MORTAR
& PESTLE, POINT CONCEPTION, CALIFORNIA
Mortar
Length: 4”
Width: 2 ¼”
Grind
Hole: 1”
Weight: 9.7 oz
Pestle
Length: 3”
Width: 1 ¼”
Weight: 4.8 oz
At Point Conception, a variety of stone mortars were found
in the mid-1800s while the lighthouse was being built. This site came into
contact with the descendants of the men who dug there.
This
unusual mortar and pestle came from
Point Conception. Based on its size, form and material it may
have been carved on site, and not transported to the area.
Fifty miles west of downtown Santa Barbara is Point
Conception (in the CHUMASH language it is called Humqaq—translated: the Raven Comes)-- western most portion
of Santa Barbara County, where the Channel meets the Pacific Ocean. It is stunning, wild, dangerous headlong
point of the coast. When there, one can
understand the ancient CHUMASH considering this one of the most sacred places
in their region.
This
exciting stone assemblage was uncovered in the mid-1800s when the Point
Lighthouse there was being constructed.
Spanish explorer, Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo first noted this
coastal point in 1542. Later, in 1602,
Sebastian Vizcaino renamed this protruding headland Punta de la Limpio
Concepcion (Point of the Immaculate Conception, later anglicized into
today’s version).
This listed mortar as well as a slew of others, were first
uncovered in the region in the mid 1800s when the Point Conception Lighthouse
was first built.
Descendants of the original laborers who picked them up
have maintained these random artifacts for decades—until this site, while
researching the area for one of my books/videos, acquired most of them.
The CHUMASH have
traditionally known Point Conception as the "Western Gate," through
which the souls of the dead could pass between the mortal world and the
heavenly paradise of Similaqsa.
Village
Shamans/Healers would travel with dying patients to this point to perform
various rituals to assist the transition of their fellow tribespeople. Heat
therapy, massage, pain medications and sleep-inducing poultices (involving the
plants like mugwort, black sage, willow, momoy—California jipson weed)
were given to these people to help maintain the daily routine of village life
during the normal process of the death of a village member. As stated, this mortar was clearly a favorite
and probably used extensively for palliative care.
The size of this
mortar strongly indicates its use in crushing/grinding small batches of
psycho-inducing plants to snort or to make soothing concoction: the Point had
an end of life vibe as well as the start of life quality to it. No doubt this
assemblage was used to crush & grind these batches.
The mortar was carved
from a type of volcanic stone, while the pestle has a somewhat flat bottom and
rounded top.
According to family
stories passed down over the years, the mortar was uncovered in a large
pit. Contemporary scholars suggest this
was the opening of a CHUMASH MOURNING site—where, upon the death of the
individual, their burial ritual necessitated places items associated with that
person’s last life appearance into the pit.
Clearly, the end and
start of life’s tools were stored here!
NOTE: Access to the lighthouse is highly
restrictive due to it being on closely guarded private property.