The Takic beliefs are known only fragmentarily, as these peoples were Christianized early, by
Spanish missionaries, during the late 18th to early 19th centuries. Only sparse material has been collected by ethnologists from the few remaining native speakers during 19th century. Chingichngish has variously been represented as a
creator deity, a
culture hero or lawgiver figure or a "prophet", who became associated with the figure of
Christ after the conversion of the Takic peoples. This character was first mentioned in a description of the beliefs of the
native peoples who were associated with the
Mission San Juan Capistrano in accounts written by the
Franciscan missionary
Gerónimo Boscana in the 1820s. One version of Boscana's manuscript was subsequently published by
Alfred Robinson (1846), who gave it "Chinigchinich" as a title. Some subsequent scholars have characterized
Luiseño religion in general, or certain portions of it, or a set of some more widely shared traits, as a Chingichngish cult (
DuBois 1908; Kroeber 1925; Moriarty 1969).
John Peabody Harrington (Boscana 1933) thought that Chingichngish might have been a historical figure, but most scholars have interpreted him as a deity.
Alfred L. Kroeber (1925) suggested that Chingichngish beliefs were a historic-period native response to cultural shock of the missions, and Raymond C. White (1963) thought that they might have arisen in response to earlier contacts with European sailors along the California coast. The most distinctive characteristic of Chingichngish beliefs concerned the existence of a set of "Chingichngish avengers" who spied on human beings and enforced the moral code. These figures included Raven, Rattlesnake, Bear, Mountain Lion, and others. There were also ceremonial items sacred to Chingichngish, including
mortars and
winnowing trays. Chingichngish beliefs were associated with the initiation ceremonies for adolescent boys, during which the hallucinogenic plant
Datura (Toloache, Jimsonweed,
Datura wrightii) was ingested, but elements of these ceremonies were much more widely shared than were belief in the specific character of Chingichngish. ==References==