YOKUTS

also called Mariposan, California Indians speaking a language of Penutian stock who historically inhabited the San Joaquin Valley and the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada south of the Fresno River. The Yokuts were divided into tribes, perhaps as many as 50, each having a dialect, territory, and name of its own. The Yokuts gathered such plant foods as seeds and roots but were also hunters, with elaborate systems for snaring deer and running down antelope and elk to shoot them with bow and arrow. The most characteristic Yokuts dwelling was the mat-covered communal house inhabited by 10 families or more. In addition, flat roofs were erected on poles for shade. Clothing was simple: men wore loincloths or went naked; women wore fringed aprons front and back. Chiefs headed tribes and villages. In addition to wealth, they were expected to have more than the usual knowledge, especially in religious matters. The office was hereditary and could be held by women. Two other important offices were those of jester, or clown, and of undertaker, usually a male transvestite whose exclusive function was to prepare bodies for burial or cremation. Polygamy was socially acceptable among the Yokuts, but it was rarely practiced. Yokuts ceremonies included puberty rite for boys, involving use of the hallucinogen toloache, made from the jimsonweed. Other ceremonies, including one to prevent rattlesnake bites, were performed by shamansmedicine men who also participated in intertribal contests of shamanistic power.