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Polygamy is common, but as a rule the wives of one man are sisters, an arrangement conducive to domestic harmony.


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Primitive Foods—No tribe is more capable of living on the natural products of their pristine haunts than the Apache. Whether allowed to live peacefully in the river valleys or driven in war to seek protection of impenetrable mountains, nature provided amply for their support; for practically all the flora and fauna indigenous to the Southwest are considered food by the Apache. (See the list in the vocabulary.)


Find out what are some traditional Navajo foods still eaten today? What are some traditional Navajo foods from the past, but not commonly eaten today? What are the various foods prepared from a sheep?

The principal food is mutton, boiled, and corn prepared in many ways. Considerable flour obtained from traders is consumed; this is leavened slightly and made into small cakes, which are cooked over the embers like Mexican tortillas.

The four days preceding the night of the ceremony are days of abstinence; only such foods as mush and bread made from corn-meal may be eaten, nor may they contain any salt.

To indulge in viands of a richer nature would be to invite laziness and an ugly form at a comparatively early age. The girl must also refrain from scratching her head or body, for marks made by her nails during this period would surely become ill-looking scars.

All the women folk in the hogán begin grinding corn on the first day and continue at irregular intervals until the night of the third, when the meal is mixed into batter for a large corn-cake, which the mother bakes in a sort of bean-hole outside the hogán.

The four days preceding the night of the ceremony are days of abstinence; only such foods as mush and bread made from corn-meal may be eaten, nor may they contain any salt. To indulge in viands of a richer nature would be to invite laziness and an ugly form at a comparatively early age.

The girl must also refrain from scratching her head or body, for marks made by her nails during this period would surely become ill-looking scars. All the women folk in the hogán begin grinding corn on the first day and continue at irregular intervals until the night of the third, when the meal is mixed into batter for a large corn-cake, which the mother bakes in a sort of bean-hole outside the hogán.

Foods (Primitive)
English Apache Jicarilla Navaho
acorns chĭd-jí̆l na-tó-ka-tsĕ ché̆-chĭl bi-ná
antelope já-gĕ ta-gá-tĕ jú̆-dĭ
beans (native) bé̆s-tsoz ná-o-hlĕ-tsos-tĕt nú̆-o-hlĭ
cedar berries dĭl-tú-hla du-tlí̆sh-ĭ kal-tú-stĕ-ih dit-zé̆
corn na-tán na-tán na-tán
deer bin bi^{n) bin
elk bin nal-dé̆ tzĕs tzĕ
grapes (wild) dŭh-tsá tŭt-zé̆ tŭt-zé̆
juniper berries dĭl-tú-hla chĭl-há-zhĕ
mescal (agave) ná-ta ná-ta ná-ta
mountain sheep dĕ-bé̆-chụ zi-dĕ-bé̆ tsĕ-tú̆-dĕ-bĕ
piñon nuts o-bé̆ nĕs-chí nĕs-chí
potatoes (wild) ĭlh-tsú si-tsí̆n-nĭ pi-ji-né̆ ná-ma-si
prairie-dogs ăn klun klun
pumpkins bĕlh-kún na-yí-zĕ na-yĭ-zĭ-chí
rabbits (jack) gah-chú gah-tsó gah-tsó
rabbits (cottontail) gah-chi-lé̆ gah-chĭ-shé̆ gah
rats (wood) klosh-chú klé̆-tso klĕ-é̆-tso
squash gó-chi bĕlh-kún na-yí-zĕ na-yí̆-zĭ
yucca fruit gu-skú̆n kash-kán kŭsh-kán