During the journey of the clans in search of the Middle Place, the ancestral Zuni came upon the Kianakwe people who lived in large towns in the highlands and cliffs. As related in oral traditions, the inhabitants of these places were successful farmers who could command the waters to their fields without the need for rain, and they had many possessions. And so the ancients, the Áshiwi, hungry from long wandering, attacked. But aided by Kúyapalitsa the deathless Ancient Warrior Woman, the enemy could not be defeated. Rain fell, stretching the sinew of the Áshiwi bows, and many were captured. By evening of the third day, the Kianakwe had captured four Áshiwi gods, and prospects for success were dim. Then it was learned that Kúyapalitsa carried her heart in her rattle, and the Áshiwi devised new bows of yucca fibers that were impervious to rain. So on the fourth day, Kúyapalitsa was slain, the town taken, and the Áshiwi captives freed. The surviving Kianakwe were spared owing to the knowledge they could provide. “Thereby our fathers gained much knowledge, even of their own powers and possessions … Growing wiser in the ways of living, they learned to cherish their corn more, discovering they might have life and abundance rather than cause death and hunger” (Wright 1988:90–1).

The Great Pueblos of the north

As the AD 1200s began, the Puebloan Southwest was experiencing a remarkable transition as the reverberations of Chaco's and Mimbres's disintegration continued to be felt and people moved toward new forms of organization.