Hi sdchap,
I’m so glad you clarified this question because the topic looked
really interesting to me and I was hoping to be able to research it
for you. Since your audience is going to be 5-year old boys, I’ve
targeted my answer with their interests (and attention span) in mind.
At the end of my information I’ll give you some good websites where
you can find more information if you need it.
WHAT IS TOWA?
Towa is a language spoken by a special group of Native American
Indians who live in New Mexico.
WHO SPEAKS TOWA?
The people who speak the Towa language are a very special group of
people because there are not many of them. The people who speak the
Towa language are part of a much bigger group of Native Americans
called the Pueblo Indians. The Pueblo Indians have many languages with
names like: Hopi, Zuni, Keresan, Tanoan, Tiwa, Tewa and Towa. The
smallest group are those that speak Towa. All of the people who speak
Towa now live in a Pueblo called Jemez. (HAY-mez) There are only about
3000 people who speak Towa. Most of them live in the village.
“Pueblo” is another word for Village.
In the Towa language their village is called: Wala-Towa which means
“This is the place”
In the Towa language the word Hemish means “The People.” That is what
they called themselves. (The Spanish explorers changed that to Jemez.)
These people were called “Pueblo Indians” by the Spanish because they
lived in villages. Hundreds of years ago, many Native Americans did
not live in villages. They travelled and carried their homes with
them. Living in a village is one thing that sets the Pueblo Indians
apart from the others.
You usually can’t go to Jemez and see the Towa-speaking people because
they like their privacy, but on special Feast Days they hold a
celebration and people are invited to come see them. You can also go
to a special museum near their village to learn more about them.
WHAT DO THE JEMEZ INDIANS DO?
Today most Indians, or Native Americans hold jobs and go to school and
raise families just like anyone else. They live in houses and drive
cars and watch TV, no different than the rest of us. But, because they
are Native Americans they have some different things that they do that
they have been doing for thousands of years.
One thing they do is hold ceremonies or special celebrations. Most of
these are secret so people who are not Towa do not know about them.
Others are not secret and visitors are invited to watch. Some of their
dances have names like: the shield dance, rainbow dance, butterfly
dance, buffalo dance or the corn dance.
Here’s a picture of a special ceremonial dance of the Towa speaking
people
http://www.nmculture.org/PHOTOS/JEME2.jpg
THEIR HOUSES
The Pueblo Indians build houses out of adobe. Some of the houses that
the Pueblos live in are more than 1000 years old. Here is a picture of
Jemez showing what their homes look like:
http://www.jemezpueblo.org/history.htm
PICTURES OF THE JEMEZ PEOPLE
http://www.niti.org/virtualmuseum/jemez/HEMISH.html
ART
The Jemez people do beautiful art – usually painting on pottery. In
their art they use symbols to tell stories. Today, Jemez potters make
very attractive black-on-red and black/red-on-tan work, as well as an
elaborately engraved redware called sgraffito.
Pueblo Art
http://americanart.si.edu/education/guides/pueblo/tsireh_animal_designs.html
Pueblo Symbols
http://americanart.si.edu/education/guides/pueblo/pueblo_symbols.html
Jemez Pottery
http://www.jemezpueblo.org/gallery/index.html
WHAT DO THEY EAT?
Traditional Jemez food includes Red Chili Stew, Green Chili Stew,
Beans, Salad, Oven Bread, Indian pies or cookies, and Indian tea or
coffee.
THE LANGUAGE
NATIVE AMERICAN LANGUAGES – THE PUEBLOS
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/9479/pueblo.html#tow
--not so much for kids, but interesting:
“Jemez is the only culture that speaks this language, and our
traditional law forbids our language from being translated into
writing in order to prevent exploitation by outside cultures.”
JEMEZ PUEBLO – HISTORY
http://www.jemezpueblo.org/history.htm
I tried to find an audio file of their language but was unable to
locate one.
CHILDREN LIVING IN PUEBLOS
“Games were played in the village, not only for amusement for to bring
rain or keep the sun moving. Races were very popular among all, even
adults. The kick race was the most popular by kicking a small stick or
ball over a long distance. Shinny and relay races were also popular.
Games with sticks and bones were just fun. There were games of
throwing sticks and balls or using cornhusks as the target and bows
and arrows for hitting. Darts were used and were made of yucca fiber.”
http://azaz.essortment.com/newmexicopuebl_rmis.htm
LEGENDS
There are hundreds of Native American legends and stories online.
Unfortunately, the Jemez people seem to keep their culture very close
and I’m not able to find really anything regarding their stories or
legends. Here’s the best I could do:
“According to the Jemez creation story, Father Sun warned that if the
people neglected or forgot the traditional ways, he would take their
lands
for someone else. Today, the culture remains strong: Children in the
3,
200-member tribe learn their traditional language, Towa, before
English.”
Wotanging Ikche--nanews07.022
http://nativenet.uthscsa.edu/archive/nn-dialogue/9905/0019.html
==============================
USEFUL LINKS
==============================
THE PUEBLO OF JEMEZ – WALATOWA VISITORS CENTER
This an excellent site and I urge you to explore all of the external
links provided there. The “Gallery” link has some fabulous photos of
pottery.
http://www.jemezpueblo.org/
NEW MEXICO PUEBLOS – LIFE IN THE PUEBLOS
Although general to all Pueblo tribes, there’s interesting details hee
about hunting, making cloth and growing crops.
http://azaz.essortment.com/newmexicopuebl_rmis.htm
OVERVIEW OF PUEBLO CULTURE
http://americanart.si.edu/education/guides/pueblo/main.html
THE JEMEZ-PUEBLO
http://www.indianpueblo.org/ipcc/jemezpage.htm
JEMEZ POTTERY
http://www.canyonart.com/jemez.htm
THE CLIFF DWELLING MUSEUM
Pecos National Historical Park – Towa People
http://www.cliffdwellingsmuseum.com/sites5.htm
Pueblo Style Buildings
http://www.cliffdwellingsmuseum.com/preserve.htm
GUEST LIFE NEW MEXICO – THE PUEBLOS
http://www.guestlife.com/newmexico/features/tocpueblos.html
JEMEZ STATE MONUMENT
http://www.nmculture.org/cgi-bin/instview.cgi?_recordnum=JEME
I hope that what I’ve provided gives you a good head start towards
your presentation. Good luck with the little guys in your audience!
(I’m thinking they each need a pile of clay to make a pot while you
talk! :-) )
If anything I’ve said isn’t clear, please feel free to ask for
clarification.
--K~
Search terms
Towa Indians
Towa Jemez stories
Towa Jemez legends
Towa Jemez language
Towa Jemez language audio
Towa Jemez language spoken text
Towa Jemez mythology
Towa dance
Towa music
Towa food
Towa Jemez art |
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