Tiwa Pueblo Indians. The name Tiwa is from Ti’wan, pl. Tiwesh’, their own name. Also spelled Tebas, Tigua, Tiguex, Tihuas, Chiguas. Also called:
- E-nagh-magh, a name given by Lane (in Schoolcraft, 185157) to the language of “Taos, Picuris, Tesuqua, Sandia,” etc.
Tiwa Pueblos Connections. The Tiwa Pueblos are a division of the Tanoan linguistic family, itself a part of the Kiowa-Tanoan stock.
Tiwa Pueblos Location. The Tiwa Pueblos formed three geographic divisions, one occupying Taos and Picuris (the most northerly of the New Mexican Pueblos), on the upper waters of the Rio Grande; another inhabiting Sandia and Isleta, north and south of Albuquerque respectively; and the third living in the pueblos of Isleta del Sur and Senecu del Sur, near El Paso, Tex., in Texas and Chihuahua, Mexico, respectively.
Tiwa Pueblo Villages
(As far as known)
- Alameda, on the east side of the Rio Grande about 10 miles above Albuquerque.
- Bejuituuy, near the southern limit of the Tiwa habitat on the Rio Grande, at the present Los Lunas.
- Carfaray, supposed to have been east of the Rio Grande beyond the saline lakes.
- Chilili, on the west side of the Arroyo de Chihli, about 30 miles southeast of Albuquerque.
- Islets, on the west bank of the Rio Grande about 12 miles south of Albuquerque.
- Islets del Sur, on the northeast side of the Rio Grande, a short distance below El Paso, Tex.
- Kuaua, north of the present bridge across the Rio Grande above Bernalillo.
- Lentes, on the west bank of the Rio Grande near Los Lunas.
- Manzano, near the present village so called, 6 miles northwest of Quarai and about 25 miles east of the Rio Grande.
- Mojualuna, in the mountains above the present Taos Pueblo.
- Nabatutuei, location unknown.
- Nachurituei, location unknown.
- Pahquetooai, location unknown.
- Picuris, inhabited, about 40 miles north of Santa Fe.
- Puaray, on a gravelly bluff overlooking the Rio Grande in front of the southern portion of the town of Bernalillo.
- Puretuay, on the summit of the round mesa of Shiemtuai, or Mesa de las Padillas, 3 miles north of Islets.
- Quarai, about 30 miles straight east of the Rio Grande, in the eastern part of Valencia County.
- San Antonio, east of the present settlement of the same name, about the center of the Sierra de Gallego, or Sierra de Carnue, between San Pedro and Chilili, east of the Rio Grande.
- Sandia, inhabited, on the east bank of the Rio Grande, 12 miles north of Albuquerque.
- Santiago, probably about 12½ miles above Bernalillo, on the Mesa del Cangelon.
- Senecu del Sur, including Piro Indians, on the southeastern bank of the Rio Grande, a few miles below El Paso, in Chihuahua, Mexico.
- Shumnac, east of the Rio Grande in the vicinity of the present Mexican settlements of Chilili, Tajique, and Manzano.
- Tajique, about 30 miles northeast of Belen, close to the present settlement of the same name, on the southern bank of the Arroyo de Tajique.
- Taos, inhabited, on both sides of Taos River, an eastern tributary of the Rio Grande, in Taos County.
The following pueblos now extinct were probably also Tiwa:
- Ranchos, about 3 miles from Taos Pueblo.
- Shinana, on the Rio Grande near Albuquerque.
- Tanques, also on the Rio Grande near Albuquerque.
- Torreon, at the modern town of the same name, about 28 miles east of Belen.
Tiwa Pueblos History
The first two Tiwa divisions above mentioned occupied the same positions when Coronado encountered the Tiwa in 1540-42. Relations between his followers and the Indians soon became hostile and resulted in the capture of two pueblos by his army. In 1581 three missionaries were sent to the Tiwa under an escort but all were killed as soon as the escort was withdrawn. In 1583 Espejo approached Puaray, which Coronado had attacked, but the Indians fled. Castano de Sosa visited the Tiwa in 1591 and Onate in 1598. Missionary work was begun among them early in the seventeenth century, and the Indians were withdrawn progressively until only four pueblos were occupied by them at the time of the great rebellion of 1680, in which they took part. In 1681 Governor Otermin stormed Isleta and captured 500 Indians most of whom he settled near El Paso. Part of the Isleta fled to the Hopi country and remained there until 1709 or 1718, when the people of Isleta returned and reestablished their town. The Sandia Indians, however, remained away until 1742, when they were brought back by some missionaries and settled in a new pueblo near their former one. Since then there have been few” disturbances of importance, but the population until very lately slowly declined.
Tiwa Pueblos Population. In 1680 there were said to be 12,200 Tiwa; in 1760, 1,428 were reported; in 1790-93, 1,486; in 1805, 1,491; in 1850, 1,575; in 1860, 1,163; in 1871, 1,478; in 1901-5, 1,613; in 1910, 1,650; in 1937, 2,122. (See Tewa Pueblos.)
