The Golden Bough (Third Edition, Vol. 7 of 12) - Mirrors

150 The Golden Bough (Third Edition, Vol. 7 of 12)Among savageswho have notlearned to till theground the taskof collecting thevegetable foodin the form ofwild seeds androots generallydevolves onwomen. Examplesfurnished bythe CalifornianIndians.[125]the seed to women appears to be influenced by superstitious aswell as economic considerations. Thus among the Indians ofthe Orinoco, who with an infinitude of pains cleared the junglefor cultivation by cutting down the forest trees with their stoneaxes, burning the fallen lumber, and breaking up the ground withwooden instruments hardened in the fire, the task of sowing themaize and planting the roots was performed by the women alone;and when the Spanish missionaries expostulated with the menfor not helping their wives in this toilsome duty, they receivedfor answer that as women knew how to conceive seed and bearchildren, so the seeds and roots planted by them bore fruit farmore abundantly than if they had been planted by male hands. 399Even among savages who have not yet learned to cultivate anyplants the task of collecting the edible seeds and digging up theedible roots of wild plants appears to devolve mainly on women,while the men contribute their share to the common food supplyby hunting and fishing, for which their superior strength, agility,and courage especially qualify them. For example, among theIndians of California, who were entirely ignorant of agriculture,the general division of labour between the sexes in the search forfood was that the men killed the game and caught the salmon,while the women dug the roots and brought in most of thevegetable food, though the men helped them to gather acorns,nuts, and berries. 400 Among the Indians of San Juan Capistranoin California, while the men passed their time in fowling, fishing,dancing, and lounging, “the women were obliged to gather seedsin the fields, prepare them for cooking, and to perform all themeanest offices, as well as the most laborious. It was painful inthe extreme, to behold them, with their infants hanging upon theiruns! Heft 2 (Barmen, 1898), pp. 6 sq.; Ch. Keysser, “Aus dem Leben derKaileute,” in R. Neuhauss, Deutsch Neu-Guinea, iii. (Berlin, 1911) pp. 14, 85.399 J. Gumilla, Histoire Naturelle, Civile et Géographique de l'Orénoque(Avignon, 1758), ii. 166 sqq., 183 sqq. Compare The Magic Art and theEvolution of Kings, i. 139 sqq.400 S. Powers, Tribes of California (Washington, 1877), p. 23.