The Indians of the Painted Desert Region: Hopis, Navahoes, Wallapais, HavasupaisJames, George Wharton
Religion
The Indians of the Painted Desert Region: Hopis, Navahoes, Wallapais, Havasupais
James, George Wharton
Indians of North America -- Southwest, New
"Finally the Winged Rock crossed the great deep canyon of the Colorado
River, and my people were afraid of its vast depths. Then the rock
gently settled down to the earth, where it is now found, and our home
was reached. It did not seem to be a very beautiful land, but it was
given to us by Those Above, and my people soon became content. We were
shown the springs and the watercourses, and we found the mountains
covered with trees, and the rivers and creeks. So that when any one
speaks of our leaving our country we are afraid and we cry: 'No, why
should we leave this land given to us, and which we love? Yonder is the
rock on which we came, and never until that rock floats away with us
shall we leave the land that we love so well!'
"As soon as we were settled here, Those Above gave us some great
shamans, and one of them told us that we must always do right, for the
sun, when it rises, would watch our every action all throughout the
day, and when he went away at night it was to tell Those Above all our
evil actions, for which we should be punished."
While the Apaches and Navahoes are of the same stock, there have
always been marked differences between them so long as they have been
under the observation of the white men. When the Spaniards entered
the country, the Navahoes were more distinctly an agricultural people
than the Apaches. They had large patches of land under cultivation,
kept their crops and lived in houses underground. Cultivated lands
necessitated settled residences, and after the Spaniards introduced
sheep, it was not long before the Navahoes were extensive sheep
raisers. It would not be any wiser or more profitable to enter into an
inquiry as to the methods by which these flocks were acquired than it
would be to ascertain the history of many of the landed possessions
of European nobilities. With the Navaho, possession was the only law
he cared anything for. "To have and to hold" was his motto; and once
"having," he held pretty securely. Hence the sheep possessions of the
neighboring pueblo Indians were held by exceedingly precarious tenure.
[Illustration: AN AGED NAVAHO, LOOKING OVER THE PAINTED DESERT.]
[Illustration: AN OLD HOPI AT ORAIBI.]
And here we have, I believe, one of the additional sources of enmity
between the Navaho and the Spaniard. As their wards, the Spanish were
in duty bound to care for and protect the Pueblos. Thus Navaho and
Spaniard were ever at war, and when the Mexican came in the Spaniard's
stead the battle still continued on the same lines and with the same
ferocity.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account