174^ 



THE SERI INDIANS 



[ETH. ANN. 17 



life of the tribe rotates : since the chius never reside and rarely camp 

 nearer tliau 3 to 15 miles from tlie aguaje, a large part of the water 

 consumed must be transported great distances in these vessels; since 

 the region is one of extreme aridity, the lives of small parties often 

 depend on the integrity of the olla and on the care with which the 

 fragile vessel is protected from shock or overturning; and hence the 

 utensil nuist occupy a lai'ge if not a dominant place in everyday 

 thought — indeed, the fact that it does so is attested by constant 

 custom and also by its employment as the most conspicuous among 



Fig. 14 — Kattlusuake uet-klae^e. 



the mortuary sacrifices. Tims, the relation of the Seri olla to its 

 makers and users is ])ara]lel with that of the ever-present earthen pot 

 to the Pueblo people, or that of the cooking basket to the acorn- 

 eaters of California, save that its relative importance is enhanced 

 by the fewness of activital lines and motives in Seri life. Moreover, 

 this most characteristic utensil is established and hallowed in Seri 

 thought by immemorial associations: its sherds are sown over the 

 hundred thousand scjuare mile.3 of ancient "despoblado'' from Tiburon to 

 Caborca, Magdalena, Rio Opodepe, and Cerro Prieto, and are scattered 

 through the 90 feet of shells forming Punta Antigualla (perhaps the 

 oldest shell mound of America); and all the sherds from the range 



