Maidu

"In the spring, a ceremony was held in the front of the cave of a bear, nearing the end of hibernation In the ceremony, the men addressed the bear, instructing it to stand up and let them shoot, as its life had already been paid for" (Heizer, 375).
             The Maidu also hunted squirrel, elk, rabbit, and birds. Squirrel and elk were hunted with arrows. The elk were followed for days and killed when the elk was exhausted. "The animal unable to feed or ruminate, becomes so weak in a couple of days that the hunter can overtake it" (Kroeber, 410). Rabbits were either shot with arrows, or caught in nets and clubbed to death. Birds were either shot or caught with nooses; however, an eagle brought bad luck and was never shot. (Handbook, 375).
             The Maidu also ate roots and insects. Roots were eaten raw, roasted, boiled, dried, or mixed with berries. Blue camas, Indian root, cattail root, and tule roots were utilized as food sources by the Maidu. Insects were eaten dried or roasted, and were stored for use during the winter. Yellow jacket larvae, angleworms, locusts, grasshoppers, and crickets were the insects the Maidu ate.
             The Maidu practiced patrilocal residency. Within the Maidu, there was not a clan exogamy rule, a man was free to wed within his village. However, most men went outside his village in search of a wife. According to A. L. Kroeber, "Chiefs, rich men, and old men kept as many wives as they could; the majority contented themselves with one [wife]" (Kroeber, 402).
             Among the Maidu, courtship was brief. A man visited the family of a woman he was interested in marrying and might spend the night. If the woman was not interested, she would sit up all night. The woman's decision was often influenced by her family. After marriage, the couple resided with the woman's family, but the permanent home would be in the man's village (Heizer, 380).
             During pregnancy, a woman took considerable care of herself.