A rain song is sung before the harvest.

The height of the saguaro and its sharp spines make harvesting fruits particularly challenging. When the ripest fruit falls, the meat often pops out of the fleshy shell. If it does not, the harvester can use the stem of the fruit as a knife to open closed fruit. The meat is placed is a bucket. (Traditionally, the fruits were placed in baskets.) The meat is two to three inches in length and tastes sweet.

It takes a considerable amount of time to fill a bucket!

Harvesters collect the juñ, fruit which is beginning to dry out. It can be re-hydrated, or it can be eaten as candy. This bucket contains juñ, "saguaro candy," as well as fresh fruit. (Left)

Water is added to the fruit before cooking it. (Right)