JUANEO

ethnolinguistic group of North American Indians of whom no identifiable evidence now exists. The Juaneo originally inhabited a coastal region of southwestern California, near what became the site of the mission San Juan Capistrano, for which the group was named. Their language, also called Juaneo, was a variant of Luiseo, and was included in the Uto-Aztecan language family. The culture of the Juaneo developed partly under the influence of their northern neighbours, the Gabrieleo. It was from them, for instance, that the Juaneo acquired the cult of the hallucinogenic jimsonweed (Datura stramonium) and, in turn, passed it on to the Luiseo. The Juaneo lived in dwellings made of brush and other plant material and, for food, gathered acorns and other plants, fished, and gathered shellfish. The organization of Juaneo society is not clearly understood. Each village, however, is known to have had a chief, who was accorded a great deal of official respect and deference, though his actual power may have been limited. As among other Indians in southern California, transvestism and homosexuality were socially encouraged. A boy who showed such tendencies was prompted to develop and manifest them. Male transvestites were appreciated as hard workers and often married.