A STUDY

OF

PUEBLO ARCHITECTURE:

TUSAYAN AND CIBOLA.

BY

VICTOR MINDELEFF.

CONTENTS.

ILLUSTRATIONS.

full size

Plate I.
General Map of the Pueblo Region
of Arizona and New Mexico,
Showing Relative Position of the Provinces
of Tusayan and Cibola.
by
Victor Mindeleff.

A STUDY OF PUEBLO ARCHITECTURE
IN TUSAYAN AND CIBOLA.

By Victor Mindeleff.

INTRODUCTION.

The remains of pueblo architecture are found scattered over thousands
of square miles of the arid region of the southwestern plateaus. This
vast area includes the drainage of the Rio Pecos on the east and that of
the Colorado on the west, and extends from central Utah on the north
beyond the limits of the United States southward, in which direction its
boundaries are still undefined.

The descendants of those who at various times built these stone
villages are few in number and inhabit about thirty pueblos distributed
irregularly over parts of the region formerly occupied. Of these the
greater number are scattered along the upper course of the Rio Grande
and its tributaries in New Mexico; a few of them, comprised within the
ancient provinces of Cibola and Tusayan, are located within the drainage
of the Little Colorado. From the time of the earliest Spanish
expeditions into the country to the present day, a period covering more
than three centuries, the former province has been often visited by
whites, but the remoteness of Tusayan and the arid and forbidding
character of its surroundings have caused its more complete isolation.
The architecture of this district exhibits a close adherence to
aboriginal practices, still bears the marked impress of its development
under the exacting conditions of an arid environment, and is but slowly
yielding to the influence of foreign ideas.

The present study of the architecture of Tusayan and Cibola embraces
all of the inhabited pueblos of those provinces, and includes a number
of the ruins traditionally connected with them. It will be observed by
reference to the map that the area embraced in these provinces comprises
but a small portion of the vast region over which pueblo culture once
extended.

This study is designed to be followed by a similar study of two
typical groups of ruins, viz, that of Canyon de Chelly, in northeastern
Arizona, and that of the Chaco Canyon, of New Mexico; but it has been
necessary for the writer to make occasional reference to these ruins in
the present
14


paper, both in the discussion of general arrangement and characteristic
ground plans, embodied in Chapters II
and III and in the comparison by
constructional details treated in Chapter IV, in order to define clearly the relations of the
various features of pueblo architecture. They belong to the same pueblo
system illustrated by the villages of Tusayan and Cibola, and with the
Canyon de Chelly group there is even some trace of traditional
connection, as is set forth by Mr. Stephen in Chapter I. The more detailed studies of these ruins, to be
published later, together with the material embodied in the present
paper, will, it is thought, furnish a record of the principal
characteristics of an important type of primitive architecture, which,
under the influence of the arid environment of the southwestern
plateaus, has developed from the rude lodge into the many-storied house
of rectangular rooms. Indications of some of the steps of this
development are traceable even in the architecture of the present
day.

The pueblo of Zuñi was surveyed by the writer in the autumn of 1881
with a view to procuring the necessary data for the construction of a
large-scale model of this pueblo. For this reason the work afforded a
record of external features only.

The modern pueblos of Tusayan were similarly surveyed in the
following season (1882-’83), the plans being supplemented by
photographs, from which many of the illustrations accompanying this
paper have been drawn. The ruin of Awatubi was also included in the work
of this season.

In the autumn of 1885 many of the ruined pueblos of Tusayan were
surveyed and examined. It was during this season’s work that the details
of the kiva construction, embodied in the last chapter of this paper,
were studied, together with interior details of the dwellings. It was in
the latter part of this season that the farming pueblos of Cibola were
surveyed and photographed.

The Tusayan farming pueblo of Moen-kopi and a number of the ruins in
the province were surveyed and studied in the early part of the season
of 1887-’88, the latter portion of which season was principally devoted
to an examination of the Chaco ruins in New Mexico.

In the prosecution of the field work above outlined the author has
been greatly indebted to the efficient assistance and hearty cooperation
of Mr. Cosmos Mindeleff, by whom nearly all the pueblos illustrated,
with the exception of Zuñi, have been surveyed and platted.

The plans obtained have involved much careful work with surveying
instruments, and have all been so platted as faithfully to record the
minute variations from geometric forms which are so characteristic of
the pueblo work, but which have usually been ignored in the hastily
prepared sketch plans that have at times appeared. In consequence of the
necessary omission of just such information in hastily drawn plans,
erroneous impressions have been given regarding the degree of skill to
which the pueblo peoples had attained in the planning and building of
15


their villages. In the general distribution of the houses, and in the
alignment and arrangement of their walls, as indicated in the plans
shown in Chapters II and III, an absence of high architectural attainment is
found, which is entirely in keeping with the lack of skill apparent in
many of the constructional devices shown in Chapter IV.

Plate II. Old Mashongnavi, plan.

In preparing this paper for publication Mr. Cosmos Mindeleff has
rendered much assistance in the revision of manuscript, and in the
preparation of some of the final drawings of ground plans; on him has
also fallen the compilation and arrangement of Mr. A. M. Stephen’s
traditionary material from Tusayan, embraced in the first chapter of the
paper.

This latter material is of special interest in a study of the pueblos
as indicating some of the conditions under which this architectural type
was developed, and it appropriately introduces the more purely
architectural study by the author.

Such traditions must be used as history with the utmost caution, and
only for events that are very recent. Time relations are often
hopelessly confused and the narratives are greatly incumbered with
mythologic details. But while so barren in definite information, these
traditions are of the greatest value, often through their merely
incidental allusions, in presenting to our minds a picture of the
conditions under which the repeated migrations of the pueblo builders
took place.

The development of architecture among the Pueblo Indians was
comparatively rapid and is largely attributable to frequent changes,
migrations, and movements of the people as described in Mr. Stephen’s
account. These changes were due to a variety of causes, such as disease,
death, the frequent warfare carried on between different tribes and
branches of the builders, and the hostility of outside tribes; but a
most potent factor was certainly the inhospitable character of their
environment. The disappearance of some venerated spring during an
unusually dry season would be taken as a sign of the disfavor of the
gods, and, in spite of the massive character of the buildings, would
lead to the migration of the people to a more favorable spot. The
traditions of the Zuñis, as well as those of the Tusayan, frequently
refer to such migrations. At times tribes split up and separate, and
again phratries or distant groups meet and band together. It is
remarkable that the substantial character of the architecture should
persist through such long series of compulsory removals, but while the
builders were held together by the necessity for defense against their
wilder neighbors or against each other, this strong defensive motive
would perpetuate the laborious type of construction. Such conditions
would contribute to the rapid development of the building art.

CHAPTER I.

TRADITIONAL HISTORY OF TUSAYAN.

EXPLANATORY.

In this chapter1 is presented a summary of the traditions of the Tusayan,
a number of which were collected from old men, from Walpi on the east to
Moen-kopi on the west. A tradition varies much with the tribe and the
individual; an authoritative statement of the current tradition on any
point could be made only with a complete knowledge of all traditions
extant. Such knowledge is not possessed by any one man, and the material
included in this chapter is presented simply as a summary of the
traditions secured.

The material was collected by Mr. A. M. Stephen, of Keam’s
Canyon, Arizona, who has enjoyed unusual facilities for the work, having
lived for a number of years past in Tusayan and possessed the confidence
of the principal priests—a very necessary condition in work of
this character. Though far from complete, this summary is a more
comprehensive presentation of the traditionary history of these people
than has heretofore been published.

SUMMARY OF TRADITIONS.

The creation myths of the Tusayan differ widely, but none of them
designate the region now occupied as the place of their genesis. These
people are socially divided into family groups called wi´ngwu, the
descendants of sisters, and groups of wi´ngwu tracing descent from the
same female ancestor, and having a common totem called my´umu. Each of
these totemic groups preserves a creation myth, carrying in its details
special reference to themselves; but all of them claim a common origin
in the interior of the earth, although the place of emergence to the
surface is set in widely separated localities. They all agree in
maintaining this to be the fourth plane on which mankind has existed. In
the beginning all men lived together in the lowest depths, in a region
of darkness and moisture; their bodies were misshaped and horrible, and
they suffered great misery, moaning and bewailing continually. Through
the intervention of Myúingwa (a vague conception known as the god
of the interior) and of Baholikonga (a crested serpent of enormous
size, the genius of water), the “old men” obtained a seed from which
sprang a magic growth of cane. It penetrated through a crevice
17


in the roof overhead and mankind climbed to a higher plane. A dim light
appeared in this stage and vegetation was produced. Another magic growth
of cane afforded the means of rising to a still higher plane on which
the light was brighter; vegetation was reproduced and the animal kingdom
was created. The final ascent to this present, or fourth plane, was
effected by similar magic growths and was led by mythic twins, according
to some of the myths, by climbing a great pine tree, in others by
climbing the cane, Phragmites communis, the alternate leaves of
which afforded steps as of a ladder, and in still others it is said to
have been a rush, through the interior of which the people passed up to
the surface. The twins sang as they pulled the people out, and when
their song was ended no more were allowed to come; and hence, many more
were left below than were permitted to come above; but the outlet
through which mankind came has never been closed, and Myu´ingwa sends
through it the germs of all living things. It is still symbolized by the
peculiar construction of the hatchway of the kiva and in the designs on
the sand altars in these underground chambers, by the unconnected circle
painted on pottery and by devices on basketry and other textile
fabrics.

Plate III. General view of Awatubi.

All the people that were permitted to come to the surface were
collected and the different families of men were arranged together. This
was done under the direction of twins, who are called Pekónghoya, the
younger one being distinguished by the term Balíngahoya, the Echo. They
were assisted by their grandmother, Kóhkyang wúhti, the Spider woman,
and these appear in varying guises in many of the myths and legends.
They instructed the people in divers modes of life to dwell on mountain
or on plain, to build lodges, or huts, or windbreaks. They distributed
appropriate gifts among them and assigned each a pathway, and so the
various families of mankind were dispersed over the earth’s surface.

The Hopituh,2 after being taught to build stone houses, were also
divided, and the different divisions took separate paths. The legends
indicate a long period of extensive migrations in separate communities;
the groups came to Tusayan at different times and from different
directions, but the people of all the villages concur in designating the
Snake people as the first occupants of the region. The eldest member of
that nyumu tells a curious legend of their migration from which the
following is quoted:

At the general dispersal my people lived in snake skins, each family
occupying a separate snake skin bag, and all were hung on the end of a
rainbow, which swung around until the end touched Navajo Mountain, where
the bags dropped from it; and wherever a bag dropped, there was their
house. After they arranged their bags they came out from them as men and
women, and they then, built a stone house which had five sides. [The
story here relates the adventures of a mythic Snake Youth, who brought
back a strange woman who gave birth to rattlesnakes; these bit the
people and compelled them to migrate.] A brilliant star arose in the
southeast,
18


which would shine for a while and then disappear. The old men said,
“Beneath that star there must be people,” so they determined to travel
toward it. They cut a staff and set it in the ground and watched till
the star reached its top, then they started and traveled as long as the
star shone; when it disappeared they halted. But the star did not shine
every night, for sometimes many years elapsed before it appeared again.
When this occurred, our people built houses during their halt; they
built both round and square houses, and all the ruins between here and
Navajo Mountain mark the places where our people lived. They waited till
the star came to the top of the staff again, then they moved on, but
many people were left in those houses and they followed afterward at
various times. When our people reached Wipho (a spring a few miles
north from Walpi) the star disappeared and has never been seen since.
They built a house there and after a time Másauwu (the god of the face
of the earth) came and compelled them to move farther down the valley,
to a point about half way between the East and Middle Mesa, and there
they stayed many plantings. One time the old men were assembled and
Másauwu came among them, looking like a horrible skeleton, and his bones
rattling dreadfully. He menaced them with awful gestures, and lifted off
his fleshless head and thrust it into their faces; but he could not
frighten them. So he said, “I have lost my wager; all that I have is
yours; ask for anything you want and I will give it to you.” At that
time our people’s house was beside the water course, and Másauwu said,
“Why are you sitting here in the mud? Go up yonder where it is dry.” So
they went across to the low, sandy terrace on the west side of the mesa,
near the point, and built a house and lived there. Again the old men
were assembled and two demons came among them and the old men took the
great Baho and the nwelas and chased them away. When they were
returning, and were not far north from, their village, they met the
Lenbaki (Cane-Flute, a religious society still maintained) of the Horn
family. The old men would not allow them to come in until Másauwu
appeared and declared them to be good Hopituh. So they built houses
adjoining ours and that made a fine, large village. Then other Hopituh
came in from time to time, and our people would say, “Build here, or
build there,” and portioned the land among the new comers.

The site of the first Snake house in the valley, mentioned in the
foregoing legend, is now barely to be discerned, and the people refuse
to point out the exact spot. It is held as a place of votive offerings
during the ceremony of the Snake dance, and, as its name, Bátni,
implies, certain rain-fetiches are deposited there in small jars buried
in the ground. The site of the village next occupied can be quite easily
distinguished, and is now called Kwetcap tutwi, ash heap terrace, and
this was the village to which the name Walpi was first applied—a
term meaning the place at the notched mesa, in allusion to a broad gap
in the stratum of sandstone on the summit of the mesa, and by which it
can be distinguished from a great distance. The ground plan of this
early Walpi can still be partly traced, indicating the former existence
of an extensive village of clustering, little-roomed houses, with thick
walls constructed of small stones.

The advent of the Lenbaki is still commemorated by a biennial
ceremony, and is celebrated on the year alternating with their other
biennial ceremony, the Snake dance.

The Horn people, to which the Lenbaki belonged, have a legend of
coming from a mountain range in the east.

Its peaks were always snow covered, and the trees were always green.
From the hillside the plains were seen, over which roamed the deer, the
antelope, and the
19


bison, feeding on never-failing grasses. Twining through these plains
were streams of bright water, beautiful to look upon. A place where none
but those who were of our people ever gained access.

This description suggests some region of the head-waters of the Rio
Grande. Like the Snake people, they tell of a protracted migration, not
of continuous travel, for they remained for many seasons in one place,
where they would plant and build permanent houses. One of these halting
places is described as a canyon with high, steep walls, in which was a
flowing stream; this, it is said, was the Tségi (the Navajo name for
Canyon de Chelly). Here they built a large house in a cavernous recess,
high up in the canyon wall. They tell of devoting two years3 to ladder making
and cutting and pecking shallow holes up the steep rocky side by which
to mount to the cavern, and three years more were employed in building
the house. While this work was in progress part of the men were planting
gardens, and the women and children were gathering stones. But no
adequate reason is given for thus toiling to fit this impracticable site
for occupation; the footprints of Másauwu, which they were following,
led them there.

The legend goes on to tell that after they had lived there for a long
time a stranger happened to stray in their vicinity, who proved to be a
Hopituh, and said that he lived in the south. After some stay he left
and was accompanied by a party of the “Horn,” who were to visit the land
occupied by their kindred Hopituh and return with an account of them;
but they never came back. After waiting a long time another band was
sent, who returned and said that the first emissaries had found wives
and had built houses on the brink of a beautiful canyon, not far from
the other Hopituh dwellings. After this many of the Horns grew
dissatisfied with their cavern home, dissensions arose, they left their
home, and finally they reached Tusayan. They lived at first in one of
the canyons east of the villages, in the vicinity of Keam’s Canyon, and
some of the numerous ruins on its brink mark the sites of their early
houses. There seems to be no legend distinctly attaching any particular
ruin to the Horn people, although there is little doubt that the Snake
and the Horn were the two first peoples who came to the neighborhood of
the present villages. The Bear people were the next, but they arrived as
separate branches, and from opposite directions, although of the same
Hopituh stock. It has been impossible to obtain directly the legend of
the Bears from the west. The story of the Bears from the east tells of
encountering the Fire people, then living about 25 miles east from
Walpi; but these are now extinct, and nearly all that is known of them
is told in the Bear legend, the gist of which is as follows:

The Bears originally lived among the mountains of the east, not far
distant from the Horns. Continual quarrels with neighboring villages
20


brought on actual fighting, and the Bears left that region and traveled
westward. As with all the other people, they halted, built houses, and
planted, remaining stationary for a long while; this occurred at
different places along their route.

A portion of these people had wings, and they flew in advance to
survey the land, and when the main body were traversing an arid region
they found water for them. Another portion had claws with which they dug
edible roots, and they could also use them for scratching hand and foot
holes in the face of a steep cliff. Others had hoofs, and these carried
the heaviest burdens; and some had balls of magic spider web, which they
could use on occasion for ropes, and they could also spread the web and
use it as a mantle, rendering the wearer invisible when he apprehended
danger.

They too came to the Tségi (Canyon de Chelly), where they found
houses but no people, and they also built houses there. While living
there a rupture occurred, a portion of them separating and going far to
the westward. These seceding bands are probably that branch of the Bears
who claim their origin in the west. Some time after this, but how long
after is not known, a plague visited the canyon, and the greater portion
of the people moved away, but leaving numbers who chose to remain. They
crossed the Chinli valley and halted for a short time at a place a short
distance northeast from Great Willow water (“Eighteen Mile Spring”).
They did not remain there long, however, but moved a few miles farther
west, to a place occupied by the Fire people who lived in a large oval
house. The ruin of this house still stands, the walls from 5 to 8 feet
high, and remarkable from the large-sized blocks of stone used in their
construction; it is still known to the Hopituh as Tebvwúki, the
Fire-house. Here some fighting occurred, and the Bears moved westward
again to the head of Antelope (Jeditoh) Canyon, about 4 miles from
Keam’s Canyon and about 15 miles east from Walpi. They built there a
rambling cluster of small-roomed houses, of which the ground plan has
now become almost obliterated. This ruin is called by the Hopituh “the
ruin at the place of wild gourds.” They seem to have occupied this
neighborhood for a considerable period, as mention is made of two or
three segregations, when groups of families moved a few miles away and
built similar house clusters on the brink of that canyon.

The Fire-people, who, some say, were of the Horn people, must have
abandoned their dwelling at the Oval House or must have been driven out
at the time of their conflict with the Bears, and seem to have traveled
directly to the neighborhood of Walpi. The Snakes allotted them a place
to build in the valley on the east side of the mesa, and about two miles
north from the gap. A ridge of rocky knolls and sand dunes lies at the
foot of the mesa here, and close to the main cliff is a spring. There
are two prominent knolls about 400 yards apart and the summits of these
are covered with traces of house walls; also portions of walls can be
discerned on all the intervening hummocks. The place is known as
Sikyátki,
21


the yellow-house, from the color of the sandstone of which the houses
were built. These and other fragmentary bits have walls not over a foot
thick, built of small stones dressed by rubbing, and all laid in mud;
the inside of the walls also show a smooth coating of mud plaster. The
dimensions of the rooms are very small, the largest measuring 9½ feet
long, by 4½ feet wide. It is improbable that any of these structures
were over two stories high, and many of them were built in excavated
places around the rocky summits of the knolls. In these instances no
rear wall was built; the partition walls, radiating at irregular angles,
abut against the rock itself. Still, the great numbers of these houses,
small as they were, must have been far more than the Fire-people could
have required, for the oval house which they abandoned measures not more
than a hundred feet by fifty. Probably other incoming gentes, of whom no
story has been preserved, had also the ill fate to build there, for the
Walpi people afterward slew all its inhabitants.

There is little or no detail in the legends of the Bear people as to
their life in Antelope Canyon; they can now distinguish only one ruin
with certainty as having been occupied by their ancestors, while to all
the other ruins fanciful names have been applied. Nor is there any
special cause mentioned for abandoning their dwellings there; probably,
however, a sufficient reason was the cessation of springs in their
vicinity. Traces of former large springs are seen at all of them, but no
water flows from them at the present time. Whatever their motive, the
Bears left Antelope Canyon,
and moved over to the village of Walpi, on the
terrace below the point of the mesa. They were received kindly there,
and were apparently placed on an equal footing with the Walpi, for it
seems the Snake, Horn, and Bear have always been on terms of friendship.
They built houses at that village, and lived there for some considerable
time; then they moved a short distance and built again almost on the
very point of the mesa. This change was not caused by any disagreement
with their neighbors; they simply chose that point as a suitable place
on which to build all their houses together. The site of this Bear house
is called Kisákobi, the obliterated house, and the name is very
appropriate, as there is merely the faintest trace here and there to
show where a building stood, the stones having been used in the
construction of the modern Walpi. These two villages were quite close
together, and the subsequent construction of a few additional groups of
rooms almost connected them, so that they were always considered and
spoken of as one.

It was at this period, while Walpi was still on this lower site, that
the Spaniards came into the country. They met with little or no
opposition, and their entrance was marked by no great disturbances. No
special tradition preserves any of the circumstances of this event;
these first coming Spaniards being only spoken of as the “Kast´ilumuh
who wore iron garments, and came from the south,” and this brief mention
may be accounted for by the fleeting nature of these early visits.

The zeal of the Spanish priests carried them everywhere throughout
22


their newly acquired territory, and some time in the seventeenth century
a band of missionary monks found their way to Tusayan. They were
accompanied by a few troops to impress the people with a due regard for
Spanish authority, but to display the milder side of their mission, they
also brought herds of sheep and cattle for distribution. At first these
were herded at various springs within a wide radius around the villages,
and the names still attaching to these places memorize the introduction
of sheep and cattle to this region. The Navajo are first definitely
mentioned in tradition as occupants of this vicinity in connection with
these flocks and herds, in the distribution of which they gave much
undesirable assistance by driving off the larger portion to their own
haunts.

The missionaries selected Awatubi, Walpi, and Shumopavi as the sites
for their mission buildings, and at once, it is said, began to introduce
a system of enforced labor. The memory of the mission period is held in
great detestation, and the onerous toil the priests imposed is still
adverted to as the principal grievance. Heavy pine timbers, many of
which are now pointed out in the kiva roofs, of from 15 to 20 feet in
length and a foot or more in diameter, were cut at the San Francisco
Mountain, and gangs of men were compelled to carry and drag them to the
building sites, where they were used as house beams. This necessitated
prodigious toil, for the distance by trail is a hundred miles, most of
the way over a rough and difficult country. The Spaniards are said to
have employed a few ox teams in this labor, but the heaviest share was
performed by the impressed Hopituh, who were driven in gangs by the
Spanish soldiers, and any who refused to work were confined in a prison
house and starved into submission.

The “men with the long robes,” as the missionaries were called, are
said to have lived among these people for a long time, but no trace of
their individuality survives in tradition.

Possibly the Spanish missionaries may have striven to effect some
social improvement among these people, and by the adoption of some harsh
measures incurred the jealous anger of the chiefs. But the system of
labor they enforced was regarded, perhaps justly, as the introduction of
serfdom, such as then prevailed in the larger communities in the Rio
Grande valleys. Perhaps tradition belies them; but there are many
stories of their evil, sensual lives—assertions that they violated
women, and held many of the young girls at their mission houses, not as
pupils, but as concubines.

In any case, these hapless monks were engaged in a perilous mission
in seeking to supplant the primitive faith of the Tusayan, for among the
native priests they encountered prejudices even as violent as their own.
With too great zeal they prohibited the sacred dances, the votive
offerings to the nature-deities, and similar public observances, and
strove to suppress the secret rites and abolish the religious orders and
societies. But these were too closely incorporated with the system of
gentes and
23


other family kinships to admit of their extinction. Traditionally, it is
said that, following the discontinuance of the prescribed ceremonies,
the favor of the gods was withdrawn, the clouds brought no rain, and the
fields yielded no corn. Such a coincidence in this arid region is by no
means improbable, and according to the legends, a succession of dry
seasons resulting in famine has been of not infrequent occurrence. The
superstitious fears of the people were thus aroused, and they cherished
a mortal hatred of the monks.

In such mood were they in the summer of 1680, when the village
Indians rose in revolt, drove out the Spaniards, and compelled them to
retreat to Mexico. There are some dim traditions of that event still
existing among the Tusayan, and they tell of one of their own race
coming from the river region by the way of Zuñi to obtain their
cooperation in the proposed revolt. To this they consented.

Only a few Spaniards being present at that time, the Tusayan found
courage to vent their enmity in massacre, and every one of the hated
invaders perished on the appointed day. The traditions of the massacre
center on the doom of the monks, for they were regarded as the
embodiment of all that was evil in Spanish rule, and their pursuit, as
they tried to escape among the sand dunes, and the mode of their
slaughter, is told with grim precision; they were all overtaken and
hacked to pieces with stone tomahawks.

It is told that while the monks were still in authority some of the
Snake women urged a withdrawal from Walpi, and, to incite the men to
action, carried their mealing-stones and cooking vessels to the summit
of the mesa, where they desired the men to build new houses, less
accessible to the domineering priests. The men followed them, and two or
three small house groups were built near the southwest end of the
present village, one of them being still occupied by a Snake family, but
the others have been demolished or remodeled. A little farther north,
also on the west edge, the small house clusters there were next built by
the families of two women called Tji-vwó-wati and Si-kya-tcí-wati.
Shortly after the massacre the lower village was entirely abandoned, and
the building material carried above to the point which the Snakes had
chosen, and on which the modern Walpi was constructed. Several beams of
the old mission houses are now pointed out in the roofs of the
kivas.

There was a general apprehension that the Spaniards would send a
force to punish them, and the Shumopavi also reconstructed their village
in a stronger position, on a high mesa overlooking its former site. The
other villages were already in secure positions, and all the smaller
agricultural settlements were abandoned at this period, and excepting at
one or two places on the Moen-kopi, the Tusayan have ever since confined
themselves to the close vicinity of their main villages.

The house masses do not appear to bear any relation to division by
phratries. It is surprising that even the social division of the
phratries
24


is preserved. The Hopituh certainly marry within phratries, and
occasionally with the same gens. There is no doubt, however, that in the
earlier villages each gens, and where practicable, the whole of the
phratry, built their houses together. To a certain extent the house of
the priestess of a gens is still regarded as the home of the gens. She
has to be consulted concerning proposed marriages, and has much to say
in other social arrangements.

While the village of the Walpi was still upon the west side of the
mesa point, some of them moved around and built houses beside a spring
close to the east side of the mesa. Soon after this a dispute over
planting ground arose between them and the Sikyátki, whose village was
also on that side of the mesa and but a short distance above them. From
this time forward bad blood lay between the Sikyátki and the Walpi, who
took up the quarrel of their suburb. It also happened about that time,
so tradition says, more of the Coyote people came from the north, and
the Pikyás nyu-mu, the young cornstalk, who were the latest of the Water
people, came in from the south. The Sikyátki, having acquired their
friendship, induced them to build on two mounds, on the summit of the
mesa overlooking their village. They had been greatly harrassed by the
young slingers and archers of Walpi, who would come across to the edge
of the high cliff and assail them with impunity, but the occupation of
these two mounds by friends afforded effectual protection to their
village. These knolls are about 40 yards apart, and about 40 feet above
the level of the mesa which is something over 400 feet above Sikyátki.
Their roughly leveled summits measure 20 by 10 feet and are covered with
traces of house walls; and it is evident that groups of small-roomed
houses were clustered also around the sloping sides. About a hundred
yards south from their dwellings the people of the mounds built for
their own protection a strong wall entirely across the mesa, which at
that point is contracted to about 200 feet in width, with deep vertical
cliffs on either side. The base of the wall is still quite distinct, and
is about 3 feet thick.

But no reconciliation was ever effected between the Walpi and the
Sikyátki and their allies, and in spite of their defensive wall frequent
assaults were made upon the latter until they were forced to retreat.
The greater number of them retired to Oraibi and the remainder to
Sikyátki, and the feud was still maintained between them and the
Walpi.

Some of the incidents as well as the disastrous termination of this
feud are still narrated. A party of the Sikyátki went prowling through
Walpi one day while the men were afield, and among other outrages, one
of them shot an arrow through a window and killed a chief’s daughter
while she was grinding corn. The chief’s son resolved to avenge the
death of his sister, and some time after this went to Sikyátki,
professedly to take part in a religious dance, in which he joined until
just before the close of the ceremony. Having previously observed where
the handsomest girl was seated among the spectators on the house
terraces,
25


he ran up the ladder as if to offer her a prayer emblem, but instead he
drew out a sharp flint knife from his girdle and cut her throat. He
threw the body down where all could see it, and ran along the adjoining
terraces till he cleared the village. A little way up the mesa was a
large flat rock, upon which he sprang and took off his dancer’s mask so
that all might recognize him; then turning again to the mesa he sped
swiftly up the trail and escaped.

And so foray and slaughter continued to alternate between them until
the planting season of some indefinite year came around. All the
Sikyátki men were to begin the season by planting the fields of their
chief on a certain day, which was announced from the housetop by the
Second Chief as he made his customary evening proclamations, and the
Walpi, becoming aware of this, planned a fatal onslaught. Every man and
woman able to draw a bow or wield a weapon were got in readiness and at
night they crossed the mesa and concealed themselves along its edge,
overlooking the doomed village. When the day came they waited until the
men had gone to the field and then rushed down upon the houses. The
chief, who was too old to go afield, was the first one killed, and then
followed the indiscriminate slaughter of women and children, and the
destruction of the houses. The wild tumult in the village alarmed the
Sikyátki and they came rushing back, but too late to defend their homes.
Their struggles were hopeless, for they had only their planting sticks
to use as weapons, which availed but little against the Walpi with their
bows and arrows, spears, slings, and war clubs. Nearly all of the
Sikyátki men were killed, but some of them escaped to Oraibi and some to
Awatubi. A number of the girls and younger women were spared, and
distributed among the different villages, where they became wives of
their despoilers.

It is said to have been shortly after the destruction of Sikyátki
that the first serious inroad of a hostile tribe occurred within this
region, and all the stories aver that these early hostiles were from the
north, the Ute being the first who are mentioned, and after them the
Apache, who made an occasional foray.

While these families of Hopituh stock had been building their
straggling dwellings along the canyon brinks, and grouping in villages
around the base of the East Mesa, other migratory bands of Hopituh had
begun to arrive on the Middle Mesa. As already said, it is admitted that
the Snake were the first occupants of this region, but beyond that fact
the traditions are contradictory and confused. It is probable, however,
that not long after the arrival of the Horn, the Squash people came from
the south and built a village on the Middle Mesa, the ruin of which is
called Chukubi. It is on the edge of the cliff on the east side of the
neck of that mesa, and a short distance south of the direct trail
leading from Walpi to Oraibi. The Squash people say that they came from
Palát Kwabi, the Red Land in the far South, and this vague term
expresses nearly all their knowledge of that traditional land. They say
they lived
26


for a long time in the valley of the Colorado Chiquito, on the south
side of that stream and not far from the point where the railway crosses
it. They still distinguish the ruin of their early village there, which
was built as usual on the brink of a canyon, and call it Etípsíkya,
after a shrub that grows there profusely. They crossed the river
opposite that place, but built no permanent houses until they reached
the vicinity of Chukubi, near which two smaller clusters of ruins, on
knolls, mark the sites of dwellings which they claim to have been
theirs. Three groups (nyumu) traveling together were the next to follow
them; these were the Bear, the Bear-skin-rope, and the Blue Jay. They
are said to have been very numerous, and to have come from the vicinity
of San Francisco Mountain. They did not move up to Chukubi, but built a
large village on the summit, at the south end of the mesa, close to the
site of the present Mashongnavi. Soon afterward came the Burrowing Owl,
and the Coyote, from the vicinity of Navajo Mountains in the north, but
they were not very numerous. They also built upon the Mashongnavi
summit.

After this the Squash people found that the water from their springs
was decreasing, and began moving toward the end of the mesa, where the
other people were. But as there was then no suitable place left on the
summit, they built a village on the sandy terrace close below it, on the
west side; and as the springs at Chukubi ultimately ceased entirely, the
rest of the Squash people came to the terrace and were again united in
one village. Straggling bands of several other groups, both wingwu and
nyumu, are mentioned as coming from various directions. Some built on
the terrace and some found house room in Mashongnavi. This name is
derived as follows: On the south side of the terrace on which the Squash
village was built is a high column of sandstone which is vertically
split in two, and formerly there was a third pillar in line, which has
long since fallen. These three columns were called Tútuwalha, the
guardians, and both the Squash village and the one on the summit were so
named. On the north side of the terrace, close to the present village,
is another irregular massy pillar of sandstone called Mashóniniptu,
meaning “the other which remains erect,” having reference to the one on
the south side, which had fallen. When the Squash withdrew to the summit
the village was then called Mashóniniptuovi, “at the place of the other
which remains erect;” now that term is never used, but always its
syncopated form, Mashongnavi.

The Squash village, on the south end of the Middle Mesa, was attacked
by a fierce band that came from the north, some say the Ute, others say
the Apache; but whoever the invaders were, they completely overpowered
the people, and carried off great stores of food and other plunder. The
village was then evacuated, the houses dismantled, and the material
removed to the high summit, where they reconstructed their dwellings
around the village which thenceforth bore its present name of
Mashongnavi. Some of the Squash people moved over to Oraibi, and
portions of the Katchina and Paroquet people came from
27


there to Mashongnavi about the same time, and a few of these two groups
occupied some vacant houses also in Shupaulovi; for this village even at
that early date had greatly diminished in population, having sustained a
disastrous loss of men in the canyon affrays east of Walpi.

Shumopavi seems to have been built by portions of the same groups who
went to the adjacent Mashongnavi, but the traditions of the two villages
are conflicting. The old traditionists at Shumopavi hold that the first
to come there were the Paroquet, the Bear, the Bear-skin-rope, and the
Blue Jay. They came from the west—probably from San Francisco
Mountain. They claim that ruins on a mesa bluff about 10 miles south
from the present village are the remains of a village built by these
groups before reaching Shumopavi, and the Paroquets arrived first, it is
said, because they were perched on the heads of the Bears, and, when
nearing the water, they flew in ahead of the others. These groups built
a village on a broken terrace, on the east side of the cliff, and just
below the present village. There is a spring close by called after the
Shunóhu, a tall red grass, which grew abundantly there, and from which
the town took its name. This spring was formerly very large, but two
years ago a landslide completely buried it; lately, however, a small
outflow is again apparent.

The ruins of the early village cover a hillocky area of about 800 by
250 feet, but it is impossible to trace much of the ground plan with
accuracy. The corner of an old house still stands, some 6 or 8 feet
high, extending about 15 feet on one face and about 10 feet on the
other. The wall is over 3 feet in thickness, but of very clumsy masonry,
no care having been exercised in dressing the stones, which are of
varying sizes and laid in mud plaster. Interest attaches to this
fragment, as it is one of the few tangible evidences left of the Spanish
priests who engaged in the fatal mission to the Hopituh in the sixteenth
century. This bit of wall, which now forms part of a sheep-fold, is
pointed out as the remains of one of the mission buildings.

Other groups followed—the Mole, the Spider, and the “Wíksrun.”
These latter took their name from a curious ornament worn by the men. A
piece of the leg-bone of a bear, from which the marrow had been
extracted and a stopper fixed in one end, was attached to the fillet
binding the hair, and hung down in front of the forehead. This gens and
the Mole are now extinct.

Shumopavi received no further accession of population, but lost to
some extent by a portion of the Bear people moving across to Walpi. No
important event seems to have occurred among them for a long period
after the destruction of Sikyátki, in which they bore some part, and
only cursory mention is made of the ingress of “enemies from the north;”
but their village, apparently, was not assailed.

The Oraibi traditions tend to confirm those of Shumopavi, and tell
that the first houses there were built by Bears, who came from the
latter place. The following is from a curious legend of the early
settlement:

28


The Bear people had two chiefs, who were brothers; the elder was called
Vwen-ti-só-mo, and the younger Ma-tcí-to. They had a desperate quarrel
at Shumopavi, and their people divided into two factions, according as
they inclined to one or other of the contestants. After a long period of
contention Ma-tcí-to and his followers withdrew to the mesa where Oraibi
now stands, about 8 miles northwest from Shumopavi, and built houses a
little to the southwest of the limits of the present town. These houses
were afterwards destroyed by “enemies from the north,” and the older
portion of the existing town, the southwest ends of the house rows, were
built with stones from the demolished houses. Fragments of these early
walls are still occasionally unearthed.

After Ma-tcí-to and his people were established there, whenever any
of the Shumopavi people became dissatisfied with that place they built
at Oraibi, Ma-tcí-to placed a little stone monument about halfway
between these two villages to mark the boundary of the land.
Vwenti-so´-mo objected to this, but it was ultimately accepted with the
proviso that the village growing the fastest should have the privilege
of moving it toward the other village. The monument still stands, and is
on the direct Oraibi trail from Shumopavi, 3 miles from the latter. It
is a well dressed, rectangular block of sandstone, projecting two feet
above the ground, and measures 8½ by 7 inches. On the end is carved the
rude semblance of a human head, or mask, the eyes and mouth being merely
round shallow holes, with a black line painted around them. The stone is
pecked on the side, but the head and front are rubbed quite smooth, and
the block, tapering slightly to the base, suggests the ancient Roman
Termini.

There are Eagle people living at Oraibi, Mashongnavi, and Walpi, and
it would seem as if they had journeyed for some time with the later
Snake people and others from the northwest. Vague traditions attach them
to several of the ruins north of the Moen-kopi, although most of these
are regarded as the remains of Snake dwellings.

The legend of the Eagle people introduces them from the west, coming
in by way of the Moen-kopi water course. They found many people living
in Tusayan, at Oraibi, the Middle Mesa, and near the East Mesa, but the
Snake village was yet in the valley. Some of the Eagles remained at
Oraibi, but the main body moved to a large mound just east of
Mashongnavi, on the summit of which they built a village and called it
Shi-tái-mu. Numerous traces of small-roomed houses can be seen on this
mound and on some of the lower surroundings. The uneven summit is about
300 by 200 feet, and the village seems to have been built in the form of
an irregular ellipse, but the ground plan is very obscure.

While the Eagles were living at Shi-tái-mu, they sent “Yellow Foot”
to the mountain in the east (at the headwaters of the Rio Grande) to
obtain a dog. After many perilous adventures in caverns guarded by bear,
mountain lion, and rattlesnake, he got two dogs and returned.
29


They were wanted to keep the coyotes out of the corn and the gardens.
The dogs grew numerous, and would go to Mashongnavi in search of food,
and also to some of the people of that village, which led to serious
quarrels between them and the Eagle people. Ultimately the Shi-tái-mu
chief proclaimed a feast, and told the people to prepare to leave the
village forever. On the feast day the women arranged the food basins on
the ground in a long line leading out of the village. The people passed
along this line, tasting a mouthful here or there, but without stopping,
and when they reached the last basin they were beyond the limits of the
village. Without turning around they continued on down into the valley
until they were halted by the Snake people. An arrangement was effected
with the latter, and the Eagles built their houses in the Snake village.
A few of the Eagle families who had become attached to Mashongnavi chose
to go to that village, where their descendants still reside, and are yet
held as close relatives by the Eagles of Walpi. The land around the East
Mesa was then portioned out, the Snakes, Horns, Bears, and Eagles each
receiving separate lands, and these old allotments are still
approximately maintained.

According to the Eagle traditions the early occupants of Tusayan came
in the following succession: Snake, Horn, Bear, Middle Mesa, Oraibi, and
Eagle, and finally from the south came the Water families. This sequence
is also recognized in the general tenor of the legends of the other
groups.

Shupaulovi, a small village quite close to Mashongnavi, would seem to
have been established just before the coming of the Water people. Nor
does there seem to have been any very long interval between the arrival
of the earliest occupants of the Middle Mesa and this latest colony.
These were the Sun people, and like the Squash folk, claim to have come
from Palátkwabi, the Red Land, in the south. On their northward
migration, when they came to the valley of the Colorado Chiquito, they
found the Water people there, with whom they lived for some time. This
combined village was built upon Homólobi, a round terraced mound near
Sunset Crossing, where fragmentary ruins covering a wide area can yet be
traced.

Incoming people from the east had built the large village of Awatubi,
high rock, upon a steep mesa about nine miles southeast from Walpi. When
the Sun people came into Tusayan they halted at that village and a few
of them remained there permanently, but the others continued west to the
Middle Mesa. At that time also they say Chukubi, Shitaimu, Mashongnavi,
and the Squash village on the terrace were all occupied, and they built
on the terrace close to the Squash village also. The Sun people were
then very numerous and soon spread their dwellings over the summit where
the ruin now stands, and many indistinct lines of house walls around
this dilapidated village attest its former size. Like the neighboring
village, it takes its name from a rock near by,
30


which is used as a place for the deposit of votive offerings, but the
etymology of the term can not be traced.

Some of the Bear people also took up their abode at Shupaulovi, and
later a nyumu of the Water family called Batni, moisture, built with
them; and the diminished families of the existing village are still
composed entirely of these three nyumu.

The next arrivals seem to have been the Asanyumu, who in early days
lived in the region of the Chama, in New Mexico, at a village called
Kaékibi, near the place now known as Abiquiu. When they left that region
they moved slowly westward to a place called Túwii (Santo Domingo),
where some of them are said to still reside. The next halt was at
Kaiwáika (Laguna) where it is said some families still remain, and they
staid also a short time at A´ikoka (Acoma); but none of them remained at
that place. From the latter place they went to Sióki (Zuñi), where they
remained a long time and left a number of their people there, who are
now called Aiyáhokwi by the Zuñi. They finally reached Tusayan by way of
Awatubi. They had been preceded from the same part of New Mexico by the
Honan nyumu (the Badger people), whom they found living at the
last-named village. The Magpie, the Pute Kóhu (Boomerang-shaped hunting
stick), and the Field-mouse families of the Asa remained and built
beside the Badger, but the rest of its groups continued across to the
Walpi Mesa. They were not at first permitted to come up to Walpi, which
then occupied its present site, but were allotted a place to build at
Coyote Water, a small spring on the east side of the mesa, just under
the gap. They had not lived there very long, however, when for some
valuable services in defeating at one time a raid of the Ute (who used
to be called the Tcingawúptuh) and of the Navajo at another, they were
given for planting grounds all the space on the mesa summit from the gap
to where Sichumovi now stands, and the same width, extending across the
valley to the east. On the mesa summit they built the early portion of
the house mass on the north side of the village, now known as Hano. But
soon after this came a succession of dry seasons, which caused a great
scarcity of food almost amounting to a famine, and many moved away to
distant streams. The Asa people went to Túpkabi (Deep Canyon, the de
Chelly), about 70 miles northeast from Walpi, where the Navajo received
them kindly and supplied them with food. The Asa had preserved some
seeds of the peach, which they planted in the canyon nooks, and numerous
little orchards still flourish there. They also brought the Navajo new
varieties of food plants, and their relations grew very cordial. They
built houses along the base of the canyon walls, and dwelt there for two
or three generations, during which time many of the Asa women were given
to the Navajo, and the descendants of these now constitute a numerous
clan among the Navajo, known as the Kiáini, the High-house people.

The Navajo and the Asa eventually quarreled and the latter returned
to Walpi, but this was after the arrival of the Hano, by whom they
31


found their old houses occupied. The Asa were taken into the village of
Walpi, being given a vacant strip on the east edge of the mesa, just
where the main trail comes up to the village. The Navajo, Ute, and
Apache had frequently gained entrance to the village by this trail, and
to guard it the Asa built a house group along the edge of the cliff at
that point, immediately overlooking the trail, where some of the people
still live; and the kiva there, now used by the Snake order, belongs to
them. There was a crevice in the rock, with a smooth bottom extending to
the edge of the cliff and deep enough for a ki´koli. A wall was built to
close the outer edge and it was at first intended to build a dwelling
house there, but it was afterward excavated to its present size and made
into a kiva, still called the wikwálhobi, the kiva of the Watchers of
the High Place. The Walpi site becoming crowded, some of the Bear and
Lizard people moved out and built houses on the site of the present
Sichumovi; several Asa families followed them, and after them came some
of the Badger people. The village grew to an extent considerably beyond
its present size, when it was abandoned on account of a malignant
plague. After the plague, and within the present generation, the village
was rebuilt—the old houses being torn down to make the new
ones.

After the Asa came the nest group to arrive was the Water family.
Their chief begins the story of their migration in this way:

In the long ago the Snake, Horn, and Eagle people lived here (in
Tusayan), but their corn grew only a span high, and when they sang for
rain the cloud god sent only a thin mist. My people then lived in the
distant Pa-lát Kwá-bi in the South. There was a very bad old man there,
who, when he met any one, would spit in his face, blow his nose upon
him, and rub ordure upon him. He ravished the girls and did all manner
of evil. Baholikonga got angry at this and turned the world upside down,
and water spouted up through the kivas and through the fireplaces in the
houses. The earth was rent in great chasms, and water covered everything
except one narrow ridge of mud; and across this the serpent deity told
all the people to travel. As they journeyed across, the feet of the bad
slipped and they fell into the dark water, but the good, after many
days, reached dry land. While the water was rising around the village
the old people got on the tops of the houses, for they thought they
could not struggle across with the younger people; but Baholikonga
clothed them with the skins of turkeys, and they spread their wings out
and floated in the air just above the surface of the water, and in this
way they got across. There were saved of our people Water, Corn, Lizard,
Horned Toad, Sand, two families of Rabbit, and Tobacco. The turkey tail
dragged in the water—hence the white on the turkey tail now.
Wearing these turkey-skins is the reason why old people have dewlaps
under the chin like a turkey; it is also the reason why old people use
turkey-feathers at the religious ceremonies.

In the story of the wandering of the Water people, many vague
references are made to various villages in the South, which they
constructed or dwelt in, and to rocks where they carved their totems at
temporary halting places. They dwelt for a long time at Homólobi, where
the Sun people joined them; and probably not long after the latter left
the Water people followed on after them. The largest number of this
family seem
32


to have made their dwellings first at Mashongnavi and Shupaulovi; but
like the Sun people they soon spread to all the villages.

The narrative of part of this journey is thus given by the chief
before quoted:

It occupied 4 years to cross the disrupted country. The kwakwanti
(a warrior order) went ahead of the people and carried seed of
corn, beans, melons, squashes, and cotton. They would plant corn in the
mud at early morning and by noon it was ripe and thus the people were
fed. When they reached solid ground they rested, and then they built
houses. The kwakwanti were always out exploring—sometimes they
were gone as long as four years. Again we would follow them on long
journeys, and halt and build houses and plant. While we were traveling
if a woman became heavy with child we would build her a house and put
plenty of food in it and leave her there, and from these women sprang
the Pima, Maricopa, and other Indians in the South.

Away in the South, before we crossed the mountains (south of the Apache
country) we built large houses and lived there a long while. Near these
houses is a large rock on which was painted the rain-clouds of the Water
phratry, also a man carrying corn in his arms; and the other phratries
also painted the Lizard and the Rabbit upon it. While they were living
there the kwakwanti made an expedition far to the north and came in
conflict with a hostile people. They fought day after day, for days and
days—they fought by day only and when night came they separated,
each party retiring to its own ground to rest. One night the cranes came
and each crane took a kwakwanti on his back and brought them back to
their people in the South.

Again all the people traveled north until they came to the Little
Colorado, near San Francisco Mountains, and there they built houses up
and down the river. They also made long ditches to carry the water from
the river to their gardens. After living there a long while they began
to be plagued with swarms of a kind of gnat called the sand-fly, which
bit the children, causing them to swell up and die. The place becoming
unendurable, they were forced again to resume their travels. Before
starting, one of the Rain-women, who was big with child, was made
comfortable in one of the houses on the mountain. She told her people to
leave her, because she knew this was the place where she was to remain
forever. She also told them, that hereafter whenever they should return
to the mountain to hunt she would provide them with plenty of game.
Under her house is a spring and any sterile woman who drinks of its
water will bear children. The people then began a long journey to reach
the summit of the table land on the north. They camped for rest on one
of the terraces, where there was no water, and they were very tired and
thirsty. Here the women celebrated the rain-feast—they danced for
three days, and on the fourth day the clouds brought heavy rain and
refreshed the people. This event is still commemorated by a circle of
stones at that place. They reached a spring southeast from Káibitho
(Kumás Spring) and there they built a house and lived for some time. Our
people had plenty of rain and cultivated much corn and some of the Walpi
people came to visit us. They told ns that their rain only came here and
there in fine misty sprays, and a basketful of corn was regarded as a
large crop. So they asked us to come to their land and live with them
and finally we consented. When we got there we found some Eagle people
living near the Second Mesa; our people divided, and part went with the
Eagle and have ever since remained there; but we camped near the First
Mesa. It was planting time and the Walpi celebrated their rain-feast but
they brought only a mere misty drizzle. Then we celebrated our
rain-feast and planted. Great rains and thunder and lightning
immediately followed and on the first day after planting our corn was
half an arm’s length high; on the fourth day it was its full height, and
in one moon it was ripe. When we were going up to the village (Walpi was
then north of the gap, probably), we were met by a
33


Bear man who said that our thunder frightened the women and we must not
go near the village. Then the kwakwanti said, “Let us leave these people
and seek a land somewhere else,” but our women said they were tired of
travel and insisted upon our remaining. Then “Fire-picker” came down
from the village and told us to come up there and stay, but after we had
got into the village the Walpi women screamed out against us—they
feared our thunder—and so the Walpi turned us away. Then our
people, except those who went to the Second Mesa, traveled to the
northeast as far as the Tsegi (Canyon de Chelly), but I can not tell
whether our people built the louses there. Then they came hack to this
region again and built houses and had much trouble with the Walpi, but
we have lived here ever since.

Groups of the Water people, as already stated, were distributed among
all the villages, although the bulk of them remained at the Middle Mesa;
but it seems that most of the remaining groups subsequently chose to
build their permanent houses at Oraibi. There is no special tradition of
this movement; it is only indicated by this circumstance, that in
addition to the Water families common to every village, there are still
in Oraibi several families of that people which have no representatives
in any of the other villages. At a quite early day Oraibi became a place
of importance, and they tell of being sufficiently populous to establish
many outlying settlements. They still identify these with ruins on the
detached mesas in the valley to the south and along the Moen-kopi
(“place of flowing water”) and other intermittent streams in the west.
These sites were occupied for the purpose of utilizing cultivable tracts
of land in their vicinity, and the remotest settlement, about 45 miles
west, was especially devoted to the cultivation of cotton, the place
being still called by the Navajo and other neighboring tribes, the
“cotton planting ground.” It is also said that several of the larger
ruins along the course of the Moen-kopi were occupied by groups of the
Snake, the Coyote, and the Eagle who dwelt in that region for a long
period before they joined the people in Tusayan. The incursions of
foreign bands from the north may have hastened that movement, and the
Oraibi say they were compelled to withdraw all their outlying colonies.
An episode is related of an attack upon the main village when a number
of young girls were carried off, and 2 or 3 years afterward the same
marauders returned and treated with the Oraibi, who paid a ransom in
corn and received all their girls back again. After a quiet interval the
pillaging bands renewed their attacks and the settlements on the
Moen-kopi were vacated. They were again occupied after another peace was
established, and this condition of alternate occupancy and abandonment
seems to have existed until within quite recent time.

While the Asa were still sojourning in Canyon de Chelly, and before
the arrival of the Hano, another bloody scene had been enacted in
Tusayan. Since the time of the Antelope Canyon feuds there had been
enmity between Awatubi and some of the other villages, especially Walpi,
and some of the Sikyatki refugees had transmitted their feudal wrongs to
their descendants who dwelt in Awatubi. They had long been perpetrating
all manner of offenses; they had intercepted hunting
34


parties from the other villages, seized their game, and sometimes killed
the hunters; they had fallen upon men in outlying corn fields,
maltreating and sometimes slaying them, and threatened still more
serious outrage. Awatubi was too strong for Walpi to attack
single-handed, so the assistance of the other villages was sought, and
it was determined to destroy Awatubi at the close of a feast soon to
occur. This was the annual “feast of the kwakwanti,” which is still
maintained and is held during the month of November by each village,
when the youths who have been qualified by certain ordeals are admitted
to the councils. The ceremonies last several days, and on the concluding
night special rites are held in the kivas. At these ceremonies every man
must be in the kiva to which he belongs, and after the close of the
rites they all sleep there, no one being permitted to leave the kiva
until after sunrise on the following day.

There was still some little intercourse between Awatubi and Walpi,
and it was easily ascertained when this feast was to be held. On the day
of its close, the Walpi sent word to their allies “to prepare the war
arrow and come,” and in the evening the fighting bands from the other
villages assembled at Walpi, as the foray was to be led by the chief of
that village. By the time night had fallen something like 150 marauders
had met, all armed, of course; and of still more ominous import than
their weapons were the firebrands they carried—shredded cedar bark
loosely bound in rolls, resinous splinters of piñon, dry greasewood
(a furze very easily ignited), and pouches full of pulverized red
peppers.

Secure in the darkness from observation, the bands followed the Walpi
chief across the valley, every man with his weapons in hand and a bundle
of inflammables on his back. Beaching the Awatubi mesa they cautiously
crept up the steep, winding trail to the summit, and then stole round
the village to the passages leading to the different courts holding the
kivas, near which they hid themselves. They waited till just before the
gray daylight came, then the Walpi chief shouted his war cry and the
yelling bands rushed to the kivas. Selecting their positions, they were
at them in a moment, and quickly snatching up the ladders through the
hatchways, the only means of exit, the doomed occupants were left as
helpless as rats in a trap. Fire was at hand in the numerous little
cooking pits, containing the jars of food prepared for the celebrants,
the inflammable bundles were lit and tossed into the kivas, and the
piles of firewood on the terraced roofs were thrown down upon the blaze,
and soon each kiva became a furnace. The red pepper was then cast upon
the fire to add its choking tortures, while round the hatchways the
assailants stood showering their arrows into the mass of struggling
wretches. The fires were maintained until the roofs fell in and buried
and charred the bones of the victims. It is said that every male of
Awatubi who had passed infancy perished in the slaughter, not one
escaping. Such of the women and children as were spared were taken out,
and all the houses were destroyed, after which the captives were divided
among the different villages.

35


The date of this last feudal atrocity can be made out with some degree
of exactness, because in 1692, Don Diego Vargas with a military force
visited Tusayan and mentions Awatubi as a populous village at which he
made some halt. The Hano (Tewa) claim that they have lived in Tusayan
for five or six generations, and that when they arrived there was no
Awatubi in existence; hence it must have been destroyed not long after
the close of the seventeenth century.

Since the destruction of Awatubi only one other serious affray has
occurred between the villages; that was between Oraibi and Walpi. It
appears that after the Oraibi withdrew their colonies from the south and
west they took possession of all the unoccupied planting grounds to the
east of the village, and kept reaching eastward till they encroached
upon some land claimed by the Walpi. This gave rise to intermittent
warfare in the outlying fields, and whenever the contending villagers
met a broil ensued, until the strife culminated in an attack upon Walpi.
The Oraibi chose a day when the Walpi men were all in the field on the
east side of the mesa, but the Walpi say that their women and dogs held
the Oraibi at bay until the men came to the rescue. A severe battle was
fought at the foot of the mesa, in which the Oraibi were routed and
pursued across the Middle Mesa, where an Oraibi chief turned and
implored the Walpi to desist. A conciliation was effected there, and
harmonious relations have ever since existed between them. Until within
a few years ago the spot where they stayed pursuit was marked by a
stone, on which a shield and a dog were depicted, but it was a source of
irritation to the Oraibi and it was removed by some of the Walpi.

In the early part of the eighteenth century the Ute from the north,
and the Apache from the south made most disastrous inroads upon the
villages, in which Walpi especially suffered. The Navajo, who then lived
upon their eastern border, also suffered severely from the same bands,
but the Navajo and the Tusayan were not on the best terms and never made
any alliance for a common defense against these invaders.

Hano was peopled by a different linguistic stock from that of the
other villages—a stock which belongs to the Rio Grande group.
According to Polaka, the son of the principal chief, and himself an
enterprising trader who has made many journeys to distant
localities—and to others, the Hano once lived in seven villages on
the Rio Grande, and the village in which his forefathers lived was
called Tceewáge. This, it is said, is the same as the present Mexican
village of Peña Blanca.

The Hano claim that they came to Tusayan only after repeated
solicitation by the Walpi, at a time when the latter were much harassed
by the Ute and Apache. The story, as told by Kwálakwai, who lives in
Hano, but is not himself a Hano, begins as follows:

Long ago
the Hopi´tuh were few and were continually harassed by the Yútamo (Ute),
Yuíttcemo (Apache), and Dacábimo (Navajo). The chiefs of the Tcuin nyumu
(Snake people) and the Hánin nyumu (Bear people) met together and made
the ba´ho (sacred plume stick) and sent it with a man from each of these
people to the house of the Tewa, called Tceewádigi, which was far off on
the Múina (river) near Alavia (Santa Fé).

36


The messengers did not succeed in persuading the Tewa to come and the
embassy was sent three times more. On the fourth visit the Tewa
consented to come, as the Walpi had offered to divide their land and
their waters with them, and set out for Tusayan, led by their own chief,
the village being left in the care of his son. This first band is said
to have consisted of 146 women, and it was afterwards followed by
another and perhaps others.

Before the Hano arrived there had been a cessation of hostile
inroads, and the Walpi received them churlishly and revoked their
promises regarding the division of land and waters with them. They were
shown where they could build houses for themselves on a yellow sand
mound on the east side of the mesa just below the gap. They built there,
but they were compelled to go for their food up to Walpi. They could get
no vessels to carry their food in, and when they held out their hands
for some the Walpi women mockingly poured out hot porridge and scalded
the fingers of the Hano.

After a time the Ute came down the valley on the west side of the
mesa, doing great harm again, and drove off the Walpi flocks andiron
Then the Hano got ready for war; they tied buckskins around their loins,
whitened their legs with clay, and stained their body and arms with dark
red earth (ocher). They overtook the Ute near Wípho (about 3 miles north
from Hano), but the Ute had driven the flocks up the steep mesa side,
and when they saw the Tewa coming they killed all the sheep and piled
the carcasses up for a defense, behind which they lay down. They had a
few firearms also, while the Hano had only clubs and bows and arrows;
but after some fighting the Ute were driven out and the Tewa followed
after them. The first Ute was killed a short distance beyond, and a
stone heap still (?) marks the spot. Similar heaps marked the places
where other Ute were killed as they fled before the Hano, but not far
from the San Juan the last one was killed.

Upon the return of the Hano from this successful expedition they were
received gratefully and allowed to come up on the mesa to live—the
old houses built by the Asa, in the present village of Hano, being
assigned to them. The land was then divided, an imaginary line between
Hano and Sichumovi, extending eastward entirely across the valley,
marked the southern boundary, and from this line as far north as the
spot where the last Utah was killed was assigned to the Hano as their
possession.

When the Hano first came the Walpi said to them, “let us spit in your
mouths, and you will learn our tongue,” and to this the Hano consented.
When the Hano came up and built on the mesa they said to the Walpi, “let
us spit in your mouths and you will learn our tongue,” but the Walpi
would not listen to this, saying it would make them vomit. This is the
reason why all the Hano can talk Hopí, and none of the Hopítuh can talk
Hano.

The Asa and the Hano were close friends while they dwelt in New
Mexico, and when they came to this region both of them were called
Hánomuh by the other people of Tusayan. This term signifies the mode in
which the women of these people wear their hair, cut off in front on a
line with
37


the mouth and carelessly parted or hanging over the face, the back hair
rolled up in a compact queue at the nape of the neck. This uncomely
fashion prevails with both matron, and maid, while among the other
Tusayan the matron parts her hair evenly down the head and wears it
hanging in a straight queue on either side, the maidens wearing theirs
in a curious discoid arrangement over each temple.

Although the Asa and the Hano women have the same peculiar fashion of
wearing the hair, still there is no affinity of blood claimed between
them. The Asa speak the same language as the other Tusayan, but the Tewa
(Hano) have a quite distinct language which belongs to the Tañoan stock.
They claim that the occupants of the following pueblos, in the same
region of the Rio Grande, are of their people and speak the same
tongue.

Pleasant relations existed for some time, but the Walpi again grew
ill-tempered; they encroached upon the Hano planting grounds and stole
their property. These troubles increased, and the Hano moved away from
the mesa; they crossed the west valley and built temporary shelters.
They sent some men to explore the land on the westward to find a
suitable place for a new dwelling. These scouts went to the Moen-kopi,
and on returning, the favorable story they told of the land they had
seen determined the Tewa to go there.

Meanwhile some knowledge of these troubles had reached Tceewádigi,
and a party of the Tewa came to Tusayan to take their friends back. This
led the Hopituh to make reparation, which restored the confidence of the
Hano, and they returned to the mesa, and the recently arrived party were
also induced to remain. Yet even now, when the Hano (Tewa) go to visit
their people on the river, the latter beseech them to come back, but the
old Tewa say, “we shall stay here till our breath leaves us, then surely
we shall go back to our first home to live forever.”

The Walpi for a long time frowned down all attempts on the part of
the Hano to fraternize; they prohibited intermarriages, and in general
tabued the Hano. Something of this spirit was maintained until quite
recent years, and for this reason the Hano still speak their own
language, and have preserved several distinctive customs, although now
the most friendly relations exist among all the villages. After the Hano
were quietly established in their present position the Asa returned, and
the Walpi allotted them a place to build in their own village. As before
mentioned, the house mass on the southeast side of Walpi, at the head of
the trail leading up to the village at that point, is still occupied by
Asa families, and their tenure of possession was on the condition that
they should always defend that point of access and guard the south end
38


of the village. Their kiva is named after this circumstance as that of
“the Watchers of the High Place.”

Some of the Bear and Lizard families being crowded for building
space, moved from Walpi and built the first houses on the site of the
present village of Sichumovi, which is named from the Sivwapsi, a shrub
which formerly grew there on some mounds (chumo).

This was after the Asa had been in Walpi for some time; probably
about 125 years ago. Some of the Asa, and the Badger, the latter
descendants of women saved from the Awatubi catastrophe, also moved to
Sichumovi, but a plague of smallpox caused the village to be abandoned
shortly afterward. This pestilence is said to have greatly reduced the
number of the Tusayan, and after it disappeared there were many vacant
houses in every village. Sichumovi was again occupied by a few Asa
families, but the first houses were torn down and new ones constructed
from them.

LIST OF TRADITIONARY GENTES.

In the following table the early phratries (nyu-mu) are arranged in
the order of their arrival, and the direction from which each came is
given, except in the case of the Bear people. There are very few
representatives of this phratry existing now, and very little tradition
extant concerning its early history. The table does not show the
condition of these, organizations in the present community but as they
appear in the traditional accounts of their coming to Tusayan, although
representatives of most of them can still be found in the various
villages. There are, moreover, in addition to these, many other gentes
and sub-gentes of more recent origin. The subdivision, or rather the
multiplication of gentes may be said to be a continuous process; as, for
example, in “corn” can be found families claiming to be of the root,
stem, leaf, ear, blossom, etc., all belonging to corn; but there may be
several families of each of these components constituting district
sub-gentes. At present there are really but four phratries recognized
among the Hopituh, the Snake, Horn, Eagle, and Rain, which is
indifferently designated as Water or Corn:

The foregoing is the Water or Rain phratry proper, but allied to them
are the two following phratries, who also came to this region with the
Water phratry.

Polaka gives the following data:

The gentes bracketed are said to “belong together,” but do not seem
to have distinctive names—as phratries.

SUPPLEMENTARY LEGEND.

An interesting ruin which occurs on a mesa point a short distance
north of Mashongnavi is known to the Tusayan under the name of Payupki.
There are traditions and legends concerning it among the Tusayan, but
the only version that could be obtained is not regarded by the writer as
being up to the standard of those incorporated in the “Summary” and it
is therefore given separately, as it has some suggestive value. It was
obtained through Dr. Jeremiah Sullivan, then resident in Tusayan.

The people of Payupki spoke the same language as those on the first
mesa (Walpi). Long ago they lived in the north, on the San Juan, but
they were compelled to abandon that region and came to a place about 20
miles northwest from Oraibi. Being compelled to leave there, they went
to Canyon de Chelly, where a band of Indians from the southeast joined
them, with whom they formed an alliance. Together the two tribes moved
eastward toward the Jemez Mountains, whence they drifted into the valley
of the Rio Grande. There they became converts to the fire-worship then
prevailing, but retained their old customs and language. At the time of
the great insurrection (of 1680) they sheltered the native priests that
were driven from some of the Rio Grande villages, and this action
created such distrust and hatred among the people that the Payupki were
forced to leave their settlement. Their first stop was at Old Laguna (12
miles east of the modern village) and they had with them then some 35 or
40 of the priests. After leaving Laguna they came to Bear Spring (Fort
Wingate) and had a fight there with the Apache, whom they defeated. They
remained at Bear Spring for several years, until the Zuñi compelled them
to move. They then attempted to reach the San Juan, but were deceived in
the trail, turned to the west and came to where Pueblo Colorado is now
(the present post-office of Ganado, between Fort Defiance and Keam’s
Canyon). They remained there a long time, and through their success in
farming became so favorably known that they were urged to come farther
west. They refused, in consequence of which some Tusayan attacked them.
They were captured and brought to Walpi (then on the point) and
afterwards they were distributed among the villages. Previous to this
capture the priests had been guiding them by feathers, smoke, and signs
seen in the fire. When the priest’s omens and oracles had proved false
the people were disposed to kill them, but the priests persuaded them to
let it depend on a test case—offering to kill themselves in the
event of failure. So they had a great feast at Awatubi. The priests had
long, hollow reeds inclosing various substances—feathers, flour,
corn-pollen, sacred water, native tobacco (piba), corn, beans, melon
seeds, etc., and they formed in a circle at sunrise on the plaza and had
their incantations and prayers. As the sun rose a priest stepped forth
before the people and blew through his reed, desirous of blowing
41


that which was therein away from him, to scatter it abroad. But the wind
would not blow and the contents of the reed fell to the ground. The
priests were divided into groups, according to what they carried. In the
evening all but two groups had blown. Then the elder of the twain turned
his back eastward, and the reed toward the setting sun, and he blew, and
the wind caught the feather and carried it to the west. This was
accepted as a sign and the next day the Tusayan freed the slaves, giving
each a blanket with corn in it. They went to the mesa where the ruin now
stands and built the houses there. They asked for planting grounds, and
fields were given them; but their crops did not thrive, and they stole
corn from the Mashongnavi. Then, fearful lest they should be surprised
at night, they built a wall as high as a man’s head about the top of
their mesa, and they had big doorways, which they closed and fastened at
night. When they were compelled to plant corn for themselves they
planted it on the ledges of the mesa, but it grew only as high as a
man’s knees; the leaves were very small and the grains grew only on one
side of it. After a time they became friendly with the Mashongnavi
again, and a boy from that village conceived a passion for a Payupki
girl. The latter tribe objected to a marriage but the Mashongnavi were
very desirous for it and some warriors of that village proposed if the
boy could persuade the girl to fly with him, to aid and protect him. On
an appointed day, about sundown, the girl came down from the mesa into
the valley, but she was discovered by some old women who were baking
pottery, who gave the alarm. Hearing the noise a party of the
Mashongnavi, who were lying in wait, came up, but they encountered a
party of the Payupki who had come out and a fight ensued. During the
fight the young man was killed; and this caused so much bitterness of
feeling that the Payupki were frightened, and remained quietly in their
pueblo for several days. One morning, however, an old woman came over to
Mashongnavi to borrow some tobacco, saying that they were going to have
a dance in her village in five days. The next day the Payupki quietly
departed. Seeing no smoke from the village the Mashongnavi at first
thought that the Payupki were preparing for their dance, but on the
third day a band of warriors was sent over to inquire and they found the
village abandoned. The estufas and the houses of the priests were pulled
down.

The narrator adds that the Payupki returned to San Felipe whence they
came.

CHAPTER II.

RUINS AND INHABITED VILLAGES OF TUSAYAN.

PHYSICAL FEATURES OF THE PROVINCE.

That portion of the southwestern plateau country comprised in the
Province of Tusayan has usually been approached from the east, so that
the easternmost of the series of mesas upon which the villages are
situated is called the “First Mesa.” The road for 30 or 40 miles before
reaching this point traverses the eastern portion of the great plateau
whose broken margin, farther west, furnishes the abrupt mesa-tongues
upon which the villages are built. The sandstone measures of this
plateau are distinguished from many others of the southwest by their
neutral colors. The vegetation consisting of a scattered growth of
stunted piñon and cedar, interspersed with occasional stretches of
dull-gray sage, imparts an effect of extreme monotony to the landscape.
The effect is in marked contrast to the warmth and play of color
frequently seen elsewhere in the plateau country.

The plateaus of Tusayan are generally diversified by canyons and
buttes, whose precipitous sides break down into long ranges of rocky
talus and sandy foothills. The arid character of this district is
especially pronounced about the margin of the plateau. In the immediate
vicinity of the villages there are large areas that do not support a
blade of grass, where barren rocks outcrop through drifts of sand or lie
piled in confusion at the bases of the cliffs. The canyons that break
through the margins of these mesas often have a remarkable similarity of
appearance, and the consequent monotony is extremely embarrassing to the
traveler, the absence of running water and clearly defined drainage
confusing his sense of direction.

The occasional springs which furnish scanty water supply to the
inhabitants of this region are found generally at great distances apart,
and there are usually but few natural indications of their location.
They often occur in obscure nooks in the canyons, reached by tortuous
trails winding through the talus and foothills, or as small seeps at the
foot of some mesa. The convergence of numerous Navajo trails, however,
furnishes some guide to these rare water sources.

The series of promontories upon which the Tusayan villages are built
are exceptionally rich in these seeps and springs. About the base of
43


the “First Mesa” (Fig. 1), within a distance
of 4 or 5 miles from the villages located upon it, there are at least
five places where water can be obtained. One of these is a mere surface
reservoir, but the others appear to be permanent springs. The quantity
of water, however, is so small that it produces no impression on the
arid and sterile effect of the surroundings, except in its immediate
vicinity. Here small patches of green, standing out in strong relief
against their sandy back-grounds, mark the position of clusters of low,
stunted peach trees that have obtained a foothold on the steep sand
dunes.

Fig. 1.
View of the First Mesa.

In the open plains surrounding the mesa rim (6,000 feet above the
sea), are seen broad stretches of dusty sage brush and prickly
greasewood. Where the plain rises toward the base of the mesa a
scattered growth of scrub cedar and piñon begins to appear. But little
of this latter growth is seen in the immediate vicinity of the villages;
it is, however, the characteristic vegetation of the mesas, while, in
still higher altitudes, toward the San Juan, open forests of timber are
met with. This latter country seems scarcely to have come within the
ancient builder’s province; possibly on account of its coldness in
winter and for the reason that it is open to the incursions of warlike
hunting tribes. Sage brush and greasewood grow abundantly near the
villages, and these curious gnarled and twisted shrubs furnish the
principal fuel of the Tusayan.

Occasionally grassy levels are seen that for a few weeks in early
summer are richly carpeted with multitudes of delicate wild flowers. The
beauty of these patches of gleaming color is enhanced by contrast with
the forbidding and rugged character of the surroundings; but in a very
short time these blossoms disappear from the arid and parched desert
44


that they have temporarily beautified. These beds of bloom are not seen
in the immediate vicinity of the present villages, but are unexpectedly
met with in portions of the neighboring mesas and canyons.

After crossing the 6 or 7 miles of comparatively level country that
intervenes between the mouth of Keam’s Canyon and the first of the
occupied mesas, the toilsome ascent begins; at first through slopes and
dunes and then over masses of broken talus, as the summit of the mesa is
gradually approached. Near the top the road is flanked on one side by a
very abrupt descent of broken slopes, and on the other by a precipitous
rocky wall that rises 30 or 40 feet above. The road reaches the brink of
the promontory by a sharp rise at a point close to the village of
Hano.

METHODS OF SURVEY.

Before entering upon a description of the villages and ruins, a few
words as to the preparation of the plans accompanying this paper will
not be amiss. The methods pursued in making the surveys of the inhabited
pueblos were essentially the same throughout. The outer wall of each
separate cluster was run with a compass and a tape measure, the lines
being closed and checked upon the corner from which the beginning was
made, so that the plan of each group stands alone, and no accumulation
of error is possible. The stretched tapeline afforded a basis for
estimating any deviations from a straight line which the wall presented,
and as each sight was plotted on the spot these deviations are all
recorded on the plan, and afford an indication of the degree of accuracy
with which the building was carried out. Upon the basis thus obtained,
the outlines of the second stories were drawn by the aid of measurements
from the numerous jogs and angles; the same process being repeated for
each of the succeeding stories. The plan at this stage recorded all the
stories in outline. The various houses and clusters were connected by
compass sights and by measurements. A tracing of the outline plan was
then made, on which the stories were distinguished by lines of different
colors, and upon this tracing were recorded all the vertical
measurements. These were generally taken at every corner, although in a
long wall it was customary to make additional measurements at
intervening points.

Upon the original outline were then drawn all such details as coping
stones, chimneys, trapdoors, etc., the tapeline being used where
necessary to establish positions. The forms of the chimneys as well as
their position and size were also indicated on this drawing, which was
finally tinted to distinguish the different terraces. Upon this colored
sheet were located all openings. These were numbered, and at the same
time described in a notebook, in which were also recorded the necessary
vertical measurements, such as their height and elevation above the
ground. In the same notebook the openings were also fully described. The
ladders were located upon the same sheet, and were consecutively
45


lettered and described in the notebook. This description furnishes a
record of the ladder, its projection above the coping, if any, the
difference in the length of its poles, the character of the tiepiece,
etc. Altogether these notebooks furnish a mass of statistical data which
has been of great service in the elaboration of this report and in the
preparation of models. Finally, a level was carried over the whole
village, and the height of each corner and jog above an assumed base was
determined. A reduced tracing was then made of the plan as a basis for
sketching in such details of topography, etc., as it was thought
advisable to preserve.

These plans were primarily intended to be used in the construction of
large scale models, and consequently recorded an amount of information
that could not be reproduced upon the published drawings without causing
great confusion.

The methods followed in surveying the ruins underwent some changes
from time to time as the work progressed. In the earlier work the lines
of the walls, so far as they could be determined, were run with a
compass and tapeline and gone over with a level. Later it was found more
convenient to select a number of stations and connect them by
cross-sights and measurements. These points were then platted, and the
walls and lines of débris were carefully drawn in over the framework of
lines thus obtained, additional measurements being taken when necessary.
The heights of standing walls were measured from both sides, and
openings were located on the plan and described in a notebook, as was
done in the survey of the inhabited villages. The entire site was then
leveled, and from the data obtained contour lines were drawn with a
5-foot interval. Irregularities in the directions of walls were noted.
In the later plans of ruins a scale of symbols, seven in number, were
employed to indicate the amount and distribution of the débris. The
plans, as published, indicate the relative amounts of débris as seen
upon the ground. Probable lines of wall are shown on the plan by dotted
lines drawn through the dots which indicate débris. With this exception,
the plans show the ruins as they actually are. Standing walls, as a
rule, are drawn in solid black; their heights appear on the field
sheets, but could not be shown upon the published plans without
confusing the drawing. The contour lines represent an interval of 5
feet; the few cases in which the secondary or negative contours are used
will not produce confusion, as their altitude is always given in
figures.

PLANS AND DESCRIPTIONS OF RUINS.

The ruins described in this chapter comprise but a few of those found
within the province of Tusayan. These were surveyed and recorded on
account of their close traditional connection with the present villages,
and for the sake of the light that they might throw upon the relation of
the modern pueblos to the innumerable stone buildings of unknown date so
widely distributed over the southwestern plateau country. Such
46


traditional connection with the present peoples could probably be
established for many more of the ruins of this country by investigations
similar to those conducted by Mr. Stephen in the Tusayan group; but this
phase of the subject was not included in our work. In the search for
purely architectural evidence among these ruins it must be confessed
that the data have proved disappointingly meager. No trace of the
numerous constructive details that interest the student of pueblo
architecture in the modern villages can be seen in the low mounds of
broken down masonry that remain in most of the ancient villages of
Tusayan. But little masonry remains standing in even the best preserved
of these ruins, and villages known to have been occupied within two
centuries are not distinguishable from the remains to which distinct
tradition (save that they were in the same condition when the first
people of the narrators’ gens came to this region) no longer clings.
Though but little architectural information is to be derived from these
ruins beyond such as is conveyed by the condition and character of the
masonry and the general distribution of the plan, the plans and relation
to the topography are recorded as forming, in connection with the
traditions, a more complete account than can perhaps be obtained
later.

In our study of architectural details, when a comparison is suggested
between the practice at Tusayan and that of the ancient builders, our
illustrations for the latter must often be drawn from other portions of
the builders’ territory where better preserved remains furnish the
necessary data.

WALPI RUINS.

In the case of the pueblo of Walpi, a portion of whose people seem to
have been the first comers in this region, a number of changes of sites
have taken place, at least one of which has occurred within the historic
period. Of the various sites occupied one is pointed out north of the
gap on the first mesa. At the present time this site is only a low mound
of sand-covered débris with no standing fragment of wall visible. The
present condition of this early Walpi is illustrated in Fig. 2. In the absence of foundation walls or other definite
lines, the character of the site is expressed by the contour lines that
define its relief. Another of the sites occupied by the Walpi is said to
have been in the open valley separating the first from the second mesa,
but here no trace of the remains of a stone village has been discovered.
This traditional location is referred to by Mr. Stephen in his account
of Walpi. The last site occupied previous to the present one on the mesa
summit was on a lower bench of the first mesa promontory at its southern
extremity. Here the houses are said to have been distributed over quite
a large area, and occasional fragments of masonry are still seen at
widely separated points; but the ground plan can not now be traced. This
was the site of a Spanish mission, and some of the Tusayan point out the
position formerly occupied by mission buildings, but no architectural
evidence of such structures is visible. It seems to be fairly certain,
however, that
47


this was the site of Walpi at a date well within the historic period,
although now literally there is not one stone upon another. The
destruction in this instance has probably been more than usually
complete on account of the close proximity of the succeeding pueblo,
making the older remains a very convenient stone quarry for the
construction of the houses on the mesa summit. Of the three abandoned
sites of Walpi referred to, not one furnishes sufficient data for a
suggestion of a ground plan or of the area covered.

Fig. 2.
Ruins, Old Walpi mound.

OLD MASHONGNAVI.

In the case of Mashongnavi we have somewhat more abundant material.
It will be desirable to quote a few lines of narrative from the account
of a Mashongnavi Indian of the name of Nuvayauma, as indicating the
causes that led to the occupation of the site illustrated.

We turned and came to the north, meeting the Apache and “Beaver
Indians,” with whom we had many battles, and being few we were defeated,
after which we came
48


up to Mashongnavi [the ruin at the “Giant’s Chair”] and gave that rock
its name [name not known], and built our houses there. The Apache came
upon us again, with the Comanche, and then we came to [Old Mashóngnavi].
We lived there in peace many years, having great success with crops, and
our people increased in numbers, and the Apache came in great numbers
and set fire to the houses and burned our corn, which you will find
to-day there burnt and charred. After they had destroyed our dwellings
we came upon the mesa, and have lived here since.

The ruins referred to as having been the first occupied by the
Mashongnavi at a large isolated rock known as the “Giant’s Chair,” have
not been examined. The later village from which they were driven by the
attacks of the Apache to their present site has been surveyed. The plan
of the fallen walls and lines of débris by which the form of much of the
old pueblo can still be traced is given in Pl.
II. The plan of the best preserved
portion of the pueblo towards the north end of the sheet clearly
indicates a general adherence to the inclosed court arrangement with
about the same degree of irregularity that characterizes the modern
village. Besides the clearly traceable portions of the ruin that bear
such resemblance to the present village in arrangement, several small
groups and clusters appear to have been scattered along the slope of the
foothills, but in their present state of destruction it is not clear
whether these clusters were directly connected with the principal group,
or formed part of another village. Occasional traces of foundation walls
strongly suggest such connection, although from the character of the
site this intervening space could hardly have been closely built over.
With the exception of the main cluster above described the houses occupy
very broken and irregular sites. As indicated on the plan, the slope is
broken by huge irregular masses of sandstone protruding from the soil,
while much of the surface is covered by scattered fragments that have
fallen from neighboring pinnacles and ledges. The contours indicate the
general character of the slopes over which these irregular features are
disposed. The fragment of ledge shown on the north end of the plate,
against which a part of the main cluster has been built, is a portion of
a broad massive ledge of sandstone that supports the low buttes upon
which the present villages of Mashongnavi and Shupaúlovi are built, and
continues as a broad, level shelf of solid rock for several miles along
the mesa promontory. Its continuation on the side opposite that shown in
the plate may be seen in the general view of Shupaulovi (Pl. XXXI).

SHITAIMUVI.

The vestiges of another ruined village, known as Shitaimuvi, are
found in the vicinity of Mashongnavi, occupying and covering the crown
of a rounded foothill on the southeast side of the mesa. No plan of this
ruin could be obtained on account of the complete destruction of the
walls. No line of foundation stones even could be found, although the
whole area is more or less covered with the scattered stones of former
masonry. An exceptional quantity of pottery fragments is also strewn
49


over the surface. These bear a close resemblance to the fine class of
ware characteristic of “Talla Hogan” or “Awatubi,” and would suggest
that this pueblo was contemporaneous with the latter. Some reference to
this ruin win be found in the traditionary material in Chapter I.

AWATUBI.

The ruin of Awatubi is known to the Navajo as Talla Hogan, a term
interpreted as meaning “singing house” and thought to refer to the
chapel and mission that at one time nourished here, as described by Mr.
Stephen in Chapter I. Tradition
ascribes great importance to this village. At the time of the Spanish
conquest it was one of the most prosperous of the seven “cities” of
Tusayan, and was selected as the site of a mission, a distinction shared
by Walpi, which was then on a lower spur of the first mesa, and by
Shumopavi, which also was built on a lower site than the present village
of that name. Traditions referring to this pueblo have been collected
from several sources and, while varying somewhat in less important
details, they all concur in bringing the destruction of the village well
within the period of Spanish occupation.

Plate IV. Awatubi (Talla-Hogan), plan.

On the historical site, too, we know that Cruzate on the occasion of
the attempted reconquest of the country visited this village in 1692,
and the ruin must therefore be less than two centuries old, yet the
completeness of destruction is such that over most of its area no
standing wall is seen, and the outlines of the houses and groups are
indicated mainly by low ridges and masses of broken-down masonry, partly
covered by the drifting sands. The group of rooms that forms the south
east side of the pueblo is an exception to the general rule. Here
fragmentary walls of rough masonry stand to a height, in some cases, of
8 feet above the débris. The character of the stonework, as may be seen
from Pl. V, is
but little better than that of the modern villages. This better
preserved portion of the village seems to have formed part of a cluster
of mission buildings. At the points designated A on the ground plan may
be seen the remnants of walls that have been built of straw adobe in the
typical Spanish manner. These rest upon foundations of stone masonry.
See Pl. VI.
The adobe fragments are probably part of the church or associated
buildings. At two other points on the ground plan, both on the northeast
side, low fragments of wall are still standing, as may be seen from the
plate. At one of these points the remains indicate that the village was
provided with a gateway near the middle of the northeast side.

Plate V. Standing walls of Awatubi.

The general plan of this pueblo is quite different from that of the
present villages, and approaches the older types in symmetry and
compactness. There is a notable absence of the arrangement of rooms into
long parallel rows. This typical Tusayan feature is only slightly
approximated in some subordinate rows within the court. The plan
suggests that the original pueblo was built about three sides of a
rectangular
50


court, the fourth or southeast side—later occupied by the mission
buildings—being left open, or protected only by a low wall.
Outside the rectangle of the main pueblo, on the northeast side, are two
fragments of rude masonry, built by Navajo sheep herders. Near the west
corner of the pueblo are the vestiges of two rooms, outside the pueblo
proper, which seem to belong to the original construction.

Plate VI. Adobe fragment in Awatubi.

Awatubi is said to have had excavated rectangular kivas, situated in
the open court, similar to those used in the modern village. The people
of Walpi had partly cleared out one of these chambers and used it as a
depository for ceremonial plume-sticks, etc., but the Navajo came and
carried off their sacred deposits, tempted probably by their market
value as ethnologic specimens. No trace of these kivas was visible at
the time the ruins were surveyed.

The Awatubi are said to have had sheep at the time the village was
destroyed. Some of the Tusayan point out the remains of a large sheep
corral near the spring, which they say was used at that time, but it is
quite as likely to have been constructed for that purpose at a much
later date.

HORN HOUSE.

The Horn House is so called because tradition connects this village
with some of the people of the Horn phratry of the Hopituh or Tusayan.
The ruin is situated on a projecting point of the mesa that forms the
western flank of Jeditoh Valley, not far from where the Holbrook road to
Keam’s Canyon ascends the brink of the mesa. The village is almost
completely demolished, no fragment of standing wall remaining in place.
Its general plan and distribution are quite clearly indicated by the
usual low ridges of fallen masonry partly covered by drifted sand. There
is but little loose stone scattered about, the sand having filled in all
the smaller irregularities.

It will be seen from the plan, Pl. VII, that the village has been built close to
the edge of the mesa, following to some extent the irregularities of its
outline. The mesa ruin at this point, however, is not very high, the
more abrupt portion having a height of 20 or 30 feet. Near the north end
of the village the ground slopes very sharply toward the east and is
rather thickly covered with the small stones of fallen masonry, though
but faint vestiges of rooms remain. In plan the ruin is quite elongated,
following the direction of the mesa. The houses were quite irregularly
disposed, particularly in the northern portion of the ruin. But here the
indications are too vague to determine whether the houses were
originally built about one long court or about two or more smaller ones.
The south end of the pueblo, however, still shows a well defined court
bounded on all sides by clearly traceable rooms. At the extreme south
end of the ruin the houses have very irregular outlines, a result of
their adaptation to the topography, as may be seen in the
illustration.

full size

Plate VII. Horn House ruin, plan.

The plan shows the position of a small group of cottonwood trees,
just below the edge of the mesa and nearly opposite the center of the
51


village. These trees indicate the proximity of water, and mark the
probable site of the spring that furnished this village with at least
part of its water supply.

There are many fragments of pottery on this spot, but they are not so
abundant as at Awatubi.

Two partly excavated rooms were seen at this ruin, the work of some
earlier visitors who hoped to discover ethnologic or other treasure.

These afforded no special information, as the character of the
masonry exposed differed in no respect from that seen at other of the
Tusayan ruins. No traces of adobe construction or suggestions of foreign
influence were seen at this ruin.

SMALL RUIN BETWEEN HORN HOUSE AND BAT HOUSE.

On a prolongation of the mesa occupied by the Horn House, midway
between it and another ruined pueblo known as the Bat House, occur the
remains of a small and compact cluster of houses (Fig. 3). It is situated on the very mesa edge, here
about 40 feet high, at the head of a small canyon which opens into the
Jeditoh Valley, a quarter of a mile below.

Fig. 3.
Ruin between Bat House and Horn House.

The site affords an extended outlook to the south over a large part
of Jeditoh Valley. The topography about this point, which receives the
drainage of a considerable area of the mesa top, would fit it especially
for the establishment of a reservoir. This fact probably had much
52


to do with its selection as a dwelling site. The masonry is in about the
same state of preservation as that of the Horn House, and some of the
stones of the fallen walls seem to have been washed down from the mesa
edge to the talus below.

BAT HOUSE.

The Bat House is a ruin of nearly the same size as the Horn House,
although in its distribution it does not follow the mesa edge so closely
as the latter, and is not so elongated in its general form. The northern
portion is quite irregular, and the rooms seem to have been somewhat
crowded. The southern half, with only an occasional room traceable, as
indicated on the plan, Pl. VIII, still shows that the rooms were
distributed about a large open court.

Plate VIII. Bat House.

The Bat House is situated on the northwest side of the Jeditoh
Valley, on part of the same mesa occupied by the two ruins described
above. It occupies the summit of a projecting spur, overlooking the main
valley for an extent of more than 5 miles. The ruin lies on the extreme
edge of the cliff, here about 200 feet high, and lying beneath it on the
east and south are large areas of arable land. Altogether it forms an
excellent defensive site, combined with a fair degree of convenience to
fields and water from the Tusayan point of view.

This ruin, near its northeastern extremity, contains a feature that
is quite foreign to the architecture of Tusayan, viz, a defensive wall.
It is the only instance of the use by the Hopituh of an inclosing wall,
though it is met with again at Payupki (Pl. XIII), which, however, was built by
people from the Rio Grande country.

MISHIPTONGA.

Mishiptonga is the Tusayan name for the southernmost, and by far the
largest, of the Jeditoh series of ruins (Pl. IX). It occurs quite close to the
Jeditoh spring which gives its name to the valley along whose northern
and western border are distributed the ruins above described, beginning
with the Horn house.

full size

Plate IX. Mishiptonga (Jeditoh).

This village is rather more irregular in its arrangement than any
other of the series. There are indications of a number of courts
inclosed by large and small clusters of rooms, very irregularly
disposed, but with a general trend towards the northeast, being roughly
parallel with the mesa edge. In plan this village approaches somewhat
that of the inhabited Tusayan villages. At the extreme southern
extremity of the mesa promontory is a small secondary bench, 20 feet
lower than the site of the main village. This bench has also been
occupied by a number of houses. On the east side the pueblo was built to
the very edge of the bluff, where small fragments of masonry are still
standing. The whole village seems so irregular and crowded in its
arrangement that it suggests a long period of occupancy and growth, much
more than do the other villages of this (Jeditoh) group.

53


The pueblo may have been abandoned or destroyed prior to the advent of
the Spaniards in this country, as claimed by the Indians, for no
traditional mention of it is made in connection with the later feuds and
wars that figure so prominently in the Tusayan oral history of the last
three centuries. The pueblo was undoubtedly built by some of the ancient
gentes of the Tusayan stock, as its plan, the character of the site
chosen, and, where traceable, the quality of workmanship link it with
the other villages of the Jeditoh group.

Plate X. A small ruin near Moen-kopi.

MOEN-KOPI RUINS.

A very small group of rooms, even smaller than the neighboring
farming pueblo of Moen-kopi, is situated on the western edge of the mesa
summit about a quarter of a mile north of the modern village of
Moen-kopi. As the plan shows (Fig. 4), the
rooms were distributed in three rows around a small court. This ruin
also follows the general northeastern trend which has been noticed both
in the ruined and in the occupied pueblos of Tusayan. The rows here were
only one room deep and not more than a single story high at any point,
as indicated by the very small amount of débris. As the plate shows,
nearly the entire plan is clearly defined by fragments of standing
walls. The walls are built of thin tablets of the dark-colored sandstone
which caps the mesa. Where the walls have fallen the débris is
comparatively free
54


from earth, indicating that adobe has been sparingly used. The walls, in
places standing to a height of 2 or 3 feet, as may be seen in the
illustration, Pl. X, show unusual precision of workmanship and
finish, resembling in this respect some of the ancient pueblos farther
north. This is to some extent due to the exceptional suitability of the
tabular stones of the mesa summit. The almost entire absence of pottery
fragments and other objects of art which are such a constant
accompaniment of the ruins throughout this region strongly suggest that
it was occupied for a very short time. In Chapter III it will be shown that a similar order of
occupation took place at Ojo Caliente, one of the Zuñi farming villages.
This ruin is probably of quite recent origin, as is the present village
of Moen-kopi, although it may possibly have belonged to an earlier
colony of which we have no distinct trace. This fertile and well watered
valley, a veritable garden spot in the Tusayan deserts, must have been
one of the first points occupied. Some small cliff-dwellings, single
rooms in niches of a neighboring canyon wall, attest the earlier use of
the valley for agricultural purposes, although it is doubtful whether
these rude shelters date back of the Spanish invasion of the
province.

Fig. 4.
Ruin near Moen-kopi, plan.

A close scrutiny of the many favorable sites in this vicinity would
probably reveal the sand-encumbered remains of some more important
settlement than any of those now known.

RUINS ON THE ORAIBI WASH.

The wagon road from Keam’s Canyon to Tuba City crosses the Oraibi
wash at a point about 7 miles above the village of Oraibi. As it enters
a branch canyon on the west side of the wash it is flanked on each side
by rocky mesas and broken ledges. On the left or west side a bold
promontory, extending southward, is quite a conspicuous feature of the
landscape. The entire flat mesa summit, and much of the slope of a rocky
butte that rises from it, are covered with the remains of a small
pueblo, as shown on the plan, Fig. 5. All of
this knoll except its eastern side is lightly covered with scattered
débris. On the west and north sides there are many large masses of
broken rock distributed over the slope. There is no standing wall
visible from below, but on closer approach several interesting specimens
of masonry are seen. On the north side, near the west end, there is a
fragment of curved wall which follows the margin of the rock on which it
is built. It is about 8 or 10 feet long and 3 feet high on the outer
side. The curve is carefully executed and the workmanship of the masonry
good. Farther east, and still on the north side, there is a fragment of
masonry exhibiting a reversed curve. This piece of wall spans the space
between two adjoining rocks, and the top of the wall is more than 10
feet above the rock on which it stands. The shape of this wall and its
relation to the surroundings are indicated on the plan, Fig. 5. On the south side of the ruin on the mesa
surface, and near an outcropping rock, are the remains
55


of what appears to have been a circular room, perhaps 8 or 10 feet in
diameter, though it is too much broken down to determine this
accurately. Only a small portion of the south wall can be definitely
traced. On the south slope of the mesa are indications of walls, too
vaguely defined to admit of the determination of their direction.
Similar vestiges of masonry are found on the north and west, but not
extending to as great a distance from the knoll as those on the
south.

Fig. 5.
Ruin 7 miles north of Oraibi.

In that portion of the ruin which lies on top of the knoll, the walls
so far as traced conform to the shape of the site. The ground plan of
the buildings that once occupied the slopes can not be traced, and it is
impossible to determine whether its walls were carried through
continuously.

The masonry exhibited in the few surviving fragments of wall is of
unusually good quality, resembling somewhat that of the Fire House, Fig. 7, and other ruins of that class. The
stones are of medium size, not dressed, and are rather rougher and less
flat than is usual, but the wall has a good finish. The stone, however,
is of poor quality. Most of the débris about the ruin consists of small
stone fragments and sand, comparatively few stones of the size used in
the walls being seen. The material evidently came from the immediate
vicinity of the ruin.

Pottery fragments were quite abundant about this ruin, most of the
ware represented being of exceptional quality and belonging to the older
types; red ware with black lines and black and white ware were
especially abundant.

56


There is quite an extensive view from the ruin, the top of the butte
commanding an outlook down the valley past Oraibi, and about 5 miles
north. There is also an extended outlook up the valley followed by the
wagon road above referred to, and over two branch valleys, one on the
east and another of much less extent on the west. The site was well
adapted for defense, which must have been one of the principal motives
for its selection.

KWAITUKI.

The ruin known to the Tusayan as Kwaituki (Fig. 6) is also on the west side of the Oraibi wash, 14
miles above Oraibi, and about 7 miles above the ruin last described. Its
general resemblance to the latter is very striking. The builders have
apparently been actuated by the same motives in their choice of a site,
and their manner of utilizing it corresponds very closely. The crowning
feature of the rocky knoll in this case is a picturesque group of
rectangular masses of sandstone, somewhat irregularly distributed. The
bare summit of a large block-like mass still retains the vestiges of
rooms, and probably most of the groups were at one time covered with
buildings, forming a prominent citadel-like group in the midst of the
village. To the north of this rocky butte a large area seems to have
been at one time inclosed by buildings, forming a court of unusual
dimensions. Along the outer margin of the pueblo
57


occasional fragments of walls define former rooms, but the amount and
character of the débris indicate that the inner area was almost
completely inclosed with buildings. The remains of masonry extend on the
south a little beyond the base of the central group of rocks, but here
the vestiges of stonework are rather faint and scattered.

Fig. 6.
Ruin 14 miles north of Oraibi (Kwaituki).

In the nearly level tops of some of the rocks forming the central
pile are many smoothly worn depressions or cavities, which have
evidently been used for the grinding and shaping of stone
implements.

A remarkable feature occurring within this village is a cave or
underground fissure in the rocks, which evidently had been used by the
inhabitants. The mouth or entrance to this cavern, partly obstructed and
concealed at the time of our visit, occurs at the point A on the plan.
On clearing away the rubbish at the mouth and entering it was found so
obstructed with broken rock and fine dust that but little progress could
be made in its exploration; but the main crevice in the rock could be
seen by artificial light to extend some 10 feet back from the mouth,
where it became very shallow. It could be seen that the original cavern
had been improved by the pueblo-builders, as some of the timbers that
had been placed inside were still in position, and a low wall of masonry
on the south side remained intact. Some Navajos stated that they had
discovered this small cave a couple of years before and had taken from
it a large unbroken water jar of ancient pottery and some other
specimens. The place was probably used by the ancient occupants simply
for storage.

Fragments of pottery of excellent quality were very abundant about
this ruin and at the foot of the central rocks the ground was thickly
strewn with fragments, often of large size.

The defensive character of this site parallels that of the ruin 7
miles farther south in quite a remarkable manner, and the villages were
apparently built and occupied at the same time.

TEBUGKIHU, OR FIRE HOUSE.

Fig. 7. Oval (Fire House) ruin, plan (Tebugkihu).

About 15 miles northeast of Keam’s Canyon, and about 25 miles from
Walpi, is a small ruin called by the Tusayan “Tebugkihu,” built by
people of the Fire gens (now extinct). As the plan (Fig. 7) clearly shows, this pueblo is very different
from the typical Tusayan villages that have been previously described.
The apparent unity of the plan, and the skillful workmanship somewhat
resembling the pueblos of the Chaco are in marked contrast to the
irregularity and careless construction of most of the Tusayan ruins. Its
distance from the center of the province, too, suggests outside
relationship; but still the Tusayan traditions undoubtedly connect the
place with some of the ancestral gentes, as seen in Chapter I.

The small and compact cluster of rooms is in a remarkable state of
preservation, especially the outside wall. This wall was carefully and
massively constructed, and stands to the height of several feet around
58


the entire circumference of the ruin, except along the brink of the
cliff, as the plan shows.

This outer wall contains by far the largest stones yet found
incorporated in pueblo masonry. A fragment of this masonry is
illustrated in Pl. XI. The largest stone shown measures about 5
feet in length, and the one adjoining on the right measures about 4
feet. These dimensions are quite remarkable in pueblo masonry, which is
distinguished by the use of very small stones.

Plate XI. Masonry on the outer wall of the Fire-House, detail.

The well defined outer wall of this cluster to the unaided eye
appears to be elliptical, but it will be seen from the plan that the
ellipse is somewhat pointed on the side farthest from the cliff. As in
other cases of ancient pueblos with curved outlines, the outer wall
seems to have been built first, and the inner rooms, while kept as
rectangular as possible, were adjusted to this curve. This arrangement
often led to a cumulating divergence from radial lines in some of the
partitions, which irregularity was taken up in one room, as in this
instance, in the space near the gate. The outer wall is uniform in
construction so far as preserved. Many irregularities appear, however,
in the construction of the inner or partition walls, and some of the
rooms show awkward attempts at adjustment to the curve of the outer
wall.

The ruin is situated on the very brink of a small canyon, which
probably contained a spring at the foot of the cliff close under the
ruin site, as the vegetation there has an unusual appearance of
freshness, suggesting the close proximity of water to the surface. A
steep trail evidently connected the village with the bottom of the
canyon. Some of the rocks of the mesa rim were marked by numerous
cup-like cavities similar to those seen at Kwaituki, and used in the
polishing and forming of stone implements. The type of pueblo here
illustrated belonged to a people who relied largely on the architecture
for defense, differing in this respect from the spirit of Tusayan
architecture generally, where the inaccessible character of the site was
the chief dependence.

CHUKUBI.

The ruin called Chukubi by the Tusayan (Pl.
XII) is situated on the Middle
Mesa, about 3 miles northeast of Mashongnavi. It occupies a promontory
above the same broad sandstone ledge that forms such a
59


conspicuous feature in the vicinity of Mashongnavi and Shupaulovi, and
which supports the buttes upon which these villages are built.

full size

Plate XII. Chukubi, plan.

Little masonry now remains on this site, but here and there a
fragment aids in defining the general plan of the pueblo. In general
form the village was a large rectangle with a line of buildings across
its center, dividing it into two unequal courts, and a projecting wing
on the west side. As may be seen from the illustration, one end of the
ruin forms a clearly defined rectangular court, composed of buildings
mostly two rooms deep. Here, as in other ruins of Tusayan, the
arrangement about inclosed courts is in contrast with the parallelism of
rows, so noticeable a feature in the occupied villages. At the east end
of the ruin are several curious excavations. The soft sandstone has been
hollowed out to a depth of about 10 inches, in prolongation of the
outlines of adjoining rooms. Such excavation to obtain level floors is
quite unusual among the pueblo builders; it was practiced to a very
small extent, and only where it could be done with little trouble. Any
serious inequality of surface was usually incorporated in the
construction, as will be noticed at Walpi (Pl.
XXIII). Vestiges of masonry
indicating detached rooms were seen in each of the courts of the main
rectangle.

On the slope of the hill, just above the broad ledge previously
described, there is a fine spring, but no trace of a trail connecting it
with the pueblo could be found.

This village was advantageously placed for defense, but not to the
same degree as Payupki, illustrated in Pl. XIII.

Plate XIV. General view of Payupki.

PAYUPKI.

The ruin called Payupki (Pl. XIII) occupies the summit of a bold promontory
south of the trail, from Walpi to Oraibi, and about 6 miles northwest
from Mashongnavi. The outer extremity of this promontory is separated
from the mesa by a deep notch. The summit is reached from the mesa by
way of the neck, as the outer point itself is very abrupt, much of the
sandstone ledge being vertical. A bench, 12 or 15 feet below the summit
and in places quite broad, encircles the promontory. This bench also
breaks off very abruptly.

full size

Plate XIII. Payupki, plan.

As may be seen from the plan, the village is quite symmetrically laid
out and well arranged for defense. It is placed at the mesa end of the
promontory cap, and for greater security the second ledge has also been
fortified. All along the outer margin of this ledge are the remains of a
stone wall, in some places still standing to a height of 1 or 2 feet.
This wall appears to have extended originally all along the ledge around
three sides of the village. The steepness of the cliff on the remaining
side rendered a wall superfluous. On the plain below this promontory,
and immediately under the overhanging cliff, are two corrals, and also
60


the remains of a structure that resembles a kiva, but which appears to
be of recent construction.

In the village proper (Pl. XIV) are two distinctly traceable kivas. One of
these, situated in the court, is detached and appears to have been
partly underground. The other, located in the southeast end of the
village, has also, like the first, apparently been sunk slightly below
the surface. There is a jog in the standing wall of this kiva which
corresponds to that usually found in the typical Tusayan kivas (see
Figs. 22 and 25). On the
promontory and east of the village is a single room of more than average
length, with a well formed door in the center of one side. This room has
every appearance of being contemporary with the rest of the village, but
its occurrence in this entirely isolated position is very unusual. Still
farther east there is a mass of debris that may have belonged to a
cluster of six or eight rooms, or it may possibly be the remains of
temporary stone shelters for outlooks over crops, built at a later date
than the pueblo. As may be seen from the illustration (Pl. XV), the walls are
roughly built of large slabs of sandstone of various sizes. The work is
rather better than that of modern Tusayan, but much inferior to that
seen in the skillfully laid masonry of the ruins farther north. In many
of these walls an occasional sandstone slab of great length is
introduced. This peculiarity is probably due to the character of the
local material, which is more varied than usual. All of the stone here
used is taken from ledges in the immediate vicinity. It is usually light
in color and of loose texture, crumbling readily, and subject to rapid
decay, particularly when used in walls that are roughly constructed.

Plate XV. Standing walls of Payupki.

Much of the pottery scattered about this ruin has a very modern
appearance, some of it having the characteristic surface finish and
color of the Rio Grande ware. A small amount of ancient pottery also
occurs here, some of the fragments of black and white ware displaying
intricate fret patterns. The quantity of these potsherds is quite small,
and they occur mainly in the refuse heaps on the mesa edge.

This ruin combines a clearly defined defensive plan with utilization
of one of the most inaccessible sites in the vicinity, producing
altogether a combination that would seem to have been impregnable by any
of the ordinary methods of Indian warfare.

PLANS AND DESCRIPTIONS OF THE INHABITED VILLAGES.

Plate XVII. View of Hano.

HANO.

The village of Hano, or Tewa, is intrusive and does not properly
belong to the Tusayan stock, as appears from their own traditions. It is
somewhat loosely planned (Pl. XVI) and extends nearly across the mesa tongue,
which is here quite narrow, and in general there is no appreciable
difference between the arrangement here followed and that of the other
villages. One portion of the village, however, designated as House No. 5
on the plan, differs somewhat from the typical arrangement in long
irregular rows, and approaches the pyramidal form found among the more
eastern pueblos, notably at Taos and in portions of Zuñi. As has been
seen, tradition tells us that this site was taken up by the Tewa at a
late date and subsequent to the Spanish conquest; but some houses,
formerly belonging to the Asa people, formed a nucleus about which the
Tewa village of Hano was constructed. The pyramidal house occupied by
the old governor, is said to have been built over such remains of
earlier houses.

full size

Plate XVI. Plan of Hano (rotated).

The largest building in the village appears to have been added to
from time to time as necessity for additional space arose, resulting in
much the same arrangement as that characterizing most of the Tusayan
houses, viz, a long, irregular row, not more than three stories high at
any point. The small range marked No. 4 on the plan contains a section
three stories high, as does the long row and also the pyramidal cluster
above referred to. (Pl. XVII.)

The kivas are two in number, one situated within the village and the
other occupying a position in the margin of the mesa. These ceremonial
chambers, so far as observed, appear to be much like those in the other
villages, both in external and internal arrangement.

Within the last few years the horse trail that afforded access to
Hano and Sichumovi has been converted into a wagon road, and during the
progress of this work, under the supervision of an American,
considerable blasting was done. Among other changes the marginal kiva,
which was nearly in line with the proposed improvements, was removed.
This was done despite the protest of the older men, and their
predictions of dire calamity sure to follow such sacrilege. A new site
was selected close by and the newly acquired knowledge of the use of
powder was utilized in blasting out the excavation for this subterranean
chamber. It is altogether probable that the sites of all former kivas
were largely determined by accident, these rooms being built at points
where natural fissures or open spaces in the broken mesa edge furnished
a suitable depression or cavity. The builders were not capable of
working the stone to any great extent, and their operations were
probably limited to trimming out such natural excavations and in part
lining them with masonry.

There is a very noticeable scarcity of roof-holes, aside from those
of the first terrace. As a rule the first terrace has no external
openings
62


on the ground and is entered from its roof through large trap-doors, as
shown on the plans. The lower rooms within this first terrace are not
inhabited, but are used as storerooms.

At several points ruined walls are seen, remains of abandoned rooms
that have fallen into decay. Occasionally a rough, buttress-like
projection from a wall is the only vestige of a room or a cluster of
rooms, all traces on the ground having been obliterated.

The mesa summit, that forms the site of this village, is nearly
level, with very little earth on its surface. A thin accumulation of
soil and rubbish lightly covers the inner court, but outside, along the
face of the long row, the bare rock is exposed continuously. Where the
rooms have been abandoned and the walls have fallen, the stones have all
been utilized in later constructions, leaving no vestige of the former
wall on the rocky site, as the stones of the masonry have always been
set upon the surface of the rock, with no excavation or preparation of
footings of any kind.

Plate XIX. View of Sichumovi.

SICHUMOVI.

According to traditional accounts this village was founded at a more
recent date than Walpi. It has, however, undergone many changes since
its first establishment.

The principal building is a long irregular row, similar to that of
Hano (Pl. XVIII). A portion of an L-shaped cluster west of
this row, and a small row near it parallel to the main building, form a
rude approximation to the inclosed court arrangement. The terracing
here, however, is not always on the court side, whereas in ancient
examples such arrangement was an essential defensive feature, as the
court furnished the only approach to upper terraces. In all of these
villages there is a noticeable tendency to face the rows eastward
instead of toward the court. The motive of such uniformity of direction
in the houses must have been strong, to counteract the tendency to
adhere to the ancient arrangement. The two kivas of the village are
built side by side, in contact, probably on account of the presence at
this point of a favorable fissure or depression in the mesa surface.

full size

Plate XVIII. Plan of Sichumovi.

On the south side of the village are the remains of two small
clusters of rooms that apparently have been abandoned a long time. A
portion of a room still bounded by standing walls has been utilized as a
corral for burros (Pl. XIX).

At this village are three small detached houses, each composed of but
a single room, a feature not at all in keeping with the spirit of pueblo
construction. In this instance it is probably due to the selection of
the village as the residence of whites connected with the agency or
school. Of these single-room houses, one, near the south end of the long
row, was being built by an American, who was living in another such
house near the middle of this row. The third house, although fairly well
preserved at the time of the survey, was abandoned and falling into
ruin. Adjoining the middle one of these three buildings on
63


the south side are the outlines of two small compartments, which were
evidently built as corrals for burros and are still used for that
purpose.

This village, though limited to two stories in height, has, like the
others of the first mesa, a number of roof holes or trapdoors in the
upper story, an approach to the Zuñi practice. This feature among the
Tusayan villages is probably due to intercourse with the more eastern
pueblos, for it seems to occur chiefly among those having such
communication most frequently. Its presence is probably the result
simply of borrowing a convenient feature from those who invented it to
meet a necessity. The conditions under which the houses were built have
hardly been such as to stimulate the Tusayan to the invention of such a
device. The uniform height of the second-story roofs seen in this
village, constituting an almost unbroken level, is a rather exceptional
feature in pueblo architecture. Only one depression occurs in the whole
length of the main row.

Plate XXI. View of Walpi.

WALPI.

Of all the pueblos, occupied or in ruins, within the provinces of
Tusayan and Cibola, Walpi exhibits the widest departure from the typical
pueblo arrangement (Pl. XX).

The carelessness characteristic of Tusayan architecture seems to have
reached its culmination here. The confused arrangement of the rooms,
mainly due to the irregularities of the site, contrasts with the work at
some of the other villages, and bears no comparison with much of the
ancient work. The rooms seem to have been clustered together with very
little regard to symmetry, and right angles are very unusual. (See
Fig. 8.)

full size Plate XX. Plan of Walpi.	Fig. 8. Topography of the site of Walpi.

The general plan of the village of to-day confirms the traditional
accounts of its foundation. According to these its growth was gradual,
beginning with a few small clusters, which were added to from time to
time as the inhabitants of the lower site upon the spur of the mesa,
where the mission was established, moved up and joined the pioneers on
the summit. It is probable that some small rooms or clusters were built
on this conspicuous promontory soon after the first occupation of this
region, on account of its exceptionally favorable position as an outlook
over the fields (Pl. XXI).

Though the peculiar conformation of the site on which the village has
been built has produced an unusual irregularity of arrangement, yet even
here an imperfect example of the typical inclosed court may be found, at
one point containing the principal kiva or ceremonial chamber of the
village. It is probable that the accidental occurrence of a suitable
break or depression in the mesa top determined the position of this kiva
at an early date and that the first buildings clustered about this
point.

A unique feature in this kiva is its connection with a second
subterranean chamber, reached from the kiva through an ordinary doorway.
The depression used for the kiva site must have been either larger than
was needed or of such form that it could not be thrown into one
rectangular
64


chamber. It was impossible to ascertain the form of this second room, as
the writer was not permitted to approach the connecting doorway, which
was closed with a slab of cottonwood. This chamber, used as a receptacle
for religious paraphernalia, was said to connect with an upper room
within the cluster of dwellings close by, but this could not be verified
at the time of our visit. The plan indicates that such an adjoining
chamber, if of average size, could easily extend partly under the
dwellings on either the west or south side of the court. The rocky mesa
summit is quite irregular in this vicinity, with rather an abrupt ascent
to the passageway on the south as shown in Pl.
XXII. Southeast from the kiva
there is a large mass of rocks projecting above the general level, which
has been incorporated into a cluster of dwelling rooms. Its character
and relation to the architecture may be seen in Pl. XXIII. So
irregular a site was not likely to be built upon until most of the
available level surface had been taken up, for even in masonry of much
higher development than can be found in Tusayan the builders, unable to
overcome such obstacles as a large mass of protruding rock, have
accommodated their buildings to such irregularities. This is very
noticeable in the center cluster of Mummy Cave (in Canyon del Muerto,
Arizona), where a large mass of sandstone, fallen from the roof of the
rocky niche in which the houses were built, has been incorporated into
the house cluster. Between this and another kiva to the north the mesa
top is nearly level. The latter kiva is
65


also subterranean and was built in an accidental break in sandstone. On
the very margin of this fissure stands a curious isolated rock that has
survived the general erosion of the mesa. It is near this rock that the
celebrated Snake-dance takes place, although the kiva from which the
dancers emerge to perform the open air ceremony is not adjacent to this
monument (Pl. XXIV).

Plate XXII. South passageway of Walpi.

A short distance farther toward the north occur a group of three more
kivas. These are on the very brink of the mesa, and have been built in
recesses in the crowning ledge of sandstone of such size that they could
conveniently be walled up on the outside, the outer surface of rude
walls being continuous with the precipitous rock face of the mesa.

Plate XXIII. Houses built over irregular sites, Walpi.

The positions of all these ceremonial chambers seem to correspond
with exceptionally rough and broken portions of the mesa top, showing
that their location in relation to the dwelling clusters was due largely
to accident and does not possess the significance that position does in
many ancient pueblos built on level and unencumbered sites, where the
adjustment was not controlled by the character of the surface.

Plate XXIV. Dance rock and kiva, Walpi.

The Walpi promontory is so abrupt and difficult of access that there
is no trail by which horses can be brought to the village without
passing through Hano and Sichumovi, traversing the whole length of the
mesa tongue, and crossing a rough break or depression in the mesa summit
close to the village. Several foot trails give access to the village,
partly over the nearly perpendicular faces of rock. All of these have
required to be artificially improved in order to render them
practicable. Plate XXV, from a
photograph, illustrates one of these trails, which, a portion of the
way, leads up between a huge detached slab of sandstone and the face of
the mesa. It will be seen that the trail at this point consists to a
large extent of stone steps that have been built in. At the top of the
flight of steps where the trail to the mesa summit turns to the right
the solid sandstone has been pecked out so as to furnish a series of
footholes, or steps, with no projection or hold of any kind alongside.
There are several trails on the west side of the mesa leading down both
from Walpi and Sichúmovi to a spring below, which are quite as abrupt as
the example illustrated. All the water used in these villages, except
such as is caught during showers in the basin-like water pockets of the
mesa top, is laboriously brought up these trails in large earthenware
canteens slung over the backs of the women.

Plate XXV. Foot trail to Walpi.

Supplies of every kind, provisions, harvested crops, fuel, etc., are
brought up these steep trails, and often from a distance of several
miles, yet these conservative people tenaciously cling to the
inconvenient situation selected by their fathers long after the
necessity for so doing has passed away. At present no argument of
convenience or comfort seems sufficient to induce them to abandon their
homes on the rocky heights and build near the water supply and the
fields on which they depend for subsistence.

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One of the trails referred to in the description of Hano has been
converted into a wagon road, as has been already described. The Indians
preferred to expend the enormous amount of labor necessary to convert
this bridle path into a wagon road in order slightly to overcome the
inconvenience of transporting every necessary to the mesa upon their own
backs or by the assistance of burros. This concession to modern ideas is
at best but a poor substitute for the convenience of homes built in the
lower valleys.

Plate XXVII. Mashongnavi with Shupaulovi in distance.

MASHONGNAVI.

Mashongnavi, situated on the summit of a rocky knoll, is a compact
though irregular village, and the manner in which it conforms to the
general outline of the available ground is shown on the plan.
Convenience of access to the fields on the east and to the other
villages probably prompted the first occupation of the east end of this
rocky butte (Pl. XXVI).

full size

Plate XXVI. Mashongnavi, plan.

In Mashongnavi of to-day the eastern portion of the village forms a
more decided court than do the other portions. The completeness in
itself of this eastern end of the pueblo, in connection with the form of
the adjoining rows, strongly suggests that this was the first portion of
the pueblo built, although examination of the masonry and construction
furnish but imperfect data as to the relative age of different portions
of the village. One uniform gray tint, with only slight local variations
in character and finish of masonry, imparts a monotonous effect of
antiquity to the whole mass of dwellings. Here and there, at rare
intervals, is seen a wall that has been newly plastered; but,
ordinarily, masonry of 10 years’ age looks nearly as old as that built
200 years earlier. Another feature that suggests the greater antiquity
of the eastern court of the pueblo is the presence and manner of
occurrence here of the kiva. The old builders may have been influenced
to some extent in their choice of site by the presence of a favorable
depression for the construction of a kiva, though this particular
example of the ceremonial room is only partly subterranean. The other
kivas are almost or quite below the ground level. Although a favorable
depression might readily occur on the summit of the knoll, a deep
cavity, suitable for the construction of the subterranean kiva, would
not be likely to occur at such a distance from the margin of the
sandstone ledge. The builders evidently preferred to adopt such half-way
measures with their first kiva in order to
67


secure its inclosure within the court, thus conforming to the typical
pueblo arrangement. The numerous exceptions to this arrangement seen in
Tusayan are due to local causes.




Fig. 9.
Mashongnavi and Shupaulovi from Shumopavi.

The general view of Mashongnavi given in Pl.
XXVII shows that the site of this
pueblo, as well as that of its neighbor, Shupaulovi, was not
particularly defensible, and that this fact would have weight in
securing adherence in the first portion
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of the pueblo built to the defensive inclosed court containing the
ceremonial chamber. The plan strongly indicates that the other courts of
the pueblo were added as the village grew, each added row facing toward
the back of an older row, producing a series of courts, which, to the
present time, show more terracing on their western sides. The eastern
side of each court is formed, apparently, by a few additions
69


of low rooms to what was originally an unbroken exterior wall, and which
is still clearly traceable through these added rooms. Such an exterior
wall is illustrated in Pl. XVIII. This process continued until the last
cluster nearly filled the available site and a wing was thrown out
corresponding to a tongue or spur of the knoll upon which it was built.
Naturally the westernmost or newer portions show more clearly
70


the evidence of additions and changes, but such evidence is not wholly
wanting in the older portions. The large row that bounds the original
eastern court on the west side may be seen on the plan to be of unusual
width, having the largest number of rooms that form a terrace with
western aspect; yet the nearly straight line once defining the original
back wall of the court inclosing cluster on this side has not been
obscured to any great extent by the later additions (Pl. XXVIII). This
village furnishes the most striking example in the whole group of the
manner in which a pueblo was gradually enlarged as increasing population
demanded more space. Such additions were often carried out on a definite
plan, although the results in Tusayan fall far short of the symmetry
that characterizes many ruined pueblos in New Mexico and Arizona.

Plate XXVIII. Back wall of a Mashongnavi house-row.

A few of these ancient examples, especially some of the smaller ruins
of the Chaco group, are so symmetrical in their arrangement that they
seem to be the result of a single effort to carry out a clearly fixed
plan. By far the largest number of pueblos, however, built among the
southwest tablelands, if occupied for any length of time, must have been
subject to irregular enlargement. In some ancient examples, such
additions to the first plan undoubtedly took place without marring the
general symmetry. This was the case at Pueblo Bonito, on the Chaco,
where the symmetrical and even curve of the exterior defensive wall,
which was at least four stories high, remained unbroken, while the large
inclosed court was encroached upon by wings added to the inner terraces.
These additions comfortably provided for a very large increase of
population after the first building of the pueblo, without changing its
exterior appearance.

In order to make clearer this order of growth in Mashongnavi, a
series of skeleton diagrams is added in Figs. 10,
11, and 12, giving the
outlines of the pueblo at various supposed periods in the course of its
enlargement. The larger plan of the village (Pl.
XXVI) serves as a key to these
terrace outlines.

full size	full size	full size
Figs. 10, 11, 12. Diagrams showing growth of Mashongnavi.

The first diagram illustrates the supposed original cluster of the
east court (Fig. 10), the lines of which can
be traced on the larger plan, and it includes the long, nearly straight
line that marks the western edge of the third story. This diagram shows
also, in dotted lines, the general plan that may have guided the first
additions to the west. The second diagram (Fig. 11) renders all the above material in full tint,
again indicating further additions by dotted lines, and so on. (Fig. 12.) The portions of a terrace, which face westward
in the newer courts of the pueblo, illustrated in Pl. XXIX, were
probably built after the western row, completing the inclosure, and were
far enough advanced to indicate definitely an inclosed court, upon which
the dwelling rooms faced.

Plate XXIX. West side of a principal row in Mashongnavi.

Plate XXXI. View of Shupaulovi.

SHUPAULOVI.

This village, by far the smallest pueblo of the Tusayan group,
illustrates a simple and direct use of the principle of the inclosed
court. The plan (Pl. XXX) shows that the outer walls are scarcely
broken by terraces, and nearly all the dwelling apartments open inwards
upon the inclosure, in this respect closely following the previously
described ancient type, although widely differing from it in the
irregular disposition of the rooms. (Pl. XXXI) A comparison with the first of the
series of diagrams illustrating the growth of Mashóngnavi, will show how
similar the villages may have been at one stage, and how suitable a
nucleus for a large pueblo this village would prove did space and
character of the site permit. Most of the available summit of the rocky
knoll has already been covered, as will be seen from the topographic
sketch of the site (Fig. 13). The plan shows
also that some efforts at extension of the pueblo have been made, but
the houses outside of the main cluster have been abandoned, and are
rapidly going to ruin. Several small rooms occur on the outer faces of
the rows, but it can be readily seen that they do not form a part of the
original plan but were added to an already complete structure.

full size

Plate XXX. Plan of Shupaulovi.

Fig. 13.
Topography of the site of Shupaulovi.

In the inclosed court of this pueblo occurs a small box-like stone
inclosure, covered with a large slab, which is used as a sort of shrine
or depository for the sacred plume sticks and other ceremonial
offerings.
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This feature is found at some of the other villages, notably at
Mashongnavi, in the central court, and at Hano, where it is located at
some distance outside of the village, near the main trail to the
mesa.

The plan of this small village shows three covered passageways
similar to those noted in Walpi on the first mesa, though their presence
here can not be ascribed to the same motives that impelled the Walpi to
build in this way; for the densely crowded site occupied by the latter
compelled them to resort to this expedient. One of these is illustrated
in Pl. XXXII. Its presence may be due in this instance
to a determination to adhere to the protected court while seeking to
secure convenient means of access to the inclosed area. It is remarkable
that this, the smallest of the group, should contain this feature.

Plate XXXII. A covered passageway of Shupaulovi.

This village has but two kivas, one of which is on the rocky summit
near the houses and the other on the lower ground near the foot of the
trail that leads to the village. The upper kiva is nearly subterranean,
the roof being but a little above the ground on the side toward the
village, but as the rocky site slopes away a portion of side wall is
exposed. This was roughly built, with no attempt to impart finish to its
outer face, either by careful laying of the masonry or by plastering. Pl. XXXIII
illustrates this kiva in connection with the southeastern portion of the
village. The plan shows how the prolongation of the side rows of the
village forms a suggestion of a second court. Its development into any
such feature as the secondary or additional courts of Mashóngnavi was
prohibited by the restricted site.

Plate XXXIII. The chief kiva of Shupaulovi.

As in other villages of this group, the desire to adhere to the
subterranean form of ceremonial chamber outweighed the inducement to
place it within the village, or, in the case of the second kiva, even of
placing it on the same level as the houses, which are 30 feet above it
with an abrupt trail between them. It is curious and instructive to see
a room, the use of which is so intimately connected with the inner life
of the village, placed in such a comparatively remote and inaccessible
position through an intensely conservative adherence to ancient practice
requiring this chamber to be depressed.

The general view of the village given in Pl.
XXXI strikingly illustrates the
blending of the rectangular forms of the architecture with the angular
and sharply defined fractures of the surrounding rock. This close
correspondence in form between the architecture and its immediate
surroundings is greatly heightened by the similarity in color. Mr.
Stephen has called attention to a similar effect on the western side of
Walpi and its adjacent mesa edge, which he thought indicates a distinct
effort at concealment on the part of the builders, by blending the
architecture with the surroundings. This similarity of effect is often
accidental, and due to the fact that the materials of the houses and of
the mesas on which they are built are identical. Even in the case of
Walpi, cited by Mr. Stephen, where the buildings come to the very mesa
edge, and in their vertical lines appear to carry out the effect of
73


the vertical fissures in the upper benches of sandstone, there was no
intentional concealment. It is more likely that, through the necessity
of building close to the limits of the crowded sites, a certain degree
of correspondence was unintentionally produced between the jogs and
angles of the houses and those of the mesa edge.

Such correspondence with the surroundings, which forms a striking
feature of many primitive types of construction where intention of
concealment had no part, is doubtless mainly due to the use of the most
available material, although the expression of a type of construction
that has prevailed for ages in one locality would perhaps be somewhat
influenced by constantly recurring forms in its environment. In the
system of building under consideration, such influence would, however,
be a very minute fraction in the sum of factors producing the type and
could never account for such examples of special and detailed
correspondence as the cases cited, nor could it have any weight in
developing a rectangular type of architecture.

In the development of primitive arts the advances are slow and
laborious, and are produced by adding small increments to current
knowledge. So vague and undefined an influence as that exerted by the
larger forms of surrounding nature are seldom recognized and
acknowledged by the artisan; on the contrary, experiments, resulting in
improvement, are largely prompted by practical requirements.
Particularly is this the case in the art of house-building.

Plate XXXV. View of Shumopavi.

SHUMOPAVI.

This village, although not so isolated as Oraibi, has no near
neighbors and is little visited by whites or Indians. The inhabitants
are rarely seen at the trading post to which the others resort, and they
seem to be pretty well off and independent as compared with their
neighbors of the other villages (Pl. XXXIV). The houses and courts are in keeping
with the general character of the people and exhibit a degree of
neatness and thrift that contrasts sharply with the tumble-down
appearance of some of the other villages, especially those of the Middle
Mesa and Oraibi. There is a general air of newness about the place,
though it is questionable whether the architecture is more recent than
that of the other villages of Tusayan. This effect is partly due to the
custom of frequently renewing the coating of mud plaster. In most of the
villages little care is taken to repair the houses until the owner feels
that to postpone such action longer would endanger its stability. Many
of the illustrations in this chapter indicate the proportion of rough
masonry usually exposed in the walls. At Shumopavi (Pl. XXXV), however,
most of the walls are smoothly plastered. In this respect they resemble
Zuñi and the eastern pueblos, where but little naked masonry can be
seen. Another feature that adds to the effect of neatness and finish in
this village is the frequent use of a whitewash of
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gypsum on the outer face of the walls. This wash is used partly as an
ornament and partly as protection against the rain. The material, called
by the Mexicans “yeso,” is very commonly used in the interior of their
houses throughout this region, both by Mexicans and Indians. More rarely
it is used among the pueblos as an external wash. Here, however, its
external use forms quite a distinctive feature of the village. The same
custom in several of the cliff houses of Canyon de Chelly attests the
comparative antiquity of the practice, though not necessarily its
pre-Columbian origin.

full size

Plate XXXIV. Plan of Shumopavi.

Shumopavi, compared with the other villages, shows less evidence of
having been built on the open court idea, as the partial inclosures
assume such elongated forms in the direction of the long, straight rows
of the rooms; yet examination shows that the idea was present to a
slight extent.

At the southeast corner of the pueblo there is a very marked approach
to the open court, though it is quite evident that the easternmost row
has its back to the court, and that the few rooms that face the other
way are later additions. In fact, the plan of the village and the
distribution of the terraces seem to indicate that the first
construction consisted only of a single row facing nearly east, and was
not an inclosed court, and that a further addition to the pueblo assumed
nearly the same form, with its face or terraced side toward the back of
the first row only partly adapting itself by the addition of a few small
rooms later, to the court arrangement, the same operation being
continued, but in a form not so clearly defined, still farther toward
the west.

The second court is not defined on the west by such a distinct row as
the others, and the smaller clusters that to some extent break the long,
straight arrangement bring about an approximation to a court, though
here again the terraces only partly face it, the eastern side being
bounded by the long exterior wall of the middle row, two and three
stories high, and almost unbroken throughout its entire length of 400
feet. The broken character of the small western row, in conjunction with
the clusters near it, imparts a distinct effect to the plan of this
portion, differentiating it in character from the masses of houses
formed by the other two rows. The latter are connected at their southern
end by a short cross row which converts this portion of the village
practically into a single large house. Two covered passageways, however,
which are designated on the plan, give access to the southeast portion
of the court. This portion is partly separated from the north half of
the inclosure by encroaching groups of rooms. This partial division of
the original narrow and long court appears to be of later date.

The kivas are four in number, of which but one is within the village.
The latter occupies a partly inclosed position in the southwest portion,
and probably owes its place to some local facility for building a kiva
on this spot in the nature of a depression in the mesa summit; but even
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with such aid the ceremonial chamber was built only partly under ground,
as may be seen in Fig. 14. The remaining three
kivas are more distinctly subterranean, and in order to obtain a
suitable site one of these was located at a distance of more than 200
feet from the village, toward the mesa edge on the east. The other two
are built very close together, apparently in contact, just beyond the
northern extremity of the village. One of these is about 3 feet above
the surface at one corner, but nearly on a level with the ground at its
western side where it adjoins its neighbor. These two kivas are
illustrated in Pl. LXXXVIII and Fig. 21.

Fig. 14.
Court kiva of Shumopavi.

Here again we find that the ceremonial chamber that forms so
important a feature among these people, occupies no fixed relation to
the dwellings, and its location is largely a matter of accident, a site
that would admit of the partial excavation or sinking of the chamber
below the surface being the main requisite. The northwest court contains
another of the small inclosed shrines already described as occurring at
Shupaulovi and elsewhere.

The stonework of this village also possesses a somewhat distinctive
character. Exposed masonry, though comparatively rare in this
well-plastered pueblo, shows that stones of suitable fracture were
selected and that they were more carefully laid than in the other
villages. In places the masonry bears a close resemblance to some of the
ancient work, where the spaces between the longer tablets of stone were
carefully chinked with small bits of stone, bringing the whole wall to a
uniform face, and is much in advance of the ordinary slovenly methods of
construction followed in Tusayan.

Shumopavi is the successor of an older village of that name, one of
the cities of the ancient Tusayan visited by a detachment of Coronado’s
expedition in 1540. The ruins of that village still exist, and they
formerly contained vestiges of the old church and mission buildings
established
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by the monks. The squared beams from, these buildings were considered
valuable enough to be incorporated in the construction of ceremonial
kivas in some of the Tusayan villages. This old site was not visited by
the party.

ORAIBI.

This is one of the largest modern pueblos, and contains nearly half
the population of Tusayan; yet its great size has not materially
affected the arrangement of the dwellings. The general plan (see Pl.
XXXVI), simply shows an unusually
large collection of typical Tusayan house-rows, with the general
tendency to face eastward displayed in the other villages of the group.
There is a remarkable uniformity in the direction of the rows, but there
are no indications of the order in which the successive additions to the
village were made, such as were found at Mashóngnavi.

The white strip along the middle of this plan represents the area near a
tight fold in the printed original. The width of the unreadable area is
conjectural.

full size

Plate XXXVI. Oraibi, plan.

Plate XXXVII. Key to the Oraibi plan, also showing localization of
gentes.

The clusters of rooms do not surpass the average dimensions of those
in the smaller villages. In five of the clusters in Oraibi a height of
four stories is reached by a few rooms; a height seen also in Walpi.

Plate XXXVIII. A court of Oraibi.

At several points in Oraibi, notably on the west side of cluster No.
7, may be seen what appears to be low terraces faced with rough masonry.
The same thing is also seen at Walpi, on the west side of the
northernmost cluster. This effect is produced by the gradual filling in
of abandoned and broken-down marginal houses, with fallen masonry and
drifted sand. The appearance is that of intentional construction, as may
be seen in Pl. XXXIX.

Plate XXXIX. Masonry terraces of Oraibi.

The rarity of covered passageways in this village is noteworthy, and
emphasizes the marked difference in the character of the Tusayan and
Zuñi ground plans. The close crowding of rooms in the latter has made a
feature of the covered way, which in the scattered plan of Oraibi is
rarely called for. When found it does not seem an outgrowth of the same
conditions that led to its adoption in Zuñi. A glance at the plans will
show how different has been the effect of the immediate environment in
the two cases. In Zuñi, built on a very slight knoll in the open plain,
the absence of a defensive site has produced unusual development of the
defensive features of the architecture, and the result is a remarkably
dense clustering of the dwellings. At Tusayan, on the other hand, the
largest village of the group does not differ in character from the
smallest. Occupation of a defensive site has there, in a measure taken
the place of a special defensive arrangement, or close clustering of
rooms. Oraibi is laid out quite as openly as any other of the group, and
as additions to its size have from time to time been made the builders
have, in the absence of the defensive motive for crowding the rows or
groups into large clusters, simply followed the usual arrangement. The
crowding that brought about the use of the covered way was due in Walpi
to restricted site, as nearly all the available summit of its rocky
promontory has been covered with buildings. In Zuñi, on
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the other hand, it was the necessity for defense that led to the close
clustering of the dwellings and the consequent employment of the covered
way.

Plate XL. Oraibi house row, showing court side.

A further contrast between the general plans of Oraibi and Zuñi is
afforded in the different manner in which the roof openings have been
employed in the two cases. The plan of Zuñi, Pl.
LXXVI, shows great numbers of
small openings, nearly all of which are intended exclusively for the
admission of light, a few only being provided with ladders. In Oraibi,
on the other hand, there are only seventeen roof openings above the
first terrace, and of these not more than half are intended for the
admission of light. The device is correspondingly rare in other villages
of the group, particularly in those west of the first mesa. In
Mashóngnavi the restricted use of the roof openings is particularly
noticeable; they all are of the same type as those used for access to
first terrace rooms. There is but one roof opening in a second story. An
examination of the plan, Pl. XXX, will show that in Shupaúlovi but two such
openings occur above the first terrace, and in the large village of
Shumopavi, Pl. XXXIV, only about eight. None of the smaller
villages can be fairly compared with Zuñi in the employment of this
feature, but in Oraibi we should expect to find its use much more
general, were it not for the fact that the defensive site has taken the
place of the close clustering of rooms seen in the exposed village of
Zuñi, and, in consequence, the devices for the admission of light still
adhere to the more primitive arrangement (Pls. XL and XLI).

Plate XLI. Back of Oraibi house row.

The highest type of pueblo construction, embodied in the large
communal fortress houses of the valleys, could have developed only as
the builders learned to rely for protection more upon their architecture
and less upon the sites occupied. So long as the sites furnished a large
proportion of the defensive efficiency of a village, the invention of
the builders was not stimulated to substitute artificial for natural
advantages. Change of location and consequent development must
frequently have taken place owing to the extreme inconvenience of
defensive sites to the sources of subsistence.

The builders of large valley pueblos must frequently have been forced
to resort hastily to defensive sites on finding that the valley towns
were unfitted to withstand attack. This seems to have been the case with
the Tusayan; but that the Zuñi have adhered to their valley pueblo
through great difficulties is clearly attested by the internal evidence
of the architecture itself, even were other testimony altogether
wanting.

Plate XLIV. Moen-kopi.

MOEN-KOPI.

About 50 miles west from Oraibi is a small settlement used by a few
families from Oraibi during the farming season, known as Moen-kopi. (Pl. XLIII).
The present village is comparatively recent, but, as is the case with
many others, it has been built over the remains of an older settlement.
It is said to have been founded within the memory of
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some of the Mormon pioneers at the neighboring town of Tuba City, named
after an old Oraibi chief, recently deceased.

full size

Plate XLIII. Plan of Moen-kopi (rotated).

The site would probably have attracted a much larger number of
settlers, had it not been so remote from the main pueblos of the
province, as in many respects it far surpasses any of the present
village sites. A large area of fertile soil can be conveniently
irrigated from copious springs in the side of a small branch of the
Moen-kopi wash. The village occupies a low, rounded knoll at the
junction of this branch with the main wash, which on the opposite or
southern side is quite precipitous. The gradual encroachments of the
Mormons for the last twenty years have had some effect in keeping the
Tusayan from more fully utilizing the advantages of this site (Pl. XLII).

Plate XLII. The site of Moen-kopi.

Moen-kopi is built in two irregular rows of one-story houses. There
are also two detached single rooms in the village—one of them
built for a kiva, though apparently not in use at the time of our
survey, and the other a small room with its principal door facing an
adjoining row. The arrangement is about the same that prevails in the
other villages, the rows having distinct back walls of rude masonry.

Rough stone work predominates also in the fronts of the houses,
though it is occasionally brought to a fair degree of finish. Some adobe
work is incorporated in the masonry, and at one point a new and still
unroofed room was seen built of adobe bricks on a stone foundation about
a foot high. There is but little adobe masonry, however, in Tusayan. Its
use in this case is probably due to Mormon influence.

Moen-kopi was the headquarters of a large business enterprise of the
Mormons a number of years ago. They attempted to concentrate the product
of the Navajo wool trade at this point and to establish here a
completely appointed woolen mill. Water was brought from a series of
reservoirs built in a small valley several miles away, and was conducted
to a point on the Moen-kopi knoll, near the end of the south row of
houses, where the ditch terminated in a solidly constructed box of
masonry. From this in turn the water was delivered through a large pipe
to a turbine wheel, which furnished the motive power for the works. The
ditch and masonry are shown on the ground plan of the village (Pl. XLIII). This
mill was a large stone building, and no expense was spared in fitting it
up with the most complete machinery. At the time of our visit the whole
establishment had been abandoned for some years and was rapidly going to
decay. The frames had been torn from the windows, and both the floor of
the building and the ground in its vicinity were strewn with fragments
of expensive machinery, broken cog-wheels, shafts, etc. This building is
shown in Pl. XLV, and may serve as an illustration of the
contrast between Tusayan masonry and modern stonemason’s work carried
out with the same material. The comparison, however, is not entirely
fair, as applied to the pueblo builders in general, as the Tusayan mason
is unusually careless in his work. Many old examples are seen in which
the finish of the walls compares very
79


favorably with the American mason’s work, though the result is attained
in a wholly different manner, viz, by close and careful chinking with
numberless small tablets of stone. This process brings the wall to a
remarkably smooth and even surface, the joints almost disappearing in
the mosaic-like effect of the wall mass. The masonry of Moen-kopi is
more than ordinarily rough, as the small village was probably built
hastily and used for temporary occupation as a farming center. In the
winter the place is usually abandoned, the few families occupying it
during the farming months returning to Oraibi for the season of
festivities and ceremonials.

Plate XLV. The Mormon mill at Moen-kopi.

CHAPTER III.

RUINS AND INHABITED VILLAGES OF CIBOLA.

PHYSICAL FEATURES OF THE PROVINCE.

Though the surroundings of the Cibolan pueblos and ruins exhibit the
ordinary characteristics of plateau scenery, they have not the
monotonous and forbidding aspect that characterizes the mesas and
valleys of Tusayan. The dusty sage brush and the stunted cedar and
piñon, as in Tusayan, form a conspicuous feature of the landscape, but
the cliffs are often diversified in color, being in cases composed of
alternating bands of light gray and dark red sandstone, which impart a
considerable variety of tints to the landscape. The contrast is
heightened by the proximity of the Zuñi Mountains, an extensive
timber-bearing range that approaches within 12 miles of Zuñi, narrowing
down the extent of the surrounding arid region.

Cibola has also been more generously treated by nature in the matter
of water supply, as the province contains a perennial stream which has
its sources near the village of Nutria, and, flowing past the pueblo of
Zuñi, disappears a few miles below. During the rainy season the river
empties into the Colorado Chiquito. The Cibolan pueblos are built on the
foothills of mesas or in open valley sites, surrounded by broad fields,
while the Tusayan villages are perched upon mesa promontories that
overlook the valley lands used for cultivation.

PLANS AND DESCRIPTIONS OF RUINS.

Plate XLVII. Hawikuh, view.

HAWIKUH.

The village of Hawikuh, situated about 15 miles to the south of Zuñi,
consisted of irregular groups of densely clustered cells, occupying the
point of a spur projecting from a low rounded hill. The houses are in
such a ruined condition that few separate rooms can be traced, and these
are much obscured by débris. This débris covers the entire area
extending down the east slope of the hill to the site of the church. The
large amount of débris and the comparative thinness of such walls as are
found suggest that the dwellings had been densely clustered, and carried
to the height of several stories. Much of the space between the village
on the hill and the site of the Spanish church on the plain at its foot
is covered with masonry débris, part of which has slid down from above
(Pl. XLVI).

full size

Plate XLVI. Hawikuh, plan.

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The arrangement suggests a large principal court of irregular form. The
surrounding clusters are very irregularly disposed, the directions of
the prevailing lines of walls greatly varying in different groups. There
is a suggestion also of several smaller courts, as well as of alleyways
leading to the principal one.

The church, built on the plain below at a distance of about 200 feet
from the main village, seems to have been surrounded by several groups
of rooms and inclosures of various sizes, differing somewhat in
character from those within the village. These groups are scattered and
open, and the small amount of debris leads to the conclusion that this
portion of the village was not more than a single story in height. (Pl. XLVII.)

The destruction of the village has been so complete that no vestige
of constructional details remains, with the exception of a row of posts
in a building near the church. The governor of Zuñi stated that these
posts were part of a projecting porch similar to those seen in
connection with modern houses. (See Pls. LXXI, LXXV.) Suggestions of this feature are met
with at other points on the plain, but they all occur within the newer
portion of the village around the church. Some of the larger inclosures
in this portion of the village were very lightly constructed, and cover
large areas. They were probably used as corrals. Inclosures for this
purpose occur at other pueblos traditionally ascribed to the same
age.

Plate XLVIII. Adobe church at Hawikuh.

The church in this village was constructed of adobe bricks, without
the introduction of any stonework. The bricks appear to have been molded
with an unusual degree of care. The massive angles of the northwest, or
altar end of the structure, have survived the stonework of the adjoining
village and stand to-day 13 feet high. (Pl.
XLVIII.)

Plate L. Ketchipauan.

KETCHIPAUAN.

The small village of Ketchipauan appears to have been arranged about
two courts of unequal dimensions. It is difficult to determine, however,
how much of the larger court, containing the stone church, is of later
construction. (Pl. XLIX.)

full size

Plate XLIX. Ketchipanan, plan.

All the northwest portion of the village is now one large inclosure
or corral, whose walls have apparently been built of the fallen masonry
from the surrounding houses, leaving the central space clear. This wall
on the northeast side of the large inclosure apparently follows the jogs
and angles of the original houses. This may have been the outer line of
rooms, as traces of buildings occur for some distance within it. On the
opposite side the wall is nearly continuous, the jogs being of slight
projection. Here some traces of dwellings occur outside of the wall in
places to a depth of three rooms. The same thing occurs also at the
north corner. The continuation of these lines suggests a rectangular
court of considerable size, bounded symmetrically by groups of
compartments averaging three rooms deep. (Pl. L.)

Several much smaller inclosures made in the same way occur in the
village, but they apparently do not conform to the original courts.

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At the present time dwelling rooms are traceable over a portion of the
area south and west of the church. As shown on the plan, upright posts
occasionally occur. These appear to have been incorporated into the
original walls, but the latter are so ruined that this can not be stated
positively, as such posts have sometimes been incorporated in modern
corral walls. In places they suggest the balcony-like feature seen in
modern houses, as in Hawikuh, but in the east portion of the pueblo they
are irregularly scattered about the rooms. A considerable area on the
west side of the ruin is covered with loosely scattered stones,
affording no suggestions of a ground plan. They do not seem sufficient
in amount to be the remains of dwelling rooms.

Plate LI. Stone church at Ketchipauan.

The Spanish church in this pueblo was built of stone, but the walls
were much more massive than those of the dwellings. The building is well
preserved, most of the walls standing 8 or 10 feet high, and in places
14 feet. This church was apparently built by Indian labor, as the walls
everywhere show the chinking with small stones characteristic of the
native work. In this village also, the massive Spanish construction has
survived the dwelling houses.

The ground plan of the church shows that the openings were splayed in
the thickness of the walls, at an angle of about 45°. In the doorway, in
the east end of the building, the greater width of the opening is on the
inside, a rather unusual arrangement; in the window, on the north side,
this arrangement is reversed, the splay being outward. On the south side
are indications of a similar opening, but at the present time the wall
is so broken out that no well defined jamb can be traced, and it is
impossible to determine whether the splayed opening was used or not. The
stones of the masonry are laid with extreme care at the angles and in
the faces of these splays, producing a highly finished effect.

The position of the beam-holes on the inner face of the wall suggests
that the floor of the church had been raised somewhat above the ground,
and that there may have been a cellar-like space under it. No beams are
now found, however, and no remains of wood are seen in the “altar” end
of the church. At the present time there are low partitions dividing the
inclosed area into six rooms or cells. The Indians state that these were
built at a late date to convert the church into a defense against the
hostile Apache from the south. These partitions apparently formed no
part of the original design, yet it is difficult to see how they could
have served as a defense, unless they were intended to be roofed over
and thus converted into completely inclosed rooms. A stone of somewhat
larger size than usual has been built into the south wall of the church.
Upon its surface some native artist has engraved a rudely drawn
mask.

About 150 yards southeast from the church, and on the edge of the low
mesa upon which the ruin stands, has been constructed a reservoir of
large size which furnished the pueblo with a reserve water supply. The
ordinary supply was probably derived from the valley below, where
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water is found at no great distance from the pueblo. Springs may also
have formerly existed near the village, but this reservoir, located
where the drainage of a large area discharges, must have materially
increased the water supply. The basin or depression is about 110 feet in
diameter and its present depth in the center is about 4 feet; but it has
undoubtedly been filled in by sediment since its abandonment. More than
half of its circumference was originally walled in, but at the present
time the old masonry is indicated only by an interrupted row of large
foundation stones and fallen masonry. Some large stones, apparently
undisturbed portions of the mesa edge, have been incorporated into the
inclosing masonry. The Indians stated that originally the bottom of this
basin was lined with stones, but these statements could not be verified.
Without excavation on the upper side, the basin faded imperceptibly into
the rising ground of the surrounding drainage. Other examples of these
basin reservoirs are met with in this region.

CHALOWE.

About 15° north of west from Hawikuh, and distant 1½ miles from it,
begins the series of ruins called Chalowe. They are located on two low
elevations or foothills extending in a southwestern direction from the
group of hills, upon whose eastern extremity Hawikuh is built. The
southernmost of the series covers a roughly circular area about 40 feet
in diameter. Another cluster, measuring about 30 feet by 20, lies
immediately north of it, with an intervening depression of a foot or so.
About 475 feet northwest occurs a group of three rooms situated on a
slight rise, A little east of north and a half a mile distant from the
latter is a small hill, upon which is located a cluster of about the
same form and dimensions as the one first described. Several more
vaguely defined clusters are traceable near this last one, but they are
all of small dimensions.

This widely scattered series of dwelling clusters, according to the
traditional accounts, belonged to one tribe, which was known by the
general name of Chalowe. It is said to have been inhabited at the time
of the first arrival of the Spaniards. The general character and
arrangement however, are so different from the prevailing type in this
region that it seems hardly probable that it belonged to the same people
and the same age as the other ruins.

No standing walls are found in any portion of the group, and the
small amount of scattered masonry suggests that the rooms were only one
story high. Yet the débris of masonry may have been largely covered up
by drifting sand. Now it is hardly possible to trace the rooms, and over
most of the area only scattered stones mark the positions of the groups
of dwellings.

HAMPASSAWAN.

Of the village of Hampassawan, which is said traditionally to have
been one of the seven cities of Cibola visited by Coronado, nothing now
84


remains but two detached rooms, both showing vestiges of an upper story.
With this exception, the destruction of the village is complete and only
a low rise in the plain marks its site. Owing to its exposed position,
the fallen walls have been completely covered with drifting sand and
earth, no vestige of the buildings showing through the dense growth of
sagebrush that now covers it.

full size Fig. 15. Hampassawan, plan.

The two surviving rooms referred to appear to have been used from
time to time, as outlooks over corn fields close by, and as a defense
against the Navajo. Their final abandonment, and that of the cultivation
of the adjoining fields, is said to have been due to the killing of a
85


Zuñi there, by the Navajo, within very recent times. These rooms have
been several times repaired, the one on the west particularly. In the
latter an additional wall has been built upon the northern side, as
shown on the plan, Fig. 15. The old roof seems to
have survived until recently, for, although at the present time the room
is covered with a roof of rudely split cedar beams, the remains of the
old, carefully built roof lie scattered about in the corners of the
room, under the dirt and débris. The openings are very small and seem to
have been modified since the original construction, but it is difficult
to distinguish between the older original structure and the more recent
additions.

Plate LIII. Site of K’iakima, at base of Tâaaiyalana.

K’IAKIMA.

On the south side of the isolated mesa of Tâaaiyalana and occupying a
high rounded spur of foothills, is the ruined village of K’iakima (Pl. LII). A
long gulch on the west side of the spur contains, for 300 or 400 yards,
a small stream which is fed from springs near the ruined village.

full size

Plate LII. K’iakima, plan.

The entire surface of the hill is covered with scattered débris of
fallen walls, which must at one time have formed a village of
considerable size. Over most of this area the walls can not be traced;
the few rooms which can be distinctly outlined, occurring in a group on
the highest part of the hill. Standing walls are here seen, but they are
apparently recent, one room showing traces of a chimney (Pl. LIV). Some of the
more distinct inclosures, built from fallen masonry of the old village,
seem to have been intended for corrals. This is the case also with the
remains found on the cliffs to the north of the village, whose position
is shown on the plan (Pl. LIII). Here nearly all the scattered stones of
the original one-story buildings, have been utilized for these large
inclosures. It is quite possible that these smaller structures on the
ledge of the mesa were built and occupied at a much later date than the
principal village. Pl. LIII illustrates a portion of the base of
Tâaaiyalana where these inclosures appear.

Plate LIV. Recent wall at K’iakima.

A striking feature of this ruin is the occurrence in the northeast
corner of the village of large upright slabs of stone. The largest of
these is about 3 feet wide and stands 5½ feet out of the ground. One of
the slabs is of such symmetrical form that it suggests skillful
artificial treatment, but the stone was used just as it came from a seam
in the cliff above. From the same seam many slabs of nearly equal size
and symmetrical form have fallen out and now lie scattered about on the
talus below. Some are remarkable for their perfectly rectangular form,
while all are distinguished by a notable uniformity in thickness. Close
by, and apparently forming part of the same group, are a number of
stones imbedded in the ground with their upper edges exposed and placed
at right angles to the faces of the vertical monuments. The taller slabs
are said by the Indians to have been erected as a defense against the
attacks of the Apache upon this pueblo, but only a portion of the group
could, from their position, have been of any use for this
86


purpose. The stones probably mark graves. Although thorough excavation
of the hard soil could not be undertaken, digging to the depth of 18
inches revealed the same character of pottery fragments, ashes, etc.,
found in many of the pueblo graves. Mr. E. W. Nelson found
identical remains in graves in the Rio San Francisco region which he
excavated in collecting pottery. Comparatively little is known, however,
of the burial practices of this region, so it would be difficult to
decide whether this was an ordinary method of burial or not.

This pueblo has been identified by Mr. Cushing, through Zuñi
tradition, as the scene of the death of Estevanico, the negro who
accompanied the first Spanish expedition to Cibola.

MATSAKI.

Matsaki is situated on a foothill at the base of Tâaaiyalana, near
its northwestern extremity. This pueblo is in about the same state of
preservation as K’iakima, no complete rooms being traceable over most of
the area. Traces of walls, where seen, are not uniform in direction,
suggesting irregular grouping of the village. At two points on the plan
rooms partially bounded by standing walls are found. These appear to owe
their preservation to their occupation as outlooks over fields in the
vicinity long after the destruction of the pueblo. One of the two rooms
shows only a few feet of rather rude masonry. The walls of the other
room, in one corner, stand the height of a full story above the
surrounding débris, a low room under it having been partially filled up
with fallen masonry and earth. The well preserved inner corner of the
exposed room shows lumps of clay adhering here and there to the walls,
the remnants of an interior corner chimney. No trace of the supports for
a chimney hood, such as occur in the modern fireplaces, could be found.
The form outlined against the wall by these slight remains indicates a
rather rudely constructed feature which was added at a late date to the
room and formed no part of its original construction. It was probably
built while the room was used as a farming outlook. As shown on the
ground plan (Pl. LV), a small cluster of houses once stood at
some little distance to the southwest of the main pueblo and was
connected with the latter by a series of rooms. The intervening space
may have been a court. At the northern edge of the village a primitive
shrine has been erected in recent times and is still in use. It is
rudely constructed by simply piling up stones to a height of 2½ or 3
feet, in a rudely rectangular arrangement, with an opening on the east.
This shrine, facing east, contains an upright slab of thin sandstone on
which a rude sun-symbol has been engraved. The governor of Zuñi, in
explaining the purpose of this shrine, compared its use to that of our
own astronomical observatories, which he had seen.

Plate LV. Matsaki, plan.

PINAWA.

full size Fig. 16. Pinawa, plan.

The ruins of the small pueblo of Pinawa occupy a slight rise on the
south side of the Zuñi River, a short distance west of Zuñi. The road
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from Zuñi to Ojo Caliente traverses the ruin. Over most of the area
rooms can not be traced. One complete room, however, has been preserved
and appears to be still occupied during the cultivation of the
neighboring “milpas.” It is roofed over and in good condition, though
the general character of the masonry resembles the older work. On the
plan (Fig. 16) it will be seen that the
stones of the original masonry have been collected and built into a
number of large inclosures, which have in turn been partly destroyed.
The positions of the entrances to these inclosures can be traced by the
absence of stones on the surface. The general outline of the corral-like
inclosures appears to have followed comparatively well preserved
portions of the original wall, as was the case at Ketchipauan. (Pl. LVI.)

Plate LVI. Standing wall at Pinawa.

On the southwest side of the pueblo, portions of the outer wall are
distinctly traceable, some of the stones being still in position. This
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portion of the outline is distinguished by a curious series of curves,
resembling portions of Nutria and Pescado, but intersecting in an
unusual manner.

The Ojo Caliente road passes between the main ruin and the standing
room above described. The remnants of the fallen masonry are so few and
so promiscuously scattered over this area that the continuity of remains
can not be fully traced.

Plate LVII. Halona excavations as seen from Zuñi.

HALONA.

An ancient pueblo called Halona is said to have belonged to the
Cibolan group, and to have been inhabited at the time of the conquest.
It occupied a portion of the site upon which the present pueblo of Zuñi
stands. A part of this pueblo was built on the opposite side of the
river, where the remains of walls were encountered at a slight depth
below the surface of the ground in excavating for the foundations of Mr.
Cushing’s house. At that time only scattered remains of masonry were met
with, and they furnished but little indication of details of plan or
arrangement. Later—during the summer of 1888—Mr. Cushing
made extensive additions to his house on the south side of the river,
and in excavating for the foundations laid bare a number of small rooms.
Excavation was continued until December of that year, when a large part
of the ancient village had been exposed. Pl.
LVII, from a photograph,
illustrates a portion of these remains as seen from the southwest corner
of Zuñi. The view was taken in the morning during a light fall of snow
which, lightly covering the tops of the walls left standing in the
excavations, sharply defined their outlines against the shadows of the
rooms.

It seems impossible to restore the entire outline of the portion of
Halona that has served as a nucleus for modern Zuñi from such data as
can be procured. At several points of the present village, however,
vestiges of the old pueblo can be identified. Doubtless if access could
be obtained to all the innermost rooms of the pueblo some of them would
show traces of ancient methods of construction sufficient, at least, to
admit of a restoration of the general form of the ancient pueblo. At the
time the village was surveyed such examination was not practicable. The
portion of the old pueblo serving as a nucleus for later construction
would probably be found under houses Nos. 1 and 4, forming practically
one mass of rooms. Strangers and outsiders are not admitted to these
innermost rooms. Outcrops in the small cluster No. 2 indicate by their
position a continuous wall of the old pueblo, probably the external one.
Portions of the ancient outer wall are probably incorporated into the
west side of cluster No. 1. On the north side of cluster No. 2 (see Pl. LXXVI)
may be seen a buttress-like projection whose construction of small
tabular stones strongly contrasts with the character of the surrounding
walls, and indicates that it is a fragment of the ancient pueblo. This
projecting buttress answers no purpose whatever in its present
position.

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The above suggestions are confirmed by another feature in the same
house-cluster. On continuing the line of this buttress through the
governor’s house we find a projecting fragment of second story wall, the
character and finish of which is clearly shown in Pl. LVIII. Its
general similarity to ancient masonry and contrast with the present
careless methods of construction are very noticeable. The height of this
fragment above the ground suggests that the original pueblo was in a
very good state of preservation when it was first utilized as a nucleus
for later additions. That portion under house No. 1 is probably equally
well preserved. The frequent renovation of rooms by the application of a
mud coating renders the task of determining the ancient portions of the
cluster by the character of the masonry a very difficult one. Ceilings
would probably longest retain the original appearance of the ancient
rooms as they are not subjected to such renovation.

Plate LVIII. Fragments of Halona wall.

Mr. Cushing thought that the outer western wall of the ancient pueblo
was curved in outline. It is more probable, however, that it regulated
the lines of the present outer rooms, and is reflected in them, as the
usual practice of these builders was to put one partition directly over
another in adding to the height of a building. This would suggest a
nearly rectangular form, perhaps with jogs and offsets, for the old
builders could not incorporate a curved outer wall into a mass of
rectangular cells, such as that seen in the present pueblo. On the other
hand, the outer wall of the original pueblo may have been outside of
rooms now occupied, for the village had been abandoned for some time
before the colony returned to the site.

Plate LIX. The mesa of Tâaaiyalana, from Zuñi.

TÂAAIYALANA.

On the abandonment of the pueblos known as the Seven Cities of
Cibola, supposed to have occurred at the time of the general uprising of
the pueblos in 1680, the inhabitants of all the Cibolan villages sought
refuge on the summit of Tâaaiyalana, an isolated mesa, 3 miles southeast
from Zuñi, and there built a number of pueblo clusters.

This mesa, otherwise known as “Thunder Mountain,” rises to the height
of 1,000 feet above the plain, and is almost inaccessible. There are two
foot trails leading to the summit, each of which in places traverses
abrupt slopes of sandstone where holes have been pecked into the rock to
furnish foot and hand holds. From the northeast side the summit of the
mesa can be reached by a rough and tortuous burro trail. All the rest of
the mesa rim is too precipitous to be scaled. Its appearance as seen
from Zuñi is shown in Pl. LIX.

On the southern portion of this impregnable site and grouped about a
point where nearly the whole drainage of the mesa top collects, are
found the village remains. The Zuñis stated that the houses were
distributed in six groups or clusters, each taking the place of one of
the abandoned towns. Mr. Frank H. Cushing 4 was also under the impression
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that these houses had been built as six distinct clusters of one
village, and he has found that at the time of the Pueblo rebellion, but
six of the Cibolan villages were occupied. An examination of the plan,
however, will at once show that no such definite scheme of arrangement
governed the builders. There are but three, or at most four groups that
could be defined as distinct clusters, and even in the case of these the
disposition is so irregular and their boundaries so ill defined, through
the great number of outlying small groups scattered about, that they can
hardly be considered distinct. There are really thirty-eight separate
buildings (Pl. LX) ranging in size from one of two rooms, near
the southern extremity to one of one hundred and three rooms, situated
at the southwestern corner of the whole group and close to the western
edge of the mesa where the foot trails reach the summit. There is also
great diversity in the arrangement of rooms. In some cases the clusters
are quite compact, and in others the rooms are distributed in narrow
rows. In the large cluster at the northwestern extremity the houses are
arranged around a court; with this exception the clusters of rooms are
scattered about in an irregular manner, regardless of any defensive
arrangement of the buildings. The builders evidently placed the greatest
reliance on their impregnable site, and freely adopted such arrangement
as convenience dictated.

full size

Plate LX. Tâaaiyalana, plan.

The outlined area in the lower right was printed as an inset directly
below the scale of distance.

The masonry of these villages was roughly constructed, the walls
being often less than a foot thick. Very little adobe mortar seems to
have been used; some of the thickest and best preserved walls have
apparently been laid nearly dry (Pl. LXI). The few openings still preserved also show
evidence of hasty and careless construction. Over most of the area the
debris of the fallen walls is very clearly marked, and is but little
encumbered with earth or drifted sand. This imparts an odd effect of
newness to these ruins, as though the walls had recently fallen. The
small amount of debris suggests that the majority of these buildings
never were more than one story high, though in four of the broadest
clusters (see plan, Pl. LX) a height of two, and possibly three, stories
may have been attained. All the ruins are thickly covered by a very
luxurious growth of braided cactus, but little of which is found
elsewhere in the neighborhood. The extreme southeastern cluster,
consisting of four large rooms, differs greatly in character from the
rest of the ruins. Here the rooms or inclosures are defined only by a
few stones on the surface of the ground and partly embedded in the soil.
There is no trace of the debris of fallen walls. These outlined
inclosures appear never to have been walled to any considerable height.
Within one of the rooms is a slab of stone, about which a few ceremonial
plume sticks have been set on end within recent times.

Plate LXI. Standing walls of Tâaaiyalana ruins.

The motive that led to the occupation of this mesa was defense; the
cause that led to the selection of the particular site was facility for
procuring a water supply. The trail on the west side passes a spring
half way down the mesa. There was another spring close to the foot
91


trail on the south side; this, however, was lower, being almost at the
foot of the talus.

In addition to these water sources, the builders collected and stored
the drainage of the mesa summit near the southern gap or recess. At this
point are still seen the remains of two reservoirs or dams built of
heavy masonry. Only a few stones are now in place, but these indicate
unusually massive construction. Another reservoir occurs farther along
the mesa rim to the southeast, beyond the limits of the plan as given.
As may be seen from the plan (Pl. LX) the two reservoirs at the gap are quite
close together. These receptacles have been much filled up with
sediment. Pl. LXII gives a view of the principal or
westernmost reservoir as seen from the northeast. On the left are the
large stones once incorporated in the masonry of the dam. This masonry
appears to have originally extended around three-fourths of the
circumference of the reservoir. As at Ketchipauan, previously described,
the upper portion of the basins merged insensibly into the general
drainage and had no definite limit.

Plate LXII. Remains of a reservoir on Tâaaiyalana.

The Zuñi claim to have here practiced a curious method of water
storage. They say that whenever there was snow on the ground the
villagers would turn out in force and roll up huge snowballs, which were
finally collected into these basins, the gradually melting snow
furnishing a considerable quantity of water. The desert environment has
taught these people to avail themselves of every expedient that could
increase their supply of water.

It is proper to state that in the illustrated plan of the Tâaaiyalana
ruins the mesa margin was sketched in without the aid of instrumental
sights, and hence is not so accurately recorded as the plans and
relative positions of the houses. It was all that could be done at the
time, and will sufficiently illustrate the general relation of the
buildings to the surrounding topography.

Plate LXV. Standing walls of Kin-tiel.

KIN-TIEL.

All the ruins above described bear close traditional and historic
relationship to Zuñi. This is not the case with the splendidly preserved
ancient pueblo of Kin-tiel, but the absence of such close historic
connection is compensated for by its architectural interest. Differing
radically in its general plan from the ruins already examined, it still
suggests that some resemblance to the more ancient portions of Nutria
and Pescado, as will be seen by comparing the ground plans (Pls. LXVII and LXIX). Its state of
preservation is such that it throws light on details which have not
survived the general destruction in the other pueblos. These features
will be referred to in the discussion and comparison of these
architectural groups by constructional details in Chapter IV.

This pueblo, located nearly midway between Cibola and Tusayan, is
given on some of the maps as Pueblo Grande. It is situated on a small
92


arm of the Pueblo Colorado wash, 22 or 23 miles north of Navajo Springs,
and about the same distance south from Pueblo Colorado (Ganado
post-office). Geographically the ruins might belong to either Tusayan or
Cibola, but Mr. Cushing has collected traditional references among the
Zuñi as to the occupation of this pueblo by related peoples at a time
not far removed from the first Spanish visit to this region.

full size

Plate LXIII. Kin-tiel, plan (also showing excavations).

The plan (Pl. LXIII) shows a marked contrast to the
irregularity seen in the ruins previously described. The pueblo was
clearly defined by a continuous and unbroken outer wall, which probably
extended to the full height of the highest stories (Pl. LXIV). This
symmetrical form is all the more remarkable in a pueblo of such large
dimensions, as, with the exception of Pueblo Bonito of the Chaco group,
it is the largest ancient pueblo examined by this Bureau. This village
seems to belong to the same type as the Chaco examples, representing the
highest development attained in building a large defensive pueblo
practically as a single house. All the terraces faced upon one or more
inclosed courts, through which access was gained to the rooms. The
openings in this outer wall, especially near the ground, were few in
number and very small in size, as shown in Pl.
CIV. The pueblo was built in two
wings of nearly equal size on the opposite slopes of a large sandy wash,
traversing its center from east to west. This wash doubtless at one time
furnished peculiar facilities for storage of water within or near the
village, and this must have been one of the inducements for the
selection of the site. At the time of our survey, however, not a drop of
water was to be found about the ruin, nor could vestiges of any
construction for gathering or storing water be traced. Such vestiges
would not be likely to remain, as they must have been washed away by the
violent summer torrents or buried under the accumulating sands. Two
seasons subsequent to our work at this point it was learned that an
American, digging in some rooms on the arroyo margin, discovered the
remains of a well or reservoir, which he cleared of sand and debris and
found to be in good condition, furnishing so steady a water supply that
the discoverer settled on the spot. This was not seen by the writer.
There is a small spring, perhaps a mile from the pueblo in a
northeasterly direction, but this source would have been wholly
insufficient for the needs of so large a village. It may have furnished
a much more abundant supply, however, when it was in constant use, for
at the time of our visit it seemed to be choked up. About a mile and a
half west quite a lagoon forms from the collected drainage of several
broad valleys, and contains water for a long time after the cessation of
the rains. About 6 miles to the north, in a depression of a broad
valley, an extensive lake is situated, and its supply seems to be
constant throughout the year, except, perhaps, during an unusually dry
season. These various bodies of water were undoubtedly utilized in the
horticulture of the occupants of Kin-tiel; in fact, near the borders of
the larger lake referred to is a small house of two rooms; much similar
in workmanship to the main
93


pueblo, evidently designed as an outlook over fields. This building is
illustrated in Pl. LXVI.

Plate LXIV. North wall of Kin-tiel.

The arrangement of the inner houses differs in the two halves of the
ruin. It will be seen that in the north half the general arrangement is
roughly parallel with the outer walls, with the exception of a small
group near the east end of the arroyo. In the south half, on the other
hand, the inner rows are nearly at right angles to the outer room
clusters. An examination of the contours of the site will reveal the
cause of this difference in the different configuration of the slopes in
the two cases. In the south half the rows of rooms have been built on
two long projecting ridges, and the diverging small cluster in the north
half owes its direction to a similar cause. The line of outer wall being
once fixed as a defensive bulwark, there seems to have been but little
restriction in the adjustment of the inner buildings to conform to the
irregularities of the site. (Pl. LXIII.)

Only three clearly defined means of access to the interior of the
pueblo could be found in the outer walls, and of these only two were
suitable for general use. One was at a reentering angle of the outer
wall, just south of the east end of the arroyo, where the north wall,
continued across the arroyo, overlaps the outer wall of the south half,
and the other one was near the rounded northeastern corner of the
pueblo. The third opening was a doorway of ordinary size in the thick
north wall. It seems probable that other gateways once existed,
especially in the south half. From its larger size and more compact
arrangement this south half would seem to have greatly needed such
facilities, but the preserved walls show no trace of them.

The ground plan furnishes indications, mostly in the north half, of
several large rooms of circular form, but broken down remains of square
rooms are so much like those of round ones in appearance, owing to the
greater amount of débris that collects at the corners, that it could not
be definitely determined that the ceremonial rooms here were of the
circular form so common in the ancient pueblos. While only circular
kivas have been found associated with ancient pueblos of this type, the
kivas of all the Cibola ruins above described are said by the Zuñis to
have been rectangular. The question can be decided for this pueblo only
by excavation on a larger scale than the party was prepared to
undertake. Slight excavation at a point where a round room was indicated
on the surface, revealed portions of straight walls only.

Plate LXVI. Kinna-Zinde.

The large size of the refuse heap on the south side of the village
indicates that the site had been occupied for many generations.
Notwithstanding this long period of occupation, no important structure
of the village seems to have extended beyond the plan. On the north
side, outside the main wall, are seen several rectangles faintly
outlined by stones, but these do not appear to have been rooms. They
resemble similar inclosures seen in connection with ruined pueblos
farther south, which proved on excavation to contain graves.

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The positions of the few excavations made are indicated on the plan (Pl. LXIII). Our facilities for such work were most
meager, and whatever results were secured were reached at no great
distance from the surface. One of these excavations, illustrated in Pl. C, will
be described at greater length in Chapter IV.

PLANS AND DESCRIPTIONS OF INHABITED VILLAGES.

Plate LXVIII. Nutria, view.

NUTRIA.

Nutria is the smallest of the three farming pueblos of Zuñi, and is
located about 23 miles by trail northeast from Zuñi at the head of
Nutria valley. The water supply at this point is abundant, and furnishes
a running stream largely utilized in irrigating fields in the vicinity.
Most of the village is compactly arranged, as may be seen from the plan
(Pl. LXVII
and Fig. 17), but a few small clusters, of late
construction, containing two or three rooms each, are situated toward
the east at quite a distance from the principal group. It is now
occupied solely as a farming pueblo during the planting and harvesting
season.

full size

Plate LXVII. Nutria, plan.

Fig. 17.
Nutria, plan; small diagram, old wall.

The outline of this small pueblo differs greatly from those of most
of the Cibolan villages. The village (Pl. LXVIII), particularly in its
northernmost cluster, somewhat approximates the form of the ancient
pueblo of Kin-tiel (Pl. LXIII), and has apparently been built on the
remains of an older village of somewhat corresponding form, as indicated
by its curved outer wall. Fragments of carefully constructed masonry of
the ancient type, contrasting noticeably with the surrounding modern
construction, afford additional evidence of this. The ancient village
must have been provided originally with ceremonial rooms or kivas, but
no traces of such rooms are now to be found.

At the close of the harvest, when the season of feasts and
ceremonials begins, lasting through most of the winter, the occupants of
these farming
95


villages close up their houses and move back to the main pueblo leaving
them untenanted until the succeeding spring.

The great number of abandoned and ruined rooms is very noticeable in
the farming pueblos illustrated in this and two of the succeeding plans
(Pls. LXIX
and LXXIII). The families that farm in their
vicinity seem to occupy scarcely more than half of the available
rooms.

PESCADO.

This village, also a Zuñi farming pueblo, is situated in a large
valley about 12 miles northeast from Zuñi. Although it is much larger
than Nutria it is wholly comprised within the compact group illustrated.
The tendency to build small detached houses noticed at Nutria and at Ojo
Caliente has not manifested itself here. The prevalence of abandoned and
roofless houses is also noticeable.

full size

Plate LXIX. Pescado, plan.

Fig. 18.
Pescado, plan, old wall diagram.

The outlines of the original court inclosing pueblo (Pl. LXX) are very
clearly marked, as the farming Zuñis in their use of this site have
scarcely gone outside of the original limits of the ancient pueblo. The
plan, Pl. LXIX and Fig. 18, shows a
small irregular row built in the large inclosed court; this row, with
the inclosures and corrals that surround it, probably formed no part of
the original plan. The full curved outline is broken only at the west
end of the village by small additions to the outer wall, and the north
and east walls also closely follow the boundary of the original pueblo.
In fact, at two points along the north wall fragments of carefully
executed masonry, probably forming part of the external wall of the
ancient pueblo, are still preserved (Pl. LXXII). This outer wall was probably
once continuous to the full height of the
96


pueblo, but the partial restorations of the buildings by the Zuñi
farmers resemble more closely the modern arrangement. Small rooms have
been added to the outside of the cluster and in some cases the terraces
are reached by external stone steps, in contrast with the defensive
arrangement prevailing generally in pueblos of this form. A number of
dome-shaped ovens have been built outside the walls.

Plate LXX. Court view of Pescado, showing corrals.

Plate LXXI. Pescado houses.

Plate LXXII. Fragments of ancient masonry in Pescado.

The principle of pueblo plan embodied in Kin-tiel, before referred
to, is traceable in this village with particular clearness,
distinguishing it from most of the Cibolan pueblos. No traces of kivas
were met with in this village.

Plate LXXIV. General view of Ojo Caliente.

OJO CALIENTE.

The farming village of Ojo Caliente is located near the dry wash of
the Zuñi River, and is about 15 miles distant from Zuñi, in a southerly
direction. It is about midway between Hawikuh and Ketchipauan, two of
the seven cities of Cibola above described. Though situated in fertile
and well watered country and close to the remains of the ancient
villages, it bears indications of having been built in comparatively
recent times. There are no such evidences of connection with an older
village as were found at Nutria and Pescado. The irregular and small
clusters that form this village are widely scattered over a rather rough
and broken site, as shown on the plan (Pl. LXXIII). Here again a large portion of the village
is untenanted. The large cluster toward the eastern extremity of the
group, and the adjoining houses situated on the low, level ground,
compose the present inhabited village. The houses occupying the elevated
rocky sites to the west (Pl. LXXIV) are in an advanced stage of decay, and
have been for a long time abandoned.

full size

Plate LXXIII. Ojo Caliente, plan.

This southern portion of the Cibola district seems to have been much
exposed to the inroads of the Apache. One of the effects of this has
already been noticed in the defensive arrangement in the Ketchipauan
church. On account of such danger, the Zuñi were likely to have built
the first house-clusters here on the highest points of the rocky
promontory, notwithstanding the comparative inconvenience of such sites.
Later, as the farmers gained confidence or as times became safer, they
built houses down on the flat now occupied; but this apparently was not
done all at once. The distribution of the houses over sites of varying
degrees of inaccessibility, suggests a succession of approaches to the
occupation of the open and unprotected valley.

Some of the masonry of this village is carelessly constructed, and,
as in the other farming pueblos, there is much less adobe plastering and
smoothing of outer walls than in the home pueblo.

Plate LXXV. House at Ojo Caliente.

At the time of the survey the occupation of this village throughout
the year was proposed by several families, who wished to resort to the
parent village only at stated ceremonials and important festivals. The
comparative security of recent times is thus tending to the
disintegration of the huge central pueblo. This result must be
inevitable, as the
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dying out of the defensive motive brings about a realization of the
great inconvenience of the present centralized system.

Plate LXXVIII. General inside view of Zuñi, looking west.

ZUÑI.

The pueblo of Zuñi is built upon a small knoll on the north bank of
the Zuñi River, about three miles west of the conspicuous mesa of
Tâaaiyalana. It is the successor of all the original “Seven Cities of
Cibola” of the Spaniards, and is the largest of the modern pueblos. As
before stated, the remains of Halona, one of the “seven cities,” as
identified by Mr. Cushing, have served as a nucleus for the construction
of the modern pueblo, and have been incorporated into the most densely
clustered portions, represented on the plan (Pl. LXXVI) by numbers 1 and 4.

full size

Plate LXXVI. Zuñi, plan.

Key to Zuñi plan (Plate LXXVI).

Some of the Cibolan villages were valley pueblos, built at a distance
from the rocky mesas and canyons that must have served as quarries for
the stone used in building. The Halona site was of this type, the
nearest supply of stone being 3 miles distant. At this point (Halona)
the Zuñi River is perennial, and furnishes a plentiful supply of water
at all seasons of the year. It disappears, however, a few miles west in
a broad, sandy wash, to appear again 20 miles below the village,
probably through the accession of small streams from springs farther
down. The so-called river furnishes the sole water supply at Zuñi, with
the exception of a single well or reservoir on the north side of the
village.

Zuñi has been built at a point having no special advantages for
defense; convenience to large areas of tillable soil has apparently led
to the selection of the site. This has subjected it in part to the same
influences that had at an earlier date produced the carefully walled
fortress pueblos of the valleys, where the defensive efficiency was due
to well planned and constructed buildings. The result is that Zuñi,
while not comparable in symmetry to many of the ancient examples,
displays a remarkably compact arrangement of dwellings in the portions
of the pueblos first occupied, designated on the plan (Pl. LXXVI) as houses
1 and 4. Owing to this restriction of lateral expansion this portion of
the pueblo has been carried to a great height.

Plate LXXVII. Outline plan of Zuñi, showing distribution of oblique
openings.

Pl. LXXVIII gives a general view of these higher
terraces of the village from the southeast. A height of five distinct
terraces from the ground is attained on the south side of this cluster.
The same point, however, owing to the irregularity of the site, is only
three terraces above the ground on the north side. The summit of the
knoll upon which the older portion of Zuñi has been built is so uneven,
and the houses themselves vary so much in dimensions, that the greatest
disparity prevails in the height of terraces. A three-terrace portion of
a cluster may have but two terraces immediately alongside, and
throughout the more closely built portions of the village the exposed
height of terraces varies from 1 foot to 8 or 10 feet. Pl. LXXIX
illustrates this feature.

Plate LXXIX. Zuñi terraces.

The growth of the village has apparently been far beyond the original
expectation of the builders, and the crowded additions seem to have
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been joined to the clusters wherever the demand for more space was most
urgent, without following any definite plan in their arrangement. In
such of the ancient pueblo ruins as afford evidence of having passed
through a similar experience, the crowding of additional cells seems to
have been made to conform to some extent to a predetermined plan. At
Kin-tiel we have seen how such additions to the number of habitable
rooms could readily be made within the open court without affecting the
symmetry and defensive efficiency of the pueblo; but here the nucleus of
the large clusters was small and compact, so that enlargement has taken
place only by the addition of rooms on the outside, both on the ground
and on upper terraces.

Plate LXXX. Old adobe church of Zuñi.

The highest point of Zuñi, now showing five terraces, is said to have
had a height of seven terraces as late as the middle of the present
century, but at the time of the survey of the village no traces were
seen of such additional stories. The top of the present fifth terrace,
however, is more than 50 feet long, and affords sufficient space for the
addition of a sixth and seventh story.

The court or plaza in which the church (Pl.
LXXX) stands is so much larger
than such inclosures usually are when incorporated in a pueblo plan that
it seems unlikely to have formed part of the original village. It
probably resulted from locating the church prior to the construction of
the eastern rows of the village. Certain features in the houses
themselves indicate the later date of these rows.

Plate LXXXI. Eastern rows of Zuñi.

The arrangement of dwellings about a court (Pl. LXXXII),
characteristic of the ancient pueblos, is likely to have prevailed in
the small pueblo of Halona, about which clustered the many irregular
houses that constitute modern Zuñi. Occasional traces of such an
arrangement are still met with in portions of Zuñi, although nearly all
of the ancient pueblo has been covered with rooms of later date. In the
arrangement of Zuñi houses a noticeable difference in the manner of
clustering is found in different parts of the pueblo. That portion
designated as house No. 1 on the plan, built over the remains of the
original small pueblo, is unquestionably the oldest portion of the
village. The clustering seems to have gone on around this center to an
extraordinary and exceptional extent before any houses were built in
other portions. House No. 4 is a portion of the same structure, for
although a street or passageway intervenes it is covered with two or
three terraces, indicating that such connection was established at an
early date. The rows on the lower ground to the east (Pl. LXXXI), where
the rooms are not so densely clustered, were built after the removal of
the defensive motive that influenced the construction of the central
pile. These portions, arranged approximately in rows, show a marked
resemblance to pueblos of known recent date. That they were built
subsequently to the main clusters is also indicated by the abundant use
of oblique openings and roof holes, where there is very little necessity
for such contrivances. This feature was originally devised to meet the
exceptional conditions of lighting
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imposed by dense crowding of the living rooms. It will be referred to
again in examining the details of openings, and its wide departure from
the arrangement found to prevail generally in pueblo constructions will
there be noted. The habit of making such provisions for lighting inner
rooms became fixed and was applied generally to many clusters much
smaller in size than those of other pueblos where this feature was not
developed and where the necessity for it was not felt. These less
crowded rooms of more recent construction form the eastern portion of
the pueblo, and also include the governor’s house on the south side.

Plate LXXXII. A Zuñi court.

The old ceremonial rooms or kivas, and the rooms for the meeting of
the various orders or secret societies were, during the Spanish
occupancy, crowded into the innermost recesses of this ancient portion
of Zuñi under house No. 1. But the kivas, in all likelihood, occupied a
more marginal position before such foreign influence was brought to bear
on them, as do some of the kivas at the present time, and as is the
general practice in other modern pueblos.

Plate LXXXIII. A Zuñi small house.

CHAPTER IV.

ARCHITECTURE OF TUSAYAN AND CIBOLA COMPARED BY CONSTRUCTIONAL
DETAILS.

INTRODUCTION.

In the two preceding chapters the more general features of form and
distribution in the ruined and inhabited pueblos of Tusayan and Cibola
have been described. In order to gain a full and definite idea of the
architectural acquirements of the pueblo builders it will be necessary
to examine closely the constructional details of their present houses,
endeavoring, when practicable, to compare these details with the rather
meager vestiges of similar features that have survived the destruction
of the older villages, noting the extent to which these have departed
from early types, and, where practicable, tracing the causes of such
deviation. For convenience of comparison the various details of
housebuilding for the two groups will be treated together.

The writer is indebted to Mr. A. M. Stephen, the collector of
the traditionary data already given, for information concerning the
rites connected with house building at Tusayan incorporated in the
following pages, and also for the carefully collected and valuable
nomenclature of architectural details appended hereto. Material of this
class pertaining to the Cibola group of pueblos unfortunately could not
be procured.

HOUSE BUILDING.

RITES AND METHODS.

The ceremonials connected with house building in Tusayan are quite
meager, but the various steps in the ritual, described in their proper
connection in the following paragraphs, are well defined and definitely
assigned to those who participate in the construction of the
buildings.

So far as could be ascertained there is no prearranged plan for an
entire house of several stories, or for the arrangement of contiguous
houses. Most of the ruins examined emphasize this absence of a clearly
defined general plan governing the location of rooms added to the
original cluster. Two notable exceptions to this want of definite plan
occur among the ruins described. In Tusayan the Fire House (Fig. 7) is evidently the result of a clearly defined
purpose to give a definite form to the entire cluster, just as, on a
very much larger scale, does the ruin of Kin-tiel, belonging to the
Cibola group (Pl. LXIII). In both these cases the fixing of the
outer wall on a definite line seems to have
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been regarded as of more importance than the specific locations of
individual rooms or dwellings within this outline. Throughout that part
of Tusayan which has been examined, however, the single room seems now
to be regarded as the pueblo unit, and is spoken of as a complete house.
It is the construction of such a house unit that is here to be
described.

A suitable site having been selected, the builder considers what the
dimensions of the house should be, and these he measures by paces,
placing a stone or other mark at each corner. He then goes to the woods
and cuts a sufficient number of timbers for the roof of a length
corresponding to the width of his house. Stones are also gathered and
roughly dressed, and in all these operations he is assisted by his
friends, usually of his own gens. These assistants receive no
compensation except their food, but that of itself entails considerable
expense on the builder, and causes him to build his house with as few
helpers as possible.

The material having been accumulated, the builder goes to the village
chief, who prepares for him four small eagle feathers. The chief ties a
short cotton string to the stem of each, sprinkles them with votive
meal, and breathes upon them his prayers for the welfare of the proposed
house and its occupants. These feathers are called Nakwa kwoci, a term
meaning a breathed prayer, and the prayers are addressed to Másauwu, the
Sun, and to other deities concerned in house-life. These feathers are
placed at the four corners of the house and a large stone is laid over
each of them. The builder then decides where the door is to be located,
and marks the place by setting some food on each side of it; he then
passes around the site from right to left, sprinkling piki crumbs and
other particles of food, mixed with native tobacco, along the lines to
be occupied by the walls. As he sprinkles this offering he sings to the
Sun his Kitdauwi, house song: “Si-ai, a-hai, si-ai, a-hai.” The meaning
of these words the people have now forgotten.

Mr. Stephen has been informed by the Indians that the man is a mason
and the woman the plasterer, the house belonging to the woman when
finished; but according to my own observation this is not the universal
practice in modern Tusayan. In the case of the house in Oraibi,
illustrated in Pl. XL from a photograph, much, if not all, of the
masonry was laid, as well as finished and plastered, by the woman of the
house and her female relatives. There was but one man present at this
house-building, whose grudgingly performed duty consisted of lifting the
larger roof beams and lintels into place and of giving occasional
assistance in the heavier work. The ground about this house was strewn
with quantities of broken stone for masonry, which seemed to be all
prepared and brought to the spot before building began; but often the
various divisions of the work are carried on by both men and women
simultaneously. While the men were dressing the stones, the women
brought earth and water and mixed a mud plaster. Then the walls were
laid in irregular courses, using the mortar very sparingly.

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The house is always built in the form of a parallelogram, the walls
being from 7 to 8 feet high, and of irregular thickness, sometimes
varying from 15 to 22 inches in different parts of the same wall.

Pine, piñon, juniper, cottonwood, willow, and indeed all the
available trees of the region are used in house construction. The main
beams for the roof are usually of pine or cottonwood, from which the
bark has been stripped. The roof is always made nearly level, and the
ends of the beams are placed across the side walls at intervals of about
2 feet. Above these are laid smaller poles parallel with the side walls,
and not more than a foot apart. Across these again are laid reeds or
small willows, as close together as they can be placed, and above this
series is crossed a layer of grass or small twigs and weeds. Over this
framework a layer of mud is spread, which, after drying, is covered with
earth and firmly trodden down. The making of the roof is the work of the
women. When it is finished the women proceed to spread a thick coating
of mud for a floor. After this follows the application of plaster to the
walls. Formerly a custom prevailed of leaving a small space on the wall
unplastered, a belief then existing that a certain Katchina came and
finished it, and although the space remained bare it was considered to
be covered with an invisible plaster.

The house being thus far completed, the builder prepares four
feathers similar to those prepared by the chief, and ties them to a
short piece of willow, the end of which is inserted over one of the
central roof beams. These feathers are renewed every year at the feast
of Soyalyina, celebrated in December, when the sun begins to return
north ward. The builder also makes an offering to Másauwu (called
“feeding the house”) by placing fragments of food among the rafters,
beseeching him not to hasten the departure of any of the family to the
under world.

A hole is left in one corner of the roof, and under this the woman
builds a fireplace and chimney. The former is usually but a small cavity
about a foot square in the corner of the floor. Over this a chimney hood
is constructed, its lower rim being about 3 feet above the floor.

As a rule the house has no eaves, the roof being finished with a
stone coping laid flush with the wall and standing a few inches higher
than the roof to preserve the earth covering from being blown or washed
away. Roof-drains of various materials are also commonly inserted in the
copings, as will be described later.

All the natives, as far as could be ascertained, regard this
single-roomed house as being complete in itself, but they also consider
it the nucleus of the larger structure. When more space is desired, as
when the daughters of the house marry and require room for themselves,
another house is built in front of and adjoining the first one, and a
second story is often added to the original house. The same ceremony is
observed in building the ground story in front, but there is no ceremony
for the second and additional stories.

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Anawita (war-chief of Sichumovi) describes the house in Walpi in which
he was born as having had five rooms on the ground floor, and as being
four stories high, but it was terraced both in front and rear, his
sisters and their families occupying the rear portion. The fourth story
consisted of a single room and had terraces on two opposite sides. This
old house is now very dilapidated, and the greater portion of the walls
have been carried away. There is no prescribed position for
communicating doorways, but the outer doors are usually placed in the
lee walls to avoid the prevailing southwest winds.

Fig. 19. A Tusayan wood rack.

Formerly on the approach of cold weather, and to some extent the
custom still exists, people withdrew from the upper stories to the
kikoli rooms, where they huddled together to keep warm. Economy in the
consumption of fuel also prompted this expedient; but these ground-floor
rooms forming the first terrace, as a rule having no external doorways,
and entered from without by means of a roof hatchway provided with a
ladder, are ordinarily used only for purposes of storage. Even their
roofs are largely utilized for the temporary storage of many household
articles, and in the autumn, after the harvests have been gathered, the
terraces and copings are often covered with drying peaches, and the
peculiar long strips into which pumpkins and squashes have been cut to
facilitate their desiccation for winter use. Among other things the
household supply of wood is sometimes piled up at one end of this
terrace, but more commonly the natives have so many other uses for this
space that the sticks of fuel are piled up on a rude projecting skeleton
of poles, supported on one side by two upright forked sticks set into
the ground, and on the other resting upon the stone coping of the wall,
as illustrated in Fig. 19. At other times poles
are laid across a re-entering angle of a house and used as a wood rack,
without any support from the ground. At the autumn season not only is
the available space of the first terrace fully utilized, but every
projecting beam or stick is covered with strings of drying meat or
squashes, and many long poles are extended between convenient points to
do temporary
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duty as additional drying racks. There was in all cases at least one
fireplace on the inside in the upper stories, but the cooking was done
on the terraces, usually at the end of the first or kikoli roof. This is
still a general custom, and the end of the first terrace is usually
walled up and roofed, and is called tupubi. Tuma is the name of the flat
baking-stone used in the houses, but the flat stone used for baking at
the kisi in the field is called tupubi.

Kikoli is the name of the ground story of the house, which has no
opening in the outer wall.

The term for the terraced roofs is ihpobi, and is applied to all of
them; but the tupatca ihpobi, or third terrace, is the place of general
resort, and is regarded as a common loitering place, no one claiming
distinct ownership. This is suggestive of an early communal dwelling,
but nothing definite can now be ascertained on this point. In this
connection it may also be noted that the eldest sister’s house is
regarded as their home by her younger brothers and her nieces and
nephews.

Aside from the tupubi, there are numerous small rooms especially
constructed for baking the thin, paper-like bread called piki. These are
usually not more than from 5 to 7 feet high, with interior dimensions
not larger than 7 feet by 10, and they are called tumcokobi, the place
of the flat stone, tuma being the name of the stone itself, and tcok
describing its flat position. Many of the ground-floor rooms in the
dwelling houses are also devoted to this use.

The terms above are those more commonly used in referring to the
houses and their leading features. A more exhaustive vocabulary of
architectural terms, comprising those especially applied to the various
constructional features of the kivas or ceremonial rooms, and to the
“kisis,” or temporary brush shelters for field use, will be found near
the end of this paper.

The only trace of a traditional village plan, or arrangement of
contiguous houses, is found in a meager mention in some of the
traditions, that rows of houses were built to inclose the kiva, and to
form an appropriate place for the public dances and processions of
masked dancers. No definite ground plan, however, is ascribed to these
traditional court-inclosing houses, although at one period in the
evolution of this defensive type of architecture they must have partaken
somewhat of the symmetrical grouping found on the Rio Chaco and
elsewhere.

LOCALIZATION OF GENTES.

In the older and more symmetrical examples there was doubtless some
effort to distribute the various gentes, or at least the phratries, in
definite quarters of the village, as stated traditionally. At the
present day, however, there is but little trace of such localization. In
the case of Oraibi, the largest of the Tusayan villages, Mr. Stephen has
with great care and patience ascertained the distribution of the various
gentes in the village, as recorded on the accompanying skeleton plan
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(Pl. XXXVII). An examination of the diagram in
connection with the appended list of the families occupying Oraibi will
at once show that, however clearly defined may have been the quarters of
various gentes in the traditional village, the greatest confusion
prevails at the present time. The families numerically most important,
such as the Reed, Coyote, Lizard, and Badger, are represented in all of
the larger house clusters.

Families occupying Oraibi.