Taos Pueblo, Popay and religious warfare
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Taos Pueblo has been continuously inhabited since it was built between 1000 and 1300 AD. Located approximately one mile north of the city of Taos,NM, the pueblo does not allow electricity or running water. Excavation by archaeologists is forbidden, and marriage outside of the Pueblo is strongly discouraged. The tribe believes they originated in the Sacred Blue Lake, which was taken away from them by Theodore Roosevelt as part of the establishment of Carson National Forest, an act which caused great anger and spiritual loss.
In 1970 President Richard Nixon signed into law PL 91-550, returning the 48,000 acres of the Sacred Blue Lake to the tribe. This is the only instance of the US govt returning land to Indians.
The Spanish Empire had struck northward from Mexico City, initially in search of gold and eventually in search of souls to convert and land to colonize.
Pueblo Indians lived in large adobe villages, often built atop tabletop mesas to protect themselves from raiding Apaches, Utes and Comanche. Pueblos believed in balance, so they were receptive to the incorporation of Catholicism into their own religious beliefs. They were somewhat less receptive to paying tribute in the form of corn, blankets and forced labor.
For a while, a kind of balance descended upon the relationship of Indian and European. The Spanish demand for tribute angered the Pueblos; the Spanish use of weapons to drive away enemy tribes served to offset this anger. By the 1670’s this balance had gone awry – the Spanish friars banned harvest and fertility dances and ordered the destruction of masks and prayer sticks. These efforts came at a time of drought and were seen by the Indians as its cause.
The final piece of the mosaic of the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 fell into place when 47 religious leaders were arrested for witchcraft, with four being hung and the remainder publicly whipped. One of the whipped leaders was from Taos Pueblo and his name was Popay.
Popay traveled among the Indian villages planning a war to drive out the Spanish and cleanse the Pueblos of their influence. In 1680 they were ready. Runners were sent out to the various Pueblos with lengths of knotted rope, the knots signifying the number of days till the attack.
on August 11, 1680 warriors of the Pueblo villages rose up and killed 21 priests and 400 colonists, the remaining settlers and priests seeking refuge in Santa Fe. Following a nine-day siege by the rebellious Indians the Spanish were allowed to flee the city back to Mexico.
All of the missions were burned to the ground, Indians scrubbed themselves clean of the European baptisms with soap made from yucca root and marriages performed by priests were voided, with people forced to remarry others so as to break fully with the Catholic religion.
The following years saw an increase in Apache and Comanche raids as well as the death of Popay. Those two factors along with infighting, continued drought and disease greatly weakened the Pueblo tribes. In 1692 Spanish envoys promising clemency and protection from raiding tribes in exchange for restoration of the Catholic faith achieved a bloodless reconquest.
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San Geronimo church was built in 1850, the fourth church following the destruction in revolts of the previous three churches. I took this pic standing outside of it, cameras are not allowed inside. Much like Santeria and Haitian Vodou are a blend of West African religion and Catholicism, so too is the religion practiced in the Taos Pueblo. My big girl and I went into the church to each light a candle and pray. Anyone who has ever been in a Catholic church has seen the enormous depiction of Jesus on the Cross behind the altar. Not so in this church. In its place is a large painting of the Virgin Mary, signifying rebirth as the Earth Mother. Around the Blessed Virgin are smaller paintings of corn, I’d imagine to signify fertility. There is a casket to the left of the Virgin, which I’m told represents Jesus dying for our sins.
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As we were leaving we passed an old cemetery near the church, dating back to 1706. The three of us went over to see it up close and I took this picture from its rear, looking toward the remains of the third church. Lingering a bit as the girls began walking back towards the entrance, I followed the wall until I could read the names on some of the crosses. Reading the first few, I called out to my daughters and waved them back. Their grandmother on their mother’s side, my ex-wife’s side is Indian whose ancestry traces back to Taos Pueblo. It was her family name I’d seen on the first couple of crosses.
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Hello,
I work for the PeaceJam Foundation http://www.peacejam.org and we have been working with Mayan Nobel Peace Laureate Rigoberta Menchu Tum for 15 years.
We recently completed a documentary called 2012: The True Mayan Prophecy (49 minutes) and it features actual Mayans including Rigoberta Menchu Tum – the 1992 Nobel Peace Laureate. Everyone puts words in Mayan’s mouths but what did they really say? Not only do we have Rigoberta delivering the truth, but her Elders and Shamans, too. The doc also features the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu speaking of what 2012 will bring us. Answers can be found here http://www.westword.com/mayan2012prophecy
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Ivan Suvanjieff
PeaceJam Foundation
11200 Ralston Rd
Arvada CO 80004
303 455-2099
That’s my idea of a vacation – seeing the sights, and learning a bit along the way 🙂
I’m guessing that 48,000 acres was mostly wasteland?
Religious compromise is always possible Oso….unless you are a follower of Islam.
I so wish it wasn’t so but it is.
Great post mate!
Interesting piece, Oso, and intesting that you should spot the name of your ex-wife’s ancestry. I love the history of the SW and the various cultures. I’m sure a lot of it is romanticised, but I’m fascinated with Indian legend, folklore and history. I like the connection to the earth, although I don’t think there was always peace among tribes. Thanks for posting this. An excellent job of research and writing and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The only thing better would have been to be there in person.
Chaco canyon resonates … for me, a transcending place (while all of Gaia is sacred) is the Canyon de Chelly… the Spider Rock and canyon rims up and down leading into Monument Valley.
The elements are the voice of Mother Earth. The ‘Celts’ recognized intimacy with Nature as sacred. Bless their wisdom and it did very much align with American Indian traditions.
Pre-Christian beliefs in the British Isles had them worshiping numerous God and Goddesses and the Celts acknowledged the forces of nature as a deity. In many ways similar to native Americans. The early Christians had to incorporate a lot of old beliefs to get converts.
Like the Borg collective- assimilate!
Fascinating history!
Even though I am not a big fan of religion, I am warmer toward those that have encouraged the respect of women. The veneration of Mary as mother in the tribal amalgams of earth-based spirituality and Catholicism is far less repugnant than the idolatry of the pitiable crucified Jesus.
Perhaps I have a romanticized idea of what Native spirituality is like, but their religions seemed more peaceful (obviously Aztecs are an exception) and kind to the earth than anything today.
Thank you MH.I may do a post on the Virgin of Guadalupe, where an Indian in Mexico saw the Virgin Mary and I think the church made him a saint. Interesting story, too bad society’s often venerate female religious figures but don’t venerate the women and girls they live with.