YUMAN

any of various Indian groups who traditionally lived in the lower Colorado River valley and adjacent areas in western Arizona, southern California, northern Baja California, and northwestern Sonora and who spoke related languages (Yuman) of Hokan stock. Two major divisions of Yuman people are recognized: the river Yumans, who lived along the lower Colorado and middle Gila rivers and whose major groups included, from north to south, the Mojave, Halchidhoma, Yuma, and Cocopa, together with the Maricopa in the middle Gila; and the upland Yumans, who inhabited western Arizona south of the Grand Canyon and whose major groups included the Hualapai (Walapai), Havasupai, and Yavapai. Two other groups of Yuman-speaking people, the Diegueo and the Kamia (now known as the Tipai and Ipai) lived in southern California and northern Baja California. The Kiliwa and Paipai still live in northern Baja California. The river Yumans were primarily farmers who benefited from the annual floods of the Colorado and Gila rivers. These floods provided regular enrichment of farmland through the rich burdens of silt that they deposited, and they also made irrigation unnecessary. The Maricopa were somewhat influenced by their neighbours, the Pima, and frequently allied with the Pima against other river Yumans such as the Mojave and Yuma. The upland Yumans in many ways resembled the ancient Desert cultures (q.v.), which are ancestral to many of the southwestern cultural traditions. Some farming was done, but a major part of subsistence was based on hunting and on gathering wild plant foods. The Havasupai were exceptions, partly because of contacts with the Hopi and partly because of their location in Cataract Canyon, a side canyon of the Grand Canyon. The creek flowing through this canyon made extensive farming possible through irrigation. Unlike other Yumans, the Havasupai were very peaceful. The Yavapai, on the other hand, frequently allied themselves with bands of western Apache for raiding and were sometimes called Yavapai-Apache. All Yuman peoples resembled one another in their lack of settled villages and their loose political organization. They had a tribal sense, but not the effective organization. Most had a somewhat warlike spirit and an individual desire for renown in battle. They demonstrated craftsmanship in pottery. Artifacts were made to be functional and were rarely repaired. When something broke, it was replaced. Yuman religion is characterized by belief in a supreme creator, faith in dreams, and use of song narratives in ritual and ceremony. The total number of Yuman peoples remaining in the late 20th century in the United States and Mexico was uncertain. There were a number of large and small reservations in California and Arizona containing such groups as the Yuma, Mojave, Havasupai, Hualapai, Yavapai, Yavapai-Apache, Cocopa, and Maricopa; these reservation Yumans probably numbered well over 4,000. See also Diegueo; Mojave.