Wings in the Desert: A Folk Ornithology of the Northern Pimans
by Amadeo M. Rea
University of Arizona Press, 2008 eISBN: 978-0-8165-4845-3 | Cloth: 978-0-8165-2459-4 Library of Congress Classification E99.P62R45 2007 Dewey Decimal Classification 398.209791704528
ABOUT THIS BOOK | AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY | REVIEWS | TOC
ABOUT THIS BOOK
There is a common but often unspoken arrogance on the part of outside observers that folk science and traditional knowledge—the type developed by Native communities and tribal groups—is inferior to the “formal science” practiced by Westerners. In this lucidly written and humanistic account of the O’odham tribes of Arizona and Northwest Mexico, ethnobiologist Amadeo M. Rea exposes the limitations of this assumption by exploring the rich ornithology that these tribes have generated about the birds that are native to their region. He shows how these peoples’ observational knowledge provides insights into the behaviors, mating habits, migratory patterns, and distribution of local bird species, and he uncovers the various ways that this knowledge is incorporated into the communities’ traditions and esoteric belief systems. Drawing on more than four decades of field and textual research along with hundreds of interviews with tribe members, Rea identifies how birds are incorporated, both symbolically and practically, into Piman legends, songs, art, religion, and ceremonies. Through highly detailed descriptions and accounts loaded with Native voice, this book is the definitive study of folk ornithology. It also provides valuable data for scholars of linguistics and North American Native studies, and it makes a significant contribution to our understanding of how humans make sense of their world. It will be of interest to historians of science, anthropologists, and scholars of indigenous cultures and folk taxonomy.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Amadeo M. Rea is an ethnobiologist and ornithologist who has conducted research on the Gila River Indian Reservation over a period of thirty years. He is also the author of Once a River: Bird Life and Habitat Changes on the Middle Gila
REVIEWS
"This is more than a book about birds; it describes the birds through Piman eyes, illustrating the importance of each bird to everyday life in the community." —Arizona Daily Star
— -
TABLE OF CONTENTS
(contents, begin p. vii)
(FMT)Contents(\)
(TOC)List of Illustrations ix
Preface xiii
Acknowledgments 000
Introduction 000
Part I. Birds in Piman Culture
1. Northern Pimans and Their Environment 000
2. Native Consultants 000
3. Documentary Sources 000
4. An Overview of Avian Folk Taxonomy 000
5. Birds, Guardians, Shamans, and Healers 000
6. Bird Keeping and Rearing 000
7. Feather Use 000
8. Hunting and Trapping, Game Preparation and Cooking 000
Part II. Piman Birds
Plan of the Folk Generics (Biological Species Accounts) 000
The Species Accounts 000
Appendices
A. Alphabetical Listing of O'odham Bird Names with English Equivalents
000
B. Scientific Names of Plants Mentioned in Text 000
C. Scientific Names of Reptiles Mentioned in Text 000
D. Scientific Names of Mammals Mentioned in Text 000
E. Upper Piman Personal Names Relating to Birds 000
F. Unidentified Piman Birds 000
G. Orthography: The Sounds of Akimel and Tohono O'odham 000
Notes 000
Bibliography 000
Index 000(\)
(illustrations, begin p. ix)
(FMT)Illustrations(\)
(FMS1)Maps, Diagrams, and Photographs(\)
I.1. Map of Tepiman language distribution 000
I.2. Relationships of Piman subgroups 000
1.1. Map of Northern Piman groups 000
2.1. Map of some Piman communities, Pimería Alta, in text 000
4.1. Tohono O'odham basket with floating waterfowl 000
5.1. Shaman's divining wand 000
5.2. Mockingbird fetish 000
6.1. Pima Bajo bird cage, "navas 000
7.1. Omina (Piman prayer sticks) 000
7.2. Navichu dancer 000
7.3. Papago wiigida (Nanavichu and their attendants) 000
7.4. Papago war headdresses 000
7.5. Pima feathered hair ornament 000
7.6. Pima feathered war headdress 000
8.1. Wulivga (boys' target) 000
8.2. Pima bird trap 000
8.3. Latticework bird trap 000
8.4. River Pima hunting arrows 000
8.5. Fletching on arrows (detail) 000
8.6. Types of a'an, feathers 000
8.7. External anatomy of a bird (quail) 000
8.8. Internal anatomy of a bird (quail) 000
8.9. Specialized avian structures 000
Culver Cassa's ceremonial seating 000
Culver Cassa's Pima cosmology drawing 000
(FMS1)Species Sketches(\)
ñui, ñuwi, Turkey Vulture (Mike Touch) 000
ñuipa, Black Vulture (Amadeo M. Rea) 000
tash cheenam vakoañ, Green Heron (Allan Brooks) 000
koomag(i) vakoañ, Great Blue Heron (Takashi Ijichi) 000
toha vakoañ, toha u'uhig, Snowy Egret (Takashi Ijichi) 000
chu ggiakam vakoañ, Brown Pelican (Takashi Ijichi) 000
kooko(d), Sandhill Crane (Amadeo M. Rea) 000
vachpik, vachpikdam, American Coot (Allan Brooks) 000
vapka'ik(i), wapka'ig, Shoveler (Allan Brooks) 000
hialak, Snow Goose (Amadeo M. Rea) 000
chivi-chúuch, sivi-chúuch, Killdeer (Allan Brooks) 000
shuudag(i) maama(d), Least Sandpipers (Amadeo M. Rea) 000
chevel u'uhig, Black-necked Stilt (Takashi Ijichi) 000
kaachki-tab u'uhig, kaachk(i) hugidag, Ring-billed Gull (Takashi Ijichi)
000
haupal, Red-tailed Hawk (George Miksch Sutton) 000
vakav, wakaw, Northern Harrier (Mike Touch) 000
tobav(i), tobaw(i), Harris' Hawk (Amadeo M. Rea) 000
ba'ag, Golden Eagle (George Miksch Sutton) 000
vakoañ ba'ag, Osprey (Mike Touch) 000
visag, vishag, wisag, wishag, Praire Falcon (Mike Touch) 000
cheedag(i) visag, cheedag(i) vishag, Peregrine Falcon (Mike Touch) 000
sisik(i), American Kestrel (Mike Touch) 000
kusijim, Crested (Audubon's) Caracara (Amadeo M. Rea) 000
kakaichu, Gambel's Quail (Amadeo M. Rea) 000
s-hadam kakaichu, Scaled Quail (George Miksch Sutton) 000
olas kakaichu, o''ok kakaichu, Montezuma (Mearns') Quail (Amadeo M. Rea)
000
tova, towa, Wild Turkey (Bob Hines) 000
gihodag, Band-tailed Pigeon (Amadeo M. Rea) 000
hoohi, Mourning Dove (Amadeo M. Rea) 000
okokoi, White-winged Dove (Amadeo M. Rea) 000
chehop(i), wuhigam, Common Ground-Dove (Amadeo M. Rea) 000
gugu, Inca Dove (Amadeo M. Rea) 000
aa(d)o, Scarlet Macaw (Takashi Ijichi) 000
tavir, cheedag(i) u'uhig, White-fronted Amazon Parrot (Amadeo M. Rea) 000
kadgam, Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Mike Touch) 000
ta(d)ai, Greater Roadrunner (Mike Touch) 000
ee'e(d) vahu(d)am, Barn Owl (Takashi Ijichi) 000
chuku(d), Great Horned Owl (Takashi Ijichi) 000
chuku(d) ka'ama(d), Long-eared Owl (Allan Brooks) 000
kuukvul, Western Screech-Owl (Amadeo M. Rea) 000
kokoho, Burrowing Owl (Allan Brooks) 000
koologam, Common Poorwill (Takashi Ijichi) 000
ñepo(d), Lesser Nighthawk (Mike Touch) 000
vipismal, Costa's Hummingbird, male (Amadeo M. Rea) 000
duuk vaidam, Coppery-tailed Trogon, male (Mike Touch) 000
ba'ivchul, Belted Kingfisher (Takashi Ijichi) 000
hikvig, hikwig, Gila Woodpecker (Allan Brooks) 000
chehegam, Ladder-backed Woodpecker (Amadeo M. Rea) 000
ku(d)at, Northern Flicker (Allan Brooks) 000
hevel moos, Say's Phoebe (Amadeo M. Rea) and Ash-throated Flycatcher (Amadeo
M. Rea) 000
chukukmal, Western Kingbird (Amadeo M. Rea) 000
ba'i chukul, Horned Lark (Mike Touch) 000
giidval, Rough-winged Swallow (Allan Brooks) 000
havañ, kokon Common Raven (Mike Touch) 000
shadav, Black-throated Magpie-Jay (Amadeo M. Rea) 000
giisob(i), Verdin (Mike Touch) 000
s-chuk mo'okam giisob(i), Black-tailed Gnatcatcher (Mike Touch) 000
hokka(d), Cactus Wren (Allan Brooks) 000
vavas, vavuk, Rock Wren (Allan Brooks) and Canyon Wren (Allan Brooks) 000
baasho s-veg(i), Northern Robin (Mike Touch) 000
go'ogov, Loggerhead Shrike (Mike Touch) 000
shuug, Northern Mockingbird (Allan Brooks) 000
biit keishnam, Bendire's Thrasher (Mike Touch) 000
ku(d)vich, kul-wichgam, Curve-billed Thrasher (Amadeo M. Rea) 000
chev chiñkam, Crissal Thrasher (Amadeo M. Rea) 000
koomag(i) u'uhig, Le Conte's Thrasher (Larry Toschik) 000
kuigam, Phainopepla (Allan Brooks) 000
sipuk, sipok, Northern Cardinal (Mike Touch) 000
hevachu(d), Blue Grosbeak (Allan Brooks) 000
bichpo(d), Abert's Towhee (Amadeo M. Rea) and Canyon Towhee (Amadeo M. Rea)
000
tamtol, White-crowned Sparrow (Mike Touch) 000
o'o(d)opiwua, s-banmakam, Lark Bunting (Mike Touch) 000
tosiv, Western Meadowlark (Mike Touch) 000
shashañ, Red-winged Blackbird (Allan Brooks) 000
vajukuk(i), Bullock's Oriole (Amadeo M. Rea) 000
heet kawu(d)k, Summer Tanager (Mike Touch) 000
bahidaj u'uhig, House Finch (Amadeo M. Rea) 000
(FMS1)Tables(\)
4.1. O'odham Avian Folk Generics 000
4.2. Pan-Piman Avian Folk Generics 000
4.3. Avian Folk Species among Upper Pimans 000
4.4. Biological Status of Common Birds of River Pima Country 000
5.1. Birds Associated with Staying Sickness or Other Taboos 000
8.1. Weights of Piman Game Birds 000(\)
Wings in the Desert: A Folk Ornithology of the Northern Pimans
by Amadeo M. Rea
University of Arizona Press, 2008 eISBN: 978-0-8165-4845-3 Cloth: 978-0-8165-2459-4
There is a common but often unspoken arrogance on the part of outside observers that folk science and traditional knowledge—the type developed by Native communities and tribal groups—is inferior to the “formal science” practiced by Westerners. In this lucidly written and humanistic account of the O’odham tribes of Arizona and Northwest Mexico, ethnobiologist Amadeo M. Rea exposes the limitations of this assumption by exploring the rich ornithology that these tribes have generated about the birds that are native to their region. He shows how these peoples’ observational knowledge provides insights into the behaviors, mating habits, migratory patterns, and distribution of local bird species, and he uncovers the various ways that this knowledge is incorporated into the communities’ traditions and esoteric belief systems. Drawing on more than four decades of field and textual research along with hundreds of interviews with tribe members, Rea identifies how birds are incorporated, both symbolically and practically, into Piman legends, songs, art, religion, and ceremonies. Through highly detailed descriptions and accounts loaded with Native voice, this book is the definitive study of folk ornithology. It also provides valuable data for scholars of linguistics and North American Native studies, and it makes a significant contribution to our understanding of how humans make sense of their world. It will be of interest to historians of science, anthropologists, and scholars of indigenous cultures and folk taxonomy.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Amadeo M. Rea is an ethnobiologist and ornithologist who has conducted research on the Gila River Indian Reservation over a period of thirty years. He is also the author of Once a River: Bird Life and Habitat Changes on the Middle Gila
REVIEWS
"This is more than a book about birds; it describes the birds through Piman eyes, illustrating the importance of each bird to everyday life in the community." —Arizona Daily Star
— -
TABLE OF CONTENTS
(contents, begin p. vii)
(FMT)Contents(\)
(TOC)List of Illustrations ix
Preface xiii
Acknowledgments 000
Introduction 000
Part I. Birds in Piman Culture
1. Northern Pimans and Their Environment 000
2. Native Consultants 000
3. Documentary Sources 000
4. An Overview of Avian Folk Taxonomy 000
5. Birds, Guardians, Shamans, and Healers 000
6. Bird Keeping and Rearing 000
7. Feather Use 000
8. Hunting and Trapping, Game Preparation and Cooking 000
Part II. Piman Birds
Plan of the Folk Generics (Biological Species Accounts) 000
The Species Accounts 000
Appendices
A. Alphabetical Listing of O'odham Bird Names with English Equivalents
000
B. Scientific Names of Plants Mentioned in Text 000
C. Scientific Names of Reptiles Mentioned in Text 000
D. Scientific Names of Mammals Mentioned in Text 000
E. Upper Piman Personal Names Relating to Birds 000
F. Unidentified Piman Birds 000
G. Orthography: The Sounds of Akimel and Tohono O'odham 000
Notes 000
Bibliography 000
Index 000(\)
(illustrations, begin p. ix)
(FMT)Illustrations(\)
(FMS1)Maps, Diagrams, and Photographs(\)
I.1. Map of Tepiman language distribution 000
I.2. Relationships of Piman subgroups 000
1.1. Map of Northern Piman groups 000
2.1. Map of some Piman communities, Pimería Alta, in text 000
4.1. Tohono O'odham basket with floating waterfowl 000
5.1. Shaman's divining wand 000
5.2. Mockingbird fetish 000
6.1. Pima Bajo bird cage, "navas 000
7.1. Omina (Piman prayer sticks) 000
7.2. Navichu dancer 000
7.3. Papago wiigida (Nanavichu and their attendants) 000
7.4. Papago war headdresses 000
7.5. Pima feathered hair ornament 000
7.6. Pima feathered war headdress 000
8.1. Wulivga (boys' target) 000
8.2. Pima bird trap 000
8.3. Latticework bird trap 000
8.4. River Pima hunting arrows 000
8.5. Fletching on arrows (detail) 000
8.6. Types of a'an, feathers 000
8.7. External anatomy of a bird (quail) 000
8.8. Internal anatomy of a bird (quail) 000
8.9. Specialized avian structures 000
Culver Cassa's ceremonial seating 000
Culver Cassa's Pima cosmology drawing 000
(FMS1)Species Sketches(\)
ñui, ñuwi, Turkey Vulture (Mike Touch) 000
ñuipa, Black Vulture (Amadeo M. Rea) 000
tash cheenam vakoañ, Green Heron (Allan Brooks) 000
koomag(i) vakoañ, Great Blue Heron (Takashi Ijichi) 000
toha vakoañ, toha u'uhig, Snowy Egret (Takashi Ijichi) 000
chu ggiakam vakoañ, Brown Pelican (Takashi Ijichi) 000
kooko(d), Sandhill Crane (Amadeo M. Rea) 000
vachpik, vachpikdam, American Coot (Allan Brooks) 000
vapka'ik(i), wapka'ig, Shoveler (Allan Brooks) 000
hialak, Snow Goose (Amadeo M. Rea) 000
chivi-chúuch, sivi-chúuch, Killdeer (Allan Brooks) 000
shuudag(i) maama(d), Least Sandpipers (Amadeo M. Rea) 000
chevel u'uhig, Black-necked Stilt (Takashi Ijichi) 000
kaachki-tab u'uhig, kaachk(i) hugidag, Ring-billed Gull (Takashi Ijichi)
000
haupal, Red-tailed Hawk (George Miksch Sutton) 000
vakav, wakaw, Northern Harrier (Mike Touch) 000
tobav(i), tobaw(i), Harris' Hawk (Amadeo M. Rea) 000
ba'ag, Golden Eagle (George Miksch Sutton) 000
vakoañ ba'ag, Osprey (Mike Touch) 000
visag, vishag, wisag, wishag, Praire Falcon (Mike Touch) 000
cheedag(i) visag, cheedag(i) vishag, Peregrine Falcon (Mike Touch) 000
sisik(i), American Kestrel (Mike Touch) 000
kusijim, Crested (Audubon's) Caracara (Amadeo M. Rea) 000
kakaichu, Gambel's Quail (Amadeo M. Rea) 000
s-hadam kakaichu, Scaled Quail (George Miksch Sutton) 000
olas kakaichu, o''ok kakaichu, Montezuma (Mearns') Quail (Amadeo M. Rea)
000
tova, towa, Wild Turkey (Bob Hines) 000
gihodag, Band-tailed Pigeon (Amadeo M. Rea) 000
hoohi, Mourning Dove (Amadeo M. Rea) 000
okokoi, White-winged Dove (Amadeo M. Rea) 000
chehop(i), wuhigam, Common Ground-Dove (Amadeo M. Rea) 000
gugu, Inca Dove (Amadeo M. Rea) 000
aa(d)o, Scarlet Macaw (Takashi Ijichi) 000
tavir, cheedag(i) u'uhig, White-fronted Amazon Parrot (Amadeo M. Rea) 000
kadgam, Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Mike Touch) 000
ta(d)ai, Greater Roadrunner (Mike Touch) 000
ee'e(d) vahu(d)am, Barn Owl (Takashi Ijichi) 000
chuku(d), Great Horned Owl (Takashi Ijichi) 000
chuku(d) ka'ama(d), Long-eared Owl (Allan Brooks) 000
kuukvul, Western Screech-Owl (Amadeo M. Rea) 000
kokoho, Burrowing Owl (Allan Brooks) 000
koologam, Common Poorwill (Takashi Ijichi) 000
ñepo(d), Lesser Nighthawk (Mike Touch) 000
vipismal, Costa's Hummingbird, male (Amadeo M. Rea) 000
duuk vaidam, Coppery-tailed Trogon, male (Mike Touch) 000
ba'ivchul, Belted Kingfisher (Takashi Ijichi) 000
hikvig, hikwig, Gila Woodpecker (Allan Brooks) 000
chehegam, Ladder-backed Woodpecker (Amadeo M. Rea) 000
ku(d)at, Northern Flicker (Allan Brooks) 000
hevel moos, Say's Phoebe (Amadeo M. Rea) and Ash-throated Flycatcher (Amadeo
M. Rea) 000
chukukmal, Western Kingbird (Amadeo M. Rea) 000
ba'i chukul, Horned Lark (Mike Touch) 000
giidval, Rough-winged Swallow (Allan Brooks) 000
havañ, kokon Common Raven (Mike Touch) 000
shadav, Black-throated Magpie-Jay (Amadeo M. Rea) 000
giisob(i), Verdin (Mike Touch) 000
s-chuk mo'okam giisob(i), Black-tailed Gnatcatcher (Mike Touch) 000
hokka(d), Cactus Wren (Allan Brooks) 000
vavas, vavuk, Rock Wren (Allan Brooks) and Canyon Wren (Allan Brooks) 000
baasho s-veg(i), Northern Robin (Mike Touch) 000
go'ogov, Loggerhead Shrike (Mike Touch) 000
shuug, Northern Mockingbird (Allan Brooks) 000
biit keishnam, Bendire's Thrasher (Mike Touch) 000
ku(d)vich, kul-wichgam, Curve-billed Thrasher (Amadeo M. Rea) 000
chev chiñkam, Crissal Thrasher (Amadeo M. Rea) 000
koomag(i) u'uhig, Le Conte's Thrasher (Larry Toschik) 000
kuigam, Phainopepla (Allan Brooks) 000
sipuk, sipok, Northern Cardinal (Mike Touch) 000
hevachu(d), Blue Grosbeak (Allan Brooks) 000
bichpo(d), Abert's Towhee (Amadeo M. Rea) and Canyon Towhee (Amadeo M. Rea)
000
tamtol, White-crowned Sparrow (Mike Touch) 000
o'o(d)opiwua, s-banmakam, Lark Bunting (Mike Touch) 000
tosiv, Western Meadowlark (Mike Touch) 000
shashañ, Red-winged Blackbird (Allan Brooks) 000
vajukuk(i), Bullock's Oriole (Amadeo M. Rea) 000
heet kawu(d)k, Summer Tanager (Mike Touch) 000
bahidaj u'uhig, House Finch (Amadeo M. Rea) 000
(FMS1)Tables(\)
4.1. O'odham Avian Folk Generics 000
4.2. Pan-Piman Avian Folk Generics 000
4.3. Avian Folk Species among Upper Pimans 000
4.4. Biological Status of Common Birds of River Pima Country 000
5.1. Birds Associated with Staying Sickness or Other Taboos 000
8.1. Weights of Piman Game Birds 000(\)
ABOUT THIS BOOK | AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY | REVIEWS | TOC