Cahuilla Indians

The Cahuilla tribes were Uto-Aztecan peoples who arrived in southern California about 2,000-2,500 years ago.

The Cahuilla Indians originally ranged over the entire San Bernardino Basin, the San Jacinto Mountains, the Coachella Valley, and portions of the southern Mojave Desert.

Living in independent clans of approximately 600-800 people, each clan controlled their own separate territories.

These peaceful hunter-gatherers used throwing sticks, clubs, nets, spring-poled snares, and often poison-tipped arrows to provide game for their clans.

The Cahuilla tribe did not encounter Europeans until 1774, when Spanish explorer, Juan Bautista de Anza was looking for a trade route between Mexico and California. Living far inland, the Cahuilla had little contact with Spanish soldiers, priests, or missionaries.

During the Mexican-American War, the Cahuilla joined the Californios, and in the treaty to end the war, the government promised to recognize Native American rights to inhabit certain lands.

However, white settlement on Indian lands became an increasing problem after the US annexed California, especially after gold was discovered.

When the California Senate refused to ratify the 1852 treaty granting the Cahuilla control of their lands, tribal leaders resorted to attacks on approaching settlers and soldiers. In the end, the U.S. government subdivided their lands into reservations in 1877.

Today there are ten Southern California reservations that are set aside for bands of Cahuilla people. Two of those bands share a reservation with members of other tribes. These are all located in Imperial, Riverside and San Diego Counties.

Cahuilla Bands Today

Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians of the Agua Caliente Indian Reservation

Augustine Band of Cahuilla Indians

Cabazon Band of Mission Indians

Cahuilla Band of Mission Indians of the Cahuilla Reservation

Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians (Cahuilla and Cupeño)

Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla Mission Indians of the Los Coyotes Reservation

Morongo Band of Mission Indians (Cahuilla, Serrano and Cupeño)

Ramona Band of Cahuilla

Santa Rosa Band of Cahuilla Indians

Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians

Other California Indian Tribes

Famous Cahuilla Indians

Cahuilla legends and oral stories

Mukat (also spelled Mokat, Mukot or Mo-Cot) is the Cahuilla Creator God. Unlike Native cultures in the rest of North America, the Cahuilla and other Sonoran tribes of southeast California and southwestern Arizona did not consider their Creator to be a benevolent spirit or a friend to humankind– he was capricious and dangerous, made the life of the ancients miserable, drove away their protector Moon, and was eventually slain by his own creations after teaching them warfare.

Common Characters found in Cahuilla Legends:

Isily (Coyote, in the Cahuilla language) – Coyote is the trickster figure of Cahuilla mythology. He is clever but reckless, and is constantly getting himself and the people around him into trouble with his irresponsible and socially inappropriate behavior. Coyote stories are often humorous in nature, but they can also be cautionary tales about the consequences of bad behavior and the dangers of interacting with reckless and immoral people.

Menily (also spelled Menil, Menilly, or Man-el): The Cahuilla Goddess of the Moon, who taught the people the arts of civilization. She is often called the Moon Maiden in English.

Temayawet (also spelled Tamaioit, Temmayawit or Tem-ma-ya-wit) – Mukat’s twin brother, ruler of the land of the dead. Water Babies – Mysterious and dangerous water spirits from the folklore of the Mission Indians and other California Indian tribes. They inhabit springs and ponds, and they and their eerie cries are omens of bad luck and death.

Famous Cahuilla Indians