Chiricahua Apache

By JOHN BEIERLE

Chiracagui, Apaches de Chiricahues, Chilicagui, Chilecagez, Chiricagua, Aiáhal (Aiaho), Nde’

The Chiricahua Apache are an Athapskan-speaking Native American group who may have originally migrated to the Southwest from western Canada sometime between the thirteenth and sixteenth centuries. They are presently located in southeastern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico, and northern Mexico. The Chiricahua call themselves de Apache, “man” or “person”. The Apachean culture, of which they are part, also includes Jicarilla, Kiowa-Apache, Lipan, Mescalero, Western Apache, and Navajo. The name “Chiricahua” is derived from the Chiricahua Mountains in their former territory in southeastern Arizona

A general estimate of Chiricahua population in 1850 was 3,000, reduced by disease and warfare to a little over 2,500 during the period of 1866-1874. The population in 2006-2010 was 3,353.

The Chiricahua language belongs to the southern branch of the Athapascan language family, derived from Northern Athapascan, and is part of the larger Nadene language group spoken by Tlingit, Eyak, and Haida. Although Apachean languages vary somewhat from one another in structure they are related closely enough so that they are mutually intelligible to other members of different bands and groups of the Apachean order. By the late twentieth century Chiricahua as a language has almost disappeared as a separate dialect, with only five speakers of the language at Fort Sill, Oklahoma in 1981.

Prior to early European contacts the Chiricahua were frequently involved in raiding neighboring tribes for food and other kinds of booty, especially the farming villages of the Pueblo people. By the mid to late sixteenth century and beyond, the Chiricahua found a new enemy in the Spanish settlers and missionaries who settled in the area. At first relations between the two people were generally friendly, but gradually turned to violence as the result of the “heavy-handed” attitudes and policies of the Spanish toward these people. After three centuries of fighting, the Chiricahua still held on to their sacred homeland. Other enemies of the time included the Comanches and Mexicans. In 1821 the independence of Mexico from Spain resulted in a decline of Spanish power in the Southwest and a few years of uneasy truce between the Spanish and Chiricahua. With the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 bringing a cessation to the war between Mexico and the United States, a vast new land area in the Southwest was opened up for exploitation of the natural resources. With the increased presence of trappers and gold miners in Chiricahua territory, more and more violent clashes between the Indians and Euro-Americans took place resulting in the eventual establishment of forts by the U.S. government in Arizona and New Mexico as a means of protecting travelers and settlers.

During the latter half of the nineteenth century the U. S. government and the Chiricahua were engaged in an extended period of warfare that finally ended in 1886 with the surrender of the Chiricahua chief Geronimo and his followers and resulting in their twenty-seven year term as prisoners of war, first at Fort Marion, Florida, then at Mount Vernon Barracks, Alabama and finally at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. They were finally freed in 1913 and given the option of remaining in Oklahoma or returning to the Mescalero Reservation in New Mexico. On the Mescalero Reservation the Chiricahua first attempted to keep their tribal identity separate, but eventually they intermarried with the Mescalero and Lipan Apache. Intermarriage also took place at Fort Sill between the Chiricahua, other tribal groups, or with caucasians. Common agricultural interests used to hold the Fort Sill group together, but with the advent of large-scale farming in the 1940s and 1950s, many chose to give up farming.

Traditionally the Chiricahua were semi-nomadic hunter-gatherers requiring frequent seasonal movements so as not to exhaust their food supply. In the summer they moved to the highlands where the temperatures were cooler and the game more abundant; in the winter to the lowlands where it was generally warmer and water more readily available. The nomadic encampments consisted of clusters of dwellings called wickiups, which were dome-shaped houses with pole frameworks and covered with thatch or grass. During the winter, these structures were often covered with hides. Winter encampments, called rancherias, would often include a sweat lodge for men. Although extended families generally camped together, each nuclear family would often have their own dwelling. These encampment clusters, called “local groups” (a division of the band), were named after some local geographical feature around which they were camped. The local group was further subdivided into extended families that were referred to by the name of the leading member of the group.

The Chiricahua economy was based on hunting and gathering, with some limited agriculture. The primary game animals hunted by men were deer and antelope, supplemented by elk, mountain goats and mountain sheep. Women did the gathering. Trade was primarily inter-tribal with goods exchanged with the Pueblos, Navajo, and Mexicans, and later, Euro-Americans. Items obtained from raiding activities also formed part of exchange transactions. Barter did take place, however, between members of the tribe, but was not of primary importance to the economy.

Agriculture was limited primarily to the Eastern Band of Chiricahua who had suitable lands west of the Rio Grande and who had considerable contact with early Mexican settlers of the region. Initial crops included corn and melons, and later pumpkins, squash, beans, chilies, onions, and potatoes. Water for the crops was obtained through ditch irrigation. Only a small number of families ever farmed, and the practice was probably of historic origin.

An important craft of the Chiricahua was basket weaving. These containers, which were made by women, consisted of burden basket s, woven pitch covered water bottles, and shallow trays. Not only were they of utilitarian use in the household, but also used as items of trade. Women also made a simple form of unpainted pottery, sometimes incised along the rim.

As noted above trading relations did take place between the Chiricahua and the Pueblos, Navajo, Mexicans and Euro-Americans. Many of the transactions that took place were with items taken on raiding expeditions. Barter exchange of goods also took place between members of the society.

Besides the gathering, storage, and preparation of foods, women were also involved in dwelling construction, carrying water, collecting fuel, cooking, child care, tanning of hides, and the manufacture of clothing and bags. They also made utensils such as spoons and dippers from wood or gourds, and some simple unpainted pottery. Both men and women assisted one another in the making of the quiver and bow cover. The making of tiswin, a weak corn beer, was also the prerogative of women. The major activities of men involved hunting, raiding, warfare, the manufacture and repair of weapons and the maintenance of the riding gear. In travel, if it became necessary to cross a body of water, men provided a “bullboat” made of hide for the crossing. The few musical instruments used by the Chiricahua, such as the flute and “Apache fiddle” were also made by men.

Traditionally the Chiricahua were divided into from three to five bands, each of which occupied and controlled the use of a specific territory for the hunting and gathering purposes of its members.

The primary social unit in Chiricahua society was the extended domestic family or go.ta. When the term was used, it was always coupled with the name of the family head. Clans were generally not mentioned in the literature but in some of the older documents (e. g., Hodge, 1959, p. 283) clans were identified as a subdivision of the band organization, now referred to as “local groups” consisting of from 10 to 30 extended families. Kinship was reckoned bilaterally.

Among the Chiricahua matrilocal residence was the rule. At marriage, if within the local group, a man moved to his wife’s camp but not too far from his own blood kin. Henceforth the husband’s principal obligations were to the extended family of his wife. From the time that consent to a marriage had been given, a relationship of total avoidance was established between the husband and his wife’s relatives, particularly her mother and father, her mother’s mother and her father’s mother. If contact with the avoided person was unavoidable, a special polite form of address was used. Relations between a sister and her brother, especially after puberty, were one of respect and decorum. Affection for a sister was demonstrated by the interest a brother exhibited toward his sister’s children, especially in terms of instructions and economic aid in terms of a crisis.

With the Chiricahua, as well as the Mescalero, an elaborate set of kinship terms existed allowing a person to distinguish between relatives of one’s mother from that of the father. Siblings and first cousins were referred to by the same term, while other cousins were terminologically distinct. English speakers, however, used Eskimo-type rules.

Following the appropriate puberty ceremonies, girls and boys were considered to have achieved adult status and eligible for marriage. Family elders arranged the marriage, with the consent of the young people involved. The initiative was taken by the boy’s family, often with the aid of a go-between, and with substantial gifts made to the girl’s family. Close relatives of the girl were consulted, and if in agreement with the marriage arrangements, divided the gifts among themselves. After the marriage had been agreed upon, there was little delay and no ceremony. Since matrilocal residence prevailed in the society, a dwelling (wickiup) was constructed by or for the new bride close to her mother and married sisters. Once the household was physically established, the groom joined her there. As the result of the matrilocal tradition, the man was now responsible for the care of the wife’s family, and if his wife died, he was bound by custom to marry her sister or marriageable cousins. Though polygyny was not encouraged, it was allowed to those who could afford it such as successful hunters or warriors. Both the sororate and levirate were practiced.

Divorce does take place among the Chiricahua, the most common causes being unfaithfulness, brutal treatment of one spouse by the other, nagging, laziness on the part of husband or wife, barrenness or frigidity on the part of the woman, or excessive gambling. The divorced wife retains possession of the home, household utensils, and personal possessions. The husband takes only his personal possessions. Marriage gifts are not returned at divorce. Babies or very young children usually stay with their mother; older children especially boys, are claimed by their father. The divorced man generally returned to the home of his parents or some close relative.

The major social unit in Chiricahua society was the extended family, consisting of a man and his wife, their unmarried sons and daughters, and their married daughters, and their families. These extended families lived in close proximity to one another, their dwellings forming a separate cluster within the encampment. Each nuclear family, however, occupied its own home. The male composition of the extended family varied as marriages were contracted, so that women formed the anchors of this social unit. Necessary economic activities were both planned and carried out by members of the extended family.

Through oral instructions and by example, children were taught to perform useful tasks appropriate to their sex as quickly as they could manage them. Storytelling functioned to acquaint children with Chiricahua traditions and made them aware of what their elders expected of them, and attendance at ceremonies contributed in making children familiar with the belief system. Physical training and hardening was expected of both sexes long before puberty through such means as arising early in the morning , running often, and involvement in various strenuous tasks.

The extended domestic family was the primary social unit of the Chiricahua. Various economic tasks were planned and executed by the extended family such as the gathering of wild foods by the women and hunting by men. So central was the extended family as a social unit in the society that individual rights were subordinated to the welfare of the group. Societal prestige was achieved by the individual through personal merit, personal skills and industriousness, as represented by successful hunters and skilled warriors in the society.

Traditionally the Chiricahua were divided into from three to five named bands, each with its own home territory, and each divided into local groups of from ten to thirty extended families. Because of the scattering of these bands throughout the region, there was little tribal organization per se. Each band had it own leader whose authority was based on recognized wisdom and skill in warfare. The band, with its chief, was the socially cohesive group among the Chiricahua, and no central tribal organization existed. Thus the band can be considered a loose confederation of local groups, and the tribe an equally loose union of the bands. This form of social organization was common to other equestrian nomads throughout North America.

The primary means of social control among the Chiricahua was public censure, which was the greatest deterrent to antisocial behavior in the society. In cases involving severe breaches of societal mores, such as when a married man attempted to elope with one of his wife’s relatives, the offending couple was forced to live in isolation from the group until forgiveness and approval could be secured.

Internal conflicts within the Chiricahua frequently occurred and were generally settled by the families involved, sometimes with the aid of the band/local group leader. Murder was usually revenged by members of the extended family of the deceased. If the family of the murderer refused to give him/her up, then a long-lasting feud often developed between the two families. Other conflict situations that frequently arose among the Chiricahua were: bad relations between husband and wife; seduction of one’s wife by another man; witchcraft; in-law relationships; use of the name of a deceased person in the company of his kin; invectives (curses or phrases that arouse resentment); and use of personal names.

The Chiricahua have a long history of external conflicts with both neighboring tribes as well as foreign intruders into their homeland areas, dating from approximately the early sixteenth century to the early twentieth. After years of warfare with the Spanish, Mexicans, Comanche, and eventually with the United States, the Chiricahua were finally defeated and placed on government reservations. (For more detailed information, see the History and Cultural Relations.)

The Chiricahua had a vague, personified belief in a supernatural being called “Life Giver”, who was sometimes pictured as a sky god. Occasionally prayers were directly addressed to him, but he was otherwise not involved in ceremonies. Greater attention in the society was paid to White-Painted Woman and her son, Child of the Water. White Painted Woman was believed to be the progenitor of the Chiricahua, and the symbol of life. The myth associate with these beings described the birth of the culture hero (Child of the Water), his triumphs over the evils that afflicted the Chiricahua in their earliest period, and the legacy of customs attributed to he and his mother which were left to the tribe. Other deities were the mountain spirits (G’an who protected the Chiricahua from epidemic disease and warned them of enemy attacks.

The major religious leader among the Chiricahua was the shaman (diyin who received supernatural power in visions and dreams through the medium of familiar beings and objects, such as animals, plants, and celestial bodies. These powers came to the shaman unbidden, and were not part of a vision quest. Although most of the shaman’s powers were directed toward curing, he/she was occasionally called upon to use their acquired powers in ceremonies related to infants and young children, such as the cradle ceremony for newborns, the “Putting on Moccasins” ceremony for an infant’s first steps, and the spring hair-cutting ceremony. Other individuals with semi-religious functions in the society was the “attendant”, an older woman of the tribe who acted as a helper and advisor to a girl undergoing the Chiricahua puberty ceremony, and the “singer”, who was also involved in these rites.

In addition to the ceremonies for infants and young children mentioned above the major ceremony performed by the Shaman is that of curing. A typical curing ceremony lasted from one to four days and nights and began with a formal request to a shaman for his help, and the presentation to him of four ritual objects required by the “power” to insure its participation in the ritual. The ceremony generally included ritual smoking, prayer, singing and the marking of the patient with sacred pollen, white clay, charcoal, red or yellow ocher and/or specular iron ore. The curing procedure itself consisted in brushing the patient with feathers, sucking the afflicted part, and the use of herbal decoctions or special foods. In addition, frequent references were made to cardinal directions and associated colors, and the grouping of associated songs, prayers, and ritual acts in sets of four (the Chiricahua “ritual” number). At this time food and behavior restrictions were often imposed on the recovering patient. Other rites performed by the shaman were concerned with the recovery of lost persons or objects, diagnose of an illness (rather than the curing of it ), the improvement of luck, and the pursuit of the opposite sex. It was believed that the shaman might have multiple powers and ceremonies derived from different supernatural sources.

Puberty ceremonies for girls were observed at the onset of their first menses and marked a change of status from child to adult. The ceremony, which lasted four days, involved the wearing of special garments and the consumption of special foods, the selection of an older woman in the society who acted as an “attendant” to the girl, feeding and clothing her ritually, and advising and guiding her throughout the remainder of the ceremony. The girl was then led to a large structure by a male ceremonialist who was hired to sing to her in order to safeguard her health and longevity, while the girl performed various stylized dances. During these ceremonies the girl was called by the name of the cultural heroine, White Painted Woman.

A counterpart to the girl’s puberty rite was that held for boys in which they participated in their first four raiding expeditions. At this time the boys were called by the name of the culture hero, “Child of the Water.” During these periods boys were under the same restriction as girls, and in addition had to learn a special vocabulary that was to be used for the duration of the expedition. With the completion of these four expeditions boys were considered to have achieved full membership as adults in the society.

One of the major artistic endeavors of the Chiricahua was the manufacture of beautifully woven baskets by women which were utilized in the household as carrying baskets, storage, and water containers (the latter being coated with pitch to make them water tight.) Some simple unpainted utilitarian pottery was also made by women. Songs also formed an important part of Chiricahua life, used to accompany ceremonial dancing by Masked Dancers, and by shamans in curing. The preparation of masks used by the Masked Dancers in their ceremonies also involved considerable artistic skills in their painting and decoration.

Certain illnesses were believed to be caused by transgressions against supernatural powers, in which case they were treated by the shaman through such magical means as chanting and dancing. Other kinds of sickness, however, were treated with a variety of herbs, found in the natural environment. Mud baths were also employed for other types of illness, such as venereal disease. Broken bones were set with splints made from cedar bark. Blood-letting was also considered a medical treatment for headaches and rheumatism.

When death occurred the body was buried as soon as possible, often in a rocky crevice as far as possible from the camp. The dwelling in which the death had taken place was destroyed, and the personal belongings of the deceased were either buried with the individual or burned. Mourning involved much wailing by the close kin, and cutting the ends of their hair to prevent dreaming of the deceased or persecution by his/her ghost. For a long time after the death of an individual, he/she was not discussed in conversations, nor was that person’s name mentioned. An angry ghost was believed to assume the form of an owl, so that during the mourning period the owl’s hoot was especially terrifying to the relatives.

Eventually the deceased person had to begin his journey to the land of the dead. He/she was led there by a previously deceased relative. This belief fostered the idea that to dream or to think of the dead was the harbinger of one’s early death. The Chiricahua conceived of the underworld as a veritable paradise occupied by encampments of the dead who had been restored to health, and carried on those activities that they had enjoyed most in life.

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