Tompiro Indians
Encyclopedia
The Tompiro Indians were Pueblo Indians living in New Mexico. They lived in several adobe villages east of the Rio Grande River Valley in the Salinas region of New Mexico. Their settlements were abandoned and they were absorbed into other Indian tribes in the 1670s.
Indians who lived to their west in the Rio Grande Valley. The Piro and Tompiro languages are believed by most authorities to belong to the Tanoan language family.
In the 16th century, the Tompiro lived in nine settlements in the Salinas clustered around the present day town of Mountainair
. Those whose ruins are preserved today are Quarai, Abo
, and Gran Quivira which today make up the Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument
. The ruin known as Gran Quivira today but during Spanish
times as Las Humanas – was the largest settlement and may have had a population of 2,000 people. Las Humanas and the other Tompiro settlements were probably established about 1300 and became culturally similar to the other Pueblo Indians in the Rio Grande Valley. The Tompiro name for Las Humanas was probably Cueloze, but Juan de Onate
named the settlement the "Great Pueblo of the Humanas" when he visited in 1598, the name reflecting the inhabitant's custom of painting stripes or tattooing their faces. The Plains dwelling Jumano Indians
were called by the same name, and authorities differ as to whether they were related to the Tompiros or simply given similar names by the Spaniards.
As village-dwelling and sedentary Pueblo Indians, the Tompiros lived in a marginal climate. Their region was more than 6,000 feet in elevation, near the upper climatic limit for corn cultivation. They had little surface water for irrigation, rainfall was sparse and sporadic, and winters were long and cold. What made the Tompiro settlements viable was their proximity to salt deposits in the Salinas and to the bison
herds of the Great Plains
. Thus, they were important traders and middlemen between the Plains Indians
and the Pueblos of the Rio Grande Valley for salt and bison skins and meat. The Tompiros also hunted small and large game in the region, especially deer, pronghorn
, and rabbits and gathered wild foods, including pinyon pine
nuts.
did not visit the Tompiros during his expedition of 1539-1542. The first Spanish account of the Tompiros is from Antonio de Espejo
in 1582-1583. Espejo was greeted with suspicion in the Tompiro settlements. In 1601, the aggressive and brutal founder of the colony of New Mexico, Juan de Onate
, retaliated for the killing of two Spaniards with a raid on the Tompiros that left, according to one account (probably exaggerating the feat of Spanish arms), 900 Indians dead and three Pueblos destroyed.
The Tompiros were distant from the early Spanish settlements in the Rio Grande Valley and not until 1627 was a Catholic mission, headed by the Franciscan
Fray Alonso de Benavides, established at Las Humanas. Thus began a long struggle between the Spanish missionaries and the Tompiros about religion. At first, Catholicism and the Kiva
religion of the Tompiros co-existed, but by 1660 the Franciscans were suppressing the native religion.
The early days of Spanish settlement in New Mexico were characterized by bitter disputes between the civil authorities and the missionaries as each attempted to exert control – and exploit – the Pueblo Indians. This dispute came to a head among the Tompiros. In 1659, Governor Bernardo Lopez de Mendizabal appointed Nicolas de Aguilar
as Alcalde Mayor (Magistrate) of the Tompiro settlements. Aguilar was a tough, Mestizo
(part Indian) soldier from Michoacán
Mexico and he carried out the policy of Governor Lopez forcefully. Among Lopez's dictates were that no Indian would be required to work for the Franciscan priests without pay and that the Indians had the right to practice their religion. He also permitted the Pueblos to perform their religious dances in the Governor's Palace in Santa Fe
, thus endorsing religious practices that had been prohibited for 30 years.
Aguilar enforced the Governor's policy among the Tompiros over the opposition of the Franciscans. Aguilar went so far as to have Indians whipped who contributed labor to the priests. During a bitterly cold winter when the Franciscans requested Indian assistance to gather firewood, Aguilar told them to burn the 600 wooden crosses they had collected for ceremonies. Aguilar said it was too dangerous for the Indians to gather wood for the priests because of Apache raiders lurking in the area. Aguilar also permitted Indian dances and ordered Christian Indians to participate.
The Franciscans took their grievances to the authorities in Mexico City
and Lopez and Aguilar were charged under the Inquisition
of obstructing the spread of the Catholic faith. Both were arrested. Lopez died during his trial, but Aguilar vigorously defended himself before the Inquisition. Nevertheless, after a long trial he was convicted and exiled. The Church had won and its authority in New Mexico would go unchallenged until 1680 when the Pueblos rose up en masse and expelled the Spanish. The dispute would have consequences. Among the major causes of the Pueblo Revolt
were the excesses of the Franciscans in suppressing the traditional religions.
Weakened by drought and disease, fractured by religious disputes, the Tompiros were also the closest and most vulnerable of the Pueblos to Apache
raiders. The diminished Tompiros began to abandon their settlements to take refuge among their Piro relatives westward on the Rio Grande. In 1670, the residents of Las Humanas moved to Abo. Within a few years the Salinas Pueblos were all abandoned and the Tompiros had ceased to exist as a distinct people.
Origin and Language
Very little is known about the origin of the Tompiros. They spoke a language closely related to that of the PiroPiro Pueblo
Piro Pueblo : The Piros were a Native American Pueblo people that lived in a number of pueblos in the Rio Grande Valley around modern Socorro, New Mexico, USA. The now extinct Piro language was in the family of Tiwa languages...
Indians who lived to their west in the Rio Grande Valley. The Piro and Tompiro languages are believed by most authorities to belong to the Tanoan language family.
In the 16th century, the Tompiro lived in nine settlements in the Salinas clustered around the present day town of Mountainair
Mountainair, New Mexico
Mountainair is a town in Torrance County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 1,116 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Albuquerque Metropolitan Statistical Area...
. Those whose ruins are preserved today are Quarai, Abo
Abo (historic place)
Abo is a pueblo ruin in New Mexico that is preserved in the Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument.The Abó Ruins are located about 9 miles west of Mountainair, at about 6100 feet above sea level. They are said to date back to the 1300s. It was a major trading station during its time...
, and Gran Quivira which today make up the Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument
Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument
The Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument is located in the U.S. state of New Mexico, near Mountainair. The main park visitor center is in Mountainair.-History:...
. The ruin known as Gran Quivira today but during Spanish
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power....
times as Las Humanas – was the largest settlement and may have had a population of 2,000 people. Las Humanas and the other Tompiro settlements were probably established about 1300 and became culturally similar to the other Pueblo Indians in the Rio Grande Valley. The Tompiro name for Las Humanas was probably Cueloze, but Juan de Onate
Juan de Oñate
Don Juan de Oñate y Salazar was a Spanish explorer, colonial governor of the New Spain province of New Mexico, and founder of various settlements in the present day Southwest of the United States.-Biography:...
named the settlement the "Great Pueblo of the Humanas" when he visited in 1598, the name reflecting the inhabitant's custom of painting stripes or tattooing their faces. The Plains dwelling Jumano Indians
Jumano Indians
The Jumano Indians were a prominent Native American tribe or several tribes who inhabited western Texas and adjacent New Mexico, especially near the La Junta region. They were discovered by Spanish explorers in the 16th century. but had nearly disappeared as a people by 1750.-The Jumano...
were called by the same name, and authorities differ as to whether they were related to the Tompiros or simply given similar names by the Spaniards.
As village-dwelling and sedentary Pueblo Indians, the Tompiros lived in a marginal climate. Their region was more than 6,000 feet in elevation, near the upper climatic limit for corn cultivation. They had little surface water for irrigation, rainfall was sparse and sporadic, and winters were long and cold. What made the Tompiro settlements viable was their proximity to salt deposits in the Salinas and to the bison
Bison
Members of the genus Bison are large, even-toed ungulates within the subfamily Bovinae. Two extant and four extinct species are recognized...
herds of the Great Plains
Great Plains
The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...
. Thus, they were important traders and middlemen between the Plains Indians
Plains Indians
The Plains Indians are the Indigenous peoples who live on the plains and rolling hills of the Great Plains of North America. Their colorful equestrian culture and resistance to White domination have made the Plains Indians an archetype in literature and art for American Indians everywhere.Plains...
and the Pueblos of the Rio Grande Valley for salt and bison skins and meat. The Tompiros also hunted small and large game in the region, especially deer, pronghorn
Pronghorn
The pronghorn is a species of artiodactyl mammal endemic to interior western and central North America. Though not an antelope, it is often known colloquially in North America as the prong buck, pronghorn antelope, or simply antelope, as it closely resembles the true antelopes of the Old World and...
, and rabbits and gathered wild foods, including pinyon pine
Pinyon pine
The pinyon pine group grows in the southwestern United States and in Mexico. The trees yield edible pinyon nuts, which were a staple of the Native Americans, and are still widely eaten...
nuts.
Relations with the Spanish
Francisco Vasquez de CoronadoFrancisco Vásquez de Coronado
Francisco Vásquez de Coronado y Luján was a Spanish conquistador, who visited New Mexico and other parts of what are now the southwestern United States between 1540 and 1542...
did not visit the Tompiros during his expedition of 1539-1542. The first Spanish account of the Tompiros is from Antonio de Espejo
Antonio de Espejo
Antonio de Espejo was a Spanish explorer who led an expedition into New Mexico and Arizona in 1582-1583. The expedition created interest in establishing a Spanish colony among the Pueblo Indians of the Rio Grande valley.-Life:...
in 1582-1583. Espejo was greeted with suspicion in the Tompiro settlements. In 1601, the aggressive and brutal founder of the colony of New Mexico, Juan de Onate
Juan de Oñate
Don Juan de Oñate y Salazar was a Spanish explorer, colonial governor of the New Spain province of New Mexico, and founder of various settlements in the present day Southwest of the United States.-Biography:...
, retaliated for the killing of two Spaniards with a raid on the Tompiros that left, according to one account (probably exaggerating the feat of Spanish arms), 900 Indians dead and three Pueblos destroyed.
The Tompiros were distant from the early Spanish settlements in the Rio Grande Valley and not until 1627 was a Catholic mission, headed by the Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
Fray Alonso de Benavides, established at Las Humanas. Thus began a long struggle between the Spanish missionaries and the Tompiros about religion. At first, Catholicism and the Kiva
Kiva
A kiva is a room used by modern Puebloans for religious rituals, many of them associated with the kachina belief system. Among the modern Hopi and most other Pueblo peoples, kivas are square-walled and underground, and are used for spiritual ceremonies....
religion of the Tompiros co-existed, but by 1660 the Franciscans were suppressing the native religion.
The early days of Spanish settlement in New Mexico were characterized by bitter disputes between the civil authorities and the missionaries as each attempted to exert control – and exploit – the Pueblo Indians. This dispute came to a head among the Tompiros. In 1659, Governor Bernardo Lopez de Mendizabal appointed Nicolas de Aguilar
Nicolas de Aguilar
Nicolas de Aguilar a Mestizo, was a Spanish official in New Mexico. He was tried for heresy and found guilty by the Inquisition.-Early life:...
as Alcalde Mayor (Magistrate) of the Tompiro settlements. Aguilar was a tough, Mestizo
Mestizo
Mestizo is a term traditionally used in Latin America, Philippines and Spain for people of mixed European and Native American heritage or descent...
(part Indian) soldier from Michoacán
Michoacán
Michoacán officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 113 municipalities and its capital city is Morelia...
Mexico and he carried out the policy of Governor Lopez forcefully. Among Lopez's dictates were that no Indian would be required to work for the Franciscan priests without pay and that the Indians had the right to practice their religion. He also permitted the Pueblos to perform their religious dances in the Governor's Palace in Santa Fe
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...
, thus endorsing religious practices that had been prohibited for 30 years.
Aguilar enforced the Governor's policy among the Tompiros over the opposition of the Franciscans. Aguilar went so far as to have Indians whipped who contributed labor to the priests. During a bitterly cold winter when the Franciscans requested Indian assistance to gather firewood, Aguilar told them to burn the 600 wooden crosses they had collected for ceremonies. Aguilar said it was too dangerous for the Indians to gather wood for the priests because of Apache raiders lurking in the area. Aguilar also permitted Indian dances and ordered Christian Indians to participate.
The Franciscans took their grievances to the authorities in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
and Lopez and Aguilar were charged under the Inquisition
Inquisition
The Inquisition, Inquisitio Haereticae Pravitatis , was the "fight against heretics" by several institutions within the justice-system of the Roman Catholic Church. It started in the 12th century, with the introduction of torture in the persecution of heresy...
of obstructing the spread of the Catholic faith. Both were arrested. Lopez died during his trial, but Aguilar vigorously defended himself before the Inquisition. Nevertheless, after a long trial he was convicted and exiled. The Church had won and its authority in New Mexico would go unchallenged until 1680 when the Pueblos rose up en masse and expelled the Spanish. The dispute would have consequences. Among the major causes of the Pueblo Revolt
Pueblo Revolt
The Pueblo Revolt of 1680, or Popé's Rebellion, was an uprising of several pueblos of the Pueblo people against Spanish colonization of the Americas in the province of Santa Fe de Nuevo México.-Background:...
were the excesses of the Franciscans in suppressing the traditional religions.
Last days of the Tompiros
The problems of the Tompiros multiplied in the 1660s. European diseases probably took a heavy toll among the Tompiros as they did among other Pueblos. In addition, drought impacted the viability of the Tompiro economy. A priest stated in 1669, "For three years no crop has been harvested. In the past year, a great many Indians perished of hunger, lying dead along the roads, in the ravines, and in their huts. There were pueblos (for instance, Las Humanas) where more than four hundred and fifty died of hunger…there is not a fanega of corn or wheat in the whole kingdom." Labor required of the Tompiro to build churches and to participate in Catholic religious ceremonies took time away from what the Indians needed to earn their uncertain living in a difficult environment.Weakened by drought and disease, fractured by religious disputes, the Tompiros were also the closest and most vulnerable of the Pueblos to Apache
Apache
Apache is the collective term for several culturally related groups of Native Americans in the United States originally from the Southwest United States. These indigenous peoples of North America speak a Southern Athabaskan language, which is related linguistically to the languages of Athabaskan...
raiders. The diminished Tompiros began to abandon their settlements to take refuge among their Piro relatives westward on the Rio Grande. In 1670, the residents of Las Humanas moved to Abo. Within a few years the Salinas Pueblos were all abandoned and the Tompiros had ceased to exist as a distinct people.