Nambe Pueblo, Nanbé Ówingeh

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Southwest Indian Nambe Pottery and Fine Art

Nambe Pueblo logo

According to Jonathan Batkin, few documented whole ceramics from Nambe Pueblo exist. Polychrome pottery has not been made at Nambe since the early 19th century. All the early pottery collected there in the late 1800s is Polished Black or a mica-slipped type. -Pottery of the Pueblos of New Mexico

 

The paste of Nambe pottery is typically like other Tewa pottery but generally abundant in mica obtained from nearby the pueblo. Nambe Pueblo is located 22 miles northeast of Santa Fe. The feast day is October 4th honoring their patron San Francisco de Assisi.


We have just learned that the spelling of Nambe Pueblo that has been used for decades is incorrect. The correct spelling, according to an article in the Santa Fe Reporter, May 2020, is Nanbé, which means mound of earth in the corner, and the correct name is Nanbé Ówingeh. Ówingeh means community. This is from Cora and Brenda McKenna, Nanbé Language Revitalization Program. The Program recognizes the linguistic expertise of Melissa Axelrod, Ph.D., UNM Professor Emerita and the other UNM consultants who are part of the Program.

Photo Source: Indian Pueblo Cultural Center Website
Reference: Pottery of the Pueblos of New Mexico by Jonathan Batkin