Fishing appears to be far less subject to ritualization among the Washo
than was hunting. Here again there may be a correspondence between the
amount of ritual and the degree of certainty involved in obtaining the
desired food. The Washo area is rated by Rostlund as being one of the
higher fish-producing areas in North America. Certainly the many lakes,
streams, and rivers were the source of great amounts of fish every year.
Indians who could at most be described as only middle-aged, recount the
tremendous numbers of fish which swept up the streams from Lake Tahoe
during the spawning season. While the numbers may have varied from year to
year, the large number of fish plus the intensive fishing methods employed
by the Washo almost guarantee a large catch.
However, d’Azevedo reports that Northern Washo describe some degree of
ritualism connected with fishing (d’Azevedo personal communication).
Dreamers are said to have predicted the day of the spawning run. Dances
were held and prayers said, suggesting a rather attenuated first-fish
ceremony for some of the Washo (2618). Other Washo report “big times,”
which included dancing and prayer, during the spring gathering on the
lake. However, in the actual catching of fish there was much less ritual.
Some fishermen carried a fishing medicine composed of dried larvae of the
_Ephydra hians_ (Say), called _kutsavi_ by the Paiute (Heizer 1950) and
_matsi babaša_ by the Washo. These larvae were obtained from the Mono Lake
Paiute in trade or as gifts. They were considered good food and are still
eaten by some Washo. However, in addition they were credited with having
great powers to lure fish and were rubbed on harpoons, hooks, and lines.
Perhaps this material was considered a fish medicine because these larvae
are said to be generated from the scales of a giant fish. This leviathan
is reported to have traveled through all the lakes in the Sierran area
looking for a lake large enough in which to live. At Mono Lake it scraped
some scales into the water before it left to find a permanent home in Lake
Tahoe (Steward 1936). Whether the Washo share this story with the Owens
Valley Paiute, I do not know, but Mono Lake, because of its saline water
and its lack of any fish life, is thought of with some fear and awe. Today
I get the impression that some Washo still keep a bit of this material
with their fishing gear, although they are apt to rationalize it as a lure
rather than real medicine. It should be remembered that hook-and-line or
spear fishing accounted for a much smaller percentage of the total annual
take than did trapping, damning, netting, or other communal methods which
entailed no ritual.