North America - Part 3 - The Chumash
The
Chumash people lived on the western coast and islands near Santa Barbara
'Antap - a religious cult of ritual specialists - observed the phases
of the moon and the movement of the sun to see when public activities
in honour of the celestial bodies should be held. These 'Antap monopolized
astronomical knowledge and had both political and religious power among
the Chumash. Information on their astronomical knowledge is scarce because
early Franciscan priests and Spaniards suppresed their practices. Much
of the infomation we have today comes from anthopological deduction based
on investigation and research done by J.P Harrington with the people.
The Chumash had a cosmos that consisted of
- either 3 or 5 layers
- each layer being circular, flat and having a central cosmic axis going through them reaching to the pole of the sky, which was ruled by Eagle
- celestial beings inhabited the top layer
- the surface of the earth was the middle world, supported by 2 snakes whose movements caused earthquakes
- the axis of the earth and the earth itself was referred to as Hutash
- humans on the middle world could draw power from both upper and lower levels.
This universe of theirs was constantly in flux and required human intervention to prevent things from turning chaotic. 'Antap astronomers, known as 'Alchuklash, were believed to possess supernatural powers which allowed them to cause rain or divert it. Their duties consisted of naming children according to their birth date, overseeing puberty rituals and taking charge of religious events.
The
greatest Chumash god was the Sun, who was also the most dangerous. During
the winter solstice the people would all stay indoors to avoid being eaten
by him. The 'Antap would lead ceremonies such as honoring the deceased.
On the first day of the solstice they would settle all their debts. According
to Ray Williamson in his book Living the Sky (1984), some of the rituals
that took place on the second day included a ceremony to pull the sun
back northward. It involved the chief priest, the Image of the Sun, and
his 12 assistant Rays of the the Sun, chanting and making a ritual speech
around an erected sunstick to coax the Sun back to the north. During the
night, the people would dance clockwise (sunwise) around decorated poles
called Sunpoles. After midnight, they would dance anti clockwise. It kind
of reminds us of the pagan May day festivals in Europe, where children
hold streamers tied to the top of a pole and dance around till the pole
is wrapped, then dance in the opposite direction to unwrap it.