In the beginning, there was only Wasiw itdeh — “the people from here.”
The tribe comprises four groups from the four directions. Academia categorized Wasiw as Great Basin people, but we disagree with that characterization because we do not speak the languages of the Great Basin people. Nor do we speak that of native California peoples. Our language is an isolate, and we are an isolate people. We did not come here from somewhere else but have lived here in our lands since time immemorial.
Our lives revolved around nature. It provided everything we needed. In return we respected the lands and did not abuse what they gave to us. We did not take and keep taking; and we always left something in return, a gift or prayer.
During the late summer and autumn, nature began to release its bounty. It was time to harvest to store up for the coming of winter. It was a busy time.
Malung Harvest
Malung is the acorn of the black oak tree, and during harvest hundreds of pounds of acorns were gathered and stored for the winter. The tree grew on our lands and also in great abundance on the western slope of the mountains. We gathered malung ourselves, and sometimes we obtained acorns by trade with the native peoples to the west.
We would grind and then knead the acorns to eliminate their bitter taste. We made them into biscuits, or put them into a soup, which is much easier to make. As a kid, I remember helping my grandmother to prepare acorns for dinner in the traditional way.
Her bedrock mortar is still there, next to the small stream at the old place. I myself made acorn soup last year. It tasted so good.
Tagum Harvest
The Pinyon pine (tagum) seed is another very important food source for Wasiw.
During the pine nut season, whole families participated in the harvest. Some of my first memories of childhood are picking pine nuts with the family. But before anyone could harvest any nuts, the pine nut ceremony, tagum goomsabyi, had to take place. The tagum datumu (pine nut boss) decided when it was time to gather. When it was decided, runners were sent out to let the people know that tagum goomsabyi was about to commence. Each runner carried a rawhide string with four knots to mark the four days to the pine nut ceremony.
Families arrived for the ceremony at the designated gathering place. It was a time to get reacquainted and to socialize. The tagum goomsabyi’s four days were filled with dancing, feasting, events, and preparations for the harvest.
After goomsabyi, it was time to disperse to family gathering areas for the great pine nut harvest. Young and old all participated, and everyone had a role to play. To be sure to last the entire winter, hundreds of pounds were gathered and stored.
The pine nut was also a trade item, both with other Wasiw and with other tribes. In addition to malung and tagum, other plants were gathered for food, medicinal, and utilitarian uses.
Hunting and Fishing
Hunting and fishing occurred throughout the year, done by individuals, small groups, or in communal hunts. Rabbits, deer, antelope, bighorns, and fish could be dried and stored for the winter.
But it was during late fall, usually after the first frost, that the rabbit drive occurred. In the old days, rabbits inhabited in the eastern valleys of the Sierra Nevada by the thousands. Whole families participated, and a rabbit boss organized and gave commands. The rabbits were driven into nets where they could be harvested in large yet sustainable quantities.
In addition to the rabbits being a high protein food source, their pelts were woven into blankets, whose warmth is equivalent to goose down feathers.
Though times have changed, Wasiw still practice our age-old traditions today. As a child, I participated in communal rabbit drives. Though because of declines in the rabbit populations the drives are now done in smaller family groups, the tradition continues.
Most of the wildlife is gone from Wasiw country. Some animals remain only in small numbers, and some have vanished and disappeared forever. In the past twenty years, large wildfires have decimated the pinyon pine groves and other factors have led to the decline of tagum. So let me close by saying, let us give nature the right to live.
~ Darrell Cruz spent his early years in a household that spoke Wisiw, and feels fortunate to have grown up this way. He is a Wisiw Tribal Member and a former Tribal Historic Preservation Officer who also worked for the tribe in the Environmental Protection Department. He prefers to be outside as much as possible.
