Limuw: A Story of PlaceCHANNEL ISLANDS NATIONAL PARKAccording to legend, Chumash who fell into the ocean while crossing the rainbow to the mainland were turned into dolphins.Hutash, the Earth Mother, created the first Chumash people on the island of Limuw, now known as Santa Cruz Island. They were made from the seeds of a Magic Plant.Hutash was married to the Alchupo’osh, Sky Snake, the Milky Way, who could make lightning bolts with his tongue. One day he decided to make a gift to the Chumash people. He sent down a bolt of lightning that started a fire. After this, people kept fires burning so that they could keep warm and cook their food.In those days, the Condor was a white bird. The Condor was very curious about the fire he saw burning in the Chumash village. He wanted to find out what it was. He flew very low over the fire to get a better look, but he flew too close; he got his feathers scorched, and they turned black. Now the Condor is a black bird, with just a little white left under the wings where they did not get burned.After Alchupo’osh gave them fire, the Chumash people lived more comfortably. More people were born each year and their villages got bigger and bigger. Limuw was getting crowded. And the noise people made was starting to annoy Hutash. It kept her awake at night. So, finally, she decided that some of the Chumash people had to move off the island. They would have to go to the mainland, where there weren’t any people living in those days.But how were the people going to get across the water to the mainland? Finally, Hutash had the idea of making a bridge out of a wishtoyo (rainbow). She made a very long, very high rainbow that stretched from the tallest mountain on Limuw all the way to Tzchimoos, the tall mountain near Mishopshno (Carpinteria).Hutash told the people to go across the rainbow bridge and to fill the whole world with people. So the Chumash people started to go across the bridge. Some of them got across safely, but some people made the mistake of looking down. It was a long way down to the water, and the fog was swirling around. They became so dizzy that some of them fell off the rainbow bridge, down through the fog, into the ocean. Hutash felt very badly about this because she told them to cross the bridge. She did not want them to drown. To save them, she turned them into dolphins. Now the Chumash call the dolphins their brothers and sisters.Excerpted from:The Chumash People: Materials for Teachers and Students. Santa Barbara, CA: Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, 1991.
Full Circle Chumash Cross Channel in Tomol to Santa Cruz Island By Roberta R. Cordero Member and co-founder of the Chumash Maritime AssociationPhotographs by Robert Schwemmer, Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary
The coastal portion of our indigenous homeland stretches from Morro Bay in the north to Malibu Point in the south, and encompasses the northern Channel Islands of Tuqan, Wi’ma, Limuw, and ‘Anyapakh (San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, and Anacapa). This great, elongated bowl with its irregular rim of coastal mountain contains and nurtures a breathtaking array of maritime habitats. The ancestors of the autochthonous people of the region—we are now known as Chumash—were so well-integrated into and adapted to their habitats that they were able to thrive here continuously and sustainably for some thirteen thousand years before European contact.
As for many indigenous maritime cultures, the canoe is central to our understanding of who we are as a people on this specific place on the earth. Until the missionization of the Chumash people, our waters were filled with watercraft, especially the redwood plank canoe, the tomol, among the most advanced technological achievements of North America’s indigenous peoples. Used for both fishing and transportation, these elegant and versatile canoes wove together coastal and island communities in a complex system of trade, kinship and a resource stewardship that was sustained over thousands of years.The old Brotherhood of the Canoe governed the manufacture and use of the tomols until it was formally disbanded around 1834 because of the decimation of the people and the tomols. However, 142 years later, in 1976, Helek (Peregrine Falcon) was the first tomol to be built in modern times. Her design based on ethnographic and historic accounts as well as archeological data, she was paddled by a crew comprised of ten members of the modern Brotherhood of the Tomol from Tuqan to Wi’ma and then to Limuw in a grueling and much-celebrated journey.The tomol, ‘Elye’wun (Swordfish), was built by the Chumash community in 1996-97 under the leadership of the Chumash Maritime Association. On September 8, 2001, ‘Elye’wun made her first and historic crossing from the mainland to Limuw, completing the island circle begun by Helek. This crossing culminated in a cultural celebration with about 150 Chumash families and friends encamped on the island, marking the first time for almost all of us to make this return to an important origin place of our people.
On September 11, 2004, ‘Elye’wun again made the arduous journey from mainland to the village of Swaxil (at the present day location of Scorpion Valley) where some 200 Chumash and other Native people were gathered to discuss issues affecting Sacred Sites. The 2004 crossing was truly a milestone for the community in that the crew landing ‘Elye’wun were five Chumash youths aged 14 to 22, marking a significant passing on of knowledge and experience to our young people. These are part of the generation who are now accustomed to the awesome sight of a traditional canoe in our home waters, giving some of us older ones—who did not even know to hope for such a thing in our own youth!—a profound sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.
As with other coastal indigenous nations, Chumash people are restoring our heritage of intimacy with the sea for the dual purpose of protecting her and as a means of rediscovering our dignity and identity as a people sprung from this place. Against overwhelming odds, what we are seeing is a cultural spirit so compelling that the tree once considered dead has sent up strong, resilient shoots and branches. The resurgence of the canoe is but one example, but one that stands as an icon for what is happening in the hearts of many Chumash people as we strengthen the knowledge of our heritage.
The 2004 Crossing was jointly sponsored by Barbareño Chumash Council and Chumash Maritime Association with funding from Seventh Generation Fund and others. Special thanks are due to Jack Byer and support vessel Just Love; Bob Duncan and support vessel Jack Tar; Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary’s Chris Mobley and Bob Schwemmer for support vessel Xantu and camera; Ed Cassano, friend and skipper par excellence; Channel Islands National Park’s Ann Huston and especially staff at Scorpion Campground.‘Elye’wun’s 2004 crew: Perry Cabugos (Captain), Marcus Lopez (Captain), Michael Cordero, Roberta Cordero, Michael Cruz, Tom Lopez, Rick Mendez, Oscar Ortiz, Reggie Pagaling, Alan Salazar, Jacqueline Scheinert, Steve Villa, Mati Waiya. The Landing Crew: Marcus V. O. Lopez (Captain), Tano Cabugos, Diego Cordero, Jimmy Joe Navarro, Michael Sanchez
BibliographyCordero, J.,“Like I’d Been There Before, The Tomol Brings HerPeople Back into Balance,” News from Native California, 1998,Vol 2, No. 3, pp. 7-12.Cordero, R., “Our Ancestors’ Gift Across Time, A Story of Indigenous Maritime Culture Resurgence,” News from NativeCalifornia, 1998, Vol 2, No. 3, pp. 4-6.Cordero, R. and G. Sanchez, “Full Circle, Chumash peoples gatheron Santa Cruz Island to celebrate a historic tomol crossing ofthe Santa Barbara Channel,” News from Native California, 2001,Vol 15, No. 2, pp. 10-15.Hudson, T., “At Sea with the Helek,” The Masterkey, 1977, pp.59-65.ed., Hudson, T., J. Timbrook and M. Rempe, Tomol: ChumashWatercraft as Described in the Ethnographic Notes of John P.Harrington, 1978, 190 pp.Wilkinson, C., Messages from Frank’s Landing: A Story ofSalmon, Treaties, and the Indian Way, 2000, 118 pp.
Mahalo nui e Kahoi. It's always good when you stop by!
Absolutely! I understand now how every aspect to these journeys weather across the channels - over the open sea - it's all very very dangerous! The shore break has got to be the roughest part to negotiate! I wish I were there cousin when you all traveled that traditional route! Maybe next time.
It had to have been a blessid event !
Have a blessed week ahead!
mahalo for sharing it reminded me of my voyage to O Kanaloa Kohe Malamalama in 1978 the waves were high on the way home. The men were brave warriors and were able to reach shore safely. Much aloha Kaohi
Comments
Absolutely! I understand now how every aspect to these journeys weather across the channels - over the open sea - it's all very very dangerous! The shore break has got to be the roughest part to negotiate! I wish I were there cousin when you all traveled that traditional route! Maybe next time.
It had to have been a blessid event !
Have a blessed week ahead!