Serrano (people)
Encyclopedia
The Serrano are a Native American
tribe
of present day California
, United States
. They use the autonyms of Taaqtam, meaning "people"; Maarenga'yam, "people from Morongo"; and Yuhaviatam, "people of the pines." The Serrano historically populated the San Bernardino Mountains
and extended east into the Mojave Desert
and north in the San Gabriel Mountains
through the Sierra Pelona Mountains
to the Tehachapi Mountains
in Southern California
.
subset of the large Uto-Aztecan group of Native Americans. The language family historically extended along the West Coast, into the Great Basin
and into Mexico
, with representation among tribes in Mesoamerica
. (The following material appears to come mostly from the 1901 Smithsonian Institution
report on American Indians.) They were a branch of the Takic languages
speaking people who arrived in Southern California around 2,500 years ago. Serrano means "highlander" or "mountaineer" in Spanish
. When the Spanish missionaries came into the region, in the late 18th century they helped create the tribal name Serrano, distinguishing the people from neighboring tribes who were designated as the Tongva (Gabrileño—Fernandeño) to the northwest, and Kitanemuk
and Tataviam
to the north.
and extended northeast into the Mojave River
area of the Mojave Desert
and southeast to the Tejon Creek area. The Serrano populations along Tejon Creek were identified as the Cuahajai or Cuabajay, their exonyms by the neighboring Mojave tribe. Mountain camps were used for hunting. One such encampment was accidentally unearthed by the U.S. Forest Service fighting a wildfire in 2003 near Baldwin Lake
. Uncovered were nonnative jasper
and obsidian
pieces, ash and charcoal, grinding stones, and fire pits possibly dating back 1,000 years.
Their dwellings were large and communal. Framed with willow branches and covered over with woven mats, the lodges were made with fireplaces inside for each family. The Serrano crafted baskets and vessels with mother-of-pearl inlays, which were often traded to the Chumash people in the coastal Ventura
and Santa Barbara County
regions, the Tongva in the Los Angeles basin
and San Fernando Valley
, and the Tataviam
in the upper Santa Clara River
Valley. The men did not wear clothing and the women wore deer
skin, otter
, and rabbit
furs.
The Serrano who inhabited the San Bernardino Mountains would go to the milder areas of Apple Valley
and Lucerne Valley during the winter, and the area in and around Big Bear Lake
during the summer. They hunted small game such as rabbits, using traps along with bows and arrows. They did not hunt the grizzly bear
s, which they believed were reincarnations of their ancestors' spirits. They were skilled craftsmen and experts in basketweaving, which they created in a variety of sizes and shapes for different purposes, such as storage, carrying, and sorting.
Their diet consisted of the game which they caught, and nuts and vegetables which they gathered and cooked. The women ground pinon nuts into a dough and made a flat tortilla
-like bread. They also gathered acorn
s from oak tree
s and ground them for a coarse flour
, from which they made a porridge
called wiich. Other staples were roasted agave
, prickly pear
s, and Yucca
blossoms.
The Spanish founded Mission San Gabriel Arcangel
in 1771 below the southern side of the San Gabriel Mountains
. With the Cahuilla
and Quechan-Yuma
tribes, in 1812 the Serrano revolted against that and other local missions.
In 1834 the Spanish forcibly relocated many Serrano to the missions. They suffered devastating smallpox
outbreaks in 1840 and 1860, as they had no immunity to the Eurasia
n disease. In 1875 the United States established a reservation for them.
Other villages of the Serranos included Akxawiet, Cucamonga
, Homhoabit, Jurumpa, Juyubit
, Muscupiabit, Topapaibit (Victorville
), Guapaibit (Hesperia
), Paso del Cajon, San Benito, San Gorgonio, San Pascual, (Rancho) San Timoteo, Temeku (Rancheria
), Tolocabi, and Yucaipa.
.) Alfred L. Kroeber
put the combined 1770 population of the Serrano, Kitanemuk, and Tataviam at 3,500 and the Serrano proper (excluding the Vanyume) at 1,500. Lowell John Bean suggested an aboriginal Serrano population of about 2,500.
As noted, smallpox epidemics and social disruption reduced the population. Kroeber estimated the combined population of the Serrano, Kitanemuk, and Tataviam in 1910 as 150.
Band of Mission Indians' in Banning, California
and the 'San Manuel Band of Mission Indians' near Highland, California
have reservations.
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
tribe
Tribe
A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists...
of present day California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. They use the autonyms of Taaqtam, meaning "people"; Maarenga'yam, "people from Morongo"; and Yuhaviatam, "people of the pines." The Serrano historically populated the San Bernardino Mountains
San Bernardino Mountains
The San Bernardino Mountains are a short transverse mountain range north and east of San Bernardino in Southern California in the United States. The mountains run for approximately 60 miles east-west on the southern edge of the Mojave Desert in southwestern San Bernardino County, north of the...
and extended east into the Mojave Desert
Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona, in the United States...
and north in the San Gabriel Mountains
San Gabriel Mountains
The San Gabriel Mountains Range is located in northern Los Angeles County and western San Bernardino County, California, United States. The mountain range lies between the Los Angeles Basin and the Mojave Desert, with Interstate 5 to the west and Interstate 15 to the east...
through the Sierra Pelona Mountains
Sierra Pelona Mountains
The Sierra Pelona Mountains , or the Sierra Pelona Ridge, is a mountain range in the Transverse Ranges of Southern California.. They are located within Los Angeles and Kern Counties.-Geography:...
to the Tehachapi Mountains
Tehachapi Mountains
The Tehachapi Mountains , regionally also called The Tehachapis, are a mountain range in the Transverse Ranges system of California in the Western United States...
in Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
.
History
Members of the Serrano tribe are part of the TakicTakic languages
The Takic languages are a group of Uto-Aztecan languages spoken by Californian Native Americans in southern California.-List of Takic languages:*Cahuilla language*Cupeño language*Luiseño language*Serrano language*Tongva language*?Tataviam language...
subset of the large Uto-Aztecan group of Native Americans. The language family historically extended along the West Coast, into the Great Basin
Great Basin
The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic watersheds in North America and is noted for its arid conditions and Basin and Range topography that varies from the North American low point at Badwater Basin to the highest point of the contiguous United States, less than away at the...
and into Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, with representation among tribes in Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica is a region and culture area in the Americas, extending approximately from central Mexico to Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, within which a number of pre-Columbian societies flourished before the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the 15th and...
. (The following material appears to come mostly from the 1901 Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
report on American Indians.) They were a branch of the Takic languages
Takic languages
The Takic languages are a group of Uto-Aztecan languages spoken by Californian Native Americans in southern California.-List of Takic languages:*Cahuilla language*Cupeño language*Luiseño language*Serrano language*Tongva language*?Tataviam language...
speaking people who arrived in Southern California around 2,500 years ago. Serrano means "highlander" or "mountaineer" in Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
. When the Spanish missionaries came into the region, in the late 18th century they helped create the tribal name Serrano, distinguishing the people from neighboring tribes who were designated as the Tongva (Gabrileño—Fernandeño) to the northwest, and Kitanemuk
Kitanemuk
The Kitanemuk were a Native American tribe and people who lived in the Tehachapi Mountains and the Antelope Valley area of the western Mojave Desert of southern California, United States.-Language:...
and Tataviam
Tataviam
The Tataviam , were called the Alliklik by their neighbors the Chumash , are a Native American group in southern California...
to the north.
Domain
The Serrano populated the San Bernardino MountainsSan Bernardino Mountains
The San Bernardino Mountains are a short transverse mountain range north and east of San Bernardino in Southern California in the United States. The mountains run for approximately 60 miles east-west on the southern edge of the Mojave Desert in southwestern San Bernardino County, north of the...
and extended northeast into the Mojave River
Mojave River
The Mojave River is an intermittent river in the eastern San Bernardino Mountains and Mojave Desert in San Bernardino County, California. The river is notable as most of its flow is underground, while its surface channels remain dry most of the time, with the exception of the headwaters and several...
area of the Mojave Desert
Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona, in the United States...
and southeast to the Tejon Creek area. The Serrano populations along Tejon Creek were identified as the Cuahajai or Cuabajay, their exonyms by the neighboring Mojave tribe. Mountain camps were used for hunting. One such encampment was accidentally unearthed by the U.S. Forest Service fighting a wildfire in 2003 near Baldwin Lake
Baldwin Lake, California
Baldwin Lake is a natural, intermittent, alkali lake in a valley of the San Bernardino Mountains, in San Bernardino County, California. The depth of Baldwin Lake's lowest point is approximately 25 feet . At its widest, the lake is more than a mile across...
. Uncovered were nonnative jasper
Jasper
Jasper, a form of chalcedony, is an opaque, impure variety of silica, usually red, yellow, brown or green in color; and rarely blue. This mineral breaks with a smooth surface, and is used for ornamentation or as a gemstone. It can be highly polished and is used for vases, seals, and at one time for...
and obsidian
Obsidian
Obsidian is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed as an extrusive igneous rock.It is produced when felsic lava extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimum crystal growth...
pieces, ash and charcoal, grinding stones, and fire pits possibly dating back 1,000 years.
Their dwellings were large and communal. Framed with willow branches and covered over with woven mats, the lodges were made with fireplaces inside for each family. The Serrano crafted baskets and vessels with mother-of-pearl inlays, which were often traded to the Chumash people in the coastal Ventura
Ventura County, California
Ventura County is a county in the southern part of the U.S. state of California. It is located on California's Pacific coast. It is often referred to as the Gold Coast, and has a reputation of being one of the safest populated places and one of the most affluent places in the country...
and Santa Barbara County
Santa Barbara County, California
Santa Barbara County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, on the Pacific coast. As of 2010 the county had a population of 423,895. The county seat is Santa Barbara and the largest city is Santa Maria.-History:...
regions, the Tongva in the Los Angeles basin
Los Angeles Basin
The Los Angeles Basin is the coastal sediment-filled plain located between the Peninsular and Transverse ranges in southern California in the United States containing the central part of the city of Los Angeles as well as its southern and southeastern suburbs...
and San Fernando Valley
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley is an urbanized valley located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of southern California, United States, defined by the dramatic mountains of the Transverse Ranges circling it...
, and the Tataviam
Tataviam
The Tataviam , were called the Alliklik by their neighbors the Chumash , are a Native American group in southern California...
in the upper Santa Clara River
Santa Clara River (California)
The Santa Clara River is approximately long, located in southern California in the United States. It drains an area of the coastal mountains north of Los Angeles. The Santa Clara is one of the largest river systems along the coast of Southern California and one of only a few remaining river...
Valley. The men did not wear clothing and the women wore deer
Deer
Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...
skin, otter
Otter
The Otters are twelve species of semi-aquatic mammals which feed on fish and shellfish, and also other invertebrates, amphibians, birds and small mammals....
, and rabbit
Rabbit
Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world...
furs.
The Serrano who inhabited the San Bernardino Mountains would go to the milder areas of Apple Valley
Apple Valley, California
-Climate:*On average, the warmest month is July.*The highest recorded temperature was in 2002.*On average, the coolest month is December.*The lowest recorded temperature was in 1949.*The most precipitation on average occurs in February.-History:...
and Lucerne Valley during the winter, and the area in and around Big Bear Lake
Big Bear Lake
Big Bear Lake is a reservoir in the San Bernardino Mountains, in San Bernardino County, California, United States. At a surface elevation of , it has an east-west length of approximately 7 miles and is approximately 2.5 miles at its widest measurement, though the lake's width mostly averages a...
during the summer. They hunted small game such as rabbits, using traps along with bows and arrows. They did not hunt the grizzly bear
Grizzly Bear
The grizzly bear , also known as the silvertip bear, the grizzly, or the North American brown bear, is a subspecies of brown bear that generally lives in the uplands of western North America...
s, which they believed were reincarnations of their ancestors' spirits. They were skilled craftsmen and experts in basketweaving, which they created in a variety of sizes and shapes for different purposes, such as storage, carrying, and sorting.
Their diet consisted of the game which they caught, and nuts and vegetables which they gathered and cooked. The women ground pinon nuts into a dough and made a flat tortilla
Tortilla
In Mexico and Central America, a tortilla is a type of thin, unleavened flat bread, made from finely ground maize...
-like bread. They also gathered acorn
Acorn
The acorn, or oak nut, is the nut of the oaks and their close relatives . It usually contains a single seed , enclosed in a tough, leathery shell, and borne in a cup-shaped cupule. Acorns vary from 1–6 cm long and 0.8–4 cm broad...
s from oak tree
Oak Tree
Oak Tree may refer to:*Oak, the tree*Oak Tree, County Durham, a village in County Durham, England*The Oaktree Foundation, a youth-run aid and development agency*Oak Tree National, golf club in Edmond, Oklahoma...
s and ground them for a coarse flour
Flour
Flour is a powder which is made by grinding cereal grains, other seeds or roots . It is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many cultures, making the availability of adequate supplies of flour a major economic and political issue at various times throughout history...
, from which they made a porridge
Porridge
Porridge is a dish made by boiling oats or other cereal meals in water, milk, or both. It is usually served hot in a bowl or dish...
called wiich. Other staples were roasted agave
Agave
Agave is a genus of monocots. The plants are perennial, but each rosette flowers once and then dies ; they are commonly known as the century plant....
, prickly pear
Opuntia
Opuntia, also known as nopales or paddle cactus , is a genus in the cactus family, Cactaceae.Currently, only prickly pears are included in this genus of about 200 species distributed throughout most of the Americas. Chollas are now separated into the genus Cylindropuntia, which some still consider...
s, and Yucca
Yucca
Yucca is a genus of perennial shrubs and trees in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Agavoideae. Its 40-50 species are notable for their rosettes of evergreen, tough, sword-shaped leaves and large terminal panicles of white or whitish flowers. They are native to the hot and dry parts of North...
blossoms.
The Spanish founded Mission San Gabriel Arcangel
Mission San Gabriel Arcángel
The Mission San Gabriel Arcángel is a fully functioning Roman Catholic mission and a historic landmark in San Gabriel, California. The settlement was founded by Spaniards of the Franciscan order on "The Feast of the Birth of Mary," September 8, 1771, as the fourth of what would become 21 Spanish...
in 1771 below the southern side of the San Gabriel Mountains
San Gabriel Mountains
The San Gabriel Mountains Range is located in northern Los Angeles County and western San Bernardino County, California, United States. The mountain range lies between the Los Angeles Basin and the Mojave Desert, with Interstate 5 to the west and Interstate 15 to the east...
. With the Cahuilla
Cahuilla
The Cahuilla, Iviatim in their own language, are Indians with a common culture whose ancestors inhabited inland areas of southern California 2,000 years ago. Their original territory included an area of about . The traditional Cahuilla territory was near the geographic center of Southern California...
and Quechan-Yuma
Quechan
The Quechan are a Native American tribe who live on the Fort Yuma Indian Reservation on the lower Colorado River in Arizona and California just north of the border with Mexico...
tribes, in 1812 the Serrano revolted against that and other local missions.
In 1834 the Spanish forcibly relocated many Serrano to the missions. They suffered devastating smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
outbreaks in 1840 and 1860, as they had no immunity to the Eurasia
Eurasia
Eurasia is a continent or supercontinent comprising the traditional continents of Europe and Asia ; covering about 52,990,000 km2 or about 10.6% of the Earth's surface located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres...
n disease. In 1875 the United States established a reservation for them.
Other villages of the Serranos included Akxawiet, Cucamonga
Cucamonga (former settlement), California
Cucamonga is a former Tongva-Gabrieleño Native American settlement in Los Angeles County, California.Its precise location is unknown in the San Gabriel Valley.-See also:...
, Homhoabit, Jurumpa, Juyubit
Juyubit, California
Juyubit is a former Serrano, and perhaps Tongva, rancheria settlement in Los Angeles County, California.Juyubit may have been near the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel and San Gabriel River, as versions are mentioned in the narrative legend of late 18th—early 19th century Tongvan heroine Toypurina...
, Muscupiabit, Topapaibit (Victorville
Victorville, California
Victorville is a city located in the Victor Valley of southwestern San Bernardino County, California. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2010 census, the city had a population of 115,903, up from 64,030 at the 2000 census.-Geography and climate:...
), Guapaibit (Hesperia
Hesperia, California
Hesperia is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. It is located in the Mojave Desert north of San Bernardino. The locals refer to the surrounding area as the High Desert...
), Paso del Cajon, San Benito, San Gorgonio, San Pascual, (Rancho) San Timoteo, Temeku (Rancheria
Ranchería
The Spanish word ranchería, or rancherío, refers to a small, rural settlement. In the Americas the term was applied to native villages and to the workers' quarters of a ranch. English adopted the term with both these meanings, usually to designate the residential area of a rancho in the American...
), Tolocabi, and Yucaipa.
Population
Estimates have varied as scholars struggle to determine the pre-contact populations of most native groups in California. (See Population of Native CaliforniaPopulation of Native California
Estimates of the Native Californian population have varied substantially, both with respect to California's pre-contact count and for changes during subsequent periods. Pre-contact estimates range from 133,000 to 705,000 with some recent scholars concluding that these estimates are low...
.) Alfred L. Kroeber
Alfred L. Kroeber
Alfred Louis Kroeber was an American anthropologist. He was the first professor appointed to the Department of Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley, and played an integral role in the early days of its Museum of Anthropology, where he served as director from 1909 through...
put the combined 1770 population of the Serrano, Kitanemuk, and Tataviam at 3,500 and the Serrano proper (excluding the Vanyume) at 1,500. Lowell John Bean suggested an aboriginal Serrano population of about 2,500.
As noted, smallpox epidemics and social disruption reduced the population. Kroeber estimated the combined population of the Serrano, Kitanemuk, and Tataviam in 1910 as 150.
Reservations
The Serrano 'MorongoMorongo Casino, Resort & Spa
Morongo Casino, Resort & Spa is an Indian gaming casino, of the Morongo Band of Cahuilla Mission Indians, located in Cabazon, California, USA, near San Gorgonio Pass. The casino has 310 rooms and suites. A , 27-story resort, Morongo is one of the largest casinos in California...
Band of Mission Indians' in Banning, California
Banning, California
-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Banning had a population of 29,603. The population density was 1,281.6 people per square mile . The racial makeup of Banning was 19,164 White, 2,165 African American, 641 Native American, 1,549 Asian, 39 Pacific Islander, 4,604 from other...
and the 'San Manuel Band of Mission Indians' near Highland, California
Highland, California
Highland is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. The population in 2010 was 53,104, up from 44,605 at the 2000 census...
have reservations.
See also
- Serrano languageSerrano languageThe Serrano language is a language in the Takic branch of the Uto-Aztecan family spoken by the Serrano people of Southern California. The language is closely related to Tongva and Kitanemuk....
- Serrano traditional narrativesSerrano traditional narrativesSerrano traditional narratives include myths, legends, tales, and oral histories preserved by the Serrano people of the San Bernardino Mountains and southern Mojave Desert of southern California, originally in the Serrano language....
- Juyubit, CaliforniaJuyubit, CaliforniaJuyubit is a former Serrano, and perhaps Tongva, rancheria settlement in Los Angeles County, California.Juyubit may have been near the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel and San Gabriel River, as versions are mentioned in the narrative legend of late 18th—early 19th century Tongvan heroine Toypurina...
(Serrano settlement)
General references
- Bean, Lowell John, and Charles R. Smith. (1978), "Serrano", in California, edited by Robert F. Heizer, pp. 570–574. Handbook of North American Indians, William C. Sturtevant, general editor, vol. 8. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
- Kroeber, A. L. (1925), Handbook of the Indians of California. Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin No. 78. Washington, D.C.