﻿FLETCHEH-LA 
  FLESrHE] 
  THE 
  QUEST 
  OF 
  FOOD 
  269 
  

  

  In 
  this 
  ritual 
  the 
  maize 
  is 
  anthropomorphized 
  and 
  is 
  conscious 
  of 
  

   its 
  mission. 
  The 
  poetic 
  feeling 
  of 
  the 
  ritual 
  lies 
  in 
  the 
  call 
  of 
  the 
  

   maize 
  to 
  man 
  to 
  behold 
  its 
  up-springing 
  life, 
  its 
  increasing 
  growth, 
  

   and 
  its 
  fruitage. 
  Its 
  final 
  abnegation 
  is 
  almost 
  hidden 
  under 
  the 
  

   rather 
  matter-of-fact 
  directions 
  of 
  the 
  last 
  stanzas. 
  Still, 
  it 
  is 
  there. 
  

  

  Cultivation 
  of 
  Maize 
  

  

  Garden 
  patches 
  were 
  located 
  on 
  the 
  borders 
  of 
  streams. 
  Occu- 
  

   pancy 
  constituted 
  ownership 
  and 
  as 
  long 
  as 
  a 
  tract 
  was 
  cultivated 
  

   by 
  a 
  family 
  no 
  one 
  molested 
  the 
  crops 
  or 
  intruded 
  on 
  the 
  ground; 
  

   but 
  if 
  a 
  garden 
  patch 
  was 
  abandoned 
  for 
  a 
  season 
  then 
  the 
  ground 
  

   was 
  considered 
  free 
  for 
  anyone 
  to 
  utilize. 
  Men 
  and 
  women 
  worked 
  

   together 
  on 
  the 
  garden 
  plots, 
  which 
  ranged 
  from 
  half 
  an 
  acre 
  to 
  two 
  

   or 
  three 
  acres 
  in 
  extent. 
  Occasionally 
  a 
  good 
  worker 
  had 
  even 
  a 
  

   larger 
  tract 
  under 
  cultivation. 
  These 
  gardens 
  were 
  mounded 
  in 
  a 
  

   peculiar 
  manner: 
  The 
  earth 
  was 
  heaped 
  into 
  oblong 
  mounds, 
  their 
  

   tops 
  flat, 
  about 
  18 
  by 
  24 
  inches, 
  and 
  so 
  arranged 
  as 
  to 
  slant 
  toward 
  

   the 
  south. 
  The 
  height 
  on 
  the 
  north 
  side 
  was 
  about 
  18 
  inches; 
  on 
  the 
  

   south 
  the 
  plot 
  was 
  level 
  with 
  the 
  surface 
  of 
  the 
  ground. 
  These 
  mounds 
  

   were 
  2 
  or 
  3 
  feet 
  apart 
  on 
  all 
  sides. 
  In 
  one 
  mound 
  seven 
  kernels 
  of 
  

   corn 
  were 
  scattered; 
  in 
  the 
  next 
  mound 
  squash 
  seeds 
  were 
  placed, 
  and 
  

   so 
  on 
  alternately. 
  If 
  the 
  family 
  had 
  under 
  cultivation 
  a 
  large 
  garden 
  

   tract 
  the 
  beans 
  were 
  put 
  into 
  mounds 
  by 
  themselves 
  and 
  willow 
  poles 
  

   were 
  provided 
  for 
  the 
  vines 
  to 
  climb 
  upon; 
  but 
  if 
  ground 
  space 
  was 
  

   limited 
  the 
  beans 
  were 
  planted 
  with 
  the 
  corn, 
  the 
  stalk 
  serving 
  the 
  

   same 
  purpose 
  as 
  poles. 
  Squash 
  and 
  corn 
  were 
  not 
  planted 
  together, 
  

   nor 
  were 
  corn, 
  beans, 
  and 
  squash 
  grown 
  in 
  the 
  same 
  mound. 
  After 
  

   the 
  planting 
  the 
  ground 
  was 
  kept 
  free 
  of 
  weeds 
  and 
  when 
  the 
  corn 
  was 
  

   well 
  sprouted 
  it 
  was 
  hoed 
  with 
  an 
  implement 
  made 
  from 
  the 
  shoulder 
  

   blade 
  of 
  the 
  elk. 
  The 
  second 
  hoeing 
  took 
  place 
  when 
  the 
  corn 
  was 
  a 
  

   f< 
  »ot 
  or 
  more 
  high. 
  Up 
  to 
  this 
  time 
  the 
  mounds 
  were 
  carefully 
  weeded 
  

   by 
  hand 
  and 
  the 
  earth 
  was 
  kept 
  free 
  and 
  loose. 
  After 
  the 
  second 
  

   hoeing 
  the 
  corn 
  was 
  left 
  to 
  grow 
  and 
  ripen 
  without 
  further 
  cultivation. 
  

   The 
  mounds 
  containing 
  the 
  squash 
  and 
  those 
  in 
  which 
  the 
  melons 
  

   were 
  planted 
  were 
  weeded 
  and 
  cared 
  for 
  until 
  the 
  second 
  hoeing 
  of 
  the 
  

   corn, 
  when 
  they, 
  too, 
  were 
  left, 
  as 
  about 
  this 
  time 
  the 
  tribe 
  started 
  

   out 
  on 
  the 
  annual 
  buffalo 
  hunt. 
  

  

  Names 
  of 
  Parts 
  and 
  of 
  Preparations 
  of 
  Maize 
  

  

  The 
  following 
  names 
  refer 
  to 
  the 
  maize 
  or 
  corn 
  and 
  the 
  preparations 
  

   made 
  of 
  it 
  : 
  

  

  Wato"'zi: 
  corn 
  growing 
  in 
  the 
  field; 
  also 
  shelled 
  corn. 
  

   Wato 
  n 
  'zihi: 
  corn 
  stalk 
  or 
  stalks. 
  

   W'aha'ha: 
  ;m 
  rur 
  of 
  corn. 
  

   Wulia'bahi: 
  a 
  corn 
  cob 
  or 
  cobs. 
  

  

  