From the Jicarilla creation story, the land bounded by the four sacred rivers was provided to them by the Creator, with select places for communicating with the Creator and spirits, sacred rivers and mountains to be respected and conserved, and very specific places for obtaining items for ceremonial rituals, such as white clay found 18 miles (29 km) southeast of Taos, red ochre 20 miles (32 km) north of Taos and yellow ochre on a mountain near Picuris Pueblo.
They believe the "heart of the world" is located near Taos.

Traditional Jicarilla stories of White Shell Woman, Killer of the Enemies, Child of the Water and others feature places and nearby people special to them, such as the Rio Grande Gorge, Picuris Pueblo, the spring and marsh near El Prado, Hopewell Lake and particularly of the Taos Pueblo and the four sacred rivers.
The Jicarilla created shrines in sites that held spiritual meaning, sharing some of the Taos area sites with the Taos Pueblo.

Of the connection to Taos, in 1865 Father Antonio José Martínez, a New Mexican priest, commented that the Jicarilla had a long history living between the mountains and the villages and making pottery as an important source of income.
Clay for the pottery came from the Taos and Picuris Pueblo areas.
From the Jicarilla creation story, the land bounded by the four sacred rivers was provided to them by the Creator, with select places for communicating with the Creator and spirits, sacred rivers and mountains to be respected and conserved, and very specific places for obtaining items for ceremonial rituals, such as white clay found 18 miles (29 km) southeast of Taos, red ochre 20 miles (32 km) north of Taos and yellow ochre on a mountain near Picuris Pueblo. They believe the "heart of the world" is located near Taos.
Traditional Jicarilla stories of White Shell Woman, Killer of the Enemies, Child of the Water and others feature places and nearby people special to them, such as the Rio Grande Gorge, Picuris Pueblo, the spring and marsh near El Prado, Hopewell Lake and particularly of the Taos Pueblo and the four sacred rivers. The Jicarilla created shrines in sites that held spiritual meaning, sharing some of the Taos area sites with the Taos Pueblo.
Of the connection to Taos, in 1865 Father Antonio José Martínez, a New Mexican priest, commented that the Jicarilla had a long history living between the mountains and the villages and making pottery as an important source of income. Clay for the pottery came from the Taos and Picuris Pueblo areas.
Jicarilla Apache