Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 12.djvu/130

 PIMA

100

PIMA

caravans in Arabia, fails to take the data of the Bible into consideration.

Palis, in Vigodboux. Diet, de la Bib., a. v. Colonne de Nuee; and commentaries on the texts cited.

F. Bechtel.

Pima Indians, an important tribe of southern ."Vri- zona, centring along the Middle Gila and its affluent, the Salt River. Linguistically they belong to the Piman branch of the widely-extended Shoshonean stock, and their language, with dialectic variation, is the same as that spoken also by the Pdpago and ex- tinct Sobaipuri of southern Arizona, and by the Nevome of Sonora, Mexico. In Spanish times the tribes of the Arizona group were known collectively as Pimas Altos (Upper Pima), while those of Sonora were distinguished a,s Pimas Bajos (Lower Pima), the whole territory being kno«Ti as the Pimeria. The tribal name Pima is a corruption of their own word for "no", mistaken by the early missionaries for a proper name. They call themselves, simply 'Aatam, "people", or sometimes for distinction 'Aatam- akim^lt, "river-people". Notwithstanding their im- portance as a tribe, the Pima have not been prominent in history, owing to their remoteness from military and missionary activity during the Spanish period, and to their almost unbroken peaceable attitude towards the whites. It was at one time claimed that they were the authors of the ruined pueblos in their country, notably the celebrated Casa Grande, but later investigation confirms the statement recorded by Father Garet^s as early as 1780 that they were built by a previous people connected with the Hopi.

The real history of the Pima may be said to begin with the German Jesuit missionary explorer, Father Eusebio Kino (Kiihn), who in 10S7 estab- lished a mission headquarters at Dolores, near the present Cucurpe, northern Sonora, Mexico, from which point until his death in 1711 he covered the whole Pimeria in his missionary labours. In 1(394, led by Indian re])orts of massive ruins in the far north, he penetrated alone to the Gila, and said Mass in the Casa Grande. In 1097 he accompanied a military explora- tion of the Pima country, under Lieutenant Bernal and Captain Mange, baptizing nearly a hundred In- dians. In 1701 he made the earliest map of the Gila region. He found the Pima and their cousins the Pdpago most anxious for teachers. "They were, above all, desirous of being formed into regular mis- sion communities, with resident padres of their own; and at many rancherias they built rude but neatly cared-for churches, planted fields, and tended herds of live stock in patient waiting for missionaries, who, in most cases, never came" (Bancroft). From 1736 to 1750 Fathers Keller and Sedelmair several times visited the Pima, but no missions were established in their country, although a number of the tribe attached themselves to the Pdpago missions. The revolt of the southern tribes in 1750 caused a suspension of the work, but the missions were resumed some years later and continued under increasing difficulties until the expulsion of the Jesuits in 1767, at which time the whole number of neophytes in Arizona, chiefly Pdpago, was about 1200. In the next year the Ari- zona missions were turned over to Franciscans of the College of Queretaro, who continued the work with some success in spite of constant inroads of the Apache. Although details are wanting, it is probable that the number of neophytes increased. The most noted of these later workers was Father Francisco Garces, in charge of the Pdpago at San Xavier del Bac (1768-70). In 1828, by decree of the revolutionary government of Mexico, all the missions were confis- cated, the Spanish priests expelled, and all Christian- izing effort came to an end.

.Vbout 1840 the Pima were strengthened by the Maricopa from the lower Gila, who moved up to

escape the attacks of the Yuma, the common enemy of both. Both tribes continue to live in close alhance, although of entirely different language and origin. Their relations with the United States Government began in 1846, when General Kearney's expedition entered their territory, and met with a friendly recep- tion. Other expeditions stopped at their villages within the next few years, all meeting with kind treat- ment. With the influx of the California gold hunters about 1850 there set in a long period of demoraliza- tion, with frequent outrages by the whites which several times almost provoked an outbreak. In 1850 and 1857 the hostile Yuma were defeated. The .\pache raids were constant and destructive until the final subjugation of that tribe by the Government. In all the Apache campaigns since 1864 the Pima have served as willing and efficient scouts. In 1857 a non-resident agent was appointed, and in 1859 a reservation was surveyed for the two tribes, and SIO.OOO in goods distributed among them as a recog- nition of past services. In 1870 the agency was estab- lished at Sacaton on the reservation, since which time they have been regularly under Government super- vision. The important problem of irrigation, upon which the future prosperity of the tribes depends, is now in process of satisfactory solution by the Govern- ment. As a body the Indians are now civilized, in- dustrious as farmers and labourers, and largely Chris- tian, divided between Presbyterian and Catholic. Presbyterian work was begun in 1870. The CathoUcs re-entered the field shortly afterwards, and have now a flourishing mission school, St. John Baptist, at Gila Crossing, built in 1899, in charge of Franciscan Fathers, with several small chapels, and a total Cath- olic population of 600 in the two tribes, including fifty Maricopa. The 5000 or more Pdpago attached to the same agency have been practically all Catholic from the Jesuit period.

In their primitive condition the Pima were agricul- tural and sedentary, living in villages of lightly-built dome-shaped houses, occujiied usually by a single family each, and cultivating \>y the help of irrigation large crops of corn, beans, pumpkins, and native cot- ton, from which the women sinin the siniijle clothing, consisting of a breech-cloth and head-band for the man, and a short skirt for the women, with sandals or moccasins for special occasion and a buckskin shirt in extreme cold weather. They also prepared clothing fabrics from the inner bark of the willow. The heav- ier labour of cultivation was assumed by the men. Besides their cultivated foods, they made use of the fruit of the sagnaro cactus, from which also they pre- pared the intoxicating tizwin, and the mesquite bean, besides the ordinarj' game of the country. They painted and tattooed their faces and wore their hair at full length. The women were not good potters, but they excelled as basket makers. Their arms were the bow, the club, and the shield, fighting always on foot. Their allies were the Pdpago and Maricopa, their enemies the Apache and Yuma. The killing of an enemy was followed by an elaborate purification cere- mony closing with a victory dance. There was a head tribunal chief, with subordinate village chiefs. Po- lygamy was allowed, but not frequent. Descent was in the male line. Unlike Indians generally, they had large families and welcomed twins. Also unlike their neighbours, they buried in the ground instead of cre- mating their dead. Deformed infants were killed at birth, as were also in later times the infants born of white or Mexican fathers. They had, and still re- tain, many songs of ceremony, war, hunting, gaming, love, medicine, and of childhood.

According to their elaborate genesis myth, the earth was formed by "Earth Doctor", who himself evolved from a dense cloud of darkness. He made the plants and animals, and a race of never-dying humans, who by their increase so crowded the earth that he