American traditional tribes

In the north of New Mexico, there is a small town called Taos, and in the northeast suburb of the town, there is an aboriginal settlement called Taos Pueblo.

The village is not big, but it is not small. This small village, which was built from the end of 13 to the beginning of 14, is one of the settlements with the longest continuous living time in the United States, and still stubbornly retains the features before the Spanish arrived in America. The distinctive adobe house was built to four or five stories high like a building block, and the pastry was baked into the shape of a corn head in an outdoor earthen stove.

There was only one bell tower left in the original St. geronimo's Church.

There is still no electricity and running water in the village, and time seems to have solidified here. Catholicism brought by the Spanish did not completely devour the traditional religions here. Now the two are in harmony and neck and neck.

1992, the living fossil Taosi Indian Village was listed on the World Heritage List by UNESCO.

Xuehoujin village

From Chama, a small town in New Mexico, to Taos Indian Village, the journey is difficult and dangerous. This area has just been swept away by a snowstorm. Highway 64 in the United States has to climb a mountain, and some sections are completely covered with snow, not to mention the markings on the ground, even the roadside can't be seen.

Our car happened to be the first car to drive on this road after the snow, so we had to guess and feel our way in the middle of the road. It's the first time I've encountered this kind of situation, and it's only 150 km in the morning.

After the mountain came down, the terrain became extremely flat. Suddenly, a large iron arch bridge flew over a "ground fissure"-shaped canyon, which is Rio Grande Canyon. It is deeply immersed in this small plain and stands on the bridge of 1.72 meters, which is dazzling. Taos Indian village is located next to a small tributary of the Rio Grande.

Hongliuxi, which originates from the blue lagoon, crosses the whole village and divides the village into north and south parts.

When I entered the village, I found that the road here was still a dirt road. Mud overflowed after the snow, and several dogs were left unattended. Wandering on the road, such an agricultural social scene is simply not like in the United States.

No wonder this small village is located in Taos Indigenous Reserve, with an area of about 384 square kilometers and a population of about 4,500. It is autonomous and looks like a country within a country.

The four-story "North House" is the most representative building group in the village.

The exterior of the wall is leveled with clay mixed straw, and this maintenance work should be done every year.

The core of the whole village is an irregular Pentagon, surrounded by earth walls, which belongs to the scope of world heritage. Since the local people are autonomous, they also set the ticket price, and each person has to pay 16 US dollars.

A guidebook is attached to the ticket. Although the bottom line of the cover is exaggerated, it is not unreasonable: "the first living world heritage".

Parking outside the village, we reached the square in the center of the village with a deep foot and a shallow foot, and a stray dog followed us in a friendly way. Looking north along the dazzling sunshine, the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in the distance is covered with snow, and clouds rise along the mountainside. In front of us is a four-story earthen North House, which stands like a fortress between snow, white clouds, white mountains and blue sky. It is very eye-catching and seems to be the center of the world.

These houses are adobe houses, the walls are dozens of centimeters thick, and the outer walls are mud mixed with grass stalks. The roof consists of several flat tree trunks with smaller branches between them, and finally coated with clay to form a flat roof.

When the Spanish first came here about 500 years ago, the scene we saw today didn't change much. The most obvious difference is that the buildings now have doors and windows. Traditional Dow architecture pays attention to defense, and there are no doors and windows on the four walls of the building. People have to climb the roof with the help of ladders, and then go in and out through the skylight of the roof.

When it first snowed, some Taos Hanzi with red skin were using plastic to remove the snow on the roof, and the snow was thrown to the ground. This can reduce the load on the roof, and secondly, it can avoid soaking the roof. These houses, which are combined together like building blocks, are filled with plumes of smoke, and the cool air floats by from time to time, burning the fragrance of pine and cypress.

Two religions: one is obvious and the other is Tibetan.

Every half an hour, a villager will take tourists around the settlement as a guide. It's past 12: 30. We trotted to the southwest side of the square and finally caught up with a tour guide in front of St. geronimo's church. The courtyard in front of the church is surrounded by a half-height earth wall, which rises in the middle and stands on the top with a cross door. The church is only two stories high, with a small bell tower on each side. The appearance of the whole church is western-style, but the architectural skills are local.

I can't help but think of a point made by Gawain alexandre bailly in Latin American Art in Colonial Times: On the application of indigenous architectural skills in churches, the most prominent area in Latin America (a broad concept of cultural geography) is New Mexico, including Taos.

The new St. geronimo's Church, built at 1850, is one of the newest buildings in the village.

The guide helped us pull open the wooden door of the church. This is a lean young man of about twenty years old with fair skin and gray-blue eyes. It's hard to imagine that he belongs to the same village as the man we saw shoveling snow just now. Although there is no heating in the church, because of the thick earth wall and good thermal insulation performance, a warm current will be spread as soon as you enter the church. This country church is not big, and there is no one in it. The guide told us to sit in the front row. Thick dark logs are horizontally arranged on the zenith and supported by round feet at both ends, which are architectural elements with regional characteristics. When I came to the front of the church, the space was high and bright.

The tour guide told us that their mother tongue is Tiwa, and his Tiwa name is Mawhalo, which means "blue lagoon". Mavaro said that the church was built at 1850, which is one of the newest buildings in the village. Later, he will show us the ruins of an early church.

The candle flickered in front of the icon, solemn and quiet. The icon in the middle is naturally the Virgin Mary. From an artistic point of view, this slightly dull icon may hardly be called a masterpiece. The walls on both sides of her are painted with corn and vines, which are not found in other cathedrals and exude a strong local flavor, which is also the uniqueness of this settlement church. "Every season we change clothes for the Virgin Mary," said Mavalo. On the right side of the wall, there is a coffin covered with light-colored cloth, which is very common in Catholic churches in the New World. This is a testimony that the Spanish colonists hope that the aborigines will abide by the Catholic funeral regulations.

Inside St. geronimo's Church, the icon in the center is the Virgin Mary, and the murals on both sides are full of local flavor.

"My parents got married here," Mavalo said with a smile. "They are wearing our traditional clothes, which is cool!" Now that Mavaro has joined the US Navy, it is no wonder that he is wearing a gray pullover with the words "Navy" printed on it today.

I intend to come back as a leader in the future.

When leaving the church, Mavaro walked in front to help everyone open the door. He touched the holy water at the door with his hand and flicked it into the air.

The missionary work in Spain was obviously successful, but this does not mean that the new Catholicism replaced the traditional Taoism. According to the guide, about three-quarters of Taos' population now believes in Catholicism, while the population who believes in traditional religions is 100%. Corn mother, pumpkin goddess, rain god and hunting god, which are closely related to production and life, are especially respected. In Latin America, the coexistence of traditional religions and Catholicism is very common, and in some cases, the two even have a certain degree of integration.

Tao's traditional religion is mainly passed down from mouth to mouth, but it also has its own special place, and Kiwa is one of the most important and sacred ones. This is a semi-underground circular building with a wooden top, an opening in the middle and a ladder for people to enter and leave. Today, there are four crypts in the core area of Taosi Village. In many places in the village, there are eye-catching "forbidden zones" signs, which stop in the middle of narrow paths to prevent outsiders like us from approaching sacred places such as crypts.

Taos' graveyard

When each Taosi boy reaches the age of 10, he leaves home to live in the crypt for one and a half years, and is educated by traditional religion, similar to a short-term monk of Dai boys. Why did maverick tell us about Catholicism, but didn't mention traditional religion?

The road to resistance

Although Taosi people were never expelled from their homes, they experienced an epic struggle. From being ruled by the Spanish, to being incorporated into the territory of Mexico, and then to being owned by the United States, all of them are full of blood and tears, uprisings, sacrifices, helplessness and success.

Mavaro led us through the alley on the west side of the village. Here is a graveyard, and the dense tombstones and crosses are silent against the white snow. There is a towering earth building in the cemetery, and a dark clock is hung on the wooden beam at the top. This mottled earth building is the bell tower of St. geronimo's Church, which was originally built (about 16 19).

Taos, then located in Mexico, belonged to "New Spain". In order to "civilize" Taos, the Spanish not only forced them to abandon their traditional religion and convert to Catholicism, but also enslaved them extensively.

But where there is oppression, there is resistance. 1680, a priest named Pope led many indigenous villages, including Taos, to rise up and overthrow the Spanish rule in the local area. In the following 12 years, the Spanish did not dare to set foot in this area. The center of this uprising is Taosi Indian Village.

"Although my surname is Spanish, I have no Spanish descent." Mavaro told me.

Time has elapsed to 1846. This year, American troops quickly captured today's New Mexico (then Mexican territory), and Charles Bent was appointed as the governor by the United States. The uprising against American rule began immediately, and the spark of this uprising began from Taos: they assassinated Bent. The US military immediately launched a retaliatory counterattack: hanged several leaders of Taosi Indian Village.

More than 700 "rebels" hid in St. geronimo's church, while the US military set fire to the roof and bombarded the sacred building with artillery. The fire raged, the guns rumbled, the roof of the church collapsed and the walls cracked. In the end, only one bell tower survived, and many Taosi people died heroically here. Now standing beside the silent ruins, time has washed away the fire, smoke and gunfire, but Mavaro's face has lost its relaxed expression.

The spectacular Rio Grande Valley, Taos Indian Village is located on a tributary of Rio Grande.

Leaving the sad ruins of St. geronimo's Church, we came to the middle of the village and climbed the river bank one or two meters above the square. Although the weather is cold, the crisp Hongliuxi still flows happily under the snow and ice. This perennial stream is the source of drinking water in the village, and its source is blue lagoon in the mountains.

This nearly circular subalpine lake and its surrounding area is a sacred place in the hearts of Taosi people and is regarded as the home of their ancestors' souls. Nature is not open to the outside world.

Taos people make a pilgrimage to the Blue Lagoon every year, which is also one of their most sacred religious ceremonies. The content of the ceremony held by the lake is unknown to outsiders. But I finally understand the meaning of the name Mavaro.

In order to keep the holy land of the Blue Lagoon, Taos fought a protracted war with the US federal government, which lasted for 65 years. 1906, the U.S. government took the Blue Lagoon and its surrounding area from Taos and included it in Carson National Forest under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Forest Service. Since then, Taosi people have embarked on a long and slow journey back to the blue lagoon.

From 65438 to 0926, the US government provided nearly 300,000 US dollars in economic compensation to calm the situation, but Taosi people refused. They can't sell their way of life and beliefs.

During the period of 1966- 1969, the US Forest Service submitted five bills on the blue lagoon to Congress, saying that it was willing to return the desolate hillside west of the blue lagoon to Taosi people, but it could not be returned elsewhere. This also reflects the general attitude of the American government towards the aborigines: it tends to give them land that the aborigines don't like. Taos didn't accept this "gift".

Finally, on February 2nd of the same year, 65,438+the US Senate passed a resolution with a vote of 70: 12, and returned the Blue Lagoon and its surrounding area to Taosi people. The "return" of the Blue Lagoon is not only a victory for Taos, but also a precedent for other native American tribes to defend their rights.

Go deep into residential buildings

After bidding farewell to Mavalo by Hongliuxi, we began to explore the village alone. Although outsiders can't drive into the village, villagers' cars are not restricted. Almost all the houses are full of snow shoveled from the roof. A pickup truck hesitated in front of a snowdrift nearly half a person's height, followed by a powerful engine roar. The pickup truck jumped over the snowdrift and roared out of the village.

We are very hungry at this time, but there are no restaurants in the village. Fortunately, some villagers took out one or two houses and started small businesses in handicrafts and baked goods. I pushed the door and walked into a family on the west side of the North Square. From the sunny outdoor into the room without electric lights, there is no figure at all. I tripped instinctively.

"Come on in!" A warm greeting. Looking intently, I found that it was a short, gray-haired grandmother. On the left side of the room, there is a row of handicrafts and jewelry mainly made of turquoise. Grandma is standing behind the counter on the right, on which is the bread with peach silk characteristics. This kind of flat bread is irregular and shiny, and costs $5 each. "I just baked this in the stove outside today," grandma said, pointing to the square. "That horn was left by my grandmother."

Interior of residential building

Earth stoves are the traditional stoves of Taosi people. It is made of clay and is round with only a small hole beside it. When baking, first light the wood and put it into the oven from a small mouth. When the temperature rises, remove the dust, add the dough, seal the small mouth with a wooden board covered with a wet cloth, and bake the bread with the waste heat of the earthen stove.

The bread on the counter is cold, and there is a fireplace at the right rear of the house, which is naturally made of clay. Grandma baked the bread in front of the fire for a few minutes, took out a white disposable plastic plate that is very common in America, put this traditional bread on the plate, sprinkled icing on it and handed it to me. Bread is soft and moist, so it doesn't feel hard to swallow.

The floor of this room is still compacted soil, the wall is unlit gas lamp, the roof is flat and smooth board, and there is a square opening filled with glass in the center to form a skylight.

"Are all families like this now?"

"yes. We don't need electricity or running water. We have to walk 200 feet (about 60 meters) to get to the bathroom. " Such a life is almost unacceptable to young people.

Mavaro is the only local young man we met in the village. He doesn't live in the village now. He told us: "Now there are fewer and fewer residents in the village, and many people have moved outside the wall to enjoy modern life."

Some residents have created a space for displaying and selling artworks at home.

The guide reads: "The primary task of Taosi Indian Village is to protect and maintain the sacred settlements and the blue lagoon natural area". Although the latter is not open to outsiders, Taos people have set up a place outside these two areas, and welcome everyone to visit-Taos Mountain Casino.

About two kilometers after leaving Taos Indian Village, you will see Taos Mountain Casino, which looks like a traditional building. Our car roared past without stopping.

(The author is a doctor of natural resources at the University of Missouri, USA, and is the author of A Journey of Natural History: Natural Notes between Mountains and Rivers; Submission email/contact us: sjdl_2020@ 163.com)

Proofreading: Ding Xiao