We hosted our Annual Chumash Nation Tomol Village Hop at Chicqawt’ (Morro Bay) and Tsipxatu (Avila Beach) August 18-19 2012 was filled with Sunrise and Launch Ceremonies, Blessings, and Stories.
Village Hop
Tomol Story
The Chumash Nation is a maritime culture. We have lived along the California coastline from Ragged Point to Malibu and out to the Channel Islands for over 15,000 years. The Chumash have lived and thrived in these lush lands and coastal ocean environments. Our ocean going vehicle is the “Tomol,” which means “canoe” in Chumash. The Chumash plank canoe is constructed with no nails, rivets, or ribs and it is sown together with a local plant called “Dog Bane.” This twine is made from the hand twisted fiber of the Dog Bane. You can see below the stitching on our latest Tomol Xax ‘Alolk’oy’ (Great Dolphin)
Rosario
Rosario Cooper, last speaker of the Obispeno Chumash language, seated at viewer’s right outside her home near Arroyo Grande during her linguistic work with John P. Harrington : 1916 ; left to right: Mauro Soto, Rosario’s husband, J. P. Harrington, Frank Olivas Jr. (Rosario’s grandson), and Rosario Cooper.
Cpasini
The tiłhini (northern Chumash) word for sea/ocean is cpasini.
The Nine Sisters are a string of hills that partially run through San Luis Obispo. They are geologically noteworthy for being volcanic plugs. The Nine Sisters (sometimes called the Seven Sisters) Morros Morro Rock is in the foreground. The Nine Sisters are, west to east: Morro Rock (no climbing access), Black Hill, Cabrillo Peak, Hollister Peak (no access, private property), Cerro Romauldo (restricted access), Chumash Peak (restricted access), Bishop Peak, Cerro San Luis (San Luis Mountain), Islay Hill.
northernchumash.org 
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