Pueblo people
The
Pueblo People are a diverse group of
Native American inhabitants of
New Mexico and in
Arizona who traditionally subsisted on agriculture. When
first encountered by the Spanish in the
1500s, they were living in villages that the Spanish called
Pueblos, meaning "towns". Of the approximately 25 pueblos that exist today,
Taos,
Acoma,
Zuni, and
Hopi are the most well known.
While there are numerous subdivisions of Pueblo People that have been published in the literature, Kirchhoff (1954) published a subdivision of the Pueblo Indians into two subareas: the Hopi, Zuni,
Keres,
Jemez group which share exogamous matrilineal clans, have multiple kivas, believe in emergence from the underground, have four or six directions beginning in the north, four and seven as ritual numbers. This group stands in contrast to the Tanoan-speaking Pueblos (except Jemez) who have nonexogamous patrilineal clans, two kivas or two groups of kivas and a general belief in dualism, emergence from underwater, five directions beginning in the east, and ritual numbers based on multiples of three.
Eggan (1950) in contrast, posed a dichotomy between Eastern and Western Pueblos, based largely on subsistence differences with the Western or Desert Pueblos of Zuni and Hopi dry-farmers, and the Eastern or River Pueblos irrigation farmers.
Linguistic differences between the Pueblos point to their diverse origins. The
Hopi language is
Uto-Aztecan;
Zuni is a
language isolate;
Keresan is a
dialect continuum that includes Acoma, Laguna, Santa Ana, Zia, Cochiti, Santo Domingo, San Felipe. The Tanoan is an areal grouping of three branches of the
Kiowa-Tanoan family consisting of 6 languages:
Jemez (Towa),
Tewa (San Juan, San Ildefonso, Santa Clara, Tesuque, Nambe, Pojoaque, and Hano); and the 3 Tiwa languages
Taos,
Picuris, and
Southern Tiwa (
Sandia,
Isleta).
They are believed to be descended from the three major cultures that dominated the region before European contact:
#
Mogollon, an area near the
Gila wilderness#
Hohokam, archaelogical term for a settlement in the Southwest#
Ancient Pueblo Peoples or the Anasazi, as termed by professional archaeologists.
Historically, they supported themselves mostly by maize agriculture, although they live in one of the more arid regions in North America. European settlement began in the late sixteenth century, but the desert surrounding the Rio Grande Valley precluded massive intrusions into Indian land until the mid-nineteenth century. As a result and despite forced conversions to Catholicism by the Spanish, the Pueblo tribes have been able to maintain much of their traditional lifestyle. There are now some 35,000 Pueblo Indians, living mostly in New Mexico and Arizona along the
Rio Grande and
Colorado River.
They were the first to successfully revolt against the Spanish in the
Pueblo Revolt of 1680, which expelled the Spanish for 12 years. It began
August 10; by
August 21,
Santa Fe fell. On September 22, 2005, the statue of Po'pay, (
Popé) the leader of the Pueblo Revolt, was unveiled in the Capitol Rotunda in Washington D.C. The statue was the second one from the state of New Mexico and the 100th and last to be added to the
Statuary Hall collection. It is the only statue in the collection created by a Native American, in this case,
Cliff Fragua, a Puebloan from
Jemez Pueblo.
Most of the Pueblos have annual ceremonies that are open to the public. In many cases, one such ceremony is the Pueblo's feast day, held on the day sacred to its
Roman Catholic patron saint. (These saints were assigned by the Spanish missionaries so that each Pueblo's feast day would coincide with a traditional ceremony.) Some Pueblos also have ceremonies around the
Christmas holidays and at other times of the year. The ceremonies usually feature traditional dances outdoors accompanied by singing and drumming, interspersed with non-public ceremonies in the
kivas. They may also include a Roman Catholic
Mass and processions.
Formerly, all outside visitors to a public dance would be offered a meal in a Pueblo home, but because of the large number of visitors, such meals are now by personal invitation only.
Some feast days appear in the list below.
Historically, the Pueblos were large communal buildings; each family lived in a single room of the building, but if a family grew large enough, side-rooms were added. Among the Jemez and the non-Tanoan-speakers, ownership of the room was largely matrilineal, from mother to daughter. Thus if a Hopi, Zuni, Keres, or Jemez man were to divorce, he would move from the home of his former wife to the home of his mother or a sister. The other pueblos were patrilineal. Men were expected to tend the fields. They would defend the community in
war societies; tribes such as the Navajo, Comanche, and Apache were their traditional enemies. The Spanish successfully re-conquered New Mexico after 1692 by allying themselves with the Pueblo people against their traditional enemies (although events in the 1800s were to modify these political alliances).
According to Horgan, Pueblo prayer included substances as well as words; one common prayer material was ground-up maize �" white cornmeal. Thus a man might bless his son, or some land, or the town itself by sprinkling a handful of meal as he uttered a blessing. Once, after the 1692 re-conquest, the Spanish were prevented from entering a town when they were met by a handful of men who uttered imprecations and cast a single pinch of a sacred substance.
The Puebloans employed
prayer sticks, which were colorfully decorated with beads, fur, and feathers; the prayer sticks (or
talking sticks) were also used by other nations.
Cloth and weaving were known to the Puebloans before the conquest, but it is not known whether they knew weaving before or after the Aztecs. But since clothing was expensive, they did not always dress completely, in the European tradition until after the conquest, and breechclouts were not uncommon.
Corn was a staple food for the Pueblo people. They would use pottery (see images below) to hold their food and water.
*
Acoma Pueblo NM 87034 - Keres speakers. Oldest continuously inhabited village in
US.
*
Cicuye Pueblo - now called Pecos Pueblo, survivors moved to Jemez Pueblo 1830s. See
Pecos Pueblo National Monument*
Cochiti Pueblo NM 87072 - Keres speakers. Church 1628. Feast Day:
July 14*
Hopi Tribe Kykotsmovi AZ 86039 - Hopi speakers. Area of present villages settled around 700 A.D.
*
Isleta Pueblo NM 87022 - Tiwa speakers. Established 1300s. Feast Days: call.
Catholic Encyclopedia article*
Isleta del Sur Pueblo near El Paso, TX (Ysleta, Texas has been annexed into El Paso) - Tigua (Tiwa) speakers.
Catholic Encyclopedia article*
Jemez Pueblo NM 87024 - Towa speakers. Photography and sketching prohibited at pueblo, but welcomed at Red Rocks.
*
Laguna Pueblo NM 87026 - Keres speakers. Ancestors 3000 BC, established before 1300. Church
July 4,
1699. Photography and sketching prohibited on the land, but welcomed at San Jose Mission Church.
*
Nambe Pueblo - Tewa speakers. Established 1300s. Ceremonials
July 4,
October 4*
Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo NM 87566 - Tewa speakers. Originally named O'ke Oweenge in Tewa. Headquarters of the Eight Northern Indian Pueblos Council. Home of the August 1680 Pueblo revolt. Known as San Juan Pueblo until November 2005. Feast Day
June 24.
*
Picuris Pueblo, Peñasco NM 87553 - Tiwa speakers. Feast Day
August 10*
Piru Pueblo or
Piro Pueblo, Socorro NM - did not participate in Pueblo revolt
*
Pojoaque Pueblo, Santa Fe NM 87506 - Tewa speakers. Re-established 1930s. Feast Day
December 12,
January 6*
Sandia Pueblo, Bernalillo NM 87004 - Tiwa speakers. Originally named
Nafiat. Established 1300s. On the northern outskirts of Albuquerque. Feast Day
June 13.
*
San Felipe Pueblo NM 87001 - Keres speakers. 1706. Photography and sketching prohibited at pueblo. Feast Day
May 1*
San Ildefonso Pueblo, Santa Fe NM 87506 - Tewa speakers. Originally at
Mesa Verde and
Bandelier. The valuable black-on-black pottery was developed here by Maria and Julian Martinez. Photography and sketching prohibited at pueblo. Heavily-visited destination. Feast Day
January 23.
*
Santa Ana Pueblo NM 87004 - Keres speakers. Photography and sketching prohibited at pueblo. Feast Day
July 26*
Santa Clara Pueblo, Española NM 87532 - Tewa speakers. 1550. Originally inhabited Puyé Cliff Dwellings on
Santa Clara Canyon.
*
Santo Domingo Pueblo NM 87052 - Keres speakers. Known for turquoise work. Feast Day
August 4; Corn Dance.
*
Taos Pueblo NM 87571 - Tiwa speakers.
World Heritage Site.
U.S. National Historic Site. Feast Day
September 30. Photography and sketching $20. Commercial work requires advance approval.
*
Tesuque Pueblo - Tewa speakers. Originally named
Te Tesugeh Oweengeh 1200.
National Register of Historic Places. Pueblo closed to public. Camel Rock Casino and Camel Rock Suites as well as the actual
Camel Rock are open.
*
Zia Pueblo NM 87053-6013 - Keres speakers. New Mexico's State Flag uses the Zia symbol. Feast Day
August 15*
Zuni Pueblo NM 87327 - Zuni speakers. First visited 1540 by Spanish. Mission 1629
In 1924 these peoples were granted
U.S. citizenship. In 1948, they were granted the right to vote in New Mexico.
Image:PotteryOfPuebloPeoples.jpg |Pottery of the Pueblo people, Field Museum, ChicagoImage:ZiaBowl1.jpg |Zia Pueblo, pottery bowl, Field MuseumImage:TesuqueJar2.jpg |Tesuque Pueblo Pottery Jar, Field MuseumImage:AcomaBowl2.jpg |Acoma Pueblo, bowl. (background: Tesuque jar.) Field MuseumImage:AcomaJar2.jpg |Acoma Pueblo, pottery jar, Field MuseumImage:TesuqueJar1.jpg |Tesuque Pueblo, Pottery Jar, Field MuseumImage:SanIldefonsoBowl1.jpg |San Ildefonso Pueblo, Black-on-Black Pottery Bowl. Field MuseumImage:BirdEffigyJarCicuye1.jpg |Bird effigy, pottery. Cicuye Pueblo, Field MuseumImage:CicuyeDeer1.jpg |Deer effigy, pottery. Cicuye Pueblo, Field MuseumImage:AcomaJar1.jpg |Pottery Jar, Acoma Pueblo, taken at Field MuseumImage:AcomaCanteen1.jpg |Pottery Canteen, Acoma Pueblo, taken at Field MuseumImage:JemezBowl1.jpg |Pottery Bowl, Jemez Pueblo, Field Museum, Chicago*
Kiowa-Tanoan languages*
Hopi*
Tewa*
Arizona Tewa*
Tiwa*
Taos*
Keres people*
Zuni*
Pueblo*
Pueblo Revolt*
Ancient Pueblo Peoples*
Pueblo Cultural Center offers information from the Pueblo people about their history, culture, and visitor etiquette.
*Paul Horgan,
Great River: The Rio Grande in North American History. Vol. 1, Indians and Spain. Vol. 2, Mexico and the United States. 2 Vols. in 1, 1038 pages - Wesleyan University Press 1991, 4th Reprint, ISBN 0819562513
*
Pueblo People, Ancient Traditions Modern Lives, Marica Keegan, Clear Light Publishers, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 1998, profusely illustrated hardback, ISBN 1-57416-000-1
