In the days leading up to the June Full Moon, social media feeds abound with headlines about the coming Strawberry Moon. This name, along with all the others throughout the year, is a relic from colonial times when people started borrowing ideas from the indigenous tribes who lived in close relationship with the land and sky. The beautiful variety of place-based names used across the continent has been distilled to a single list of monthly names in sources such as The Old Farmer’s Almanac.
But in Arizona, where I live and lead Full Moon hikes, the Strawberry Moon doesn’t make sense. The Tohono O’odham of southern Arizona call this the Saguaro Harvest Moon because, you guessed it, this is when the saguaro fruit harvest begins.
In April, the saguaro flowers bloom. Under moonlight on a warm spring evening, the white wax-like flower opens to reveal a yellow center. It sends a sweet, melony scent into the night air to entice the lesser long-nosed bats and the Mexican long-tongued bats. The bats swoop in and bury their faces inside the blossom, pollinating the cactus. When the sun rises, the day shift pollinators take over, and when the sun goes down again, the flower withers. After that, the fruit begins to ripen.
In the O’odham origin story, the ha:shañ (saguaro) is a human who sacrificed themself to provide sustenance for the people. The ha:shañ is a being of such great importance that the O’odham New Year begins with the saguaro fruit harvest. The Full Moons that follow guide them through the growing seasons.
Tanisha Tucker, an O’odham knowledge keeper, shared in the cookbook Eat Mesquite and More: “Of course, all the animals know it’s time. The birds are the first ones to get the fruit up on top. The animals are buzzing around the whole desert because it’s time for the harvest. There’s also the Big Dipper. When the handle turns on the Big Dipper, that’s when it’s ready, and you can see it in the stars.”
To reach the fruit, the women take a long pole made of two or three cactus ribs connected together. At the end of the pole, a small piece of rib is attached crossways to serve as a hook for pulling on the fruit. They call the pole K’uipud, which means “cactus puller.” K’uipud is also the O’odham name for the Big Dipper. When the O’odham look up at the night sky, they see the Big Dipper as a cactus puller, letting them know when it’s time to take out their k’uipud and harvest the saguaro fruit.
Want some fascinating homework? Think about what’s happening in nature around the place where you live. What place-based name would you give to the June Full Moon? Keep in mind that it encompasses the time period from the June Full Moon until the July Full Moon. I would love to hear what you decide. Shoot an email to me about it at Vicky@NightSkyTourist.com.
