ZUNI INDIANS

TRAVELER, MAY 3, 1882 -

The Zunis of New Mexico.

WASHINGTON, D. C., March 20, 1882. The oldest nation on the continent is just now furnishing the newest sensation of the day. The incident to which I refer is unique in the extreme and altogether without a parallel.

Away down on the western border of New Mexico, about thirty miles south from the Atlantic & Pacific railroad, lives a tribe of Pueblo Indians, called the Zunis. This is undoubtedly the oldest organized community in America--it was old when the Spaniards first visited that country early in the sixteenth century; old, when Columbus sailed among the islands of the West Indies in 1492. There is no way, as yet, of determining how long they have lived where they now live, or how long they have cultivated the same fields and led their flocks over the same broad mesas on which they now range. It may be hundreds; it may be thousands of years.

I am going to tell you about the sensation. It is a long and strangely interesting story, but I'll "boil it down." Mr. F. H. Gushing, a young ethnologist of this city, and connected with the Smithsonian Institute, was sent out three years ago to study the language, habits, and customs of the Pueblo Indians. He soon came to the conclusion that the Zunis, inhabiting the largest pueblo in New Mexico, were the only pure stock. By adopting their dress and proclaiming his determination to be a Zuni and aid in the common defence against the hostile Apaches, he finally, after a long effort, got himself adopted into the tribe. I cannot tell you how he gradually worked his way into popular favor in the tribe, for I have more wonderful things to occupy the space than that would consume. Let me only say he has succeeded so well that he is now second in authority in the tribe.

The object in seeking admission to the tribe was to get possession of their language, for he was then satisfied that the Zunis, while ready to talk about themselves to the whites, and about the origin of their rude civilization, were also expert liars. His later discoveries have established the justness of this estimate of their character as his researches go to show that the worship and traditions of Montezuma,--so long accepted in all accounts of the Aztecs,--have no foundation in fact. Having been adopted into the tribe his next ambition was to become acquainted with their religion, as that was the key to the ethnological vault he wished to unlock. Every effort in that direction on his part was refused by the Zunis till one day he told them of the practice of the spiritualists among the whites. To use the phrase of the miners of that region, he had "struck it rich." He discovered the fact in time to take advantage of it.

They are spiritualists themselves; they have their circles and their mediums, and worship the spirits of their dead. While explaining modern spiritualism to them, he observed their interest in it and pretended to be himself a believer. That was most fortunate, for without further serious objection they admitted him to participation in their religious rites. His task grew easier, or at least more encouraging, as he now made more rapid progress toward the attainment of his object.

One great thing yet to be desired was admission into the highest order of the tribe--the order of the priesthood of the bow--because this order of priests is the repository of the sacred unwritten history of the tribe. This sacred literature is in a dead language, not like the spoken language of the tribe. It is composed of hymns and prayers, and chief of all is what Mr. Cushing calls the sacred "Iliad." Out of 1,600 in the tribe, only about 35 belong to the order of the priesthood of the bow and the height of his ambition, as viewed by them, may be the better understood when this fact is taken to account. Another obstacle in the way of his admission to this order was that no one could become a member till he had taken a scalp, for it is an order of war as well as of religion. It is only necessary to add that during the Apache outbreak in Arizona last summer, Mr. Cushing obtained a scalp. The justice of his act, if the killing of an Apache on the war-path requires any justification, will be the better appreciated when it is remembered that as a Zuni he was as much at war with the Apaches as any member of the tribe.

I would not pass this important period in his experience without relating the particulars as he told them to me, of that strange masonary into which he was conducted, with its solemn prayers, ancient hymns, the unwritten bible, obsolete language, and weird ceremonies, if it were possible in this brief article to give anything like a definite idea of these rites. I can only wonder what were the thoughts of the young American scientist as he submitted to those days of pagan rites, and admire the courage and enthusiasm which carried him through such a trying ordeal as it undoubtedly was.

As a member of the order of the priesthood of the bow, his authority was increased, and his standing in the tribe elevated. It now became his duty to learn the prayers and hymns, which are only communicated to members of this order.

But he soon discovered that there was yet a higher rank to be attained before he could come into possession of the "Iliad." This sacred history is committed to the care of four caciques or chiefs, who compose what is called the Ka-Ka, and is handed down through this mystic body from year to year, and from generation to generation.

Once every four years, one of the caciques, at a certain stage in their religious ceremonies, appears masked before the people and recites the "Iliad." It is so long that nearly twenty-four hours are necessary to recite it, during which time the priest who officiates is allowed to eat or drink nothing.

This sacred book, being unwritten and preserved only in the memory of the members of the Ka-Ka, it was plainly impossible for Cushing to learn it by simply hearing it recited once in four years. It was of the highest importance that he should become a member of the Ka-Ka. From having heard it recited, he knew enough about it to make its preservation in writing of the highest importance to him. As the sacred history of the nation, it commences with the fabulous, stating that man came out of the four great wombs of the earth. Two periods or stages of man's development are blank, that is nothing is related of the progress of the race, but the third and the eighteen following that treat of the race in a historical way. The third begins with what is called the separation of the tribes while the last or the nineteenth covers a period running back from the present time 200 years before the invasion of the land by the Spaniards. If one period covers so long an interval--more than 500 years--it is possible to get from that some idea of the antiquity of this race though the periods be not of equal duration.

How to become a member of the Ka-Ka and a possessor of the "Iliad" was the problem of the hour. The solution is now being worked out. They were not very much averse to his being elected to that high rank, but there was one serious obstacle in the way. The reader may have wondered if this tale would end without a woman being introduced somewhere. This is where the woman came in, and she came very near upsetting the whole scheme of the young scientist. No Zuni had ever become a member of the Ka-Ka before his marriage to one of the daughters of the tribe. "The Washinggton Zuni," as his Pueblo friends called Mr. Cushing, must have a wife. Whom must he marry? He was on the topmost wave of popularity now and doubtless any of the young Zuni squaws would have been glad to be chosen. They are not altogether unattractive and have the virtues of obedience, chastity, and industry. But Cushing was in love with his science and from some things he told me I am inclined to think he may also be in love with some fairer maid in the East--fairer than any the Zuni pueblo could boast. For a long time there seemed to be no help for him. He must either abandon his enterprise or wed a Zuni.

At last he hit upon a plan which he is now working out and it is in pursuance of that idea that he has come east with six of the chiefs of the tribe, including old Pedro Pino--known to the history of the border as a warrior of great intelligence and a friend of the scout, the late Kit Carson.

There was an understanding before leaving the Zuni pueblo that in consideration of his bringing certain representatives of the tribes to the East to enable them to worship the ocean and perform certain rites which can only be performed at the ocean--that in consideration of such great services to the gods, Cushing should be admitted to the Ka-Ka without being required to marry.

The Zunis are now in Boston, and that ceremony, so full of solemn reality to them, is to be performed for the first time it has been possible to observe it for hundreds of years. Indeed, it is so ancient and so long since it was observed that even the traditions which preserve its perfect details do not say when it was performed or where. Only that it was at the ocean. We know that these people have lived where they do now for over 300 years. The interesting question is when were they at the sea?

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Traveler, Wednesday, December 24, 1884. A correspondent of the London Daily News, traveling with the Afghan Commission, describes a peculiar village they encountered in Persia, about 100 miles from Teheran, and which seems to surpass in simplicity of defensive arrangement the famous Zuni abodes of New Mexico, which it closely resembles. It is the village of Langird, and the people ascribe great antiquity to it, declaring that Las, a son of Noah, drew on the ground the Agiril,@ or circle, which defined the plan of the village, which seems to be one immense structure, bearing some resemblance of form to the Roman Colosseum, though built almost entirely of mud and quite without architectural pretensions. The rude walls are very thick at the base and rise to a height of about thirty feet to a line of doors opening on galleries made by filling in the spaces between projecting branches of trees.

There is no means of getting upon these galleries from the outside. The ways for getting up are all inside, in some cases rough steps of mud, in other cases inclined planes, half ladder and half road. The galleries are the modes of communication between the houses, and from their general level houses rise one above another, or are straggled [? COULD BE THE WORD IS Astaggered@....hard to read] peculiarly away into odd corners, access to them being very difficult for the inexperienced, though the natives get about their frail bildings and shaky projections with all the agility and certainty of monkeys.

This structure was of original defense against the Turkomans, the dwellings being confined to the upper portions of the great circle. But as there is now no danger from the ancient enemy, the center, which was filled up with strange moss structures, is falling into decay. There is but one entrance to the circle, and it is scarcely four feet in height and is protected by a heavy stone door working with a pivot and socket. The place is one of exceeding interest, and theologians may crack the nut that these people claim a direct descent from Noah. The Zunis, it will be remembered, hide away their villages, and construct their houses on a plan not unlike that prevailing in this Indian village of Persia. This question on resemblance is worth looking into.

Arkansas City Traveler, Wednesday, February 11, 1885.

AN ANCIENT VILLAGE.

A Son of Noah, According to Its Inhabitants, Said to be the Founder.

Our special correspondent with the Afghan Commission thus describes an extraordinary-looking village which he passed at the distance of 100 miles from Teheran.

AWe had not proceeded far on our way when vestiges of the former condition of things met our eyes. It was at a place only 100 miles from Teheran that we first realized the dreadful state of danger in which the people had lived. We found a most remarkable village at which we encamped. Supposing no information could have been procured, and an archaeologist had come upon it by accident, he would have had a profound puzzle to unravel and explain. The name of the village is Lasgird. The people ascribe an immense antiquity to it, and say that Las, or Last, a son of Noah, drew in the ground the >gird,= or circle, which is the plan of the structure. The hero of this legend is not very familiar to Biblical scholars in the West, but he is not unknown in Afghanistan. The Colosseum at Rome, although an oval, would convey some idea of the general appearance of Lasgird, only it must be conceived as built of mud, which is almost the only building material of this country. It should also be recollected that the one belongs to a period of good architecture, of which it is a celebrated monument, while the other may be said to be entirely destitute of any pretensions of this kind.

AThe rude mud walls are thick and solid all round at the base, and rise some thirty or forty feet, where there is a line of doors, with here and there a small window between them. By means of projecting beams, or branches of trees, over which smaller branches are laid, a kind of gallery is produced, bearing a strong resemblance to those simple forms of birds= nests which are formed of sticks placed on the upper branches of trees. The wonder is how the eggs do not roll over; or that the chicks do not tumble down to destruction. So it is with the galleries of Lasgird--there is no protection on the edge. Yet we saw women and children, sheep and goats, upon them--a more frail and dangerous-looking arrangement it would be hard to conceive.

AThere are two tiers of houses all round, and in some places there appeared to be three. All had these galleries in front, either to communicate with the next house, or, as some did not communicate, they were only of use to come out upon to sit, or work, or for the children to play upon; to us these places seemed the brink of destruction, while to the women and children it all appeared as safe and comfortable as if they had been monkeys. Of course, there was no getting up to these galleries from the outside; that would have suited the Turkomans. The means of going up were all on the inside. In some instances there are rough steps of mud, and in others there are inclined planes, half ladders and half road, made in the same way as the galleries. These lead up to galleries communicating with the houses, which were an exact repetition of those on the outside, the only difference being that they were not so high up, and there were walls at places which did duty as a parapet, hence the certainty of falling over did not seem so great from the inside as on the outside.

AWhile looking at this strange structure from one of these upper galleries, an old woman, of at least 70 years of age, passed me, with a child stuck in some primitive way on her back; a few yards from me was one of their means of ascent formed of sticks with the remains of mud hanging to it. It would have done for fowls to go up to their roosts upon. She clambered up on this to the gallery above, but that was not her desination; her house was one up still higher in a corner, and to reach it she had to crawl up on the edge of a crumbling mud wall, not above eighteen inches wide; on her left hand was a perpendicular descent, enough to make anyone dizzy, and death at the bottom of it, if a fall should occur; although the other side there was only a few feet, if the old creature had slipped, the chances are that she would have rolled down, and fallen over the gallery with the baby on her back. The old lady went up very handily, and reached her crow=s nest in perfect safety. I could not help thinking that a few generations of this kind of thing would undo all our development, and that we would go back again to our original Simian condition.

AThe dwellings of the people were all in the upper part of the great circle, and the center was filled up with strange moss structures, which are now falling to decay, as there is no longer any danger from the Turkomans. These places were for containing the grain of the village and for receiving the livestock of the villagers when a raid occurred. One of a number of wells was pointed out to us within a circle, and we were told that they had three or four which were all kept in good order in the days of danger. There is only one entrance to this circle, and that is by a small entrance scarcely four feet in height, to which there is a stone door working with a pivot and socket similar to the ancient stone doors found in the Hauran and other parts of the Soudan. This stone door of Lasgird is a very rude one, being eight inches thick in some parts, and it tells its tale of the existence of great danger and the necessity for protection.

ASir Peter Lunsden had a long conversation with the Khet Khodah and some of the principal villagers, and it seemed that they not only ascribed the origin of Lasgird to the Son of Noah, ANu,@ as they called him; but they likened their strange dwelling place to the Ark. Extreme theologians, who identify the church with the Ark, say all who were in the Ark were saved; all without were destroyed. This was exactly the case with >Lasgird.= When a Chupao took place, all who got in were secure; all who were left outside became victims. A chronic state of war existed, and this fortified village was the result. >The Government either could not, or would not, defend the people, and they had to take means for their own safety.=@ London Daily News.