NOTES FROM "THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN" BY EDWARD S. CURTIS
VOLUME 2- THE MARICOPA
LANGUAGE: Yuman
LOCATION: Arizona-The Maricopa lived by the Colorado river in Arizona, and later along the Gila river.
DRESS: Men wore a breech cloth. Women wore cloth wrapped from upper body to knees. Both sexes painted their bodies.
DWELLINGS: The Maricopa house was circular, similar to the Pima's, thatched with brush and covered with mud. Four posts were planted to support the roof timbers, which in turn supported the sloping wall poles.
RELIGION AND CEREMONIES: The major ceremonies of the Mohave, "Maturity" and Mourning." They are highly influenced in this fashion by the Yuma and to some degree, the Pima. The Maricopas after life belief is that the souls of the dead are believed to be escorted by those of deceased relatives to "Home of Spirits," west Yuma, where they enjoy good crops, wine, and dancing.
QUOTES FROM "THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN:" "The Maricopa are a small tribe of Yuman stock living as neighbors of the Pima, chiefly in the valley of the Gila in southern Arizona, although a few make their home on the Salt River reservation east of Phoenix... The Maricopa are a sedentary, agricultural people. The principal crop of their small irrigated farms is wheat, which they grind into coarse flower on the metate, or hand mealing stone."
"...The fruit of the giant cactus, found in unlimited quantities, is still one of their (the Maricopa) staples. This strange creation of the plant world blooms in early spring and ripens its fruit in June and July. Using a long pole with a wooden blade at the end, the women cut the fruit from the plant and carry it to the settlements in large baskets. The fruit is eaten fresh, dried, made into jelly, or preserved. They also make quantities of wine from it, first boiling the fruit, then draining the juice into large jars, which are kept in a heated house for a week to ferment."
"The Maricopa attach much the same importance to dreams as do the Mohave. So great is their faith in the revelations derived from them that to wish a friend 'good luck' in the Maricopa language one must say 'good dreams' - 'sumashnhot.'"