Culture in “Castaways” by Cabeza de Vaca (Essay Sample)

Culture in "Castaways" by Cabeza de Vaca Name: Units: Date: Culture in "Castaways" by Cabeza de Vaca "Castaways" was written on the counts of a journey to that led to the exploration of North America. Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca was a Spanish nobleman who happened to be in the Spanish military. The expedition is recounted by him when they set out to conquer land all the way from Florida to Mexico to end up under Spanish rule CITATION Alv07 \l 2057 (Vaca, 2007). A few travel hitches on the way led to a shipwreck and the death of some of the men he was with. For his survival, Alvar Nunez saw it fit to join the native communities as he headed to the west. He learnt their ways and customs and at times identified himself with them. He even worked as a healer for them. He describes some of the cultural practices and beliefs that the natives he encountered took part in. When they arrived in Florida, they witnessed the signs of idolatry. The Indians, they captured had cases which had the bodies of dead men inside CITATION Alv07 \l 2057 (Vaca, 2007). The dead men were wrapped in painted deer skin. The Indians proceeded to burn the bodies inside the cases. This may have been a form of sacrifice to their native gods. From Florida to Apalache, the natives were subsistence maize farmers. Alvar Nunez talks of maize that was not ready to be picked in Florida. In Apalache, they found adequate maize grown in maize fields and ripe for harvesting and even some dried. The natives consumed the maize grounded in mortars. On the 6th of November when they hit the shore, they met a different kind of native Indians. These Indians were fishermen and gathered roots that they used for food. At Malhado, the Indians also ate roots and fish occasionally. The Yeguazes deer, fish, lizards, worms, spiders, snakes and earth and wood especially in cases of extreme famine. When threatened, the native had their own methods of defence. The native Indians in Florida and theYeguazes were archers. Owing to their big physical stature, the arrows they dispatched travelled at high speed and resulted in serious injury if not death. After they left the Bay of Horses, they came upon the Indians that used clubs and stones in slings to defend themselves. It is intriguing that instead of using the clubs for beating like most people would think of, these Indians threw them at the threat. The dressing of these natives varied. For instance, the Indian natives in Florida were used to being close to naked. This may be due to their large bodies. Alvar Nunez thought they looked like giants from afar. After they departed the Bay of Horses, Alvar and his group were accosted by native Indians who wanted their friends back. These Indians had a different kind of dressing. They wore blankets made of martens with ties made from lion skin. At the island of Malhado and from the Yeguazes, Alvar and the company came across Indians that put great detail in ornaments. The men had pierced nipples with a cane through them. A piece of cane was also worn through a piercing on the lower lip. Indians from the other side of Malhado Island preferred to walk naked except for their women who used moss from trees and deer skin to cover only a portion of their bodies. This particular group of Indians from Malhado had a very intense and peculiar way of mourning for a dead child unlike the unsentimental Yeguazes. Alvar thinks they really valued their children. Mourning for a dead son involved everyone, the parents started the wail just before sunrise followed by the rest of the village repeating this at dusk for a whole year. This style of mourning is unique and may not have been witnessed anywhere else in the world. After a year of mourning, they bury their dead and burn physicians. This custom was one of the cultural practices that picked up great interest in the book. Moving from Malhado, they came upon Indians with another peculiar custom. Chil...