Thousand Year Old Condominiums - Taos Pueblo
By Irene Butler
 For decades artists and artisans have
been lured by the beauty of the Sangre de Christo Mountains and solitude of the
high desert mesa. Since the early 1920’s painters and photographers were
especially drawn to capture the monumental multistoried abode dwellings of Taos
Pueblo (old traditional community), resplendent in the ever changing hues of the
area’s remarkable quality of light.
Leaving the parched New Mexico lowlands,
my husband Rick and I drove upward through dense pine forests. Before going on
to the famed Pueblo we stopped at Taos city at an elevation of 6970 ft. “Adobe
City” is its well-suited moniker as stores and homes, and even major hotels are
constructed with the bricks formed from earth, water and straw, and finished
smooth layer of clay. The city is also known for alternative healing modalities;
crystal vibrations and iridology (study of the eye’s iris), to name a few. Four
schools of Tibetan Buddhism operate here. The locals were quick to tell us of
famous people who have hide-a-ways in the surrounding hills – a haven for all
who seek renewal of heart and soul.
But the Taos Indians were the first to
find this Mecca. The following day an ascending road leading north brought us to
Taos Pueblo. It has been occupied for over 1000 years, making it one of the
oldest, continually inhabited communities in North America. Though the exact
date is not known, early in the settlement’s history, the adobe masters
digressed from the usual single-storey homes and constructed amazing five-storey
condominiums with shared common walls and separate entrances. The roofs between
each of the stories are supported by large timber, with smaller logs placed side
by side on top, then covered with packed mud. The units above ground level are
accessed by ladders, which in centuries gone by, were pulled up at night to
safeguard against marauders.
Every 5 to 7 years, to keep the outer
adobe brick walls in prime condition, the outer plaster layer is chipped off,
crumbled, mixed with water and reapplied. We were amazed at how cool the
dwellings were in the stifling summer heat, and Krystal, our guide told of the
warmth they provide against winter winds when the snow lies deep. One hundred
and fifty Taos people live full time in these ancient multi-family homes
 without
the conveniences of electricity or running water; another 2,000 live in
conventional residences in the pueblo; still others live off the pueblo during
winter, coming back each spring to cottages close to their fields to tend crops.
Wandering
through the peaceful village, adults politely nodded to us as they went about
their business, while grinning children called out spirited hellos. A
mouth-watering aroma led us to a series of large rounded clay ovens filled with
browning loaves of bread.
As we
made our way down a well-trodden path, the sounds of voices raised in song
floated from St. Jerome’s Church (built in1850). Catholicism and the ancestral
animist religion co-exist today, but it was not always so.
 Approaching the
graveyard forty feet away, Krystal, told us the demolished structure in the
middle was an earlier church, bombed by the Indians in retaliation against the
Spanish for attempting to quash their traditional beliefs. We were perplexed by how this 50ft by
 120ft plot of land could
possibly hold all the ancestors and still be used today. Krystal explained that
corpses are not embalmed, nor buried in caskets, but merely wrapped in cloth.
Consequently, twenty-five years is sufficient for a body to decompose
completely. Starting at the top of the plot, the
deceased are buried in rows from side to side until the bottom of the graveyard
 is reached. Then the burials commence again from the top. This process is
currently in its fourth successive cycle. Leaning up against one side of the
ruined church wall were stacks of recycled wooden crosses.
The society is matrilineal in that the
ownership of dwellings is passed down to the youngest daughter upon the death of
the mother. They have their own government, police, jails and war chief. Sixty
elders are chosen to sit on a council to oversee the law of the community;
another council is responsible for the condition of the wilderness areas of the
pueblo.
A milestone was achieved in 1970. The
United States government gave back 48,000 acres of mountain lands including the
sacred Blue Lake, the source of the river running through the village, and an
important ceremonial site. Schools to grade eight are in the complex, and
children are taught Tiwi to ensure their language is not lost. Though young
adults have to go to Taos city for employment today, their beliefs are deeply
rooted in tradition.
Was it perhaps the visionary wisdom of
the ancient Taos, to know erecting a structure dimensionally and conceptually
disparate for its time would one day draw peoples of all nationalities to the
site? In doing so, their history and vibrant culture has been sustained and
celebrated by visitors like us. Upon leaving the pueblo, we said a profound Ta –
ah (thank-you) to the Taos people for this privilege.
For More Information:
www.taospeublo.com
www.taoschamber.com
Taos Pueblo is the northern most of 19
pueblos in New Mexico.
In 1992 Taos Pueblo was named by UNESCO
as a World Heritage Site & National Historic Site.
PHOTO CREDITS To Rick Butler
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