The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 30, July 1926 - April, 1927 Page: 212
330 p. : maps ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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212 Southwestern Historical Quarterly
[Food, and Feasting Customs]
The ordinary food which these poor wretches have for their
sustenance is corn, beans, and the other articles mentioned above.
Of meat they never have more than two kinds, one boiled and the
other roasted. They eat while seated on benches of wood, all of
one piece and not very high from the ground. The ground, or
their knees, serve as a table. For table cloths and napkins, they
make use of the very first things they can lay their hands upon.
They wipe their fingers on whatever they find in this way, no
matter whether it be a piece of wood or something else; while
those who are not so nice will use their feet. But, in spite of all
this, they lick their spoons-using for this purpose the two fingers
of the right hands. The plates they use are round earthen pans;
and, as the Indians always eat their meat boiled or roasted and
without broth, they put it on very pretty little platters which the
women make of reeds. When they are in the part of the country
where they have none, they use leaves or the ground itself. While
those who are not very polite use their own feet. The usual way
of sitting is with one knee raised. The way they give thanks is to
take a pipe with tobacco. Of the first four whiffs they take, they
blow one into the air, one toward the ground, and the other to-
wards the two sides. It seems that whenever they eat they try to
finish up everything set before them. They take a long time to
eat and while they are eating, they sing and talk, and, from time
to time, whistle. Those who eat everything placed before them
consider themselves great men. Sport is made of those who eat
but little, while those who eat to surfeiting are detested. It is a
habit with them whenever they arrive at a house, never to ask for
anything to eat. For it is customary to set whatever a host may
have before a visitor as soon as he arrives. After eating, the
guests are supplied with the requisites for smoking. Before the
meal, however, they take nothing until a portion of everything is
first sent the to caddi. If the host is a chief, he invites the whole
village to come to his house on a certain day. The caddi goes
with all the rest and the feast begins. The caddi takes something
of everything and throws a portion into the fire, a portion upon
the ground, and a portion to each side. Then he retires to a
corner; and while all the others form ready to dance, he speaks-
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 30, July 1926 - April, 1927, periodical, 1927; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117142/m1/232/: accessed May 1, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.