Looking across Rattlesnake Ridge toward Cochiti Pueblo
Here is something wonderful about moving to the northern part of New Mexico: We will be nearer to the 19 northern pueblos, which are Acoma, Cochiti, Jemez, Isleta, Laguna, Nambe, Ohkay Owingeh, Picuris, Pojoaque, Sandia, San Felipe, San Ildefonso, Santa Ana, Santa Clara, Santo Domingo, Taos, Tesuque, Zia, and Zuni. I hope to be able to learn about the people, their culture, and their language.
We heard a little of what might have been Keres (the language of the Cochiti and the nearby Santo Domingo Pueblos, among others) being spoken, mother to child, in the store at Cochiti the other day.
To hear audio samples of the most of the languages being spoken, go to Language of the 19 Pueblos.
Here are a few common words in English and in Keres, as spoken at the Cochiti Pueblo. The list is part of one from Vocabulary Words in Native American Languages, which is a section of a larger resource, Pueblo Indian Languages.
| English | Cochiti | |
| One | ishk | |
| Two | kyuh'mi | |
| Three | chahm | |
| Four | kya'nah | |
| Five | t'ahm | |
| Man | hachtzeh | |
| Woman | k'uyaw | |
| Dog | tiya | |
| Sun | oshach | |
| Moon | tahwach | |
| Water | tz'itz | |
| White | k'ahshah or sch'amotz | |
| Yellow | kuchin | |
| Red | kukain | |
| Black | muh'nah'kain |
