ROBBINS, HAHRINGTON 

 FEEIRE-MARRECO 



'] ETHNOBOTANY OF THE TEWA INDIANS 83 



everyone knows the right times for sowing; some men know the 

 time for one crop and some for another. Sometimes women help to 

 plant by dropping seeds after the men. 



The corn is gathered in late September or early October, after the 

 watermelons have been taken. The gobefrnador proclaims the day on 

 which people are to begin to take their corn, and at the more con- 

 servative pueblos, for instance at Nambe, no one dares to take it before 

 the time. 



At Santa Clara the people do not plant a field for the cacique, nor 

 have they done so within the last 50 years. They used to plant a 

 field in common for the support of the church. 



Occasionally women help to gather " their corn," but most of the 

 work is done by the men, who pick the ears by hand and place them 

 in sacking aprons, leaving the stalks to be cut down with a scj^the. 

 They bring the ears to the pueblo in a wagon the sides of which have 

 been inclosed with cottonwood saplings and cornstalks, and pile them 

 in the plaza before their houses, for husking. 



The pueblo of San Ildefonso is swept before the corn is brought 

 home, "because corn is just the same as people and must have the 

 plaza clean, so that the corn will be glad when we bring it in." 



Men, women, and children spend several days husking the corn, 

 going to help relations when the work for their own household is done. 

 The men and boys chop the stalks with axes; within living memory 

 sharp stones were used for the purpose. A large pile of husks is soon 

 formed against which the women sit; the master of the house presides 

 and takes special charge of the best ears. 



An ear on which no grain has developed is called ta haHjj, ' lazy 

 grass' {ta, grass; ha, lazy), and the same jesting reproach is used to a 

 lazy woman who will not grind. When such an ear is found in the 

 course of husking, a man or boy will strike a woman with it, crying, 

 ta ha'iy!^ reproaching her as a poor housewife. If both parties are 

 young, this assault leads to much romping and struggling; the girl 

 protests that, lazy or not lazy, nothing would induce her to marry that 

 boy ; he chases her and rolls her playfully in the corn husks, while the 

 elders laugh indulgently. The little girls carrv large ears of corn in 

 their shawls, calling them their children. The whole tone of the work 

 is gay and enthusiastic. 



The better ears are selected for seed at the time of husking, each 

 person laying aside such as appear to come up to the standard, which 

 naturally varies from year to year according to the general quality of 

 the crop. These ears, called ¥owaju, are not entirely stripped, but 

 two or three strips of husk, Fowa, are left attached to them. The 

 master of the house reminds the helpers to save the good ears by say- 

 ing hir)]cov)aju\l {biy, je, three or more — them; ¥owaju, choice ears; 

 'a, do). He may tell them also to save clean husks for smoking and 



