Piro Pueblo : The Piros (not to be confused with the
Piros of the
Ucayali
The Ucayali River ( es, RÃo Ucayali, ) is the main headstream of the Amazon River. It rises about north of Lake Titicaca, in the Arequipa region of Peru and becomes the Amazon at the confluence of the Marañón close to Nauta city. The city o ...
basin in
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = National seal
, national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...
) are a
Native American Pueblo people
The Puebloans or Pueblo peoples, are Native Americans in the Southwestern United States who share common agricultural, material, and religious practices. Currently 100 pueblos are actively inhabited, among which Taos, San Ildefonso, Acoma, Z ...
whose ancestors lived in a number of
pueblo
In the Southwestern United States, Pueblo (capitalized) refers to the Native tribes of Puebloans having fixed-location communities with permanent buildings which also are called pueblos (lowercased). The Spanish explorers of northern New Spain ...
s in the
Rio Grande
The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the RÃo Bravo del Norte or simply the RÃo Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico.
The length of the Rio G ...
Valley around modern
Socorro,
New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex
, Offi ...
,
USA. The now extinct
Piro language is in the family of
Tiwa languages. Some Piros were hospitable to the first
Spanish colonists
Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance ethnic group native to Spain. Within Spain, there are a number of national and regional ethnic identities that reflect the country's complex history, including a number of different languages, both ind ...
who arrived in 1598. As a result, the Spanish gave first one, then another, Piro pueblo the name ''Socorro'', which means "aid" or "help" (in case of problems or difficulties).
In later years, however, the Piros like most other Pueblo groups suffered increasingly from the strains of colonial rule. Local rebellions broke out on several occasions in the 1660s and 1670s, but the Spaniards always retained the upper hand. By the time of the
Pueblo Revolt
The Pueblo Revolt of 1680, also known as Popé's Rebellion or Popay's Rebellion, was an uprising of most of the indigenous Pueblo people against the Spanish colonizers in the province of Santa Fe de Nuevo México, larger than present-day New Mex ...
of 1680, the Piro communities had declined to such an extent that the famous rebellion took place without them. Several hundred Piros (and Tiwas) accompanied the fleeing Spaniards south to El Paso del Norte (present-day
Ciudad Juárez
Ciudad Juárez ( ; ''Juarez City''. ) is the most populous city in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. It is commonly referred to as Juárez and was known as El Paso del Norte (''The Pass of the North'') until 1888. Juárez is the seat of the Juà ...
,
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...
); others scattered and joined other Pueblo groups. None of the Piro pueblos were ever resettled by the original inhabitants.
Today, the Piro people are part of the Piro-
Manso-Tiwa Tribe of San Juan de Guadalupe Pueblo in
Las Cruces, New Mexico
Las Cruces (; "the crosses") is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New Mexico and the seat of Doña Ana County. As of the 2020 census the population was 111,385. Las Cruces is the largest city in both Doña Ana County and southern Ne ...
as well as in
Tortugas Pueblo
Tortuga is the Spanish word for a turtle or tortoise. It may also refer to:
Geography Islands
* Tortuga (Haiti), a Caribbean island that forms part of Haiti, off the northwest coast of Hispaniola, a pirate stronghold in the 17th-century
* Tortug ...
.
Currently, there is a long-term archaeological project at the Piro pueblo of Tzelaqui/Sevilleta north of present-day Socorro.
Piro pueblos
*
Teypana
*
Pilabó
*
San Pascual Pueblo
*
Senecú
See also
*
Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge
The Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge is a protected area of New Mexico managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service as part of the National Wildlife Refuge System. It is located in the Chihuahuan Desert, 20 miles north of Socorro, N ...
*
Tompiro Indians
External links
''La provincia de los Piros''
Further reading
Bletzer, Michael P., 'The First Province of that Kingdom': Notes on the Colonial History of the Piro Area. ''New Mexico Historical Review'' 88(4): 437-459 (2013) /
Bletzer, Michael P., A House for Fray Alonso: The Search for Pilabo Pueblo and the First Piro Mission, Nuestra Senora del Socorro. ''El Palacio'' 120(3): 34-37 (2015) /
Marshall, Michael P., and Henry J. Walt, ''Rio Abajo: Prehistory and History of a Rio Grande Province'' (Santa Fe: New Mexico Historic Preservation Division, 1984.)
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Native American tribes in New Mexico
Tanoan languages
Tiwa
Languages of the United States
Indigenous languages of the North American Southwest
Puebloan buildings and structures