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C. Luiseño-Cahuilla [underlined]

LUISEÑO. [underlined]

The Luiseño form one of the two principal divisions of the Luiseno-Cahuilla group of the southern California branch of the Shoshonean family.  They have been called Kechi.  They seem sometimes to call themselves Ghecham or Khecham, Ghech being the name of San Luis Rey Mission.  With this should be compared the Luiseño name Khechmai for San Onofre in the territory of the closely related San Juan Capistrano Indians, and the name Gaitchim, which is given as the name of the Indians of this mission.  How far these are true tribal names is not certain.  Kicha, objective kish, stem ki-, plural kicham, means house in Luiseño.  These Indians have no name for their language other than chamtela, "our speech", which is a description rather than a name.  Compare with this the "Netela" language of San Juan Capistrano, correctly conjectured by Buschmann (?) to mean "my language".

The territory of the Luisenos included all the drainage of the San Luis Rey river except the very head waters, which were held by the Agua Caliente Indians and by Diegueños of Yuman stock.  The statement of Powell, 7th Annual Report, that the mission of San Luis Rey, which is near the mouth of this river, was at the time of its foundation in Yuman territory