Chiefs and Shamans

The following is from a work-in-progress about the history of Fullerton. You can support my ongoing research and writing on Patreon.

Tribal Leadership (The Tomyaar)

The source for the following information is an excellent book called The First Angelinos by William McCawley.

Prior to European contact, the total Kizh population is estimated to be around 5,000 people organized into communities/villages which were usually between 50 and 100 individuals each. 

The chief of each village was called a tomyaar, and he was also the head of a family lineage. Tomyaars formed alliances with other villages and tribes (sometimes through marriage) for purpose of trade and peaceful co-existence (shown through ritual exchange of gifts and large inter-tribal celebrations). 

According to McCawley, “The tomyaar was the focus of the religious and secular life of the lineage and community, serving as chief administrator, fiscal officer, religious leader, legal arbitrator, and commander-in-chief. Tomyaars were usually 30-35 years in age when elevated to office.” 

The tomyaar’s position was hereditary, passing from father to eldest son, though there were sometimes female tomyaars.

One of the most important duties of the tomyaar was to manage the economic affairs of the village, particularly collecting and distributing food. Those who hunted animals and gathered plants and seeds would give part of their bounty to the tomyaar for food reserves. These food stores would be used to feed the poor, and the community in times of shortage. Mismanagement of food stores was a serious offense that could be punished by death. 

Another of the tomyaar’s primary duties was to be a leader of trade and relations with other tribes. Good relations were maintained through the ritual exchange of shell beads, which were like currency. There was a vast network of inter-tribal relations with neighbors like the Cahuilla, Serrano, Chumash, Salinans, and other California tribes. These ritual exchanges were a way to prevent conflict and war, and provided avenues for obtaining food in times of shortage (through trade). 

In addition to being the political leader of his community, the tomyaar was also a religious leader, managing “the ritual interaction between his lineage or community and the supernatural world.” For example, he would “preserve and maintain the ritual implements stored in the ‘sacred bundle’ (a length of reed matting in which ceremonial objects were wrapped) and to schedule the dates for religious celebrations.”

McCawley explains that “the tomyaar’s prestige and authority derived in large measure from his knowledge of, and access to, supernatural power…As he was descended from a line of leaders, some ability to handle power was inborn.”

He was spiritually connected to the legendary “First Chief ” Wewyoot and the supernatural being Eagle: “In ritual performances the tomyaar often served as an intermediary with the supernatural world by assuming the identity of Eagle. In such performances the tomyaar wore a ceremonial skirt sewn from the feathers of an eagle and performed dances which symbolized a soul’s magical flight into the afterworld” (McCawley).

To show his sacred authority, the tomyaar’s house was built right next to the yovaar (sort of like a temple), which was “the most sacred and powerful location within the community.” He was one of a few people who was allowed to enter the yovaar.

Much of Kizh life involved sacred rituals, and the installation of a new tomyaar was no different. When a new tomyaar was to be installed, there was a large festival in which inhabitants of neighboring tribes and communities were invited.

During the installation ceremony, the new chief’s body was painted black with ash from a charred feather. He was enrobed in a feather skirt and a crown of feathers. He entered the sacred yovaar and began a ceremonial dance, accompanied by singers who chanted to music of turtle shell rattles.

Visiting tribal leaders also joined the dance, and the new tomyaar continued until fatigue overcame him. After the ceremony, the new tomyaar was acknowledged by all, and everyone celebrated with a massive feast/party that lasted three or four days.

Like all good leaders, the tomyaar was not alone. He was assisted in his duties by a Council of Elders, which was composed of other leaders in the community, each of whom had his own important role.

The Shaman

Shamans existed in many ancient and indigenous cultures around the world. According to McCawley, “shamans were an integral part of the political, economic, legal, moral, and religious affairs of the community.” They served as doctor, psychotherapist, philosopher, intellectual, and mediator with the spirit world.”

In Kizh society, shamans could be men or women. An important female shaman was Toypurina who famously attempted a revolt against the Spanish at Mission San Gabriel in 1785. 

The most powerful shamans, it was believed, could transform themselves in to animals, especially bears. 

There existed, among southern California tribes, shamanic associations which provided “a regional framework or religious and political authority.” The Kizh shamanic association was called the yovaarekem. 

Before becoming a shaman, a person received a “Divine Call” in the form of a dream. They then went through a difficult apprenticeship. McCawley explains, “In cultures throughout the world, the shamanic initiation typically involves a series of trances, during which the candidate undergoes ordeals of suffering, death, and rebirth at the hands of supernatural beings.” 

Each shaman had a “guardian spirit” which resided in his/her body (usually the heart). A guardian spirit could be an animal, a natural force (like thunder or lightning), a supernatural creature, or a plant. 

One of the powers of shamans was “magical flight” in which a shaman would leave their body and commune with other realms for various purposes such as obtaining supernatural help for the community, learning about the universe, leading the souls of the dead to the afterworld, and curing disease.

This magical flight was accomplished through the ingestion of the hallucinogenic plant datura (also called jimson weed), which was also ritualistically used in Asia, Africa, and medieval Europe. 

It was common for shamans to carry “power objects” imbued with supernatural force, such as wands, animal skins, plants, minerals (like quartz crystals), charmstones, pipes, and effigies (stones carved in the form of whales, fish, birds, mammals, canoes, and abstract shapes). A large collection of effigies was discovered in 1962 in Santa Monica canyon. 

Shamans also had “extensive knowledge of astronomy and cosmology that they used to predict the future and schedule religious festivals” (such as the summer solstice). Kizh society developed solar and lunar calendars as well as star charts. 

Shamans were also “responsible for preserving sacred and historical knowledge contained in the oral literature. This knowledge was passed on by word of mouth and memorized by each generation. Certain males were trained from youth as bards, or storytellers, with the ability to memorize long stories and orations and repeat them word-for-word.”

Shamans were also powerful healers. Kizh herbalists used a wide variety of natural resources for curing disease such as yerba de pasmo, chilicote, wild tobacco, chuchupate, saltgrass plant, elder pitch, wild rose, coastal sagebrush, oak bark, datura, and the meat of the mud turtle. Other treatment methods included massage, sweating, rest, hypnosis, surgery, and ritual singing.

For many diseases, an ordinary herbalist was sufficient; however in cases of serious maladies such as “soul loss” a shaman was required to undergo magical flight “to retrieve the lost soul and return it to the owner’s body.”

Because shamans possessed such power, “society had a decidedly ambivalent attitude toward them. Supernatural power could be used for evil as well as good…the abuse of supernatural power could result in severe punishment and even death.”

There exists in Kizh oral literature the story of two brothers who were powerful shamans. A tomyaar at San Gabriel paid them to curse or destroy his enemies. Consequently, an epidemic of disease struck the area and people started dying. When the community learned of the cause, they sent a war party to Catalina Island, where the shamans were hiding. A great battle ensued and the shaman brothers were killed because they had used their power for evil.