Tumacacori

Images from this month’s retro photo album titled Tumacacori Feb 26, 2007.

Founded by Kino in January, 1691, mission San Cayetano de Tumacácori was the first mission to be located in what is now Arizona. Originally located on the east side of the Santa Cruz River, the mission moved – following a nearby rebellion in 1751 – to its present location on the west side of the river, where it was rechristened San José de Tumacácori.

There’s a very Georgia O’Keeffe feel to the architecture that I adore. The adobe colors have such nice, rich tones under the Arizona sun.

And shapes. So many interesting shapes.

I always have fun taking photos here. This little section is where I’ve seen chili peppers hanging up to dry on hooks you can barely see if you look close enough on the wooden post.

The mission was built for the native people who lived in the vicinity of Tumacácori who called themselves “O’odham,” meaning “people” in their language. The Spanish called the O’odham that they found living along rivers “Pima,” and those that they found living in the desert, “Papago.” Their homeland included the area that is now southern Arizona and the northern part of the Mexican state of Sonora. A peaceful people unless the need arose to defend themselves, the O’odham were farmers, raising corn, beans and squash using flood irrigation. The people called “Papago” by the Spanish are known today as the Tohono O’odham, or “desert people.” Their famous basketry – once necessary for gathering and storing food – is made today using the same material-gathering and weaving techniques as were used by their ancestors. 

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