Life At Santa Barbara Mission
Juana Maria was reportedly fascinated and ecstatic upon arrival, marveling at the sight of horses, along with European clothing and food. She was allowed to stay with Nidever, who described her as a woman of "medium height, but rather thick… She must have been about 50 years old, but she was still strong and active. Her face was pleasing as she was continually smiling. Her teeth were entire but worn to the gums." Juana Maria apparently enjoyed visits by curious Santa Barbara residents, singing and dancing for her audiences.
One of the songs Juana Maria sang is popularly called the "Toki Toki" song. Knowledge of this song came from a Ventureño man named Malquiares, an otter hunter who had joined Nidever's expedition to the island and who had heard Juana Maria sing it. Malquiares later recited the words to his friend Fernando Kitsepawit Librado (1839 – 1915). The song's words are as follows:
- Toki Toki yahamimena (x 3)
- weleshkima nishuyahamimena (x 2)
- Toki Toki…(continue as above)
Librado recited the words to a Cruzeño Indian named Aravio Talawiyashwit, who translated them as "I live contented because I can see the day when I want to get out of this island;" however, given the lack of any other information on Juana Maria's language, this translation's accuracy is dubious, or perhaps was an intuitive guess. Anthropologist and linguist John P. Harrington recorded Librado singing the song on a wax cylinder in 1913.
The following text was published by an anonymous writer in a Sacramento newspaper on October 13, 1853:
| “ | The wild woman who was found on the island of San Nicolas about 70 miles from the coast, west of Santa Barbara, is now at the latter place and is looked upon as a curiosity. It is stated she has been some 18 to 20 years alone on the island. She existed on shell fish and the fat of the seal, and dressed in the skins and feathers of wild ducks, which she sewed together with sinews of the seal. She cannot speak any known language, is good-looking and about middle age. She seems to be contented in her new home among the good people of Santa Barbara. | ” |
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