A:shiwi
Zuni

Zuñi girl with jar, 1903
Total population
10,228 enrolled members (2000)[1]
Regions with significant populations
United States (New Mexico)
Languages
Zuni, English
Religion
Zuni religion, Christianity (incl. syncretist forms)
Related ethnic groups
Hopi, Pueblo people

The Zuni (Zuni: A:shiwi; formerly spelled Zuñi) are a federally recognized Native American tribe, one of the Pueblo peoples. Most live in the Pueblo of Zuni on the Zuni River, a tributary of the Little Colorado River, in western New Mexico, United States. Zuni is 55 km (34 mi) south of Gallup, New Mexico. In addition to the reservation, the tribe owns trust lands in Catron County, New Mexico and Apache County, Arizona.^[2]

Demographics[link]

In 2000, 10,228 people were enrolled in the Zuni tribe.^[1] According to the 2000 Census, there were approximately 7,790 people in the zip code of the Zuni reservation, with 7,619 living in either the statistical areas of Zuni or Blackrock.^[3] Tribal estimates for the entire reservation run from 10,000 to 12,000, with over 80% being Native Americans. Nearly half, or 43.0% of the population, lives below the poverty line as defined by the U.S. income standards.

History[link]

Distribution of the Zuni language.

Archaeology suggests that the Zuni have been farmers in their present location for 3,000 to 4,000 years. Irrigation agriculture in riverine environments in Zuni began about 3,000 years ago.^[4] Later, the Zuni, like other Pueblo peoples, became the descendants of Mogollon and Ancestral Pueblo peoples, who lived in the deserts of New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and southern Colorado for over two millennia. The "village of the great kiva" near the contemporary Zuni Pueblo was built in the 11th century CE. The Zuni region, however, was probably only sparsely populated by small agricultural settlements until the 12th century when the population and the size of the settlements began to increase. In the 14th century, the Zuni inhabited a dozen pueblos between 180 to 1,400 rooms in size. All of these pueblos, except Zuni, were abandoned by 1400, and over the next 200 years, nine large new pueblos were constructed. These were the "seven cities of Cibola" sought by early Spanish explorers.^[5]By 1650, there were only six Zuni villages.^[6]

In 1539, Moorish slave Estevanico led an advance party of Fray Marcos de Niza's Spanish expedition. The Zuni killed him as a spy.^[6] This was Spain's first contact with any of the Pueblo peoples.^[7] Francisco Vasquez de Coronado traveled through Zuni Pueblo. Spaniards built a mission at Hawikuh in 1629. The Zunis tried to expel the missionaries in 1623, but Spanish built another missoin in Halona in 1643.^[6]

Before the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, the Zuni lived in six different villages. After the revolt, until 1692, they took refuge in a defensible position atop Dowa Yalanne, a steep mesa 5 km (3.1 miles) southeast of the present Pueblo of Zuni; Dowa means "corn", and yalanne means "mountain". After the establishment of peace and the return of the Spanish, the Zuni relocated to their present location, only briefly returning to the mesa top in 1703.^[8]

The Zunis were self-sufficient during the mid-19th century, but faced raiding by the Apaches, Navajos, and Plains Indians. Their reservation was officially recognized by the United States federal government in 1877. Gradually the Zuni farmed less and turned to sheep and cattle herding as a means of economic development.^[6]

Frank Hamilton Cushing, a pioneering anthropologist associated with the Smithsonian Institution, lived with the Zuni from 1879 to 1884. He was one of the first participant observers and an ethnologist.^[9]

A controversy during the early 2000s was associated with Zuni opposition to the development of a coal mine near the Zuni Salt Lake, a site considered sacred by the Zuni and under Zuni control.^[10] The mine would have extracted water from the aquifer below the lake and would also have involved construction between the lake and the Zuni. The plan died in 2003 after several lawsuits.^[11]

Culture[link]

The Zuni traditionally speak the Zuni language, a unique language (also called an "isolate") which is unrelated to any other Native American language. Linguists believe that because Zuni is a language isolate the Zuni people have maintained the integrity of their language for at least 7,000 years. The Zuni have, however, borrowed a number of words from Keresan, Hopi, and Pima pertaining to religion and religious observances.^[12] The Zuni continue to practice their traditional religion with its regular ceremonies and dances, and an independent and unique belief system.

The Zuni were and are a peaceful, deeply traditional people who live by irrigated agriculture and raising stock. Their success as a desert agri-economy is due to careful management or conservation of resources, as well as a complex system of community support. Many contemporary Zuni also rely on the sale of traditional arts and crafts. Some Zuni still live in the old-style Pueblos, while others live in modern flat-roofed houses made from adobe and concrete block. Their location is relatively isolated, but they welcome respectful tourists.

The Zuni Tribal Fair and rodeo is held the third weekend in August. The Zuni also participate in the Gallup Inter-Tribal Ceremonial, usually held in early or mid-August.

Zuni pottery[link]

Zuni olla, late 19th c.-early 20th century, 12.5" high, Brooklyn Museum

Traditionally, Zuni women made pottery for food and water storage. They used symbols of their clans for designs the women would use. Clay for the pottery is sourced locally. Prior to its extraction, the women give thanks to the Earth Mother (Awidelin Tsitda) according to ritual. The clay is ground, and then sifted and mixed with water. After the clay is rolled into a coil and shaped into a vessel or other design, it will be scraped smooth with a scraper. A thin layer of finer clay, called slip, is applied to the surface for extra smoothness and color. The vessel is polished with a stone after it dries. It is painted with home-made organic dyes, using a traditional yucca brush. The intended function of the pottery dictates its shape and images painted on its surface. To fire the pottery, the Zuni used animal dung in traditional kilns. Today Zuni potters might use electric kilns. While the firing of the pottery was usually a community enterprise, silence or communication in low voices was considered essential in order to maintain the original "voice" of the "being" of the clay, and the purpose of the end product.^[13][14] Sales of pottery and traditional arts provide a major source of income for many Zuni people today. An artisan may be the sole financial support for her immediate family as well as others. Many women make pottery, clothing, and baskets.

Zuni also make fetishes carvings and necklaces for the purpose of rituals and trade, and more recently for sale to collectors. The Zuni are known for their fine silversmithing, which began in the 1870s after they learned fundamental techniques from the Navajo.^[15] Lanyade was the first Zuni silversmith, who learned the art from Atsidi Chon, a Navajo smith.^[16] By 1880, Zuni jewelers set turquoise in silver.^[17] Today jewelry making thrives as an art form among the Zuni. Many Zuni have became master silversmiths and perfected the skill of stone inlay. They found that by using small pieces of stone, they were able to create intricate designs and unique patterns. Small oval-shaped stones with pointed ends are set close to one another and side by side. The technique is normally used with turquoise in creating necklaces or rings. Another craft they have mastered is needlepoint.

Religion[link]

Zuni pueblo in 1879

Religion is central to Zuni life. Their religious beliefs are centered on the three most powerful of their deities: Earth Mother, Sun Father, and Moonlight-Giving Mother, as well as Old Lady Salt and White Shell Woman, as well as other katsinas.^[18]

Zunis have a cycle of religious ceremonies. Each person's life is marked by important ceremonies to celebrate the passage of certain life milestones. Birth, coming of age, marriage and death are especially celebrated.

The Zuni make a religious pilgrimage every four years on the Barefoot Trail to Kołuwala:wa, also called Zuni Heaven or Kachina Village; a 12,482-acre (50.51 km²) detached portion of the Zuni Reservation about sixty miles southwest of Zuni Pueblo. The four-day observance occurs around the summer solstice. It has been practiced for many hundreds of years and is well known to local residents.

Another pilgrimage conducted annually for centuries by the Zuni and other southwestern tribes is made to Zuni Salt Lake. They harvest salt during the dry months, and celebrate religious ceremonies. The lake is home to the Salt Mother, Ma'l Okyattsik'i, and is reached by several ancient Pueblo roads and trails.

Coming of age, or rite of passage, is celebrated differently by boys and girls. A girl who is ready to declare herself as a maiden will go to the home of her father's mother early in the morning and grind corn all day long. Corn is a sacred food and a staple in the diet of the Zuni. The girl is declaring that she is ready to play a role in the welfare of her people.

When it is time for a boy to become a man, he will be taken under the wing of a spiritual 'father', selected by the parents. This one will instruct the boy through the ceremony to follow. The boy will go through certain initiation rites to enter one of the men's societies. He will learn how to take on either religious, secular or political duties within that order.

See also[link]

• Zuni Indian Reservation
• Zuni language
• Zuni mythology
• Zuni Pueblo, New Mexico

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Adair, John. The Navajo and Pueblo Silversmiths. Norman: University Oklahoma Press, 1989. ISBN 978-0-8061-2215-1.
• Cushing, Frank Hamilton. Jesse Green, ed. Zuni: Selected Writings of Frank Hamilton Cushing. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1978. ISBN 0-8032-2100-2.
• Wade, Edwin L. "The Ethnic Art Market in the American Southwest, 1880-1980." George, W. Stocking, Jr., ed. Objects and Others: Essays on Museums and Material Culture (History of Anthropology). Vol. 3. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. ISBN 0-299-10324-2.
• Pritzker, Barry M. A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. ISBN 978-0-19-513877-1.

Further reading[link]

• Benedict, Ruth. Zuni Mythology. 2 vols. Columbia University Contributions to Anthropology, no. 21. New York: Columbia University Press, 1935. AMS Press reprint, 1969.
• Bunzel, Ruth L. "Introduction to Zuni Ceremonialism". (1932a); "Zuni Origin Myths". (1932b); "Zuni Ritual Poetry". (1932c). In Forty-Seventh Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology. Pp. 467–835. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1932. Reprint, Zuni Ceremonialism: Three Studies. Introduction by Nancy Pareto. University of New Mexico Press, 1992.
• Bunzel, Ruth L. Zuni Texts. Publications of the American Ethnological Society, 15. New York: G.E. Steckert & Co., 1933
• Cushing, Frank Hamilton, Barton Wright, The Mythic World of the Zuni, University of New Mexico Press, 1992, hardcover, ISBN 0-8263-1036-2
• Davis, Nancy Yaw. (2000). The Zuni enigma. Norton. ISBN 0-393-04788-1
• Eggan, Fred and T.N. Pandey. "Zuni History, 1855–1970". Handbook of North American Indians, Southwest. Vol.9. Ed. By Alfonso Ortiz. Pp. 474–481. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1979.
• Hart, E. Richard, 2000. “Zuni Claims: An Expert Witness’ Reflections,” American Indian Culture and Research Journal, 24(1): 163–171.
• Hart, E. Richard, ed. Zuni and the Courts: A Struggle for Sovereign Land Rights. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1995. ISBN 978-0-7006-0705-1.
• Kroeber, Alfred L. (1984). Zuni kin and clan. AMS Press. ISBN 0-404-15618-5
• Newman, Stanley S. Zuni Dictionary. Indiana University Research Center, Publication Six. Bloomington: Indiana University, 1967. ASIN B0007F3L0Y.
• Roberts, John. "The Zuni". In Variations in Value Orientations. Ed. by F.R. Kluckhorn and F.L. Strodbeck. Pp. 285–316. Evanston, IL and Elmsford, NY: Row, Peterson, 1961.
• Smith, Watson and John Roberts. Zuni Law: A Field of Values. Papers of the Peabody Museum of the American Archaeology and Ethnology, Vol. 43. Cambridge, MA: Peabody Museum, 1954.
• Tedlock, Barbara. The Beautiful and the Dangerous: Dialogues with the Zuni Indians, New York: Penguin Books, 1992.

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Zuni

Wikisource has original text related to this article: Zuñi

• Pueblo of Zuni official website
• A:shiwi A:wan Museum and Heritage Center at Zuni
• The Zuni Worldview
• Zuni Indian Tribe History, Access Genealogy
• The Religious Life of the Zuñi Child by (Mrs.) Tilly E. (Matilda Coxe Evans) Stevenson, from Project Gutenberg
• Collection of Historical Photographs of Zunis
• Quand les Katchinas dansent a Cibola. Mythologie et rites des indiens Zunis, 15 July 2008

Traditionally, Zuni fetishes are small carvings made from various materials by the Zuni Indians. These carvings serve a ceremonial purpose for their creators and depict animals and icons integral to their culture. As a form of contemporary Native American art, they are sold with non-religious intentions to collectors worldwide.

Traditional description[link]

According to the Second Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology as submitted by Frank Hamilton Cushing in 1881, and posthumously published as Zuni Fetishes in 1966, the Zuni world is made up of six regions or directions. At the center of each region is a great mountain peak that is a very sacred place. Yellow mountain to the north, blue mountain to the west, red mountain to the south, white mountain to the east, the multi-colored mountain above, and the black mountain below (Cushing, 1994:17).

Each direction is represented by a "Prey God", or guardian animal, and are listed by Cushing as follows: north - the yellow mountain lion, west – the black bear (represented by the color blue), south – the red badger, east – the white wolf, the sky or upper – the multi-colored eagle, and the underground or lower – the black mole. Each prey god is the "guardian and master" of their region with the yellow mountain lion being the elder brother of all animals and the master and guardian of all regions. Each one of these regions contains an order of all the guardian animals, but the "guardian and master" of a particular region is the elder brother to all animals of that region. These guardians are considered as having protective and healing powers. They are held by the priests of the medicine orders as if "in captivity" and act as mediators between the priests and the animals they represent (Cushing, 1994:17-19).

A second group of fetishes, the "Prey Gods of the Hunt", belonging to the Hunter Order, or Society, are given in the "prayer songs of the Sa-ni-a-kia-kwe". These guardian animals are the same as the original regions with the exception of the coyote, which replaces the bear; and the wildcat (or bobcat), which replaces the red badger (Cushing, 1994:20). Sa-ni-a-kia is the awakening of the fetish and subsequently the power of the hunter (Cushing, 1994:15).

Typically Zuni fetishes depict animals such as the wolf, badger, bear, mountain lion, eagle, mole, frog, deer, ram, and others. There are many more subjects of contemporary carvers that may include dinosaurs, for example, that would be considered non-traditional, or some insects and reptiles that are traditionally more integral to petroglyphs, symbolism, and the patterns of design in pottery, e.g. dragonflies and butterflies, water spiders, and lizards (See Bunzel,1929, and Young, 1988). Other animals, such as the horse, were carved mainly for trade. The Zuni was not a horse culture but their horse carvings were considered by the horse cultures to the north as having great power for the protection of their herds (Cushing, 1994, Bahti's Introduction).

Materials[link]

Traditionally, the materials used by carvers were often indigenous to the region or procured by trade. The most important of these materials was turquoise which is considered by the Zuni as the sacred stone. Jet, shell (primarily mother-of-pearl), and coral are also frequently used. These materials and their associated colors are principle in the Zuni sunface, a cultural symbol which is present in Zuni jewelry and fetishes and represents their sun father. Other materials used are Zuni rock, fishrock, jasper, pipestone, marble, or organic items such as fossilized ivory, bone, and deer or elk antler. Even artificial substances such as slag glass are used. But historically the most-used stone has been serpentine, a local soft stone found abundantly in the Zuni Mountains and also in Arizona. In recent years Zuni carvings, or fetishes, have become popular collectibles and Zuni artisans have familiarized themselves with materials available from all parts of the world in order to serve the aesthetic tastes of collectors (McManis, 1998).

Sacredness[link]

In tradition, each animal is believed to have inherent powers or qualities that may aid the owner. The Navajo, for example, treasured and bartered for figures of horses, sheep, cattle or goats to protect their herd from disease and to insure fertility (Cushing, 1994, Bahti's Introduction). The Zuni hunter, or "Prey brother", was required to have his fetishes (prey gods of the hunt) with a "Keeper" and practice a ceremony of worship when procuring a favorite or proper fetish to aid in a successful hunt. In the ceremony of the hunt the Keeper presented a clay pot containing the fetishes to the hunter. Facing in the direction appropriate to the chosen fetish the pot was sprinkled with medicine meal and a prayer was recited. The fetish was placed in a buckskin bag and carried by the hunter over his heart (Cushing, 1994:33). The fetish aids in the chase and represents "the roar of the animal" and is also fed on the blood of the slain prey (Cushing, 1994:35).

In addition to the Prey Gods of the Six Regions with their guardian and medicinal powers, and the Prey Gods of the Hunt that aid in the chase, Cushing names three Prey Gods of the Priesthood of the Bow, a society of which he was a member, that aid a Priest of the Bow when traveling in a region where he may be captured by the enemy. These are the mountain lion and great white bear, which belong to the "skies", as well as a prey god of human form adorned with "flint knife-feather pinions and tail". An arrowhead, "emblematic of Sa-wa-ni-kia", or the "medicine of war", on the back or side of either of these animals prevented a warrior from being taken by surprise by his enemy, and an arrowhead on the belly or feet erased the tracks of the carrier so that they could not be followed by the enemy. Unlike the Prey Gods of the Hunt these fetishes were never deposited with a keeper, but like the Prey Gods of the Hunt they were fed on the blood of the slain and their ceremony involved depositing sacred flour to the four directions and reciting a prayer, and like the Prey Gods of the Six Regions they were protective of the carrier (Cushing, 1994:40-43).

On the subject of feeding, it is believed from tradition that the fetishes require a meal of cornmeal and ground turquoise periodically. Fetishes may be kept in a clay pot as it is the tradition, although collectors usually like to keep theirs somewhere where they can be admired. Any but the very delicate fetishes could be carried by the owner in a pocket, pouch or bag.

Religion as art[link]

The artist's styles are as unique as the artists themselves, and there are many whose works are highly sought after by collectors. Some collectors prefer a figure that is more realistic in appearance, while others prefer the more traditional styles that are intrinsic to Zuni belief. The traditional belief of the Zuni is that the least modification of the original material maintains, or heightens, the power of the fetish as a "natural concretion" (Cushing, 1994:12). Realism in carving style is a matter relative to the beliefs of its owner, and the realism in contemporary carving is a product of collector request and demand and the intent of Zuni carvers to raise the level of their art form through participation in the world of contemporary art. The enigma, or apparent paradox relevant to Zuni belief and realism in art is resolved in the notion that carvings for sale and collection are produced without religious intent. For this reason some carvers prefer the term "carvings" rather than the term "fetishes" when referring to offerings for collectors.

A fetish may be signed by the carver, or not. Personalization by signing a piece of art traditionally violates the Zuni notion of community purpose, and the signing of artwork is a concept introduced to the Zuni by Anglo collectors at the beginning of the twentieth century (c. 1915). Often, though, a Zuni carver feels that their own unique style is readily identifiable and the fetish's style will be enough to identify the carver as surely as would any other mark. Most carvers are the recipients of a family tradition and have learned their skill from parents, grand parents, or siblings, and have passed the art to their own children as well.

Besides being made from various stones and other materials (each material has unique properties), the contemporary fetish may carry an offering of a smaller animal or a prayer bundle of carved arrowheads with small beads of heishe. It may be adorned with a heishe necklace, feathers, etchings representing ancient petroglyphs, or an etched or inlaid heartline. These small items, although colorful to the eye, are intended to protect and feed the fetish itself (Cushing, 1994).

References[link]

• Bunzel, Ruth L. (1929). The Pueblo Potter: A Study of Creative Imagination in Primitive Art. ISBN 0-486-22875-4
• Cushing, Frank Hamilton (1994). Zuni Fetishes. Tenth printing. Reprint of the Second Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology, 1883. Introduction by Tom Bahti. ASIN B000TH8P4C
• Finkelstein, Harold (1994). Zuni Fetish Carvings. ISBN 0-9641042-0-2
• McManis, Kent (1998). A Guide To Zuni Fetishes & Carvings, Volume II, The Materials and the Carvers. ISBN 1-887896-11-2
• Young, M. Jane (1988). Signs from the Ancestors: Zuni Cultural Symbolism and Perceptions in Rock Art. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press. ISBN 0-8263-1203-9

Further reading[link]

• Cushing, Frank Hamilton, Mark Bahti (1999). Zuni Fetishes. Reprint of the Second Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology, 1883. Introduction by Tom Bahti. ISBN 0-88714-144-7..
• McManis, Kent (1995). A Guide To Zuni Fetishes & Carvings. ISBN 0-918080-77-0
• McManis, Kent (1998). A Guide To Zuni Fetishes & Carvings, Volume II, The Materials and the Carvers. ISBN 1-887896-11-2.
• Riggs, David Austin, Darlene Meader Riggs (2008). ZUNI SPIRITS: A Portfolio of Fine Zuni Fetish Carvings. Introduction by the Zuni Governor, Norman Cooeyate.

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The Anasazi flute is the name of a pre-historic end-blown flute replicated today from findings at a massive cave in Prayer Rock Valley in Arizona, USA by an archaeological expedition led by Earl H. Morris in 1931 .^[1] The team excavated 15 caves and the largest amongst these had 16 dwellings and many artifacts including several wooden flutes, which gave the site its name, the Broken Flute Cave.^[2]

The flutes found in the cave was dated between 620 and 670 AD. They were all made of Box Elder, have 6 finger holes and are end-blown.^[3] It is similar in many respects to a Hopi flute, which has only five finger holes.

A detailed analysis using radiocarbon dating techniques was published in 2007. The analysis included one item from a burial pit in the Broken Flute Cave. The dating placed the artifact in the range 599-769 CE.^[4]

The Anasazi flute has in recent years been reproduced and restored to the catalog of World flutes. While difficult to play in many respects, it has a rich, warm voice that spans a little over one and a half octaves.

References[link]

See also[link]

• Aluaki
• The term Anasazi

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