The Tongva: A People of Land and Sea
The Tongva, originally pronounced tongvey, believe they have lived here since time immemorial. Their villages extended north to Topanga Canyon, south to Laguna Beach, east to the San Bernardino Mountains, and west to the southern Channel Islands. The Tongva were a diverse people that adapted to a variety of different environments. The Tongva near Ballona were very coastally oriented and traded across coastal waters. Those inland were more terrestrial. Tongva living on the inlands used oceangoing plank canoes called ti’ats.
The arrival of the Spanish and other European and the building of the local missions had a significant impact on the Tongva. Being forced to join the mission community and convert to Christianity required them to abandon traditional lifeways. Through many Tongva practices and traditions were lost during this time, fundamental elements of Tongva culture have survived. Today, modern Tongva culture persists by building on this ancient legacy.
Detail from Mary Leighton Thomson's painting "Wiyot's Children"
Friends and Neighbors
The Tongva did not live in isolation. Their interaction with other native peoples played a key role in their survival and cultural development. Through trading, the Tongva not only shared their knowledge and resources but also established lasting ties to their neighbors. Shell beads may have represented a monetary system established to facilitate this trade. The Tongva’s closest neighbors included the Chumash to the northwest, the Tataviam and Fernandeño to the north, the Serrano to the east, and the Juaneño and Luiseño to the south. With the exception of the Chumash, who had a distinct language from the other tribes, the Tongva shared language roots with their neighbors.
The earliest beads were made from shell, bone and stone. After Spanish contact, glass beads like these were introduced to the native populations. Although they lived in the same geographic area, there were significant differences in how each of these groups relied on the native natural resources for food and shelter. The varied environments of the coast, desert, and mountains provided each native group with unique resources that helped facilitate trade and interaction among the different cultural groups. Native groups traded raw materials as well as finished products. Mainland Tongva could provide deer meat, rabbit skins, shellfish, and acorns. Shell jewelry, steatite, seal skins and dried fish were key offerings of the Island Tongva. The Serrano and Cahuilla of the mountains and neighboring deserts supplied obsidian, blankets, pottery, and hematite for painting.
Steatite quarry on Santa Catalina Island showing depressions where vessels were carved from the cliff.
Village and Kiiy
The Tongva lived in a dwelling called a kiyy, pronounced approximately like ‘key’. Willow branches and natural rushes provided the structure of the kiyy. Mud plastered on the outside insulated it from the elements. Small fires were used inside the structure for warmth. Smoke from these fires escaped through a small hole in the roof. Tongva villages were comprised of kiiys and other structures. Some villages may have been quite large, although most contained approximately two dozen kiiys. Villages included residential sections, cooking sites, and locations for specific activities. There were areas for making stone tools as well as constructing and waterproofing baskets and water containers. Special locations were set aside as ceremonial and burial sites.
The Tongva sometimes left their villages temporarily for hunting and gathering of natural resources. They took some possessions along with them on these excursions. Other items were stored safely until their return to the village. Over the past serval thousand years, there have been different phases of Tongva settlements in Ballona. Some of these communities were residential sites, others were used only for food gathering and processing. Around 1,000 years ago, during a time of droughts and flood cycles, many of these Tongva settlements were abandoned. Their former inhabitants moved closer together near where Lincoln Boulevard centers the bluffs today.
A Tongva woman grinding grain on a metate using a mano.
Living in Ballona
The Tongva and their predecessors lived in Ballona for thousands of years. The surrounding landscape offered many of the resources the Tongva needed for everyday living. To collect resources necessary but not locally abundant such as acorns the Tongva traveled to neighboring mountains. The marshes of Ballona, and the coastal plain to the south offered rich plant resources for food, medicines, and materials for home construction. Fish and shellfish could be collected from the lagoon and seashore using spears and nets. Acorns from oak trees in the nearby mountains and canyons were a dietary staple of the Tongva.
Stone cobbles washed down from the local mountains, carried by Ballona Creek. These stones could be used for making a variety of tools such as a mortar and pestle. A mortar and pestle could be used to tenderize meat prior to cooking or to pound seeds and nuts into a flour for cooking.
The Tongva also traded for exotic goods such as beads from the Channel Islands for ornament making and exchange, obsidian from the desert regions for making spear and arrow points, and steatite from Santa Catalina Island for making stone bowls. Through plentiful, meal such as rabbits and waterfowl did not make up the majority of the Tongva diet. Seeds, nuts, and tubers actually constituted a much larger and more important part of everyday meals.
Painting from Mary Leighton Thomson's
Times of Change
When Spanish missionaries arrived in the Los Angeles area and established the San Gabriel Mission in 1771, the Tongva were living in nearly 100 communities throughout the Los Angeles Basin. Local Tongva within Ballona congregated around a village known as Guaspet. Documents from Missions San Gabriel and San Fernando indicate that over 90 residents of Guaspet were baptized before 1819, by which time the native village was no longer occupied.
By the 1780s, the lands of Ballona were being grazed by extensive herds of cattle and horses belonging to the residents of the newly established Los Angeles Pueblo. Reports of cattle rustling by Indians in 1787 provide evidence of continued conflicts between the Tongva and new Spanish ranchers.
By 1803, the Rancho de los Quintos was established in Ballona by Pio Quinto Zuniga.
The Zuniga family interacted with the local Tongva serving as officiants at baptisms and godparents for several residents of Guaspet. The Zuniga family may have had special connections with the Tongva residents of Ballona in part because Doña Zuniga was baptized Luiseño, originally from the San Juan Capistrano area.
Ti’at Plank Canoe
The Tongva relied on seagoing canoes called ti’ats for coastal travel and trade. Visits between the mainland and the Channel Islands allowed for trade of steatite, stoneware, and food. A ti’at was between 12 and 30 feet long and could hold up to 15 people and supplies. It was built of redwood which was obtained from driftwood and lashed together with hemp card. The seams were filled with asphaltum or melted pine pitch to create a waterproof seat. Craftsman then sanded it smooth with shark skin before adding paintings and other decorations.
In 1996, members of the Tongva community used ancestral methods to complete the first ti’at built in generations. They called their seagoing craft “Mo’omat Ahiko” which means “Breath of the Ocean” in the Tongva language. Five paddlers guided the vessel to reach the island known to them as Pimu (Santa Catalina Island).
Why are the Wetlands Important?
Storage
Wetlands act as natural sponges, storing water and slowly releasing it over time. This reduces flooding and provides water during times of drought.
Protection
Wetlands create a buffer zone along the coast, protecting local communities from storm tide surges.
Filtration
Wetlands improve water quality by filtering out pollutants.
Shelter
Wetlands create the perfect habitat for all types of wildlife, from fish to dragonflies. Migrating birds especially depend on wetlands as feeding and resting spots during their journey.