Gathering wokas – Klamath

Description

Wokas, the seeds of the water-lily, Nymphaea polysepala, is harvested in the latter part of August and throughout September. The nearly ripe pods are plucked and deposited in the canoe, but the mature ones, having burst open, are too sticky to be plucked, and are scooped up in a tule ladle and placed in a basket. After the pods have fermented, the seeds are separated from the mass by stirring in water. They are then dried, parched, hulled, dried again, and stored in bags. Wokas was formerly a staple food, and is still much used as a luxury.