The Hot Springs

The Kausik Cahuilla owned one of California's most famous hot springs, a natural resource that provided permanent, palatable mineral waters used for curing, drinking, and agriculture. It also gave direct access to the magical and powerful underworld, the most valuable of all Cahuilla resources, where powerful nukatem lived and from which Cahuilla shamans could acquire power, information, and knowledge. Cahuilla memory holds that important shamans such as Pedro Chino bathed in this pool and gained knowledge about healing from the powerful beings who occupied the connected underworld. Made available for the use of all peoples by the Agua Caliente people, the hot springs helped cause Palm Springs to become a world-famous destination resort.

Palm Springs, California · United States