Zuni murals connect two cultures - Zuni kachinas in Catholic mission

National Catholic Reporter, March 26, 1999 by Katherine Drouin Keith

Preservation project at historic mission in danger for lack of funds

In the Zuni reservation in western New Mexico, one ancient religion has provided a medium to preserve the fast-fading traditions of another. Zuni tribal paintings that once graced the walls of an old Catholic mission have been painstakingly repainted over the past 30 years.

But the project is now threatened by a lack of funding.

Our Lady of Guadalupe was built in 1629 in the center of Zuni by Spanish missionaries who wanted the Indians to set aside their native religions and convert to Catholicism.

Today, the church's interior walls bear traditional paintings of kachinas -- sacred figures central to Zuni cultural and spiritual life. Hovering above the pews and stations of the cross are elaborate murals of colorful, masked, costumed figures representing tasks such as hunting and harvesting and taboos against sins such as incest and laziness.

Some of the paintings represent works that once existed on the walls and some are paintings of figures now in danger of being lost to the tribe because of the deaths of elders.

The Seowtewa family, who are Zunis and practicing Catholics, are responsible for linking the two cultures in an edifice that once represented to Native Americans the threat of foreign people and ways.

The church "has been there for many hundreds of years -- it's been a part of the historical, cultural landscape," said Tom R. Kennedy, executive director of Zuni's A:Shiwi A:Wan Museum and Heritage Center. "People would say, `It's here. It's part of our heritage now,' much like the Spanish surnames, the English language, the Western clothes."

Zuni holy man Alex Seowtewa has been working on the murals since 1970 and has since been joined by sons Ken and Edwin. There's an urgency to their 29-year project. Key elements of Zuni tradition are vanishing, taken to the grave by elders who do not pass on the knowledge. The Seowtewas want to preserve the most important kachinas by painting them in detail, down to the last feather.

"It's a phenomenal project," Kennedy said. "It's sort of taken on a life of its own.'

However, the artists may have to postpone their work, and some paintings may even be destroyed if funds don't come through. The museum maintains a small amount of money for painting supplies and heating the church, but the artists are no longer getting paid since grant funding for their work came to an end last year, Kennedy said.

"We do not have any fundings to continue this work of Eucharist, but we are still working on it," Ken Seowtewa said.

"They are continuing because it's a personal dedication to the project," Kennedy said.

Plaster and adobe

Also, plaster on the church's interior walls is separating from the adobe walls. If it slides to the ground, it will take with it paintings of events like the winter solstice festival of Sha'La/Ko,' the most important holiday of the year.

Conservators from the Getty Institute recently surveyed the church and concluded it would cost about $60,000 to immediately stabilize plaster on two walls and another $50,000 to stabilize the building, according to Kennedy. Kennedy and the Seowtewas distributed letters in January seeking benefactors for the work.

"The Getty plan would include training the sons to become conservators," Kennedy said. "Getty is committed to giving local people skills to care for their own artwork."

Community support is also critical for the project. While some Zunis see the murals as a form of cultural preservation, others are uncomfortable with such a public display of their icons and say a Catholic church is an inappropriate place for kachina paintings.

"I take a look at that work and I admire the artwork, but my personal feeling is I really have a problem with it," said Arlen Quetawki, a Sha'La/Ko' holy man.

Quetawki, a former Zuni councilman, is especially worried about the fact that the paintings have made the kachinas more accessible to the public. The Zuni tribe bans non-Indians from its religious activities and doesn't allow photographs to be taken in town.

"These depictions are sensitive," Kennedy explained. "They're not for anyone to see."

The Seowtewas generally prohibit photos of the kachinas because they don't want anyone to capitalize on the ritual images but have granted permission to a few professionals. Photos of the kachinas have appeared in Native Peoples magazine, and details of some photos from that article may also be seen on the World Wide Web at http://hanksville.phast.umass.edu/stories/ZuniLife.html. Permission was also granted to allow a photograph to be published with this article.

"We say no picture-taking in the church, but how come those portraits are made?" said Quetawki. "You don't know what's out there. Someone may take that and duplicate that to their own advantage. There should be a better control.

"A lot of people have commented to the council, `You do what you do in order to safeguard [the traditions],'" Quetawki said. However, "others say, `This is our religion. It's for our Zuni people only, for nobody else.'"