-------------------- gooschow -- soaproot ----------------------

gooschow -- soaproot (Chlorogalum pomeridianum) (http://plants.montara.com/ListPages/FamPages/Lilia2.html#chlpom)

Pronunciation:
  Like "GOAS-choe" or "GAWS-chaw" (Listen)

Etymology:
  goos comes from a word meaning camas (a type of edible bulb plant) in other Athabaskan languages, but does not appear to be used in Cahto.
  -chow is the augmentative suffix, in other words, a suffix that means "big, large"
  Thus gooschow means, literally, "big camas".

Culture:

  Gooschow bulbs were dug up, cleaned, cooked for a long time in pit-ovens, and eaten by the Cahto and other peoples.

  Aabii! (Cahto for "Be careful!") The raw or improperly cooked bulbs are somewhat poisonous. Many of the Californian peoples (possibly including the Cahto) put the raw bulbs in fishing holes to stun the fish and make them float to the surface where they could be caught by hand.

  The coarsely fibrous covering of the gooschow bulb was made into hairbrushes and brushes for use when pounding acorns and other seeds.

Related Languages:

  Words for soaproot:
    Nongatl, Sinkyone, Wailaki: gooskyow
    Lassik: goskyow
    Mattole: gooshow
    Hupa: qus-kyoh
  
  Words for camas:
    Wailaki: goos
    Lassik: goos
    Hupa: qos

-------------------------
Sally Anderson
sally@turtlenodes.com
Cahto Language Home Page: http://www.turtlenodes.com/calath/caindex.html