The Old Franciscan Missions Of CaliforniaJames, George Wharton
Religion
The Old Franciscan Missions Of California
James, George Wharton
Franciscans -- California; Spanish mission buildings -- California
The dress of the men, when they dressed at all, consisted of the skins
of animals thrown over the shoulders, leaving the rest of the body
exposed, but the women wore a cloak and dress of twisted rabbit-skins. I
have found these same rabbit-skin dresses in use by Mohave and Yumas
within the past three or four years.
The youths were required to keep away from the fire, in order that they
might learn to suffer with bravery and courage. They were forbidden also
to eat certain kinds of foods, to teach them to bear deprivation and to
learn to control their appetites. In addition to these there were
certain ceremonies, which included fasting, abstinence from drinking,
and the production of hallucinations by means of a vegetable drug,
called pivat (still used, by the way, by some of the Indians of Southern
California), and the final branding of the neophyte, which Boscana
describes as follows: "A kind of herb was pounded until it became
sponge-like; this they placed, according to the figure required, upon
the spot intended to be burnt, which was generally upon the right arm,
and sometimes upon the thick part of the leg also. They then set fire to
it, and let it remain until all that was combustible was consumed.
Consequently, a large blister immediately formed, and although painful,
they used no remedy to cure it, but left it to heal itself; and thus, a
large and perpetual scar remained. The reason alleged for this ceremony
was that it added greater strength to the nerves, and gave a better
pulse for the management of the bow." This ceremony was called
_potense._
The education of the girls was by no means neglected.
"They were taught to remain at home, and not to roam about in
idleness; to be always employed in some domestic duty, so
that, when they were older, they might know how to work, and
attend to their household duties; such as procuring seeds,
and cleaning them--making 'atole' and 'pinole,' which are
kinds of gruel, and their daily food. When quite young, they
have a small, shallow basket, called by the natives 'tucmel,'
with which they learn the way to clean the seeds, and they
are also instructed in grinding, and preparing the same for
consumption."
When a girl was married, her father gave her good advice as to her
conduct. She must be faithful to her wifely duties and do nothing to
disgrace either her husband or her parents. Children of tender years
were sometimes betrothed by their parents. Padre Boscana says he married
a couple, the girl having been but eight or nine months old, and the boy
two years, when they were contracted for by their parents.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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