SMITHSONIAN EXPLORATIONS, I928 I7I 



this meal came story-telling by the firelight, or perhaps one of the 

 various dance ceremonies, often extending far into the night. 



So wholesome and tasty was the food commonly used by the 

 Chumashans that scarcely an article was too rich to be given to young 

 children. Acorn meal, delicious and fluffy in consistency, was the 

 staff of life, and all other foods were regarded rather as condiments 

 to go along with this ever-present porridge. Grass seeds were toasted 

 to make pinole, which was eaten dry, stirred up in ccjld water, boiled 

 like mush, or made into cakes. This second cooking made better mush 

 than that prepared from raw meal. There were no alcoholic drinks. 



The Chumashan house was shaped like the rimless hat worn by 

 the Indian women, to employ a comparison suggested by the Indians 

 themselves, or, to use the expression of one of the early chroniclers, 

 " round, very roomy, large and high, shaped like a half orange." It 

 was constructed of a framework of poles, usually willow, three or 

 four inches in diameter at the butt end and as tall and straight as 

 could be found. These poles were erected in a circle, about one pace 

 apart, with their bases inserted in holes dug with a sharp stick and 

 often scooped out with an abalone shell. The top of each pole was 

 bent over and lashed to the top of the pole opposite giving the desired 

 round shape to the top of the house. 



Before applying the thatch, which was of carrho, tide, or whatever 

 was handy, small poles were attached around the uprights in the manner 

 of horizontal hoops. These hoops were in parallel pairs, one outside 

 the uprights and the other inside, and between the two the thatch was 

 compressed. The base of the thatch of each tier covered the outer 

 poles which held the tier next below in position. The lowest tier of 

 thatching was usually a]:)plied in upright or natural position to give it 

 greater strength where it rested on or was inserted in the ground, but 

 successive tiers above were applied in an inverted position, the better 

 to shed water. 



Ventilation was adequately provided for in these Chumashan houses. 

 Besides the low door, usually closed only by means of tulc mats, many 

 of the houses had a few side holes or windowlets, as well as a good- 

 sized smokehole at the top of the dome. The fireplace was toward the 

 door from the center of the house, and a fire was kept burning or 

 banked most of the time. This fire was used for a part of the cooking, 

 the rest being done on outdoor fires. 



The houses were usually 12 to 18 feet in diameter and high enough 

 to enable a person to stand erect in the central part. The\- were 

 arranged in rancJierias, or villages, for mutual protection, each village 



