Humanities Project 3AB
Cabeza de Vaca
Pioneer Historian, Christian Warrior, Healer
Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca was the first European to describe, through written accounts, the area of land from Florida to Arizona. Vaca's documentation is believed to be the oldest written history of Native Americans. My first impression of Vaca was that of a great conquistador. He was that, of course, but he was first a man, one of strong beliefs and emotions. This, then, is where his true story lies.
It was in the year of 1490 AD when Spanish nobility, warriors for many generations, produced Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca into the world. As a young man, Vaca entered the military service and was sent to Italy. He fought in the battle of Ravenna and won an honor for bravery on the battlefield. Vaca grew to be a highly religious man who believed that human suffering was the fate of all good Catholics; he had no mercy for the infidel.
When approaching the age of forty, the very observant and intelligent Vaca had learned to read and write. Blessed with an excellent memory, he became acquainted with Bible verses and history. Vaca, like most literate men, read novels for entertainment. He possessed a large amount of pride and arrogance, with a sense of Christian superiority. He felt it was his duty to spread faith to the pagan land.
On September 27, 1527, Cabeza de Vaca, along with about 600 men on five vessels, governed by Panfilo do Narvaez, departed from the Port of San Lucar de Barrameda. Their orders were to conquer the area from the river of the palms to the Cape of the Florida. After making land in Florida with only 40 horses and 300 men remaining, they wandered around for months, looking for food, fighting malaria, dysentery and the hostile Indians. After a time they were able to build five 30-foot barges, and they headed west toward Mexico along the Gulf Coast. In the winter of 1528, only two barges, carrying 80 sick men, remained. The barges wrecked in Louisiana, and only fifteen men survived the hunger, disease, drowning and cold weather. When Vaca and the other survivors made land, they were scared out of their minds. They took the Indians to be formidable giants, and Vaca felt he and his men were no match for the natives. Luckily for Vaca, the Indians were friendly, and told the Spaniards, by sign language, that they would go to their village for food, and would return the following day. The Indians were true to their word, and fed the Spaniards. Vaca spent six years in Louisiana before heading west again, to Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. During these six years of pilgrimage, Vaca practiced the science of healing, and gained the respect of the natives.
Vaca later ventured to the Appalachians, having heard tales of great wealth, gold, maize -where all the wonders and luxuries of life were to be had. What he found was various clans of native American Indians gathered together to form villages, with the intent to protect themselves from wild animals and other natives. Vaca found the native food sources to be fish, wild animals, wild fruits and vegetables. The Native Indians made dishes from pottery (clay and seeds), as well as fireplaces to smoke their meat and fish. The Indians made canoes from logs, which enabled the different clans to meet and exchange foods, clothing, art and customs. The Indians continued to flourish, until years later when DeSoto , following Vaca's influence and maps, followed the roads to the Indian villages. At that point, everything changed. DeSoto, another whole topic unto himself, brought evil to America.
Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca was a man of strong beliefs. He was a compassionate man, with an unshakable faith in God, and a strong soul. There are many, many accounts of heroism, honorable deeds and acts of kindness related to Vaca, as are there stories of warrior traits. These acts describe the man, even more so than the legendary battles fought and the lands conquered. Vaca was a many faceted human being. He stood up for what he believed in, while opening himself to the unknown.
The following is an imaginary account of a meeting between the Native Indians and Cabeza de Vaca. Although the setting is fictional, the events follow documented history:
"It is a cool summer evening in my village. My name is Chenoa, and I am an unmarried maiden, under the care of my mother and the men of our tribe. As I gaze at my people gathered in our meeting place I am calmed by the distinctive smoke of the plant of which all the men (mira aca) inhale. The mira aca in my village also partake of the extract of the leaves of certain trees, which they toast over the open fire and put in a water vessel. They then boil the mixture, and after it has boiled three times the villagers pour the liquid in a bowl made of gourd. After much foam has formed, the mira aca drink and shout out, asking whom among them would drink. When the women of my village hear the mira aca shout, we immediately stand still. My mother has said to me, "Chenoa, when the mira aca shout, do be still of body, 'ere you will be considered evil. You will be dishonored and beaten." I have seen this for myself, and my mother is correct. The mira aca will react in a rage, supposing that the women, by their mere presence and movement, have contaminated the drink, and that they, the warriors, will die an untimely death. They beat our women, with no mercy, to the brink of death. An uncovered substance in the presence of a woman means contamination. Our gentle women are shamed and misused. I am greatly afraid of bringing notice upon myself in this manner. I stay in the shadows, not speaking, holding my body still, in great hopes that the evening will pass quickly and I will retire unceremoniously into my chamber. Later, when I go to my bed, I thank God that I am unharmed, and that I have brought no misfortune upon the heads of my warrior kings."
The above account is descriptive of the Freirean philosophies of oppression and alienation as relates to the women in this clan. Alienation is the presence of conflict and distance. When conscious, alienation provokes aggressive behavior, hostility and fear. On some level, the men in this Native American clan were fearful of their women. They acted upon this fear with hostility and aggression, through superior power and force.
A Conquistador's Ship
Cabeza de Vaca, a narriation
The Indian Clans
History of Vaca
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