Mohave (redirected from Mojave people)

Mohave, river and desert, United States

Mohave, river and desert: see Mojave.

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Mohave, indigenous people of North America

Mohave (mōhä`vē), indigenous people of North America whose language belongs to the Yuman branch of the Hokan-Siouan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). In the mid-18th cent. they lived on both banks of the Colorado River, in Arizona and California. They then numbered some 3,000. The Mohave were semisedentary farmers who generally cultivated bottomland along the river. They lived in low brush dwellings. Most of the Mohave now live on the Colorado River Reservation in Arizona, which was established in 1865. In 1990 there were close to 1,400 Mohave in the United States.

Bibliography

See H. Grey, Tales from the Mohaves (1970); study by A. L. Kroeber (1974).

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Mojave

 or Mohave

North American Indian farmers living mostly in Arizona, U.S. The Mojave language is a member of the Yuman language family. The traditional territory of the people was the Mojave Desert along the lower Colorado River. This valley was a patch of green surrounded by barren desert. In addition to farming, the Mojave fished, hunted, and gathered wild plants. The essential social unit was the patrilineal family. There were no settled villages; instead the Mojave built small hamlets wherever there was land suitable for farming. They believed in a supreme creator and attached great significance to dreams, considered the source of all special powers. Population estimates indicated approximately 2,000 Mojave descendants in the early 21st century.