There once was a young artist who lived with an ancient tribe of people in a very cold land. Because it was so cold for most of the year, the people had to work very hard to gather enough food in the warm weather to sustain themselves throughout the long and cold winter. This made them all very grumpy because they were so tired from always working. And everyone had to work--all day every day with no exception. But our little artist didn’t want to work or snare animals or make jerky or clean hides. He wanted to paint and sculpt and carve. He would often sneak away to do so but he always got caught, and when he did, his mother would beat him with a cattail from the pond near their home.
One late Spring day his whole family decided to go on a long
fishing trip to gather enough fish to dry for the winter. His mother left him at home to tidy the house
and repair the outside cellar door so what little food they had left in storage
would be safe until they could gather more.
As soon as they all left, the young artist ran out to collect berries to
make a deep purple paint for a basket he had made. While he was out, he found beautiful feathers,
soft clay, and hundreds of colored and speckled eggshells. He spent a long time collecting them all,
dreaming of the things he would make with them.
But he was horrified when he got home because an animal had
gotten into the cellar and eaten all that was left of their food. He was beside himself with grief thinking of
how much his family would suffer for what his mother always called his “stupidity,”
not to mention the beating he would get when they returned. He decided that the least he could do was
gather the cattails his mother would need to beat him. So he went down to the pond and gathered as
many as he could carry. And then he went
and got more and more and more.
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| Cattail (Typha) |
When his mother returned, she saw what had happened and was
furious, calling him “stupid” again. His
sorrow was so great that he showed her the cattails and asked her to beat him
to death for being an artist instead of a hard worker like his siblings. Of course, she wasn’t going to beat him to
death, but she did want to give him quite a spanking. So she grabbed a cattail and hit him very
hard on his behind (where he had packed a lot of clay in his back pockets that
he had gathered earlier, so it didn’t hurt too badly). But when she did so, the cattail burst open
and there was a beautiful white center inside.
It smelled wonderful and fresh and she decided to taste it, and it tasted
wonderful too.
Soon everyone grabbed a cattail and peeled it open, only to
find a wonderful center inside that could be eaten straight away. They also found it could be boiled and made
into many foods. When they ran down to
the pond to get more, they pulled them straight up from the root and found that
the rhizome was fleshy and starchy and delicious. Soon they had more food than they knew what
to do with! They gathered it all, ate it
fresh, boiled it, and dried and pounded the roots into flour for breads.
Of course, this changed the whole tribe’s way of living, and
they didn’t forget that it was the young artist who had led them to this
newfound food that soon became a staple in their lives. They allowed him to paint and sculpt and
decorate their homes with bright colors and pretty objects, which filled all of
their hearts with joy. And now that
their stomachs were fuller, they had more time to enjoy the beauty that the
young man could create. From then on,
they no longer looked at his quirkiness as “stupid,” but instead praised him
for his cleverness. He couldn’t care
less about any of their praise but was absolutely thrilled that he had a new
job as the tribe decorator. Not to
mention that it did feel good to have a full belly, too.
(Immature cattails--before they turn brown--are a miraculous
source of food. They can be peeled and
used as a wonderful vegetable. They can
be eaten raw or boiled or streamed like asparagus. They’re great in stir fries as well. You can slice them thin and put them on
sandwiches. They’re loaded with
vitamins, minerals, and a surprising amount of protein. You can dig the rhizomes up, clean them, dry
them, and pound them into a nice flour.
Additionally, the “jelly” that you’ll find inside when you peel the
cattail can be used on sores, boils, and skin irritations. It helps to soothe pain.)
