POMO

Hokan-speaking Californian Indians of the west coast of the United States. Their territory was centred in the Russian River valley some 50 to 100 miles (80 to 160 km) north of what is now San Francisco. The Pomo's territory also included the adjacent coastlands and the interior highlands near Clear Lake. A small, detached group lived in the Sacramento River valley surrounded by Wintun (q.v.). The Pomo were a wealthy people, well-supplied with food and other natural resources. Fish, waterfowl, deer, acorns, bulb plants, and other food were plentiful. Northeastern settlements held a lucrative salt deposit. Southeastern settlements had magnesite, a substance that, along with ground shells, was made into beads used as standard currency in north-central California. Pomo basketry, considered by some to be the finest in California, was exceptionally well twined and intricately ornamented, using various woody materials, beads, and coloured feathers. Their housing depended on locale: coastal people constructed dwellings of heavy timber and bark; inland peoples built various types of dwellings out of such materials as poles, brush, grass, and tule mats. The Pomo practiced the Kuksu cult, a ceremonial religion involving secret societies, esoteric dances and rituals, and impersonations of spirits. There were also ceremonies for such things as ghosts, coyotes, and thunder. There were probably about 900 Pomo remaining in the late 20th century, living in some 20 communities in their original territory.