The Pajalat were a Native American group who lived in the area just south of
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...
, prior to the arrival of the Spanish to the region in the 18th century.
Language
The Pajalat spoke a dialect of the
Coahuiltecan language.
They spoke the same language as the Tiplacopal and Patumaco peoples.
[
]
Territory
At the time of European and African contact, the Pajalat lived between the Frio River
The Frio River is a river in the U.S. state of Texas. The word ''frío'' is Spanish for ''cold'', a clear reference to the spring-fed coolness of the river.
Variant names
According to the Geographic Names Information System, it has also been ...
and the San Antonio River
The San Antonio River is a major waterway that originates in central Texas in a cluster of springs in midtown San Antonio, about 4 miles north of downtown, and follows a roughly southeastern path through the state. It eventually feeds into the ...
.[ A 1727 Spanish map shows the Pajalat and Siquipil lived in what is now ]Goliad County, Texas
Goliad County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population is 7,012. Its county seat is Goliad. The county is named for Father Miguel Hidalgo; "Goliad" is an anagram, minus the silent H. The county ...
.[
]
18th-century history
When Spaniards settled San Antonio
San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...
, Pajalats moved there and to the Nuestra Señora de la Purísima Concepción de Acuña and San Francisco de la Espada Missions when they were founded in 1731.Refugio, Texas
Refugio ( ) is a town in Refugio County, of which it is the county seat, in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 2,712 as of the 2020 Census. Refugio is the birthplace of Baseball Hall of Fame member Nolan Ryan.
Geography
Refugio is lo ...
.
Name
The Pajalat were also called the Cajalate, Pajal,[ Pajalac, Pajalache, Pajalatam, Pallalat, Paxolot, and many other variations.]
Further reading
* Barr, Juliana. ''Peace Came in the Form of a Woman: Indians and Spaniards in the Texas Borderlands''. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2007. especially page 128.
References
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Coahuiltecan
Extinct Native American tribes
Extinct Indigenous peoples in Mexico
Native American tribes in Texas
Pre-statehood history of Texas