a desert landscape featuring a ha:sa\u00f1, standing against a backdrop of rolling mountains. (trinity norris)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nthe sonoran desert itself is relatively young, with the history stretching back over a million years to the present day. but for the o\u2019odham, we lived in the southwest since the first light touched the land, alongside the ha:sa\u00f1 and carrying forward the stories they hold. depending on the community, storytellers may describe the ha:sa\u00f1 as either a boy or a girl.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\nramon describes the deep relationship the o\u2019odham have with the ha:sa\u00f1, where stories and traditions are interwoven. the ha:sa\u00f1 have always held an important role in o\u2019odham culture:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\ni\u2019ve heard that, at one point in our old tradition, the first saguaro was considered a boy. this individual was liked by the community, but they were also bullied. in the end, they transformed into a saguaro, emerging from the ground into the desert. i like to think that our people witnessed the first saguaro ever to appear.this aligns with our traditional stories of the first world. i see it especially during sunset\u2014the silhouettes of the saguaros resemble people. each one is unique, with different heights, different numbers of arms, and different shapes. i often compare that to people\u2014everyone looks different, just like each saguaro. they truly do resemble humans in many ways.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\nbetsy norris, an elder who currently lives on the tohono o\u2019odham nation, talks about her experience in the 1950\u2019s, her experience bahidaj harvesting,<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\na lot of the times we didn’t really wanna go, we were young, but we went early in the morning and we\u2019d go out and my grandma would go and pick with the kui\u2019pud, the stick that pulls them off, and we would be also picking fruit off the bottom, because we used everything, even if it\u2019s raw and dried.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\nthe bahidaj harvest is more than just a seasonal tradition \u2014 it is a testament to the deep relationship between the tohono o\u2019odham and the land the o\u2019odham have called home for generations. through the act of harvesting, cooking, and sharing the fruit of the ha:sa\u00f1, o\u2019odham communities continue to honor their ancestors, celebrate renewal, and pass down vital cultural knowledge. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\nas climate patterns shift and modern challenges arise, the resilience of both the o\u2019odham people and the ha:sa\u00f1 itself remains a powerful symbol of adaptation and survival. each season, with the first rains of the monsoon, the cycle begins anew \u2014 a reminder that the end of one chapter is always the beginning of another. <\/span> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
for the tohono o\u2019odham people of the sonoran desert, bahidaj, the fruit of the saguaro cactus is more than just a food source, it is a relationship.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29700,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4929,4916,7087,7173],"tags":[],"storyfest_categories":[7169],"class_list":["post-45486","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-biodiversity","category-climate","category-storyfest","category-storyfest-2025"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
bahidaj: an end to the beginning - planet forward<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n