The Sonoran Desert which stretches across part of the present-day American state of Arizona and the Mexican state of Sonora is an area of very hot summers (high temperatures may reach 120° F) and relatively little rain. The Tohono O'odham live in the Sonoran Desert of southern Arizona and northern Sonora, Mexico. The Tohono O’odham are also called Papago which is derived from the Akimel O’odham name Papahvi-o-tan which means “bean people.” The Tohono O’odham are the descendants of the ancient Hohokam who farmed the desert with irrigated canals more than a thousand years ago.
The Spanish called this region the Pimería Alta (the High Pima county). In the central portion of the Pimería Alta there is a bi-seasonal rainfall pattern which allowed for some agriculture. In this area the people – Tohono O’odham – had winter villages in the mountain foothills near permanent water sources and summer villages on the plains where they could farm at the mouths of the washes.
Dwellings were round buildings with brush walls and a dry earth roof. Construction material came from cactuses, trees, shrubs, grasses, and other plants. In addition to dwellings, the villages contained ramadas (roofed, open-sided structures which provided shade), open air kitchens, and storage houses.
In the Tohono O’odham area, most of the yearly rainfall comes in localized thundershowers in July and August. The water from these thundershowers does not sink into the ground but runs off in washes. Tohono O’odham fields were placed at the mouths of the washes where the collected water spreads out. Brush dams and irrigation canals helped bring the water to the fields.
The Tohono O’odham planted their main crops – corn, squash, beans – in July or August. The crops were then harvested in October or November. These crops provided about a fifth of their food.
The Tohono O’odham also raised tobacco (nicotiana attenuata) which was smoked in a cane tube.
Wild plants were an important source of food and these included: mesquite, ironwood, palo verde, amaranth, saltbush, lambs quarter, mustard, horse bean, and squash. They also used acorns and other wild nuts. Over 50 edible plants were used.
According to the Museum display:
“This model of a Tohono O’odham village has several types of structures. Light construction was preferred over more permanent buildings as the people moved frequently. The domed house has a frame made of mesquite poles or other wood covered with brush and tied with cordage made from yucca or agave leaves. The square building is a jacal, which has an upright frame and walls of tied sticks covered with grass and clay or mud. White tepary beans are drying in the sun on this jacal’s roof. Clay pots or ollas used for food and water storage are seen around the open-air kitchen where cooking takes place. Here a woman is using a mano and metate to grind food—she could be making corn meal or mesquite flour.”
The Saguaro Festival marks the beginning of the rainy season in July. The purpose of the ceremony is to bring rain to the desert. As a part of the ceremony, cactus wine – tiswin – is made and consumed.
The local village representative plus three guests occupy four directional positions representing the rain spirits of these directions. Cup bearers then bring the tiswin. They drink a portion of it and sing four rain songs. They then dip their fingers into the gourd and sprinkle the beverage on the ground to symbolize rainfall. The first night of the festival is called “sit-and-drink” and during this time ritual speeches are made. Following this everyone consumes the tiswin until it is gone. In the words of one woman:
“People must all make themselves drunk like plants in the rain and they must sing for happiness.”
The people also made annual pilgrimages to salt flats near the Gulf of California (Sea of Cortez). Like the Saguaro Festival, the pilgrimage was intended to help bring the rain. Regarding the salt pilgrimage to the Sea of Cortez and the Saguaro Festival, Carl Waldman, in his book Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes, writes:
“They believed that the rain spirits lived there, and prayed to them for more of the valuable water. They believed that drinking of saguaro wine in great amounts would help bring rain.”
According to oral traditions, these baskets walked by themselves until Coyote laughed at seeing them in motion. Then they became the women’s burden. Using the burden baskets, Tohono O’odham women would often carry burdens weighing up to 100 pounds.
Indians 101
Indians 101 is a series exploring American Indian cultures, histories, arts, museums, and current concerns. More about the Southwestern Indians from this series:
Indians 101: Zuni Fetishes (Photo Diary)
Indians 101: Southwestern Baskets in the Maryhill Museum (Photo Diary)
Indians 101: Southwestern Pottery in the Maryhill Museum (Photo Diary)
Indians 101: Pueblo Weaving
Indians 101: Navajo Sandpaintings
Indians 101: Hopi Political Organization
Indians 101: The Civil War and Arizona Indians
Indians 101: The War Against the Yavapai
Indians 101: The Pueblos, 1700 to 1725