Traditions surrounding the Taos Pueblo eventually emerged out of the various cultures present in the valley. The original pueblo site is directly east of where the adobes stand today.
Throughout its early years, Taos Pueblo was a central point of trade between the native populations along the Rio Grande and their neighbors to the northwest, the Plains Tribes. Taos Pueblo hosted a trade fair each fall after the agricultural harvest.
This fair impressed the first Spaniards who made contact with the ancient pueblo. Eventually trade routes would link Taos to the northernmost towns of New Spain and the cities of Mexico via the famed Chihuahua Trail. At the time, Hernando de Alvarado described the pueblo as having adobe houses built very close together and stacked five or six stories high.
The homes became narrower as they rose, with the roofs of each level providing the floors and terraces for those above. Surrounded by a low defensive wall, the community had two main clusters of buildings, one on each side of Rio Grande, which provided water for the residents and their crops. The buildings at Taos originally had few windows and no standard doorways. Instead, access to rooms was through square holes in the roof that the people reached by climbing long, wooden ladders.
Cedar logs or vigas supported roofs that had layers of branches, grass, mud, and plaster covering them. The architecture and the building materials were well suited for the rigors of the environment and the needs of the people in the Taos Valley.
The San Geronimo Church was destroyed and rebuilt several times beginning c. Above, the final incarnation of the church photographed in Reports from the period indicate that the native people of Taos resisted the building of the church and the imposition of the Catholic religion. Throughout the s, cultural tensions grew between the native populations of the Southwest and the increasing Spanish presence.
Taos Pueblo was no exception, and by , the native people killed the resident priest and destroyed the church. Only several years after its rebuilding, the Pueblo Revolt of began and the Taos Indians again destroyed San Geronimo and killed two other priests.
Resistance to Catholicism and Spanish culture was still strong. Even so, Spanish religious ideals and agricultural practices subtly worked their way into the Taos community, largely starting during this time of increased cooperation between the two cultural groups. New Mexico formally became a territory of the United States in with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, but a revolt broke out in Taos Pueblo. The present San Geronimo, or St.
Jerome, Chapel was completed in to replace the original church which was destroyed in the War with Mexico by the U. Army in That church, the ruins still evident on the west side of the village, was first built in It was then destroyed in the Spanish Revolt of but soon rebuilt on the same site.
Jerome is the patron saint of Taos Pueblo. Catholicism is practiced along with the ancient Indian religious rites which are an important part of Taos Pueblo life.
The Pueblo religion is very complex; however, there is no conflict with the Catholic church, as evidenced by the prominent presence of both church and kiva in the village. A tribal governor and war chief, along with staffs for each, are appointed yearly by the Tribal Council, a group of some 50 male tribal elders. The tribal governor and his staff are concerned with civil and business issues within the village and relations with the non-Indian world.
The war chief and staff deal with the protection of the mountains and Indian lands outside the Pueblo walls. The single most dramatic event in the recent history of Taos Pueblo land is the return of 48, acres of mountain land including the sacred Blue Lake.
It was taken by the U. Government in to become part of the National Forest lands. Among the ritual sites where Taos people go for ceremonial reasons, Blue Lake is perhaps the most important. The return of this land capped a long history of struggle. Blue Lake and mountains are off-limits to all but members of our Pueblo.
Tiwa is our native language. English and Spanish are also spoken. Smaller pieces of wood -- pine or aspen latillas -- are placed side-by-side on top of the vigas; the whole roof is covered with packed dirt. The outside surfaces of the Pueblo are continuously maintained by re plastering with thin layers of mud. Interior walls are carefully coated with thin washes of white earth to keep them clean and bright.
The Pueblo is actually many individual homes, built side-by-side and in layers, with common walls but no connecting doorways. In earlier days there were no doors or windows and entry was gained only from the top. Respect the "restricted area" signs as they protect the privacy of our residents and the sites of our native religious practices.
Do not enter doors that are not clearly marked as curio shops. Each home is privately owned and occupied by a family and is not a museum display to be inspected with curiosity. Please do not photograph members of our tribe without first asking permission.
Absolutely no photography in San Geronimo Chapel. Do not enter the walls surrounding the ruins of the old church and our cemetery. Do not wade in our river; it is our sole source of drinking water. Website taospueblo. Taos Pueblo Pow Wow. Check taospueblo. No Records Found Sorry, no records were found. Please adjust your search criteria and try again. Monday: 8ampm.
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