Xumani

The Jumano, also recorded as Xumana, traveled and traded across the lands between the Rio Grande and the plains of Texas. Their connections reached La Junta de los Ríos, where farming villages stood at the meeting of the Rio Grande and the Río Conchos. Spanish writers used their name for people encountered across a broad region, including traders who visited distant communities.

In 1683 the Jumano leader Juan Sabeata traveled to El Paso to request missionaries and military help for his people and their allies. Franciscans subsequently established missions at La Junta. Sabeata also led trading expeditions linking the river junction with communities in Chihuahua and central and eastern Texas. These journeys show the reach of Jumano diplomacy and exchange across the northern frontier of New Spain.