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The Account Cabeza de Vaca is certainly a person that deserves high praises for what he has done, his famous Account is significant from many perspectives, such as historical, anthropological literary, etc. After all, he was the first European citizen to travel with his companions to Southwest, and it is because of his report on his journey that the region was explored later on by many other expeditions. Cabeza de Vaca was a Spaniard, he was born in Jerez de la Frontera. When Panfilo de Narvaez led an expedition of about three hundred people to Florida, Cabeza de Vaca was chosen to be the treasurer of the expedition, which was a rather honorable position and symbolized the respect of his companions. The original purpose of the expedition was not only to explore the region that the Spaniards have not yet visited, but also to find new sources of wealth. The overseas land was considered possible source of in numerous wealth, and therefore the Spaniards were interested in exploring the region.
Within the course of the expedition, however, Cabeza de Vaca and a small group of his companions was separated from the main group, they were captured by the natives in the island of Galveston. Only in 1537 was Cabeza de Vaca able to return to Spain, and he was awarded due to the fact that his account and the expedition at large illustrated the high potential for exploring the region. The Account written by Cabeza de Vaca is considered to be an important historical document by the contemporary scientists, and it is rather interesting to elaborate on de Vaca's reasons for writing the Account. First of all, it is obvious that he was interested in the region discovered and the native population of the region, thus writing the account was his way of putting on the paper all the slightest details he wanted to remember about the country and its population. Besides, Cabeza de Vaca certainly wanted to come back to his country, and he knew that detailed account of his journey would be appreciated, since he understood that the region was potentially a source of wealth for the Spaniards. In his Account, Cabeza de Vaca describes various things that happened to him and his companions during his journey through the new region.
The most valuable aspects of the Account are de Vaca's descriptions of the various tribes he met during his expedition. He writes about the wide array of aspects of the natives life, such as culture, social structure, attitudes, values and beliefs. The hardships he and his companions had to go through are also described in his report, thus his report presents not only historical and anthropological significance, but also literary importance. 1) What kinds of information does de Vaca tell us about the Native peoples (Indians)? How did they live? How did de Vaca and his Spanish companions treat the Indians they encountered? How did the Indians treat the Spanish?
According to Cabeza de Vaca, the Native American Indians of Texas were as diverse as the state itself, influenced by the local geography in which they were living. Texas lying in the middle of the continent felt the influences from all Indian cultures surrounding the state and offered a wide array of opportunities for survival. The social structure of the Texas Indians was quite usual. The men hunted for food and protected the group from harm while they traveled.
The women were responsible for tending the fire, caring for the children, made clothing and packed and unpacked the camp. They used dogs to carry the supplies for the camp. They were fitted with travis that dragged on the ground behind them and were loaded with as much as the animal could carry. When women gave birth they would go away from the camp with other women for the event. The mortality rate was very high and the ones who made it were very sturdy individuals. Burials were dependent on the area and the surrounding land.
While in the plains they used shallow graves and in rocky areas they used caves. The Loan Apache and other closely tied tribes made up the eastern branch of the Apache Nation. They lived in the western part of Texas and eastern New Mexico. They were similar in the habits to the Pueblo and the Indians in the Clovis region. The Caddo Indians lived in the eastern part of Texas and were the most advanced tribe found in this area during the time period. They grew pumpkins, tobacco, maize, beans and a variety of other vegetables.
The Karankawas lived along the Gulf Coast and were a hunter gatherer tribe. They survived on shellfish, fish and the plants along the coast. The used dugout canoes to travel the coast and slept in a lean-to on grass mats. They were avoided by other tribes due to the fact they used alligator grease as a mosquito repellant, which had a very bad smell.
The Tonka wa Indians lived in Central Texas and appear to be descendants of the original settlers. They were the southern most part of the Great Plains buffalo culture and therefore were mainly hunter-gatherers. The also hunted deer and any other animal that came their way. In summary, the Indians of Texas adapted to the individual requirements of each area by using the resources available. The tribes that developed technology and learned to farm fared better than other tribes who lived off of what they could find.
The development of villages and farming multiplied the populations of those tribes and became the more advanced cultures of the region. In addition the early native Texans adapted to the changes in climate by building shelters and migrating south during the winter months. By the time the Spanish reached the tribes in Texas most had sophisticated established cultures. Cabeza de Vaca learned to communicate with the Spaniards and also learned to believe in some of their Christian values, including faith healing. The Spaniards learned to live within the culture of the indigenous people, learning to eat those things that were eaten by the local Indians, practice witchcraft, healing, and other rituals. Similar to the indigenous people, Cabeza de Vaca and his followers adapted the style of dress worn by those with whom they were enslaved and later befriended.
Cabeza de Vaca no longer sought to find the wealth of the new land but became sympathetic to the Indians, and wanted them to remain free. Cabeza de Vaca did not want the Indians to be captured by other Spanish soldiers. Indians, who at first captured de Vaca and his friends, later started to respect them because of the miraculous healings performed by Cabeza de Vaca. 3) What role does de Vaca's religious beliefs play in his companions efforts to keep going> How do these beliefs affect their perceptions of the Indians they encounter? Cabeza de Vaca and three companions survived out of hundreds of their fellow men. They survived many difficult obstacles. First, they survived the Indian attacks at Apalachen by fleeing.
Second, when their ship was tossed in the waters they managed to crawl to shore. The first Indians they encountered accepted their gifts of beads and hawk-bells, and the Indians in return gave them an arrow, which was a pledge of friendship. there was hope after all. De Vaca and his companions religious beliefs played a vital role in their efforts to keep going. Those beliefs were the only source of hope, and if they did not have those beliefs, they would have probably never been able to go through all the hardships they had went. They were shipwrecked in 1528 off the Louisiana/Texas coast, captured and forced to serve the Indian.
A bad mishap became great when some of the Indians came to Castillo with great pain in the head, and he made them over with the sign of the cross, healing them. Word spread among the Indians and before they realize it they have gained the Indians trust and were allowed to move freely among the tribes. A major factor in their survival was the fact that they learned to communicate with the Indians and worked hard at whatever they were allowed to do and exploited it. This was a very effective way of helping their cause, and if Cabeza de Vaca was not able to heal the Indian due to his beliefs, everything might have turned quite differently.
In the end I believe they survived because of their faith (religion). They often gave thanks to God for bringing them out of many difficult situations and never faltered from their path. Also their treatment of the Indians kept them alive, which was also because of their beliefs. It must have been difficult to them when they did meet up with the other Christians. They wanted peace amongst everyone. The Christians still wanted to treat the Indians as slaves, while de Vaca thought that they should have been treated in a fair way.
Their beliefs not only affected their perception of the Indian tribes they encountered, but also helped them to coop with those tribes. Concluding Analyses. It is somewhat hard to elaborate on the authenticity of de Vacas story, since the time period he describes is so remote that we cannot even imagine the way people of those times thought. However, there are some potential errors or exaggerations that can be found in The Account. If we were to suggest that de Vaca intentionally exaggerated his story, there could be only one solid reason for that: after all, the expedition at large failed, and de Vaca and his companions were the only ones who survived the journey. Thus, the text of his account might have been exaggerated in order to save his reputation, since he did not wan the Spanish King to be angry with him, but rather wanted still another appointment for the expedition.
The captivity narrative, in which de Vaca describes how they were captured by the natives, also is a subject to some criticism. Certainly, the Indians could have possibly done some things that really assaulted de Vaca and his companions while they were captured and held as an enemy. De Vaca, being a real Spaniard, would have never admitted the things Indians could have possibly done to him and his companions simply due to the fact that His Spanish pride would not allow him to disclose all the real details of their captivity. Still another controversy behind The Account is the routes described by Cabeza de Vaca. In his Account he tells about various areas of the region that they have explored as well as about those people who lived in those areas. However, the contemporary archeologists have discredited the routes suggested by de Vaca in his Account, and some of the facts he mentions in the account, such as various locations and different groups of people, simply could not be possible.
The most controversial part of The Account is certainly the healings performed by Cabeza de Vaca. He describes how Indians came to see him so that he could heal them: During all this time the Indians came from many places to seek us and said that we were truly children of the sun... All of us became medicine men, though I was paramount among us in daring and in attempting any sort of cure. And we never healed anyone who did not then tell us that he was well, and they were so confident that they would be cured if we healed them, that they believed that as long as we were there none of them would have to die. (The Account, p. 73) Thus, he suggests that although there were no strictly medical reasons why the natives recovered, he was able to heal them just because of the power of their faith in his ability to heal them.
This seems to be at least exaggerated to me, since I can imagine one or two incidents of this happening, however not a continuous chain of miraculous healings. Despite all the possible exaggerations and ambiguities presented within the conceptual framework of de Vaca's Account, it is still a very significant historical document, since it was written by the first European to contact with the natives in the Southwest. Cabeza de Vaca is certainly a courageous and smart individual, and his Account will be remembered a long time. Bibliography Favata, Martin. A. , and Jose B.
Fernandez. The Account: Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca's Relation. Houston: Arte Publico, 1993.
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