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

Patayan Rock Art? Western Arizona Rock Art. Searching for the roots of the La Rumorosa style. Southern California and San Diego Rock Art.

Dear Readers:
At the moment, I am about 3 months behind on working on images of sites I have visited. One of my teachers has suggested that the Kumeyaay La Rumorosa style may have had its roots to the east of Kumeyaay territory.  This is a small fragment of a magnificent panel in western Arizona, where, some researchers believe the roots of the  La Rumorosa style were born.  Others believe that the style developed more or less along the same timeline as the Kumeyaay style.    According to Broyles, et al. 2012 wrote on page 61: "...it cannot be proven whether the....rock art [below] was made by Yuman speakers (Quechan, Cocopah, Yavapai, Kamia/Kumeyaay), Piman speakers (Hia C'ed O'odham), or possibly their prehistoric ancestors..." [Patayan, in this case].

As a comparison, the first photo is as the element appears and the second photo is enhanced by D-stretch processing.  Click on photo to enlarge.  Please do not use photo without permission.   If you want to see a possible Quechan pictograph panel, another Kumeyaay art contemporary, come to the next meeting of the SDRAA scheduled for April 6th.   I will give a short presentation on a this site with an informative commentary by Ken Hedges that I can assure you will be lively and instructive!  How and where did Kumeyaay rock art evolve from?
Don Liponi

Notice on both paintings the red pigment has been over-painted with the black and I did not enhance it in DS for clarity.

Kumeyaay Rock Art from Baja California. Trapezoidal Shaped Anthropomorph. Baja California Pictographs. San Diego Rock Art Association.

This D-stretched photograph contains at least 3 anthropomorphs that do not have the typical body shape for Kumeyaay pictographs, with the exception of the splayed fingers.  Our thanks to Jon Harmon, the developer of D-stretch, for creating the technology that allows us to observe this extensive panel, for it is nearly invisible to the unaided eye or camera.  One could walk right by this rock and never see even a spot of pigment.  The pictographs are out in the open, facing south in the sun and exposed to the rain.  Click on the photo to enlarge.

If you live in Southern California or Baja California, please come to one of our meetings and consider joining San Diego Rock Art Association.  Not only will you see more rock art at our meetings, you can become involved in saving and documenting local and regional pictographs and petroglyphs in the field.  See our main website at:

http://www.sandiegorockart.org/

Current Kumeyaay article on their Cultural Landscape in Baja California - Lynn Gamble and Michael Wilken-Robertson. Kumeyaay Rock Art, Baja California.

SDRAA and friends:

Below is a link to a current description of what it is to be a Kumeyaay living in Baja California, with first hand accounts of their contemporary conceptions of their world.   This also has some application to Norte California.  It is both heart warming and heart breaking.  I highly recommend this article for anyone who wants an intimate account of the Kumeyaay world: where there are no casinos and the acorn is still a staple, and why certain rocks and rock art are so important.  The Kumeyaay women interviewed live in the area of La Rumorosa that we have just visited.  Please follow link below to a PDF file for your reading enjoyment.

http://www.anth.ucsb.edu/sites/secure.lsit.ucsb.edu.anth.cms/files/sitefiles/people/gamble/Gamble%20and%20Wilken%2008.pdf

Kumeyaay petroglyphs in Baja California. Kumeyaay Rock Art. Kumeyaay Shaman. California Rock Art.

I have to admit that I used to believe that I had to leave San Diego and Imperial Counties to see impressive petroglyphs.  A subjective statement to be sure.  The pictures I have seen of the petroglyphs in Pinto Canyon always impressed me, but it is currently a potentially dangerous place to be.  About the most extensive petroglyph site that I am aware of occurs in the region of the border of San Diego and Riverside Counties.  In all honesty, I am not sure if this is in Anza Borrego State Park or not.  In any case, in searching for "Utah Class" of petroglyphs within a few hours of San Diego, that has both beautiful desert scenery and friendly site stewardship -  the answer to me has become - Baja California.  To many of us that spend so much time trying to see a portion of the rock art of the Southwest, it is easy to forget how much magnificent art there is in Baja California apart from the large murals of Central Baja.  We know that the Kumeyaay used the canyons on the eastern side of the Southern California Peninsular Range as seasonal routes and for the abundance of resources found there.  Not surprisingly, the same situation exists along the eastern side of the Sierra Juarez Mountains of Baja California.  I was impressed to hear that the Kumuyaay range was as far south as a 100 miles into Baja California.  This is one of their Shaman's work about 30-40 miles south of the border in a year round creek at the bottom of the Sierra Juarez.  Currently, the Pets are about 10 feet above the water.  The area reminds me of Carrizo Gorge in ABSP and the Garden of Eden it was 20-30 years ago when it was flush with water and devoid of Tamarisk trees.  Not a spot of trash or graffiti anywhere.  This panel is about a mile from the nearest 4WD road.  It is easy to imagine the Kumeyaay villagers here in their pre-contact serenity. Click on photo to enlarge it.  Photos copyright Don Liponi 2014.