PUEBLO: CRUCIBLE OF NATIVE TRADITION.

Byline: Eric Noland Travel Editor

TAOS, N.M. - Hernando de Alvarado probably stood somewhere on this hard-packed dirt yard in 1540. A captain in Coronado's expedition, he'd been sent on a side exploration trip. And what he saw is essentially what you see today at Taos Pueblo.

Hlaumma, or North House, is a complex of dwellings, one story in some places, five stories in others, with walls of nut-brown adobe. Believed to have been built between 1000 and 1450, it stubbornly stands its ground, having survived waves of rival Indians, Spaniards, Mexicans, Americans. It is still not retrofitted for electricity or running water. And now as then, the peaks of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, often crowned with great puffy clouds, provide a striking backdrop.

It's a symbol of sorts - of the resolve of the Taos Pueblo people to maintain their culture in the face of a series of bullying intrusions from outsiders.

The pueblo is open to the public, though under strict restrictions. Tourism is an important source of income for the community - whether through admission and photography fees or the sale of leather goods, silver jewelry, mica-flecked pottery, drums and bakery items.

Tours are conducted several times throughout the day, but visitors are also welcome to explore on their own, provided they stay out of areas that are marked off-limits and respect the privacy of the pueblo inhabitants (it's forbidden to take a person's photograph, for example, without first gaining his or her permission).

As you walk through the narrow alleys, you might catch a whiff of wood smoke from a kiva fireplace, or notice the straw protruding from worn adobe exterior walls, or weeds growing out of the tops of muddy roofs. Modern conveniences have come to many of the dwellings on the pueblo's fringe, but not the buildings inside the adobe wall that formed the perimeter of the original village.

It's mind-boggling to think that people have been living here and observing their religious ceremonies and rituals for 1,000 years. But it's also vaguely disquieting to realize that 50 or so still reside in the ancient adobe buildings, and you're poking around among them. As you walk past a kitchen window adorned with a child's school art project, you wonder if these people feel like animals in a zoo when the tourists descend.

When an older woman stepped out of her back door, ignored me and addressed her dogs in an unfamiliar language - not English, not Spanish ... it had to be Kiwa, the native tongue - I concluded that I might feel less conspicuous in more public places, such as the ruins of the St. Jerome Chapel.

This building is another symbol of the Taos Pueblo people's historic determination to maintain their cultural integrity.

After Spanish missionaries arrived on Alvarado's heels, the Catholic chapel was built with Indian labor in 1619. But the Taos Pueblo people did not bend easily to Spanish governance.

The restive Indians killed a priest and two Spanish soldiers in 1631. They fled the pueblo entirely a few years later, and had to be rounded up and forcibly returned. Then, in 1680, a full-scale revolt broke out all along the chain of Rio Grande pueblos, and the elders at Taos were proud to accept responsibility for instigating it. The chapel was leveled in that conflict, then rebuilt.

In 1847, after the U.S. had wrested New Mexico away from Mexico, tensions mounted anew when Taos' governor was murdered. The Taos Pueblo Indians were blamed (more likely, Mexican loyalists were responsible), and the army opened up its cannons on the church, killing 150 Indians who had huddled there for refuge.

That was enough trouble - the church remains a ruin to this day. A new St. Jerome Chapel was built a short distance away.

The guide of our tour noted that while the Taos Pueblo people are predominantly Catholic, they observe their ancient rites concurrently, but without conflict of the belief systems.

``We want to maintain our traditions,'' he said quietly, noting that details of the Taos Pueblo rituals and ceremonies are not revealed to outsiders. Visitors are also strictly forbidden from entering the subterranean ceremonial chambers (kivas).

The pueblo closes for several weeks in late winter and early spring for a ceremonial gathering; this year's concludes Monday, with visitors again welcome beginning Tuesday.

IF YOU GO

The Taos Pueblo is about three miles north of Taos on a well-marked spur off Paseo del Pueblo Norte, the main road through town. Admission is $10 for adults, $3 for children over 12, $8 for seniors and handicapped; 20- to 30-minute guided walking tour included. There is an additional charge of $10 if you wish to take pictures with a still camera, $20 for a video camera. The pueblo is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., but can close unexpectedly for ceremonial gatherings. Information: [phone].

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) North House of Taos Pueblo has been inhabited continuously for 1,000 yeas.

(2) A narrow alley at Taos Pueblo frames the ruins of the St. Jerome Chapel.

Eric Noland/Travel Editor

Box: IF YOU GO (see text)