There
are no running streams of water and rains are infrequent.
Corn is the principal crop and support of the Moquis. If there
is a good crop the surplus is stored away and kept to be used in
the future should a crop fail. The corn is planted in irregular
hills and cultivated with a hoe. It is dropped into deep holes
made with a stick and covered up. There is always enough
moisture in the sand to sprout the seed which, aided by an
occasional shower, causes it to grow and mature a crop. The corn
is of a hardy, native variety that needs but little water to make
it grow. The grain is small and hard like popcorn and ripens in
several colors.
It is carried home from the field by the men, and ground into
meal by the women. The sound of the grinding is heard in the
street and is usually accompanied by a song that sounds weird but
musical. The meal is ground into different grades of fineness
and when used for bread is mixed with water to form a thin batter
which is spread by the hand upon a hot, flat stone. It is
quickly baked and makes a thin wafer that is no thicker than
paper. When done it is removed from the stone by the naked hand
and is rolled or folded into loaves which makes their prized pici
bread. It is said to be only one of fifty different methods
which the Moquis have of preparing corn for the table, or about
twice the number of styles known to any modern chef.
The Moqui woman is favored above many of her sex who live in
foreign lands. As a child she receives much attention and toys
galore, as the parents are very fond of their children and devote
much time to their amusement. They make dolls of their Katcinas
which are given to the children to play with. A Katcina is the
emblem of a deity that is represented either in the form of a
doll carved out of wood, woven into a plaque or basket, or
painted on tiles and pottery. There are between three and four
hundred Katcina dolls each one representing a different divinity.
When a doll is given to a child it is taught what it means, thus
combining instruction with amusement. The method is a perfect
system of kindergarten teaching, which the Moquis invented and
used centuries before the idea occurred to Froebel.
When the girl is ten years old her education properly begins and
she is systematically inducted into the mysteries of
housekeeping. At fifteen she has completed her curriculum and
can cook, bake, sew, dye, spin and weave and is, indeed,
graduated in all the accomplishments of the finished Moqui
maiden.
