Author....Anne Gayton
We have decided to share this valuable historical resource authored by Anne Gayton who interviewed Ellen (Yet-choo-nook) Murphy in which this document was recorded in her native language. In preparation of this Ethnography, Shirley Rameriz' (Shirley is the Historian at Table Mountain Rancheria, Friant, California) grandmother translated this interview into English for the author, Anne Gayton. We have a written copy of the English translation kindly provided by Shirley Rameriz. This is a sizeable document, so we will progressively work to re-input it into HTML so it can be displayed online for reference by anyone with interest in the history of the Kechayi and other bands of Yokuts, including the Dumnas. The following is a retyped and quoted as written by Anne Gayton.
KECHAYI
INTERTRIBAL RELATIONS AND LOCALITIES
Tribal areas, localities and sites were not obtained from Ellen (Yet-choo-nook) Murphy, E.M.. Her information on tribal relations corroborates the statements of others that close contacts between Yokuts and Western Mono date only from about 1860 onward. Since her childhood, and particularly since the Ghost Dance of 1870, intercourse has been more facile between Yokuts and Mono groups on the Western slope of the Sierra Nevada. when People gathered at Table Mountain for the Ghost Dance, Eastern Mono would feel the wrists of their partners in the dance. If they had hard wrists, the Mono knew they were Mono also; if the wrists were soft, the dancers were Yokuts. The Eastern Mono conversed with the Yokuts through their linguistic and cultural kin, the Western Mono people (Yayanchi and Posgisa). when these said the Yokuts were friends, the Eastern Mono left them alone.
E.M. recounted the story of a war with Mono people which occurred before she was born.
Long ago [before E.M. was born] a number of Yokuts people from the Chuckchansi, Kechayi and Gashowu tribes were camping East of Friant. They had all gone there for acorn-gathering. It was the general practice that the men, immediately after the morning meal, went out to shake down the acorns. Leaving these to be collected by the women, they then went off for the day to hunt or fish. Toward sundown they returned and helped the women crack the nuts.
Now some Monachi (Eastern Mono) had come over the mountains: their chief had told them to "go over and kill those people like birds." While the Yokuts men were away, the Monachi surrounded the women's camp. One man came closer to spy. He saw the women cracking the acorns with their teeth and thought they were eating. He went back and reported this. Several times he came close to spy and each time saw the women putting the nuts to their mouths; he though they just ate all day long.
Next morning the Yokuts men went out very early to knock down more acorns. They found a series of stakes, with feather bunches (so'nil) tied to their tops, which had been set up by the Monachi.(1) They knew the Monachi were near by, so they returned to camp and sent the women off. The women fled across the river San Joaquin, leaving everything behind. The men went in pursuit of the Monachi. Their camp was located, and the Monachi, were found asleep. Rushing in, the Yokuts killed all of the, save one man who smeared himself with his comrades' blood and pretended he was dead. Later on this man went back to his village and reported events to his chief. The chief was very angry: he determined on revenge.
Soon after that a Yokuts was working for a white man and was sent into the mountains with some hogs. Some Monachi lurking above on this side of the ridge saw him; they came down to him and asked him who he was. When it was time for the Yokuts man to return to the valleys his employer warned him not to make the trip alone. But the man was anxious to get back home and went anyway. The Monachi were ambushed along the way and killed the man and his horse.
There was no mark of ownership on land or trees or seed-areas, but a woman would verbally designate certain trees or grass spots as hers and would "growl" if some other woman took the products there from ahead of her. Her complaints would be on the personal level and would not be taken to the chief under ordinary circumstances. Sometimes arguments between women did grow into family feuds, which the chief attempted to control by counsel. There was a tacit, traditional ownership among families, and in the larger sense among tribes, of desirable land and its concomitant hunting, fishing and seed-gathering assets. The family "ownership" operated to the extent that a young married woman continued to gather vegetable products with her own mother, rather than with her mother-in-law. This was regardless of matrilocal or patrilocal residence, and surely led to inheritance of such plots, even though inheritance was not defined in set terms by any Yokuts people.
It is clear from the account given above that people from several tribes might be camped together to gather acorns, just as the Wukchumni (J.B.) mentioned for the seed-gathering camps in the Central foothill region.
In spite of the somewhat inimical relations with the Monachi, or Eastern Mono, a lively trade was carried on between Yokuts and Mono to exchange the products, natural and manufactured, of the valley and mountain regions. In this trade the Western Mono (Yayanchi, Posgisa,etc.) were the middlemen. The Monachi came over as far as Auberry, bringing rabbitskin blankets (ye'gis), moccasins, rock salt (obo'ko), red and blue paint, and pine nuts, in exchange they received acorns, willow-bark baskets, and bead money (shilimki). The bead money the middlemen had received in payment from the foothill Yokuts, who in turn, got it from the valley Yokuts in exchange for deer meat, oak wood (ti'hin), and stone mortars and pestles, all of which were lacking in the lower lake and barren northern valley region.
The expeditions for trade were made by the Monachi: E.M. said "nobody from this side ever went over there." It is possible that the general direction of trade expeditions was westward-Eastern to Western Mono, Western Mono to foothill YHokuts, foothill Yokuts to valley Yokuts and valley Yokuts to the Chumash and Salinan on the coast.
Localities:
Few sites or localities could by named by E.M.; these have not been mapped.
aho'luey-a kechayi village on the San Joaquin River not far from Auberry
ohwamniu- a Posgisa[?]village at the edge of Table Mountain
shoomnun-a village at the junction of Fine Gold Creek and the San Joaquin River
shanwo ganiu- Dumna village on the San Joaquin River (the Millerton courthouse stood on the spot)
taka'tipao-Kechayi territory or pa'an in general
acho'po-unlocated
kumkoomich-"Hummingbird place": not located, a saloon there where Hai'ai'itch got liquor
koko'hip-Sycamore
Structures:
Dwellings- The houses of the Kechayi were of the hemispherical thatched type. The floor (wa'ai) was circular, about 10 feet in diameter, and excavated for about 18 inches.
Poles (lo'kot) of any pliable wood were set within the edge of the depression and were held in position by horizontal bands willow withes (ka'pai). There would be three or four of these bands, each one smaller than the preceding, constricting the frame poles in a globular (not conical) form. The last ring (awa'nach) about 20 inches diameter, had the tips of the side poles tied to it; the poles did not extend through it. The nearly upright sides of the dwelling were lined on the inside with vertical strips of cedar or pine bark (sholo pi). Thatching was of "any kind of long weeds" [sic] (ko'osnil). E.M. thought was not twined, but was inserted in bunches under the horizontal withes lashed down over it. Mats wer not used.
The door-way (palu'an) was covered with a twined mat of "weeds" stiffened by lashing on a frame. On each side of the door were two extra poles, parallel with those of the door frame, behind which the mat door was slipped to keep it from tipping over.
The fire was in the center.
An earth-covered house was known but evidently little used by the Kechayi: "Plains people used them more". The frame was hemisperical, like that of the thatched house, and the structure had an excavated floor. After the weeds were tied on "dirt was thrown all over it." The entrance was in the side (not through the smoke hole)and had a separate mat-covered door. In short, it seems to have been the usual Kechayi house with a covering of earth and similar to that of the Choinimni. Like all Kechayi houses, this was a one family dwelling.
Houses of the Northern Foothill district never had more that one room. During the day a position of either side of the door was considered desirable, "because there was no smoke there." But at night a guest always had the place at the center back, the warmest and safest. In summer, fires were outdoors.
Husband and wife joined in the construction of their house, the man looking after the framework, the woman after the thatch. Men tied on the upper layers of thatch, as climbing was not seemly for women. There was a sense of joint ownership and upon divorce, the offending party was expected to abandon the dwelling.
Houses of a village were set out in a row if the site permitted; if it did not, any arrangement was permissible. Regardless of his moiety, a chief's house was always placed at the west end. No other house had a special location.
Dance House- The Miwok "round house" was known to the people on the San Joaquin River, but it was not imitated. No dances ceremonies took place indoors, save the inception of a pleasure dance and a doctor's debut (see below). If rain spoiled an outdoor dance, the dance would, if possible, be moved into a large dwelling. But this was only if it was purely for entertainment. No ritual was ever held indoors.
MISCELLANEOUS DATA
Pottery- E.M. said pottery was "used by people long ago." She had never seen but one pot. This was owned by an old man (Old Dick) near Auberry, who told her what it was. Auberry is within range of the Western Mono groups who may have been the source of Old Dick's piece. No one of the Kechayi used pottery much less made it in E.M.'s time.
Tobacco- There was no cultivation of tobacco (po'om), but its growth was watched; it grew best on burned ground. When beginning to turn yellow, about May, it was gathered by old people. The leaves were washed, tied in bundles, and allowed to sour, then dried and pounded. The leaves and stems of "a plnt with berries" (kai'asni) were added and pounded with the tobacco. The resulting powder was moistened, shaped into round cakes and dried. In this condition it was called 'sho'gen' The fine tobacco, 'pulchi'na', was not made by the Kechayi or Gashowu. E.M. knew what it was but thought "only Choinimni doctors" used it.
The drinking of a tobacco and lime mixture was customary among people wanting to induce supernatural dreams, or those who sought good health "by keeping their stomach clean". The tobacco and burned shells of freshwater oysters (kay'wi) obtained from the river were pounded together in a small mortar, moistened, and licked off the pestle.
Ferrying- Men and women were equally good swimmers and usually crossed the San Joaquin River (or other water) by swimming. Babies or possessions were put in a large, flat-bottomed coiled basket (ta'okach) made for ferrying. A swimmer pushed this ahead of him with his left hand, while he used his right arm, elbow horizontal and forearm swinging downward in an arc, to propel himself. The feet were kicked behind, but there was no splashing. In the same way a man might hold a baby or small child on his left shoulder. One or two swimmers would push a log ahead of them on which a sick or infirm person would ride astride. A two-log raft was made for an invalid or corpse. E.M. added with pride that the Kechayi were all good swimmers, wheras the Chuckchansi were poor swimmers.
Posture- Posture was not observed, as at this small reservation all people sat on chairs. E.M., however, frequently pointed with her lips, with a slight raise of the head as she did so.
Star lore- Terms used for stars, phases of sun and moon, etc., follow:
oo'pish-sun
toyu'nem oo 'pish- moon (lit, night sun)
tawa'nish-morning star
tomo'lo'o'lohi-evening star
chaya'tash-star (general)
1. The exact nature of these E.M. could not define: they may be such stakes as the Tachi informant, M.G. had in mind when she described boundary markers (see Tachi, pt.1).
It is clear from the account given above that people from several tribes might be camped together to gather acorns, just as the Wukchumni (JB) mentioned for the seed-gathering camps in the Central Foothill region.
In spite of the somewhat inimical relations with the Monachi, or Eastern Mono, a lively trade was carried on between Yokuts and Mono to exchange the products, natural and manufactured, of the valley and mountain regions. In this trade the Western Mono (Yayanchi, Posgisa, etc.) were the middlemen. The Monachi came over as far as Auberry, bringing rabbitskin blankets (ye'gis), moccasins, rock salt (obo'ko), red and blue paint, and pine nuts in exchange they received acorns, willow-bark baskets and bead money (shilimki). The bead money the middlemen had received in payment from the foothill Yokuts, who, in turn, got it from the valley Yokuts in exchange for deer meat, oak wood (ti'hin), and stone mortars and pestles, all of which were lacking in the lower lake and barren northern valley region.
The expeditions for trade were made by the Monachi: E.M. said "nobody from this side ever went over there."
It is possible that the general direction of trade expeditions was westward-Eastern to Western Mono, Western Mono to foothill Yokuts, foothill Yokuts to valley Yokuts and valley Yokuts to the Chumash and Salinan on the coast.
Localities:
Few sites or localities could be named by E.M.; these have not been mapped.
aho'luey: a Kechayi village on the San Joaquin River not far from Auberry
ohwamniu: a Posgisa (?) village at the edge of Table Mountain
shoomhun: a village at the junction of Fine Gold Creek and the San Joaquin River
shanwo ganiu: Dumna village on the San Joaquin River (the Millerton courthouse stood on the spot) 3
taka'tipao: Kechayi territory or pa'an in general
acho'po: unlocated
Kumkoomich: "Hummingbird place"; not located, a saloon there where Hai'ai'itch got liquor
koko'hip: Sycamore
STRUCTURES
Dwellings: The houses of the Kechayi were of the hemispherical thatched type. The floor (wa'ai) was circular, about 10 feet in diameter, and excavated for about 18 inches.
Poles (lo'kot) of any pliable wood were set within the edge of the depression and were held in position by horizontal bands willow withes (ka'pai). There would be three or four of these bands, each one smaller than the preceding, constricting the frame poles in a globular (not conical) form. The last ring (awa'nach), about 20 inches diameter had the tips of the side poles tied to it; the poles did not extend through it. The nearly upright sides of the dwelling were lined on the inside with vertical strips of cedar or pine bark (sholo pi). Thatching was of "any kind of long weeds" (sic) (ko'osnil)4 E.M. thought was not twined, but was inserted in bunches under the horizontal withes lashed down over it. Mats were not used.
The door-way (palu'an) was covered with a twined mat of "weeds" stiffened by lashing on a frame. On each side of the door were two extra poles, parallel with those of the door frame, behind which the mat door was slipped to keep it from tipping over. The fire was in the center. An earth-covered house was known but evidently little used by the Kechayi: "Plains people used them more". The frame was hemispherical, like that of the thatched house and the structure had an excavated floor.
2 See the Choinimni trips to the Tachi in Latta, Uncle Jeff's story, 29ff.
3 Although E.M. calls the village "Shanwo ganyu", the word is actually "penutianized" San Joaquin and is applied to the river also.
4 There was undoubtedly some preferred material, as suggested by the name E.M. offered, but she couldn't or wouldn't identify it.
After the weeds were tied on "dirt was thrown all over it". The entrance was in the side (not through the smoke hole) and had a separate mat-covered door. In short, it seems to have been the usual Kechayi house with a covering of earth and similar to that of the Choinimni. Like all Kechayi houses, this was a one family dwelling.
Houses of the Northern Foothill district never had more than one room. During the day a position on either side of the door was considered desirable, "because there was no smoke there." But at night a guest always had the place at the center back, the warmest and safest. In summer, fires were outdoors.
Husband and wife joined in the construction of their house, the man looking after the framework, the woman after the thatch. Men tied on the upper layers of thatch, as climbing was not seemly for women. There was a sense of joint ownership and upon divorce, the offending party was expected to abandon the dwelling. Houses of a village were set out in a row if the site permitted; if it did not, any arrangement was permissible. Regardless of his moiety, a chief's house was always placed at the west end. No other house had a special location.
Dance House
The Miwok "round house" was known to the people on the San Joaquin River, but it was not imitated. No dance ceremonies took place indoors, save the inception of a pleasure dance and a doctor's debut (see below). If rain spoiled an outdoor dance, the dance would, if possible, be moved into a large dwelling, but, this was only if it was purely for entertainment. No ritual was ever held indoors.
MISCELLANEOUS DATA
Pottery
E.M. said pottery was "used by people long ago." She had never seen but one pot. This was owned by an old man (Old Dick) near Auberry, who told her what it was. Auberry is within range of the Western Mono groups who may have been the source of Old Dick's piece. No one of the Kechayi used pottery, much less made it in E.M.'s time.
Tobacco
There was no cultivation of tobacco (po'om), but its growth was watched; it grew best on burned ground. When beginning to turn yellow, about May, it was gathered by old people. The leaves were washed, tied in bundles, and allowed to sour, then dried and pounded. The leaves and stems of "a plant with berries" (kai'asni) were added and pounded with the tobacco. The resulting powder was moistened, shaped into round cakes and dried. In this condition it was called 'sho'gen.' The fine tobacco, pulchi'na, was not made by the Kechayi or Gashowu. E.M. knew what it was but thought "only Choinimni doctors" used it.
The drinking of a tobacco and lime mixture was customary among people wanting to induce supernatural dreams, or those who sought good health "by keeping their stomach clean." The tobacco and burned shells of freshwater oysters (kay'wi) obtained from the river were pounded together in a small mortar, moistened and licked off the pestle.
Ferrying
Men and women were equally good swimmers and usually crossed the San Joaquin River (or other water) by swimming. Babies or possessions were put in a large, flat-bottomed coiled basket (ta'okach) made for ferrying. A swimmer pushed this ahead of him with his left hand, while he used his right arm, elbow horizontal and forearm swinging downward in an arc, to propel himself. The feet were kicked behind, but there was no splashing. In the same way a man might hold a baby or small child on his left shoulder. One or two swimmers would push a log ahead of them on which a sick or infirm person would ride astride. A two-log raft was made for an invalid or corpse. E.M. added with pride that the Kechayi were all good swimmers wheras the Chukchansi were poor swimmers.
Posture
Posture was not observed, as at this small reservation all people sat on chairs. E.M., however, frequently pointed with her lips, with a slight raise of the head as she did so.
Star lore
Terms used for stars, phases of sun and moon, etc., follow:
oo'pish: sun
toyu'nem oo'pish: moon )lit, night sun)
tawa'nish: morning star
tomo'lo'o'lohl: evening star
chaya'tash: star (general)
muxe'ma: Pleiades (lit.,young girls). E.M. disclaimed all knowledge of the take of the girls' flight from their husbands. When this constellation was on the eastern horizon at dawn, the river was deep, but when it was on the western horizon at dusk, it was time to go to the river for the spring salmon run.
soeyo'lui yawachit: eclipse of sun or moon (lit., antelope-place running). Antelope and deer ran a race across the sky from northeast to southwest. Deer won.
watay'lau: a shooting star. Doctors knew something about these, but "plain people wouldn't know."
weh chin chano uhnit: eclipse of sun or moon (lit., Condor eating). The Condor was thought to be eating the luminary; he hid it with his wings. At this time everyone went out and shouted. This shouting was led by the Nutuwich people: "the Nutuwich could holler best, the Tokelyuwich couldn't holler very good." Coyote was not involved in eclipses. When an eclipse of the sun occurred, a horse was killed, in addition to the shouting. The meat was eaten, the carcass being left to attract Condor away from the sun.
Calendar- The year was divided into moon months (yet oopish, a month, lit., one moon) These had special names which E.M. forgets. It contained five weeks, that is, four weeks of six days each, and the dark of the moon (gatai'shi) counted as six days. The week (shu'man, Sp. semana?) is now said to have seven days (new'mchin, seven); the old week was called chu'lupai (cho'lipi, six).
Earthquake- E.M. had never heard of an earthquake in this region. (This is curious since she had such a clear memory of the Ghost Dance in 1870, the year of a violent earthquake in the San Joaquin Valley).
Snake-charm- In the spring men and women wore abalone-shel gorgets, the glittering of which was thought to make rattlesnakes give a warning rattle (snake-charm, chunay'ki).
Paint- The colors and sources were as follows:
ho'such: white. A clay which "the doctors got some place." They would give it to anybody who "wanted to fix up for dances." It was associated with the Tokelyuwich moiety.
hu'iyu: red. This doctors bought from the Western Mono; the Eastern Mono were the ultimate source. It was the Nutuwich color.
sha'lu: black, charcoal.
wa'wun: green (called blue by a Wubonuch informant). It is said to have been introduced by the Paiute who brought the Ghost Dance.
Face patterns E.M. could not describe beyond this statement: that the Tokelyuwich covered the face with white and added two vertical strips of green [black in earlier times?], and that the Nutuwich merely used red horizontal strips. She added that the Tokelyuwich sometimes put white horizontal streaks across their upper arms (but see sweat house dance). Shamans were the usual owners and traders of paint.
Money- Values for clamshell disc beads were: once around the hand without crossing the wrist, 25 cents; five times around the hand, $5.00. This is incongruous, of course (see fig. 14, c, part 1).
Numeral system- The usual Yokuts numerical system, based on 10, was used by Kechayi,m Gashowu,and dumna. E.M. gave the following Kechayi count:
l. yet
2. po'noi
3. so'pin
4. hatpa'nai
5. yichih'nil
6. cho'lippi
7. nu'mchin
8 muh'nosh
In the following Murphy Family and Dumna Links, you will find a variety of interesting related links, including photographs of various hand made Californian Indian baskets which belonged to Pat's great grandmother Ellen (Yet-choo-nook) Murphy which are over 100 years old.
BBasketa BBasketb BBasketc BBasketd LBasketa LBasketb LBasketc
Table Mountain Rancheria File Photo-an official tribal photo taken in Clovis, Ca, 1913 #105 is Ellen (Yet-choo-nook) Murphy and #75 is Ellen Buffalo Murphy, Yet-choo-nook's daughter-in-law and Norma Turner's grandmother
Wilson Women Still working on the names...may be related to Pahmit or the Wilsons from Yosemite
Alternate Names and/or Spellings for Tribal Groups...Dumna, Kechayi
Historical article on Pahmit, Dumna Band
Historical Article Merced Sun Pahmit
Historical article on Dumna and Mono Yokuts
The Dumna and Kechayi Word for "No"
Costanoan Ohlone Indian Canyon Resource
1928 Census Madera County Only
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Clough, Charles W., and twenty-two co-authors, FRESNO COUNTY IN THE 20TH CENTURY, Panorama, West Books, Fresno, Ca, 1986
Gayton, Anne, YOKUTS AND WESTERN MONO ENTHNOGRAPHY
Godfrey, Elizabeth, YOSEMITE INDIANS, Revisions by James Snyder and Craig Bates with cooperation of The American Indian Council of Mariposa County (Southern Sierra Miwok Nation), Yosemite Association in cooperation with the National Park Service, 1941;1973;1977
Heizer, Robert F., Whipple, M.A., THE CALIFORNIA INDIANS, A Source Book, University of California Press, Berkeley, Los Angeles, London,1951,1971
Heizer, Robert F., SEVEN EARLY ACCOUNTS OF POMO INDIANS AND THEIR CULTURE, Archaeological Research Facility, Department of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley, Ca, 1975.
Kientz, Louis D., with intro by Marvin L. Kientz, JUST AROUND HOME AT AUBERRY, Three forests Interpretive Association, Auberry, Ca, 2000. Volume 2 of this book written by Dr. Marvin Kientz is at the publishers and soon to be available. It will have a full chapter of the Murphy Family.(Sep01)
Kroebler, A.L., HANDBOOK OF THE INDIANS OF CALIFORNIA, California Book Company, Berkeley, Ca, 1953;1967
Latta, Frank F., HANDBOOK OF YOKUTS INDIANS, Brewer's Historical Press, Exeter, Ca, Coyote Press, Salinas, Ca, 1949,1999
Lee, Gaylen D., WALKING WHERE WE LIVED, Memoirs of a Mono Indian Family, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Ok, 1998
Margolin, Malcolm, THE WAY WE LIVED, California Indian Reminiscences, Stories, and Songs, Heyday Books, Berkeley, Ca, 1981.
Mayfield, Thomas Jefferson, INDIAN SUMMER, Traditional Life among the Choinumne Indians of California's San Joaquin Valley, Heyday Books, Berkeley, California Historical Society, Ca, 1993.
12/11/04
To contact Pat try her at yet-choo-nook@gerlecreek.com .
