Back in the late 70s or early 80s, I read an article about the ceremony that some of the eastern indians went through before a big hunt and one of the things they did to purify themselvs was to abstain from meat for about a week and sit in the smoke of the campfire. the auther told how he had stopped eating meat for about 10 days and then make sure that he and his clothes were clean, then went out and sat upwind of a deer crossing. he said that when the deer hit his scent stream, they would throw up their heads for a minute, then go on about their business.
with no meat in our systems, do we smell friendly??
my daughter and I (TamaleDolly) are going to try this in Oct. of this year.
has anyone else heard of this??
There were many eastern tribes, and I'd think you'd need to pick a specific one and a specific timeframe before you could hope to get an accurate answer. That said, and with all respect to whoever wrote that, I sincerely doubt it's true. I'm more familiar with the Cherokee and Muscogulge (Creek), and for them hunting was pretty much a daily activity during most of the year. They had other mouths to feed and dried meat to put back for winter, and most of their income for trade came from the deerskins they harvested. There simply wasn't time for a ten day fast before doing something as common as hunting, it would be a financially poor Indian that wasted that much time. They did at times fast briefly before warfare, and normally carried very minimal rations on raids.
There was a book written some years back on Ishi, the "last" of the Yahi tribe in northern California, and he told of fasting for three days (if I remember right) before a hunt. Ishi was on his own, though, and was moreso foraging for a meager existence than leading a normal life. Fasting may have not been altogether his idea. :wink: It may be this reference that you remember, or that was recounted by your source.
