oiLMOKEl TAXONOMIC LIST OF PLANTS Hg 



Pumpkin seeds have been found in old Pawnee graves in Xebrasl<a 

 Ihe squash IS mentioned in the Onondaga creation mvth showing 

 that It has been in cultivation by that tribe from ancient times and 

 this IS evidence of its wide distribution from the area of its origin.' 

 Religious expression is one of the most conservative elements and 

 does not readily take up any new thing, hence the religious sr^ngs of 

 a people indicate those things which have been for a long time 

 familiar to that people. Allusion is made to the squash in some of 

 the oldest religious s^jngs of the Pima tribe in the southwest. One of 

 the most ancient hymns toljring rain is the following. 



Hl-llo-o ya-a-a ! He the All-seelri)? 



Sees the two .stalk.s of corn stamling; 



He's my younger brother. Hi-llo-« ya-a-a ! 



He the All-swing sees the two sfjiia-shes; 



He's my younger brother. U\-iU>-o ya-a-a : 



On the summit of Ta-atukarn sees the corn stamling; 



He's my younger brother. Hi-ik>-o ya-a-a ! 



On the summit of Ta-atukam sees the s<)uash standing; 



He's my younger brother. Hl-llo-o wolha ! 



Another Pima rain song: 



Hl-lhlya nalho-o! The blue light of evening 



Falls as we sing before the aaf-red amlna. 



About us on all sides corn ta.ssels are waving. 



Hitciya yahina ! The white light or day dawn 



Yet finds us singing, while corn tassels are waving. 



Hitciya yahlna-a ! The blue light of evening 



F.'dls as we sing beforf thf sar-red ftrnlna. 



About us on all sides corn tas.sels are waving. 



HItf-iya yahina ! The white light of day djiwn 



Yet finds us singing, while the squash leaves are waving.* 



CuctJRBiTA FiciFOLiA Bouche. {€'. melaTiospenna, A. Br.) 



The specimens corresjMind closely with the desf-ription of this species 

 (hitherto known only as cultivated In European gardens and conjectured to be 

 from the East Indies) excepting in the shape of the leaves, whirh have the 

 lolies (often short) and sinuses aimte Instead of rountled. Guadalajara, culti- 

 vated; September (620). — Ttie fruit, calletl "cidra cayote" or "chlla cayote," la 

 about a foot In length, resembling a watermelon In appearance, with a hard 

 outer shell, the contents white and fibrous, and seeds black. It keeps for many 

 months without decay. A preserve is made of the inner fibrous portion. The 

 name " cayote," given to this and other cucurbitaceous species In Mexico, may 

 be the fquivalent of the " chayote " of Cervantes and the " chayotll " of 

 Hernandez.' 



' rifwitt. IrtKinoInn rosmolosy, p. 174. 



»Rii»9<ll. The Pima IndlanB, p .'!S2. 



• Watson, ContrlbuUons to American Botany, p. 414. 



