Description
Many Aranama people moved to Mission Nuestra Señora del Espíritu Santo de Zúñiga at its second and third locations. Several times, they left the mission to move north, and occasionally joined the Tawakonis. Each time, the Spanish colonists convinced them to return. Some Aranama people also joined San Antonio de Valero in San Antonio and Nuestra Señora del Refugio in Refugio. These Coahuiltecan Indians were always closely associated with the Aranama Indians, who in the early eighteenth century lived along the Guadalupe River in the vicinity of present Victoria. In 1726 Nuestra Señora del Espíritu Santo de Zúñiga Mission was moved from Matagorda Bay to the lower Guadalupe River for the purpose of Christianizing the Aranama and Tamique Indians.
Language
Aranama (Araname)
Culture
Foraging for wild foods also played a major role in the ancient diet of Southwestern peoples. For example, the fruit and seeds of the Saguaro cactus were collected and eaten both fresh and dried, and made into preserves and drinks by tribes such as the Tohono O'odham and Pima. Another important food of the Southwest are the seeds of the Pinyon pine, known as "pine nuts". The agave plant has historically been a vital food source, useful to Indigenous people in many ways. The agave are used in making baskets and mats, is famously used for distilled spirits such as tequila and mezcal. Indigenous peoples of the region have traditionally raised turkey and hunted deer, antelope and rabbit. After European contact they began to keep sheep, goats and cattle.