Page 75 - TheHopiIndians

MESA FOLK OF HOPILAND 67

around old hanunerstones, corn dodgers, pats of corn-
meal mush wrapped in corn husk and boiled or baked,
and many other styles of food that would seem
strange to other than a Hopi epicure.
When it is time to dine, a large bowl of stew is
placed on the floor as the piece de resistance and beside
it a tray of piki. Each member of the family breaks
off a piece of piki, and, holding it between thumb and
finger, it is dragged through the stew much like a
seine to catch as many particles of meat as possible,
then deposited far back in the mouth so that the stew
adhering to the fingers may be cleared off with a re
sounding smack of the lips. A traveler to Hopi in
1869 describes a more formal meal which consisted of
mutton, dried peaches, blue piki, coffee, and a drink
made by steeping the roasted heart of agave in water.
This writer says :
You take a small piece, lay a fragment of mutton
and some peaches upon it or a little of the sweet
liquid and bolt the mass, spoon and all. This dinner,
though prepared and cooked by Indians, tasted better
than many a meal eaten by us in border settlements
cooked by whites.
Hopi women assiduously gather the seeds of grasses
and other plants, which they grind up and add to
corn-meal to improve the flavor of the bread, or, per
haps, a prized bread is made entirely of the ground
seed of some desert plant. Oily seeds, such as those
of the pinon, pumpkin, and melons are ground to form
shortening in various cakes and to add richness to