Chumash Indians

By: Holly Vannatter

•The Chumash Indians didn’t wear much clothing.

•The women wore a two-piece skirt of deer skin or plant fiber.

•The skirt was about knee length and had a narrow apron in the front, with a wider piece that wrapped around back.

•The men and boys wore nothing at all, or sometimes a belt or a small net at the waist for carrying tools.

•In cold weather, people might of wore capes of animal skins for warmth.

•A chief often wore a waist-length bearskin cape as a sign of his special status.

•For ceremony's or festivals the Chumash mostly wore paint and jewelry. Clothing

•Dancers and singers at ceremonies had special clothes with feathered skirts and headdresses.

FOOD!•The Chumash Tribe had a wide variety of food.

•The Chumash’s biggest recourse was the sea.

•They collected hundreds of different kinds of fish and gathered clams, mussels and abalone.

•Since the Chumash lived by water they ate many kinds of wild plants and traded among their selves.

•They also hunted large and small animals, but they did not plant corn or crops like other Indians.

• One of the important plants is the acorn, which the Chumash made into acorn flour.

• They had acorn stew with every meal

Shelter• The Chumash lived in a village full of dome shaped houses.

• To separate the house they hung reed mats.

• Up to 50 people could live in one dome shaped house using platforms for sleeping.

•The houses were made out of willow, whalebone, and tile mats for roofing.

• One whole generations lived in the houses.

• The houses lasted for about five to ten years.

• The top leaders had special houses bigger and more beautiful.

• They made beds to fit tiny spaces only to sleep on, that were made out of leaves and mats.

Environment/Map

• The Chumash tribe lived on the coast so it was very tropical.

• The tropical weather allowed them to collect berries and other fruits and leaves.

• The Chumash was surrounded by neighboring tribes.

• The Chumash tribe was surrounded by many trees and plants making it very easy to build there homes.

• Since they were on the coast that allowed them access to water, and lots of animals were there due to the plants.

• The Chumash tribe lived off the coast of California.

Language

•The Chumash spoke about twelve closely related languages.

• The Chumash languages are considered by some linguists to be part of the Hokan family of languages.

• There were once at least three distinct Chumashan languages, Northern Chumash, Island Chumash, and Central Chumash.

• Chumash really means "makers of shell bead money".

• Chumash tribe had many made up words that they used a lot.

Economy Hunting/Farming

• Even though the Chumash were gathers they did not plant there own corn and plants like other Indians.

• The Chumash were hunters and gatherers, who were very good at fishing.

•Some Chumash people built plank canoes called tomols, which could have been used for whale hunting.

• The Chumash tribe also used the idea of the atl-atl, bow and arrows, and fishnets.

• The Chumash men would spend hours hunting and teaching there young boys how to hunt.

Technology/Tools• One piece of technology the used was the basket, made out of

•The most important tool that the Chumash used were canoes.

•The Chumash Indians were such good weavers there baskets could hold water.

• One of the great pieces of technology the Chumash used was the bead money.

• Another tool the used was the harpoon for spearing fish.

• They also had insruments such as the clapperstick made from a partly split stick of elderberry wood.

History•.  The Chumash also had a creative side, they made rock art in caves and on overhangs, the big rock art is found in Los Padres National Forest, that are thousands of years old.

• The chumash had NO civilization they were a tribe on there own. • They relied on hunting on wildlife and marine animals such as whales, seals. Black bear, deer, elk, fox, lion, badge, and doves, but these are only a few of the animals they hunted.

• The chumash also used bones and other things from animals for tools, such as needles, fishhooks, and sandpaper.

•Tomals were made out of redwood trees and they were the most important tool for the Chumash, they were used for fishing, and travel between different tribes along the coast.

• The dome shaped houses were 30 feet in diameter houses were shelter for the Chumash Indians.

• The Chumash Indians also minted their own bead money, which were made out of Olivella shell.

Gender roles• In the Chumash tribe there day consisted of weaving baskets and gathering nuts, fruits, and plants for rituals and spiritual healing.• The women mostly stayed home weaved and watched the children cook. • Some of the men were hunters and got food, while some men studied the wind, trees, and animals.

• After all the work was done and food was cooked they all sat down around the fire and told stories, played games, and danced.

• The other men were very bright and were astronomers and studied stars, and the others were medicine man and they believed they could talk to the gods.

War/Peace/Weapons/Culture• The Chumash tribe used the atl-atl and the bow and arrow for

weapons and hunting.

• The Chumash were a very peaceful tribe and did not get into many wars.

• Like many tribes the Chumash Indians also used the bow and arrow and also the bow and arrows.

• The Chumash people were very cultured and had lots of great ideas such as there money system and there language.

Government/Social classes

• The leader of the Chumash people was always ranked high in the social class than any other man.

• The women in the Chumash tribe were always ranked lower in the social class.

• The Chumash tribe didn’t have very many laws or standards of social class because every one in the tribe knew what was expected of them.

Transportation • The Chumash Indians didn’t have much way of transportation but what they did have were canoes which they used to trade and get around in the water.

• It was also said that they had tamed horses and mules and they rode them to other tribes and packed dead animals on them

Religion/Myths and Legends

•

• The Chumash had many stories such as sky stories and sun spark stories and way more.

There were gatherings at which dances were performed that honored the creatures in the Chumash world.

• The Bear, the Blackbird, the Fox and the Coyote all had their own dances, as did creatures of the sea like the Swordfish, the Barracuda and the Seaweed

Dancers wore special costumes and body paint for each of these dances, and there were particular songs that went with each one.

• Many dances were performed just for fun, but some had important religious significance. • The Swordfish Dance was the most important ceremonies. The dancer wore an actual swordfish skull decorated with shell.

Entertainment/Art & Festivals

• One of the things the Chumash tribe was for there art in caves around were they lived.

• The Chumash also had a lot of festivals but they were mostly for fun.

• For each festival they would all get dressed up and were hats and they tell stories.

• At the festivals they also gambled at dice games and played music.

Trade• • The Chumash people mostly traded amongst their selves such as they would trade jewelry and baskets for bead money.

• Sometimes they would go out in there canoes and catch sharks to make more canoes so they could travel to different islands and trade.

• They also traded their baskets which where woven so tight they could hold water.• They also traded something that they were very famous for there jewelry and there beautiful art work.