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The Delight Makers a novel of prehistoric Pueblo Indians
Unique in nineteenth-century American literature for its blend of historical romance and scientific observation, The Delight Makers provides in fictional form an invaluable reconstruction of prehistoric Indian culture of the Southwest. Written by an archaeologist who had spent eight years among the Pueblo tribes of New Mexico, it tells the story of the ancestors of the modern Pueblos, the Queres, who are dominated by a powerful secret society called the Koshare or "Delight Makers." Rivalry between clans and a conspiracy to accuse a woman of sorcery touch of war with a neighboring tribe, the Tehuas, and lead to the destruction of the Queres settlement.
Bandelier wrote the book, he said, "to make the 'Truth about the Pueblo Indians' more accessible and perhaps more acceptable to the public in general....The descriptions of the country and of its mature are real. The descriptions of manners and customs, of creeds and rites, are from actual observations by myself and other ethnologists....The descriptions of architecture are based upon investigations of ruins still in existence on the sites where they are placed in the story. The plot is my own. But most of the scenes described I have witnessed..." The result of Bandelier's painstaking research, long-neglected, is a work that is destined to become a classic study of America's early inhabitants.
Bandelier wrote the book, he said, "to make the 'Truth about the Pueblo Indians' more accessible and perhaps more acceptable to the public in general....The descriptions of the country and of its mature are real. The descriptions of manners and customs, of creeds and rites, are from actual observations by myself and other ethnologists....The descriptions of architecture are based upon investigations of ruins still in existence on the sites where they are placed in the story. The plot is my own. But most of the scenes described I have witnessed..." The result of Bandelier's painstaking research, long-neglected, is a work that is destined to become a classic study of America's early inhabitants.
528 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1890
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168 people want to read
About the author
Adolph Francis Alphonse Bandelier
157 books11 followersAdolph Francis Alphonse Bandelier was a Swiss-born American archaeologist.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
December 27, 2014
"The Delight Makers" tells the story of rivalries between different clans of a Native American tribe living in an adobe pueblo and hollowed out caves in a small canyon in central New Mexico. It is set in the time before Europeans arrived in the Western Hemisphere.
Its author, Adolf F. Bandelier, was a native of Switzerland who came to the United States in the latter part of the 19th century and became an archaeologist and expert in the Native American cultures of the Southwest. New Mexico's Bandelier National Monument is named after him, and "The Delight Makers" is set in Frijoles Canyon, part of the present-day monument. The book was published in 1890 and is Bandelier's only novel; the rest of his published works are nonfiction books, monographs, and articles about the people he studied -- not only the indigenous peoples of the Southwest, but also groups in Mexico and South America. His stated purpose in writing this book was to share his knowledge about ancient Puebloan peoples with the general public, those who would never read an archaeological site report or ethnography.
That said, "The Delight Makers" is a well-written, compelling story. The desire for revenge drives much of the plot, especially the hatred between one man, Tyope, and his former wife, Shotaye, who left him and now lives on her own. Shotaye has some dangerous and illicit knowledge of magic and ritual that she's gleaned from Tyope, a powerful man in the Delight Makers clan. Because she uses dark magic that she has no right to, she's suspected of being a witch. Tyope is determined to expose her and have her killed; he and the leader of the Delight Makers clan also want to oust the tribe's war leader, who isn't part of their clan but who is well-respected and has a lot of power.
The stakes are raised as raiding Navajos -- traditional enemies of the Puebloan peoples -- and a different tribe of Puebloans threaten the Frijoles Canyon residents. Bandelier does a good job of explaining Puebloan customs and moving the story along at the same time. However, Bandelier was a product of his time and there are numerous passages where he characterizes Native Americans in terms that today would be considered patronizing and racist.
I enjoyed this book much more than I expected to. The five or six major characters were well-drawn and had depth; they weren't all good or all bad. And the descriptions of the Puebloan people and their way of life seemed plausible. I wish I had kept a list of all the characters as they were introduced, because several had similar-sounding unfamiliar names, and I tended to confuse them at first. Bandelier also uses some Puebloan terms without translating them directly. If I read it again, I would write those down, too, along with what I thought it meant, given the context. I recommend those two steps to anyone reading this book; I think it will add to their enjoyment.
Its author, Adolf F. Bandelier, was a native of Switzerland who came to the United States in the latter part of the 19th century and became an archaeologist and expert in the Native American cultures of the Southwest. New Mexico's Bandelier National Monument is named after him, and "The Delight Makers" is set in Frijoles Canyon, part of the present-day monument. The book was published in 1890 and is Bandelier's only novel; the rest of his published works are nonfiction books, monographs, and articles about the people he studied -- not only the indigenous peoples of the Southwest, but also groups in Mexico and South America. His stated purpose in writing this book was to share his knowledge about ancient Puebloan peoples with the general public, those who would never read an archaeological site report or ethnography.
That said, "The Delight Makers" is a well-written, compelling story. The desire for revenge drives much of the plot, especially the hatred between one man, Tyope, and his former wife, Shotaye, who left him and now lives on her own. Shotaye has some dangerous and illicit knowledge of magic and ritual that she's gleaned from Tyope, a powerful man in the Delight Makers clan. Because she uses dark magic that she has no right to, she's suspected of being a witch. Tyope is determined to expose her and have her killed; he and the leader of the Delight Makers clan also want to oust the tribe's war leader, who isn't part of their clan but who is well-respected and has a lot of power.
The stakes are raised as raiding Navajos -- traditional enemies of the Puebloan peoples -- and a different tribe of Puebloans threaten the Frijoles Canyon residents. Bandelier does a good job of explaining Puebloan customs and moving the story along at the same time. However, Bandelier was a product of his time and there are numerous passages where he characterizes Native Americans in terms that today would be considered patronizing and racist.
I enjoyed this book much more than I expected to. The five or six major characters were well-drawn and had depth; they weren't all good or all bad. And the descriptions of the Puebloan people and their way of life seemed plausible. I wish I had kept a list of all the characters as they were introduced, because several had similar-sounding unfamiliar names, and I tended to confuse them at first. Bandelier also uses some Puebloan terms without translating them directly. If I read it again, I would write those down, too, along with what I thought it meant, given the context. I recommend those two steps to anyone reading this book; I think it will add to their enjoyment.
Read
June 10, 2018This attempt, by a middle-aged guy with a very European name, to imagine the ancient inhabitants of a high desert canyon is clunky—primitive, one might say—and limited by the tools and perspectives at his disposal.
But no, I must begin by admitting that I liked it. I like Bandelier’s effort to paint this world as completely as he can, contextualizing for a white American audience the things that make it different, and presenting it as a world that makes sense unto itself. He did a very thoughtful job. There is a great deal of tenderness here, and even a smidgen of subtlety in the variety of delicate family relationships and power structures, though probably inaccurate in most ways that matter. Like archaeology in that way.
The story itself is practically Shakespearean, and also relies heavily on the nineteenth century novel. So it does what European stories did well—painting bright individuals, characters with their own skills and quirks and histories, flawed and well-intentioned, who play things out to a reasonable end. Bandelier’s investment in these individuals makes it more perplexing when he trails off into generalizations: “The Indian is a child whose life is ruled by a feeling of complete dependence...” This from the same guy who wrote of this canyon, “About its ruins there hovers a charm which binds man to the place where untold centuries ago man lived, loved, suffered, and died as present generations live, suffer, and die in the course of human history.” I am always confused by the way white writers view their colonial subjects as both people and not. I’m not sure it’s worth hashing out at this point.
Sometimes I’m afraid this is the best we can do, the closest we can come to each other, especially to cultures in the past—a fish-eye view of people, their activities, feelings, and concerns, through the distortive lens of our own predilections. But I am confident we can do better than Bandelier’s strange tendency to infantilize people. I am certain we can do better than his tendency to exoticize the sexual norms of the pueblos. And we can probably do better than writing, always, to a white American audience.
But no, I must begin by admitting that I liked it. I like Bandelier’s effort to paint this world as completely as he can, contextualizing for a white American audience the things that make it different, and presenting it as a world that makes sense unto itself. He did a very thoughtful job. There is a great deal of tenderness here, and even a smidgen of subtlety in the variety of delicate family relationships and power structures, though probably inaccurate in most ways that matter. Like archaeology in that way.
The story itself is practically Shakespearean, and also relies heavily on the nineteenth century novel. So it does what European stories did well—painting bright individuals, characters with their own skills and quirks and histories, flawed and well-intentioned, who play things out to a reasonable end. Bandelier’s investment in these individuals makes it more perplexing when he trails off into generalizations: “The Indian is a child whose life is ruled by a feeling of complete dependence...” This from the same guy who wrote of this canyon, “About its ruins there hovers a charm which binds man to the place where untold centuries ago man lived, loved, suffered, and died as present generations live, suffer, and die in the course of human history.” I am always confused by the way white writers view their colonial subjects as both people and not. I’m not sure it’s worth hashing out at this point.
Sometimes I’m afraid this is the best we can do, the closest we can come to each other, especially to cultures in the past—a fish-eye view of people, their activities, feelings, and concerns, through the distortive lens of our own predilections. But I am confident we can do better than Bandelier’s strange tendency to infantilize people. I am certain we can do better than his tendency to exoticize the sexual norms of the pueblos. And we can probably do better than writing, always, to a white American audience.
Read
August 22, 2017After reading several other books on or purporting to be from the point of view of Native Americans, written in or near the 1970s, I was ready to read A. Bandelier's The Delight Makers with a good bit of caution, as it purports to be a novel meant to illustrate his research, written by a lifelong researcher of New Mexico cultures. A few lines into this book, and then skimming the helpfully already highlighted and underlined passages in the book (which I've pulled from my landlady's book shelf) have convinced me not to continue reading. For all of his good intentions, his writing is rather condescending.
August, 12017 HE
(the Holocene Calendar)
Read, Write, Dream, Walk !
ShiraDest
August, 12017 HE
(the Holocene Calendar)
Read, Write, Dream, Walk !
ShiraDest
Read
January 30, 2019Most of what is written of the Pueblo culture reads like a scientific dissertation, but The Delight Makers, by early anthropologist, Adolph Bandelier, is a novel of everyday life, conflict and love in the cliff dwellings west of Santa Fe.
Bandelier's characters live in caves carved in the cliffs of soft, volcanic rock in what is now called Frijoles Canyon in Bandelier National Monument, between Los Alamos and Santa Fe. I visited Frijoles Canyon many years ago, and climbed the ladders, walked the trails and crawled through the multi-story dwellings, so the scenes in The Delight Makers were very familiar.
The Delight Makers is a great book and I will be a delight to anyone who reads it.
Bandelier's characters live in caves carved in the cliffs of soft, volcanic rock in what is now called Frijoles Canyon in Bandelier National Monument, between Los Alamos and Santa Fe. I visited Frijoles Canyon many years ago, and climbed the ladders, walked the trails and crawled through the multi-story dwellings, so the scenes in The Delight Makers were very familiar.
The Delight Makers is a great book and I will be a delight to anyone who reads it.
June 9, 2020
As a novel, this doesn't warrant four-stars, but as an anthropological look at prehistoric peoples, it's fascinating. The author obviously is a close observer of nature and geography, so I assume he viewed the people similarly. Several statements reflect old attitudes and stereotypes, but overall I was impressed.
In the Introduction, Jovanovich writes, On publication in 1890, 'The Delight Makers' was quickly recognized by anthropologists and archaeologists as a classic of both science and literature.
p. 126: An object coming from Shotaye and having been in her possession was suspected of having acquired thereby virtues which it did not possess before. But these virtues were thought to be beneficial only as long as the object was obtained from her in a legitimate way, and with her own free will and kind consent. So theft was out of the question.
This quote about scalping (page 425) explains that the strength, wisdom, and knowledge of him whose scalp has been taken, hereafter belong to the man who took it; they increase his power and make the tribe more powerful.
A list of characters, tribes, and clans would have been helpful. I was doing well to keep the central characters straight in my mind, but was not so successful with the minor ones. If/when I do read this again, I'll create a reference chart.
In the Introduction, Jovanovich writes, On publication in 1890, 'The Delight Makers' was quickly recognized by anthropologists and archaeologists as a classic of both science and literature.
p. 126: An object coming from Shotaye and having been in her possession was suspected of having acquired thereby virtues which it did not possess before. But these virtues were thought to be beneficial only as long as the object was obtained from her in a legitimate way, and with her own free will and kind consent. So theft was out of the question.
This quote about scalping (page 425) explains that the strength, wisdom, and knowledge of him whose scalp has been taken, hereafter belong to the man who took it; they increase his power and make the tribe more powerful.
A list of characters, tribes, and clans would have been helpful. I was doing well to keep the central characters straight in my mind, but was not so successful with the minor ones. If/when I do read this again, I'll create a reference chart.
June 17, 2022
The author was an archaeologist and decided that people would be more interested in learning about the Pueblos via a fictional story woven around the historical information rather than a purely non-fiction dissertation. Can’t say he was wrong with that approach! Still a dense read, but interesting. If you’ve spent time in New Mexico, you may be even more intrigued as you’ll likely recognize the landmarks and landscape.
January 18, 2021
It is difficult not to project ones own cultures likely plots and typical ways of interacting when creating a fictitious story about another culture, especially one that existed hundred of years prior even to their descendants, who Bangalore had access to. I respect Banadlier as a man and for his efforts. The literary skill itself is quite excellent. But culture is more than holidays and architecture, more than superstitions and language. Culture encompasses how people think and see the world, and I dare to suggest that Bandalier, for all his efforts, projected onto his story the typical stereotypes about the people about whine he wrote. That is to say, there were enough condescension that I lost interest and put the book down. It is a piece of fiction, but I would not hold it to the standard of the anthropology of today.
November 4, 2024
Loved this book! Not withstanding the patronizing tone. It was published in 1890 and was geared towards a white audience that at that time barely accepted anyone other that northern European as human. Anyway, this book is the only one I've found so far that even tries to imagine the Anasazi (or ancient pueblo) life. Bandelier was one of the top archeologists of that period at the time he wrote this and it shows. It may be way off or accurate but it gives a picture of a non-white people as just that people! That's why it bombed with the public back then and now- because most white people can't imagine a story of other kinds of people real and without a white person even in the story!
Want to read
April 16, 2020Gutenberg editions: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/18310
The Dodd-Mead 1918 edition is the one I'm looking at. First published in 1890, Bandelier's anthropological novel was popular in the turn-of-the-century Southwest. Bandelier https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolph_... is the namesake of Bandelier National Monument near Los Alamos, NM. I'll at least take a look at it. Price is right! And its impressive that the novel stayed in print for 30 years! (1890-1918+)
The Dodd-Mead 1918 edition is the one I'm looking at. First published in 1890, Bandelier's anthropological novel was popular in the turn-of-the-century Southwest. Bandelier https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolph_... is the namesake of Bandelier National Monument near Los Alamos, NM. I'll at least take a look at it. Price is right! And its impressive that the novel stayed in print for 30 years! (1890-1918+)
June 19, 2025
Quite interesting story of Pueblo indians and their customs in old New Mexico before the Spanish came. The writing is somewhat old fashioned and it is rather long, but it is still worth reading if you are interested in the Pueblos. The story has heroes and villains and a love story. It does make you want to know more.
February 13, 2009
I found this book to be really enjoyable. It was interesting to read a historical fiction by an archaeologist and ethnologist. I felt that he did a better job portraying the past than writers who don’t have the anthropological skills behind them. While published in 1890, when archaeology in the Southwest was still fairly young, it provides an interesting look into the lives of Native Americans during the twelfth century.
One point of contrition; however: Bandelier portrays the ancient cultures through a lens of the tribes of today (or, I should say of the late 1800s). This, in itself, may not be fully accurate. While the different tribes portrayed in the book have living relatives today, there are probably customs which may have not been carried over from the past. Cultures evolve through time, especially those cultures who come into contact with a total foreign group (such as Europeans). Their lives change while they adopt certain “white” traits, while leaving behind some native customs.
As a side tidbit: Bandelier National Monument (in New Mexico) was named after Adolf F. Bandelier. It was established in 1916.
One point of contrition; however: Bandelier portrays the ancient cultures through a lens of the tribes of today (or, I should say of the late 1800s). This, in itself, may not be fully accurate. While the different tribes portrayed in the book have living relatives today, there are probably customs which may have not been carried over from the past. Cultures evolve through time, especially those cultures who come into contact with a total foreign group (such as Europeans). Their lives change while they adopt certain “white” traits, while leaving behind some native customs.
As a side tidbit: Bandelier National Monument (in New Mexico) was named after Adolf F. Bandelier. It was established in 1916.
August 18, 2009
Someone told me this was a love story as well as historical. They had, apparently, not read the book. It is about the village Indians of long ago, a superstitious lot, but prone to the same ambitions and power plays of our century. The story revolves around two families and the political designs of two males that seek to elevate their own status at the expense of others. Most of the story is about the plans they made, their expectations, and the actual result. Although sometimes tedious in detail and riddled with confusing terminology, it was interesting.
November 9, 2007
Have you been to Bandelier National Monument in New Mexico? This book is a fictional account of the life of the early people who lived there, written by Adolf Bandelier in 1890.
May 12, 2009
It took me a little while to get used to his writing style and all of the details he added. However, I really enjoyed the story and learned a ton about the culture in the process.
April 27, 2015
An intriguing story of the life of the cliff dwellers.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews