The Religious and Social Life of the Palas.
It would require many pages of this little book even to suggest the
various rites, ceremonies and ideas connected with the ancient
religion of the Palas. It was a strange mixture of Nature worship,
superstition, and apparently meaningless rites, all of which, however,
clearly revealed the childlike worship of their minds. In the earliest
days their religious leaders gained their power by fasting and
solitude. Away in the desert, or on the mountain heights, resolutely
abstaining from all food, they awaited the coming of their spirit
guides, and then, armed with the assurance of direct supernatural
control, they assumed the healing of the sick and the general
direction of the affairs of the tribe.
Then, later, this simple method was changed. The neophytes sought
visions by drinking a decoction made from the jimpson weed--_toloache_
--and though the older and purer-minded men condemned this method it
was gaining great hold upon them when the Franciscan Missionaries came
a century or so ago.
Even now some of their ceremonies at the period of adolescence,
especially of girls, are still carried on. One of these consists of
digging a pit, making it hot with burning wood coals, and then
"roasting" the maiden therein, supposedly for her physical good.
I have also been present at some of their ancient dances which are
still performed by the older men and women. These are petitions to the
Powers that control nature to make the wild berries, seeds and roots
grow that they may have an abundance of food, and many white men have
seen portions of the eagle and other dances, the significance of which
they had no conception of. Yet all of these dances had their origin in
some simple, childlike idea such as that the eagle, flying upwards
into the very eye of the sun, must dwell in or near the abode of the
gods, and could therefore convey messages to them from the dwellers
upon Earth. This is the secret of all the whisperings and tender words
addressed to the eagle before it is either sent on its flight or
slain--for in either case it soars to the empyrean. These words are
messages to be delivered to the gods above, and are petitions for
favors desired, blessings they long for, or punishments they wish to
see bestowed upon their enemies.
But when the padres came the major part of the ancestors of the
present-day Palas came under their influence. They were soon baptized
into the fold of the Catholic Church. The fathers were wise in their
tolerance of the old dances. Wherein there was nothing that savored of
bestiality, sensuality, or direct demoralization, they raised no
objection, hence the survival of these ceremonies to the present day.
But, otherwise, the Indians became, as far as they were mentally and
spiritually able, good sons and daughters of the church.
Of the good influence these good men had over their Indian wards there
can be no question.
A true shepherd of his heathen flock was Padre Peyri. When the order
of secularization reached San Luis Rey and every priest was compelled
to take the oath of allegiance to the republic of Mexico, Peyri
refused to obey. He was ordered out of the country. At first he paid
no attention to the command, but when, finally, his superiors in
Mexico authorized his obedience, he stole away during the dead of
night in January, 1832, in order to save himself and his beloved
though dusky wards the pain of parting. It is said that when the
Indians discovered that he had left them and was on his way to San
Diego in order to take ship for Spain, five hundred of them followed
him with the avowed intention of trying to persuade him to return. But
they reached the bay at La Playa just as his ship was spreading sail
and putting out to sea. A plaintive cry rose heavenward while they
stood, their arms outstretched in agonized pleading, as their beloved
padre gave them a farewell blessing and his vessel faded away in the
blue haze off Point Loma.
The last resident missionary at San Luis Rey was Padre Zalvidea, who
died early in 1846.
From this date the decline of the Mission was very rapid. In 1826, the
Indian population was 2,869 and in 1846 it scarcely numbered 400.
After the death of Padre Zalvidea the poor Indians were like a flock
of sheep without a shepherd. They dispersed in every direction, a prey
of poverty, disease, and death.
[Illustration: The Pala Campanile After Rebuilding in 1916.]
[Illustration: A Pala Basket-Maker at Work.]
[Illustration: The Interior of Pala Chapel After the Restoration.]
[Illustration: The Ruins of the Pala Campanile, After Its Fall in
January, 1916.]
The Pala outpost shared the fate of the mother mission, San Luis Rey.
It became a prey to the elements and to vandalism. It was soon a
ruin, uninhabited and unhabitable. Even the water ditch, not being
kept in repair, soon became useless. Thus matters stood until the
United States decided to remove the Indians living on Warner's Ranch
to Pala.
Longevity used to be quite common among the Pala and other Indians. To
attain the age of a hundred years was nothing uncommon, and some lived
to be a hundred and fifty and even more years old. A short time ago
Leona Ardilla died at Temecula, which, like Pala, used to be a part of
the Mission of San Luis Rey. Leona was computed to be fully 113 years
old. She well remembered Padre Peyri,--_el buena padre_, she called
him,--and could tell definitely of his going away, of the Indians
following him to San Diego, and their grief that they could not bring
him back. Often have I heard her tell the story of the eviction of the
Indians from San Pasqual, as described in _Ramona_, and the struggle
her people had for the necessities of life after that disastrous
event.
Of gentle disposition, uncomplaining regarding the many and great
wrongs done her people by the white man, she lived a simple Indian
life, eating her porridge of _weewish_, the _bellota_ of the Spanish,
that is, acorn. This was for years her staple food. She ate it as she
worked on her baskets, with the prayers on her lips which were taught
her by Padre Peyri.
Though deaf and nearly blind for over 20 years, Leona sat daily in the
open with some boughs at her back, the primitive, unroofed break-wind
described as the only habitation of many of the Indians at the advent
of the spiritual _conquistadores_ of California. There, in the shade
of her kish, she sat and wove baskets. A few days before she died she
tried to finish a basket which had been begun over a month before, but
her death intervened and it remains unfinished.
A year hence, when the Indians hold their memorial dance of the dead,
this basket will be burned, together with whatever articles of
clothing she may have left.
The old basket maker's only living child was Michaela. She is 80 years
of age, and was at her mother's death-bed.
After their removal to Pala the Indians were too stunned to pay much
attention to anything except their own troubles, and the priest that
was sent to them neither knew or understood them. But a few years ago
the Reverend George D. Doyle was appointed as their pastor. He entered
into the work with zeal, sympathy and love, and in a short time he had
won their fullest confidence by his tender care of their best
interests. He deems no sacrifice too great where his services are
needed. He says, however, that beneficial service would have been
rendered impossible save for the justice, tolerance and helpfulness on
the part of the Indian service both at Washington and in the field.
In their school life Miss Salmons has their confidence equally with
their pastor. The growing generation is bright and learns things just
as quickly as white children of the same age.
The older Indians never seem to be able to count. Their difficulty in
understanding figures is shown when they make purchases at the
reservation store. An old Indian will buy a pound of sugar, for
instance, and lay down a dollar. After he is given his change he may
buy a pound of bacon and again wait for his change before he makes the
next purchase. He simply cannot understand that 100 minus 5 minus 18
leaves 77.
But the younger generation will have no such trouble. They are fairly
quick at figures, and a class in mental arithmetic under Miss Salmons'
direction would not appear poorly in competition with any white class
in any other California school.
The women spend much time in their gardens and in basket- and
lace-making. Their houses, gates, and fences are covered with a wealth
of roses and other flowers and vines and their little gardens are laid
out and cultivated with great skill. The men have a club-house, in
which is a billiard-table, where they play pool and other games. There
is also a piano, and several of the Indians are able to play
creditably at their community dances.
The games most popular among the Palas, in fact among all the Mission
Indians, are Gome, Pelota, Peon and Monte. _Gome_ is a test of speed,
endurance, and accuracy. As many contestants as wish enter, each
barefooted and holding a small wooden ball. A course from one to five
miles is designated. When the signal is given each player places his
ball upon the toes of his right foot and casts it. The ball must not
be touched by the hand again but scooped up by the toes and cast
forward. The runner whose ball first passes the line at the end of the
course is the winner. The good gome player is expert at scooping the
ball whilst running at full speed and casting the same without losing
his stride. Casts of 40 to 50 yards are not unusual.
_Pelota_ is a mixture of old time shinny or hocky, la-crosse and
foot-ball. It is played by two teams generally twelve on a side, on a
field about twice the size of the regulation football gridiron, with
two goal posts at each end. Each player is armed with an oak stick
about three feet in length. The teams, facing each other, stand in
mid-field. The referee holds a wooden ball two inches in diameter
which he places in a hole in the ground between the players. He then
fills the hole with sand, signals, by a call, and immediately the
sticks of the players dig the ball from the sand and endeavor to force
it towards and through their opponents' goal. There are no regulations
as to interference. Any player may hold, throw or block his opponent.
He may snap his opponent's stick from him and hurl it yards away. He
may hide the ball momentarily, to pass it to one of his team-mates,
always striving for a clean smash at the ball. He may not run with the
ball but is allowed three steps in any direction for batting
clearance--if he can get it. When one team succeeds in placing the
ball between its opponents' goal-posts one point is scored. The first
team to score two points wins the contest.
[Illustration: The Opening of the Fiesta. Father G. D. Doyle Reciting
the Mass.]
[Illustration: On the Morning of the Fiesta at Pala.]
[Illustration: The Women in the Ramada at the Pala Fiesta.]
_Peon_, without doubt, is the favorite diversion of the Southern
California Indian. It is played at night. A small fire is lighted and
four players squat on one side of it and four on the other. The
players of one set hold in their hand two sticks or bones, one black,
the other white, connected by a thong about fourteen inches long. Two
blankets, dirty or clean, it matters little, are spread, one in
front of each set. Back of the players are grouped the Indian women,
and when the players holding the peon sticks bend forward to grasp the
blanket between their teeth the women begin a chant or song. The
players, with hands hidden beneath the blanket, suddenly rise to their
knees drop the blanket from their teeth and are seen to have their
arms folded so closely that it is impossible to tell which hand holds
the black stick and which the white one. Their bodies move from side
to side, or up and down, keeping perfect time with the song, whilst
one of the opponents tries to tell, by false motions or by watching
the eyes across the fire, which hands hold the white stick. By a
movement of the hand he calls his guess and silence follows the
opening of the hand which reveals whether he has been successful in
his guess. The players who have been guessed throw their peon sticks
across to their opponents. For the ones not guessed a chip or short
stick is laid in front of the player. The opponent must continue until
he guesses all the hands, when his side goes through the same
performance. There are fourteen chips and one set or side must be in
possession of all of them before the game is concluded; so it may be
seen that it can last many hours. Sometimes the early morning finds
the singers and players weary but undaunted, as the game is
unfinished, and each side is reluctant to give up without scoring.
As poker is called the American's gambling game so peon might be named
the Indian's gambling game. Large sums are said to have been wagered
on this game prior to February of 1915, when the Commissioner of
Indian Affairs placed the ban upon gambling of any description on the
reservations. The game is now played only for a prize or small purse
which is offered by the Fiesta Committee.
_Monte_ is a card game played by the older people and is much like
faro excepting that Mexican cards are used.
Taking their lives all in all they are today very much like those of
their white neighbors. The warriors of the passing generation and
their squaws have thrown aside buckskin for gingham and shawls of
cotton and wool. The thick-soled shoe has taken the place of the
sandal or soft moccassin, but the springy tread of the foot is the
same as it was when it traversed a pathless wilderness. The stoicism
and the majestic mien, the indifference to results, and the absolute
fearlessness which are expressed in every movement, are still
essential influences in the life and government of the little band.
The younger men and women, while they tolerate with filial respect the
superstitions of their fathers, are eager to adjust themselves to the
ways and to be taught the arts and wisdom of their pale-faced
conquerors.