Cahto facts for kids
Cahto woman, photographed by Edward S. Curtis
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|
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 259 enrolled members on reservation (2010) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 United States ( California) |
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| Languages | |
| English, Cahto language | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Southern Athabaskan people (including Chilula, Hupa, Mattole, Tolowa, Wailaki, and Whilkut) |
The Cahto (sometimes called Kato) are a group of Native Americans who have lived in California for a very long time. Today, most Cahto people are part of an official tribe recognized by the United States government. This tribe is called the Cahto Indian Tribe of the Laytonville Rancheria. A smaller number of Cahto are also part of the Round Valley Indian Tribes of the Round Valley Reservation.
Contents
What Does "Cahto" Mean?
The name Cahto comes from the Northern Pomo language. It means "lake." This name refers to an important Cahto village site called Djilbi. Sometimes, people also call the Cahto by the names Kaipomo or Kato.
Where Do the Cahto Live Today?
The Cahto tribe controls the Laytonville Rancheria. This is a special area of land, also known as the Cahto Rancheria, set aside by the government for the Cahto and Pomo people. The rancheria is about 264 acres (1.07 square kilometers) in size. It is located about 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Laytonville, California, in Mendocino County. The rancheria was created in 1906. About 188 people live there today.
The Cahto Flag
The Cahto flag is a symbol of their independent nation. It shows a special bear claw design in white. This design is placed in the center of a black shape that looks like a lake. The lake shape stands for the Cahto's original home.
The entire design is on a red background with a white and red border. The words "CAHTO TRIBE" are written in white letters above the lake symbol.
- The bear claw shows how important the bear is as a tribal totem (a special animal symbol).
- The lake symbol represents their ancient lands.
- The color red stands for the blood of their people.
- White means the purity of their spirit.
- Black represents the rich soil at the bottom of the lake, which helped their ancestors survive.
This flag was created recently and was adopted in 2013. It is not an old, traditional flag.
The Cahto Language
The Kato language is one of four Athabaskan languages that were spoken in northwestern California. These languages are like cousins, sharing similar roots. The other Athabaskan languages in the area were Eel River Athabaskan, Mattole-Bear River, and Hupa-Chilula. Kato is most similar to Eel River Athabaskan. Many Kato speakers also knew how to speak Northern Pomo.
Cahto History
The Cahto people lived in the southernmost part of California where Athabaskan languages were spoken. Their lands included Cahto Valley and Long Valley. They also lived in the area south of Blue Rock and between the main parts of the Eel River. This region has rolling hills and oak trees, with many streams. These streams are often dry in the summer but flow strongly in the rainy winter.
In the early 1700s, the Cahto lived in about 50 different village sites.
Cahto Culture and Traditions
The Cahto people traditionally made many useful items from natural materials. They used stone, bone, horn, wood, and animal skins. These were common materials for people in northern California.
Their traditional clothing for both men and women was a tanned deer-skin wrapped around the waist. They also wore a close-fitting knitted cap to hold their hair in place. Later, Cahto clothing included a shirt made from two deer-skins. This shirt was laced down the front and reached to the knees. Both men and women often had tattoos on their faces and chests. These designs were mostly straight or broken lines.
Cahto Homes
To build a Cahto house, people first dug a circular hole about two feet deep. Inside this hole, they placed four forked posts in a square shape. The two front posts were a bit taller than the back ones, so the roof would gently slope backward. The roof was small, and the house's main shape came from its circular base.
The spaces between the posts were filled with bundles of long grasses, wood slabs, and bark. A hole in the roof let smoke out, and the doorway was a narrow opening at the front, from the ground to the roof. Up to three families might live in one of these houses, all cooking at the same fire. For summer, they would build simple shelters called lean-tos from brush. The only domesticated animal they had was the dog.
Singing and Social Life
A favorite activity for women was to gather in the early evening to sing together. One of the best singers would lead the group. Two other women would keep time by tapping one bone against another. The men did not join in the singing but would listen.
Village Leadership
Each Cahto village had a chief. Some villages also had a second chief. Usually, the chief's son would take over the role when the chief died. If a chief died without sons, the people would choose the best person for the job. They would decide together without a formal vote.
A chief's main job was to advise the people. For important decisions, the chief would call a council. This council included all the older men in the village. Each man would share his opinion, and the chief would follow what most people agreed upon.
Growing Up and Marriage
Many Cahto social practices show how much they were influenced by the cultures of northern-central California.
Children, both boys and girls, had to follow certain traditions when they reached puberty (the age when they start becoming adults).
Every summer, a group of boys, usually between 12 and 16 years old, would be taken to a quiet place by two men. One of these men was their teacher. Here, the boys learned about their mythology (their traditional stories) and the reasons behind their customs. This included things like burial practices, shaman (medicine person) practices, and puberty traditions. In the winter, these boys would gather again in a special ceremonial house. They would stay there for four months to learn about tribal folklore (traditional beliefs and stories).
When a girl reached puberty, she would live a very quiet life for five months. She would stay mostly in or near her house. She was not allowed to eat meat and drank very little water. She was also not allowed to work, so she wouldn't get sick.
Marriages were usually decided by the two people involved, without asking their parents first. After a boy got a girl's agreement, he would secretly take her away. They would keep their marriage a secret for as long as possible. The girl's parents would find out about the marriage later, in this indirect way. Once the marriage was no longer a secret, the young man might build his own house.
It was also easy for couples to separate. Either person could leave the other for any reason. If they had children, the father would keep the boys, and the mother would keep the girls. Children were seen as belonging equally to both the father's and mother's families.
Funeral Customs
When someone died, their body was prepared for burial. It was washed, dressed in good clothes, and wrapped in deer skins. A pit was dug on a dry hillside. The bottom of the pit was lined with poles, covered with bark and several deer skins. The body was placed on top, then covered with more bark and finally with earth.
Everyone in the village would go with the people carrying the body to the grave. They would cry loudly. Women, and sometimes men, would cut their hair short to show their sadness. For important people, a special mourning ceremony would be held a year after their death. This ceremony marked the end of the mourning period. After it, those who had been sad would become cheerful again.
Cahto Religion
The Cahto people's religious beliefs centered around two main gods: Chénĕśh (or T'cenes) and Nághai-cho (or Nagaicho). Chénĕśh was the creator god, connected with thunder and lightning. Nághai-cho was his companion, known as the Great Traveler. Nághai-cho was a bit mischievous. In their myths, he often encouraged Chénĕśh to create things, pretending he knew how to do it himself.
The Cahto's creation story was similar to those in central California. However, it also included a story about animal-people who were swept away by a great flood. This flood story is common in myths from the North Pacific Coast. This shows how the Cahto culture was influenced by different traditions.
Chénĕśh, the creator, lived in the sky. Below him was a vast amount of water, with a small piece of land in the north. Chénĕśh and Nághai-cho came down and turned a giant deer into land. Chénĕśh created the people, but Nághai-cho made the mountains and streams. Nághai-cho always tried to do better than Chénĕśh, often acting like a trickster.
The Cahto people also followed the Kuksu religion, which was practiced by many Native American groups in California.
Cahto Shamans
The Cahto had three types of shamans, who were spiritual healers or special individuals:
- ŭtiyíņ: These shamans removed objects that caused sickness by sucking them out of the body.
- náchǔlna: These shamans cured illnesses caused by woodland creatures.
- chģhályiśh: These were not healers. They were people who had been helped by small "outside people." They could see the future in their dreams.
The ŭtiyíņ became medicine men through training, not through supernatural powers. The other two types of shamans got their powers only through dreams. When the older men in a village thought a new ŭtiyíņ was needed, they would choose a promising young man. With his permission, they would take him to a quiet place in the hills. The chosen instructor would pray and teach the young man the secrets of the medicine men.
When a medicine man was called to heal someone, other medicine men nearby could come and watch. If the first medicine man couldn't cure the illness, he would ask another for help. While working, a shaman would ask for help from unseen powers. He would name the mountains in the area and ask the spirits there to assist him. He would also call on Nághai-cho, and sometimes Chénĕśh.
Cahto Population
It is hard to know exactly how many Cahto people lived before Europeans arrived in California. Some experts believe there were about 500 Cahto in 1770. Others estimate the population was around 1,100.
Education
The children living on the Laytonville Ranchería attend schools in the Laytonville Unified School District.
