This
morning we were off early with a group from the Photographic Society of America
to visit the Acoma Pueblo, which is located about an hour’s drive west of
Albuquerque. This pueblo has been occupied since the mid- 1100s. The pueblo is
located on a flat mesa top 430 feet above the valley floor. There is no
electricity, or running water there. All water, food, and waste has to be
trucked in and out.
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| Acoma Pueblo |
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| Wall Detail |
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| Colorful Door and Window |
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| Stairway to the Stars? |
There are about 30 individuals who live in the Pueblo year
round. They are often visited by their families and fellow tribe members. The
ladders that one sees throughout the pueblo are used to reach the second, and
third stories of a building as there is no access from below on the inside.
Their crafts are lovely, and I purchased a small vase from them. They also have
some very nice jewelry. Many of the homes have or share a horno, or clay oven. This is used to make bread and roast or cook meats which are said to be quite delicious.
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| Pueblo Wall Detail |
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| Stairway |
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| Pueblo Home and Reflection |
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| A View from the Top |
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| Horno, Clay Oven for Baking (I would have like to bake a loaf of Sourdough in it.) |
We
enjoyed the tour and the many photo opportunities of the Pueblo. Photography
was restricted to the pueblo buildings. You had to ask permission to photograph
the people or their pottery. (They are protective of their pottery and designs
because now people photograph it and then have it copied in China!) There is a
beautiful old church which can be photographed on the outside only. One can see
that the adobe is mixture of clay and grasses when you look closely at it. It
has a commanding position on the Mesa as well.
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| Street View |
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| San Estevan del Rey Mission Church |
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| Church Detail |
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| Neighborhood |
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| Adobe Architecture |
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| Example of their beautiful Pottery |
On
our way back to our Hotel we stopped at the Pueblo Indian Cultural Center.
Here
we were able to photograph some of the Native American dancers, stroll through
their museum, and learn more about the cultures of the area.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the Pueblo as well as at the Cultural Center.
The Pueblo looks very tidy. Nice you could take photos there. Love the details.
ReplyDeleteThey keep things very clean there. It probably helps that there are not many permanent residents there any more.
DeleteThe people still return for ceremonial days and other special occasions.
Beautiful photos Nancy. Thanks very much for sharing them. We have a pot from the Acoma Pueblo that we bought years ago. It's nice to see where it came from.
ReplyDeleteIt is a fascinating location. I was taken with their pottery as well, and purchase a pot while there.
ReplyDelete