The newborn infant was never fed the colostrum from its mother. The baby was either let go without food or given a cooked meat gruel for nourishment for the first two days or so until bonafide milk was produced in the mother’s breasts. Children were nursed as often as they wished and until they were quite large: even three or four years old.
Names were given to children usually at the age of about a year. Yana waited even longer, however, until ages of four to six years before giving real names which for this tribe were habitually of a hereditary nature. In the meantime, temporary descriptive nicknames were given. Many real Atsugewi names had meanings, while those of mountain Maidu and Yana normally did not. Nevertheless, Yana and to a certain extent other Indians too, might acquire additional nicknames and descriptive names later in life, even in adulthood.
Twins were unwanted among all local tribes, probably because of the double care and feeding responsibilities involved. Mountain Maidu thought that twins were bad luck and actually feared them. It was generally believed that twins were caused by the mother having eaten twinned nutmeats. These, therefore, were carefully avoided.
Killing newborn babies whether illegitimate, twins, crippled, or when the mother died in childbirth, was practiced only on very rare occasions. Certainly infanticide was not the rule among any of the local tribes, but of course was practiced in certain other areas.
Yana baby cradle basket for young baby.
Chapter XXVI
ADULTHOOD RITES
A girl’s attainment of puberty or womanhood was an event of obvious importance and it was recognized as such by all tribes of the Lassen region with extensive formal ritual and ceremony for each individual girl. Only the more important and generally employed taboos and rites are noted below. There was considerable variation in details of such matters even among the four tribes with which we are dealing.
The girl was secluded in a separate hut for from three to six days and sometimes during the nights too. The taboos she observed during this time were much like those imposed on a mother giving birth, but were even more extensive. The young lady must eat from her own special baskets, not cross streams, avoid contacting men—especially hunters, refrain from gazing at the sun or moon, et cetera. Among things she must do were to wear a basketry cap, or special head bands among some tribes, and have her hair put up in two knobs wrapped over her shoulders. This had to be done for her as she was not allowed to touch her own hair. Carrying the deer-hoof rattle she must run races with other girls, and dance much also, scratch her head only with a special scratcher, have her earlobes pierced if this had not already been done, and frequently her nose septum was punctured too, being kept open by insertion of a round stick. Among Wintun tribes of the Sacramento Valley some taboos lasted for from one to three years!
For several nights public dances were held which lasted all night. Since there was no special ritual for anyone but the girl for whom the dances were held, these ceremonies were of a joyous nature and were popular and well attended. In the middle of the night food provided by the girl’s family was served to all present. Singing with deer-hoof rattle accompaniment was carried on all night. Intimate affairs between couples were not unusual during such dances. During the daytime as well dances were held, but these were of short duration and participated in chiefly by the women of the village. At the end of the ordeal the girl bathed and was given new clothes, ending her taboos.