92 



every day, and to hunt cottontail rabbits, groundsquirrels, mice, etc., 

 to eat. And the girl had the obligation of working at the chores and 

 duties of the house. The first thing that she did was that at the 

 first streak of dawn she arose, went to the water and bathed herself, 

 brought water for the house, sprinkled it, swept it, and this with 

 much promptness and care ; then she prepared the food of various 

 kinds of mush, pinoles or of whatever they had, and [did] the 

 other chores of the house, and she had to do all of it alone, without 

 the help of anybody. Sometimes also the parents of the bridegroom 

 went to eat [there]. 



Note : Having the bride perform all the tasks of the house was in order 

 that the bridegroom might observe whether the girl was lazy, and whether she 

 knew how to prepare food and to do the other necessary work of the house, and 

 whether she would serve him well, and for this reason he lived in the house of 

 the bride. 



When they determined the day of the wedding, after having spent 

 some 15 days, in some cases a longer and in some a shorter time, dur- 

 ing which the above mentioned manner of living lasted, they notified 

 the relatives and friends, or we might better say the whole rancheria, 

 of the wedding feast, which lasted from 3 to 4 days. When the day 

 arrived, certain old men called Puplem (who are those of the Sanhe- 

 drim) took the girl and in public took off oi her all the jewels and 

 adornments which she was wearing (these were a kind of earrings 

 [made] of shells and long bones) in her ears, and on her throat and 

 arms, they decorated her head with feathers, but not like the crown of 

 the dancers, but with the feathers spread out — her hair, arms and 

 bosom, and decked thus with feathers they presented her to all the 

 people, and then seated her beside the bridegroom on a tule mat, certain 

 old men dancing in front of them and singing to them, and with the 

 other people also dancing and eating all the time that the feast lasted. 



The instructions which the parents gave to their daughter before 

 they parted were very good ones, for they told her that she should 

 always remember that she was the daughter of some good parents, 

 and that therefore she should not disgrace them, that she should serve 

 her husband well whom Chinigchinix had given to her, that she 

 should not be with another man, for even though she were executed 

 they would remain disgraced, and other similar things, and at the end 

 they added: and if your husband does not treat you well, let us know, 

 and you shall return to our house. 



There were others who went themselves straight to ask the parents 

 for the girl, and if they yielded her, gave them a present of shell beads 



