WAR AND PEACE
Wars were commonly small scale encounters and might be either within
tribes or between tribes. Atsugewi were not often aggressive. Most
tribes at one time or another had differences with neighboring tribes,
but friendly relations were usually re-established soon. Certain tribes,
however, were repeatedly or traditionally enemies, as for instance,
Klamath, Paiute, or Modoc against Atsugewi; Washoe against mountain
Maidu; Achomawi or Wintun against the Yana tribes; and mountain Maidu or
Wintun against Yahi. Tribes sometimes helped each other in wars, and
either payment or reciprocal aid was usually forthcoming.
Causes of hostilities in the Lassen area were usually revenge for
murders (if uncompensated), abduction of women and children, or insults
to chiefs. Mountain Maidu, Yana, and Yahi also waged wars on account of
poaching, rape, alleged witchcraft, and the like. All able bodied men
normally went to war, but mountain Maidu left some at home to protect
the women.
Chiefs generally did not participate in the fighting although they often
went along on the war expedition. Instead of leading the battles
themselves, chiefs appointed special warrior leaders who were principal
targets of the opposition. Such battle leaders were often head-men, but
always were men competent to lead the fight and who had good arrow
dodging power.
Shamans habitually went to war, but did not fight actively except on
occasion. They were busy singing during battle and urging the warriors
on or exhorting supernatural help. The Atsugewi shaman reportedly
“stayed behind a tree all the time giving out his power”.
Preparation for war consisted of practicing dodging arrows, shooting
arrows, in some cases at effigies, and in dancing. The main purpose of
the preparation was to incite enthusiasm for the fight. This was so
successful that quite a commotion developed in the community, to the
extent that such incidents occurred as warriors with knives chasing
women and a man shooting his own dog with an arrow! Preparatory war
dances were held outside near the villages. Both men and women
participated and shamans sang. Mountain Maidu sustained their dances for
several days. Warriors spoke to their arrows addressing them as persons.
Atsugewi men painted themselves with white and black stripes on faces,
limbs, and bodies. Yana used red and white war paint. Mountain Maidu
wore head nets and bands. Dried untanned skins of bear, elk, and such
were worn at dances as well as in battle, as were waistcoat armors of
strong vertical sticks lashed together. Leather helmets were worn by
some warriors.
The enemy was usually attacked just at dawn using the element of
surprise to the fullest extent possible. Some battles were pre-arranged
in which a number of participants faced each other in well formed lines.
Such conflicts were subject to “calling off” if too many men were
injured or killed. Serious raids, however, did not give quarter and men,
women, and children were killed. Booty was taken and scalps, too, were
stripped from fallen victims. Scalps were later burned by Atsugewi, but
mountain Maidu dried human scalps on frames. This tribe also took entire
heads from bodies on occasion. Prisoners were taken too: Atsugewi not
infrequently adopted captured children. Captive women might be
mistreated and raped, then killed. Adult prisoners might escape with
relative ease because there was no suitable way to confine them
permanently, and some were returned voluntarily.
While the war party was away on its expedition, the women at home danced
individually in the manner of the war dance. They sang and prayed to
help the men at war. Atsugewi women dancers carried feathers, bows, and
arrows, but rattles were not used in these morale dances.
Upon return of the war party a victory dance was held in or near the
village in the open air. Men and women danced independently, but
together at the same time. Atsugewi men painted themselves red and white
instead of the black and white used for the pre-war dance. They wore
headdresses of all sorts and the warriors carried their bows, arrows,
armor, and other fighting gear while dancing. The victory dance took
place around a fire. Next to the fire Atsugewi planted a short pole on
which the new scalps were displayed while mountain Maidu danced with the
scalps secured to hand-carried sticks. It is worth noting that while
some readers may consider this gloating over human scalps to be a
primitive morbidity, it is true that often white men—the very pioneers
we eulogize—took and coveted human scalps themselves.
Warriors, particularly those who had killed adversaries, purified
themselves by swimming, rubbing aromatic plants on their bodies, praying
for luck. They did not eat meat for from a few to many days, depending
on the tribe. Among Atsugewi they also sweated with the same end in
view, and women brushed the men’s bodies with plant materials to aid the
purification process.
Surprisingly, the eating of hot foods and any form of meat was taboo to
wounded warriors. This seems strange, since these are the very foods
which we consider beneficial to injured persons.
When an attack appeared likely upon an Atsugewi village, the whole
population retired to high ground which was easily defended. Such sites
were prepared in advance and might be considered crude forts as they
were surrounded by rock walls and provided with shelters for the
non-combatants.
In intertribal wars there was usually no compensation as such made where
the encounter had been motivated by the satisfaction of securing
revenge. In the case of feuds or murders within the tribe payment was
made to relatives of the slain. If persons on both sides were slain
compensation was made for all the dead. The chief or head-man supervised
the peace negotiations. Payment was usually in beads or money, but
Atsugewi sometimes paid off in women or in the amount of the usual price
of a bride. In this tribe too, the amount of compensation was made
according to the wealth of the victim. A poor man’s life was not
considered to be worth as much as a rich man’s. Atsugewi had a
settlement dance meeting in which both sides were present and wore
fighting regalia. These dancers disarmed themselves after the payment
had been made.