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Revision as of 19:12, 11 September 2006 by 137.85.253.2 (talk) (→Miscellaneous)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) For other uses, see Zuni people (disambiguation). Ethnic group | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| United States (New Mexico) | |
| Languages | |
| Zuni, English | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity (incl. syncretist forms), Zuni religion |
The Zuni (also spelled Zuñi) or Ashiwi are a Native American tribe, one of the Pueblo peoples, most of whom live in the Pueblo of Zuñi on the Zuni River, a tributary of the Little Colorado River, in western New Mexico. Zuñi is 55 km (35 miles) south of Gallup, New Mexico and has a population of about 12,000, with over 80% being Native Americans, with 43.0% of the population below the poverty line as defined by the U.S. income standards. However, many of the people do not consider their low income and lifestyle to be poverty.
Culture
Zuni traditionally speak the Zuni language, a unique language which is unrelated to the languages of the other Pueblo peoples. The Zuni continue to practice their traditional shamanistic religion with its regular ceremonies and dances and an independent mythology.
The Zuni Tribal Fair and Rodeo is held the third weekend in August. The Zuni participate in the Gallup Inter-Tribal Ceremonial.
History
The Zuni, like other Pueblo peoples, are believed to be the descendants of the Ancient Pueblo Peoples who lived in the desert Southwest of New Mexico, Arizona, Southern Colorado and Utah for a thousand years.
Archeological evidence shows they have lived in their present location for about 1,300 years.
Before the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, the Zuni lived in six different villages. After the revolt, until 1692, they took refuge in a defensible position atop Dowa Yalanne, a steep mesa 5 km (2 miles) southeast of the present Pueblo of Zuñi. After the establishment of peace and the return of the Spanish, the Zuni relocated in their present location, only briefly returning to the mesa top in 1703.
Frank Hamilton Cushing, a pioneering anthropologist associated with the Smithsonian Institution, lived with the Zuni from 1879 to 1884. He was one of the first participant observers and an ethnologist.
A recent controversy involved Zuni opposing the development of a coal mine near the Zuni Salt Lake, a site considered sacred by the Zuni and under Zuni control. The mine would have extracted water from the aquifer below the lake as well as involved construction between the lake and Zuñi , . The plan died after several lawsuits.
Miscellaneous
The Zuni were and are a peaceful, deeply traditional people who lived by irrigated agriculture and now by the sale of traditional crafts. Their location is relatively isolated, but they welcome respectful tourists. Carved stone animal fetishes, jewelry, needlepoint, and pottery are popular items.
Many Zuni also became master silversmiths and perfected the skill of stone inlay. They found that by using small pieces of stone they were able to create intricate designs and unique patterns. Another technique they have mastered is needlepoint. Small oval shaped stones with pointed ends are set close to one another and side by side. The technique is normally used with turquoise in creating necklaces or rings.
There is an old Spanish mission, Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission, which is a popular attraction; and a tribal museum, A:shiwi A:wan Museum & Heritage Center.
Gavin Menzies has suggested that the Zuni share some affinities with the Japanese people, due in part to what he claims are linguistic and cultural similarities. This view, however, is not accepted by mainstream archaeologists, professional linguists, or the Zuni people themselves. The zuni fought to have the right to eat dung.
Zuni in popular culture
- People living the Zuni way play a role in Brave New World (1932), a novel by Aldous Huxley.
- Zuni culture plays a prominent role in the 1973 novel Dance Hall of the Dead, by the American writer Tony Hillerman.
Books on Zuñi by Frank Cushing
- Jesse Green, Sharon Weiner Green and Frank Hamilton Cushing, Cushing at Zuni: The Correspondence and Journals of Frank Hamilton Cushing, 1879-1884, University of New Mexico Press, 1990, hardcover ISBN 0-8263-1172-5
- Sylvester Baxter and Frank H. Cushing, My Adventurers in Zuni: Including Father of The Pueblos & An Aboriginal Pilgrimage, Filter Press, LLC, 1999, paperback, 1999, 79 pages, ISBN 0-86541-045-3
- Frank H. Cushing, My Adventures in Zuni, Pamphlet, ISBN 1-121-39551-1
- Frank Hamilton Cushing and Barton Wright, The mythic world of the Zuni, University of New Mexico Press, 1992, hardcover, ISBN 0-8263-1036-2
- Frank H. Cushing, Zuni Coyote Tales, University of Arizona Press, 1998, paperback, 104 pages, ISBN 0-8165-1892-0
- Frank Hamilton Cushing, Zuni Fetishes, pamphlet, ISBN 1-199-17971-X and ISBN 1-122-26704-5
- Frank H. Cushing, designed by K. C. DenDooven, photographed by Bruce Hucko, Annotations by Mark Bahti, Zuni Fetishes, KC Publications, 1999, paperback, 48 pages, ISBN 0-88714-144-7
- Frank Hamilton Cushing, Zuni Fetishes Facsimile, pamphlet, ISBN 1-125-28500-1
- Frank Hamilton Cushing, Zuni Folk Tales, hardcover, ISBN 1-125-91410-6 (expensive if you search by ISBN, try ABE for older used copies without ISBN)
- Frank Hamilton Cushing, Zuni Folk Tales, University of Arizona Press, 1999, trade paperback, ISBN 0-8165-0986-7 (reasonably priced)
- Frank H. Cushing, edited by Jesse Green, foreword by Fred Eggan, Introduction by Jesse Green, Zuni: Selected Writings of Frank Hamilton Cushing University of Nebraska Press, 1978, hardcover, 440 pages, ISBN 0-8032-2100-2; trade paperback, 1979, 449 pages, ISBN 0-8032-7007-0
- Frank Hamilton Cushing, Zuni Breadstuff (Indian Notes and Monographs, V. 8.), AMS Press, 1975, hardcover, 673 pages, ISBN 0-404-11835-6
- Frank Hamilton Cushing, Outlines of Zuni Creation Myths, AMS Press, Reprint edition (June 1, 1996), hardcover, 121 pages, ISBN 0-404-11834-8
External links
- Zuni Indian Tribe History at Access Genealogy
- The Zuni website
- The Zuni Worldview
- The Zuni Enigma and Book review
- The Genetic Evidence
- Davis, AM'65, argues for connection between Japanese and Zuni cultures
- Experience Zuni Pueblo
- The Religious Life of the Zuñi Child by (Mrs.) Tilly E. (Matilda Coxe Evans) Stevenson, from Project Gutenberg
- Collection of Historical Photographs of Zunis
- Zuni Handcrafted Jewelry Information
References
- Adapted from the Internet-Encyclopedia article, "Zuni" http://www.internet-encyclopedia.org/wiki.phtml?title=Zuni July 24, 2003, updated August 30, 2003
- Archaeologies of the Pueblo Revolt: Identity,Meaning, and Renewal in the Pueblo World, edited by Robert W. Preucel, University of New Mexico Press, 2002, hardcover, 224 pages, ISBN 0-8263-2247-6