Title: Parched corn travelling food ... uninhq'' da`
 Categories: Native, Canadian
      Yield: 1 Servings
 
           No Ingredients Found
 
  There was apparently no more popular travelling or hunting food than
  this preparation in olden times.  It was light, nourishing, and could
  be eaten either cooked or raw. It is rarely used at present, except
  on certain ceremonial occasions, such as False-Face Society functions.
  
  In making it, the white Tuscarora and other kinds of bread corn are
  employed.  The ripe corn is shelled, parched slightly in the embers,
  as for popping, thrown into the mortar, some maple sugar added, and
  the whole pounded and sifted together to a rather fine meal. When
  intended for pudding or soups, rather than for eating raw, the maple
  sugar may be left out.  Dried fruit, such as cherries, is said to
  have been pulverized with it at times. Sugar is not used when the
  food is intended for hunters or for athletes, as it would make them
  dizzy (the sugar being derived from the maple, the branches of which
  sway about in the wind). The uninhq''da' is also at times mixed up
  with chopped meat. It was prepared for use in several ways.  It might
  be eaten raw in small quantities, though more than a small handful
  was considered dangerous without cooking, on account of its tendency
  to swell. On hunting expeditions or in time of war a small wooden cup
  or bowl was carried along. A little water was taken in this and a
  small amount of the meal added. When game was found or when the enemy
  was vanquished, it was added to the venison or other provisions
  secured. John Bartram, in "Observations Made by John Bartram in His
  Journey From Pennsylvania to Onondaga, Oswego and the Lake Ontario in
  Canada" (London, 1751), at p. 71 notes of this food that "... about
  one-quarter of a pound, diluted in a pint of water, is a hearty
  travelling dinner." Historical references to the food are numerous,
  showing conclusively its common use throughout the Iroquois and
  Algonkin region as reported by Robert Beverly in "The History and
  Present State of Virginia" (London, 1705) at p. 155. At pp. 162-164
  in Samuel de Champlain's "Voyages of Samuel de Champlain" (Prince
  Society ed., Boston, 1878-1882) he states that very dry Indian corn
  was used in its manufacture. It was roasted in ashes, brayed to a
  meal and, in preparing it for food, they cooked a large quantity of
  fish and meat, cut it into pieces, skimmed off the fat, and added the
  meal of roasted corn, cooking the whole to a thick soup.  This was
  among the Huron and eastern Algonkins. At p. 155 of the
  above-referenced "The History and Present State of Virginia," Robert
  Beverly also furnishes some information: The Indians of Virginia
  frequently took with them on their journeys "a Pint or Quart of
  Rockahomonie, that is, the finest Indian corn, parched and beaten to
  a powder. When they find their stomachs empty (and cannot stay the
  tedious Cookery of other things) they put about a spoonful of this
  into their Mouths, and drink a Draught of Water upon it, which stays
  in their stomachs." A Tonawanda informant described its use by Seneca
  athletes in running.  A decoction should also be prepared of the toad
  rush, Juncus bufonius, the fact of its growing beside the runner's
  pathway being considered significant.  A handful of the plant is
  steeped in nearly a pailful of water.  The idea is to provoke
  vomiting. The person using it must drink about two quarts the first
  time, vomit, drink the same quantity, and vomit again.  The face and
  body are also washed with the liquid. This is done about three times
  during the week before the race. Only sweet milk and Indian corn
  bread, agwe''aw'`a''gwa' (Seneca), are to be eaten. A quantity of the
  scorched cornmeal is carried along to eat while running, a little
  being taken now and again. The Seneca name for the meal is
  "wade''sondak one'q," or "burnt corn." Mrs. John Williams of
  Caughnawaga gave "wanaha'sa o'nasde'" as a Mohawk equivalent. Source:
  "Iroquois Foods and Food Preparations, Memoir 86, No. 12,
  Anthropological Series" by F. W. Waugh, (Ottawa Government Printing
  Bureau, 1916), pp. 88-90 Shared