Santo Niño
Woman takes on task of looking after 300-year-old Zuni statue

Zuni Harvest Dancers patiently wait in line outside of the of the Santo Nino de Zuni statue to pay honor to it on Oct. 20 near the main plaza in Zuni during the Zuni Harvest Festival. [Photo by Mattt Hinshaw/Independent]

By Karen Francis
Diné Bureau

ZUNI — Each morning Missy Yatsattie rises, she has a task to perform — a duty that was bestowed upon her through generations of her family on her mother’s side.

Since the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, one family has been responsible for the care of an 18-inch wooden statue of the baby Jesus that was rescued before the missions were destroyed. The Santo Niño — or Baby Saint — has been kept at the same home since 1690 when the Zuni people returned to Halona after escaping to Thunder Mountain following the revolt.

Now Yatsattie needs help to make repairs on the home of the Santo Niño, where she also lives to care for the statue. Last month Yatsattie walked 23 miles to raise funds to repair the adobe wall and the roof of the home. This month she is selling raffle tickets for a drawing to be held on Nov. 11.

Yatsattie said she is also planning another walk in the near future. Her last walk raised nearly $400, and the majority of the donations came from Zuni people.

The Santo Niño is sacred to both the Catholics and the Zunis. For the Catholics, he is seen as a powerful figure because he represents Jesus in his most innocent stage — as a baby. For the Zuni, the Santo Niño is actually a female — the daughter of the Sun. Both attribute various miracles to the Santo Niño over the past 300 years.
Yatsattie said she was told that the statue was made in Spain in the late 1500s.

According to literature on the Santo Niño, it is believed that the Spanish Franciscans brought the statue to Hawikuh, 15 miles south of present-day Zuni, in 1628 from Spain as a gift for the La Purisma Concuption Church, which was one of the original churches in the area. The Santo Niño was moved in 1670 to the Nuestra Senora de La Candelara Church, where the statue was rescued before it was burned down during the Pueblo Revolt.

People have come from as far as Germany, China and Australia seeking out the ancient figure, which is said to have healing and protection powers.

“People that go to war, they come here to ask for protection,” Yatsattie said.

The responsibility of caring for the Santo Niño is passed through the matrilineal line. Before Yatsattie, two sisters cared for Santo Niño. After the older one died, Yatsattie moved in and began learning from the younger sister about caring for the relic. Two years after the younger sister died, Yatsattie moved back and since then she said she will never move back out again.

Yatsattie is already teaching her daughters how to care for the Santo Niño since he or she will one day be passed on to them. And because Yatsattie herself is a traditional Zuni who sees the Santo Niño as the child of the sun, she also teaches her children about its sacredness.

The Santo Niño usually stays in a special room until either the first visitor of the day comes or until late morning. Yatsattie says a prayer to the Santo Niño each time she sets her on the altar.

“During the day when we eat, we set aside a small portion for Santo Niño and for our ancestors,” she said.

During the interview, for example, when her young son wanted to eat an orange, he had to set aside some of the orange to put in a bowl for the Santo Niño.

When visitors come, Yatsattie drops what she is doing to tend to them.

“At the end of the day, when the sun goes down, I go to Santo and tell her it’s been a long day. Let’s go to bed now,” she said.

She then takes her to her room and sets her down until everyone is ready to go to sleep and Yatsattie goes to say “Good night” to her.

Her clothes are changed about once a week. On the day of the interview, she wore a red blouse and skirt with numerous pieces of turquoise jewelry.

“I eventually put on everything that people bring to her,” Yatsattie said.

In the past, an annual dance was held by the Zunis in Santo Niño’s honor.

However, the rituals that the Zunis once had to honor the Santo Niño have become increasingly rare, Yatsattie said.

“The belief in the Santo through Zuni is disappearing like most other things, like our language and rituals,” she said. “People are forgetting about her and not passing it on to the children.”

As people forget about the Santo Niño, it becomes more and more difficult for Yatsattie to maintain a good home for the sacred relic, since she cannot keep a full-time paying job because she spends most of her time caring for the altar.

Still, her ultimate goal is to open a small museum with information on the history and the significance of the Santo Niño as well as various artifacts that Yatsattie possesses, some from centuries ago.

However, right now she is concentrating on getting the much-needed repairs to keep the Santo Niño safe for many more centuries to come.

Information:Yatsattie, (505) 782-5731.