RELG 402 - World's Living Religions
Zuni Religion
When discussing any religion there are sensitive areas which may not be understood by those who are not members of the religion. This is particularly true of Native American Religions, where some topics may be secret, and are not meant to be open to secular view. To the best of my knowledge, the following information has been made freely available by members of the religion involved, and is published here in the interests of mutual understanding and respect. If the information below is incorrect, or if its publication may be offensive to members of the religion, please
contact me
Much of the information below comes from
Legends of America or the
Native American Encyclopedia
| History | Deities | Ahayuda | Clans |
| Religious leaders | Ceremonies | Death | |
There are no pictures on this page, because the Zuni generally do not wish their ceremonies to be photographed. In the past many photos of the Zuni were taken without their consent.
The Zuni are one of the groups of Pueblo (village-dwelling) Indians of the South West - New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. The Zuni have lived in Zuni Pueblo, near Gallup, New Mexico, for over 1300 years. Zuni is the name given to them by the Spanish - the Zuni call themselves A'shiwi (The Flesh). The Zuni language is not related to the languages of the other Puebloans (Hopi, Tewa, Towa).
When the Spanish explorers arrived in 1540 the Zuni lived in half a dozen large pueblos along the Zuni river, where they had plenty of water for raising crops and the land was fertile.
The Spanish brought new diseases, which decimated the Zuni. The Spanish also brought livestock and new crops such as wheat and peaches. The Zuni came under pressure from the Spanish, and were raided by the Navajo and Apache peoples.
In 1680 the Zuni joined the Pueblo revolt which drove the Spanish out of New Mexico for several years. The Zuni fled and by 1692 they had built a large pueblo on the top of Dowa Yalanne mesa which was easier to defend. However, there was not sufficient land on the mesa for raising crops, so the Zuni continued to farm in the valleys below the mesa.
Dowa Yalanne pueblo was a break with the previous settlement pattern because from then on the Zuni all lived together in one pueblo. Although some of them may also have lived in the remains of the earlier villages, they also kept a residence on Dowa Yalanne to which they could move when Spaniards or others threatened.
In 1692 Diego de Vargas led the "reconquest" of New Mexico (which at that time was much larger than the present State of New Mexico). He established peaceful relations with the Zuni, and persuaded them to move down from Dowa Yalanne. By this time they were used to living in one pueblo, so they settled together at a site which is now known as Zuni Pueblo, on the Zuni river.
The Apache and Navajo continued to raid the Zuni, so they set up sheep camps which could be used as refuges on the high ridges of the Zuni River valley, and also hidden sites by their farm land at the base of the mesa.
In 1848 the U.S. took control of the region, and in 1877 the Zuni reservation was created.
Mormons came and settled in the region in 1876, followed by Presbyterians in 1877. The railroad reached Gallup in 1881, and opened the region for trade. Since then the Zuni have raised cattle and sheep for trade.
The Zuni have resisted outside influences, and although they live mainly in one city, they claim their original lands - an area about the size of the state of Rhode Island.
Zuni life and religion are different from those of other peoples. Everything within the universe is regarded as sacred, and harmony is maintained by their religious rites. Their gods live in the lakes of Arizona and New Mexico. Their chiefs perform ceremonies in which they dance and sing, and their shamans pray to the gods for rain, fertile soil, and good harvests. The people also call upon the shamans for guidance and healing when necessary.
The Zuni reservation is isolated from the outside world, although their economy now depends more on a tourist trade of pottery and jewelry rather than subsistence on corn.
The chief Zuni deities are known as "The Ones Who Hold Our Roads"
They are :
Awonawilona, Sun Father
Moon Mother, the wife of Sun Father
Other important deities include :
Earth Mother
Old Lady Salt, the sister of Sun Father
White Shell Woman, the mother (or grandmother) of Sun Father
Turquoise Man
Pawtiwa is the Rain god. He is also associated with deer, and is generous and kind.
Ahayu'da, the twin War gods Watusti and Yanaluha, created by Sun Father to protect the people from their enemies. The fought and overcame a number of giants who were causing trouble. Zunis hold that Ahayuda are still defending all the peoples of the earth.
There are a number of lesser deities and kachinas (spiritual beings).
Ahayuda refers not only to the War gods, but also to a carved representation of either of them. As far as outsiders know, Zuni carve a figure of one of the Ahayuda, preferably from a piece of wood from a tree that was struck by lightning, as a form of protection. When the figure has served its purpose, it is placed in an open-air shrine until it disintegrates naturally - this is to keep the balance and order of nature and the world. However, outsiders who did not know the significance of the figures often took them from their shrines and put them in museums and other collections. To the Zuni, this was desecration with the potential for causing misfortune and denial of their religious beliefs.
In 1978 the Zuni decided that the Ahayuda must be returned to their homes, stating that the Ahayuda are communally owned by the Zuni, that no one had the authority to take them from their shrines, and that any Ahayuda removed from its shrine was stolen. Zuni also hold that if anyone objects to the actions of another, the correct thing to do is to go to that person and resolve the matter peaceably. So the Zuni contacted Sotheby's Auction House, and various museums, including the Smithsonian, to request the return of Ahayuda. Over the years many Ahayuda have been returned, but some still remain in foreign museums and collections.
There are six kivas, each with a kachina society devoted to the worship of particular deities.
A kachina society is headed by a kachina chief and a kachina spokesman, who each have a kachina bow priest as an assistant.
Each kiva has a dance chief.
In addition to the kiva societies there are twelve curing societies, related to the animal deities, which are open to membership by women as well as men. Each has four officers. Zunis may join by choice, or by being cured of a particular illness. Membership is for life.
All Zuni are regarded as religious practitioners, and religious activities begin in the home. When Zunis are born their father or mother chooses a kiva for them; however, Zunis may change membership of their kiva as they grow up.
Initiation is a two-stage process, first between the ages of five and nine, then between the ages of ten and fourteen. After initiation a male Zuni is allowed to dance and to wear a kachina mask.
Each kachina society is headed by a kachina chief and a kachina spokesman, who each have a kachina bow priest as an assistant.
There are also sixteen rain priests, each with several assistants (some of whom may be female). Some of these must come from specific clans who care for the medicine bundles which they use.
The Zuni hold that the whole universe is sacred, and is held in balance and harmony by religion, ceremonies, and prayer.
The Zuni revere nature, ancestors, and animal spirits, by offering prayers, prayer sticks, and sacred white corn meal, turquoise, shell, and coral.
Disharmony is caused by improper behavior, and evil is associated with witchcraft.
Zuni religious life is upheld by four inter-related systems - clans, kivas (kachina societies), curing societies, and priesthoods.
The Zuni societies perform various secret and public ceremonies throughout the year - some are secret, but some are public. Each kiva group usually dances four times a year - at summer, before the harvest, before the winter solstice, and in winter.
The Zuni Shalako ceremony is a series of dances and rituals performed by the Zuni around the time of the winter solstice, about December 1 - after the harvest. It is a sacred drama which gives thanks to the gods for the harvest, and asks for blessings on newly-built houses. Those who are going to take part in the ceremony spend a year of preparation for it. The Zuni Bow priests decide on the date for each year's Shalako.
The ceremony starts with mudheads (clowns) arriving to announce that the Shalako are coming.
The Shalako are embodiments of the gods, who come to stay in the village; they include the Fire god, the Rain god of the North (Sayatasha) and the Rain god of the South (Hu-tu-tu). They wear 8 or 9 foot high tall costumes with head-dresses of eagle feathers in a fan-shape, and represent the "couriers of rain". There is a small mesh-covered hole for the Shalako dancer to see out from under the coverings, to see where he is going. He holds a pole which supports the mask, and has to manipulate the mask's eyes and beak while dancing and moving about under the covering structure. Each Shalako has two attendants with him - one is designated to take the place of the first dancer when he tires. This is done out of sight of the viewers or behind blankets, so that the children will not know that the figures are not really gods. The dances start at sunset and when the dance is finished each Shalako goes to a house that has been specially prepared for him. More dancing starts at midnight, in the Shalako houses. Part of the ceremony is a race, where the Shalako run and plant prayer sticks - it is regarded as very unlucky if any of the Shalako fall during the ceremony. The Shalako leave around noon, taking the final prayers for rain with them to the gods.
Shalako includes a great feast for everyone, which is first blessed by the Sun Priest, the Priest of the kiva, and the chief Priest of the Bow.
Then a boy dancer with the black mask of the Fire God also purifies the food, and the Priest of the Bow prays again, and concludes with words to the crowd that they may "Eat with the Beloved" and all the people join in a ceremonial feast at which the gods are the hosts.
Other deities taking part in Shalako are the Gods of the Dance, the Long-Horned Demons of War, the Tablet Dancers, the Bird-beasts of the Mountains and Oceans, and the great Sea Serpent.
Shalako is the time when children are initiated into the kiva societies. They fast for days before the ceremony, then during the ceremony their backs are protected by blankets and they are beaten with long wands by the dancers. After this the Sea Serpent arrives and vomits green medicine water which they are required to drink before being allowed out of the kiva building.
While the feasting is taking place, another ceremony is held in the kiva, in which the Zuni leaders listen to a recounting of the Zuni creation epic by one of the four priests specially trained to remember it. This takes six hours to complete, and is repeated in each of the six kivas. For all this time (at least thirty-six hours) the priest is masked and is not allowed to eat food, and may only drink sacred water. The priest performing the epic is carried from one kiva to another by ten clowns, and the people show their reverence by touching his garments with their finger-tips.
A period of fasting follows the New Year Festival
Sickness is caused by breaking a religious taboo, or by witchcraft.
The Zuni use a great many medicinal plants, which may be applied in various ways, or may be smoked. The curing societies specialize in specific illnesses and cures.
Death can be caused by witchcraft, or by breaking religious rules. The dead can appear in dreams to lure the living to join them, also resulting in death.
Thunderstorms in January, or seeing a landslide can cause the death of a Rain Priest within a year.
If a Shalako impersonator falls during a race it is expected that he will die within a year.
When a Zuni dies, female clan members wash the body and dress it in traditional clothing, then it lies in state at the home for an evening. In the morning it is buried along with the clothing and blankets. Burial now takes place in a new cemetery rather than the overcrowded Campo Santo by the Mission Church.
The spirit of the dead person remains in the home for four days, then leaves through the open door to go to a place which depends on what the person was when alive. Members of medicine societies go to Shipapulima, the Place of Emergence. Rain priests join other Rain priests in the Waters of the World. Bow priests become lightning makers. Others go to Kachina Village (Zuni heaven) and may return as clouds or "invisibly" during Zuni dances.
After someone dies his name is no longer spoken unless he was a rain priest, in which case the living rain priests will invoke his name to bring rain.
Turkeys are an important part of Zuni life and religion. Archaeological excavations show that the ancient Zuni kept large numbers of domesticated turkeys in pens. One of the Zuni clans is named for the Turkey, and Turkeys were reported to come in answer to prayers, bearing gifts of food and blankets. Turkey feathers are used to decorate the prayer-sticks which are used for summoning the Turkey People.
Ducks are also important, and Duck feathers are symbols of rain.
Copyright © 2015 Shirley J. Rollinson, all Rights Reserved
