324
has adapted to different regimes of power. The ultimate goal being the analysis of
the Comcaac case as a story of resilience, adaptability, and cultural creation in one
of the most intriguing drylands of North America.
Social Cohesion and Governance Among the Comcaac
Comcaac leadership is an evasive topic of analysis; scant data and simplistic approximations permeate early heuristic efforts. Twenty-century scholars interested in
understanding Comcaac settlement patterns and social organization focused their
attention on analyzing band organization, their range and territory dynamics, and
their descent system (Bahre 1980; Moser 1963; Sheridan 1996 1999) compiled an
impressive ethnohistorical scope of the sources in search for subsistence information for, nearly all Colonial documentation deals with battles and expeditions to
subdue the Comcaac into the mission life, leaving out the actual descriptions of the
environment, people, and culture. This initial effort facilitated a later endeavor by
Martínez-Tagüeña (2015) in which Comcaac oral accounts about the colonial
Spaniards were combined with archival documents and with archaeological survey
evidence from mentioned places. Comcaac accounts explain the relationship
between leadership, prowess in warfare, and spiritual power.
While archival documents indicate that the Spaniards understood the role that
Comcaac leaders play in their society, it is not until the actual voice of these actors
is documented that a more complete historical narrative can be achieved—especially when we consider that spiritual power enhanced the capabilities of these leaders for survival against Spanish domination. The Comcaac favored certain qualities
in their leaders: fast and efficient movement through the land, precise aim while
shooting, the ability to innovate and strategize during difficult times, spiritual power,
to be expert dancers, and possess a vast song-singing repertoire, not to mention
strong personalities. Today, these characteristics are reflected in personalities idealized by the Comcaac—individualistic characters, opportunistic, and adaptable to
the changing world that surrounds them (Martínez-Tagüeña et al. forthcoming).
Compiled evidence indicates that Comcaac bands had an extremely fluid social
composition where individuals and families moved according to different needs in
different pathways. Also, on occasions, several families congregated at different
places for fiestas (traditional parties). Importantly, cultural and environmental reasons for movement cannot be dichotomized; they are interwoven on the land (for a
detailed description, see Martínez-Tagüeña and Torres 2018) so this fission–fusion
dynamic has to be understood as a complex socio-environmental engagement that
was modified as a whole with the colonial encounter and their integration in a market economy.
Once existing in small groups, Comcaac families had recurrent grounds that
composed an ihiizitim, an ancestral ground, and the fundamental unit of their terN. Martínez-Tagüeña and R. F. Rentería-Valencia
has adapted to different regimes of power. The ultimate goal being the analysis of
the Comcaac case as a story of resilience, adaptability, and cultural creation in one
of the most intriguing drylands of North America.
Social Cohesion and Governance Among the Comcaac
Comcaac leadership is an evasive topic of analysis; scant data and simplistic approximations permeate early heuristic efforts. Twenty-century scholars interested in
understanding Comcaac settlement patterns and social organization focused their
attention on analyzing band organization, their range and territory dynamics, and
their descent system (Bahre 1980; Moser 1963; Sheridan 1996 1999) compiled an
impressive ethnohistorical scope of the sources in search for subsistence information for, nearly all Colonial documentation deals with battles and expeditions to
subdue the Comcaac into the mission life, leaving out the actual descriptions of the
environment, people, and culture. This initial effort facilitated a later endeavor by
Martínez-Tagüeña (2015) in which Comcaac oral accounts about the colonial
Spaniards were combined with archival documents and with archaeological survey
evidence from mentioned places. Comcaac accounts explain the relationship
between leadership, prowess in warfare, and spiritual power.
While archival documents indicate that the Spaniards understood the role that
Comcaac leaders play in their society, it is not until the actual voice of these actors
is documented that a more complete historical narrative can be achieved—especially when we consider that spiritual power enhanced the capabilities of these leaders for survival against Spanish domination. The Comcaac favored certain qualities
in their leaders: fast and efficient movement through the land, precise aim while
shooting, the ability to innovate and strategize during difficult times, spiritual power,
to be expert dancers, and possess a vast song-singing repertoire, not to mention
strong personalities. Today, these characteristics are reflected in personalities idealized by the Comcaac—individualistic characters, opportunistic, and adaptable to
the changing world that surrounds them (Martínez-Tagüeña et al. forthcoming).
Compiled evidence indicates that Comcaac bands had an extremely fluid social
composition where individuals and families moved according to different needs in
different pathways. Also, on occasions, several families congregated at different
places for fiestas (traditional parties). Importantly, cultural and environmental reasons for movement cannot be dichotomized; they are interwoven on the land (for a
detailed description, see Martínez-Tagüeña and Torres 2018) so this fission–fusion
dynamic has to be understood as a complex socio-environmental engagement that
was modified as a whole with the colonial encounter and their integration in a market economy.
Once existing in small groups, Comcaac families had recurrent grounds that
composed an ihiizitim, an ancestral ground, and the fundamental unit of their terN. Martínez-Tagüeña and R. F. Rentería-Valencia