Mousefood,Melqurat,Maqaruaruat orAnlleq is a nativeforaged food and medicine highly prized byYupik people on theYukon-Kuskokwim Delta.[1][2]
Mousefood consists of the roots of varioustundra plants which arecached byvoles,lemmings, or occasionallyweasels in burrows. People forage and eat, raw or in dishes, the food that the "mice" have harvested and stored. In autumn they are often located as a result of the softened ground caused by a cache.[1]Elders teach that when collecting mousefood, one should always leave half of the cache for the "mouse". They also recommend leaving a small gift – something that the "mouse" can eat such as dried fish. Some Yupiit observe personalities from caches, noting some to be "lazy" and others "clean", even telling stories of the scolding of "lazy mice".[1]
Various species of tundra plants may be foraged as mousefood. The roots oftall cottongrass,white cottongrass andRussett cottongrass are less than an inch long. They are eaten, put in soup, or used medicinally withseal oil. "Eskimo sweet potatoes" are the roots ofHedysarum alpinum. As the name suggests, these roots are somewhat sweet and are used inAkutaq.
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