Geronimo

For other uses, see Geronimo (disambiguation).

Geronimo (Chiricahua Goyaałé 'One Who Yawns'; often spelled Goyathlay in English), (June 16, 1829-February 17, 1909) was a prominent Native American leader of the Chiricahua Apache who long warred against the encroachment of settlers of European descent on tribal lands.

Biography

Geronimo was born on Turkey Creek in what is now the state of Arizona, then part of Mexico, but which his family considered Bedonkohe Apache land. Geronimo himself was a Bedonkohe Apache. He grew up to be a respected medicine man and, later, an accomplished warrior who fought frequently with Mexican troops. Mexican soldiers massacred his first wife and three children during a supposedly peaceful trading session in 1858, and as a result he hated all Mexicans for the rest of his life. His Mexican friends gave him the nickname of "Gerónimo". The reasons for this name are not known. Some believe it was a transcription of the Spanish attempt to pronounce the name Goyathlay. Others believe that his Spanish enemies called out to St. Jerome for assistance while attacking or in the midst of violent defeat.

Geronimo fought against ever increasing numbers of both Mexican and United States troops and became famous for his daring exploits and numerous escapes from capture. At the last, these 38 men, women and children evaded 5000 U.S. troops (one fourth of the army at the time) and the Mexican army for a year. His forces became the last major force of independent Indian warriors who refused to acknowledge the United States Government in the American West. This came to an end on September 4, 1886, when Geronimo surrendered to United States Army General Thomas W. Sampson at Skeleton Canyon, Arizona.

Geronimo was sent in as a prisoner to Fort Pickens, Florida. In 1894 he was moved to Fort Sill, Oklahoma. In his old age Geronimo became something of a celebrity. He appeared at fairs, including the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis, and selling souvenirs and photographs of himself. However, he was not allowed to return to the land of his birth. He rode in President of the United States President Theodore Roosevelt's 1905 inaugural parade. He died of pneumonia at Fort Sill, where he is now buried at the Apache Indian Prisoner of War cemetery.

Geronimo as Medicine Man

Below is an account of a Chiricahua boy's memory of attending a healing ceremony by Geronimo:
"The first ceremony by Geronimo I saw was one for an older man. Some coyote or dog had made him sick. One boy got hold of the news that the ceremony was going to be held, and we learned of it through him. We asked Geronimo if we could attend. He said it would be all right but told us we could not scratch ourselves or make any noise.
"The ceremony began in the evening, as soon as it became dark. It took place in an arbor outside Geronimo's home. There was a fire. Geronimo and the patient were on the west side of the fire. Geronimo sat facing the east, and the patient lay stretched out before him. Some older people were there. They were mostly relatives of the sick man. But it would have been all right for anyone to come in and watch. We sat in a circular fashion in the back of the shelter. But the space to the east was left open, as always happens at a ceremony.
"Geronimo had an old black tray basket before him filled with the things he used for the ceremony. He had a downy eagle feather in it and an abalone shell and a bag of pollen. All these things were wrapped up in a bundle before the ceremony began.
"He rolled a cigarette and puffed to the directions first of all, beginning with the east, puffing just once to each direction. Then he threw the cigarette away. After smoking, he rubbed the patient with pollen. He dropped pollen on the patient, just on certain parts of the body. He prayed to the directions as he did this. These prayers referred to Coyote and were on the same order as the songs which followed.
"He started to sing. There were many songs, and the songs were about Coyote. They told how Coyote was a tricky fellow, hard to see and find, and how he gave these characteristics to Geronimo so that he could make himself invisible and even turn into a doorway. They told how the coyote helped Geronimo in his curing. Geronimo accompanied his singing with a drum which he beat with a curved stick. At the end of each song he gave a call like a coyote.
"When the evening star was halfway between the horizon and the zenith, Geronimo stopped singing. This is the Chiricahua midnight. The ceremony lasted four nights. The same prayers, songs, and procedure were gone through for the four nights. I know that Geronimo had ghost power too. That night he told some of the boys that he was going to give another ceremony for a patient on another night, this time for ghost sickness, and that they might attend if they would promise not to scratch themselves."
(Opler 1941: 40-41)

Geronimo in popular culture

Geronimo is a popular figure in cinema and television. Characters based on Geronimo have appeared in many films, including:

He appeared in the 1979 film Mr. Horn, despite never having met Tom Horn. He also appeared in Gunsmoke: The Last Apache (the 1990 reunion movie of television series Gunsmoke), and the 1993 telefilm Geronimo. The 1976 film I Due superpiedi quasi piatti features a character who believes himself to be Geronimo. The Anime television series Ultimate Muscle: The Kinnikuman Legacy features a highly stereotyped native wrestler, based loosely on the historical figure.

In 1940, the night before their first mass jump, U.S. paratroopers at Fort Benning saw a film about Geronimo, and began shouting his name during jumps, a trend which has caught on elsewhere.

The Apache Software Foundation named a Web Application server after this Indian leader; see Geronimo Application Server.

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This page is based on the Wikipedia article ''Geronimo''. It is licensed under the GNU free documentation license.

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