Luiseño

Luiseño is not an indigenously derived term but, rather, is of Spanish origin, having been used to refer to those native peoples associated with the Mission San Luis Rey de Francia. The mission, founded in 1798, established numerous supporting ranchos throughout what are now southwestern Riverside and northwestern San Diego Counties, and these ranchos encompassed dozens of existing native villages. People living in the villages became the forced labor of the mission, and because they resided within territory claimed by Mission San Luis Rey, they became [Page 422]known as San Luiseños, a term later shortened to Luiseños. Aboriginally, each of the six Luiseño bands identified themselves along village lines but acknowledged tribal identity by language, with distinctions based on the four cardinal directions. Because their tribal territory was located west of the other tribes in the region, the Luiseño, whose language belongs to the Cupan group of the Takic subfamily of the widespread Uto-Aztecan linguistic family, referred to themselves collectively as Payomkawichum (Western People).

The Luiseño, as well as other Takic-speaking people such as the Cupeño, Cahuilla, and Gabrielino, are thought to have migrated into southern California from the Great Basin. Luiseño tradition notes alternately that the people originally came from either the east or north to the places they eventually settled in southern California, but this tradition does not offer a specific place of origin. The belief that the Luiseño migrated from the Great Basin, which is northeast of Luiseño territory, is based on linguistic evidence. Precise estimates of when this migration occurred do not currently exist, although some theorists believe it may have begun as early as 7,000 to 8,000 years ago. Archaeological evidence indicates the presence of aboriginal cultures in the coastal area of San Diego County as early as 7370–7270 BCE, and these peoples are generally considered to be the ancestors of the Luiseño.

The ecologically diverse territory of the Luiseño comprised 1,500 square miles of coastal and inland southern California in what are now northwestern San Diego County and southwestern Riverside County. Their habitat included every ecological zone, ranging from sea level to more than 6,000 feet above sea level, providing an abundant and variable subsistence base. Territorial boundaries of the Luiseño were shared with the Gabrielino and Serrano to the north, the Cahuilla to the east, and the Cupeño and Ipay to the south.

Sedentary and autonomous village groups with strictly delineated land and resource holdings were located in every ecological zone within Luiseño territory. Villages were usually situated near adequate sources of food and water, in defensive locations such as sheltered coves or canyons. Typically, a village was composed of permanent houses, a sweathouse, and a religious edifice. Permanent houses of the Luiseño were earth-covered and built over a two-foot-deep excavation. According to informants' accounts, the dwellings were conical roofs resting on a few logs leaning together, with a smoke hole in the middle of the roof and entrance by a door. Cooking was done outside when possible, on a central hearth when necessary. The sweathouse was similar to the houses except that it was smaller, elliptical, and had its door in one of the long sides. Heat was produced directly by a wood fire. Finally, the religious edifice was usually just a round fence of brush with a main entrance for viewing by the spectators and several narrow openings for entry by the ceremonial dancers.

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