The Chumash. who lived in the Santa Barbara Channel area and the Tongva who lived south of Malibu (sometimes called Gabrielleno by the Europeans) were an ocean people. They has a very special relationship with the sea, which nourished and sustained them. The Chumash built a unique watercraft, a plank canoe called a tomol to travel on the ocean. Using the tomol, the natives traveled between villages on the mainland and the islands, trading items they had for things they needed and fishing and hunting the abundant resources of the sea. The Tongva had a similar craft called a te'aat.

Within villages, the Brotherhood of the Tomol came together to construct the vessels. To belong to the group was a great honor. The well-being of the people depended on building seaworthy canoes that would withstand the rigors of sea travel. Older craftsmen passed the secrets of how to build the craft down to the younger men. The work proceeded slowly, sometime taking months to complete.

A tomol is a plank canoe that has no internal frame. Redwood that floated down the coast and washed up on the beaches made the best tomol. Redwood swells when it gets wet, and does not shrink when it dries. This quality of the wood helped maintain a very tight fit between the planks. Pine trees which grew in this area were also used for crafting tomols. After splitting the logs and selecting only the straightest planks without knotholes, the craftsmen sanded the wood using sharkskin. They then fitted the planks together using tools of stone, bone, and shell. The builders caulked seams between the planks using a mixture called yop made from hard tar and pine pitch melted and boiled in stone bowls over a fire. The builders drilled holes in the planks using bone or stone hand drills. They threaded cord through the holes to lash the planks together. Parts of the tule plant forced between the seams acted as caulking. Another coat of yop made the hull watertight. Finishing touches to the hull included red paint and decorative shell designs.

A double bladed paddle propelled these very seaworthy vessels which ranged from 10 to 30 feet long. The highly maneuverable tomol would be beached and carried above the tideline. Using the tomol, the natives from Point Conception to Santa Monica Bay and the offshore islands created an extensive trading network. According to the recollections of a Chumash descendant, the tomol followed certain routes moving between points on the islands and the mainland, much like the modern shipping lanes. For example, the Channel would be crossed at the narrowest point, which on the east of the Channel is from Hueneme to Anacapa. Once at Anacapa, the Chumash would be able to reach the other islands in the chain. Their routes took advantage of the calmer waters offered by the Channel Islands, which block seasonal northwest or south swells, as well as the currents that circulate through the area. An extensive network of routes connected various points on the mainland and the offshore islands. Some scientists conclude from the evidence that the tomols sailed directly from mainland villages to island villages.  Scientists believe that on the furthest island, San Nicolas, that fires may have been maintained by the islanders. These fires acted much like lighthouses in the islands today. They marked the way to the islands for those making the crossing.

A completely intact tomol has not been found. Pieces of tomols have been found in the middens that mark the camps and settlements. We have good descriptions of the canoes from explorers and from the accounts of Chumash themselves. Today, descendants of the Chumash come together to build the craft using a combination of traditional and modern methods. Replicas of the craft can be seen at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History in Santa Barbara and the Chumash Interpretive Center in Thousand Oaks, California.

When Cabrillo explored the area in 1542, he found one village with so many tomols that he called the location Pueblo de las Canoas--town of the canoes. A later explorer saw canoes being built at a village and named the location Carpinteria--Spanish for the carpenters shop. Chumash stories relate how tomols were lost at sea. Imagine what an important archaeological find it will be if you are the explorer who finds an intact tomol.

Recommended Reading

Chumash: A Picture of Their World by Bruce W. Miller. 1988. Sand River Press. Los Osos, California

Content last updated 4/1/2004