Villages were located in sheltered canyons or near year-round
fresh water. Some villages were located in the mountains, some in
the foothills, others were located along the coast. Villages were
made up of family members and relatives. The chiefs of the village
inherited their rank. Each village owned its own land and was
located near food supplies.
They ate wild game, fish, acorns, and seeds from a variety of
plants. Many of the Natives living along the coast in Southern
California did not make pottery. However, about A.D.1650 the
Luiseno began to make pottery. Many of their utensils were made of
bone, stone, and wood. Cooking was done with hot rocks dropped
into pottery vessels, or soapstone bowls, or even into baskets
which were woven so closely that they were water tight. Both the
men and women shared in the hunting and gathering of food.
Since the climate was mild, little clothing was needed. Luiseno
men wore nothing but a net belt for carrying things. In cold
weather they wore a twined fur blanket. The women wore a two-part
skirt. They also wore a woven basketry cap when carrying loads
with a trump line over their forehead. Older women stayed in the
villages to take care of the children.
Houses were built over a pit about two feet deep. In the mountains
the roof was made of cedar bark. Stems of grasses were used for
roofs in the lower elevations, and tule and sedges were used in
the coastal areas. The roof was then also covered with earth. A
smoke hole in the roof ventilated the central fireplace. Entry was
through a door or sometimes a short tunnel. Sweat houses were used
by the men in the evenings.
The ceremonial area was a round enclosure encircled by a fence. A
smaller enclosure for the dressing of dancers was off to the side.
Men performed the rituals, and women prepared the ceremonial food.
Boys and girls participated in puberty ceremonies when they
reached adolescence. They were taught about the supernatural
powers and taboos, to be respectful and polite to their elders, to
refrain from anger, and the consequences of wrong behavior. During
the ceremonies, sand paintings were created to illustrate the
Luiseno conception of the universe, the night sky with the Milky
Way, sacred beings, and the spiritual component of the human
personality. At the end of the puberty ceremony the sand paintings
were destroyed. Girls raced to a rock where they painted angular
and diamond shaped designs. Some of the rock paintings can still
be seen today. This style of painted rock art is called San Luis
Rey Style by Ken Hedges of The Museum of Man in San Diego.
The first sites to be described in the 1950's were located along
the San Luis Rey River in northern San Diego County. According to
Hedges, "This style is characterized by geometric rectilinear
design elements in red, including diamonds, zigzags, chevrons,
straight lines, and dot patterns often arranged in vertical series
which frequently are bordered at top and/or bottom.
Representational elements (such as animals, anthropomorphs, hand
prints, and sunbursts) and curvilinear elements (such as circles,
concentric circles, and spirals) are present but rare."
Today there are seven bands of Luiseno
people: San Luis Rey Band, Pala, Pauma, LoJolla, Rincon, Pechanga,
and Soboba.
Source:
Handbook of the Indians of California
, A.L. Kroeber, Dover, New York,1976; and from:
California Indians , George Emanuels,
Diablo Books, Walnut Creek, CA. 1991; and from: "Rock Art Styles
In Southern California," Ken Hedges, 1990
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