What are facts about the cahuilla tribe?

Answer 1

Today most Cahuilla are Roman Catholics, although some elements of the traditional religion remain.

In the Cahuilla traditional culture, the origin myth was very important for an understanding of the Cahuilla identity. In the beginning was nothing but darkness. Eventually 2 twins were born from eggs, Mukat and Tamaioit. Their mother was Darkness. With their birth the natural world began to develop order. The descendants of Mukat and Tamaioit became the Cahuilla.

Mukat created things that were mostly black, and Tamaioit created things that were mostly white. Together they created the earth, ocean, sun, moon, people, plants, and animals. Mukat and Tamaioit began to argue and their disagreement drove Tamaioit underground, where he took many of his creations. Then mountains emerged, the earth shook and the ocean overflowed, causing streams and rivers to form.

Mukat lived in a big house with people and animals. He fell in love with the Moon who was in the form of a beautiful woman. She taught the women about marriage, child-raising and menstrual and pregnancy taboos. Mukat wanted her for his wife, but she was technically Mukat's daughter so they could not marry. Therefore she went to her place in the sky. Mukat meanwhile taught people how to make bows and arrows and as a result, the first death occurred. The people got angry at Mukat over this and other things, and decided to kill him. He was made ill and the shamans only pretended to try to cure him. Before he died, he taught the people to sing mourning songs and how to hold a mourning ceremony for the dead each year. After Mukat died, he was cremated and his house was burned.

The themes in this origin myth of the mourning ceremony, the Moon's association with women's lives and responsibilities, the burning of the body and house after death, and so on, are reflected in the religion as practiced by the Cahuilla.

There were 3 leaders in Cahuilla clans: the net, the paha, and the shaman. The net was someone who knew about the clan traditons and certain esoteric facts important to the clans. A room in the net's house held sacred objects. Eagle, hawk, and owl feathers were kept in a sacred bundle. The paha was responsible for ceremonial preparations and for maintaining order at the ceremonies. He led hunting parties and served as a spokesman and messenger for the net. Shamans were responsible for dealing with diseases, disaster, and personal traumas.

Two major ceremonies in Cahuilla life were the Eagle-Killing Ceremony and the Mourning Ceremony.

The Eagle Killing Ceremony was believed to assure them of life after death. The flight of the eagle symbolized the course that Shamans would take when they led souls to the land of the dead.

The life-cycle is marked by certain rituals. A pregnant woman has certain instructions she must follow, and certain restrictions. For example, she is not to eat any salt, and should eat very little meat and drink only warm water. After she gives birth, she must follow certain guidelines for several days.

Another life-cycle event is child-naming, which actually did not take place until the child was anywhere from 4 to 12 years old.

Adolescence for girls was marked by a special ceremony wherein she received tattoos and her ears were pierced. There was a ritual for her first and subsequent menstruations that were quite involved.

Among some Cahuilla, there was an initiation ceremony for boys. It symbolized their death as children and birth into adulthood.

Certain values were expected to be followed by children. They were taught respect of elders, and they were to be thoughtful and unselfish.

When someone died, his body was burned, and his house as well. If the deceased was a man, the creation narrative was sung. If it was a woman, a song about the moon was sung.

Each year, there was a Mourning Ceremony. It was a 7-day event to remember those who had died the previous year. Guests would receive gifts, the origin myth was recited and death rituals were performed. The shamans would communicate with the dead and much singing took place. Images would be prepared for the dead. The images would be carried in a procession to the clan dance house. Later the images were burned, which was believed to release the soul of the deceased. This officially ended the period of mourning.

After death a soul sought passage through the mountains created by Mukat. They would be questioned by a guardian, and if they had lived by Mukat's rules, they were allowed to pass through unharmed. If they had not lived by Mukat's rules, they became bats, butterflies, trees, or rocks.

Changes in these traditions began to occur in about the 1870's. Houses were not burned until 3 members of the household died. Among the Pass Cahuilla, the Eagle-Killing Ceremony and the Mourning Ceremony became combined into one. The dead began to be buried rather than cremated.

The last Shaman died in 1984. One woman today knows the ceremonial songs and she continues to carry out some of the traditional religious practices.

Even though most Cahuilla are today Roman Catholic, funerals still are an important focus of life, seen as a rite of passage. So even today, some of the personal possessions of the deceased are burned, and traditional Cahuilla songs are sung.

[I learned the above information from a few different sources, including the Encyclopedia of Religion, article on "Bears." The Land was Theirs: A Study of Native North Americans. By Wendell Oswalt. And, The Peyote Cult, by Barre, page 136.]

Answer 2

abot art and ceremonies