WHOLE VOL. ARAUCANIAN CHILD LIFE — HILGER 20$ 



formants not infrequently called them ollas) varied in depth from 

 6 to 14 inches ; all were of equal diameter. The dependency on iron 

 kettles for cooking was expressed by an Alepue woman who borrowed 

 one from a neighbor : "I have no olla ; I broke ours. What a tragedy ! 

 My husband says every storekeeper in San Jose de Mariquina and 

 Valdivia tells him there is none to be had any more because of the 

 World War. Those cantaros [pointing at galvanized pails and 

 enameled dishes] cannot stand the heat of the fireplace. I shall have 

 to make an olla of clay, it seems." No pottery plates or cups were 

 being made, but women had heard old people say that they were made 

 in former times. Any cups and spoons made today are of horn of 

 oxen, as formerly. The horn is either boiled in water or buried in 

 hot ashes until soft, usually for several hours. If cups are desired, the 

 tip of the horn is cut off and the remainder cut into desired sections. 

 The narrower end of each section is then plugged with a piece of 

 wood. Such cups exhibited in the Museo Araucano de Temuco ( Nos. 

 461, 462) were 3 to 5^ inches deep. If a spoon is desired, the horn is 

 cut lengthwise, flattened, and carved into the desired shape. Formerly 

 an unusually large horn in its natural state was used as a water carrier 

 on long journeys. Cow udders and paunches were used for storing 

 salt, chili, and grease (pi. 43, 4, 5, 6). They were thoroughly cleaned 

 and distended by hand while drying. The opening was fastened to 

 a band of wood, and a strip of rawhide formed the handle. 



Flour of a fine texture was sifted through a cheda, a sieve made by 

 stretching taut a piece of perforated rawhide over a circular band of 

 wood. A lacing passed through holes poked in the rim of the hide and 

 the middle of the band kept both in position, "My husband made this 

 cheda," said a woman, as she took one off a peg in her ruka. "He used 

 horsehide for both sieve and thongs. The band is of avellano, a wood 

 that bends more easily than any other wood does. Avellano wood 

 becomes pliable if held over a fire for a short time. My husband used 

 a hot iron for poking the holes into the sieve and the band. Cheda are 

 usually the size of this one" (11 inches in diameter and 3 inches deep) . 



Coarse flour is sifted through a loosely woven small basket, called 

 chaiwe (pi. 46, 5). Chaiwe are used also for straining ashes off mote 

 (wheat cooked in ashes) and for filtering chicha made of fruits and 

 corn. In fact, its use in general is that of sieve, strainer, drainer, or 

 filterer. Usually, when being used it is hung on a peg in a tilted 

 position. A rawhide strap, attached to the rim in handlelike fashion, 

 keeps the chaiwe from slipping on the peg. Attaching the strap at 

 points only a little apart keeps the chaiwe tilted. A chaiwe can also 

 be dipped up and down in water to rid its contents of soluble sub- 



