A polychrome wedding vase with a bird design on one side and cloud forms around the spouts made by Annette Raton of Santa Ana
Annette Raton, Santa Ana, A polychrome wedding vase with a bird design on one side and cloud forms around the spouts
Annette Raton
Santa Ana
$ SOLD
casa4b059
A polychrome wedding vase with a bird design on one side and cloud forms around the spouts
4.5 in L by 2.25 in W by 6 in H
Condition: Very good
Signature: Annette Raton Santa Ana



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100 West San Francisco Street, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501
(505) 986-1234 - www.andreafisherpottery.com - All Rights Reserved

Santa Ana Pueblo

The Jemez River on Santa Ana Pueblo
The Jemez River on Santa Ana Pueblo

The Santa Ana people have occupied the area around today's pueblo since the early 1500s. As Eastern Keres speakers they most likely arrived from the area of Frijoles Canyon at what is now Bandelier National Monument. Tamaya, their first pueblo in the new location, was located against a south-facing rocky mesa wall on the north side of the Jemez River. That location was well off the usual trade and travel routes in the area, making Tamaya one of the most secluded of all New Mexico pueblos.

The first Spanish arrived in the 1540s and the Santa Ana people resisted them until finally surrendering to Spanish rule in 1598. Spanish abuses led to the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 when the Pueblo peoples rose up together and forced the Spanish from Nuevo Mexico. Their freedom lasted for 12 years, then the Spanish returned in force, intent on staying. In the fighting after the Spanish return, the Santa Anans were forced to flee from their village and the Spanish looted and burned it, destroying many of the buildings. The tribe fled into the Jemez Mountains and finally gathered on Black Mesa before descending into the valley and surrendering to Spanish rule again in 1693.

The tribe began rebuilding their pueblo and moved to acquire more agricultural land along the Rio Grande. They supplemented their diet by hunting and gathering but slowly their tribal village industry economy shifted as more people became involved in the village agricultural economy and their trade changed until they were offering food in return for pottery from their Zia and Jemez neighbors. Those tribal members who still produced pottery in those days mostly emulated the creations of the Zias. Then the tribe moved downstream closer to the Rio Grande and new sources of clay and temper were found. Still, by the 1920's the Santa Ana pottery tradition was nearly extinct. Then Eudora Montoya (the last traditional Santa Ana potter) began holding classes to teach what she knew to other women in the tribe in the 1970's. Little pottery production, however, exists today.

Santa Ana Pueblo location map
For more info:
at Wikipedia
official website
 Photo courtesy of John Phelan, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License

The Story of
the Wedding Vase

as told by Teresita Naranjo of Santa Clara Pueblo

Wedding vase by Helen Naha

Helen Naha
Hopi
Red wedding vase with sgraffito geometric design

Wilma Baca Tosa
Jemez Pueblo
Avanyu design carved into a black wedding vase

Margaret Tafoya
Santa Clara Pueblo



The Wedding Vase has been used for a long, long time in Indian Wedding Ceremonies.

After a period of courtship, when a boy and girl decide to get married, they cannot do so until certain customs have been observed. The boy must first call all his relatives together to tell them that he desires to be married to a certain girl. If the relatives agree, two or three of the oldest men are chosen to call on the parents of the girl. They pray according to Indian custom and the oldest man will tell the parents of the girl what their purpose is in visiting. The girl's parents never give a definite answer at this time, but just say that they will let the boy's family know their decision later.

About a week later, the girl calls a meeting of her relatives. The family then decides what answer should be given. If the answer is “no” that is the end of it. If the answer is “yes” then the oldest men in her family are delegated to go to the boy's home, and to give the answer, and to tell the boy on what day he can come to receive his bride-to-be. The boy must also notify all of his relatives on what day the girl will receive him, so that they will be able to have gifts for the girl.

Now the boy must find a Godmother and Godfather. The Godmother immediately starts making the wedding vase so that it will be finished by the time the girl is to be received. The Godmother also takes some of the stones which have been designated as holy and dips them into water, to make it holy water. It is with this holy water that the vase is filled on the day of the reception.

The reception day finally comes and the Godmother and Godfather lead the procession of the boy's relatives to the home of the girl. The groom is the last in line and must stand at the door of the bride's home until the gifts his relatives have brought have been opened and received by the bride.

The bride and groom now kneel in the middle of the room with the groom's relatives and the bride's parents praying all around them. The bride then gives her squash blossom necklace to the groom's oldest male relative, while the groom gives his necklace to the bride's oldest male relative. After each man has prayed, the groom's necklace is placed on the bride, and the bride's is likewise placed on the groom.

After the exchange of squash blossom necklaces and prayers, the Godmother places the wedding vase in front of the bride and groom. The bride drinks out of one side of the wedding vase and the groom drinks from the other. Then, the vase is passed to all in the room, with the women all drinking from the bride's side, and the men from the groom's.

After the ritual drinking of the holy water and the prayers, the bride's family feeds all the groom's relatives and a date is set for the church wedding. The wedding vase is now put aside until after the church wedding.

Once the church wedding ceremony has occurred, the wedding vase is filled with any drink the family may wish. Once again, all the family drinks in the traditional manner, with women drinking from one side, and men the other. Having served its ceremonial purpose, the wedding vase is given to the young newlyweds as a good luck piece.

Medina Family Tree

Disclaimer: This "family tree" is a best effort on our part to determine who the potters are in this family and arrange them in a generational order. The general information available is questionable so we have tried to show each of these diagrams to living members of each family to get their input and approval, too. This diagram is subject to change should we get better info.

    Rosalea Medina Toribio (c.1858-1950) & Mariano Toribio (c. 1854-c.1918)
    • Juanita Toribio Pino (1890-1987) & Andres Pino (1885-1947)
      • Sofia Medina (1932-2010) & Raphael Medina (1929-1998)
        • Marcellus Medina (1954-) & Elizabeth Medina (1956-)
          • Kimberly Medina (1973-)
          • Marcella Medina (1974-)
        • Edna Medina Galiford (1957-)
        • Lois Medina (1959-2002)
        • Rachel Medina Raton (1961-)(married into Santa Ana)
    • Andrea Toribio Gachupin (1896-1956) & Jose Gachupin (ca. 1890-1953)
      • Gloria Gachupin Chinana (1940-)
      • Helen Gachupin (1931-1992)
    • Maria Bridgett (c. 1890-)
      • Candelaria Gachupin (1908-) & Antonio Gachupin
        • Dora Tse-Pe & Johnnie Tse-Pe Gonzales (San Ildefonso)
          • Candace Tse-Pe
          • Gerri Tse-Pe
          • Irene Tse-Pe
    • Trinidad Medina (c. 1890s-1965)(Antonio Gachupin's sister, aunt of Dora Tse Pe, grandmother of Rafael Medina and teacher of Sofia Medina)

Some of the above info is drawn from Southern Pueblo Pottery, 2000 Artist Biographies, by Gregory Schaaf, © 2002, Center for Indigenous Arts & Studies

Other info is derived from personal contacts with family members and through interminable searches of the Internet and cross-examination of the data found.