Yaanga

Yaanga

Yaanga was a large village of the Tongva or Kizh people, located near what is now downtown Los Angeles. It was just west of the Los Angeles River and beneath U.S. Route 101. It was the largest and most important village in the area before colonization.

During the time of the missions, people from Yaanga were taken to work at San Gabriel Mission and Nuestra Señora Reina de los Ángeles Asistencia. They were also made to work for Spanish, Mexican, and American settlers as Los Angeles grew.

The village lasted longer than many others because the colonizers needed its people for work. But after the founding of Pueblo de Los Ángeles in 1781, Yaanga changed a lot and began to feel more crowded and unsafe. Eventually, after being moved several times, the village was destroyed by the Los Angeles City Council in 1847.

Today, pieces of Yaanga can still be found buried in parts of downtown Los Angeles, near places such as Alameda Street, Bella Union Hotel, Union Station, Plaza Church, and the Metropolitan Water District Headquarters.

Etymology

Yaanga was a Tongva word. It meant "place of the poison oak." People wrote it in different ways, such as Yangna, iyáangaʼ, or Yang-Na.

Location

The exact location of Yaanga is unknown because the village was moved and destroyed. It is now under downtown Los Angeles. We know it was near downtown Los Angeles, just west of the Los Angeles River, and beneath U.S. Route 101. Some think it was close to where the Bella Union Hotel once stood, now called Fletcher Bowron Square.

Historians have found clues about where Yaanga might have been. Items from the village were found when buildings like Union Station and the Bella Union Hotel were being built. These discoveries help us learn about the people who lived there long ago.

Excavations

In 1962, someone noticed that old items were found when Union Station was built in 1939, and more were found when the Bella Union Hotel was built in 1870. In 1992, more old items were found near Union Station, showing that there may still be more to discover under the ground there. In 1999, a special place for burying people from long ago was found near the Metropolitan Water District Headquarters. Near the Plaza Church, beads and other old things were found that people used when missions were being built.

History

Yaanga was one of the most powerful villages in the area. The people from Yaanga called themselves Yaangavit. Mission records listed them as Yabit, but they were also known as Yaangavit, Yavitam, or Yavitem.

In the middle of the village stood a big sycamore tree called El Aliso by Spanish settlers. This tree was very important to the local people and was used as a meeting place. Traders from far away knew this tree as a landmark.

In 1769, an expedition led by Portolà reached Yaanga. Father Juan Crespí wrote about meeting the Yaangavit people and trading with them.

With the founding of Mission San Gabriel in 1771, the Spanish started calling the Yaangavit "Gabrieleños." Many Yaangavit were baptized at the mission. The first town of Los Angeles was built next to Yaanga in 1781.

Over time, Yaanga lost its original role as the area changed with new settlers and missions. The village’s people were moved several times over the years to different locations.