Rituals of Confrontation: Cabeza de Vaca and the Texas Indians

Abstract

Intertcxts, vol. 1, no. 2, Fall 1997 Rituals of Confrontation: Cabeza de Vaca and the Texas Indians Nancy P. Hickerson T e x a s T e c h U n i v e r s i t y The narrative of Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca, the record of an eight-year sojourn on the North American mainland between 1528 and 1536, bridges the realms of history, ethnology, and literature. It is aprimary historical document, apioneer account of native American cultures, and aliterary classic which has been read throughout the world for well over 400 years as an exciting and heroic tale of adventure and survival. It has been publishedandrepublishedinmanyeditions,underseveraltides;itisperhaps best known as Naufra^ios {Shipwrecks ot Calamities)} Cabeza de Vaca’s account has been the basis for several interpretive and fictionalized re¬ tellings, intended for both juvenile and adult readers; these can hardly hope to improve, and most do clisservice to, the original.^ As asource of historical information on the entrada led by Panfilo de Narvaez, the narrative of Cabeza de Vaca is supplemented by the so-called JointAccount} This was apparently based on official debriefing interviews withthethreeSpanishsurvivorsoftheexpedition(CabezadeVacahimself, Andres Dorantes, and Alonzo de Castillo). The relationship between the twoaccounts,whileclose,issubjecttointerpretation.Asachronology,the JointAccount occasionally adds details not present in Cabeza de Vaca s narrative, and it provides information on aperiod of time during which he was incapacitated by illness. But it contains little ethnographic information, is full of moralistic digressions, and seems far less sympathetic to the native peoples than the first-hand account. The JointAccount hzs little relevance tothisstudy,whichconcernsnativeritualresponsestotheSpanishpresence. ThehistoricalsettingoftheNarvaezentradaanditsaftermathmaybe brieflyreviewed.'*TheexpeditionledbyPanfilodeNarvaezleftCuba 1527.After aseries of misadventures, landfall was made on the peninsula of Florida. Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca was treasurer of the expedition, second in command. Through incredible ineptitude on the part of Narvaez, thecommander,thelandpartybecameseparatedfromtheirships;theythen attempted to advance on foot. Eventually, after many losses, the men built makeshift barges and set out to make their way toward Panuco by water, following the coast. Out of an original 300, approximately 200 of the men were left when their boats were thrown up on the Texas coast on and near Galveston Island. Here they were rescued and cared for by the coastal Capoques, probably i n 1 6 9 1 7 0 I N T E R T E X T S Karankawan Indians. After the first winter, only 15 Spaniards were left on the island; disease, undoubtedly introduced by the Spaniards, also ravaged the Indians. After this group moved south, to alocation usually identified as Matagorda Bay, only four remained—Cabeza de Vaca, Castillo, Dorantes ,andEstevan(orEstevanico),Dorantes’sMoorishslave.Sixyearselapsed between first landfall on the coast and the beginning of the westward journeywhichledthesefourtoCuliacan,inMexico,wheretheyarrivedin 1536. During these years, they lived with anumber of different tribes, suffered and recovered from illnesses, acquired avariety of skills, and learned thepracticeofshamanichealing.CabezadeVacaalsobecameanitinerant trader;byhisownstatement,hedidsoinordertofamiliarizehimselfwith geographyandlinesofcommunicationsoaseventuallytomakehiswayto NewSpain.Ashestates,“Thisoccupationsuitedme;Icouldtravelwhere Iwished. . ~ determine ..This served my main purpose, which all the while was to aneventualroadout”(Covey67). Readers of the story of Cabeza de Vaca and his companions have always een intrigued by accounts of their shamanic curing ceremonies, sometimes verylargeinscale;andtheevidenthonorandreverencepaidthembythe crowds of natives who accompanied them, especially during the later stages otheirwestwardodyssey.Forexample,atasiteincentralTexas,“The peope...crowdeduponus,everyonecompetingtotouchus....Inthe morning they brought every single inhabitant of the village for us to touch an ess as they had heard we had done elsewhere. After our performance, eypresentedmanyarrowstothewomenoftheothervillagewhohad ccompanied us to theirs. ..” (Covey 102).5 favored'b^'d'^*^^”^"*^* depicted the Spaniards as miracle-workers ydivineProvidence;dternatively,asinnatelysuperiorhuman eingswobedazzledthechild-likemindsofthesimplenati%esamong wnomtheysojourned;orevenascharlatanswhousedthetricksofshamanwm to gain acommanding position and, eventually, their freedom.^ Were eP^niar sactually regarded as innately superior? Were they feared? orsippeasgods?Thoughttobe,literally,“ChildrenoftheSun?”Such ar^ invoked;theyarenot,however,convincing.Neither Ar,.^equateforunderstandingtheconfrontationbetweenNative crican an uropean in the 16th-century Texas borderlands, rsan°ftheNarvaezsurvivorstookplaceonthecoastofTexas, amongasmpopulationoffood-collectingbandswhoseannualround jrequentshiftsoflocale,conditionedbytheseasonalavailability oooresources.CabezadeVaca’saccountsoflifeamongthecoastal groups*ncuedescriptionsofeverydayritualbehaviorwhicharecrucialto understanding the larger ceremonies that occur during the western trek, peangot^Capoques,amongwhomhespenthisfirstyear,heobser\'ed that ameeting of acquaintances, after aseparation, is accompanied by both H i c k e r s o n - R i t u a l s o f C o n f r o n...