The Mescal Bean Cult of the Central and Southwest Plains: An Ancestor of the Peyote Cult?
- Source: American Anthropologist (Vol 59 No 1 1957)
- Author: James H. Howard
Summary
Anthropologist James H. Howard discusses the indigenous use of the mescal bean among the Tonkawa, Wichita, Ponca, Pawnee, Osage, Oto, Kansa, Omaha, Iowa, Delaware, Comanche, and Apache peoples.
He notes the similarities of the rites across tribal cultures while also addressing the distinguishing features among them, and even sketches the positioning of participants in a traditional mescal bean rite.
Howard’s article falls within the trend in mid-20th century American scholarship when anthropologists, historians, and biographers en masse sought to understand indigenous beliefs rather than criticize them.