Taos Factionalism

Myths and legends world-wide, as well as ancient history, suggest that conflict, schism or factionalism existed universally in communities of all sizes. Edward Spicer (1962:492) wrote: “It seems very doubtful that what modern men know as ‘difference of opinion’ existed for more than very short periods in any communities of the Indians in northwestern New Spain before the coming of white men.” Persistent dissenters were banished. The tempting problem is to explain why the factionalism occurs in general and in any particular case. In her famous book, Patterns of Culture (1934:BO-88) Ruth Benedict developed a very attractive picture of Pueblo Indian culture producing a mild, non-aggressive, friendly and accommodating personality in Pueblo Indians, which she labelled “Apollonian” and contrasted the Pueblos with the aggressive Plains “Dionysians.” Finding considerable factionalism in Taos Pueblo has tempted Benedict and a number of other scholars to try to explain why it seemed to occur there more frequently than among other Apollonian communities practicing the Pueblo culture. I am motivated to write this paper because of my conviction that ethnohistorical research has brought to light important information which suggests that the previous explanations of Taos factionalism were incomplete. That Peyotism, a new and distinct religion based on use of a slightly intoxicating, spineless cactus found only in south Texas and Mexico, was accepted only at Taos seems to have prompted several students of Pueblo culture to attribute to Peyotism that Taos appeared more disturbed and split than the other Pueblo communities where Peyotism was not practiced