Thursday, 7 October: Taos Pueblo

We drove through Santa Fe and about an hour further north, passing through reservations, or tribal lands, of a number of American Indian tribes. Near the small town of Taos we stopped at Ranchos de Taos, a small area of old adobe buildings around an old adobe church. It was the church of St Francis of Assisi, and was plain outside, tall, with bell towers and massive walls. Inside it was decorated in Mexican style, with wall paintings of a number of saints.There were autumn decorations in thanks for a good harvest.

Situated at the base of Taos Mountain, Taos pueblo is one of the oldest continuously inhabited communities in the US. It is a World Heritage site, which means it is quite unique and is to preserved and respected. The language is Tiwa, and is unwritten so that all their history is oral, passed on to each generation. Red Willow Creek runs through the village, dividing it into North Side and South Side. It flows down from the Sangre di Cristo Mountains, from the Blue Lake, which is considered by the Taos Indians to be sacred.

All the structures are adobe: earth and straw mixed with water and poured into brick forms which dry in the sun. The bricks are then stacked and covered with the same adobe mixture. The walls are several feet thick, and inside they are coated with white earth to keep the inside light. Roofs are supported by wooden beams and then compacted earth. The main structures are over 1000 years old. They are actually many separate homes built side by side in layers with no connecting doors. Once the only entrances were by ladder through a hole in the roof, which was also a source of light. If an enemy approached, the ladders were pulled up onto the roof. The pueblo is surrounded by the remains of a mud brick wall which was at one time about 3 metres high. The village area includes dome-shaped wood ovens and drying racks which offer shade as well as a place for drying meat and harvested crops such as corn, chillies and pumpkin.

Some of the houses are now artist studios and shops, but many are still homes. Today the people who live there keep firmly to the traditions of no electricity or running water within the sacred ancient village itself. Each year, a new layer of adobe is spread onto the buildings to maintain them.