An Intimate Portrait of Kumeyaay circa 1950. Tipai [southern Kumeyaay or Southern Diegueno] of Baja California Ethonographic Notes [Book].

Hi Readers:
I highly recommend this book, “Tipai Ethnographic Notes.  A Baja California Indian Community at Mid-Century” [ca 1950]. William D. Hohenthal, Jr.  A cooperative publication of Ballena Press and the Institute for Regional Studies of the Californias.

A very unique publication that gives us an "insiders" view of the Tipai who lived in the area that we have just visited at La Rumorosa.  That village, as well as many other specific little villages are looked at in detail.  The descendants of the culture that produced a vast inventory of rock art and a rich cultural display are brought to life during a period that they are facing the explosion of intruding cultures.

This larger paperback is priced around $10 and has glowing reviews on the cover by Ken Hedges, Richard Carrico and Jerry Moore.  So many books have been written about what Kumeyaay life might have been like - here we get a first hand account of what it was like without the speculation.  Such a book adds immeasurably to my wanderings as I see so many "markers" of  habitation, if I only had an idea of their significance in everyday life.

See you on the trail.
Don Liponi