Taos Pueblo -“The First Living World Heritage”

In the English language, Taos means “place of the red willows”.  We had to explore at least one of the pueblos in the state and this is the most well known and is considered to be “the oldest continuously inhabited community in the USA”, according to the pamphlet we were given.  The Red Willow Creek runs through the center of the enclave dividing the buildings into the north and south.  This is the only source of water for the roughly 50 or so native peoples who live there permanently - there is no running water or electricity so they gather water for all their needs from the river.  We have it so easy!

 

The buildings are all made of adobe; the two main structures joining the individual homes together are about four storeys high with ladders to reach the entrances in the rooftops.  Nowadays there are brightly colored doorways which also serve as entryways for visitors to buy arts and crafts as well as the breads and pastries. 

The tribal members selling their art, drums, pottery, etc. were very willing to talk about their way of life and we gleaned so many interesting facts from them.  They have their own Tiwa language which has never been written down or recorded and wish to keep their values and culture to remain so.  The feast days are held throughout the year for dances or their annual Pow-Wow and photography is not allowed then. 

Unfortunately, as with most tribes, they have been oppressed by the white Americans and have had a violent past and many were forced into “slavery or Catholicism in order to become civilized”, another quote from their superb brochure.  In fact, this brochure with photos and facts about the Pueblo was one of the best we’ve read during our travels.

You can see Howard looking inside a “horno”, the adobe ovens still in use almost daily for baking the bread.  One of the vendors, whose son has the appealing name of “Dancing Humming Bird” after which the shop is named, told us that she and a friend built a horno recently and could bake at least 72 loaves at one time in it. Naturally we had to buy a loaf and it was delicious.

However, the “fried bread” on offer was not the type we eat in the UK as part of a big English breakfast, (which is a piece of white bread fried in a huge amount of fat), but similar to “funnel cake , a popular sweet pastry we tasted at a fair in Arkansas, too calorific for us!  The oven is also used for cooking vegetables or game.  The whole experience was unmissable and if we have a chance in the future, we shall certainly visit other pueblos.