Mythologies of the Jémez Pueblo Tribe

Pueblo of Jemez
4471 Highway 4
P.O. Box 100
Jemez Pueblo, NM 87024
Phone: 575-834-7359

Web site

Jemez Pueblo (/ˈhɛmɛz/; Jemez: Walatowa, Navajo: Mąʼii Deeshgiizh) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Sandoval County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 1,788 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Albuquerque Metropolitan Statistical Area. The CDP is named after the pueblo at its center. Among Pueblo members, it is known as Walatowa. According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 2 square miles (5.2 km²), all land. It seems that a significant part of the Jemez Pueblo population originates from the surviving remnant of the Pecos Pueblo population who fled to Jemez Pueblo in 1838. The Jemez speak a Kiowa–Tanoan language also known as Jemez or Towa. As of the census of 2000, there were 1,953 people, 467 households, and 415 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 957.0 inhabitants per square mile (369.5/km²). There were 499 housing units at an average density of 244.5 per square mile (94.4/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 0.41% White, 99.13% Native American, 0.31% from other races, and 0.15% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.95% of the population.

The Jemez have lived in the Jemez Valley for hundreds of years and in Northern New Mexico for at least a thousand years. The Jemez People are primarily farmers, but we also gather and hunt. We speak a language that only a few thousand people speak. Linguists call it Towa, but I prefer to call it Jemez, for our People. There were over 40 villages with over 500 rooms, some with even more, and thousands of small one to two room field houses, when the first Spaniards explored this area in the 1540s. They documented 7 to 11 Jemez villages in their reports. (Jemez is the Spanish spelling for the word "Hį:mįsh" (HEE-MEESH) and is the plural form of what we call ourselves). The Spanish came in the late 16th century to begin their "colonizing" and "christianizing". They forcefully tried to convert the Jemez (and other Pueblo People) to Christianity, and this is when the Spanish forced the Jemez to build a church in 1621. The Spanish named it, San Jose de los Jemez (now part of the Jemez Historic Site) and was one of two churches built in the Jemez area at the time. The other mission, San Diego de la Congregacion, was built about a year later at the present site of Jemez Pueblo. ("Pueblo" is the Spanish word for village or town. The Spaniards called us "pueblo people", because we lived in apartment-like structures that contained many rooms which they referred to as "pueblos".) The San Jose de los Jemez Mission Church was most likely abandoned in the 1640s, but the village of Gisewa was still inhabited. The Spaniards' "Christianization Efforts" were then concentrated at Jemez Pueblo. The Jemez rebelled for many years against the Conquistadors and missionaries. Most Pueblo People accepted the foreign religion and adopted new ideas and technologies to a certain point. Once the Spaniards started hanging and publicly humiliating Pueblo Religious leaders for participating in what they called "devil worship", Pueblo People had had enough.

Jemez Pueblo (pronounced HAY-mes PWEB-loh). The Jemez called themselves Hemes, which in their language of Towa means “people.” The village where most tribal members reside is called Walatowa, which means “this is the place.” The Jemez Pueblo, a federal reservation, includes 90,000 acres of the tribe’s former homeland in north-central New Mexico. It is located in the San Diego Canyon on the Jemez River. Most of the Jemez people in the early twenty-first century live in the reservation town of Walatowa. In 1583 there were an estimated thirty thousand Jemez Pueblo people. In 1630 there were only three thousand. In 1706 there were just three hundred. In the 1990 U.S. Census, 2,238 people identified themselves as Jemez. According to the 2000 census, 2,705 Jemez people lived in the United States. In 2001 the Bureau of Indian Affairs reported that tribal enrollment was 3,486. Jemez tales trace the tribe’s origin to a lagoon near Stone Lake, New Mexico, now the site of the Jicarilla (pronounced hee-kah-REE-yah) Apache Reservation. Between 1250 and 1300 the Jemez moved from that site to the mountains of northern New Mexico in what is now part of the Santa Fe National Forest.

The Jémez Pueblo is surrounded by colorful sandstone mesas and serves as the gateway to the Cañon de San Diego and the Jémez Mountain Trail National Scenic Byway. The Pueblo itself is located 27 miles northwest of Bernalillo. In the 1830s, survivors of Pecos (Cicúye) Pueblo, a once-mighty trading center now in ruins, joined Jémez. Many Pecos Pueblo warriors at first resisted the invading Spanish forces under Diego de Vargas, but 12 years after the Pueblo Revolt in 1680, they allied with the conquerors. As many as 70% of the 1,890 Jémez Indians were living on their reservation lands in the early 1970s. Though by this time an increasing number were switching to wage-earning work rather than agriculture. The Pueblo residents continued to raise chili peppers, corn, and wheat, to speak their Native language, and to maintain customary practices. Running, an old Jémez pastime and ceremonial activity, grew even more popular than it had been before World War II. Prior to the advent of television at Jémez, tales of running feats had been a major form of entertainment on winter nights. Races continued to hold their ceremonial place as the years passed, their purpose being to assist the movement of the sun and moon or to hasten the growth of crops, for example. At the same time, they became a popular secular sport. The year 1959 saw the first annual Jémez All-Indian Track and Field Meet, won by runners from Jémez seven times in the first ten years. A Jémez runner, Steve Gachupin, won the Pikes Peak Marathon in 1968, setting a record by reaching the top in just 2 hours, 14 minutes, 56 seconds. Jémez's main village, Walatowa, is open to visitors only during feast days. Otherwise, the Pueblo is closed to the public year-round. Visitors are always welcome at the Walatowa Visitor Center, which features a reconstructed traditional Jémez field house, photo exhibit, gift shop, cultural exhibits, a nature walk and an interpretive program. Tour the Jémez Red Rocks Recreation Area and sample Indian foods, arts and crafts. A visit to the ancestral village of Giusewa, at Jémez State Monument on N.M. 4 near the town of Jémez Springs, is another interesting option. Photography, sketching and recording are prohibited at the pueblo but encouraged at Red Rocks.

The Jemez Pueblo in north-central New Mexico is the last remaining pueblo of the Towa-speaking people. The Jemez, pronounced “Hay-mess,” originated from a place they called “Hua-na-tota” in the area of Largo Canyon in northwestern New Mexico. After having lived there for at least 1,000 years, the people migrated south in the 14th century to the southwestern Jemez Mountains in north-central New Mexico. The Jemez people were primarily farmers but were also hunter-gatherers. The Jemez were first encountered by Europeans when Spanish Conquistador Francisco Vazquez de Coronado’s expedition, including 500 soldiers and 2,000 Indian allies from New Spain, came to the area in 1541. At that time, the Jemez Nation was one of the largest and most powerful of the Puebloan cultures, occupying more than 40 villages strategically located on the high mountain mesas and the canyons surrounding the present-day pueblo of Walatowa. Many villages comprised more than 500 rooms with hundreds of small one to two-room field houses. These stone-built fortresses, often located miles apart, were four stories high, and a few contained as many as 3,000 rooms. The Spanish documented 11 Jemez villages in their reports. Situated between these “giant pueblos” were hundreds of smaller one and two-room houses that the Jemez people used during spring and summer as basecamps for hunting, gathering, and agricultural activities. However, the spiritual leaders, medicine people, war chiefs, craftsmen, pregnant women, the elderly, and the disabled lived in the giant pueblo throughout the year.

The Jemez Pueblo was originally established in about 1200. The dwellings there were two story structures. The community totaled about 100 Jemez Indians. They were primarily hunters and gatherers due to the mountainous terrain. During the summer months, they would travel down to meadows to tend fields of corn, beans, and squash. The Jemez were known to be traders in this region. The community had two large kivas. The rooms at this site are larger than most other pueblo sites of this period. By 1540 the tribe was one of the largest and most powerful of the Pueblo cultures. The Spanish entered the area in 1540 and built a very large mission that housed two friars instead of one. The Jemez and the Spanish lived in peace for 40 years. The Spanish left this area in 1689 during the Pueblo Revolts. These revolts were caused primarily by forcibly Christianity on the New Mexico Indians. In addition, the Spanish enslaved the Jemez Indians, took away tribal traditions and meted out harsh punishment. The Spanish reconquered the Jemez in 1696 and moved the Jemez to the community of Walatowa where they currently live. The Jemez Pueblo currently has nearly 1,800 inhabitants and a tribal enrollment of 2,600. Farming is an important part of today's community life. Corn and chilies are the primary crops. The timber industry supplies some jobs in the community. The reservation is also well respected for its arts and crafts. The Tewo-speaking Jemez Pueblo is quite traditional. The community still holds many dances and ceremonies throughout the year. The community has a beautifully preserved town square. Many large homes can only be entered from the roof just as it was for their ancestors 500 years before. The homes here are darker and redder than other pueblos due to the surrounding coloration of the beautiful landscape here.

Jemez (from Hä’-mish, or Hae’-mish, the Keresan name of the pueblo. Bandelier). A village on the north bank of Jemez River, about 20 miles north west of Bernalillo, New Mexico. According to tradition the Jemez had their origin in the north, at a lagoon called Uabunatota (apparently identical with the Shipapulima and Cibobe of other Pueblo tribes), whence they slowly drifted into the valleys of the upper tributaries of the Rio Jemez, the Guadalupe and San Diego, where they resided in a number of villages, and finally into the sandy valley of the Jemez proper, which they now occupy, their habitat being bounded on the south by the range of the west division of the Rio Grande Keresan tribes, the Sia and Santa Ana. Castañeda, the chronicler of Coronado’s expedition of 1541, speaks of 7 pueblos of the Jemez tribe in addition to 3 others in the province of Aguas Calientes, identified by Simpson with the Jemez Hot Springs region. Espejo in 1583 also mentions that 7 villages were occupied by the Jemez, while its 1598 Oñate heard of 11 but saw only 8. In the opinion of Bandelier it is probable that 10 pueblos were inhabited by the tribe in the early part of the 16th century. Following is a list of the pueblos formerly occupied by the Jemez people so far as known. The names include those given by Oñate, which may be identical with some of the others: Arnushungkwa, Anyukwinu, Astialakwa, Bulitzequa, Catroo, Ceca, Guatitruti, Guayoguia, Gyusiwa, Hanakwa, Kiashita, Kiatsukwa, Mecastria, Nokyuntseleta, Nonyishagi, Ostyalakwa, Patoqua, Pebulikwa, Pekwiligii, Potre, Seshiuqua, Setoqua, Towakwa, Trea, Tyajuindena, Tyasoliwa, Uahatzaa, Wabakwa, Yjar, Zolatungzezhii.

Jemez Indians. Corrupted from Ha’-mish or Hae’-mish, the Keresan name of the pueblo. Also spelled Amayes, Ameias, Amejes, Emeges, Gemes, etc. Also called:

Maí-dĕc-kǐž-ne, Navaho name, meaning “wolf neck.”
Tu’-wa, own name of pueblo.
Uala-to-hua or Walatoa, own name of pueblo, meaning “village of the bear.”
Wöng’-ge, Santa Clara and Ildefonso name, meaning “Navaho place.”

The Jemez came from the north, according to tradition, settling in the valleys of the upper tributaries of the Jemez River and at last in the sandy valley of the Jemez proper. Castaneda, the chronicler of Coronado’s expedition, mentions seven towns belonging to the Jemez tribe besides three in the region of Jemez Hot Springs. After they had been missionized they were induced to abandon their towns by degrees until about 1622 they became concentrated into the pueblos of Gyusiwa and probably Astialakwa. Both pueblos contained chapels, probably dating from 1618, but before the Pueblo revolt of 1680 Astialakwa was abandoned and another pueblo, probably Patoqua, established. About the middle of the seventeenth century, in conjunction with the Navaho, the Jemez twice plotted insurrection against the Spaniards. After the insurrection of 1680 the Jemez were attacked by Spanish forces led successively by Otermin, Cruzate, and Vargas, the last of whom stormed the mesa in July 1694, killed 84 Indians, and after destroying Patoqua and two other pueblos, returned to Santa Fé with 361 prisoners and a large quantity of stores. Gyusiwa was the only Jemez pueblo reoccupied, but in 1696 there was a second revolt and the Jemez finally fled to the Navaho country, where they remained for a considerable time before returning to their former home. Then they built their present village, called by them Walatoa, “Village of the Bear.” In 1728, 108 of the inhabitants died of pestilence. In 1782 Jemez was made a visita of the mission of Sia. In 1838 they were joined by the remnant of their relatives, the Pecos Indians from the upper Rio Pecos. Their subsequent history has been uneventful.

Jemez (also Towa) is a Tanoan language spoken by the Jemez Pueblo people in New Mexico. It has no common written form, as tribal rules do not allow the language to be transcribed; linguists describing the language use the Americanist phonetic notation. Its speakers are mainly farmers and craftsmen. The language is only spoken in Jemez Pueblo, New Mexico, but as 90% of the tribal Jemez members do speak it, it is not considered to be extremely endangered. It was also spoken at Pecos Pueblo until the 19th century, when the remaining members of that community moved to Jemez. Consonants that are in parentheses occur only in limited occasion determined by phonological rules. [f] and [ɾ] occur only in loan words.

The Pueblo of Jemez (pronounced “Hay-mess” or traditionally as “He-mish”) is one of the 19 pueblos located in New Mexico. It is a federally recognized American Indian tribe with 3,400 tribal members, most of whom reside in a puebloan village that is known as “‘Walatowa” (a Towa word meaning “this is the place”). Walatowa is located in North-Central New Mexico, within the southern end of the majestic Canon de Don Diego. It is located on State Road 4 approximately one hour northwest of Albuquerque (55 miles) and approximately one hour and twenty minutes southwest of Santa Fe. The Pueblo of Jemez is an independent sovereign nation with an independent government and tribal court system. The secular Tribal Government includes the Tribal Council, the Jemez Governor, two Lt. Governors, two fiscales, and a sheriff. The 2nd Lt. Governor is also the governor of the Pueblo of Pecos. Traditional matters are still handled through a separate governing body that is rooted in prehistory. This traditional government includes the spiritual and society leaders, a War Captain and Lt. War Captain. The Jemez people originated from a place called “Hua-na-tota.” The ancestors of the Jemez Nation, migrated to the “Canon de San Diego Region” from the four-corners area in the late 13th century. By the time of European contact in the year 1541, the Jemez Nation was one of the largest and most powerful of the puebloan cultures, occupying numerous puebloan villages that were strategically located on the high mountain mesas and the canyons that surround the present pueblo of Walatowa. These stone-built fortresses, often located miles apart from one another, were upwards of four stories high and contained as many as 3,000 rooms. They now constitute some of the largest archaeological ruins in the United States. Situated between these “giant pueblos” were literally hundreds of smaller one and two room houses that were used by the Jemez people during spring and summer months as basecamps for hunting, gathering, and agricultural activities.