Mondo's NAT #257 - Kawchodinne Traditional Cache
Mondo's NAT #257 - Kawchodinne
-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(small)
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
Native American Tribes series.
Kawchodinne (ka 'hare', cho 'great', dinne 'people': 'people of the great hares')
An Athapascan tribe dwelling north of Great Bear lake, Mackenzie Territory, Canada, on Mackenzie river, the lakes east of it, and Anderson river. Mackenzie said they were a small tribe residing on Peace river, who spoke the language of the Chipewyan and derived their name from the Arctic hare, their chief means of support. At another time he placed them on Porcupine river, Alaska. They are described as a thickset people, who subsist partly on fish and reindeer, but obtain their clothing and most of their food from the hares that abound in their country. Their language differs little from that of the Etchareottine, while their style of dress and their customs are the same, although through long intercourse with the traders, for whom they have great respect, most of the old customs and beliefs of the tribe have become extinct. They are on friendly terms with the Eskimo.
The Kawchodinne have a legend of the formation of the earth by the muskrat and the beaver. The dead are deposited in a rude cage built above ground, the body being wrapped in a blanket or a moose skin; the property of relatives is destroyed, and their hair is cut as a sign of mourning. When the supply of hares becomes exhausted, as it frequently does, they believe these mount to the sky by means of the trees and return in the same way when they reappear. Polygamy is now rare. They are a peaceable tribe, contrasting with their Kutchin neighbors. In personal combat they grasp each other by their hair, which they twist round and round until one of the contestants falls to the ground. They are not so numerous as formerly, a great many having died from starvation in 1841, at which time numerous acts of cannibalism are said to have occurred. In 1858 Ross (MS. , B. A. E.) gave the population as 467; 291 males, 176 females.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Jryy uvqqra haqre ebpx; cersbez
Treasures
You'll collect a digital Treasure from one of these collections when you find and log this geocache:
Loading Treasures