The Seminole Indians of Florida: Fifth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1883-84, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1887, pages 469-532 — John Shaqi
The Seminole Indians of Florida: Fifth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1883-84, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1887, pages 469-532MacCauley, Clay
History
The Seminole Indians of Florida: Fifth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1883-84, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1887, pages 469-532
MacCauley, Clay
Seminole Indians -- History; Seminole Indians -- Social life and customs
Entering the more interior, the intimate home life of the Seminole, one
observes that the center about which it gathers is the camp fire. This
is never large except on a cool night, but it is of unceasing interest
to the household. It is the place where the food is prepared, and where,
by day, it is always preparing. It is the place where the social
intercourse of the family, and of the family with their friends, is
enjoyed. There the story is told; by its side toilets are made and
household duties are performed, not necessarily on account of the warmth
the fire gives, for it is often so small that its heat is almost
imperceptible, but because of its central position in the household
economy. This fire is somewhat singularly constructed; the logs used
for it are of considerable length, and are laid, with some regularity,
around a center, like the radii of a circle. These logs are pushed
directly inward as the inner ends are consumed. The outer ends of the
logs make excellent seats; sometimes they serve as pillows, especially
for old men and women wishing to take afternoon, naps.
Beds and bedding are of far less account to the Seminole family than the
camp fire. The bed is often only the place where one chooses to lie. It
is generally, however, chosen under the sheltering roof on the elevated
platform, or, when made in the lodge, on palmetto leaves. It is
pillowless, and has covering or not, as the sleeper may wish. If a cover
is used, it is, as a rule, only a thin blanket or a sheet of cotton
cloth, besides, during most of the year, the canopy or mosquito bar.
Manner Of Eating.
Next in importance to the camp fire in the life of the Seminole
household naturally comes the eating of what is prepared there. There
is nothing very formal in that. The Indians do not set a table or lay
dishes and arrange chairs. A good sized kettle, containing stewed meat
and vegetables, is the center around which, the family gathers for its
meal. This, placed in some convenient spot on the ground near the fire,
is surrounded by more or fewer of the members of the household in a
sitting posture. If all that they have to eat at that time is contained
in the kettle, each, extracts, with his fingers or his knife, a piece of
meat or a bone with meat on it, and, holding it in one hand, eats, while
with the other hand each, in turn, supplies himself, by means of a great
wooden spoon, from the porridge in the pot.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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