White] THE PUEBLO OF SIA, NEW MEXICO 21 
being called Sia. It is a very large pueblo, and I and my companions 
went through it; it had eight plazas, and better houses than those 
previously mentioned, most of them being whitewashed and painted 
with colors and pictures after the Mexican custom” (Bolton, 1916, 
pp. 181-182). Liuxén, a chronicler of the Espejo expedition, describes 
Ziaquebos as 
an important city of more than a thousand houses inhabited by more than four 
thousand men over fifteen years of age, and women and children in addition. ... 
- It belonged to the province of the Punamees. The houses are of three and four 
stories, extremely high and well arranged. The people are clean. There were 
three caciques in this city who governed it. . . . In this city and province we 
raised the flag in the name of his majesty and took possession of the said city and 
province. A cross was erected and its meaning explained to the natives. [Ham- 
mond and Rey, eds., 1929, pp. 83—85.] 
The Indians received the Espejo party with hospitality: 
They gave us many turkeys, such a large quantity of tortillas that they had to 
return them to the pueblo, and also much maize and other vegetables. [Ibid, 
p. 85.] 
Luxdn described the Indians’ dress as follows: 
The dress of the men consists of some blankets, a small cloth for covering their 
privy parts, and other cloaks, shawls, and leather shoes in the shape of boots. 
The women wear a blanket over their shoulders tied with a sash at the waist, 
their hair cut in front, and the rest plaited so that it forms two braids, and above 
a blanket of turkey feathers. It is an ugly dress indeed. [Ibid., p. 85.] 
The first attempt at colonization of New Mexico was made by 
Don Juan de Ofiate in 1598. In July of that year Ofiate summoned 
the chiefs of nearby pueblos to a meeting in Santo Domingo where 
he explained his purpose and mission to them. No doubt, a repre- 
sentative from Sia was present. It is recorded that the chiefs will- 
ingly pledged their allegiance to the Spanish crown and to the Roman 
Catholic Church. After this meeting Ofiate made a tour of various 
pueblos, visiting Sia on August 2, 1598, but we have no record of his 
observations or actions at this place (Hammond, 1927, p. 101). 
The last six decades of the 16th century was an era of exploration 
in New Mexico; the first three-quarters of the 17th century was a 
period of colonization, of bringing the Pueblo Indians under the 
control of Spanish civil and ecclesiastical authorities. The last 
quarter of the 17th century was a time of bloody revolt by the In- 
dians, followed by their final subjugation. 
Shortly after Ofiate established his colony at San Gabriel, he dis- 
patched Franciscan missionaries to the surrounding pueblos. Andrés 
Corchado was assigned to Sia; he had Acoma, Zuifii, and Hopi also 
under his jurisdiction (Hewett and Fisher, 1943, p. 69). Sia’s first 
saint’s name, bestowed upon it by Offate, was “Sint Pedro y Sant 
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