New Mexico Next | Acoma Pueblo |
The church at Acoma, San Esteban
del Rey Mission, dates from 1629. The church is difficult
to photograph because photos are not permitted from the
cemetery at the front of the church. The huge Ponderosa
pine logs used to support the roof were brought from 30
miles away and were never allowed to touch the ground.You
must visit Acoma to comprehend the magnificance of this
building and the effort and dedication it took to
construct it. During the construction of the church, before the cemetery was available, bodies were buried in the thick walls of the mission. Perhaps you are wondering how there could be a cemtery in a place where the top of the mesa was solid rock. Over a number of years, the sand for the cemetery was hand-carried up the trails to the mesa top. When there was no room for further graves, a new layer of sand was added on top for another layer of graves. There are now five layers of graves at Acoma. |