Bear's Den: "You Don't Wanna Go... Plum Crazy"
David Walks-As-Bear
September 04, 2009
Many of us Injuns just call ´em bag-wagi-bages-ahs (wild plums). Yeah, but the word ´plum´ in many modern contexts has come to mean absolute, supreme, best, total, utter, complete, unqualified, unconditional, and extreme. Heck man, back in the 1970´s, Chrysler even had a color purple for their muscle cars called "Plum Crazy". Yes´sir, the word plum, when used in any of these ways, has its origin from a very old carpenter´s or mason´s tool – the plumb bob.
As long as two-leggeds have been building, at least since the time of the Egyptians, anyhow, bricklayers, masons, and carpenters have used this doo-dad to ensure that their constructions are perfectly upright. It´s basically a chunk of fairly heavy weight, often pointed on the tip at the bottom, and suspended from a string. It´s used as a vertical reference line, or plumb-line. The line is something that is, well… all of the words above: absolute, supreme, best, total, utter, complete, unqualified, unconditional, and extreme. So, folks got to calling anything that fit this bill ´plum´, as in say… a plum job, etc. The two spellings are now often interchangeable. And, American Indians used this ´bob´ for construction, too. Historical evidence shows this. Yet, mostly Indians know plums as one of the Creator´s best gifts to us for the many other things they provide.
See, bag-wagi-bages-ahs are related to the family of peaches and cherries. But, of all of the stone or ´pitted´ fruits, it is likely the richest in dietary fiber. Um-hmm. Remember when you were a kid, and all of the old folks you knew were drinking that nasty old prune juice or eating prunes? Man, that was so disgusting to us back then, huh? Well, the reason people consume this little fruit is that it is super effective in improving the digestive system. Yes´um, and as we all know, the older we get the tougher this little area of life can be at times, eh. Plums and their dried form, ´prunes´ are high in unique phytonutrients called neochlorogenic and chlorogenic acid. Yep, and their function is that of an anti-oxidant and is of much benefit for a two-legged, old or young. Eating plums helps in the production and absorption of iron in the body, which leads to better blood circulation, and boy, that leads to the growth of healthy tissues. Kind´a neat, huh? The chobekas (medicine people) say that regular consumption of plums will prevent macular degeneration and any other infection of the eye in the long run. They advise that your eyes will be healthy and strong for longer and that you´ll retain sharp eye-sight. Hmm? I don´t know about you, but I always wondered why Gerber made so much of their pudding-like baby food out of prunes in those little jars for the poor babies. But, ya know, our little ones always thought it was tasty. I reckon the Great Mystery knows what He´s doing. Yes´sir, and science seems to be noticing that fact, too.
Researchers have even found that plums have anti-cancer agents that may help prevent the growth of cancerous cells and tumors in the body. Eating plums also reduces your chances of contracting a heart disease in the long run. Plums even have certain cleansing agents that keep the blood pure and also prevent complications of the heart. Plums have high content of Vitamin C, and that protects against health conditions like asthma, colon cancer, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.
Plums play a large role in American Indian culture and, therefore, history. First of all, they were a solid food source. In the northern parts of America, the wild red plum (P. americana) was the standard. It´s the leading member of the Prunus family. It´s found along streams and in thickets from the Rocky Mountains to the East coast. It´s a small, sweet fruit and usually has a white to purple bloom in the spring. Years ago, I transplanted one into the yard for our daughter, Snow Hawk. It´s one of her favorites, and I´ll tote some fruit to her this weekend. Yep, the plum was utilized by Indians who ate it raw, cooked, and dried; when dried, it was a staple of their diet used for travel food and for extra nutrition in stews throughout the year.
Since plums were so much a part of Indian life, and were highly prized, they were often incorporated into teaching stories. The Sioux have one about Spider and two widow women who had young infants. You´bet´cha, and this here… is the American Indian form of ´plum crazy´. It´s a gruesome tale so I´ll leave out those tidbits. In essence, a bad unktomi (Sioux for spider) came into the women´s lodge and gave them some beautiful red wild plums. The women were very excited and asked where the Spider had found them. He told them and said that he would be glad to watch their babies if they wanted to go and fetch some. They should´ve known better, but off they went. The spider killed their little ones and got away from the ladies, down a hole in the ground when they returned. He returned again disguised as a different visitor. The women sorrowfully told the new visitor what spider had done and the visitor (Spider) went into the hole, supposedly after him. He made a ruckus in the hole, scratched up his face, and then came out. He told the grieving women that Spider was dead down there, and they could go in and take revenge upon his body if they liked. The angry women went into the hole, and Unktomi built a fire over it, killing them, too. So, the moral of this story is that you must always protect your young – always. To do otherwise is not morally right or… sane. Yep, and if you´re not careful… you can go… well… just plum crazy!
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David Walks-As-Bear is an Inter-Tribal Elder and Kispoko Shawnee Indian. He works as a private game warden and detective captain and is a novelist and syndicated newspaper columnist living in Northwest Michigan. Contact him at The White Lake Beacon: 231-894-5356 or visit his website at: www.Walks-As-Bear.com
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