Hahamongna (alternatively spelled Hahaamonga or Jajamonga) [1] and Hahamog-na are two historic Tongva village sites. They are located in the Verdugo Mountains of Southern California and bear the name of the local band of indigenous Tongva, " Hahamog'na." The sites are located in present-day Pasadena and Glendale in Los Angeles County, California. [2] Hahamongna was one of the largest Tongva villages in the greater San Fernando Valley area, along with Cahuenga, Tujunga, and Siutcanga. [3]
Hahamongna was located in present-day Glendale and existed on the lower southwestern Verdugo Mountains slopes and the eastern San Fernando Valley plain with the free-flowing Los Angeles River just south. This village would later move to the western portion of Rancho San Rafael, an early Spanish land grant in 1784 issued by Las Californias Governor Pedro Fages to Spanish Corporal José María Verdugo (1751–1831), in present-day Glendale in the San Fernando Valley. [2]
Hahamog-na is the Tongva village archeological site located in the upper Arroyo Seco area just above the Devil's Gate in the present-day Altadena-Pasadena-Jet Propulsion Laboratory-JPL area. It is where the lower slopes of the eastern Verdugo Mountains, southern San Gabriel Mountains, and western San Rafael Hills meet in the Arroyo Seco canyon valley. The site of Hahamog-na is now within the protected natural area of Hahamongna Watershed Park, a 300-acre (1.2 km2) habitat and plant community blend of freshwater marsh wetlands, riparian zones, native oak woodlands, and chaparral elfin forests. [4]
The band of Tongva people who lived in the area of the Verdugo Mountains that contains both settlements was named the Hahamog-na and Hahamongna by some non-native immigrants and historians. The two settlements sharing the 'same sounding' name, with different spellings given by non-native people, may stem from the band inhabiting both places. Research with present-day Tongva-Gabrieleño people, historical researchers and ethnologists, and supported by citations is needed.
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, 11 miles (18 km) northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district.
The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, California. Situated northwards of the Los Angeles Basin, it comprises a large portion of Los Angeles, the incorporated cities of Burbank, Calabasas, Glendale, Hidden Hills and San Fernando, plus several unincorporated areas. The valley is the home of Warner Bros. Studios, Walt Disney Studios, and the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park.
The San Gabriel Valley, often referred to by its initials as SGV, is one of the principal valleys of Southern California, with the city of Los Angeles directly bordering it to the west, and occupying the vast majority of the southeastern part of Los Angeles County. Surrounding landforms and other features include the following:
The Arroyo Seco, meaning "dry stream" in Spanish, is a 24.9-mile-long (40.1 km) seasonal river, canyon, watershed, and cultural area in Los Angeles County, California. The area was explored by Gaspar de Portolà who named the stream Arroyo Seco as this canyon had the least water of any he had seen. During this exploration he met the Chief Hahamog-na (Hahamonga) of the Tongva Indians.
The Crescenta Valley is a small inland valley in Los Angeles County, California, lying between the San Gabriel Mountains on the northeast and the Verdugo Mountains and San Rafael Hills on the southwest. It opens into the San Fernando Valley at the northwest and the San Gabriel Valley at the southeast. It is nearly bisected by the Verdugo Wash, a smaller valley separating the Verdugo Mountains from the San Rafael Hills. Most of the valley lies at an elevation of over 1,500 feet.
The Verdugo Mountains, also known as the Verdugo Hills or simply The Verdugos, are a small, rugged mountain range of the Transverse Ranges system in Los Angeles County, California. Located just south of the western San Gabriel Mountains, the Verdugo Mountains region incorporates the cities of Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena, and La Cañada Flintridge; the unincorporated communities of Altadena and La Crescenta-Montrose; as well as the City of Los Angeles neighborhood of Sunland-Tujunga.
The Hahamog'na, commonly anglicized to Hahamongna and spelled Xaxaamonga in their native language, are a tribe of the Tongva people of California. Their language belongs to the Uto-Aztecan family.
Foothill Boulevard is a major road in the city and county of Los Angeles, as well as an arterial road in the city and county of San Bernardino, stretching well over 60 miles (97 km) in length, with some notable breaks along the route. Like its name implies, Foothill Boulevard runs across the foothills of the San Gabriel and San Bernardino Mountains.
Cypress Park is a densely populated neighborhood of 10,000+ residents in Northeast Los Angeles, California. Surrounded by hills on three sides, it sits in the valley created by the Los Angeles River and the Arroyo Seco. It is the site of the Rio de Los Angeles State Park, the Los Angeles River Bike Path and other recreational facilities. It hosts one private and four public schools.
Eaton Canyon is a major canyon beginning at the Eaton Saddle near Mount Markham and San Gabriel Peak in the San Gabriel Mountains in the Angeles National Forest, United States. Its drainage flows into the Rio Hondo river and then into the Los Angeles River. It is named after Judge Benjamin S. Eaton, who lived in the Fair Oaks Ranch House in 1865 not far from Eaton Creek.
Rancho San Rafael was a 36,403-acre (147.32 km2) Spanish land grant in the San Rafael Hills, bordering the Los Angeles River and the Arroyo Seco in present-day Los Angeles County, southern California, given in 1784 to Jose Maria Verdugo.
Northeast Los Angeles is a 17.18 sq mi (44.5 km2) region of Los Angeles County, comprising seven neighborhoods within Los Angeles. The area is home to Occidental College located in Eagle Rock.
The San Rafael Hills are a mountain range in Los Angeles County, California. They are one of the lower Transverse Ranges, and are parallel to and below the San Gabriel Mountains, adjacent to the San Gabriel Valley overlooking the Los Angeles Basin.
José María Verdugo was a soldier from the Presidio of San Diego who was assigned to the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel at the time his land was granted by the Spanish Empire in 1784.
The history of the San Fernando Valley from its exploration by the 1769 Portola expedition to the annexation of much of it by the City of Los Angeles in 1915 is a story of booms and busts, as cattle ranching, sheep ranching, large-scale wheat farming, and fruit orchards flourished and faded. Throughout its history, settlement in the San Fernando Valley was shaped by availability of reliable water supplies and by proximity to the major transportation routes through the surrounding mountains.
Cahuenga ( or "place of the hill" is a former Tongva–Tataviam Native American settlement in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California. One source suggests kawe means mountain in Tongva language. Recent linguistic work suggests an alternative meaning of "place of the fox". The Tongva-language suffix -nga indicates place, and the suffix -bet or -bit indicates person from place; people from Cahuenga were recorded in mission registers as Capuebet.
Quapa is a former Tongva village located in Encino or the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California. It was one of several villages located within the San Fernando Valley area, including Kowanga, Mapipinga, Okowvinja, Pascegna, Saway-yanga, Tacuenga, and Tuyunga.
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Founded in 1874 and incorporated in 1886, the city is famous for its colorful history and for the hosting of both the Tournament of Roses Parade and the annual Rose Bowl game football game. It is also the home of the world-renowned California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
Casa Adobe de San Rafael is one of the oldest homes in Glendale, California. The home has been in continuous use since its founding in 1865. It was designated a California Historic Landmark on October 31, 1935.
Achooykomenga is a former settlement that was located at the site of Mission San Fernando Rey de España before it was founded in 1797. Prior to the mission's founding, in the 1780s, it functioned as a shared native settlement for an agricultural rancho of Pueblo de Los Ángeles that was worked by Ventureño Chumash, Fernandeño (Tongva), and Tataviam laborers.
Save Hahamongna.org website — ongoing open space and historic sites protection, and riparian zone restoration projects.