Hey hey - USA - 30th October - we visit the Taos Pueblo



The Taos Pueblo is a native Indian township which lies around 1 mile north of Taos and after lunch we paid it a visit. 

The main part of the the housing is thought to have been built between 1,000 and 1,400 AD, before the Spanish invasion. Around 150 people live here full-time and around 1900 Taos Indians live on the Taos Pueblo lands. The land had been stripped from the people by the early white settlers, but in 1970 Richard Nixon gave 48,000 acres back to the the Taos Indians and granted them sovereignty as an independent nation within the US. Not many of the New Mexico Pueblos are open to the public but you can walk around the Taos one (after paying an admission charge) although parts of the township are still out of bounds and you are not supposed to photograph the inhabitants.

It was a cold but very bright afternoon and the Pueblo was very quiet. There were little shops selling craft items. We ignored most of them, but towards the end of our visit we met an interesting guy who spoke to us at length about his family history and took us into his home where a strong fire was burning. He was also selling some paintings, very nice but very expensive, and some baskets and woven goods. I bought a bound bunch of sage as the smell always reminds me of south west USA. It had lost most of its smell by the time we got back to England, although I still have it. And yes I know I am a cheap skate.

The main Pueblo building is a long adobe structure several stories high, with a shelter in front for cooking and eating containing the beehive shaped ovens. Around this are clustered a large number of dwellings arranged in streets and closes. Blue seemed to be the predominant paint colour for the doors. I don't know if this is a traditional hue or if it was a mere convenience.









The gentleman who spoke to us walking up to his house.















In order to keep the houses in repair they have to be 're-mudded every year to renew the adobe that has washed off in the rainy season. There was an area whee the adobe bricks were being prepared.












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