Havasupai
The Havasupai or Havsuwʼ Baaja are an Indian tribe in the southwest of the USA and, together with the related Hualapai (Walapai) and Yavapai, belong linguistically, culturally and geographically to the group of the highland Yuma (Upland Yuma or Northern Pai) in the northwest, southwest and western central Arizona .
The Northern Pai originally lived on the Upper Colorado River north of the mighty and warlike Quechan (Yuma) in Arizona and moved eastward into the canyon lands and canyons of the Colorado Plateau, including the Grand Canyon , long before the first conquistadors set foot in what is now the southwestern United States . According to traditional tradition, two separate tribal groups emerged from this original group due to internal disputes, which were now also hostile to each other: the Yavapai, who moved further into southwest and south-central Arizona, and the Hualapai (Walapai), who stayed in the northeast and north.
It was only with the establishment of the Havasupai Reserve in the 1880s for the Havasooa Pa'a / Hav'su Ba: ' Local group of the Hualapai, who had previously withdrawn deeper and deeper into the canyons in search of protection, did they gradually no longer than Hualapai (Walapai), but to be identified as a separate tribe.
Names
The Hualapai (Walapai) and Havasupai are often called the Northeastern Pai to distinguish them from the Yavapai living in the south ; Since the forced settlement in two reservations - the Hualapai Indian Reservation in the west and the Havasupai Indian Reservation in the east of the originally common tribal area - the Hualapai (Walapai) are referred to as Western Pai and the Havasupai as Eastern Pai .
Like many indigenous peoples, they referred to themselves as Pai, Paya, Paia, Pa'a, Báy or Ba: ' ("the people") , depending on the dialect .
The tribal name used today as Hualapai (Walapai) is an English adoption of the name of a band of the Hualapai (Walapai), which is Hwa: lbáy / Hual'la-pai / Howa'la-pai (derived from Hwa: l - " Ponderosa -Kiefer "and Báy -" people ", i.e." people of the high Ponderosa pine ").
The designation as Havasupai is also an alienation of the autonym of the largest local group of the Hualapai (Walapai), who called themselves Havsuwʼ Baaja or Havasu Baja ("people of blue-green water") - they were called by other Hualapai due to the different dialect Havasooa Pa'a / Hav'su Ba: ' denotes. Other spellings commonly used in historical reports: Ahabasugapa, Yavasupai or Supai .
The Hopi referred to both the Hualapai (including the Havasupai) and the Yavapai as Co'on / Coconino ("Wood Killers"), the name referring to the way in which they cut the branches off the trees with axes. The hostile Navajo adopted these names and referred to the Hualapai (Walapai) as Waalibéí dinéʼiʼ and the Havasupai as Góóhníinii ; however, the Navajo name for the Havasupai could have the same etymology as Koun'Nde / Go'hn ("wild, rough people") of the Western Apache for the Yavapai and their Tonto-Apache relatives.
The hostile Yavapai referred to them as Matávĕkĕ-Paya / Täbkĕpáya ("people in the north", according to Corbusier) or as Páxuádo ameti ("people far downstream", according to Gatchet ), while the Hualapai (Walapai) and Ji Havasupai called the Yavapai 'wha' ("The enemy") - the largest and southernmost large group (sub-tribe) was also known as the Yavapai Fighters .
The O'Odham (Upper Pima) called all Northern Pai as well as the Apache and Opata simply Ohp or O'Ob ("Enemies").
Because of their lifestyle, which hardly differs from the southern and eastern Yavapai and Tonto Apache , the Spaniards, Mexicans and Americans called the Hualapai (Walapai) and Havasuapai just like the Ɖo: lkabaya / Tolkepaya ("Western Yavapai") Yuma-Apache or Apache- Yuma , because in northern Mexico and in the southwest of the USA the word Apache was often used to denote "hostile, warlike, predatory Indians", without linguistic, ethnic and cultural differentiation (also Mohave (Mojhave) and even Comanche were previously referred to as Apache ). In historical specialist literature and in adventure novels (as in Karl May : Nijjorras Apatschen) these misleading terms are still used; However, the origin of the now commonly used tribal name "Apache" for all tribes and groups of the Southern Athapasques - except for the Navajo - is uncertain and controversial.
language
Their language is one of three dialect variants of Havasupai-Hualapai (highland Yuma) and, together with the closely related Yavapai of the Yavapai, belongs to the highland Yuma (northern Pai) branch of the Pai or northern Yuma subgroup of the so-called actual. Yuma languages of the Cochimí-Yuma language family , which is often counted among the Hoka languages . The second dialect variant, which differs only minimally, is spoken by the Hualapai (Walapai) (Kendall 1983: 5), but both dialect variants are given differently in writing. The speakers of Havasupai and Hualapai also regard their dialects as independent languages, despite the great similarities and mutual intelligibility. However, there are major deviations between Havasupai-Hualapai and the four dialect groups of Yavapai, which also belong to the highland Yuma.
Today, out of around 2,300 Hualapai (Walapai), only around 1,000 tribesmen (2000 A. Yamamoto) speak their mother tongue. Of the approximately 650 (2010) Havasupai today, 530 still speak their language and thus Havasupai is often referred to as the only Indian language in the United States that is spoken (or understood) 100% by all tribal members.
residential area
For centuries they have lived in the Cataract Canyon (today mostly called Havasu Canyon ), a branch of the Grand Canyon . Even today, they are the most isolated Indian tribe in the United States. Their reserve and the main village of Supai in Havasu Canyon can only be reached on foot or on horseback via two long trails that lead down from the rim of the canyon. In 1882 the reservation in Havasu Canyon (2 km²) was established for the tribe. The Havasupai gave up a large piece of land, believing that more land would cause trouble with the Americans; a tiny reservation would not tempt the mostly land-hungry whites. But in 1975 the tribe was reassigned its old hunting ground of 185,000 acres (748 km²).
Stream and waterfalls
The stream running through the reserve, which flows through the canyon in several waterfalls in front of a spectacular backdrop, and at the end converges with the Colorado River, ensures great fame and a large influx of tourists. Since the water carries an extremely large amount of dissolved lime, it appears turquoise to deep blue. This creates a breathtaking contrast in front of the red sandstone of the Grand Canyon, especially when the sun is shining.
The settlement is visited by more than 20,000 tourists every year, and they are responsible for a large part of the turnover that is generated there. In order to regulate the influx, on the one hand a fee is due, so to speak an entrance fee, on the other hand it is necessary to reserve accommodation in the lodge or on the campsite. The hiking trail into the canyon is about 15 km long and is largely in full sunlight. It is urgently necessary to prepare well for the prevailing desert climate, especially in summer.
Sign above the waterfalls with an explanation of the blue color of the water
Havasu Falls as seen from the hiking trail
The Havasu Falls in sunrise
The Havasu Falls with the pool below
Relationship with the Walapai
Ethnically, the Havasupai and Walapai (Hualapai) are one people (or tribal group), although - as a result of the arbitrary concentration of groups on reservations by the US government - today both form separate, politically independent tribes and have developed their own identity. The Hualapai (Walapai) consisted of three large groups (or sub-tribes ) - the Middle Mountain People , Plateau People and Yavapai Fighters (McGuire; 1983). This large group divided into seven bands (Kroeber, 1935, Manners, 1974), which in turn made up of thirteen local groups (. English regional bands or local groups ) were (Dobyns and Euler, 1970). These local groups were composed of several or one large family group (English extended family groups ), each of which lived in small settlements ( rancherias ). The Havasooa Pa'a was the most northeastern, most isolated and at the same time the largest local group of the Hualapai (Walapai), but belonged as well as the Yi Kwat Pa'a ("Peach Springs Band") and Ha'kasa Pa'a ("Pine Springs Band" ) of the Nyav-kapai band ("Eastern People"), who belonged to the sub-tribe of the Plateau People .
history
In earlier times, the Havasupai only inhabited the canyon floor in the spring and summer months to grow corn , beans , pumpkins (including bottle gourds) , sunflowers , cotton and tobacco in tiny gardens . After contact with the Spaniards, they also grew melons , watermelons and fruit trees . After the harvest in autumn they moved to their winter quarters on the plateau, where they hunted deer , antelopes and desert bighorn sheep . In the winter months, the river valley became cold and hazy because the steep canyon walls blocked the sun. The Havasupai traditionally lived in conical straw-covered wickiups .
Despite their isolation, the Havasupai had trade relations with the Hopi , Hualapai , Diné (also Navajo) and Mohave , with whom they used skins, salt and red mineral paint for agricultural products, textiles (such as finely woven baskets that served as water containers ) and exchanged brown, unpainted pottery. They maintained particularly close contacts with the Hopi, from whom they took over many cultural and religious ceremonies. Traditional allies of the Havasupai were the Hopi and the Hualapai, who often went together against the Yavapai , the various groups of the Western Apache , especially the Tonto Apache and the Southern Paiute . Father Francisco Garcés was the only Spaniard to visit this tribe in 1776. Plans to proselytize the tribe were not carried out. Contacts with Americans, which only began in the 1850s , were just as insignificant. The isolated home of the Havasupai, it seems, was not found desirable to anyone.
Since the 1980s, the Havasupai have made a name for themselves with their fight against uranium mining on their land. After decades of debate about the use of the deposits, in January 2012 the United States Department of the Interior issued a moratorium on uranium mining over an area of around 4,000 km² for 20 years.
Way of life
Life with the Havasupai was easy. Rigorous social and political organization was hardly necessary for a group of fewer than 300 tribal members. Religious activities were in the hands of medicine men , who could influence disease and make hunting and horticulture successful. An autumn harvest dance was more of a social gathering than a religious ceremony . The cremation of the dead and the destruction of their personal property (one of several common customs among the Yuma) was practiced until 1895, when the Bureau of Indian Affairs prohibited this uncivilized practice.
Although it is often referred to as Shangri-la (hidden paradise) by the casual visitor , the reserve is significantly less idyllic for those who live there. Agriculture, once the most important livelihood of the tribe, now serves only as a supplement to wages earned abroad. Some Havasupai make their living with the transport (horses and mules) and the supply of the few visitors to their canyon.
Baskets made using two different techniques (twist binding and bead braiding) are still made in very limited quantities by the Havasupai today.
Demographics
James Mooney estimated the Havasupai to have around 300 members in 1680. 300 members were also counted in 1869, while in 1902 there were 233, 1905 only 174, 1910 of 174, 1923 of 184 and 1937 of 208 Havasupai. The 2000 US census counted 634 members, 404 of whom still spoke the traditional tribal language.
literature
- William C. Sturtevant (Ed.): Handbook of North American Indians , Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington DC
- Alfonso Ortiz (Ed.): Southwest Vol. 9, 1979, ISBN 0-16-004577-0
- Alfonso Ortiz (Ed.): Southwest Vol. 10, 1983, ISBN 0-16-004579-7
Individual evidence
- ↑ Jeffrey P. Shepherd, We are an Indian Nation : A History of the Hualapai People, ISBN 978-0816529049 , University of Arizona Press, Apr. 2010, p. 229
- ^ Access Genealogy - Walapai Indians
- ^ Ethnologue - Languages of the World - Havasupai-Walapai-Yavapai
- ↑ People of the Desert, Canyons and Pines: Prehistory of the Patayan Country in West Central Arizona, P. 27 The Hualapai ( Memento of the original from September 27, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 10.6 MB)
- ^ John R. Swanton: The Indian Tribes of North America , ISBN 978-0-8063-1730-4 , 2003
- ↑ THE UPLAND YUMANS
- ^ Donna Hightower-Langston, Hightower: The Native American World , Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Inclusive, 2002, ISBN 978-0471403227
- ^ New York Times: US to Block New Uranium Mines Near Grand Canyon , January 6, 2012
