Table Of Content

Beliefs and Holy Places Beliefs and Holy Places A Spiritual Geography of the Pimerfa Alta James S. Griffith The University ofA rizona Press Tucson The University of Arizona Press Copyright © 1992 Arizona Board of Regents All Rights Reserved @l This book is printed on acid-free, archival-quality papPI. Manufactured in the United States of America 08 07 06 05 04 03 8 7 6 5 4 3 Library ot Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Griffith, James S. Beliefs and holy places: a spiritual geography of the Pimeria Alta / James S. Griffith. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8165-1261-2 (alk. paper) ISBN 0-8165-1407-0 (pbk.: alk. paper) 1. Pimerfa Alta (Mexico and Ariz.)-Religious life and customs. 2. Shrines-Pimeria Alta (Mexico and Ariz.). 3. Religion and geography. I. Title. BL2527.S68G75 1992 91-26425 291.3'5'097217 -dc20 CIP British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Contents List of Illustrations vi Acknowledgments vii Introduction xi 1. Meeting la Corua 3 2. A Mountain and a Shrine 14 3. A Saint and His People 31 4. Native Christianities 67 5. The Presence of the Dead 100 6. Places of Thanks and Petition 130 7. Art: Our Created Landscape 147 8. Some Final Thoughts 172 Notes 181 References 193 Index 205 v Illustrations Baboquivari Mountain 16 The Children's Shrine 23 San Francisco Xavier, Magdalena, Sonora 33 San Francisco, San Xavier Mission 46 Chapel altar at Chuwhiy Guwsk, Sonora 53 San Francisco Xavier Chapel, Palo Verde Stands 91 Altar of San Francisco Xavier Chapel, Palo Verde Stands 92 Roadside crosses for Father Ignacio de la Torre, Nogales 102 El Tiradito 106 Shrine to the Virgin Mary 132 Main Retablo, San Xavier Mission 149 San Xavier Mission from the southeast 152 vi Acknowledgments Any book whose scope is this broad is of necessity the collaborative work of many people. Few of my trips of learning in the Pimeria Alta have been made alone; a comprehensive list of all my compan-: ions, guides, and mentors would be impracticable to compile. How ever, certain names stand out, one in particular. Richard Morales has traveled long with me and taught me much. Companion on numer ous trips in Sonora and Arizona, he shared my search for information concerning fa corua and Juan Soldado, and has greatly increased my understanding of San Francisco. Much that is accurate and respect ful in this book is due to my long association with this good man. I first heard of la corna from Olga Ruiz of lmuris, Sonora. Pete Castillo of Marana, and Carmen Villa Prezelski, Luuis Armando Sa lazar, and Tom Sheridan of Tucson all shared their knowledge of that huge serpent. Barre T oelken of Utah State University suggested par allels between 0'o dham lore about snakes and sucking monsters and similar beliefs from elsewhere in Native North America. Danny Lopez of Big Fields Village and Blaine Juan of San Simon have increased my understanding of O'odham traditions. Willard Anita, then chairman of Gu Achi District, took time from a busy schedule to escort me to the Children's Shrine and explain that sa cred place to me. Ethnobotanist Gary Nabhan shared information concerning the nehbig, as well as other valuable ideas. Julian Hay- vii Acknowledgments den of Tucson gave me much to think about concerning various kinds of shrines, both in Pima country and on the far western desert. I have had many good companions on my trips to Magdalena. Among these, Bernard Fontana, Lee Larson, Charles Polzer, S.J., John Schaefer, Frank Urquides, and Antonio Federico stand out in my memory. Gary Nabhan and anthropologists Bob Thomas and Tom Sheridan discussed their experiences at Chuwhiy Guwsk with me. Father Keiran McCarty, O.F.M., helped me with historical details. Artura Carrillo Strong enlightened me on the uses of certain printed prayers. Charles Carrillo and Yvonne Lange of Santa Fe enlightened me on problems of iconography concerning both San Francisco and the Santo Nino de Atocha. Diane L. Stevens of the Taylor Museum at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center sent me a photograph of that institution's copy of the Currier and Ives print of San Francisco. Helena E. Wright of the Division of Graphic Arts of the National Museum of American History explained the dating of Currier and Ives prints. My compadre Peter Morse of Honolulu provided advice and assistance as well. The late Ted Rios of San Xavier Village accompanied me on many visits to churches and chapels on the Papago Reservation. He taught me much, limited only by my imperfect ability to learn. Dan iel Matson generously shared his memories of the desert missions in the 1940s and took a memorable trip to Gunsight village with me. The late Fathers Lambert Fremdling, O.F.M., Regis Rohder, O.F.M., and Theodore Williges, O.F.M., took time from their vital work in the early 1970s to tell me of the churches they had built twenty years before. Bernard Fontana served as director of that long ago dissertation and has been friend, neighbor, and field companion ever since. Lalo Guerrero and a host of others have told me stories of el Tiradito. Randall Legler remembered for me how the shrine looked in the 1920s, and Jim Elliott introduced me to some early written descriptions. Pete Castillo, Ramon Machado, Richard Morales, and Antonio Federico are among those who have shared their knowl edge of ghosts and el Tejano with me. Margaret Redondo shared her family traditions of the seige of Caborca. viii Acknowledgments I have had many companions on my trips of investigation into the baroque art and architecture of Sonora. The late Tom Naylor, Bernard Fontana, Leah and Oscar Ward, Ed and Mary Catherine Ronstadt, Father Charles Polzer, S.l, Mardith Schuetz-Miller, and many other companions of the Southwest Missions Research Cen·· ter's Kino Mission Tours have contributed much. Robert Quinn of the University of Arizona Art Department introduced me to the glo ries of the baroque styles of New Spain, and Arquitecto Jorge Olvera of Mexico City took me ever farther toward an understanding of those vital styles. The late Edward Spicer of the University of Arizona taught me much by word and action. His hand is on all my work in-subtle ways. Anyone who works in the folklore of Southern Arizona owes an incalculable debt to Frances Gillmor who founded the Arizona Folk lore Archive and to Byrd Howell Granger who continued it through the 1960s and 1970s, and to many students and other collectors who have enriched that wonderful resource over the years. I espe cially wish to mention Doris Seibold of Patagonia, whose collected legends of Santa Cruz County provide a perfect starting place for any further study in the region. Acknowledgment must also be made of the many people of Arizona and Sonora who have taken time to help all these amateur and professional folklorists, for without them there would be neither archive nor book. Donna Howell accompanied me on fieldtrips to Sonora, the Pa pagueria, and elsewhere in Arizona, and introduced me to the Rin con and Leon Ranch cemeteries. She edited the first versions of this manuscript and gave much good advice, some of which was heeded. Bernard Fontana and the late Robert K. Thomas, both anthro pologists at the University of Arizona, read the manuscript and offered valuable suggestions. My wife Lorna and my children Kelly and David shared much of the fieldwork and its attendant inconve niences for more than twenty years. Each has taken an active interest in the work and contributed to it. John Shaefer generously allowed me to use his photographs. All these people and others whom I have not named contributed much that is of value within these pages; any errors of fact and in terpretation are my own. IX