Narrative Selections

These selections from the Narrative of Cabeza de Vaca were chosen to highlight the Indian tribes de Vaca met throughout his travels around the Americas. De Vaca met numerous different Indian cultures and, through his reliance on them to survive, came to see many customs that were strange to his European mind. The core of de Vaca’s journey was made with four other Spaniards and band of Indian followers. The Spaniards practiced as healers during the passage through the land; this gave them some status among the Indians that allowed them to travel relatively safely from group to group.
The goal of getting back to “civilization” was always at the forefront of the traveler’s minds. Because of this, de Vaca focuses heavily on the eating habits of the Indians they encountered. However, other cultural aspects of their different groups, such as their dress, gender roles, and migratory patterns are mentioned throughout the narrative. What follows is only a few short pieces of a lengthy narrative. Hopefully they will still provide an insightful peek into the lost Indian cultures of the Americas.
The first selection is Chapter 14: four Christians departed. In it, de Vaca describes the Indians on the island of Malhado. He describes the piercings the men typically have, their migration patterns, the manner in which they mourn their dead, and the unique marriage customs (how the husband may never look at or speak to his father-in-law). This short chapter includes a broad picture of these Indian peoples. These are some of the first Indians de Vaca meets (once all hope is lost, that is). They also help the struggling Spaniards by feeding and keeping them for a while, proving that they are not mindless savages.
The second selection is from Chapter 18: Of the account that [Figueroa] gave of Esquivel, from pages 105-110. This section talks about the Mareames Indians who practice infanticide (particularly of their daughters). It also talks about their abilities as archers and the roots they subsist on for most of the year. This section mentions a more unsettling practice (infanticide) than many of the other Indian groups. These people also do not have the idyllic life of the caricature Indians that many people think of when they hear the word. Instead, they have to struggle against the land to find roots to eat, and the women spend most of their time cooking because their main food is so difficult to eat.
The third selection comes from Chapter 22: How they brought us other sick people the next day and runs from pages 119-121. A large part of this section is a myth the Indians tell de Vaca about a small trickster that had visited them 15 or 16 years before. The style of dress (naked) and the time keeping abilities of this people is also mentioned. The myth included in this section is unusual, because de Vaca doesn’t really do it at any other time. He, of course, only includes it because he believes the trickster who visited them was the devil. Still, though this version of the myth may be biased, it is an important source of a deeper cultural mindset than we find in many exploration narratives.
The fourth selection is Chapter 24: Of the customs of the Indians of the land, pages 125-128. This section describes the child-rearing customs and the way the Indians handle domestic disputes. The war habits of these Indians is also described, including the ingenious way the Indians hide to surprise their enemies. This selection focuses completely on the customs and habits of the Indians. It shows the depth of care the Indians have for their children, that they breastfeed until they are old enough to get food for themselves in case of a famine. The inventive war tactics the Indians use also shows that they fight smarter than the Europeans did at this time, simply marched their armies up to each other and opened fire with little thought to surprise attacks.
The fifth and final selection is from Chapter 32: Of how they gave us the deer hearts, pages 154-159. In this section, de Vaca encounters Indians who have fled from their homes to the woods in an attempt to avoid being captured by the Christians. They have literally abandoned their crops and would rather starve in the woods then stay like sitting ducks in their villages. This section is important, because de Vaca has spent so much time with the Indians that he has nearly forgotten how most Christians (Spaniards) treat/view the Indians. Their reaction to the travelers now coming through their land highlights their humanity. They are smart enough to know that if one group of Christians is going to enslave your people, it is likely that other groups you encounter will too. This section as an ending to the Narrative would be a good preface to the continuing devastation the Indians faced at the hands of Europeans throughout the rest of American history.
The other anthology selections focus on the plight of de Vaca and his crew in their journey through the Americas. They also show the change of heart de Vaca seems to have as he lives among the Indians, but as it is a narrative of his journey, the Indians themselves are still only background characters. I think that as students read anthology after anthology that is set up this way, they get a picture of Europeans as simultaneously evil to the Indians and helpless to stop the atrocities brought upon them. A perspective that focuses on the Native experience is equally important to show the other side of the story, especially as in studying anthologies, students don’t spend much time with any one particular text.