Serrano
The Serrano people are an Indigenous tribe from Southern California, primarily located around the San Bernardino Mountains and the Mojave Desert. The name "Serrano" translates to "mountaineer" or "highlander" in Spanish, while the Serrano people refer to themselves as Takhtam or Taaqtam, identifying further by clan names like Yuhaaviatam or Maringayam. Traditionally, they were hunters and gatherers, relying on a diverse diet that included acorns, pine nuts, and game animals. Serrano villages typically housed 25 to 100 individuals, with circular, domed homes constructed from local materials.
Cultural practices included the use of shamans, who played key roles as healers and spiritual leaders, often using psychotropic plants to enhance their abilities. European contact began in the late 18th century, leading to significant upheaval for the Serrano as they were forcibly integrated into missions, which disrupted their traditional lifestyles. Today, the Serrano people primarily reside on reservations, such as the San Manuel and Morongo Reservations, where they continue to preserve aspects of their cultural heritage amidst the challenges of contemporary life.
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Serrano
- CATEGORY: Tribe
- CULTURE AREA: California
- LANGUAGE GROUP: Takic
- PRIMARY LOCATION: Southern California
- POPULATION SIZE: 46 (2022: San Manuel Reservation: American Community Survey); 1,000 (2024: Morongo Band of Mission Indians)
The Serrano people historically occupied regions of Southern California around the San Bernardino Mountains and the Mojave Desert. Serrano is Spanish for “mountaineer” or “highlander.” The Serranos called themselves Takhtam or Taaqtam (people) or identified themselves by their clan name, such as Yuhaaviatam (people of the pines) or Maringayam/Maarrenga'yam (people of Morongo). Each clan belonged to one of two moieties, the names of which translated as Wildcat and Coyote.
The Serranos were originally hunters and gatherers who occasionally fished for subsistence. Women gathered acorns, pine nuts, roots, bulbs, berries, and cactus fruit. Periodically, gathering districts were burned over to increase plant yields. The men hunted deer, antelope, sheep, birds, and small game. Surplus foods were dried in the sun for winter use.
Traditionally, Serranos lived in small villages of between twenty-five and one hundred people. Families lived together in circular, domed houses covered with tule thatches; a household usually consisted of parents, their unmarried daughters, their married sons, and sometimes extended family members. Village locations were determined by proximity to water. Serranos wore little clothing in warm weather, often just skirts or aprons made of bark or tule reeds; winter clothes were made of animal hides, and fur robes and blankets provided additional warmth. Ceremonial costumes were decorated with feathers.
Serrano shamans were believed to have special psychic powers acquired through dreams. These dreams were enhanced by using the datura plant, which was dried and mixed with water to make a hallucinogenic tea. Among their other duties, shamans were healers; they used herbal medicines or sucked out foreign objects that were believed to cause illness or pain.
First European contact may have occurred in the 1770s, when the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel was established (1771) or when Pedro Fages made his expeditionary trip through the region (1772), but these meetings had little effect on the Serranos until 1819 when a small mission was built near Redlands. Between 1819 and 1834, many Serranos were forcibly taken into the missions. Not enough Serranos remained behind to retain their traditional way of life. In the region northeast of San Gorgonio Pass, a small group survived and preserved what little was left of Serrano culture.
Most contemporary Serranos live in Southern California, either on the San Manuel Reservation, home of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, or on the Morongo Reservation, home of the Morongo Band of Mission Indians. The San Manuel Band consists of Serranos from the Yuhaaviatam clan. The Morongo Band comprises several Indigenous Californian peoples, including the Serrano, Cahuilla, Cupeño, Luiseño, and Chemehuevi.
Bibliography
"About Us – Fact Sheet." Morongo Band of Mission Indians, morongonation.org/about-us. Accessed 4 Nov. 2024.
Bean, Lowell John, and Charles R. Smith. "Serrano." Handbook of North American Indians. vol. 8, California, edited by Robert F. Heizer. Smithsonian, 1978, pp. 570–74.
"History." San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, sanmanuel-nsn.gov/culture/history. Accessed 4 Nov. 2024.
Pritzker, Barry M. "Serrano." A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples. By Pritzker. Oxford UP, 2000, pp. 142–43.
"San Manuel." Riverside San Bernardino Country Indian Health, www.rsbcihi.org/board/san-manuel. Accessed 4 Nov. 2024.
"Serrano." California Language Archive, cla.berkeley.edu/languages/serrano.html. Accessed 4 Nov. 2024.
U.S. Census Bureau. "San Manuel Reservation." Census Reporter, censusreporter.org/profiles/25200US3445R-san-manuel-reservation. Accessed 4 Nov. 2024.
White, Phillip. "American Indian Studies: California Indians: Q-S." SDSU Library and Information Access, 2 Nov. 2024, libguides.sdsu.edu/c.php?g=494769&p=3389018. Accessed 4 Nov. 2024.