The Hualapai (Walapai) are a Yuman-speaking group who once occupied a large portion of northwestern Arizona. The northern boundary of the territory was formed by the rugged canyons of the Colorado River. To the west of their traditional homeland were the Mojave, a group with whom they had hostile relations. To the south were the Yavapai, another Yuma-speaking group, but the two groups were generally hostile with each other.
The designation Hualapai is a corruption of their native name Hah-wah-lah-pai-yah which means “pine tree people.” In English the name is also spelled Walapai.
The traditional Hualapai homeland was relatively rich in plant and animal resources. Important plant foods included prickly pear, saguaro, barrel cactus, agave cactus, mesquite, paloverde, and creosote bush. The Hualapai gathered the berries of juniper (Juniperus osteosperma) and sumac (Rhus trilobata) which were crushed, soaked in water, and then drunk. The animals which they harvested included rabbits, deer, antelope, and mountain sheep.
The Walapai were divided politically into three subtribes: Middle Mountain People in the northwest, Yavapai Fighters in the south, and Plateau People in the east. Each of these groups was made up of several bands. There were 13 Hualapai bands, and each was named for an important geographic feature in their area.
With regard to Hualapai social organization, Thomas McGuire, in his chapter in the Handbook of North American Indians, reports:
“For most of the year, several families cooperated economically, and resided together in camps. Numbering about 25 persons, each camp recognized a headman, who offered advice, made decisions necessary to coordinate subsistence activities, and admonished children.”
The position of headman was inherited from the father if the sons showed that they had the needed leadership qualities, which included wisdom and bravery.
Thomas McGuire also reports:
“During temporary periods of abundant resources, all camps of a band resided together under the leadership of a chief, drawn from the ranks of the local headmen.”
During the summer, the Hualapai built shelters similar to the Apache wickiup: branches and leaves would be laid against a low tree limb or a small frame of branches. During the winter, they lived in semipermanent houses. These houses were roughly 14 feet long and covered with a domed roof which was thatched with arrowwood or covered with Juniper bark. In his book, Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes, Carl Waldman describes Hualapai housing this way:
“They lived in domed huts of poles, brush, thatch and earth, as well as more temporary brush wickiups similar to those of the Apache who lived southeast of them.”
Like many other tribes, particularly the Yuman-speaking groups, there was no formal marriage ceremony. Divorce was frequent and easy. Incompatibility, jealousy, and adultery were the most frequent reasons for divorce.
Shamanism was an important part of Hualapai culture. Thomas McGuire reports:
“The spirit of a deceased relative alerted the prospective shaman to his calling through a series of dreams. A candidate might then bolster his power by allying himself with the resident spirits of geographical features in Walapai territory. Thus prepared, the shaman began to operate in the realm of curative medicine.”
Among the Hualapai, the dead were traditionally cremated along with their possessions. The souls of the dead departed for the ancestral land of Tudjupa in the west. The practice of cremation, however, was stopped by the U.S. Army in the nineteenth century as the United States required Christian burials.
The dead were commemorated each year with the Nemitiawak, mourning ceremony whose name can be translated as “meet to cry.” The springtime ceremony involves three days of feasting. This is followed with eulogies and death songs. The ceremony ends with a great fire in which new clothing and other items are burned as a way of sending them to the dead.
Indians 101
Twice each week Indians 101 explores various American Indian topics. More tribal overviews from this series:
Indians 101: A Very Short Overview of the Caddo Indians
Indians 101: A Very Short Overview of the Ottawa Indians
Indians 101: A Brief Overview of the Omaha Indians
Indians 101: A Very Short Overview of the O'odham Indians
Indians 101: A Short Overview of the Western Apache
Indians 101: A Very Brief Overview of California's Achumawi Indians
Indians 101: The Lenni Lenape
Indians 101: The Duwamish Indians
