The Chumash: A California Case Study

The Chumash occupied an area from San Luis Obispo to Malibu Canyon along the Pacific Coast and inland to the western edge of the San Joaquin Valley (where the Chumash bordered the Yokuts), as well as the islands in the Santa Barbara Channel. The Chumash were divided by territory and language dialect into nine separate groups (see Fig. 8.3). Although estimates vary considerably, the population of the Chumash is known to have been quite high, perhaps as many as 25,000 people living in about 150 permanent villages, sometimes called rancheria. Much of the population was concentrated along the coast.

The name Chumash was originally a term used by a coastal Chumash group to refer to the Chumash living on the Channel Islands rather than as a descriptive term for the people as a whole. Early researchers called the Chumash the Santa Barbara Indians, a division of what were called the Mission Indians. It is not known what the Chumash called themselves prior to European contact. This case study of the Chumash describes them as they were in about 1770.

Because they were contacted quite early by the Spanish, there is a wealth of information available on the Chumash. The Chumash have been studied by a number of researchers. Major works on the Chumash include Kroeber (1925), Harrington (1942), Landberg (1965), Grant (1978a, 1978b, 1978c, 1978d), Greenwood (19 7 8), Hudson and Blackburn (a five‑volume set published between 1982 and 1987), Johnson (1988), King (1990), Gibson (1991), Glasgow (1996), and Holmes and Johnson (19 9 8). The following discussion of the Churnash was synthesized from these sources (also see the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Web site at www:sbnature.org for more information on the Chumash).

The Natural Environment

The climate of Chumash territory is generally cool, but the summers can be quite hot. Rainfall averages about fifteen inches a year. Of major importance to the Chumash were the shoreline and ocean habitats. The presence of the channel between the islands and the mainland, the ocean shelter provided by the sudden turn in the coastline (see Fig. 8.3), and its location at the northern edge of the warm Pacific Ocean made the Santa Barbara region home to large numbers of fish and marine mammals. On the coast itself, many species of shellfish were present and comprised important resources for the Chumash. These various habitats and resources made the shore and waters along the Santa Barbara coast and Channel Islands a very productive environment, except during El Nino years.

Away from the ocean, the coastal mountains to the north and east extend right to the shore, providing close access to that region by people on the coast. Numerous small drainages empty into the sea from the mountains. At one time the inland areas were largely covered by an oak woodland in which acorns were abundant. Other major plant communities included chaparral, coastal sage scrub, and grasslands; a vast number of plants and animals from these areas was exploited by the Chumash. A variety of techniques were employed by them to manage the environment, the most important being the burning of grasslands (see Timbrook et al. 1982 for a good review of Chumash burning) to prevent trees from growing too large, to improve forage, and to increase the production of wild seeds.

Language

The Chumash spoke a number of languages belonging to the Chumashan language group. Chumashan has been classified into three divisions: Northern, Central, and Island. Northern and Island Chumashan were each a single language, with two dialects in each language. Central Chumashan consisted of several different languages. People had no difficulty understanding the language spoken in the next village; however, as the distance increased, the languages became different enough that they were unintelligible among different Chumash groups. Chumashan seems to be a language isolate, although some believe that it is related to the Hokan group. Nevertheless, the language relationships imply that the Chumash had occupied the region for some time.

A Brief History

People have lived in the Santa Barbara area for at least 10,000 years, and were dependent on marine shellfish and small seeds until about 5,000 years ago, when acorns became the primary resource. Beginning about 3,000 years ago, the people now identified as Chumash experienced a dramatic expansion in population and cultural complexity. By about 800 years ago, craft specialization increased, and populations grew to a density of about ten people per square mile. By the time of

European contact in the mid‑1500s, the Chumash were organized into chiefdoms, with a monetary economy (discussed below), large permanent villages (of more than 1,000 people each), extensive craft specialization, intervillage confederacies, and long‑distance trade.

Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, the Spanish explorer, first contacted the Chumash in 1542 during a brief visit as he sailed north. There was intermittent contact with Europeans over the next two hundred years, but with little apparent impact to the Chumash. With the introduction of the mission system in 1769 (see Sidelight in Chapter 2), the Spanish were in California to stay, and the first mission in the Chumash area was established in 1772. By 1804, four more missions had been built in Chumash territory; the largest (in terms of population) founded in Santa Barbara in 1786 (see Johnson 1989). The missions were located near the coast, in the midst of the highest Chumash population concentrations. Once the missions became established, a variety of European trade goods (glass beads, metal tools, and foods) were introduced to the Chumash, who quickly came to desire such goods. The Chumash did not readily accept Christianity, but the Spanish made every effort to convert as many Chumash people as possible, and many natives moved to the missions (see Larson et al. 1994).

As populations congregated at the missions, conditions became crowded and unsanitary. European crowd diseases swept through the Chumash (see Walker et al. 1992), including a severe measles epidemic that devastated the Chumash in 1806. Large numbers of Chumash, particularly children, died from these diseases. Venereal diseases were also major problems. The precipitous loss of population almost wiped out the Chumash.

Some of the Spaniards treated the Chumash very harshly, even to the protestation of some of the mission authorities, and there were several minor Indian revolts. A major uprising took place in 1824, after California had become part of Mexico. This revolt spread to several missions and was later resolved after concessions were made on both sides. While most Chumash returned, the missions in the Chumash region never returned to their prerevolt importance. The missions were secularized in 1834, with much of the land passing into the hands of ranchers. As many Chumash had been raised in the missions and were unfamiliar with any other way of life, they had little choice but to work for the ranchers; thus, many became isolated from other Chumash and their traditions (see Johnson 1993). The arrival of the Americans after 1848 only made matters worse for the Chumash and the rest of the California Indians (see above).

Cosmology

The Chumash universe was divided into three worlds. The Upper World was the sky and the home of supernatural beings, such as Eagle, Moon, Sun, and Morning Star. The Middle World was the earth, inhabited by people. The Lower World was the home of dangerous beings. As the supernatural beings lived in the sky, the Chumash placed a considerable emphasis on astronomy. Such observations were important for interpreting the cosmos and for linking the Middle World (where humans lived) with the Upper World (the supernatural realm). Astronomical observations formed a major part of both religion and the ceremonial cycle.'

There is no recorded Chumash explanation of how the universe and its contents were created, although there is one story that very briefly mentions how humans came to be. Such stories may have been lost over time, but it is also possible that they never existed; perhaps the Chumash did not feel a need to explain the origin of the universe.

Politics and External Relations

The Chumash had a complex political organization classified as a chiefdom. There were several confederations of allied villages, and the leaders from each village would meet several times a year to discuss and decide issues of common important The presence of craft specialists and at least one craft guild of canoe builders (it is possible that there were more guilds) added to their political complexity.

The chief of a village was called wot. The wot attended the confederation meetings, made the day‑to‑day decisions for the village, and dealt with disputes between individuals. The next most important authority was the paxa, the ceremonial leader of the village. The two officials shared responsibility for many of the functions of the village. For example, the wot was responsible for planning fiestas, while the paxa managed the ceremonies at such events. These fiestas were attended by many people from various villages and a great deal of exchange, socializing, and ritual activities was conducted. Positions of leadership were commonly inherited, sometimes from father to son, but appointments had to be approved by members of the village.

Villages were built on flat ground near important resources, such as a good fishing or hunting locale, or in a region containing strategic geography for purposes of defense. Villages consisted of a number of houses grouped together, sometimes in rows, and always included at least one large sweathouse, storage facilities, an athletic (game) field, and a ceremonial site, with a cemetery located nearby Villages owned communal hunting and gathering areas, but permission for other villages to use those areas could be granted. by the met. When they were away from the main village for special purposes (e.g., hunting), individuals or small groups would live in temporary camps.

The Chumash were generally peaceful and only rarely practiced warfare. Hostilities were limited mostly to internal conflict between confederations and did not usually involve neighboring groups.

Social Organization

The basis of Chumash social organization was the village, and many believe that Chumash society was stratified. The elite consisted of the wealthy, the political and religious leaders, and the highly skilled (and thus wealthy) specialists. Most people belonged to a middle class, made up of average, hardworking people. The least respected people consisted of those who were either unskilled, lazy, or criminals.

There is some argument about whether the Chuvash had matrilineal clans or were bilateral. In most of their territory the Chumash practiced matrilocality, except for chiefs, who practiced patrilocality. In addition, there was some intermarriage among high‑ranking families to maintain political power. The large sweathouse in each village may have functioned as a "men's house," to provide a place for the men to gather together. The large sweathouse was also used for religious activities.

Division of labor among the Chumash was based on sex. Most formal leadership positions were held by men, who also hunted, fished, managed trading activities, and conducted warfare. Women made basketry, prepared meals, and did domestic chores. With the help of children and old men, women also gathered the various plants needed for food and manufacturing materials. Both sexes participated in the acorn harvest. Each village would have two or three berdaches, who sometimes functioned as undertakers.

Life Cycle

Babies were delivered by the mother, usually alone. At the onset of labor, the woman would dig a shallow hole, build a fire in it to warm the ground, extinguish the fire, and then line the hole with grass. The baby was delivered into this soft and warm place. Immediately after birth, the nose of the infant was broken to produce the flat‑looking shape desired as an adult.

Ceremonies were held for both sexes upon reaching puberty. Young boys and girls would take toloache, a drink made from the hallucinogenic datura plant, under the guidance of a shaman (see Applegate 1975). After ingesting the drink, the youth would experience a vision, during which a guardian spirit would be acquired. Girls went through an additional and less formal process at first menses, during which they were secluded and would adhere to certain food taboos, such as meat and salt. Similar restrictions applied during subsequent menses.

Women married soon after puberty, when they were about fifteen years old. Men married at about eighteen years of age. The family of the groom would present gifts to the family of the bride, after which the couple was recognized as being married. While members of a chief's family often married people from distant villages to maintain alliances, most others married someone from their local area. High‑status men could have more than one wife. Divorce was frequent and uncomplicated, the leading causes being adultery and the inability to have children.

The Chumash buried their ‑dead in cemeteries located near the main villages. The deceased was bound in a flexed (fetal) position and laid in a grave. A wooden post would be erected to mark the grave, upon which were laid the favorite tools or weapons of the deceased. In coastal towns, whalebones might be used as grave markers.

Economics

The economy of the Chumash was a complex market system in which money was used to buy and sell items. Shell‑bead money was manufactured from certain kinds of marine shells, particularly the Olivella shell. Bead money was made by craft specialists and was traded extensively to other groups, becoming a common currency in much of southern. California. By supplying money for the economies of many California groups, the Chumash became quite wealthy, thereby increasing both their political and social complexity.

A relatively high degree of craft specialization and the presence of at least one craft guild set the Chumash apart from most other California groups and further attests to Chuvash complexity. Specialists included canoe makers, bow makers, shell‑bead makers, merchants, traders, and basket weavers. Whole villages would even specialize in the production of certain items.

The quantity and variety of resources available to the Chumash were impressive. The most critical

resources were various fish, primarily sardines, rockfish, surfperch, shark, halibut, and mackerel. These animals were obtained by men in canoes using harpoons, nets, and/or hooks and lines. Marine animals were also essential food sources; these included four species of seals, two species of sea lions, and sea otters. Whales were not hunted, but were butchered and eaten if found stranded on the beach. In addition, shellfish, especially mussels, clams, and abalone, were gathered from shallow water or near the shore (sometimes they would dive for them). Kelp and sea grass were also popular ocean resources. The mainland coastal groups used marine resources to a greater degree than the inland Chumash. The Island Chumash probably relied upon marine resources almost exclusively.

On land, men hunted deer, rabbits, squirrels, mice, and some birds. Deer were hunted by individuals or small

groups of men wearing deerskin headdresses as a disguise. Animals were taken using bows and arrows, harpoons, snares, pit and deadfall traps, nets, throwing sticks, and dubs.

Plant resources played a significant role in the Chumash economy as well. The most important were the small seeds of the many grasses in the region. Acorns and wild cherry pits were also major foods, but the arsenic in the cherry pits had to be removed before they could be consumed. Pine nuts were important in some areas and were traded to the coast.

Material Culture & Technology

Three types of structures were built by the Chumash. Houses were usually fairly large, round, domed dwellings, between fifteen and fifty feet in diameter, and intended for a single family The chief of a village, being of higher status and required to host meetings, had a larger house. Houses were built with frames of willow or sycamore branches tied together at the top; rule mats were then spread over the frame. A smokehole was left in the top and a door was fashioned on one side. A central fire was placed inside. Most houses had an associated acorn granary. Each village had a large sweathouse, a fairly large semisubterranean structure constructed in a manner similar to that of a house but covered with earth. In addition, a number of smaller, individual sweathouses were built in each village.

The Chumash moved about on land by foot and all materials were carried by people. On water, the Chumash employed two types of boats, a small reed boat and a larger plank canoe called a tomol. Tomols could be as long as thirty feet, could carry about a thousand pounds, were seaworthy, and were used for fishing, hunting, and traveling to the islands. A tomol was constructed with a number of handhewn wooden planks tightly lashed together. Gaps in the planning were filled with asphaltum, making the craft waterproof A tomol was difficult and time consuming to construct, and only persons of high status owned them. Tomots were not used by the northern coastal Chumash, where the ocean was rougher and the Channel Islands too far away.

Men usually wore no clothing but in cold weather they would wear a skin cape. Women wore skirts of either skin or woven plant fibers (including sea grass), and basketry hats. Women adorned themselves with various ornaments made of shell or bone, such as hairpins, earrings, necklaces, anklets, bracelets, and decorations sewn on clothing. Body paint was also used by both women and men. Men wore their hair tied up on top and would usually carry a knife in their hair. Women generally wore their hair long.

The Chumash manufactured excellent basketry, some of which held water and could be used as cooking vessels. They also made trays, boxes, bows, throwing sticks, clubs, and digging sticks from different woods. The Chumash are well known for their use of soapstone for bowls, flat cooking stones, pipes (to smoke tobacco), and ornaments. Chairs were made from whale vertebrae and fishhooks were made of both shell and bone. Many items were decorated with inlay made from abalone shell (mother‑of‑pearl). The Chumash did not use pottery.

Religion and Medicine

The Chumash held various ceremonies, the two most important being the fall harvest ceremony and the winter solstice (when the sun reaches its northernmost point of rising). The 'antap was an organization that arranged and integrated ceremonies and celebrations, and kept things functioning smoothly. One joined the antap as a child, and parents paid a fee for their children to join. Members of the antap would perform many of the ceremonies.

Shamans, usually men, served as the intermediaries between humans and the supernatural. A shaman fulfilled many roles, including astronomical observations and predictions, forecasting weather, serving as a guide for persons seeking super natural power, interpreting dreams, and naming children. Another critical role of

the shaman was as a physician, curing the sick using a variety of methods, including the sucking cure and the prescription of medicines. Shamans were powerful people, respected and/or feared by many. As power was considered a neutral entity, it was up to the shaman whether to use the power for good or evil.

Art, Expression, and Recreation

Living in an area of abundant resources and being wealthy, the Chumash had considerable leisure time. Chumash rock painting was a highly developed art and was important in their religion. One of the Chumash

rock paintings "ranks as the finest example of prehistoric rock art in the United States" (Grant 1978b:534). Their art appears to depict the supernatural world and illustrates various animals, people, and celestial objects. Other artistic expression can be found in Chumash basketry, stone sculpture, personal ornamentation, clothing decoration, and the extensive use of shell inlay for adornment of many items.

Music was diverse, well developed, and integrated into many occasions. Mu sical instruments include flutes,

whistles, rattles, and the bullroarer, a device that made a great deal of noise when twirled. Interestingly, the

Chumash did not use drums. Like most groups, the Chumash played many games, including the hoop and‑pole

game, the hand game, other guessing games, dice games (played mostly by women), and races from village to

village kicking a ball. Gambling on the out comes of these games was common.

The Chumash Today

Today there has been a considerable resurgence of Chumash culture, tradition, and political power. The Chumash are very active in local politics and are consulted in the process of development in the Santa Barbara area. The long decline in Chumash population was finally reversed in the early 1900s, and there are now some

5,000 people who identify themselves as Chumash. The various Chumash languages are no longer spoken, but there is considerable interest in reviving them and work is progressing to do so.

A number of Chumash communities still exist, although only. One, Santa Ynez, is recognized by the federal government. The community at Santa Ynez was formed when the Church gave a group of Chumash a parcel of land for a reservation. The government recognized this landholding group as the Chumash. The Santa Ynez

Reservation has established a five‑member business council to deal with the federal government and has begun to develop a number of businesses, including a successful casino.