Zuni Indian

From January 20 to 23, I went to Santa Fe and San Ildefonso in New Mexico with Dr. Laughlin and my classmates. I was totally surprised by the architecture of the housing and the rich collection of Native American cultures. I expected to see traditional suburbs but instead I found almost everyone has built houses resembling traditional adobe homes which I had never seen. Houses, businesses, government buildings including museums are almost built in this style. The colors seem to blend in with the desert. One of the most exciting events I attended in New Mexico was the museum presentation of the Zuni tribe. Although we actually did not meet the Zuni tribe, we learned a lot about them because Dawn Kaufmann who is a guide at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture shown us in details how Zuni tribe is different from other tribes in New Mexico. In terms of their origin, Japanese migrated to the North America and those decedents had strong connection with Zuni and influenced Zuni culture. I became so fascinated by this information that I started researching the Japanese influence on Zuni culture, which might be reflected in Zuni artworks such as potteries and quilts, and other cultural connections . Nancy Yaw Davis mentioned in his book, The Zuni Enigma, that Zuni language and culture are the result of merger with a group of 13th century Japanese pilgrims because many disasters such as storms, earthquakes, floods, and drought initiated the pilgrimage (35). They crossed the ocean to the east, arrived in California, and moved on and arrived at Zuni, settling there by 1350AD. She displays considerable evidence linking Zuni and Japanese language, culture, and physiology. For instance, the Zuni language bears no resemblance to other North American languages, but exhibits similarities to old Japanese: Zuni religion bears similarities to Shinto, both of which share a high incidence of a kidney disease, and skull which remains show unusual dental features in common between Zuni

Cited: Cheek, Ben. "THESIS: A Church Growth Study of the Zuni Indians, 2.4 - The Zuni Religion." Ohio Valley College Has Become Ohio Valley University. Web. 3 Apr. 2012. . Davis, Nancy Yaw. The Zuni Enigma. New York: Norton, 2000. Print. Lanmon, Dwight P., and Francis H. Harlow. The Pottery of Zuni Pueblo. Santa Fe: Museum of New Mexico, 2008. Print. Leighton, Dorothea Cross., and John Adair. People of the Middle Place: A Study of the Zuni Indians. New Haven (Conn.): Human Relations Area Files, 1971. Print. "The Pueblo of Zuni." The Pueblo of Zuni. Web. 3 Apr. 2012. .