Friday, August 26, 2011

CHATINO INDIANS IN MEXICO

CHATINO IS THE SPANISH NAME OF AN INDIGENOUS PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN SENTRAL MEXICO. THERE ARE ABOUT 24,000 WHO SPEAK CHATINO. THEY CALL THEMSELVES KITSA CHATINO. TRADITIONALLY THEY ARE INV0LVED WITH AGRICULTURE AND MAY WORK IN COFFEE PLANTATIONS. THEY HAVE FEDERAL BILIGUAL SCHOOLS AND DISTANCE EDUCATION. THEIR ELDERS ARE TREATED AS HOLDING HIGH AUTHORITY. THEY WORSHIPPED DEITIES OF WATER WIND, RAIN AND SNOW, FIRE MOUNTAINS. THEY ARE CLOSE TO THE ZAPOTEC.

THEY SPEAK OTO-MANGUEAN LANGUAGE. THERE ARE SEVERAL DIALECTS.

WIKIPEDIA.ORG

CORA INDIANS

CORA ARE AN INDIGENOUS ETHNIC GROUP IN WEST CENTRAL MEXICO IN JALISCO AND NAYARIT. ABOUT 24,000 PEOPLE SPEAK CORA. THEY CULTIVATE MAIZE, BEANS AND AMARANTH AND RAISE CATTLE.

THEY HAVE A RUGGED MOUNTAIN COUNTRY. IN THE EARLY 18TH CENTURY THEY WERE AN ANOMOLY AND NEVER PERMITTED CATHOLICS TO LIVE WITH THEM. IN 1722 THE SPANISH RETURNED AND THE CORA YIELDED. MANY BECAME CHRISTIAN AND PRACTICED THEIR RELIGION.

THEIR TRADITIONAL RELIGION IS WITH THREE PRINCIPAL DIVINITIES: THE SUN GOD, TAYAU, AND OUR FATHER. CLOUDS ARE BELIEVED TO BE SMOKE FROM HIS PIPE. THE PRIESTS OF TAYAU WERE THE HIGHEST AUTHORITY OF CORA VILLAGES. HIS WIFE WAS THE UNDERWORLD GODDESS OF ASSOCIATION WITH MOON AND TRAIN. HER SON IS ASSOCIATED WITH MOON AND RAIN. HER SON IS ASSOCIATED WITH JESUS, QUETZALCOATL, A FEATHERED SERPENT. HE IS WORSHIPPED. THEY SPEAK UTO-AZTECAN LANGUAGE OF CENTRAL MEXICO.

WIKIPEDIA.ORG

MY SON'S GOOD QUALITIES

KEVIN'S GOOD QUALITIES ARE THAT HE IS QUIET AND A STUDIOUS YOUNG MAN WHO LOVES NATURE AND EXCELS IN MOST SUBJECTS. HE LOVES SCIENCE. AS A KID HE HAD MANY FUN TIMES CAMPING AND MEETING MANY OTHER KIDS IN SUMMER CAMPS, BOY SCOUTS AND AT A YOUTH CENTER IN HEALDSBURG WHERE WE LIVE.

WHEN I TOOK HIM ON SMALL TRIPS WHEN HE WAS ABOUT 4 HE WOULD DIRECT ME WHERE TO GO ON STREETS FROM HIS HIS BACK SEAT CAR CHAIR!

WHEN OUR FAMILY TOOK TRIPS WE HAD A GOOD TIME IN OUR VAN OR SUV CAMPING AND TRAVELING TO ALL KINDS OF STATE AND NATIONAL PARKS. KEVIN LOVES TO TAKE MOVIES OF OUR TRAVELS AND NARRATES THEM AS WELL. HE DID VERY WELL IN HIGH SCHOOL AS HE INCLUDED PICTORIALS IN HIS REPORTS FROM THE COMPUTER. I ALSO HAD KEVIN HELP ME MAKE PICTORIALS FOR MY COACHING WEBSITE. HE IS EXCELLENT IN COMPUTER GRAPHICS AND HAS SELF TAUGHT THESE SKILLS.

KUMEYAAY INDIANS IN MEXICO

KUMEYAAY WERE KNOWN AS YUMAN SPEAKERS IN MEXICO AND SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AND ARE OF HOKAN LANGUAGE FAMILY. IN MEXICO THEY ARE KNOWN AS KUMIAI. ABOUT 300 PEOPLE SPEAK THE LANGUAGE. THESE PEOPLE HAVE OCCUPIED THEIR TERRITORY FOR OVER 12,000 YEARS AGO OR 600 GENERATIONS!

IN 1542 THE FIRST ANGLO EXPLORER SALIED INTO SAN DIEGO WHO WAS FROM PORTUGAL. THERE MISSION IS TO WELCOME VISITORS AND ALL TRIBES AND PROVIDE A CASUAL VILLAGE ENVIRONMENT. THEY WANT TO SHARE THEIR CREATIVE WORK AND NETWORK WITH EACH OTHER. THEY WANT TO ENCOURAGE AND EXCITE THE CREATIVE SPIRITS OF ALL NATIVE AMERICANS. TO PRESERVE AND BUILD UPON THE CULTURAL WORKS OF OUR GRANDPARENTS.

THE SAN DIEGUITO PALEO INDIAN DATE BACK 10,000 B.C. DIFFERENT GROUPS EVOLVED AS THE ENVIRONMENT AND CULTURE DIVERSIFIED. THE SOUTHERN SAN DIEGUITO ARE DIRECT ANCESTORS OF SYCUAN BANDS. THEY WERE A WORLD OF ASTRONOMERS, HORTICULTURALISTS, HEALERS, SCIENTISTS, AND STORYTELLERS.

THE FIRST SETTLED VILLAGE WAS IN OLD TOWN SAN DIEGO. SPANISH EXPLORERS ARRIVED IN 1776, WHEN THE KUMEYAAY HAD 150,000 FOLKS. THEY LIVED OFF THE LAND AND HAD FOLLOWED THEIR TRIBAL CULTURE FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS. BY 1798 THE SPANISH MISSIONS HAD EXPANDED HERE AND THEIR MILITARY HAD CAUSED CONTINUAL FRICTION AND BLOODY MURDEROUS FIGHTINGTHAT CONTINUED UNTIL 1821. BY 1822 THE KUMEYAAY HAD LOST ALL OF THEIR COASTAL TRIBALLANDS TO THE SPANISH. SPANISH WERE DEFEATED BY THE MEXICANS AND SAN DIEGO CAME UNDER MEXICAN RULE HISTORICALLY.

IN 1846 THE U.S. GOVERNMENT DECLARED WAR AGAINST MEXICO AND IN 1848 THE TREATY OF GUADELUPE HILDAGO WAS SIGNED WHICH ENDED THE MEXICAN WAR. IT ESTABLISHED THE US - MEXICAN BORDER DIVIDING CALIFORNIA AND MEXICO/ ONLY 1000 KUMEYAAY SURVIVED IN SAN DIEGO.

THE FINAL PERIOD OF PREHISTORIC OCCUPATION WAS A HUNTING/GATHERING ECONOMY WITH USE OF ACORNS IN MOUNTAINS, AND MESQUITE BEANS IN DESERTS. THEY HAD A LIMITED US OF AGRICULTURE. THE KUMEYAAY WERE HUNTERS AND GATHERES AND FISHERS. THEY HUNTED DEER, MOUNTAIN SHEEP, AND ANTELOPE. THEY COLLECTED SMALLER MAMMALS - RABBITS, SQUIRRELS, WOODRATS, PIGEONS, DOVES, LARKS, ROBINS, QUAIL AND OTHER BIRDS. THEY ALSO CONSUMED SEAFOOD - CLAMS, ABALONE, SCALLOPS STARFISH, OCTOPUS, AND OTHER MARINE ANIMALS. THE FISH WERE CAUGHT WITH SHELL HOOKS.

THEY MADE BOOTS OF REEDS AND WOOD. THEY PROCURED FISH USING THESE BOATS. THEY PROCURED EDIBLE SEEDS, NUTS,BEANS, FRUITS, AND OTHER PLANTS AND ACORNS - VERY MUCH A STAPLE. THEY PROBABLY PROVIDED 50% OF THEIR DIET. THE AGAVE, PINE NUTS AND MESQUITE BEANS WERE POPULAR. THEY ATE MESQUITE BLOSSOMS IN JUNE, SEEDS P[ODS IN JULY AND IT PROVIDED A LARGE QUANTITY OF FOOD YEAR AFTER YEAR. THEY ALSO ATE YUCCA, WILD PLUM, APRICOT, GRASSES, SAGE SEEDS, GOOSEFOOT BEAVERTAIL CACTUS, MANZANITA, TOYON BERRIES, MANZANITA, TOYON BERRIES, HOLY LEAF CHERRIES. THEY USED OAK AND MANZANITA FOR FIREWOOD. THEY USED PLANTS FOR MEDICINALS. BLANKETS WERE MADE FROM RABBIT SKINS. SHOES AND SANDALS WERE MADE BY HAND. THEY MADE BASKETS FROM BASKET WEED, BUNCH OR DEER GRASS, WILLOW, JUNCAS. CERAMICS WERE USED FOR FOOD PREP, STORAGE AND TRANSPORTING FOOD. THEY MADE BAGS USING AGAVE FIBERS. THEY USED GOURDS FOR DISHES AND FOR STORING STUFFING. THEIR SEASONAL ROUND OF GATHERING WAS BASED ON THE AVAILABILITY OF RIPE AND AVAILABLE ANIMALS. EACH VILLAGE HAD A DANCE AVAILABLE AND A SWEATHOUSE AND GRANERY. THEIR SUMMER HOUSE WAS A WIND BREAK OR A CAVE.

BY THE TIME OF EUROPEAN CONTACT A SHIFT IN KUMAYAAY SUBSISTENCE INCLUDED SOME AGRICULTURAL AND IRRIGATION TECHNIQUES BY THE 1800'S. WOMEN TYPICALLY GATHERED 70% OF THE DIET. THEY SHARED MEAT AMONG THEIR VILLAGE. IT REINFORCES SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS OF A GROUP. THEY TRADED RESOURCES FOR OBSIDIAN WITH THEIR TRIBE AND OUTSIDE THEIR TRIBE.

THE KUMEYAAY HAVE A RICH SPIRITUAL LIFE. THEY BELIEVE IN ANIMISM THAT SERVES TO TO REDUCE ANXIETY BY EXPLAINING THE UNKNOWN AND MAKING IT UNDERSTANDABLE. THEY MAKE IT A COMFORT IN TIMES OF CRISIS AND ENHANCING THE LEARNING OF ORAL TRADITIONS. HUNTERS AND GATHERS ARE PART OF NATURE. NOT SUPERIOR TO IT. ANIMALS ARE IMPORTANT IN MYTHOLOGY AND THEY BELIEVE IN SPIRIT BEINGS THAT ANIMATE NATURE.

NATIVELANGUAGES.ORG
KUMEYAAY.INFO

MAZTEC INDIANS IN MEXICO

THESE INDIANS LIVE IN NORTH OAXACA, A MOUNTAINOUS LAND. THEIR LANGUAGE TO CHOCA AND IXCATEC. THEY AGRICULTURAL AND PLANT CORN, BEANS, AND SQUASH AND CHILIS. MEAT AND EGGS ARE LUXERIES. THEY CULTIVATE WITH DIGGING STICKS AND HOE. THERE HOUSES ARE RECTANGULAR WIRTH THATCHED ROOFS. THEY MAKE CRAFTS, WEAVE, AND MAKE POTTERY THEIR CLOTHES ARE INDUSTRIAL WOVEN. THE TOWNS PEOPLE CONTRIBUTE TO COMMUNAL LABOR. TODAY THEY ARE ROMAN CATHOLIC AND THE ELECT SOMEONE IN EACH TOWN TO TAKE CARE OF THE PATRON SAINT. THEY BELIEVE IN WITCHCRAFT. THERE ARE ABOUT 200,000 FOLKS. THEY SPEAK OTO-MANGUESE.

BRITANNICA.COM

TEPEHUA IN MEXICO

THESE INDIANS RELIED ON THE WORSHIPPING GODS. THEIR RELIGIOUS COMPLEX WAS VERY DIFFERENT TO THE CATHOLIC CHURCHES. THEIR COMPLEX IS PART OF THE OTOMI AND NAHUA PEOPLE OF THE SAME REGION. THEIR CEREMONIES ADDRESS SOUL FORCES BY PAPER FIGURES AND MUSICAL FLOWERS CARRIED OUT IN HOMES, AT SHRINES AND IN NATIVE ORATORIES.

THE SUPREME DEITY IS THE SUN WHEN HE SETS AT NIGHT, HE LEAVES THE STARS TO GUARD OVER THE WORLD. THE MOON IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE DEVIL. THE GODS AND BEINGS WORSHIPPED BY THE NATURE SPIRITS. THEY BELIEVE IN A LIFE FORCE CALLED BY OBSERVERS AT VARIOUS TIMES THE SPIRIT, SOUL, OR SHADE. THE SPIRIT CAN SEPARATE ITSELF FROM A LIVING PERSON FOR A SHORT TIME.

RELIGIOUS DANCES ARE PERFORMED DURING VILLAGE FIESTAS. THESE ARE LEARNED AND MAINTAINED BY GROUPS OF VILLAGES WHEN DEDICATE THEMSELVES TO THIS SACRED ART. STORY TELLING IS A POPULAR FOR ENTERTAINMENT AS WELL AS DANCES.

THE TEPEHUAN IS UTO-AZTECAN LANGUAGE OF CENTRAL MEXICO, NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH THE TOTONACAN LANGUAGE, TEPEHUA. THERE ARE 25,000 PEOPLE WHO SPEAK TEPEHUA.

EVERYCULTURE.COM
NATIVELANGUAGE.ORG

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

POINT LOBOS STATE PARK

AT POINT LOBOS OUR FAMILY COMMONLY WATCHING THE SEA CREATURES AND ENJOYED WATCHING THE SEA CREATURES ON THE ROCKS AND TIDAL POOLS. SOMETIMES YOU CAN SEE AN OCTOPUS THERE. IT IS JUST SOUTH OF CARMEL. WE ALSO TOOK THE 18 MILE CAR LOOP ALONG THE SEA COAST WHICH HAS GREAT VIEWS. AT POINT LOBOS THEY HAVE TORREY PINES AND VARIOUS PLANTS THAT THE INDIANS RELIED ON FOR SUSTENANCE, CRAFTS, AND HOUSE MATERIALS. THE CLIFFS ARE RUGGED AND YOU CAN WATCH THE SEA LIONS AND OTTERS PLAY IN THE OCEAN. THE WAVES SPLASH AGAINST SOME GORGES TO MAKE HIGH WATER WAVES. WE HAVE TAKEN FOREST WALKS HERE AS WELL AS BRUSH TRAILS AND SEA COASTAL TRAILS. THEIR ARE REMNANTS FROM PREHISTORIC INDIANS.

THERE ARE SCUBA DIVERS TRAINING WHO LEAD GROUPS UNDERWATER. THE PARK IS USUALLY FILLED WITH TOURISTS ANY SEASON. WE HAVE EVEN BEEN THERE IN RAINY SEASONS
WHEN WE GO TO SAN SIMEON AND HEARST CASTLE WHERE THERE ARE ELEPHANT SEALS.