35. Poison

The symbol of the owl, in the tradition of western art, is the bearer of knowledge and the messenger of death.

Today I visited the Mountains Restoration Trust with my daughters to learn how the Chumash Indians lived off of the mountain surrounding the San Fernando Valley.

Supposedly the Chumash believed that every member of the tribe should contribute to the daily work that needed to be accomplished in order for the tribe to flourish. On average this amounted to 4 hours and then the rest of the day could be spent at rest or play. Sounds like a wonderful way to live.

Any member of the tribe had the right to refuse to participate in contributing to the greater good however they would also be subject to retaliation from other members of the tribe. This was often done by slipping them a deadly tea made from the wild nightshade plant that is indigenous to the area. It was potent... it usually did the trick. No slackers.

Poison oak is also indigenous to the area. Supposedly a wonderful dye could be made from the plant for the finely crafted Chumash woven baskets. The problem was collecting the poison oak a plant that causes nasty allergic reactions in most people.  The Chumash people figured out that by ingesting very small amounts of young poison oak leaves one could develop a resistant to the poison and hence become immune.

The Chumash considered the elderberry bush a musical bush. The trunk could be hollowed out to create flutes and the branches were smacked together as percussion sticks. The berries once ripened to a deep purple or black were eaten or used as a dye. However the plant contained high levels of cyanide. Small children who sucked on the flutes made of elderberry wood were be poisoned. The unripened berries were also highly toxic if eaten before they developed the rich color.

Easy to see how, yes the bearer of knowledge could indeed be the messenger of death.