314 



iPtTBEA — PUBERTY CUSTOMS 



tB. A. B. 



Pubea. See Evea. 



Puberty customs. The significance of a 

 girl's entrance into womanhood was not 

 only appreciated by all American tribes, 

 but its importance was inuch exaggerated. 

 It was believed that whatever she did or 

 experienced then was bound to affect her 

 entire subsequent life, and that she had 

 exceiational power over all persons or 

 things that came near her at that period. 

 For this reason she was usually carefully 

 set apart from other people in a small 

 lodge in the woods, in a separate room, 

 or behind some screen. There she re- 

 mained for a period varying from a few 

 days, preferably 4, to a year or even 

 longer — the longer isolation being en- 

 dured by girls of wealthy or aristocratic 

 families — and prepared her own food or 

 had it brought to her by her mother or 

 some old woman, the only person with 

 whom she had anything to do. Her 

 dishes, spoons, and other articles were 

 kept separate from all others and had to 

 be washed thoroughly before they could 

 be used again, or, as with the Iroquois, 

 an entirely new set was provided for her. 

 For a long period she ate sparingly and 

 took but little water, while she bathed 

 often. Salt especially was tabooed by the 

 girl at this period. A Cheyenne girl puri- 

 fied herself by allowing smoke from sweet 

 grass, cedar needles, and white sage to 

 pass over her body inside of her blanket. 

 She was also forced to sit up for long 

 periods to prevent her from becoming 

 lazy, and among the Haida she had to 

 sleep on a flat rock with a bag of gravel or 

 something similar for a pillow. If she ate 

 too much, it was thought that she would 

 be greedy in later life; if she talked 

 too much, that she Avould l)ecome garru- 

 lous, and if she laughed, that she would 

 become too much inclined to hilarity. 

 A Shuswap girl would climb trees and 

 break off their tips in order to become 

 strong, and play with gambling sticks 

 that her future husband might be a suc- 

 cessful gamester. A Hnpa girl nuist not 

 tell a lie during this time or she would 

 become forever untruthful. Among the 

 Tsimshian if a girl desired a certain num- 

 ber of sons when married, the same num- 

 ber of men chewed her food for her; if 

 she desired daughters, that office was per- 

 formed by women. At the end of her 

 fast she was covered with mats and held 

 over afire in order that her children might 

 be healthy. The Shuswap, Ntlakyapa- 

 niuk, Apache, Hupa, and other tribes did 

 notallowagirl to touch her head orscratch 

 her l)ody except with a comb or stick. On 

 the N. W. coast she usually wore a broad- 

 brimmed hat to protect the sky, sun, sea, 

 and other objects in nature from pollu- 

 tion and to protect herself from the dele- 

 terious influences which they in turn 



might exert. Often the hole for the labret 

 was bored about this time. Among the 

 Haida a girl was not allowed to gaze on 

 the sea lest her face and eyes should 

 acquire nervous, twitching movements 

 from the motion of its waves, or on fire 

 for fear that her face would become red. 

 If she looked upon red salmon, her eyes 

 would become inflamed. If a girl ate 

 fresh salmon, the Bellacoola feared that 

 her mouth would be transformed into a 

 long beak; and if a Ntlakyapamuk girl 

 ate bear meat, it was thought she would 

 be childless. There was, in addition, a 

 long series of food taboos in each tribe, 

 governed by some supposed resemblance 

 between the article of diet and phenom- 

 ena of certain diseases. On the N. Pacific 

 coast as much property as the family could 

 afford was hung about the girl while fast- 

 ing so that she might become rich in after 

 years; and she was not allowed to do any 

 work, so that she might become a chief's 

 wife and be waited on by slaves. Quite 

 different was the custom among the Ntla- 

 kyapamuk and other tribes wanting the 

 institution of slavery where the girl spent 

 her time in imitating various useful em- 

 ployments in order not to be lazy when 

 she grew up. Among the latter people 

 the girl was supposed to be under the 

 special care of the Dawn, to which she con- 

 tinually prayed, and she made a record 

 of her offerings and the ceremonials she 

 had passed through by painting pictures 

 of them on bowlders and on small stones. 

 This, according to Teit, was believed to 

 insure long life. Kroeber also records 

 the execution of paintings by Luiseno 

 Indian girls in s. California. 



Among many tribes it was believed that 

 the supernatural beings were especially 

 offended by menstrual blood. Therefore a 

 Haida girl at this time must not go down 

 to the beach at low tide, lest the tide come 

 in and cover one of the chief sources of 

 food su])ply. She must not step across a 

 small stream, lest the old woman who re- 

 sides at its head leave and take all the 

 fish with her. When her people went to • 

 a salmon creek to dry fish she must get 

 out of the canoe just before they reached 

 it and approach the smokehouse from 

 behind, for if she saw a salmon jump all 

 the salmon might leave. If a hunter's 

 glance happened to fall upon her, blood 

 would be injected into his eye, prevent- 

 ing him from seeing game, and a crust of 

 l)lood would surround his spear, making 

 it unluc^ky. The Alaskan Eskimo sup- 

 posed that a girl was surrounded by a 

 sort of film at this time which would at- 

 tach itself to a hunter who came too near 

 and enable every animal to see him. 

 Fishing tackle and gambling sticks might 

 he affected in the same way, and there- 

 fore gambling sticks and hunting and 



