Toypurina

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Toypurina, was a Tongva medicine woman who opposed the rule of Spanish missionaries in California, and led an unsuccessful rebellion against them.

Born in 1760, Toypurina was 9-years-old when the Spanish invaders first arrived in what is now the Los Angeles basin. She was 11 when Mission San Gabriel was begun. She was 21 when Governor Filippe de Neve founded the City of Los Angeles.

Using the Japchivit rachería as her base of operations, she was able to persuade six other villages to join a rebellion attacking the Mission San Gabriel on October 25, 1785, with the intent of killing all of the Spaniards. She, along with three other men launched the attack, but were unable to complete it. Toypurina and the other three men leading the attack were captured and punished.

During that time, Toypurina rose to be a powerful spiritual leader, respected for her bravery and wisdom. She became a great communicator, speaking with and trading with the dozens of villages in the many languages and dialects used from Catalina through San Bernardino. From the protected mountainous village of Japchivit, half Serrano, half Tongva, as was she, the idea of unity was her torch.

She saw the 5,000 Tongva who lived in the Los Angeles area reduced to 1,500 through imported disease and malnutrition.

Like other Native leaders, Toypurina regarded the Spanish missionaries as a threat to her traditional status and authority. On October 25, 1785, at the age of 24, she led a revolt against San Gabriel Mission. She allied with 2 chiefs from traditional villages and the "neophyte" Nicolas Jose, who was angry that the friars forbade the mission Indians to hold their native dances. A soldier who understood the language overhead people talking about the revolt. "On the night of the attack, the Indians came to the mission armed with bows and arrows. Toypurina came to the mission unarmed but with the intent of encouraging the men to have the will to fight." (Hackel 2003)

When questioned about the revolt, Toypurina told the Spanish military judges that she had instructed Chief Tomasajaquichi of Juvit village to tell the mission Indians not to believe the padres. "I commanded him to do so, for I am angry with the padres, and all of those of the mission, for living here on my native soil, for trespassing upon the land of my forefathers and despoiling our tribal domains." Governor Don Pedro Fages found Nicolas Jose and Toypurina guilty of being the principal leaders of the attack.

During her trial, Toypurina stated that she wanted to become a Christian. It was decided that through “the event of her baptism in 1787, Padre Miguel Sanchez be allowed to exile her forever to the Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmello (present day Carmel, California), the mission most distant from San Gabriel Arcangel, where she might live in peace, become married, end her days, and be free from the very active danger that threatened her from all sides amidst the Gabrielinos. This would have very well been a reason for Toypurina’s change of heart. She knew what was in store for her if she was not banished. Her role in the revolt was probably for the well known historical reasons as to why Indians revolted against their missions: brutality (towards women as well), the destruction of food sources due to the introduction of cattle, and most importantly, her resentment toward the missionaries who were trespassing and living on “her land”.

Toypurina took a Christian name, given to her by Padre Miguel Sanchez, of Regina (meaning "Queen") Josepha. Two years after her Baptism, she married a Spaniard and soldier named Manuel Montero, who had been serving at el Pueblo de Los Angeles, and received a tract of land from the governor. They lived in Monterey and had 3 children together (Cesario, Juana de Dios, and Maria Clementina). On May 22, 1799, Toypurina died at Mission San Juan Bautista at age 39. Through all of these latter mentioned events, it is clear that Toypurina lived out her days as a Christian as the Padre expected her to at the time of her banishment.

A fictional character sharing her name is the mother of Diego de la Vega in Isabel Allende's 2005 novel, "Zorro". In the novel, Toypurina is rescued by Alejandro de la Vega and also becomes a Christian, changing her name to Regina.

On January 13, 2007, the Studio for Southern California History included her as one of the many women who made significant contributions to California history.