emen how the fire had started. The local newspaper reported it
had been burned to drive away evil spirits. This upset my informants, one
of whom said that the sight of the house simply made the man sad. She
elaborated that the Washo felt they were helping God wipe out the tracks
of a dead person. The Washo claim that after a death there is always a
rain or sand storm which wipes out the tracks of the deceased.

After the Washo return home from a funeral, they immediately wash their
faces and hands. They would not feel safe in handling food or children
until this ritual had been carried out.

The behavior of the dead is a matter of concern for most Washo
(2606-2609a). Ideally, the spirit is supposed to go up and to the south
where dead Indians are. This land of the dead is guarded by a number of
men with bows. Some shamans were able to make the trip to the land of the
dead (2541-2544). If they could elude these guards, they were sometimes
able to recover the spirit of a recently dead person and return it. If,
however, the spirit has partaken of the water of a spring immediately
behind the guards, it can never be recovered. The by-now-familiar uncle of
my informant once visited the land of the dead and reported that there
were lots of Indians there playing games and having a good time. If murder
victims were present they were with the celebrants, but the spirits of the
killers were segregated and were not having a good time.

Ghosts, however, wander over the land. They are generally malevolent. If
they feel they have been badly used in life, or are not properly honored
after death, or have not been given the things they wanted when buried,
they may wreak vengeance on the living. To prevent this, homes were
abandoned, prayers were said, and names of the dead were not used. In
discussing a recent murder, one of the most progressive of the Washo was
extremely reluctant to give the name of the victim, and, when she finally
did, she whispered it. One of the difficulties encountered by government
agents when pine-nut lands were allotted to the Washo was a refusal to
name the ancestors on whom the allotment claim was based.

Ghosts are often said to come in the form of whirlwinds or dust devils,
and most Washo will avoid looking at a whirlwind. At night, a sudden puff
of warm air is thought to be a ghost passing nearby.

RITUAL IN SUBSISTENCE

Hunting, far more than gathering, appears to have been the focus of much