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Tano Indian Tribe History
Tano (from Taháno, the Tigua form of
T'han-u-ge, the Tano name for
themselves). A former group of Pueblo tribes of New Mexico, whose name has been
adopted for the family designation (see Tanoan Family). In prehistoric times,
according to Bandelier, the Tano formed the southern group of the
Tewa, the
separation of the two occurring at the ancient village of Tejeuingge Ouiping. In
the early historical period the Tano habitat was southward from Santa Fe to the
Galisteo basin, a distance of about 20 miles.
Coronado passed through the southern part of their territory in 1541, Castañeda
describing it as lying between the Quirix (Queres) province and Cicuye (Pecos),
and as being almost depopulated on account of depredations by the Teya, a
warlike tribe of the plains, 16 years previously. Only 3 pueblos are mentioned
by Castañeda as along their route, Ximena (Galisteo), a small, strong village;
the Pueblo de los Silos, large, but almost deserted; and another farther
eastward, abandoned and in ruins. The last mentioned was probably the one called
Coquite by Mota Padilla. In addition to these, however, there were 7 other Tano
pueblos in the "snowy mountains," toward Santa Fé.
The Tano were next visited by Espejo, who went eastwardly from the country of
the Tigua, in the vicinity of the present Bernalillo, to the province of the Maguas or Magrias (probably a misprint of Tagnos, a form of the Tigua name),
in a pine country without running streams, on the borders of the buffalo plains,
where he heard news of the death there of Fray Juan de Santa Marfa two years
before. As the seat of this friar's missionary labors was Pecos, that pueblo was
evidently included by Espejo in his Maguas province, to which he attributed the
grossly exaggerated population of 40,000, in 11 pueblos. The accounts of Espejo's journey are unsatisfactory as to directions and distances traveled, and
some of the reputed narratives of his expedition are unauthentic. Bandelier
regards as the Tano country Espejo's province of Hubates, with 5 pueblos,
which he visited, after returning from a western tour, by traveling 12 leagues
eastward from the Queres on the Rio Grande. Thence in a day's journey Espejo
found the "Tamos" in three large villages, one of which was Pecos. This variance
in names is doubtless due to guides speaking different languages. If the number
of (Tano) villages given by Castañeda in 1540 is correctly given as 10, and if
the number of pueblos mentioned by Espejo in 1583 as contained in his provinces
of Hubates and Tamos (7, excluding Pecos) is also correct, then it would seem
that the hostility of the Teyas spoken of by Castafieda in 1540 had continued in
the interim, and that the Tano had been compelled to abandon three of their
settlements. This, however, could not have been the case if the 10 villages
(excluding Pecos) in Espejo's province of Maguas is rightly given, as the number
agrees with that of Castañeda 40 years before.
In 1630 Benavides estimated the population of the then existing 5 Tano towns at
4,000, all of whom had been baptized. The tribe was almost entirely broken up by
the Pueblo revolts of 1680-96, the
Indians removing mainly to the Hopi of Arizona after 1694
and the last tribal remnant in New Mexico dying from
smallpox early in the 19th century (Bandelier in Ritch, N. Mex., 201). The Tano language is now
spoken only by a few natives settled in the Tewa, Tigua, and Queres
pueblos along the Rio Grande, particularly at Santo Domingo.
Following is a list of Tano pueblos so far as known:
Tanoan Family. A linguistic family consisting of the Tewa, Tano, Tigua,
Jemez, and Piro groups of Pueblo Indians, who dwell or dwelt in various
substantial villages on and near the Rio Grande in New Mexico. Of the
groups mentioned the Tano and Piro are extinct as tribes and the Jemez includes
the remnant of the former inhabitants of Pecos. Gatschet was of the belief
that the Tanoan family is a remote branch of the Shoshonean, but thus far the
relationship has not been definitively shown.
The books presented are for their
historical value only and are not the
opinions of the Webmasters of the site.
Handbook
of American Indians, 1906
Index of Tribes or Nations
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