Hawikuh (also spelled Hawikku, meaning "gum leaves" in Zuni[3]), was one of the largest of the Zunipueblos at the time of the Spanish entrada. It was founded around 1400 AD.[3] It was the first pueblo to be visited and conquered by Spanish explorers. The Spanish chroniclers referred to it as Cevola, Tzibola, or Cibola.
In 1539, Estevanico became the first non-native to visit Hawikuh. Rumors and legends revolving around the disappearance of Estevanico in the region eventually led to the Tiguex War.[3][4] The war occurred during a later expedition by Francisco Vásquez de Coronado, as he searched for the legendary "Seven Cities of Gold".
He wrote about the pueblo:
Although they are not decorated with turquoises, nor made of lime or good bricks, nevertheless they are very good houses, with three, four, and five stories, where there are very good apartments ... and some very good rooms underground Kivas, paved, which are made for winter and have something like hot baths.[5]
Some Hawikuu residents fled to the Dowa Yalanne mesa top to escape the attackers of the Coronado expedition. The 14 structures at Dowa Yalanne, which were used as a refuge from the Spaniards between 1540 and 1680, were called Heshoda Ayahltona ("ancient buildings above").[6]
In 1628 the Spanish established Mission La Purísima Concepción de Hawikuh at this pueblo. The Spanish attempted to suppress the Zuni religion, and introduced the encomienda forced-labor system. In 1632, the Hawikuh Zuni rebelled, burned the church, and killed the priest. In 1672, Apache raiders burned the church. In 1680 it was burned again during the Great Pueblo Revolt, when all the Nuevo México pueblos rose against the Spanish. After this revolt, the Zuni permanently abandoned Hawikuh.[3]
^ abcdLanmon, Dwight P. and Harlow, Francis, "A brief history of the Ashiwi (Zuni) pueblos", in The Pottery of Zuni Pueblo, 2008, Museum of New Mexico Press. ISBN0-89013-508-8
