[ OLD MASHONGNAVI.]
In the case of Mashongnavi we have somewhat more abundant material. It will be desirable to quote a few lines of narrative from the account of a Mashongnavi Indian of the name of Nuvayauma, as indicating the causes that led to the occupation of the site illustrated.
We turned and came to the north, meeting the Apache and “Beaver Indians,” with whom we had many battles, and being few we were defeated, after which we came up to Mashongnavi [the ruin at the “Giant’s Chair”] and gave that rock its name [name not known], and built our houses there. The Apache came upon us again, with the Comanche, and then we came to [Old Mashóngnavi]. We lived there in peace many years, having great success with crops, and our people increased in numbers, and the Apache came in great numbers and set fire to the houses and burned our corn, which you will find to-day there burnt and charred. After they had destroyed our dwellings we came upon the mesa, and have lived here since.
The ruins referred to as having been the first occupied by the Mashongnavi at a large isolated rock known as the “Giant’s Chair,” have not been examined. The later village from which they were driven by the attacks of the Apache to their present site has been surveyed. The plan of the fallen walls and lines of débris by which the form of much of the old pueblo can still be traced is given in [Pl. II]. The plan of the best preserved portion of the pueblo towards the north end of the sheet clearly indicates a general adherence to the inclosed court arrangement with about the same degree of irregularity that characterizes the modern village. Besides the clearly traceable portions of the ruin that bear such resemblance to the present village in arrangement, several small groups and clusters appear to have been scattered along the slope of the foothills, but in their present state of destruction it is not clear whether these clusters were directly connected with the principal group, or formed part of another village. Occasional traces of foundation walls strongly suggest such connection, although from the character of the site this intervening space could hardly have been closely built over. With the exception of the main cluster above described the houses occupy very broken and irregular sites. As indicated on the plan, the slope is broken by huge irregular masses of sandstone protruding from the soil, while much of the surface is covered by scattered fragments that have fallen from neighboring pinnacles and ledges. The contours indicate the general character of the slopes over which these irregular features are disposed. The fragment of ledge shown on the north end of the plate, against which a part of the main cluster has been built, is a portion of a broad massive ledge of sandstone that supports the low buttes upon which the present villages of Mashongnavi and Shupaúlovi are built, and continues as a broad, level shelf of solid rock for several miles along the mesa promontory. Its continuation on the side opposite that shown in the plate may be seen in the general view of Shupaulovi ([Pl. XXXI]).
[ SHITAIMUVI.]
The vestiges of another ruined village, known as Shitaimuvi, are found in the vicinity of Mashongnavi, occupying and covering the crown of a rounded foothill on the southeast side of the mesa. No plan of this ruin could be obtained on account of the complete destruction of the walls. No line of foundation stones even could be found, although the whole area is more or less covered with the scattered stones of former masonry. An exceptional quantity of pottery fragments is also strewn over the surface. These bear a close resemblance to the fine class of ware characteristic of “Talla Hogan” or “Awatubi,” and would suggest that this pueblo was contemporaneous with the latter. Some reference to this ruin win be found in the traditionary material in Chapter I.
[ AWATUBI.]
The ruin of Awatubi is known to the Navajo as Talla Hogan, a term interpreted as meaning “singing house” and thought to refer to the chapel and mission that at one time nourished here, as described by Mr. Stephen in Chapter I. Tradition ascribes great importance to this village. At the time of the Spanish conquest it was one of the most prosperous of the seven “cities” of Tusayan, and was selected as the site of a mission, a distinction shared by Walpi, which was then on a lower spur of the first mesa, and by Shumopavi, which also was built on a lower site than the present village of that name. Traditions referring to this pueblo have been collected from several sources and, while varying somewhat in less important details, they all concur in bringing the destruction of the village well within the period of Spanish occupation.
