The aboriginal territory of the Chumash was in the vicinity of present-day Santa Barbara, California. Their territory included three of the eight Channel Islands. According to the oral history of the Chumash, all of the people originally lived on Santa Cruz Island.
The Chumash were one of the largest Indian nations of California prior to the European invasion. They lived in large, permanent villages. The highly structured Chumash society was divided into a professional class and a workers’ class. The workers class included centuries-old basket-making and canoe-making guilds.
Language
At the present time, the Chumash language is considered to be a linguistic isolate within California. While Chumash has often been placed in the Hokan language family, linguists Kathryn Klar and Terry Jones, in an article in Anthropological Linguistics, report:
“Subsequent research, however, has not demonstrated a particular affinity of Chumashan languages with any of the other so-called Hokan languages, nor with any other known language group.”
Some linguists feel that Chumash may be a descendent of the oldest languages in California.
The Chumashan language group may have consisted of at least seven languages and are generally divided into three groups: Northern Chumash, Island Chumash, and Southern Chumash. These languages were once spoken by 10,000 people. Northern Chumash is profoundly different from the other groups. Linguists Kathryn Klar and Terry Jones propose the Proto-Chumash divided into Northern Chumash and Southern Chumash; Southern Chumash later divided into Island Chumash and Central Chumash.
Over a period of at least 2,000 years, Central Chumash developed into four languages: Purisimeño, Ineseño, Barbareño, and Ventureño. Island Chumash divided into three languages: Cruzeño, Roseño, and Migueleño.
Water Transport
In the Santa Barbara Channel area, the Chumash made plank canoes, called tomol. In an article in Archaeology, Blake Edgar writes:
“For the Chumash people, who inhabited the southern California coast as well as several islands across the Santa Barbara Channel, the sewn-plank canoe, or tomol, anchored both their identity and economy.”
In her chapter in The Oxford Handbook of North American Archaeology Jennifer Perry writes:
“Stitching and gluing planks of redwood and pine together, the Chumash assembled ocean-going watercraft that were used for trade, transportation, and offshore fishing. Tomols required greater labor investment than other boat technologies; each one entailed approximately six months of effort by an experienced group of boat makers, as well as large quantities of driftwood, cordage, asphaltum, pine pitch, and chert drills.”
These canoes were about 25 feet in length, 3-4 feet wide, and about 3 feet in depth. To make a canoe, planks were split from driftwood logs and then soaked for hours in boiling water to make them pliable. The planks used in these canoes were tied on all four sides by sewing rough drilled holes with waxed milkweed twine. The bow and stern of the canoe were elevated which made landing in the surf easier. The canoe was caulked with asphaltum which was applied hot. Finally, the canoe was sanded with sharkskin and sealed with red ocher. The bow was decorated with white seashells. The canoes held 8-12 people.
With its higher sides the tomol is seaworthy in open water and it has a large carrying capacity. They were used for hauling cargo as well as serving as offshore fishing platforms. They are relatively easy to paddle, and a crew can maintain a speed of six to eight knots in calm conditions.
The Chumash tomols wove the coastal and island villages together into a system of trade, travel, and fishing. With these ocean-going boats the Chumash voyaged to the Channel Islands, Santa Catalina Island, and San Nicolas Island (65 miles off-shore). The tomols were under the guidance of the Brotherhood of the Canoe, a kinship-based society. Those who owned tomols commanded wealth and prestige and they wore bearskin capes to mark their status.
The Chumash words for the sewn-plank canoes are not consistent with their own language, but instead appear to be of Polynesian origin. Terry Jones and Kathryn Klar (2005: 458) write:
“Southern California is the only place in Native North America where sewn-plank boat technology was present, yet this technique was common throughout Polynesia and it seems likely, in light of the linguistics, that the Chumash and Gabrielino learned the technique from Polynesian seafarers.”
In his book Indians, William Brandon reports:
“These plank canoes were unique in North America, and only known elsewhere in the hemisphere at a spot on the coast of Chile.”
Government
There was no single Chumash tribe, no governmental structure that united all of the Chumash villages. In terms of governmental structure, each village was an autonomous, self-governing unit. The designation Chumash refers to shared cultural elements. Jennifer Perry writes:
“Although specific villages were bound together through ceremonial obligations, marriages, and alliances, most operated independently from one another with respect to subsistence activities, political authority, and social identity. Chumash society is most commonly characterized as a simple chiefdom organized at the village level, with a few examples of paramount chiefs who exerted regional influence.”
The Chumash chief – called wot – was a position which was inherited through the patrilineal line—that is, it was inherited from the father. While Chumash leaders inherited their positions patrilineally, there were some instances in which daughters or sisters became chiefs.
The primary duties of the wot were caring for the elderly and the indigent. Larger Chumash communities, such as Syuhtun and Shisholop, had several wot whose duties included the assigning of hunting and gathering areas and making sure that supplies were set aside for special occasions, such as religious and social festivals.
The Chumash wot were assisted by special messengers –the ksen – and by ceremonial officials – the paxa. The paxa would oversee religious ceremonies such as the winter solstice rites and the fall acorn harvest festival.
Gambling
Gambling was a common activity among California Indians. There were a number of gambling games which involved dice and games which involved guessing which hand held a marked stick or bone. In his chapter on the Chumash in the Handbook of North American Indians , anthropologist Campbell Grant reports:
“The Chumash were great gamblers and the men were constantly wagering shell money, which they kept strung around their topknots.”
Winter Solstice
For the Chumash, the winter solstice was a particularly dangerous time as this was when they needed to restore harmony and balance to the world so that the sun would begin to move north again. During this time there were both public and private rituals which honored the dead and paid homage to the sun.
On the first day of the winter solstice ceremonies, all debts would be settled so that the new year would start fresh and clean.
On the second day of the ceremony, the sun was spiritually pulled to the north. To do this, a hole about 12-18 inches across would be dug in the plaza. About 3:00 PM a sunstick would be erected in this hole. Twelve dancers would circle the sunstick carrying feathers. The leader would then strike the sunstick twice to release its spiritual power and then he would give a ritual speech.
Chumash sunsticks were made with small disks of stone which were inserted in a shaft of wood. The stones were painted green or blue and would have a black crescent representing the moon. The sunstick as a whole represented the axis of the world.
That night the people would dance around the sunstick in a clockwise (sunwise) direction until mid-way through the night. At this time, they would reverse the direction and dance in a counter-clockwise direction. During the dance, a man could choose any woman, married or not, by singing to her. When his song was over, she would go with him to engage in sexual intercourse.
Healing
Among the Chumash there were many kinds of doctors. With regard to these different kinds of doctors, called ‘Antap in Chumash, James Adams and Frank Lemos, in an article in News from Native California, report:
“The ´Antap were the specialists in complex and dangerous medical procedures.”
One of the schools for the ´Antap was located at a lake known as Kashtuk in the Tejon Pass.
Among the Chumash, jimsonweed (Datura) was used as an anesthesia when setting bones. In addition, it might be ingested when treating bruises and wounds. In his chapter in Sacred Realms: Essays in Religion, Beliefs, and Society, John Baker reports:
“Datura was taken internally to ‘freshen the blood’ and to treat alcohol-induced hangovers (a post-contact innovation) and applied externally to treat hemorrhoids.”
John Baker also reports:
“It is clear that the Chumash use of Datura was based upon a thorough empirical knowledge of the effects of the plant.”
Specialists understood both the dosages needed to achieve different ends as well as the preparation and environmental factors which can influence outcomes.
Material Culture
Chumash houses were bowl-shaped structures made of poles and covered with thatched tules. In his 1925 book Handbook of the Indians of California, A. L. Kroeber describes the structure this way:
“The structure was hemispherical, made by planting willows or other poles in a circle and bending and tying them together at the top.”
The house diameters ranged from four to seven meters. Next to many of the houses were temascal, smaller dome-shaped structures covered with mud which were used as sweat houses.
The Chumash also manufactured the flat shell beads which were used as a form of currency throughout California. Dentalium beads are particularly important and show strong connections to the Indian people of the Northwest Coast.
According to the Museum display:
“The Chumash were well known for their finely woven basketry from a very early period. The early Spanish explorers and settlers admired and collected their baskets.”
With regard to clothing, Josephine Paterek, in her Encyclopedia of American Indian Costume, writes:
“Although nudity was prevalent in the warm climate, there was some use of warmer clothing for winter and an abundance of ceremonial attire, displaying considerable social significance.”
Josephine Paterek also reports:
“Men wore a wraparound buckskin kilt, when they wore anything.”
Bitumen
One of the substances gathered and used by the Chumash was bitumen, a naturally occurring type of tar from the Channel Islands. The Chumash used this as a kind of all-purpose glue. In an article in American Archaeology, Paula Neely reports:
“The Chumash gathered naturally occurring bitumen from numerous seeps throughout the islands. They used the gooey substance to waterproof canoes, line baskets used as water bottles, and to plug holes in shells that they used as food containers. They even chewed it.”
On the negative side, the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon toxins in the bitumen may have led to major health problems, such as cancer, damage to internal organs, and reproductive impairment. This may have also led to an overall decrease in Chumash stature of about four inches.
Bitumen was also used in clothing. Chumash women would often wear a skirt made of tule, sea grass, or shredded willow or sycamore bark. To hold the skirt down against the wind, they would attach small bitumen globules to the ends of the fibers.
Indians 101
Twice each week Indians 101 explores various American Indian topics. More tribal profiles from this series:
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Indians 101: A Very Short Overview of the Caddo Indians
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Indians 201: A short overview of the Duwamish Indians
Indians 101: A very short overview of the Havasupai Indians
Indians 101: A very short overview of the Hualapai Indians
Indians 101: A short overview of the Makah Indians
Indians 101: A Very Short Overview of the Mohave Indians