Opinion

Nakia Zavalla: Chumash Tribe seeks to protect our sacred places

Thursday, March 3, 2011

"At the end of last year our tribe commemorated the winter solstice with a ceremony that included traditional songs, prayers and celebration.

Celebrations that usher in a new season are not new to our tribe. John Peabody Harrington, an American linguist, ethnologist and a specialist in California tribes, noted a conversation with Maria Solares, a Santa Ynez Chumash ancestor, about such events.

As I’ve mentioned in previous columns, Harrington gathered more than one million pages of notes on tribes and when the technology became available, he supplemented his written documents with audio recordings — first using wax cylinders, then aluminum discs. Among the many conversations Harrington recorded with Maria Solares was a discussion about the Chumash tribe’s winter solstice ceremony.

She told Harrington that the winter solstice is one of the special times of the year for Chumash people. She said that ancestors would go to sacred areas and erect feather poles made with the finest magpie and eagle feathers. The feathers were placed on top of the feather pole and they also strung three different kinds of beads on a string and used tar to wrap it at the base of the pole.

The best dancer was selected to dance with the feather pole in a blessing ritual. She told Harrington that the elders said the sun returns and on the night of the fiesta, the crier announces the sun’s return.

While our winter solstice celebration was an elder’s luncheon held at our Tribal Hall, in the days of our ancestors, celebrations were often held at sacred sites, or shrines."

Get the Story:
Nakia Zavalla: Honoring sacred Chumash places (The Solvang Valley News 3/3)