LEAST COST PATH ANALYSIS OF THE O’ODHAM ORIOLE SONG SERIES JOURNEY

Abstract

The Oriole Song Series is a collection of traditional Akimel O’Odham songs that describe a journey from the middle Gila River in southern Arizona to the salt flats on the northern coast of the Gulf of California and back. O’Odham men traveled from their traditional homelands to gather salt, and more importantly, complete a sacred pilgrimage. Anthropologist Donald Bahr recorded Vincent Joseph, a Gila River Indian Community member, recite and sing The Oriole Song Series in the early 1980s, which reference physical locations along a metaphorical route intertwined with O’Odham mythologies. Although visible trail segments, trail markers, and linear artifact scatters exist in the archaeological record, the precise path(s) of the physical journey remains unknown. This study explores the potential physical route(s) utilized by Akimel O’Odham and Peeposh peoples and their ancestors as compared to the metaphorical journey described in The Oriole Song Series. A least cost path was calculated for the entire metaphorical route and the results were compared to trails and trail-related features documented in the archaeological and ethnographic records, historic maps, and modern O’Odham knowledge. Results indicate that the least cost path aligned with the location of documented trails in some segments but diverted away from others. Areas where the least cost path overlaps documented trails suggests these segments were commonly used trails for routine activities, as they were the most expedient route. However, because the least cost path does not come near documented trails in most segments, the songs also demonstrate Akimel O’Odham cognitive mapping of the landscape.