Mojave

Today Mojaves are divided into two tribes, one based on the Colorado River Reservation and the other on the Fort Mojave Indian Reservation. They are known as Mojaves and the Fort Mojave Indian Tribe, respectively. Originally they were one people, known as “Aha macave,” which means people who live along [Page 463]the river. Today, Mojaves spell Mojave with a “j,” although the form with “h” (Mohave) is still in common usage.

The Mojaves believed that their creator was Mutavilya, who was formed by a union of the Sky and the Earth. He was believed to have created the Mojaves and was thought by the Mojaves to have a son, Mastamho, who provided what the Mojaves would need, including the water and teaching the original Mojaves how to plant. In another version, Mutavilya was killed by his sister, Frog Woman. In this version, Mastamho is Mutavilya's little brother, and because of Mutavilya's untimely death, Mastamho took over the responsibility of caring for the Mojaves by creating the Colorado River and the crops they would need.

The Mojaves made their home along the Colorado River in central and northern Arizona, where both of their current reservations are located today. Although it is known that Mojaves lived in the valleys along this river, the exact boundary of the original domain is unclear. At the time of white contact in 1605, the Spanish, under the Onate expedition, came into contact with “Amacavas,” or “Amacabos.” These were Mojaves, and it is believed that the Spanish encountered them south of Mojave Valley in the Chemehuevi and Parker Valleys. According to how one interprets the route of this expedition, however, it is also possible that they may have been originally dwelling in the Mojave Valley. Either the Mojaves were only located in the Parker and Lake Havasu area in the Chemehuevi and Parker Valleys at this time, or the Mojaves were also in the area of Needles in the Mojave Valley. If they were dwelling in both, they may have been split into two groups as they are today, one residing in each of these areas.

It is also possible, however, that they were not originally in the Mojave Valley. If this is true, then they probably migrated there from the Chemehuevi and Parker Valleys after initial Spanish contact in 1540 and later, in the 1600s. As part of that migration, Mojaves probably pushed out or absorbed another tribe in the process. The reason for this migration is that the area around Lake Havasu is arid, but about 20 miles north in the Mojave Valley, the land is much more arable. The fact that agriculture on a limited basis was in place in the Chemehuevi Valley before contact with whites prevents this assumption from being conclusive because it does prove that farming in the Chemehuevi Valley is possible.

For food, the Mojaves hunted, fished, gathered, and planted. When in 1605 the Spanish, and later in 1854 the Americans, encountered Mojaves, they had corn, squash, and beans with them on both occasions, indicating that these were staple foods. They also gathered mesquite, fished in the Colorado River, and hunted mostly small game, including local rabbits and predators, although because of their extensive wandering, they also hunted large game as well.

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