208 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 1 33 



are freed of hulls. Chaff and ashes are then winnowed off and the 

 kernels poured into a chaiwe and thoroughly washed at the source of 

 drinking water to remove all ashes. The kernels are then boiled in 

 clear water, drained of all water in a chaiwe, and kept warm near the 

 fire until mealtime when the woman will mash the kernels with muller 

 on metate and form the whole into a flattened cigar-shaped roll, also 

 with the muller. A catuto may be 7 inches long and 3 inches in 

 diameter at the middle. If it is then prepared for serving in the old 

 way, the whole catuto, or crosswise slices of it, are baked under hot 

 ashes at the fireside ; a more recent way is to fry slices in lard. 



Toasted wheat is a favorite dish of children, who eat it mixed with 

 a little water sweetened with sugar or honey. Adults prefer it cooked 

 in salted water and mixed with grease. When preparing to toast 

 wheat, clean sand is obtained from the shores of running water, put 

 into a kettle (formerly an olla) and set directly into the fire. When 

 the sand is "as hot as it can get," kernels of wheat are added and the 

 wheat and sand continuously stirred with two wooden spoons, one in 

 each hand. Kernels turn brown and burst open and come to the top. 

 As soon as they have browned to one's liking, they are skimmed off 

 with a small wooden dish and poured into a large wooden one. While 

 one person continues to toast, another shakes the large dish gently back 

 and forth and sidewise, slightly tilted away from himself. The shak- 

 ing brings the kernels to the top ; the tilting allows them to fall off into 

 a container. 



An older procedure for toasting wheat — one no longer used — was 

 to put the wheat into a pottery container known as a lupe, made espe- 

 cially for the purpose, and then adding exceedingly hot sand. Stirring 

 was as described above. As the kernels were toasted, they fell over 

 the edge of the lupe, which was slightly tilted ; the sand being heavier 

 remained in the lupe. Dexterity was required in manipulating the 

 stirring, however. 



Potatoes (papa) are an important food. They are eaten baked, 

 boiled, and fermented. To bake them they are well heated on hot 

 coals in the fireplace and then each is placed into a small hole dug in 

 hot ashes. Potatoes so baked are called kuen pofiii. Boiled potatoes 

 are generally eaten in thick soups and stews, such as caldos and 

 cazuelas, or are boiled with fresh vegetables. Near a ruka, peas just 

 brought from a garden were shelled, cooked, and poured into a kettle 

 in which potatoes and meat were boiling ; a mixture of salt and chili 

 was used to season the food. Some families eat boiled potatoes well 

 drenched with meat drippings. 



A favorite traditional dish is funa pofiii, fermented potato. Most 



