THE THEATRE OF CONVERSION, PART 3

In the years of Spanish dominion over Alta California, 125 Franciscans served in the Missions. Though most missionaries learned at least the rudiments of the native languages, and some became fluent in several at once, only one missionary became really curious about the Indians’ religious beliefs; in other words, he wondered what the Indians were being converted from.

His name was Fr. Geronimo Boscano; his book was “Chinigchinich.”

Boscano wrote in about 1820, describing what he had heard from the Indians themselves, with frequent eruptions of horror and constant denunciations of their beliefs. We can get at least a glimpse of the amazing revivalist cult that was sweeping over Southern California in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, just as the Spanish arrived. But we also get real first-hand insight into the mind of the Franciscan Mission in Alta California.

The Chinigchinich cult almost certainly began among the Tongva; much of the myth cycle is set in the rancheria of Pu’uvungna, which was a real Tongva village, located somewhere on the grounds of Cal State Long Beach. Here is Chinigchinich appearing to the people of Pu’uvungna, during the chaos after the death of the old tyrant, Ouiot:

“After the death of Ouiot, they remained, for some time, undecided, whether to inter his remains, or to burn them; however, it was determined by the elders, that they should do the latter. The fire was prepared, the body placed upon a pile erected for the occasion, and fearing that the “Coyote” would come, and eat him, they sent out and burnt his retreat; but he had made his escape, and soon presented himself at the place of sacrifice, declaring he would be burnt with his captain; and, suddenly leaping upon the pile, he tore off from his stomach a large piece of flesh, and ate it. The remainder of the body was afterwards consumed by the flames.

The name of the Coyote was Eyacque, which implies second captain; and from this time they changed his name to that of Eno; signifying a thief and cannibal, and thieves were generally termed Eyoton, derived from Eno and Ouiot…

After burning [Ouiot’s] body, a general council was called, to make provision for the collecting of grain and seeds; the acorns, &c., &c., and the flesh of animals; such as deer, rabbits, hares, squirrels, rats, and all kinds which they fed upon. While consulting together, they beheld for several days, and at distinct times, a spectre, unlike themselves, who appeared and disappeared; sometimes in one direction and sometimes in another. Alarmed at its appearance, they determined to speak to it. Having summoned it to their presence, inquiries were made if he were their Captain Ouiot. “I am not Ouiot,” said he, “but a captain of greater power; and my name is Chinigchinich. My habitation is above. On what matters are you debating, and why are you thus congregated?” he inquired. “Our captain is dead,” said they “we have come to his interment, and were discussing in what manner to maintain ourselves upon the seeds of the fields, and the flesh of animals without being obliged to live upon the clay, or earth, as we have done.” Having listened to their answer, he spake unto them, and said, I create all things; I will make you another people, and from this time, one of you shall be endowed with the power to cause it to rain, another to influence the dews, another to produce the acorn, another to create rabbits, another ducks, another geese, another deer.”

— Fr. Geronimo Boscana

The worship of the great God Chinigchinich was associated with, and derived from, the earlier ?antap , or toloache, cults. (Which themselves grew out of, and were associated with, or re-organizations of, the ancient tribal myths, dances, and initiation rituals.)
A righteous star-captain, or sky chief, Chinigchinich was a supernatural force, who came into our realm to order the world. Thus anyone who followed his precepts not only found right living as an Indian, but also could claim part of Chinigchinich’s great power, the power of nature and animal spirits, and the power of the ancestors and heroes.

Though (or because) Boscana framed Chinigchinich with European bigotry, and though (or because) it sizzles with the over-developed body-shame of a 19th-century Franciscan, and though (or because) it infuriates a modern reader with its casuistry, hypocritical circular logic, and constant Satan-baiting, it is a kind of masterpiece. Boscana was obviously a meticulous reporter. And he seems earnestly to wish to understand the myths — though he constantly fails, because he obviously represses and resists or mis-directs any personal insight into the disturbing similarities between the Tongva mythos and the Christian mythos.

“In fine, each one received his particular occupation, and power to create such food as they now eat. Even now, such as claim to be descendants of this people, pretend to be endowed with the same powers, and are frequently consulted as to their harvests, and receive in return for their advice, a gift of some kind, either in money or clothing, and, in fact, the result of their harvest depends entirely upon the maintenance given to these sorcerers, and the supplying all their necessities. To offend them, would be to destroy all their productions of flesh and grain.
Chinigchinich, after having conferred the power, as we have said, upon the descendants of Ouiot, about the time of “dixet et factum est,” created man, forming him of clay found upon the borders of a lake. Both male and female he created, and the Indians of the present day are descendants of these. He then said unto them these words–“Him who obeyeth me not, or believeth not in my teachings, I will chastise–to him I will send bears to bite, serpents to sting, misfortunes, infirmities, and death.” He taught them the laws they were to observe for the future, as well as their rites and ceremonies. HIs first commandment was to build a temple where they might pay to him adoration, offer up sacrifices, and have religious worship. The plan of this building [i.e., the wamkech]was regulated by himself. From this time they looked upon Chinigchinich as God. The Indians say, he had neither father nor mother, and they are entirely ignorant of his origin. The name Chinigchinich signifies “all-powerful” or “almighty,” and it is believed by the Indians, that he was ever present, and in all places: he saw every thing, although it might be in the darkest night, but no one could see him. He was a friend to the good, but the wicked he chastised.””

— Fr. Geronimo Boscana

Click the link below for the full text of Boscana’s “Chinigchinich, A Historical Account of the Origins, Customs, and Traditions of the Indians at the Missionary Establishment of San Juan Capistrano, Alta California.”

http://www.sacred-texts.com/nam/ca/bosc/

Quoth Wikipedia: “Born at Llucmajor on the island of Mallorca, Spain, in 1776. Boscana was educated at Palma and joined the Franciscan order in 1792. He traveled to Mexico in 1803 and to California in 1806. He served at Mission Nuestra Senora en la Soledad, Mission La Purisima Concepcion, and Mission San Luis Rey de Francia. For more than a decade, from 1812–1826, he was stationed at Mission San Juan Capistrano. He died at Mission San Gabriel in 1831.”

“Chinigchinich was known under three distinct names, as follows: Saor, Quaguar, and Tobet. Each one possessing its particular signification, denoting diversity or a difference of times. Saor, signifies or means, that period in which Chinigchinich could not dance; Quaguar, when enabled to dance; and Tobet, when he danced enrobed in a dress composed of feathers, with a crown of the same upon his head, and his face painted black and red. They say that once, while dancing in this costume, he was taken up into heaven, where are located the stars. His order was, that they should use this mode of dress in their grand feasts–an observance, regarded to this day.

–Fr. Geronimo Boscana

Fr. Boscana squeamishly describes the “extravagances” of the Indians, the hallucinatory concoctions and painful initiation rites, but he scoffs at the important ritual art of groundpainting. He calls the drawings nonsense, crude; vulgar cartoons. It’s surprising Boscana was not more interested in this aspect of the spread of the cult, since the Franciscans themselves put colorful paintings of heaven and hell in every mission. Also, the legendary founding of San Gabriel Mission was effected when a missionary party unfurled a painting of Our Lady of Sorrows, which awed and fascinated an attacking Tongva war party. All the local tribes had highly-developed artistic traditions, rock art, signs, symbols and images. Anthropologist Charles Irwin describes how Indian groundpaintings were visual representations of Chinigchinich’s metaphysical world:

“Among southern California societies, such as those of the Diegueiio,Luiseno, Juaneiio and Gabrielino, world view was reflected in rites of passage, including the Chinigchinich initiation rites for adolescent boys and girls. The ritual dances and costumes worn by youthful initiates and by older functionaries in the religious system were analogous to the dance and costume of Chinigchinich “who taught the elders how to dance” (Boscana 1970:12). The tortures and privations endured by males included whipping, ant bites, fasting and doses of a beverage extracted from the roots of Jimson weed. Shamans administered a tobacco concoction to girl initiates (Dubois 1908:94), who underwent ordeals differing from those in boys’ initiation… groundpaintings were a component of Luiseno ritual; they were symbolic representations of the universe and the ideal development of an individual in his or her quest to
learn group mores and to reach an upper realm of spiritual fulfillment after death. The “paintings” formed part of the Chinigchinich complex including the Jimson weed ceremony and the ant ordeal: they were used to instruct youthful inhiates about the origins and structure of the universe. The attributes of the deity, Chinigchinich, found expression in the groundpaintings as in other ritual elements of the saga of boys’ and girls’ initiation. The “punishers,”\ who occupied positions around the center of the painting, were “Chinigchinich” animals such as the rattlesnake, the bear, “panther,” and the black spider, and were capable of inflicting misfortunes upon ritually wayward individuals.. The
paintings were also used in such mortuary rituals as the Unish matakish, during which the
clan or “party” chief buried the feathers of a deceased Chinigchinich initiate The doctors or shamans made these abstract and colorful sacred symbols in the ceremonial brush shelter (wamkish or vanquech) on ritual occasions.”

— Charles N. Irwin, The Journal of California Anthropology, 1978. Click below for full article.

https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5vk6198m

The enduring significance of Chinigchinich for the Indians of that is, for the Tongva, Chumash, and the Tataviam who were reduced to San Gabriel Mission and San Fernando Mission and the others, maybe appreciated in this remark by historian James A. Sandos:

“Some Indian societies were overwhelmed with the mission experience and lost touch with the old culture quickly. With a few significant exceptions, that was the case in the San Francisco Bay Area. In Southern California, the home of the Toloache Cults, Indians proved more resilient. Southern California Indians continued as much of their pre-contact religion and culture as they could throughout the life of the msisions and beyond, just outside the view of missionaries and other outsiders…Through the vehicle of the Spanish language, shamans and ceremonial leaders as well as their followers kept knowledge of their tribal lore alive and transmitted it to succeeding generations through oral tradition. They also preserved what they could of their original Indian language.”

— James A. Sandos, Converting California: Indians and Franciscans in the Missions. pp. 181-182

Below: a Tongva war party who had come out to resist the Spanish, were reportedly soothed to docility upon glimpsing Our Lady Of Sorrows. The Franciscan narrative is that the Indians knelt, paid homage to the Virgin, and accepted the friars’ mission and became Christian. This remarkable reported example of the importance of image-worship (or image-veneration, to the Franciscans) is celebrated as the founding of San Gabriel. The miraculous painting is still displayed next to the altar.