Basketry of the Mission Indians, Photograph by Edward Curtis, The North American Indian Pl. 502 [1926] (Public Domain Image)

The Culture of the Luiseño Indians by Philip Stedman Sparkman [1908]

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Contents Start Reading Page Index

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The earth hears you, the sky and wood-mountain see you. If you will believe this you will grow old. And you will see your sons and daughters, and you will counsel them in this manner, when you reach your old age.--Lecture given to initiated boys. p. 223

This monograph is a posthumous publication; the author died in 1907. Sparkman spent years studying the Luiseño people, who resided in the approximate area of Orange County in California. The text mostly covers material culture, but includes descriptions of shamans and healing plants, folklore and mythological creatures, as well as puberty and mourning ceremonies. It appears that Sparkman had a special interest in ethnobotany, and there is an appendix with a listing of the most important plants in the area, with Latin and Luiseño nomenclature, and a description of their use by Native Californians.

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Title Page
Contents
Editor's Note
Introduction
Vegetable Food
Flesh and Hunting
Fishing
Clothing
Pottery
Articles Made of Plant Fibers
Bows and Arrows
Stone Implements
Feather Objects
Fire Making
Gums, Dyes, and Paint
Miscellaneous Arts
Games
Houses
Marriage
Government
Shamanism
Changichnish, The Raven
Spirits and Monsters
Boys’ Puberty Ceremonies
Girls’ Puberty Ceremonies
Mourning Ceremonies and Mourning
Appendix: Plants Used by the Luiseños