ZUNI CIVILIZATION



Many, many years ago, the A:shiwi (Ahhhh-she-we, the name the Zuni people call themselves) came up to this Earth from the underworld at a place that is identified as either the Grand Canyon or the Mojave Desert. For many generations, the A:shiwi wandered throughout the area. Finally, they settled in the place they are now. They call this area the center or middle place.

The Zuni Indians of today are one of 19 original tribes that once inhabited the area that is now called New Mexico and Arizona - The Zuni River Valley.

The Zuni tribe is said to have originated from a tribe that lived in the same area over 1,500 years prior to the coming of the Europeans - 400 AD.

This tribe, the Anasazi, was a large society that encompassed large amounts of land, riches and many distinct cultures and civilizations. The Zuni are thought to be direct descendants of the Anasazi.

The Zuni are also distinct in that they have managed to remain quite unaffected by outer influences. They still claim the same land they always lived on, an area about the size of Rhode Island. They also mainly reside in one city, Zuni, New Mexico. Although there are Zuni Indians who live outside of the city and the general area, they are few and far between. The tribe has managed to remain intact due to the fact that they were never involved with problems that didn't concern their own people. Because they did not fight in any wars or take sides in any conflicts, they were able to remain autonomous and were unaffected by the changes around them.



Language

While many anthropologists believe that the Zuni are related to the other pueblo tribes that are scattered throughout the Southwest, they are unique in that their language, to this day, is only spoken by them and bares no resemblance to the languages of any of the other surrounding tribes. Their language is often called Zunian.



Daily Life

Zuni life, much like it was in the past, is still deeply religious and very different from that of other tribes. Their are an agricultural society.



Government

The civil government is of a form generally imposed upon the Pueblos by Spanish influence. The governor,'Tapupu', and the lieutenant-governor, 'Tsipalaa-shiwanni', are appointed annually by a priestly group, consisting of the six so called rain-priests ('Ashiwanni") associated with the world-regions, the two war-chiefs or Bow Chiefs, and Shiwan-akya ("chief old-woman).



Zuni Fetshes - Mystical Carvings of the Zuni Indians

Zunis believe that animals, as well as inanimate objects and the forces of nature, have a spirit force, which can either help or hurt man. It is believed that the carved animal fetishes host that spiritual force and, if treated properly, will help their owners to overcome the problems facing them.

At the most fundamental level, a fetish is "an object, natural or manmade, in which a Spirit is thought to reside, and which can be used to affect either good or evil." All American Indian tribes of the Southwest make use of charms, talismans, and amulets, but the Zuni Indians of New Mexico are especially renowned for their animal carvings. When the owner holds the belief that a "spirit" resides in the carved object, it becomes a fetish.

The earliest fetishes were found objects rather than crafted figures. Stones in the shapes of animals were believed to be actual petrifaction's of animals that had once lived and to contain the spirits of the animals they physically resembled. These fetishes put one in touch with the innate wisdom and characteristic qualities derived from the Zunis' knowledge of the natural world plus their mythology of the animals they depicted.

Early missionaries in the Southwest mistakenly believed that the Zunis worshipped these little figures as idols, but this was not the case. The idol worshipper believes the object itself to be a deity, while the fetishist looks upon the object as a representation of a spirit or force that is evoked through the figure. The Zunis use the fetish as a messenger to assist them in their communications with the spirits and deities.

At its most rudimentary level, consultation with a fetish might be compared to the act of prayer, meditation, or contemplation-and it is an activity which is accessible to all persons, regardless of cultural origins. Just as our knowledge of any form or force, and our empathy with it, can be evoked through our words, so the same can be evoked-in a perhaps more complete form-through the fetish.

Holding fetishes in our hands or placing them before us as we pray or meditate, we bring ourselves more and more in line with their spirits. And it is through this alignment with Spirit that we experience the fetish's greatest power. Anthropologist Tom Bahti states that the fetish was intended to "assist man, that most vulnerable of all living creatures, in meeting the problems that face him during his life. Each fetish contains a living power which, if treated properly and with veneration, will give its help to its owner.

According to Zuni cosmology, everything in the universe-from natural forces, such as lightning, wind, or great droughts, to physical entities, such as rocks, animals, rivers, and human beings-has its own spirit. Each of these spirits has the power to observe, think, and respond to humankind. An inanimate object, such as a rock or a clump of dirt, is believed to possess a spirit similar to that of a hibernating bear or a seed that has not yet been planted. The power is simply dormant, for the moment. Moreover, all forces and life forms have their origin in, and are constantly part of, a larger force-comparable to the Tao- for which there is no name. Zuni religion teaches that we are all part of an endless sea of Spirit in which appear an infinite number of physical forms.

The fetish provides its owner with an icon or reference point for navigating in a spiritual world where there are few objective boundaries. In this respect, our conversations with the fetish�s spirit remind us of our relationship with the organizing force of the universe, thus connecting us with a power that is infinitely greater than our own egos.

For the traditional Zuni, the fetish is just one aspect of a complex religion whose central goal is to achieve a balance with nature. Throughout the Zuni religion, there is great reverence for the unseen world-the mysterious forces created by A'wonawil'ona which continue to impact on all life. Zuni religious beliefs foster a constant awareness of how dependent we humans are on the natural order and on external spiritual forces which are mysterious to us.

While the Zuni emphasize our dependence on these external forces, they also believe that we can bring ourselves into a harmonious and nurturing relationship with the deifies that control the forces. The fetish is a spiritual tool that can be used to establish and maintain this relationship.

According to the Zuni way, all human ills are the result of being out of balance with the natural forces, usually due to failure to observe nature's laws because of either ignorance or selfishness. There are many instructive stories in the Zuni culture that tell of men and women who acted vainly, attempting to assume power as if they were separate from or superior to A'wonawil'ona. Those who did so were always punished in some way, their punishments ranging from lack of luck in the hunt to great droughts which caused many deaths among their people.

When people began crafting fetishes from stone, wood, and other materials, it was believed that these had less power than the found objects whose resemblance to animals had been created by the forces of nature. However, there were then, as now, fetish makers with special wisdom about the spiritual and healing attributes of the animals and natural forces. A fetish crafted by such a person may be imbued with great powers.

The body of the fetish may be shaped from bone, shell, clay, stone, or other material. Various adornments may be attached to the fetish, some to strengthen the spirit within and some as votive offerings, given in appreciation for the fetish's service to its owner. Most shell or turquoise beads tied to modern fetishes would be classified as votive offerings, while arrowheads, feathers, or bones are usually attached to strengthen the fetish's powers.

Occasionally, the fetish may be decorated with etched and/or painted lines. These might depict the feathers or pinions of a bird, or they might echo traditional designs used in ceremonial dress, masks, or other sacred objects. One of the most commonly seen decorations of this kind is the "heartline arrow," a single line that runs from the tip of the fetish's nose or mouth directly back, on each side, to the area of the heart. At the heart, there is found the pattern of an arrowhead. In addition to representing the breath or life force of the animal spirit, the heartline evokes the qualities of the snake and lightning. A fetish decorated in this way is considered very powerful.

Most fetishes are kept and used in sets, usually consisting of between three and seven figures with a clay fetish jar to house them. Fetish jars measure up to approximately fourteen inches in height and sixteen inches in diameter. The bottoms of the jars are lined with down and, in some cases, sprinkled with powdered turquoise or shell, in order to make the fetishes comfortable. Most jars have a hole in the side, between one and four inches in diameter. The mouths of the jars are covered, usually with hide from deer that have been killed ritually. The fetishes are placed facing outward within their jars.

The outer surfaces of fetish jars are typically quite plain, except that turquoise dust and fragments may have been pressed into the clay before firing. Some jars are decorated with feathers, etched symbols representing natural forces, or even other fetishes which presumably guard the jar's mouth or feeding hole.

The jars are washed frequently, usually as part of a ceremony prescribed for the use of the fetishes that reside there. Each fetish set has a particular purpose, ranging from healing the sick to initiating young people into a clan or religious order.

Each year, usually around the winter solstice, the Zunis observe We-ma-a-wa u-pu-k'ia, or "The Day of the Council of Fetishes." On this day, all the fetishes belonging to the tribe and its individual members are brought to an altar in the Zuni council chamber. Animals are arranged according to their type and color on slats placed on the floor. Bird fetishes are suspended in the air, usually by cotton strings.

The ceremonials last throughout most of the night, with each member approaching the altar, addressing the assembly of fetishes with long prayers, and then scattering prayer meal over the altar. Songs and chants are sung, with participants imitating the movements and cries of the animals represented. The Day of the Council of Fetishes ends with a great feast. Tiny portions of each food are ritually fed to the fetishes, after which the scraps of food are buried.

As in all rituals surrounding the fetishes, the ceremonies, songs, dances, and offerings are ultimately addressed to A'wonawil'ona, whose spirit or life force permeates the land, the sky, the fetishes, the animals they represent, all the natural forces, and humanity itself{ linking all of us as One.

Zuni fetishes offer us a highly intuitive and spiritual way of getting in touch with guiding principles that can serve us in modem life, whether we are faced with challenges in our jobs, our relationships, or our spiritual paths. A fetish evokes both conscious and unconscious knowledge associated with the animal it represents. Thus, the fetishes provide us a way of going inside to discover our own natural resources-resources of the spirit that we each bring into this life at birth.

Zuni fetishes are often suspended from heishi necklaces, a uniquely Native American jewelry tradition. Animal and bird carvings with holes drilled in them, suggesting they were meant to be used as beads or worn as pendants, have been recovered from pre-Columbian archeological sites.

Long prized as powerful religious icons, first by other Indian tribes, and now by non-Indians, Zuni fetishes have become one of the most popular items in Native American cultural art today. The number of artisans carving fetishes in Zuni, New Mexico has swelled from only 15-20 in the early 1980s to over 200 today.

Each artisan generally makes a limited number of fetishes, both in style and in total output, usually focusing on a single animal or a small group of related animals. The craft is sometimes practiced by a whole family, and some family names are well recognized and respected for the consistent quality and artistry of their work.

Although each animal has a different power, Zuni carvers maintain that their carvings are not endowed with the power of the animal, unless blessed by a medicine man for a specific purpose. This blessing endows the fetish with powers governing fecundity, success in hunting, diagnosis and healing of disease, luck in gambling, or luck in general.

The belief is, that if you own that animal, and you treat it with respect, the animal will share its power with you. The power held by the animal is derived from a spirit dwelling within the fetish. Double fetishes are sometimes kept by couples to strengthen the bond between them. A double fetish is created by carving two animals from the same piece of stone. Fetishes representing animals that develop a strong bond between male and female, such as the wolf or swan, are particularly appropriate for this purpose.

Traditionally, fetishes were highly private objects, rarely shown to outsiders. The proper care of a fetish included keeping it in a special fetish bowl designed for that purpose and making offerings of cornmeal, and sometimes bits of turquoise and coral, to nourish its spirit. Fastened to the backs of some tabletop fetishes, are medicine bundles, small beads and arrows tied together with leather - a collection of amulets to ensure good fortune.

The smallest of carvings are most treasured by the Zuni, because of the skill and patience required to carve them. The electric drill used by modern artists allows them to render realistic figures in a variety of materials. Elements used for carving vary, including; abalone, alabaster, amber, coral, dolomite, fluorite, spiny oyster, ironwood, jet, lapis, malachite, mother-of-pearl, Picasso marble, pipestone, sandstone, serpentine, fossilized ivory, travertine and turquoise.

Some of the more popular animals and their powers:

  • Bear = Health and Strength
  • Wolf, Mountain Lion, Badger = Hunters
  • Eagle = Oversight, Good Luck
  • Mole = Protects Underneath
  • Frog = Fertility, Rain
  • Ram = Prosperity
  • Buffalo = Abundance

    Carvings of birds, coyotes, foxes, horses, parrots, pigs, sheep, squirrels and turtles are popular as well.

    As either tabletop carvings, or jewelry pieces, fetishes are a popular and unique expression of Native American culture. Although the stones, and many of the shapes, used for jewelry and fetishes have profound symbolic significance for the cultures producing them, even to the uninitiated, the beauty of the Zuni fetish work is immediately evident.

    - Zuni Fetish Page



    Religion - Gods - Shaman

    The Zuni gods are believed to reside in the lakes of Arizona and New Mexico. The chiefs and the shamans during religious festivals carry out two different types of ceremonies. Song and dance accompanies masked performances by the chiefs while the shamans pray to the gods for favors ranging from fertile soil to abundant amounts of rain. The shamans play an important role in the community as they are looked upon for guidance as well as knowledge and healing. There are different levels of expertise for all shamans with the goal ultimately being to reach the top level so they can assist in all aspects of Zuni life.

    The principal Zuni Gods are believed to dwell in the depths of a lake in Arizona. Zuni ceremonies are of two kinds: those in which masked men impersonate the ancestral gods and those in which the shamanistic societies play the leading part.

    Although it is not uncommon to find religion playing a significant part in an Indian society, the fact that women are played an important role is quite uncommon. Women are thought of as the life of the tribe. Men do all of the hunting, building and gathering of necessities, but when they are done, whatever they have caught, collected or built belongs to the women. The women are the ones who do all of the trading with different tribes and take care of financial issues and problems. This is quite a change from most modern societies.

    There are twelve shamanistic societies. These not only treat sickness, but participate as societies and perform feats of legerdemain for the mystification of the people. each has several orders or degrees, and each order is the custodian of some secret of healing or magic.Members are initiated successively into these orders, until ultimately they are competent to assist in the activities of all.

    According to Ruth Kirk, there are six categories of fetishes in the Zuni religion.

    The first category includes masks, costumes, and other sacred objects used in Kachina ceremonies; like other fetishes, these objects are fed, cared for, and offered daily prayers between ceremonies.

    The second type of fetish is the mili, a personal fetish which consists of a perfect ear of corn (one that ends in five symmetrical rows), usually with a variety of feathers attached. Presented to a young man at the time he is initiated into a religious society, this fetish symbolizes the initiate's soul, as well as the life-giving power of the Creator.

    Kirk's third group of fetishes, prayer sticks, are more properly classified as amulets because they do not have spirits residing within them.

    The fourth category of fetishes, called "concretion fetishes," are naturally shaped rocks which are thought to be petrified organs of the gods that once walked on Earth; they are used for making contact with the spirits of those deities.

    A fifth group of fetishes are the effowe, fetishes used in rainmaking ceremonies. An ettone (singular of effowe) consists of several short reeds wrapped in cotton string to form a compact, round bundle.



    Solstice and Harvest Ceremonies

    The Zuni year begins with the winter solstice, at which time occurs the ceremony called Yatakya-ittiwanna-quin-techikya ("sun middle-at place arrives"), or Tetsina-wittiwa ("winter middle").

    The movements of the sun are observed daily by the Peqinne, chief of the zenith. In the six winter months, December to May, he goes at sunrise to a petrified stump just east of the village, and with offerings of sacred meal he prays to the rising sun and notes its position with reference to certain permanent natural marks on the horizon.

    But in the six summer months he goes to the ruin of Matsaki two miles east of Zuni and prays to the setting sun while standing within a semicircular stone shrine and making note of the position of the sun on Yalanne-hlanna ("mountain big"), a high mesa northwest of Zuni.

    When in November the rising sun coincides with a certain mark on Tawa-yalanne, Corn mountain, he so informs the Apihlan-shiwanni ("bow chiefs"), the war-chiefs, who in turn bear the news to the other five Ashiwanni, and these high priests assemble at once in the house of the Kyaqimassi, Shiwanni of the north.

    Beginning on the next morning Peqinne at intervals of four days plant feathered prayer sticks (always four in number) alternately at a shrine on Corn mountain for Sun and Moon, and in the field for his deceased sun priests. This planting of prayer sticks covers twenty-one days, and during the period, as well as the four days preceding and four days following it, he practices continence. On the twenty-second morning he goes to the housetop and announces that on the tenth day thereafter the sun will arrive at Ittiwanna-qin ("middle at place"), a certain point on Corn mountain, and they will then celebrate his arrival and his four days' sojourn there before turning back to the north.

    At night the images of the war gods are brought solemnly into the kiva, the six Ashiwanni and the Bow fraternity being the principal ones present, the latter having left the meeting of the various shamanistic societies to which they belong. After a night of prayers and offerings, the images are taken back to the houses where they were prepared, and after the morning meal the elder Bow Chief with an assistant carries the image of the elder god and deposits it at the war god's shrine on Uhana-yalanne, southwest of Zuni; and the younger Bow Chief carries the other image to the shrine on Corn mountain.

    On the day named as the solstice each household as a unit goes into the fields to plant prayer sticks. Each member of the family, regardless of age, sex or connection with fraternity or priesthood, places one prayer stick or more (usually several) in a small hole dug outby the head of the household. The prayer sticks are intended for various deities and for deceased ancestors.

    Continued



    People

    The Zuni people are, in a way, a mysterious tribe. Their culture is very reclusive and isolated much as is their city and their language. They are a very interesting people who are well known for their beautiful artwork, sculpture and dishware. The Zuni are one of the few fortunate tribes who have managed to keep their ways of life the same throughout the years despite the westward push of the European immigrant settlers, the Mexican-American war, and the rough treatment they endured during all of the conflicts that they dealt with.



    Clothing

    Men wear loin cloths, fringed white cotton sashes, deerskin moccasins, and short leggings.

    Women wear Pueblo dress, fastened over right shoulder, footless stockings, and bare feet.



    Beliefs

    The three most powerful supernatural beings are Earth Mother, Sun Father and Moonlight-Giving Mother. Sunlight is recognized as vital for life, and the word for "daylight" and "life" are the same word in the Zuni language. Sunrise is a special and very sacred time.

    For the A:shiwi, there are six directions: North, South, East, West, Above and Below. Because of the extra two directions, there is also the "middle", which is the connecting point.

    In addition to ceremonies honoring and thanking supernatural beings and natural forces for health and well-being, there are rituals to mark important times in each person's life including birth, coming of age, marriage and death.

    The Zunis believe that, while all parts of the universe belong to a single system of interrelated life, degrees of relationship based on resemblance exist. The starting point in this system is humanity, which is the lowest because it is the least mysterious and the most dependent. The animals that most resemble humans are considered closest to them in the great web of interrelatedness. The animals, objects, or phenomena that least resemble them are believed to be the least related and, thus, the most mysterious and holy.

    A dog, for example, would be viewed as less holy than a snake or other reptile, because dogs and humans live together and have a mutual understanding, whereas reptiles are alien to the human world. Since forces in nature such as wind, lightning, and rain-are very mysterious and powerful, they are believed to be closer to the deities than either humans or animals.



    Homes

    Contemporary Zuni Indians are the direct descendants of the prehistoric Pueblo people who settled the region sometime prior to A.D. 400. Mirroring the developments that took place throughout the region occupied by prehistoric Pueblo Peoples, the first settlements in the area were comprised of agriculturalists living in pithouses of various types. Later above-ground masonry structures (pueblos) were comprised of small, dispersed room blocks associated with subterranean pit structures or kivas. By A.D. 1000, the population in the Zuni area began to construct larger settlements oriented around Chacoan great houses with associated circular great kivas. Throughout this period, the occupation spans of most settlements were relatively brief, and many new villages were constructed over a wide area, perhaps in response to variability in climate and the gradually decreasing productivity of agricultural strategies.

    Houses are built of fragments of stone, set sometimes without binding material and without breaking joints. The walls are plastered on both sides with clay and whitened on the inside with gypsum wash. The flat, slightly sloping roof of brush and earth is supported by heavy pine beams stripped of their bark but not dressed. The quarters of a family are an apartment in a terraced structure containing hundreds of rooms. Houses on the ground level were formerly entered through the roof by means of ladders. The upper levels are either reached by ladders or by stone stairs ascending from one roof to another.

    A house, though built by the men, are the absolute property of the women, who may sell or trade them within the tribe without legal hindrance from husband or children.

    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    

    ZUNI MYTHS

    NATIVE AMERICANS ANCIENT AND LOST CIVILIZATIONS INDEX ALPHABETICAL INDEX OF ALL FILES CRYSTALINKS MAIN PAGE