Juana Maria
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Juana Maria (died October 18, 1853), better known to history as "The Lost Woman of San Nicolas" (her Indian name is unknown), was a Native American woman of the now-extinct Nicoleño tribe who lived alone on San Nicolas Island from 1835 until her discovery in 1853. The popular children's novel Island of the Blue Dolphins was inspired by her story.
Lone woman of San Nicolas Island
In 1811 hunters began scouring the California coast for otters, whose pelts were affectionately referred to as "soft gold". As the intensity of the hunting took its toll the otters nearly became extinct on many islands although San Nicolas was, at the time, mostly untouched. Under contract to a Russian trading company approximately 30 Aleuts were hired to hunt otters for several weeks on San Nicolas Island. Unfortunately, this outing grew into a year, and a bloody conflict among the otter trappers and islanders (who opposed the hunting) drastically reduced the population of the local men. By 1835 the island's Native American population, which had once numbered 300, had shrunk to not more than 7 individuals, all female except for one man named Black Hawk.When news of the massacre reached mainland the Santa Barbara Mission decided to sponsor a rescue operation. In late November 1835, the schooner Peor es Nada commanded by Charles Hubbard, left Monterey, California under contract to remove the remaining Native Americans living on San Nicolas Island. Upon arrival to the island Hubbard's party gathered the Indians on the beach and brought them aboard. Maria, however, could not find her child among the crowd and returned to the village to search for him/her. Before she could return to the beach, a strong storm arose. The Peor es Nada's crew, realizing the imminent danger of being wrecked by the surf and rocks, panicked and sailed toward the mainland, leaving behind Maria. A more romantic version tells of Maria diving overboard after realizing her child had been left behind, although archeologist Steven Schwartz notes "The story of her jumping overboard does not show up until the 1880s... By then the Victorian era is well underway, and literature takes on a flowery, even romantic flavor." Los Angeles Times (June 15, 2004) ["Marooned - 18 Years of Solitude"] by Joe Robinson, Special to The Times. Retrieved February 14, 2006.
Hubbard brought the islanders to San Pedro Bay where many chose to live at the San Gabriel Mission. The missions however, despite their best intentions, had a high fatality rate as the Indians had no immunity to European diseases. Black Hawk, the last male islander, reportedly became blind shortly thereafter, and drowned after falling from a steep bank. Hubbard was unable to return for Maria at the time as he had orders to take a shipment of lumber to Monterey, and unfortunately, within a month the Peor es Nada sank at the entrance to San Francisco Bay after hitting a "heavy board" which caused the schooner to roll "over and over and over" until it sank. A lack of available ships in the mid-1830s delayed any further rescue attempts.
Rescue
In 1850, Father Gonzales of the Santa Barbara Mission paid one Thomas Jeffries $200 to find Maria, though he was unsuccessful. However, the tales Jeffries told upon returning to San Francisco managed to capture the imagination of George Nidever, a Santa Barbara fur trapper, who launched several expeditions of his own. The first two failed although on the third attempt in 1853, one of Nidever’s men, a Carl Dittman, discovered human footprints on the beach and pieces of seal blubber which had been left out to dry. Further investigation lead to Maria’s discovery, who was living on the island in a crude hut partially constructed of whale bones. She was dressed in a skirt made of greenish cormorant feathers.Afterward Maria was taken to the Santa Barbara Mission, but was unable to communicate with anyone. Even the local Chumash Indians were unable to understand her. It is believed she spoke one of the Uto-Aztecan languages. A University of California, Los Angeles study by linguist Pamela Munro focusing on four words and two songs Maria spoke and sang to one of her rescuers suggests that Maria's language was most similar to those of the Luiseños of Northern San Diego County and of the Juaneños near San Juan Capistrano. Both groups traded with the San Nicolas islanders and their languages may have had some influence. This evidence, when taken as a whole, suggests that Maria was a native Nicoleño. However, other scholars contend that because all attempts to decipher her dialect by local Indians were in vain, Maria may have been the child of a rape between an Aleut man and a Nicoleño widow, or a descendant thereof.
Life at Santa Barbara Mission
Maria was reportedly fascinated and ecstatic upon arrival, marveling at the sight of horses, along with European clothing and food. She was allowed to stay with Nidever, who described Maria as a woman of "medium height, but rather thick… She must have been about 50 years old, but she was still strong and active. Her face was pleasing as she was continually smiling. Her teeth were entire but worn to the gums." Maria allegedly enjoyed visits by curious Santa Barbara residents, singing and dancing for her audiences.One of the songs Maria sang is popularly called the "Toki Toki" song. Knowledge of this song came from a Chumash man named Malquiares, who recited the words to his friend Fernando "Kitsepawit" Librado (1839 – 1915) who then recited the words to Aravio "Talawiyashwit", who provided the translation. Anthropologist John P. Harrington wrote of the song, which was eventually recorded on wax cylinder by J.P. Harrington in 1913 and sung by Fernando Librado. Although the song's meaning is not known, the lyrics are as follows:
- Toki Toki yahamimena (x 3)
- weleshkima nishuyahamimena (x 2)
- Toki Toki...(continue as above)
Death
Tragically, just two weeks after arriving on mainland Maria died of dysentery. It is likely her fondness for green corn, vegetables and fresh fruit after years of little such nutrient-laden foods caused the severe and ultimately fatal disease. On her deathbed she was baptized and christened with the Spanish name Juana Maria by Father Gonzales, and she was buried in an unmarked grave on the Nidever family plot at the Santa Barbara Mission cemetery. In 1928 a plaque commemorating her was placed at the site by the Daughters of the American Revolution.Maria's water basket, clothing and various artifacts including bone needles which had been brought back from the island and were part of the collections of the California Academy of Sciences were destroyed in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire.
References
External links
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