Osprey
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Pericue Indians of Baja Sur
Interview with a Pericue
The southernmost Indian tribe of Baja California were the Pericue. I’ve been wanting to learn more about them ever since I heard of them so each trip
down the peninsula I keep my ears open for stories and clues. Recent discoveries point to them as unique because they have characteristics closer akin
to far-eastern people than the other Baja California tribes whose DNA says they walked down here from California and Arizona – links all the northern
tribes to the Bering Bridge arrival.
I got an earful from the bartender at the Sol Y Mar in Solidad north of Cabo San Lucas. He said his great-grandfather still lived at the old family
rancho in the mountains nearby. The old man talked a lot about the Pericue who made their camps above Santiago when he was just a kid. For a few bucks
the bartender, Loreto, (who I guessed was way too young to be tending bar) would take me up there so I could find out more from the old rancher. I
couldn’t pass this up so I made a deal with him on the spot and two days later he pulled up in front of the hotel in an old blue Chevy pickup.
I gave him money for gas, the ice, beer, pop and candy in the cooler. Two of the tires were damn near bald, the spare was slick. Slick or not they
carried us up a winding mountain road past a sometimes stream, small ranches, water tanks and mango groves. At our destination Loreto honked the horn
at the wire gate but nobody appeared so he just unhooked it, threw it aside, drove in and parked near the main house. It was big and dilapidated. The
rusted out old hulk of a pickup could be seen beside the house – some pea-hens and chickens pecked around, I could hear goat’s bells ringing
somewhere, no cows or horses that I could see. Loreto jumped out, went in the house and came out a couple of minutes later followed by an old man who
could barely walk.
The young man pointed a thumb at his bisabuelo. “Siesta.” He said.
We pulled up some chairs under the bamboo shade shakily attached to the front of the house.
Loreto introduced his great-grandfather, Nicola, we all opened a cold beer and I got out my pad and pen.
I took Spanish in college but just for one year and I don’t get a chance to use it much at the fishing resorts because most of the help speaks
English.
The bartender explained to the old man the kind of information I was after; anything he could remember about the local tribe, its whereabouts, the
people, the culture, cultural quirks, the size of the clan or tribe, how they lived, what happened to them.
“Aqui. Vivio aqui, en esta rancho.”
“Wow, here? They lived right here? Wow! Loreto, ask him how many were here – you know, just a few or a big clan.”
“Phillip, I don’t think the old man is telling it straight. As far as I know this little rancho has been home to my family for several generations,
maybe as long as 150 years. They might have let the Indios hang around here, especially during or after a chubasco but they wouldn’t let them actually
live here. I’ll ask him again.”
Loreto asked the old man again and in more complete terms. The old man insisted the Indians lived here at the ranch. The older man took a sip of his
beer, studied Loreto, pondered his question and began again, gesturing, pointing around the place at things seen, like the ramshackle corral along the
canyon cliffside and things unseen now that, I suppose, did not last through the ages.
While they continued to argue I interrupted “Loreto, lets get back to that later. Ask him how many – how many adults, men vs women, how many
children.”
“Viente, o mas, en vezes.”
Loreto started to speak but I cut him off “I got it. I speak a little Spanish. It might speed things up if I just motion to you when I need some
translation, some help. He said twenty or more, at times? Is that right?”
“Yeah, twenty.”
“See if he remembers the last one. See if he remembers a name, the last Pericue around here. How long ago? What happened to him or her?”
Loreto asked, got the answer and just started shaking his head, smiling, looking exasperated. He stood up, dusted off the seat of his jeans, walked
off the porch, came back up again.
“This is not working. He’s very old. He’s losin’ it. He says he’s a Pericue. He says I am too. He’s nuts, loco. I’ve known Nicola all my life. He’s my
bisabuelo, my great-grandfather. My bisabuela, Gora, died young. She’s buried over there in the pantheon. He said his mother, sounded like Beta or
maybe Veta, was Indio, Pericue. I’m Mexicano, puro Mexicano, I’m no Indian. That would make my whole family Indians. No way, Jose. Maybe this was a
bad idea. Maybe we should just leave, leave the old man to his crazy dreams, crazy talk.”
We did. We also left the old man some beer and pop. I thanked him as graciously as I knew how, shook his hand and remembered to say muy amable.
As Loreto and I bounced back down the dusty canyon road I wrote down the family name, his great-grandfather’s name, Nicola, the old man’s dead wife’s
name, Gora, his dad, mom, granddad and grandmother, the name of the rancho, Abundancia, and the canyon name, San Isador. He didn’t offer to return any
of the money I gave him but he kept apologizing about what the old man had told us. I told him not to worry about it, that it was interesting all the
same and worth every penny just to get a feeling for the mountains, the people, just to get away from the resort area for awhile.
This Indian stuff is just a hobby for me but not for Don Phelps. Don works for me at Webwest Designs in San Francisco. He still has a hand in his
chosen field of Paleontology, still hangs with his old Paleo pals from Stanford. After I got caught up with my work after the short Baja Break we met
a couple of times after work and with his laptop he danced the dance that became a short but interesting paper. From that document I made a CD, mailed
it to Loreto at the hotel to his attention.
Dear Loreto,
I know you’re certain your great-grandfather is mistaken about your heritage. I also know you are proud of your Mexican heritage. Either way you can
be proud of your forebears. For the record your bisabuelo carries the name of a famous Priest who spent some time at a pueblo nearest Rancho
Abundancia, Santiago. His name was Nicolá Tamaral and it is plausible your great-grandfather was named in his honor by his family. Friar Nocolá
Tamaral founded a mission at the Pericue settlement known as Añuiti near what is now San Jose del Cabo. He was killed by the Indians and the mission
was destroyed only to be later rebuilt and moved as storms caused so much damage they had to go inland for protection.
Maybe you and I will never know the real truth but should you discover your forebears carry the blood of the Pericue you should feel no sense of
shame, only pride. You see your genes arising from the union of Hernan Cortes and La Malinche, Spanish and Mestizo, then blood of the rich and
romantic mix of a parade of proud and robust Europeans, Amerindians and Latinos. If these particular Indians found their way to your lineage you can
count yourself lucky and unique.
One of my Employees, a Paleontologist has studied the Pericue Indians and has written extensively about theories of their origin and ancestry. What
you have been told were smelly, naked lizard eaters may once have been people who had many skills and traveled widely spreading humanity around The
Americas.
He says, and I quote:
They did not walk from Asia to North America over the Bering Land Bridge.
They could be the First North Americans.
They could be the First Americans.
They could have made their first voyages to The Americas as long as 50,000 years ago in rafts and boats.
They would have many names – they would not have been known as Pericue.
They might have been hired to build rafts and ships for huge, advanced empires.
They may have been enslaved by some to build vessels and to carry their captors over vast stretches of ocean.
You have my E address and if you’re interested I can give you some reference material from Don’s files so you can run the chain of fairly recent
discoveries and draw your own conclusions.
In the meantime, take care and I’ll probably see you next summer.
Phil Hayes
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Neal Johns
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Great post! I vote this as the most interesting of 2008, so far.
My motto:
Never let a Dragon pass by without pulling its tail!
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shari
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Mood: there is no reality except the one contained within us "Herman Hesse"
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I too am fasincated by the indigeneous cultures here and try to talk to as many as the elders as I can to hear their stories. If you get a
chance...talk to Jose in San Borja...he is the last remaining person there with native bloodline and has lots of great stories! Gracias amigo for this
one.
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Neal Johns
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And it helps that Jose in San Borja (in the house next to the Mission) is friendly. The whole family is great. Little English spoken.
My motto:
Never let a Dragon pass by without pulling its tail!
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Osprey
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Thanks Neal and Shari, Bajalera is writing a book about the Baja Indians so I don't want to upstage her serious work with my little fiction pieces --
I'll just say we know a whole lot about the Pericue of the last few hundred years. The trail is leading back a long ways and it now appears people
with very similar characteristics might well have travelled/peopled the Americas in wave after wave from the sea. The rock painters may have been some
of those waves beginning 7,500 years ago-- they were tourists. Nobody, but nobody could live around Cataviña for 7 millenia. That means no Californio
alive today could possibly shed light on anything about these early seafarers.
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oxxo
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My understanding is that the Pericue had a direct DNA link to Polynesians. The best guess is that they came from what we know today as Hawai'i.
The route from Hawai'i is still used today. Sailboats returning from Hawai'i following the Pacific High with favorable winds from astern that take
them to the West Coast of the US/Canada. The trip down the west coast to Baja is an easy one during the winter months and one that I have repeated in
my own boat.
And Shari the indigenous tribes of Washington State and western Canada also have direct links to Polynesians in both DNA and culture...not the least
of which are the carved totems which bear an uncanny resemblance to Polynesian "tiki god" carvings as well as the Morae on Easter Island.
Fascinating stuff.
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shari
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Mood: there is no reality except the one contained within us "Herman Hesse"
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I'll bear witness to that Oxxo...makes sense. They are the greatest seafarers. the bear clan rocks! There is a village in clayoquot sound on FLores
Island called Ahousat is commonly referred to as mexico. the natives there are short and totally look mexicano plus it is a protected sunny village
with nice warm weather. They all loved the pictures of mexican people I showed them and laughed and smiled big smiles and said they were their
hermanos. I really see the simiilarity in cultures. Often people ask me how do I cope living in the mexican culture....after living on native reserves
on the northwest coast its not much of a stretch living in coastal baja...just a different language but very similar lifestyles....viva short brown
amigos!!!!!
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woody with a view
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great stuff Osprey and Lera.
now, if i could just get the stones to have Isreal, my friend the pangeuro take me to the coastal cave with the 7 "small skeletons". he says they
don't have elongated skulls like an "indio". how would he know? says he was educated in ensenada so maybe he is drawing from a memory of a history
book? he says there is nothing else in the cave to give any clue or a timeline. could they be the bones of spaniards who came ashore way back when to
bury their youngsters?
he also tells of a huge rock with a "bore hole?" or in his words, "a round opening in the middle of the face" with fresh, sweet water running 24/7 up
in the mountains.....he says its a sacred place.
and there are more stories/legends. the best stories are handed down because there is a grain of truth in them and the details may vary but the gist
of it never wavers.
maybe next time, amigo....some day...some day...
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bacquito
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Great reading!! National Geographic recently had an article in its monthly publication arbout the seafaing Polynesians.
bacquito
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baja Steve
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I have worked with a lot of the local’s in the mountains around that area and north of there. We have been told stories several times by different
people of the Pericue’s. but never probed into them other then the stories. Will be back in that area the middle of December and now I will ask a lot
more questuions.
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oxxo
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| Quote: | Originally posted by baja Steve
Will be back in that area the middle of December and now I will ask a lot more questuions. |
Here is a question I often ponder. Palm trees are not indigenous to Baja. Most references indicate that the Spaniards introduced the palm tree to
southern Baja, the habitat of the Pericue. I believe that is true as far as the ubiquitous Washingtonia Palm is concerned. But what about the
Coconut Palms? Where did they come from? They are not indigenous to Spain. Did the Spaniards introduce coconuts to Baja from the West Indies? Or
did the seafaring Polynesians bring them along on their ocean voyages for both a snack food and water supply? Whichever the case, Coconut Palms found
an ideal climate in southern Baja where sources of underground fresh water, even brackish water, were found.
I love researching this stuff.
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vivaloha
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Osprey-
wow...you really add depth and quality to this forum...thanks for your sharing your studies.
I drove the mountain pass from Hwy 19 to near Santiago - kind of an alternate route to the
east side middle just north of the airport - and it was verdant, flowing streams, boulders, all
kinds of foliage and I just kept thinking to myself, this place is like Indian Paradise up here...
There can be a real lushness to the baja in that lower quadrant and I do imagine Indian life
was substantial...Keep up the writing...you've got my wheels turning...many thanks - vivaloha
Baja California can be a heaven or hell experience - often the determining factor is your AWARENESS in the moment.
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ayeman
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every spring we drive up to La Paz for carnival. as any one who has been there knows, thousands of people come in from the outlying rural areas. we
often see families of very short (4' to 5') indio people dressed in their traditional clothing which is very colorful and unique. are these people
pericue ? anyone know? keep up the thread. it is definitely the years best so far.
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David K
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Yes... wonderful the history of Baja California is!
Thanks Osprey!
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oxxo
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| Quote: | Originally posted by ayeman
we often see families of very short (4' to 5') indio people dressed in their traditional clothing which is very colorful and unique. are these people
pericue ? |
My understanding is that there are no surviving Pericue. And according to Spanish accounts, the tribe of Southern Baja (the Pericue) were both
physically and culturally different than the tribes of Central and Northern Baja. The Pericue were taller, more robust, and lighter skinned than
their neighbors to the north who resembled the tribes from the mainland - short (4' to 5'), dark, and slight of build. According to Spanish and
mission accounts the Pericue did not mingle with the tribes to the north and pretty much stuck to themselves, they had ver little in common with them
because of very different traditions, language, and narrative histories.
Here is a short article that adds a bit more information:
http://pweb.jps.net/~dlaylander/doc.belding.htm
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oxxo
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Here is another link that gives a glimpse of the fascinating nature of the Pericue.
http://www.crystalinks.com/pericues.html
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motoged
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Neal Johns
And it helps that Jose in San Borja (in the house next to the Mission) is friendly. The whole family is great. Little English spoken.
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Neal,
I don't remember his name, but a young man (late teens - early 20's) who lives at San Borja kindly offers great information in quite good English.
The mission is not difficult to get to either from the main highway or from the Bay of L.A. road .
Ged
Don't believe everything you think....
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bajalera
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Hey, Osprey, I'm an admirer of your stories and hope they'll continue. Everybody else's stories as well.
The Melanesians credited with being ancestors of the Pericu in the early 1900s, who were black with nappy hair, have in recent years been transformed
into Polynesians, and this has given us parade floats with dancing girls wearing grass skirts and a couple of coconut shells. More attractive, by a
long shot, than the clothes historic Pericu women wore.
Those little people in the bright costumes somebody noticed at Carnival, though, are usually Oaxacans from the "other side."
Eventually someone will find a way to date and identify an affiliation for the long-headed skulls of the Las Palmas people. And take all the fun out
of guessing!
\"Very few things happen at the right time, and the rest never happen at all. The conscientious historian will correct these defects.\" -
Mark Twain
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Neal Johns
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Motoged,
That sounds like Jose's son. I have not been there for a few years, but then he was acting as a guide and picking up some English. His great
grandfather was an Englishman that jumped ship.
Neal
My motto:
Never let a Dragon pass by without pulling its tail!
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Iflyfish
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Mrsfish and I spent a week in Bella Coola on the coast of British Columbia. Amazing place and people. We spent a day exploring petroglyphs with a
native Nuxalk who sang Nuxalk songs with us and explained the rock carvings. We spent another day with a Nuxalk totem pole carver. He told us how a
native Mouri came to Bella Coola and said that their petroglyphs were the same as those found outside Bella Coola and that they consider the Mouri to
be cousins.
Bella Coola (known to its own speakers as Nuxalk) is a Salishan language of the Northwest Coast. Two hundred native people still speak Nuxalk in
British Columbia today. We were honored to spend a day with one of them.
Two studies of art in the Pacific area: The protruding tongue and related motifs in the art styles of the American Northwest Coast, New Zealand and
China [by] Mino Badner. A note on relations between the art styles of the Maori and of ancient China [by] R 1966
I have not read the text but there is a link between Mouri, Nuxalk and Chinese art motifs in petroglyphs and totem poles.
Here is a link to the totem pole raising ceremony in Bella Coola at the school and also a piece on the visit of the Mouri king to Vancouver, BC.
The link between Polynesia and the new world is well established.
Iflyfish
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