Zuni (Ashiwi) Pueblo – Tradition and Change

Zuni Pueblo is the largest of the 19 pueblos in New Mexico. Each of the pueblos is a sovereign Indian nation though relatively small in size (Zuni encompasses about 450,000 acres and less than 10,000 residents). They have a common history and are descendants of the Ancestral Puebloan inhabitants of the Colorado Plateau/Four Corners area. In Zuni we spent a very busy 24 hours, including 4 ½ hours with a Zuni archeologist/religious leader/tour guide, Kenny Bowekaty.

The highlight of our time there was a visit to the ancient Zuni Village of the Great Kivas, about 17 miles from the currently inhabited Zuni village. This site was originally excavated in the 1930, but has recently been rediscovered with some further excavation done. Over 1,000 years old it appears to have been a small village but with major religious significance due to the presence of two great kivas, large circular spaces used for religious/community ceremonies, associated with smaller underground kivas and other rooms. There is also interesting diverse rock art on the cliffs above it which we climbed. From our tour guide we also learned about the Zuni creation story and theology, touring Halona Idiwan’a or Middle Village, the historic and cultural center of the existing pueblo, and viewing the ancient Spanish era Catholic Church (now in disrepair). Families still live in this older section of the pueblo, major religious observances still occur there, and there appears to have been significant renovation work done on the apartments by the families living there. The current pueblo was built right on top of a previous pueblo that was destroyed in 1680 during the Pueblo revolt. After the revolt the Zuni built a fortress/village on the top of a nearby Mesa. They returned to their pueblo in 1692, rebuilding right on top of the ruins of the original village. As a result there are apparently perhaps 8 or 9 underground levels below the current pueblo that have been excavated by some archeologists, including our guide Kenny.

The Zuni have been in this area for thousands of years and over this time developed a deeply spiritual way of life. We were struck by how their traditions and religion appears to remain central to Zuni life and community, exemplified in part by how they have maintained their traditional ceremonial cycle linked to the seasons. The Zuni pueblo today contains six major kivas or centers for religious and community observance, and ceremonial dances continue to be done in traditional regalia often with katsina masks as they have for centuries and continue to link the people with nature, the seasons, agriculture and their spiritual world.

The strength of tradition and religion goes beyond the ceremonial cycle and observances in interesting ways. For example, the construction of a new local airport was delayed many years because of the need to protect culturally significant burial and other sites that were identified near the new runways. Here is another example. The ancient Village of the Great Kivas falls within a National Historic Landmark district along with three other Zuni sites, but in the late 1980s Zuni overwhelmingly rejected a U.S. government proposal to establish a major national cultural park accessible to visitors. The Zuni feared loss of control of these ancestral lands and archaeological remains and refused to lease any land to the National Park Service to implement the project. We also saw how traditional outdoor cooking overn, called hornos, are still used for bread baking, and how traditional arts and crafts – pottery, silver and fetishes (small sacred handmade objects usually depicting animals and with specific meanings that can be worn, carried or kept in a special place) – remain vibrant and in fact provide work and a livelihood for 50-75% of the population working mostly out of their homes.

It is clear that survival of Zuni is identified by its people primarily with cultural protection and that this goes back a long time. Zuni, as the other New Mexico pueblos, suffered at the hands of the Spanish, Mexico and then the United States colonialists. The Spanish arrived in 1540 and forced their culture, language and religion on the Zuni and other pueblos. They forbid traditional practices, brought disease and instituted forced labor. In 1680 the pueblos had enough of the Spanish and, along with Hopi, rebelled against Spanish cultural genocide. The Revolt was successful but within 15 years the Spanish had returned and reconquered but now governed in a somewhat more benign way. In 1846, the United States seized control of the are and things worsened again as the Indians lost land and civil rights, and again were subject to attempts at cultural destruction. It is clear that Zuni resistance and perseverance, and fierce desire to maintain their cultural/religious traditions and autonomy, has a long history that continues today.

All that said, we also saw how modernity and change is also present. This came home to us when we ate dinner at the new “Village Bistro”, owned and run by a Zuni woman, her son and grandson. This seems to be a sort of anomaly to us – who would expect to find a modern “Village Bistro” in a completely and beautifully renovated home in the heart of Zuni Village, serving both traditional and modern foods, including home baked bread (using a horno) and pastry? There is also a new and large supermarket about to open, a new elementary school, newly built senior citizens center and the new airport. The locally-owned B&B we stayed at is also a gem.