The Luiseño people are an indigenous group of coastal Southern California with a unique language and culture.
Contents
- 1 Luiseño Territory
- 2 The Luiseño Name
- 3 The Luiseño Language
- 4 Luiseño Geography and Climate
- 5 Trade and Outside Contact
- 6 Luiseños and European Contact
- 7 Mission San Luis Rey de Francia
- 8 Social Life
- 9 Luiseño Food
- 10 Tools
- 11 Luiseño Clothing and Decoration
- 12 Luiseño Housing and Other Structures
- 13 Ceremonies
- 14 Luiseño Religion and Mythology
- 15 Luiseño Music
- 16 Luiseño Games
- 17 Luiseño People Today
- 18 Conclusion
Luiseño Territory
Much of the area of coastal Southern California north of San Diego and south of Los Angeles County is the ancestral home of the Luiseño people.
The Luiseño Name
The name “Luiseño” refers to the communities of Native Americans historically connected to Mission San Luis Rey de Francia. It comes from the Spanish name Sanluiseño, meaning someone from Mission San Luis Rey. In their original language, most Luiseños call themselves Payómkawichum or Payómkowishum(“People of the West”).
The Luiseño Language
The Luiseño language belongs to the Takic family of languages, which were spoken by a number of native peoples in Southern California. Takic languages include those spoken by the Gabrielino/Tongva, the Serrano, the Kumeyaay, and the Cupeño peoples. It is most closely related to the language of the Juaneño/Acjachemen of the area around San Juan Capistrano.
Luiseño Geography and Climate
Most traditional Luiseño settlements were concentrated along the San Luis Rey River in northern San Diego County. Their territory included coastal sandy beaches, marshlands, grassy valleys and oak groves. They also ranged into the Palomar Mountain range in the east, as high as 6,000 feet above sea level.
The climate on the coast was very mild with very little rain. Rainfall increased in the mountains, with occasional thunderstorms and winter snow. Temperatures were moderate along the coast, but more extreme inland. They could drop below 40 degrees or climb above 85.
Trade and Outside Contact
Scholars agree that humans began to inhabit the territory of the Luiseño at least 12,000 years ago. For centuries, tribes such as the Cahuilla, Cupeño, Gabrielino and Kumeyaay occupied regions adjacent to the Luiseño.
Although they did not have a strong trading relationship with their neighbors, the Luiseño did acquire items such as steatite to make bowls or obsidian to make arrows.
Luiseños and European Contact
Luiseño contact with Europeans probably began in the 16th century, when Spanish ships began to explore the California coast. It is possible that Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo was the first European to encounter Luiseño people. He made his voyage along the coast of California in 1542.
The first documented contacts between the Luiseño and Spanish began in 1769, with the arrival of the Portolá expedition, which traveled up the coast looking for places to found missions and presidios. Friar Juan Crespí wrote about meeting people in the area around what became Mission San Luis Rey de Francia.
Mission San Luis Rey de Francia
Mission San Luis Rey was founded in 1798. There were also some smaller ranches, known as asistencias, connected to the mission, such as Pauma, San Antonio de Pala and Santa Ysabel.
The introduction of the mission introduced major changes into Luiseño life, including a new religion (Christianity) and the adoption of the farming and ranching lifestyle.
Since its founding, the mission was supervised by Fr. Antonio Peyrí. Fr. Peyrí remained at San Luis Rey until it was secularized in the 1830s. At that time, he returned to Europe accompanied by two young Luiseño men, Pablo Tac and Agapito Amamix. Both Pablo and Agapito went to Rome to train for the Catholic priesthood. While in Rome, Pablo wrote a history and grammar of the Luiseño people.
Social Life
Before the mission period, the Luiseño lived in villages. Each village was occupied by clan or extended family. Usually there was a village chief, who inherited his role. The chief was in charge of religious, economic and military matters. There was also an assistant to the chief, who relayed orders and information. A council of elders and shamans were there to help the chief in making decisions.
For most Luiseño people, routine tasks made up their day. Women collected and gathered plants and seeds, while the men hunted and fished. Both men and women participated in all food activities from time to time. Children also worked as soon as they were old enough.
Women who were too old for more tiring activities would stay home. They would watch the children while the younger women were out. They would also teach them crafts and arts and pass on traditional knowledge.
Older men took part in rituals, ceremonies and political matters. They would also be in charge of passing on traditions to young men.
Luiseño Food
Like many other California Indians, the main food of the Luiseño was the acorn, which they would grind into a paste or flour for baking. Grass seeds and seeds of other plants like chia, wild rose and prickly pear were common food items.
The Luiseño ate other wild fruits and greens, as well as mushrooms and certain roots, bulbs and tubers. They made herbal teas from various plants and drank them for medicinal reasons.
The Luiseño hunted wild game such as deer, rabbit, mice and squirrels. In villages near the coast, marine animals were also important. They would hunt or harvest sea mammals, fish, crustaceans and mollusks, especially abalone.
Tools
The Luiseño used a variety of tools for hunting and gathering food. Bows with stone-tipped arrows were especially important for bigger game like deer. Men would often hunt in groups wearing dear-head disguises to lure their prey. Hunters would catch smaller game using throwing sticks, slings or traps. In times of war with neighboring tribes and groups, the Luiseño would use bows and arrows. They also had weapons such as clubs and lances.
To catch fish, the Luiseño used canoes as well as nets, bone hooks and traps. They made many types of baskets for gathering and storing acorns, along with seeds and other types of plant foods. Mortars and metates for grinding food could either be portable or dug into bedrock. Food was often cooked over a fire using clay jars and pots.
Luiseño Clothing and Decoration
Prior to the mission era, Luiseño clothing was very simple. In warmer weather men wore practically nothing. Women usually wore a type of apron made out of cedar bark or other materials. In cooler weather, both men and women wore blankets or cloaks made from the skin of rabbits, deer or otter. To protect their feet, they wore sandals or moccasins made of yucca fibers or deerskin.
For decoration, people would paint or tattoo their bodies. They made jewelry out of clay, stone, shells beads or bear claws or dear hooves. Men sometimes wore ear and nose ornaments made of bone or wood.
Luiseño Housing and Other Structures
For shelter, the Luiseño built cone-shaped houses made of reeds, brush or bark. They usually with a floor dug into the ground, and there were no windows.
For working outside, they built rectangular structures covered with branches and leaves. The Spanish called these structures ramadas. They offered shade for performing chores and preparing food.
Like many tribes, the Luiseño had round sweathouses or temescals for ceremonies and for cleansing. Usually these were sunken into the ground and covered with mud. The Luiseño also performed ceremonies in the wámkis, an area in the center of the village enclosed by a fence.
Ceremonies
There were many rituals and special ceremonies in Luiseño culture. Chiefs and shamans governed these rituals. There were rituals for all aspects of village life, such as hunting, war or the harvest. Rituals were also part of the life of each individual person, including birth, coming of age, marriage and death.
When a child was born, the mother’s family performed a ceremony welcoming it into the clan. Once they became teenagers, both boys and girls underwent initiation ceremonies. The ceremonies gave them the knowledge to become adult members of the community. They learned to respect elders and the tribe’s traditions and to follow the religious rules that governed their lives.
Boys’ ceremonies included visions, ordeals and dancing. Girls’ ceremonies included advice and knowledge necessary for married life.
Marriages had special ceremonies and were usually arranged by parents. Many girls married soon after the initiation ceremony. Wives usually went to live with their husband and his family. Sometimes husbands had more than one wife, especially chiefs and shamans.
When people died they were usually cremated. To honor the dead, there were mourning ceremonies. These included burning an image of the person, as well as feasting and gift-giving. When a chief died, an eagle was killed to honor the memory of the chief.
Luiseño Religion and Mythology
Many of the Luiseños’ religious beliefs were kept secret and passed down from one person to the other. To receive that knowledge, a person had to prove he could understand and use it correctly. Those who had religious knowledge had a great deal of power in society.
The Luiseño considered many animals, such as the rattlesnake and the raven, to have special spiritual meaning. They had many stories about the creation of the universe and human beings. The most important book about the religion and myths of the Luiseño and their neighbors is Chignichnich. It was written by Friar Jerónimo de Boscana. The book is named after one of the central figures of Luiseño religion and mythology. Many songs and dances are dedicated to him.
Luiseño Music
Music accompanied most important Luiseño ceremonies and dances. Musical instruments included whistles and flutes made of bird bones and cane. Rattles and clappers could be made of turtle shells, sticks gourds and deer hooves. According to some Luiseño stories, Lion, Frog, Eagle, Raven, Deer, were the first musicians.
Luiseño Games
The Luiseño had many different games. One very popular game was played in teams with a ball and sticks. Each team would try to throw the ball downfield to score a goal. The other team would use their sticks to try to defend against it. The Luiseño writer Pablo Tac described seeing a game between Luiseños and Juañenos as a boy at Mission San Luis Rey.
Luiseño People Today
After the closing of the missions and U.S. annexation of California, Luiseño reservations were established in Southern California. Today there are six federally recognized Luiseño tribes. These are the La Jolla Band, the Pala Band, the Pauma Band, the Pechanga Band, the Rincon Band and the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians. There is also the San Luis Rey Band, but it has not achieved federal recognition. Many Luiseño people today are enrolled in one of these groups.
Conclusion
The Luiseño people have a history that stretches back centuries, with contact with Europeans dating back to the 16th century and the establishment of Mission San Luis Rey de Francia in 1798. Despite centuries of change, their culture remains an important part of the region today.
