The language of the Akimel O’odham has no official greeting words, so the closest I can get is to ask “Where are you going?” I sure hope your answer is “Bill’s blog all about Casa Grande Ruins National Monument in sunny Coolidge, Arizona!”
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This wasn’t exactly a planned trip. I was visiting my old friends, Dorothy and Reuel, in Fountain Hills and learned how close they were to Casa Grande. Luckily, they had no set agenda for the afternoon, and even though Reuel wasn’t feeling very well, he drove with me an hour or so southeast for an enlightening look into the lives of the ancient Sonoran Desert people!
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These people are commonly mislabeled “Hohokam,” which means “those who are gone,” an O’odham term misinterpreted by Harold Gladwin, who first excavated the ancient culture’s sites. According to the ranger, this term is actually wrong and disrespectful! The descendants of these ancient people believe that the spirits of their ancestors still dwell at sites like Casa Grande, so by labeling them “gone,” archaeologists have given the beliefs of their descendants a big smack in the face. That’s sort of a recurring pattern, actually.
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Gone or not, the ancestral desert people left behind many pieces of their culture. They were great builders and cultivators with extensive knowledge of irrigation. They had mastered survival in the desert so much that they had the freedom to be creative. Despite a glut of souvenir collecting in the 19th century, excavators have uncovered exquisite works of art by these people, who used hand-powered drills to turn shells into necklaces, and fermented saguaro juice for etching! Their descendants still work to keep these traditions alive through weaving and creating characteristic red-on-buff pottery, as well as hosting festivals and ceremonies at the Casa Grande site to honor their ancestors!
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The Casa Grande (f.k.a. Siwañ Waʼa Ki) takes its modern name from Jesuit Padre Eusebio Kino, who visited this “great house” in 1694 and found it remarkable enough to record. Though its function is still a mystery, it once spanned four levels and had openings that would align with the sun at the equinoxes and other important times of the year! It is composed of caliche, a naturally occurring cement, which, unlike adobe, can withstand centuries of weather! Nonetheless, the park’s stewards, not interested in taking the unnecessary risk, erected a huge ramada over the Casa Grande in 1932, and every two years, they spray all the structures in the village with a new coat of liquefied caliche, just to be sure!
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No one knows why the ancient desert people dissipated when they did. Some guess there was a flood, others a drought, and still others, too much population for too few resources. Whatever the reason, they have left behind some true marvels in their Casa Grande structure, and the massive, surrounding villages, some excavated, some undiscovered, some now beneath Walmart parking lots! It does not take long to see this site, maybe an hour and a half total, including the informative video and the guided tour, but the awesome achievements of these ancient people will sit with me much longer!
I’m hohokam for now!