Zuni Indian

No one knows when the Zuni Indian arrived in western New Mexico. They probably came in from the nort and settled  in the well-watered Zuni valley. Later the Zuni Indian were joined by people from the Yuma-Pima country to the west and then by people from other tribes.

The Zuni Indian were farmers. Their fields were planted where gulches opened into the valley. Across the gulches they built earthen dams to hold rainwater in check.  The rainwater sank slowly into the soil. There was enough water in most years to grow maize, beans, and pumpkins. During times of drought the Zuni Indian priests were called upon to bring rain to Shi`wona, as the Zuni Indian called their land.

The men worked the farms. They used wooden digging sticks and wooden hoes. The Zuni Indian harvested the maize and spread the ears of corn on pueblo roofs to dry, and  stored the ears in the back rooms of the lower stories. Zuni women prepared the food in dome shaped ovens. They made yuca-fiber clithing and fine pots and baskets. The woman cared for the children and helped to build the pueblos. Young girls learned to do all the thing their mother did. Young boys, on the other hand, joined secret fraternities. They met in ceremonial rooms, or kivas.  There they learned about religion and the Zuni world.

The Zuni world. The Zuni Indian arrange the world in seven parts. There were north, south, east, and west; and the upper world, lower world, and midmost, or center world. Each part had a number. Each had a color. The midmost was especially blessed, for it contained the colors of all the rest.

Zuni Indian live was influenced by the seven directions. Each clan belonged to one of seven divisions corresponding to the directions. Each division played a specific role at Zuni ceremonials, dances, and tribal meetings. Chief Zuni Indian priests always came from the north. The pekwin from the upper world determined the calendar by watching the rising and setting of the sun. They chose the day of the ceremonials. From the lower world came the priests representing the war gods who were associated with thunder. It was they who were called upon to bring rain in time of drought. The pattern of the seven divisions and the power of the clans helped to make Zuni Indian life rigid and orderly. Every Zuni Indian knew his place within it. And the Zuni want it that way.

In 1539 a Franciscan missionary, Fray Marcos de Niza, saw Hawikuh, One of seven Zuni pueblos. In a report to his superiors,  De Niza called the seven villages the Kingdom of Cibola and praised them to the sky. He described them as well-populated centers rich in gold and jewels. The report excited the Spaniards in Mexico. In 1540 Francisco Vasquez de Coronado made his memorable trip to the "Seven Cities of Cibola" - the Zuni pueblos. He defeated the Zuni Indian, but he found no golds.

The Zuni Indian today. Drought, Spanish conquistadores and missionaries, the coming of American settlers, and the reservation system have not dampened the spirit of the Zuni Indian, who number about 4,200 today. The Zuni live in one pueblo, but it is still divided, as of old, into seven divisions. Many of the old ceremonials are still performed. In mid-December they conduct the Shalako ceremony. The masked gods, the costumed dancers, the sacred clowns, and the healers march from house to house blessing the new Zuni home.