Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca, Indians of the Rio Grande (1528-1536) - Essay Example

s In a paragraph and in your own words, write a summary of the document? (In other words, what is this document about?) Cabeza de Vaca was one of its kind Spanish explorers who, along with his crew discovered the American Western Hemisphere. Cabze de Vaca narrates his story in his journals. After being abandoned in Florida, and six years of subordination, we finally emancipated ourselves and fled to Mexico City (Barker, pp. 15-20). Their natives were very active, as they could run for miles to hunt.

Their habitants were small huts made up of mats, which they would carry with them to different places, in search of food. They were also very jovial; they would dance and celebrate their festivals regardless of hunger or poverty. The season when tunas were ripe was when they had plenty of food, and they mostly spend their time dancing and eating. They would preserve some of the tunas and eat them on their way to hunting (Barker, pp. 15-20). Mexico City had a huge supply of cattle and other animals.

The cows, which came from the north, were hunted for their good quality meat and their hair was used to make blankets and shoes. During our stay with Avavares Indians, we were thought to be children of Sun, with special curing powers. We treated many satisfied patients who firmly believed in our abilities. The natives highly respected us. Women treated us with mats and cooked food for us. The natives would abandon anything that was not blessed by us. As a result, we were supposed to breathe on and bless every share that was bought to us.

Moreover, they would seek our advice for all important matters. During our expeditions, other people who feared us and believed firmly in our sacred powers welcomed us. They surrendered all their possessions to us that were distributed to those who were needy of them. During the expedition, we suffered a lot from malnutrition until Castillo and the Negro, left to look for food to a village beneath the river. Good news flowed from here, and the natives came to welcome them with food and water (Barker, pp. 15-20). However, as the natives and the Indians did not get along well, we had to follow the league of the natives, leaving the Indians behind with their food.

The natives celebrated our arrival, while we left the next day. The following night, I asked my mates to look for the Christians who were moving away from that part of the country, who nevertheless refused due to the fatigue and weariness. However, I took off with my league in search of Christians. On our journey, we met four Christians who were astonished to see us; I nonetheless, asked them to lead us to their captain Diego de Alcaraz. In a paragraph and in your own words, how does Cabeza de Vaca seem to feel about the Avavares Indians in his journal?

And, what do the native peoples think about de Vaca and his companions? Cabeza de Vaca perceived the Avavares Indians to be very strong, athletic and fearless. As they would bravely hunt for animals and keep running after them till they gave up. Moreover, he perceived them to be very flexible with the conditions and would move their huts from one place to another in search of good food and water. Apart from this, he saw the natives to be very happy and fun loving people, as Cabeza de Vaca stated that they would dance and celebrate their festivals regardless of being hungry or poor.

Also, it could be stated that he thought them to be very religious and superstitious as they would seek Cabeza de Vaca and his crew’s advice for every matter, and would not even touch that meat that was not blessed by them. In addition, he saw them to be very generous and hospitable as they would present their belonging to Cabeza de Vaca and his crew, through them they would give them out to the poor (Barker, pp 18). The native people on the other hand, thought De Vaca and his companions to be the children of Sun, and as a result, they expected them to be blessed with special powers.

They believed that De Vaca and his mates were blessed and could cure their problems; as a result, they treated them in the best way that they could, presented them with gifts and food, and would seek their advice for all important matters. They would present their gatherings and their hunted meat to them and expected them to bless it by breathing upon it, after this only; they would use the meat or distribute them amongst themselves. Lastly, they believed that De Vaca and his mates were blessed with super natural powers, and they could cure any disease.

As a result, they would come up to them with ailments and had complete faith that they would successfully cure them (Barker, pp 24). Works Cited Barker, E, et al. Southwestern historical quarterly, Volume 22. University of Texas, 1919.