_From Copyright Photograph 1904 by E.S. Curtis_
Owing to their composite nature the Jicarillas are a peculiarly
interesting group. Too small in numbers to resist the cultural influence
of other tribes, and having been long in contact with the buffalo hunters
of the great plains as well as in close touch with the pueblo of Taos with
its great wealth of ceremony and ritual, it is not surprising that the
Jicarillas, in life and ceremony, have been deeply influenced by adjacent
tribes. As previously stated, the Jicarilla medicine rites are much like
those of the Navaho, but are far simpler in character. In dress the
Jicarillas resemble the Indians of the plains, even to the feather
headdress, which is never worn by the tribes to their south and west.
Features of an annual fiesta have been borrowed directly from the Pueblos.
The typical habitation of the Jicarillas is a tipi, or lodge, called
_kozhan_, patterned after that of the Plains tribes. Formerly they hunted
the buffalo, making periodical excursions from their mountain home to the
plains and bringing back quantities of prepared meat and large numbers of
hides, which were fashioned into tents and used for many other purposes.
To all intents and purposes, therefore, the Jicarillas were a plains
tribe. Only within recent years have they grown crops of any kind. They
exhibit fair skill in basketry, this being their chief industry and source
of barter with neighboring tribes; indeed it was through this custom of
making "little baskets" that the Spaniards applied to them the name by
which they are popularly known. The Pueblos of the Rio Grande use many
baskets, which they obtain chiefly from the Jicarillas in exchange for
corn. During late years many of these _jicarillas_ have been disposed of
to traders. Like the Navaho they make but little pottery, and that only
for utilitarian purposes.
The Jicarillas seem to have no system of clans or gentes. The tribe is
divided into two bands--commonly called by their Spanish names, _Olleros_
(Potters) and _Llaneros_ (Plainsmen)--within which marriage is not
prohibited. In the days of the buffalo a part of the tribe, preferring the
prairie country, remained there for a short time and received the name
Kolhkahin, People of the Plains. The others returned to the mountains and
from the pottery they there made were called Sait Nde, Sand People, sand
being used in mixing the clay. In event of marriage between members of
different bands, sons born of the union belong to the father's band, while
daughters belong to the band of the mother.
Generally speaking, chieftainship is hereditary, passing to the eldest
son, if there be such, otherwise to a brother, on the death of the
incumbent; but this rule might be set aside if public opinion were strong
enough to warrant it, and the chief be selected from another family. Each
band has a headman, chosen by reason of his personal bravery and
worthiness. The tribal chief, however, is the recognized leader, the two
band chiefs being little more than figureheads.
The social customs of the Jicarillas are well defined. A young man wishing
to marry sends a near relation to procure the consent of the girl's
parents, with whose decision the wishes of the daughter have little
weight. If the young man meets their approval, he is sent out to hunt, and
the game which he kills is distributed among the girl's relations. The
following day his family build a _kozhan_ and place in it the personal
effects of the young couple, who, at night, enter with friends and
kinsfolk. A medicine-man prays to Naye{~COMBINING BREVE~}nayezgani, asking his beneficence
toward the new home. This ceremony lasts until midnight, when the visitors
depart and the marriage is consummated. Polygamy was common. Divorce is
effected without ceremony, the discontented one deserting the other and
leaving him or her in possession of the dwelling.
Property right is governed by tribal laws. The wife's belongings are
inherited by her children or, if she should have none, by her parents, not
by the husband. On the death of the husband his property passes to the
children and the wife.
The dead are buried in secret, only a few of the close relations having
knowledge of the place. Immediately after death the body is carried on
horseback to a high point, where it is placed on the ground and covered
with the personal possessions of the deceased, such as clothing, blankets,
saddles, and weapons, and over all are heaped brush and stones. Formerly a
man's horse was killed near his grave, and sometimes as many as three or
four horses were similarly sacrificed at different places. In former times
also the _kozhan_ was burned after the burial, and members of the family
cut their hair as a sign of mourning. The souls of the dead are believed
to rise skyward. In one portion of the sky, among vast herds of buffalo,
all those who have met death in battle assemble, rich and happy; in
another part, those who have succumbed to sickness and old age. The evil,
or those who have practised witchcraft, have a place apart from the rest.
Between the latter and the spirits of the good stands a high rock wall at
which the evil ones are condemned to dig for eternity in an effort to
reach the happier home. Spirits can work only in darkness, and the work of
the night is ever brought to naught by recurring daylight.
[Illustration: A Jicarilla Feast March]