article

Maricopa foods: a native taxonomic system

International journal of American linguistics34 (1) • Published In 1968 • Pages: 16-20

By: Frisch, Jack A..

Abstract
This article is a discussion of how foods are classified, beginning with the Maricopa distinction between "anything that is edible or [n]čamač[/n] (food)" and "things that are not edible." Within the domain of [n]čamač[/n], the Maricopa identify a number of additional categories, defined both syntactically and semantically. The central argument is that these categories are lexical sets that are mutually exclusive, contrasting at the same level of classification. [n]Čamač[/n] includes, at the next lower level, items defined by the verb form they take in a sentence. The author elaborates this distinction by discussing the layers of meanings the Maricopa attribute to the phrase "I am eating." A similar distinction is noted to occur in Navajo.
Subjects
Cultural identity and pride
Diet
Eating
Ethnobotany
Food preparation
culture
Maricopa
HRAF PubDate
2015
Region
North America
Sub Region
Southwest and Basin
Document Type
article
Evaluation
Creator Type
Anthropologist
Document Rating
4: Excellent Secondary Data
5: Excellent Primary Data
Analyst
Teferi Abate Adem ; 2014
Field Date
Not specified
Coverage Date
1950-1966
Coverage Place
Gila River and Salt River Reservations, Maricopa and Pinal counties, Arizona, United States
Notes
Jack A. Frisch
Published at Waverly Press by Indiana University, under the auspices of the Linguist Society of America, American Anthropological Association with the cooperation of the Conference on American Indian Languages
Includes bibliographical references
LCCN
22009284
LCSH
Maricopa Indians