Plains Indian Studies - Smithsonian Institution Libraries

NUMBER 30 121
as physically large; some of the men whom Coronado
had measured were ten palm-spans, that
is over 6 feet (or about 1.8 m), in height. Both
men and women were extensively tattooed, with
the women's faces, as described by Coronado
(Pacheco and Cardenas, 1865:366), looking more
like those of the Moors than Indians.
The area occupied by these Wichita was west
of the Flint Hills within the Central Lowland
physiographic province. Spaniards, who viewed
with pleasure the well-watered and fertile land in
July 1541, noted the availability and abundance
of wild plums, grapes, mulberries, nuts, "flax,"
and a number of herbs.
No other Indian territory impinged closely
upon that of the Wichita. To the north at some
distance lived friendly Pawnee, for whom the
Wichita evidently used the pan-Caddoan term
Awa:hi, rendered by the Spaniards Harahei or
Arahe. The Guas (Castaneda de Najera, 1596:123)
possibly Kansa according to linguist Robert L.
Rankin (University of Kansas, pers. comm.), who
were characterized by the Wichita as enemies,
may have come from as far away as the Missouri
River to attack. To the southwest, in today's
Texas panhandle, the Spaniards in 1541 encountered
Teyas, who were friendly to the Wichita and
may have occasionally wintered near them (M.
Wedel, 1979:190). Others such as the then roving,
tattooed Escanjaques (Hammond and Rey, 1953,
2:841), possibly Tonkawa-speakers, whom the
Spaniards met nearer Quivira, were fierce enemies.
They and the Wichita were said by Baltasar
Martinez in 1602 to kill and eat each other
(Hammond and Rey, 1953, 2:843), presumably
ceremonially. The possible presence of Wichita
slaves (M. Wedel, in prep.) in 1541 at Pecos, New
Mexico, would have resulted from hostilities between
these and other Indians in the more southern
Plains. Described war paraphernalia of the
Wichita included the bow and arrow, war clubs,
and shields.
Two Wichita settlement or band names are
linked with the farthest region of Quivira in
Coronado-related documents. Jaramillo wrote
(Smith, 1857:160) in 1542: "We arrived at what
was said to be the most remote part of Quivira,
to which they had taken us saying it was of much
importance, expressing this by the word teucarea.^''
He added that this was also the most heavily
populated region of Quivira. Under interrogation
in 1544, Domingo Martin {Informacion 1544, testimony
4) told of the assassination of the Indian,
El Turco, "in a pueblo called Tabas,^'' an event
which Jaramillo reported (Smith, 1857:160) occurred
in the "most distant place" to which Coronado's
party went.
Although Bolton (1949:293) equated both tabas
and teucarea with the taovayas, i.e., Tawehash, today's
linguists do not. David S. Rood (University
of Colorado, pers. comm.) states that from a
linguistic point of view, "I would unhesitatingly
identify [teucarea] with the Wichita name for the
Towakoni, tawa:khariw." On the other hand, linguist
Rood would accept Bolton's argument for
tabas equating with Tawehash. Therefore, if Jaramillo
can be trusted, it would seem that both
of these Wichita bands were living just south of
Smoky Hill River. The importance of teucarea
may have resulted in part from their being considered,
then and later, the foremost band of the
Wichita. The concentration of population may
have reflected the presence of the two subdivisions
in the region and the fact that the Tawehash, at
this time and later, composed the largest band.
The Wichita who lived on Arkansas River tributaries
in 1541 and 1601 are unidentified.
The settlement pattern was one of extended
communities composed of a number of house
clusters or hamlets (M. Wedel, 1979:183-186).
The dwellings were "grass houses" (Newcomb,
1961:255-256) like those the Wichita continued
to build in later times. Jaramillo (Smith,
1857:161) described many as round, and Martinez
in 1602 (Hammond and Rey, 1953, 2:844)
added that they were 70 to 80 feet (21 to 24 m)
in circumference, indicating a diameter of 22 to
24 feet (6.7 to 7.3 m). Onate estimated (Bolton,
1916:260) they were "two spears" in height.
Martinez further described them, according to
Hammond's translation, "as built of small poles
stuck in the ground close together and brought