Tomoacas people

Last updated
Tomoacas
Otomoaco, Amotomanco, Omotomoacos, Otomacos
Total population
Extinct
Regions with significant populations
Southwestern Texas, USA (La Junta de los Ríos, Big Bend area)
Languages
Amotomanco language
Religion
Indigenous religions (unspecified)
Related ethnic groups
Jumanos, other La Junta tribes
Sometimes referred to as "Patarabueyes" by Spanish explorers
Tomoacas on Map of 1500 Texas Tribes Map of Indians Texas 1500 (cropped).png
Tomoacas on Map of 1500 Texas Tribes

The Tomoacas (sometimes spelled "Omotomoacos", "Amotomanco," "Otomacos," or "Otomoaco") were an Indigenous people who lived in the region known as present-day southwest Texas. [1] The Tomoacas are believed to have been affiliated with the Jumanos. [2]

History

In the 1500s, the Tomoacas and Jumanos were main tribes in the area of western Texas that is now Big Bend Ranch State Park western Texas. [3] [4] [5] In 1583, early Spanish explorers (including Antonio de Espejo) encountered the Tomoacas at La Junta de los Ríos, [6] a regional hub of Indigenous settlement and agriculture. [7] [8] [9] Spanish chroniclers described the Tomoacas as wearing only well-tanned buffalo hides for clothing, and as skilled bow-and-arrow hunters of the buffalo. [8]

The Tomoacas were believed to have spoken a variation of Nahuatl (an Aztecan language). [4] [10] They and their neighbors were collectively termed "Patarabueyes" by Spaniards, indicating they were seen as a confederation of closely allied peoples. [8]

References

  1. ↑ French, Laurence Armand; Manzanarez, Magdaleno (2017-01-06). North American Border Conflicts: Race, Politics, and Ethics. CRC Press. ISBN   978-1-351-99851-2.
  2. ↑ Campbell, Thomas N. (1976). Patarabueye Indians. Texas Almanac.
  3. ↑ "Big Bend Ranch State Park". PeakVisor. Retrieved 2025-03-06.
  4. 1 2 Barnes, Randy L. (2019). Facts of Truths Concerning the Demise of the Original Inhabitant Nations of Texas. Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.
  5. ↑ Schmal, John. "The Indigenous Groups Along the Lower Rio Grande". Indigenous Mexico. Retrieved 2025-03-06.
  6. ↑ A Sampling of Archeological Resources in Big Bend National Park, Texas (PDF). Center for Big Bend Studies. 2022. p. 143.
  7. ↑ "At Big Bend Ranch, Archeology Reveals Region's Cosmopolitan Past". Marfa Public Radio . 2016-12-08. Retrieved 2025-03-06.
  8. 1 2 3 Schroeder, Eric Austin (2013). The Jumano in the First Century of Colonial Contact: Ethnohistoric and Archaeological Perspectives. The University of Texas at Austin.
  9. ↑ "Big Bend NP: Administrative History (Chapter 1)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2025-03-06.
  10. ↑ "La Junta de los Rios". www.texasbeyondhistory.net. Retrieved 2025-03-06.
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