agriculture - when cherokees were cherokee

agriculture
cherokees, like other natives of the southwest, relied on
agriculture for only a part of their
food supply. hunting, fishing, and the gathering of wild foods,
roots, fruits, berries, augmented the cooking pots. every cherokee
realized that they were merely caretakers of the land, or "trustee"
for future occupants. to them, no one could "own" the land - they
could only use or abuse it.
towns were occasionally moved, and it is possible that this was
in part owing to the fact that the land for these garden plots would
gradually become exhausted, as would the firewood supply. as the
town became surrounded by more and more useless land, the women
would have to walk farther and farther to tend their gardens and
gather firewood until at last the town would become an undesirable
place to live.
fields that had never been used had to be cleared of all
vegetation. fields that had been used the year before had to be
cleared, in the early spring, of the weeds and cane that had since
grown up. although agriculture was principally an activity for the
women and children, the initial clearing of the fields, and
preparation for the new planting, was done by the men.
crops: "the chief cultivated plants were melons, maize, beans,
tobacco, peas, cabbages, potatoes, and pumpkins." (gilbert, 316)
corn: "inds. in the eastern united states began cultivating beans
at about the same time they began cultivating the eastern flint
corn, at around ad 800 to 1000. the common bean (phaseolus vulgaris
l.) occurs in hundreds of varieties, including kidney, navy, pinto,
snap, and pole beans. some of these beans grow on bushy plants,
while others grow on vines, requiring that they be planted alongside
cornstalks or poles. most of these varieties ripen in about ten
weeks.
they "began cultivating squash perhaps as early as 1000 b.c.,
far earlier than they began cultivating corn and beans. they planted
the northern species, cucurbita pepo l., a species comprising
pumpkins and summer squashes. squash is a good vegetable because it
is relatively easy to grow and it is highly productive. some
varieties of squash could be stored in a cool, dry place and kept
through the winter.
"corn, beans and squash were unusually well suited to each
other. when grown in the same field they complemented each other,
and in recognition of their basic compatibility the iroquois called
them the "three sisters"... corn and beans are particularly suited
to each other, because while corn removes nitrogen from the soil,
beans replace nitrogen, and the soil is therefore exhausted more
slowly. moreover, beans and corn complement each other in a dietary
sense. corn supplies some of the protein which is essential for good
nutrition, but it lacks the amino acid lysine, which, as it turns
out, is relatively abundant in beans. thus when eaten together corn
and beans are a relatively good source of vegetable protein.
"....sunflowers... yielded "large quantities of oily seeds rich
in vitamins. with their hard shells, sunflower seeds would have been
easy to store for use in winter. and considering the importance of
the sun in their belief system, the southeastern inds. would not
have failed to notice that the sunflower turns to face the sun when
it rises, and then follows it across the heavens to where it sets in
the west.
fields were cleared "...of large trees by girdling them with
rings cut into the bark. before contact they used stone axes for
this, for european steel axes were so superior that they quickly
became one of the items which were most desired. ..after the girdled
trees died, they were either burned or simply left to stand and rot.
fields that had been used the year before had to be cleared in the
spring of the weeds and cane that had grown up in the past season.
although agriculture was principally a woman's occupation, the
initial clearing of the fields was done by men.
"the time when crops were planted depended upon the climate.
the first planting of early corn usually came in march or april; in
the northerly parts the first planting usually came in may. they
planted the early corn as soon as the threat of frost had passed,
but they waited another month or so before planting the late corn
because by that time there were wild foods available to deflect the
attention of crows and other pests. early corn was planted in the
garden plots in and around the town, and late corn was planted in
the large fields in the river bottoms. the garden plots were planted
by the women, but the large fields were planted by both sexes. the
labor in the large fields was communal. early in the morning of a
working day, one of the old leaders would stand on top of a mound or
in the plaza and call all of the people out to work. those who
failed to come had fines imposed upon them. before the natchez
planted seed, they took it to the great sun to have it sanctified.
this may have been done in one form or another throughout the
southeast.
"although labor was communal, the large fields were divided
into individual allotments. each household or lineage had its own
plot, separated from the others by a strip of untilled soil. all the
people worked together on one plot until it was worked up and
planted, and then they moved on to another. in some cases an entire
field would be cultivated by the people... and its produce turned
over to the chief to use for ritual occasions and for redistribution
to people in need. planting had a festive quality, and there was
always a great deal of singing and joking. they worked the soil with
digging sticks and with short hoes that had wooden handles and
blades made of shell, flint, or the shoulder blade of a large
mammal. the inds. did not till the entire field, but instead worked
up small "hills" a foot or more in diameter. this both prevented
soil erosion and preserved the fertility of the soil longer than did
the plow-agriculture introduced by the european colonists. hills
were laid out in straight lines and spaced three or four feet apart
in both directions. laying out the corn in a regular pattern made
weeding easier later on. in each hill.. they.. made a cluster of
four to six holes spaced about one or two inches apart. seed that
had been soaked for a day to hasten germination was dropped in, one
grain to a hole. a little hill of dirt was then piled over each
group of seeds. some of the inds. carefully planted just four grains
of corn in each cluster; others probably planted more and thinned
out the less robust stalks after they came up.
"the kind of soil suitable for riverine agriculture was scarce,
and because of its scarcity, the agricultural strategy of the
southeastern inds. was designed to produce maximum yield from
relatively small fields. they accomplished this by two techniques:
intercropping and multiple cropping. intercropping was the planting
of several kinds of vegetables mixed together in the same field. as
we have seen, corn, beans, and squash complemented each other. the
inds. planted corn and beans together so that the bean vines grew up
they twined around the corn stalks. in between the hills of corn and
around the edges of the field they planted gourds, squash, pumpkins,
and sunflowers, and chenopodium (goosefoot plant) came up wherever
they allowed it to grow.
"multiple cropping was the planting of two successive crops on
the same field in one season. they.. used this technique on their
early corn, which ripened early and was picked and eaten green. as
soon as they could clear the field of the first crop, they planted
another crop in the same field to be eaten later in the season....
"after they planted their corn, cultivation consisted
of "hilling" the corn, keeping predators away, and keeping the weeds
down. after the corn came up a few inches, they.. hilled it by
piling loose dirt around the roots. corn requires a large quantity
of water during its growing season, but it also needs good drainage
so that the plants do not drown. hilling helps satisfy both of these
requirements. furthermore, corn has roots that are relatively weak
and shallow for its size, and hilling helps keep the stalks from
being blown over by the wind.
"people stayed on watch in the fields during the day in order
to frighten away bird and animal pests. at night fires were
sometimes built around the fields for the same purpose. this job of
watching the fields fell to old women, or to young boys under the
supervision of old men. watching the fields was a rather dangerous
and sometimes fatal occupation because enemies would seize upon the
watchman's lack of protection for a surprise attack. (note: there is
not one recorded incidence that this ever happened.).
"some... employed a particularly clever way of keeping pests out
of their gardens. they placed poles around the gardens and on the
poles they hung gourd houses for purple martins. purple martins not
only consume large numbers of insects each day, but they are also
aggressive toward crows and blackbirds, both of which are especially
destructive of newly planted corn... also, some "may also have
encouraged the nesting of swifts and wrens, which also eat insect
pests and chase away crows and blackbirds.
"when the corn was about one foot high," they "went through
their fields with hoes, cutting down the weeds. some repeated this
weeding several times during the summer, but others were less
meticulous, letting the weeds grow up to compete with their crops.
each they they weeded the corn, they hilled it a little more, until
by the end of the summer a noticeable mound of earth was piled
around the bases of the stalks. some.. "suckered" their corn by
breaking off the secondary shoots which grew at the bases of the
stalks. this was to make the ears grow larger, increasing the yield.
in august, after growth had stopped, the ears of the late corn were
bent down against the stalk to keep water from running into the husk
and rotting the corn.
"they harvested this late corn as soon as it was dry enough,
usually in september or october. each household or lineage harvested
its own plot of corn, though in some places the plot assigned to the
chief was harvested with volunteer labor from the entire town. they
went through the fields collecting the ears of corn in large pack
baskets carried on their backs. in some places each household or
lineage contributed a portion of its crop to the chief's store.
"the last essential step in raising a crop of corn was storing
it and keeping it safe from field mice and other animals. in some
places.. (they).. stored their corn in cribs raised seven or eight
feet from the ground on posts which were polished so mice could not
climb them. the crib itself was plastered inside and out with mud.
the only entrance was a small door which was sealed with mud each
time it was used. they stacked the ears of corn in rows, with the
better corn near the back of the crib, and the poorer corn near the
entrance where it could be used first. in other places ..they..
stored their corn in special rooms in the houses in which they
lived." ... "sometimes... ears of dried corn "were protected from
insects by wrapping each one with grass and then plastering it all
over with wet clay mixed with grass. in this manner they were able
to keep corn from one year to another." (hudson, 292-299).
fields: "in the spring, women walked "a considerable distance from
the town" to sow fields of "pompions, and different sorts of
melons". they chose to plant when days were longer and warmer and
predators might bypass their fields in favor of other succulent
foods. by may "the wild fruit is so ripe," wrote adair, "as to draw
off the birds from picking up the grain." after planting time, old
women guarded outfields form high scaffolds that overlooked "this
favorite part of their vegetable possessions" if hungry animals or
birds approached, the sentries frightened them away "with their
screetches". it was dangerous work, for human predators came first
to such far-flung fields and "sometimes kills them in this strict
watch duty". long past the age of farming, older women continued to
share responsibility for food, even endangering their lives to do
so.
"community fields of corn, beans, and other staples stretched
two to four miles beyond the towns. in addition to small, early
corn,... the diversity and sequential planting of staple foods
offered a slender margin of defense against crop failures and pest
invasions. at the very least, seeds from limited crops could be
harvested and stored for the following year.
"town priests allotted land to each clan in proportion to their
numbers and need. in may, the entire town joined together to plant
under the direction of a chosen leader. they began "fellowshiply on
one end", continuing across each field "till they have finished
all". as they worked "one of their old orators cheers them on with
jests and humorous old tales, and sings some of their most agreeable
wild tunes". drumming and singing, joking and calling, elders urged
on planters while reinforcing town customs and community solidarity.
everyone, including chiefs, joined the labor. though disdainful
europeans usually described them solely as hunters and warriors,
men -- brothers -- also prepared community fields, clan by clan, as
selu had instructed. landholdings remained centered in the
matrilineage, cared for by male as well as female members.
"...farming was a great leveler of social distinctions.
community lands meant community crops so that "thire vitols" could
be "comen to all people". portions from every clan's field went into
the "publick granery", a resource "to repair to in case of
necessity". since every family contributed, each could claim an
allotment if their own food "falls short, or is destroyed by
accidents, or otherwise". the public storehouse also made it
possible to offer hospitality to "armies, travelers, or sojourners",
as well as neighboring towns.
"when fields 'became impoverished', town members left them 'with
one consent' and found a fresh spot to clear and sow. old fields
then became in important component of a settlement's changing
resources. fallowing fields were gradually colonized by useful weeds
like poke and by fleshy fruits such as strawberries, maypops, sumac,
plums, and persimmon. over time, pioneering shrubs and tree
seedlings transformed old fields into patches of secondary growth.
such scrub communities supplied food, medicine, and dye to gatherers
and attracted a variety of animals and birds for hunters. bartram
journe'd through five miles of such fields "now under grass, but
which appeared to have been planted the last season."
"...farming skill and fertile soil produced an "abundance of
corn, beans, and vegetables" unless disasters intervened; but forces
of nature frequently injured or destroyed even the most carefully
tended fields. floods, droughts, or crop failures were reported
several times a decade throughout the eighteenth century, and surely
many 'hungary times' went unrecorded... the specter of famine
hovered over southeastern fields, and farmers of all races and both
sexes regularly watched the skies and felt the soil with anxiety.
"long memories of early frosts, harsh winters, spring floods, and
summer droughts contributed to a rich complex of religious beliefs
and social behaviors. townswomen enacted secret rituals to avert
disaster; for example, they disrobed every full moon 'at the dead of
night' to circle 'entirely around the field of corn'. they
said 'thanks and prayers in a series of devotional chaunts' to selu
while they tended corn and weeded fields. when drought came, women
from each clan fasted while men brought deerskins and meat to the
priest. the priest then prayed to the creator moon and sun, shaking
a terrapin shell filled with pebbles to summon thunder and rain. to
avert cold, priests built fire of seven special woods and sacrificed
to the woman of the east a terrapin shell filled with old tobacco.
in ritual speeches at green corn festivals, priests urged strict
adherence to customs and prohibitions i "corn, or maize;... besides
the stalks bruis'd and boil'd, make very pleasant beer, being sweet
like the sugar-cane." (lawson, 81)
several varieties of apples are said to make good cider. in the
old days, however, of which we are concerned, there was little if
any fermenting of corn or grape to make an alcohol. perhaps the
nearest to it was persimmon beer:
a medical student, rafinesque, wrote in his medical flora in
1818: "the persimmon beer is made by forming the fruits into cakes
with bran, drying them in an open oven, and bruising these cakes
afterwards in water. the large variety has fruits as big as an egg,
and deserves to be cultivated on a large scale as a fruit tree".
another writer gave this procedure: "wheat bran is kneaded with
persimmons in fall and baked as a pone. the pones are broken into
pieces and placed in a runlet. warm water is added and left for
about nine days. wheat chaff or hay straw may be placed in as a
strainer". it should be noted that this straw will aid in the growth
of bacteria and fungi which abound in such a medium as it
decomposes.
another recipe went like this: put a bunch of wheat straw above
mouth of hopper and then layer of ashes..next layer of persimmons to
layer of honey locust beans. put boiling water on and let seep
through. must have a large ash cake put above the ashes to act as
yeast".
most made this in a barrel with a spigot near the bottom. after
it fermented they opened the spigot and let out a little into a cup,
it being filtered through the straw. since it contained penicillin
and gramicidin, no wonder the users of it remained more healthy than
other folks.