Maritime Culture

“… Now is the end, for there is no one else who will build a tomol. They are all dead – those brave men who navigated the sea. I say clearly that the time has come when the canoe brotherhood has ended. Do not hope that the brotherhood will return again, for it will not. It is over….”

From a speech by Saqt’ele (his Spanish name was Palatino) who was a leading tomol-builder from the Ventura area. He spoke of the end of the Brotherhood of the Tomol, the elite society of Chumash boatwrights and crewmen.

The tomol is recognized as the most sophisticated and technically advanced watercraft ever built by indigenous peoples in North America. Only the Chumash and their southern neighbors the Tongva (Gabrielino) and Pacific Islanders from the Gilbert Islands, ever built this type of seagoing craft.

There is some discussion among linguists about the term, “tomol” but most likely it refers to the unique manner that these boats were built, since “tomol” means to add or stack planks from the “keel” or bottom-board, upwards. The preferred construction material was sea-seasoned redwood driftwood, called wi’ma that was carried southward on the current from the Northwest eventually landing on the Santa Barbara Channel Islands. Rot and worm resistant and capable of being hewn into wide planks, the redwood collected on the beach was light weight and perfectly suited for tomol building.

Using the heart of the tule plant the tomol builders would caulk the spaces between the planks and make a twine to bind the planks together. Yop was a mixture of pine pitch, tar and red ochre, used as a sort of epoxy to cement planks and waterproof the crevices and knot-holes. Tomols varied in size from 8 to 30 feet long, and were used for fishing and transportation, cruising the coastal waters of south-central California and perhaps, beyond.

Not unlike other indigenous peoples with specialized roles in the community, the skill-holders that built and crewed Chumash tomols formed a select society called the Brotherhood of the Canoe or Tomol. Deep sea fishing and long-distance maritime travel empowered and enriched the Brotherhood, until the Spanish invasion and colonial occupation disrupted everything. The remnants of the Brotherhood represented by such men as Saqt’ele, continued under the direction of Spanish priests but disasters at sea and impoverishment finally led to the end of this society. A few more tomols were built by individuals, the last one in the 1870’s. But the Brotherhood died.

Then in the 1970’s while America made ready for it’s 200th birthday, the local Chumash community awakened, inspired by the Civil Rights Movement, Latino Farm-Workers Movement, and American Indian Movement, and did something remarkable.
A resurrected Brotherhood built a tomol. Helek (which means falcon or hawk) would take to the sea, and its spirit would energize a momentous revival.

In 1976 the Chumash “Ksen” (Messenger) John Ruiz collaborated with Travis Hudson, PhD. and curator of the Santa Barbara Natural History Museum, to undertake the construction of a traditional tomol or plankboat. No seaworthy tomol had been built in over 100 years. Hudson had met Ruiz in 1975 when the latter went to the museum for information about a Chumash site in Santa Barbara that was threatened with destruction. They developed a friendship that led to their plan to build a tomol. Hudson also discovered that Ruiz was related to the famed Chumash traditionalist, Kitsepawit (Fernando Librado), the last member of the original Brotherhood of the Tomol. While Hudson used his contacts to find financial and technical support, Ruiz had the job of convincing the local Chumash community to overcome their suspicion of working with outsiders and to collaborate with Hudson and the museum. Ruiz had the more difficult task, as Hudson could excite volunteers and donors with doing something extraordinary, while Ruiz had to ask his people to set aside the history of dispossession, discrimination, neglect and racism they had experienced at the hands of Euro-American settlers, the government and predatory academic researchers. Ruiz patiently and skillfully explained the opportunity that building a real, seaworthy tomol offered the community and persuaded the people to participate in this historic project.

Travis Hudson secured the technical assistance from Mr. Pete Holworth who had experience with building small wooden vessels and the boatyard facilities belonging to Mr. Harry Davis. As the construction of Helek gained momentum, more Chumash men and women contributed their time and support. How to go about constructing a seaworthy tomol was a challenge. The only surviving information about tomol building were in the field notes from the famous linguist John Peabody Harrington, who had consulted with Kitsepawit in the period of 1913-14. Hudson had secured copies of Harrington’s field notes and an unfinished manuscript that Harrington had intended to write about Chumash watercraft from the Smithsonian Institution of Washington, DC. Recalling from memory his contacts with the old tomol-builders in the 1840’s and 1850’s, Kitsepawit had provided Harrington with remarkably detailed technical descriptions of tomol construction as well as information about the fabled Brotherhood. However, it was not so easy to read or understand Harrington’s tomol notes. His 500 pages were disorganized, rambling, jumped topics often on the same page and written in English, Spanish and Chumash. Adding to this confusion and complexity, Kitsepawit’s measurements were expressed in fingerbreadths, palm-spans, forearm lengths and the like; the Helek’s builders had to translate these into standard metrics. Ruiz recalls spending many hours poring over Harrington’s notes, analyzing and interpreting Kitsepawit’s descriptions. But Ruiz says he was lucky: had Kitsepawit not lived to be 111 years old, Harrington would not have captured his traditional knowledge and tomol building would have been lost to history.

By June of 1976 the Helek was finished and was ready for sea. Helek was 26 ft, 9 inches long, and could carry about 2,000 lbs of cargo or personnel. John Ruiz and Travis Hudson had arranged for the Helek voyage to coincide with the bicentennial or 200th anniversary of the founding of Santa Barbara (and the USA). It was their intent to have the Helek visit the Santa Barbara Channel Islands, to return to the birthplace of Chumash maritime culture and the Brotherhood of the Tomol. Ruiz, Hudson and Mr. Ernie Brooks, captain/owner of the fishing trawler Just Love that would serve as the Helek’s support boat, estimated that to circumnavigate the Santa Barbara Islands and return home, would take 7-8 days. However, nobody yet knew how this craft would handle in the water. Therefore, with time growing short the crew hastily sea tested the Helek and practiced their paddling before their scheduled departure set for 26 June, 1976. The crew consisted of ten young Chumash men who were affiliated with the Quabaji Chumash Association. Some of these men had been local Native activists and among the younger generation of men and women who had been involved in the revival of traditional Chumash culture and spirituality. Finally, in the early morning of the 26th in the presence of the mayor of the city, a county supervisor, a representative from the office of the governor, other VIP’s and hundreds of supporters and onlookers, the Helek was launched from East Beach and her memorable voyage commenced.

It has been forty-seven years since the voyage of the Helek and enough time has passed so that this event might be placed in proper historical context. Ksen and tomol Captain John Thothokanayoh Ruiz has stored not only numerous photos, newspaper clippings and stories of the Helek at his home in Santa Barbara but has kept his first-hand memories alive to share with those who value history and a good tale. One can only imagine what kinds of stories the old Brotherhood members would have shared around beach camp fires in the distant past or the sea tales Kitsepawit may have heard from his Brotherhood Elders. But there is little doubt now, about the profound significance of the famous voyage of the Helek. Helek was a highpoint in the revival of Chumash culture, providing a long-oppressed community with much needed pride and a resilient people a measure of long-overdue recognition.

Helek Crewmen

Joseph Estrada Thot
Manuel Estrada Akhewo
Frank Gutierrez Kuic
Frank Gutierrez, Jr. Tomoloc
John Sespe Gutierrez

Raymond Chechihoh Gutierrez
Victor Slo’w Gutierrez (Captain/Wot)
Kote Lotah
John Ruiz Thothokanayoh (Captain/Wot)
Al Whitebear Sulwasunaytset

These audio recordings were made by Michael Khus-zarate with the support of the Northern Chumash Tribal Council and with the cooperation of the surviving members of the original crew of the Helek and some who helped build this tomol. This is a work in progress, as additional recordings of other Helek crewmen and supporters are added over time.

Secondary source: Tomol: Chumash Watercraft as Described in the Ethnographic Notes of John P. Harrington, edited and annotated by Travis Hudson, Janice Timbrook and Melissa Rempe, Ballena Press 1978, ISBN 0-87919-069-8

Chumash Tomol – a graphic of Past & Present

Chumash Maritime Association Tomol’s Visit Chicqwat (Morro Bay)

2011 Tomols Cross SB Channel Islands