Cahuilla people
The Cahuilla, also known as ʔívil̃uqaletem or Ivilyuqaletem, are a Native American people of the various tribes of the Cahuilla Nation, living in the inland areas of southern California. Their original territory encompassed about . The traditional Cahuilla territory was near the geographic center of Southern California. It was bounded to the north by the San Bernardino Mountains, to the south by Borrego Springs and the Chocolate Mountains, to the east by the Colorado Desert, and to the west by the San Jacinto Plain and the eastern slopes of the Palomar Mountains.
Key facts
- Ethnic group.group
- Cahuillaʔívil̃uqaletem
- Ethnic group.image
- Edward S. Curtis Collection People 056.jpg
- Ethnic group.caption
- Desert Cahuilla woman by Edward S. Curtis, 1926
- Ethnic group.population
- 2010: 4,238 alone and in combination
- Ethnic group.popplace
- United States (California)
- Ethnic group.rels
- Christianity (Roman Catholic, Moravian, Protestant), and traditional tribal religion
- Ethnic group.langs
- English, Spanish, Cahuilla language
- Ethnic group.related
- Cupeño, Luiseño, Serrano, and Tongva
- Ethnonym.person
- ʔívil̃uqalet
- Ethnonym.people
- ʔívil̃uqaletem
- Ethnonym.language
- ʔívil̃uʔat
- Ethnonym.country
Article
13 sectionsContents
- Language and name
- Prehistory
- History
- Culture
- Cuisine
- Current status
- Federally recognized tribes
- Notable Cahuilla
- See also
- References
- Sources
- Further reading
- External links
The Cahuilla, also known as ʔívil̃uqaletem or Ivilyuqaletem, are a Native American people of the various tribes of the Cahuilla Nation, living in the inland areas of southern California. Their original territory encompassed about . The traditional Cahuilla territory was near the geographic center of Southern California. It was bounded to the north by the San Bernardino Mountains, to the south by Borrego Springs and the Chocolate Mountains, to the east by the Colorado Desert, and to the west by the San Jacinto Plain and the eastern slopes of the Palomar Mountains.
==Language and name== The Cahuilla language is in the Uto-Aztecan family. A 1990 census revealed 35 speakers in an ethnic population of 800. It is critically endangered, since most speakers are middle-aged or older. In their language, their autonym is ʔívil̃uqaletem, and the name of their language is ʔívil̃uʔat (Ivilyuat), but they also call themselves táxliswet, meaning "person". Cahuilla is an exonym applied to the group after mission secularization in the Ranchos of California. The word "Cahuilla" is probably from the Ivilyuat word kawiʔa, meaning "master."