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There are about 50,000 Tarahumara Indians, Mexico's
second largest native group, who are still living in the mountains
of Mexico, some in caves, all totally isolated from the modern
world. Walking deep into the interior if you are lucky to
may be invited to attend a traditional feast.
The Tarahumara don't like outsiders or white men, who they
call chowachas, and they resent any invasion of their
culture. Because of their horrendous experiences with the
Spaniards and the missionaries, the Tarahumaras have a very
low impression of the white man, distrusting them as ones
who steal their lands and impose on them their alien beliefs.
They are fiercely religious and reclusive people who need
their privacy at festivals. Ask permission before taking photos
or entering Tarahumara land.
Celebrations
The main Tarahumara festivals are Semana Santa at Easter
and the Fiesta Guadalupana in December. Harvest is
also a time of great celebration, with much tesguino (corn
alcohol) being drunk. A harvest celebration is a little like
a Saturday night, celebrated every 8 - 10 days. In recent
times, many of the Tarahumara have had problems with alcoholism.
The Easter celebration is a strange collision of cultures.
Christian prayers mixed with the slaughter of a goat and music,
the soul of life to Tarahumara, is played to any of gods who
could hear. A ceremony is performed at the Lost Cathedral
before Easter. Nobody knows why the Lost Cathedral was
built, who built it or when but it is now the most important
church for the nearby Tarahumara Indians who have found Christianity.
The four corners of the church are blessed then a symbolic
act has a man clear evil spirit from the path of the cross
with a rattle. Teams of Pharisees and soldier re-enact a timeless
battle of evil v's good, as the protectors and destroyers
of Jesus.
Christianity found its way into all of Mexico's Indian communities,
even the most remote like the Tarahumaras. They were left
alone throughout most of the 18th and 19th century to interpret
the threads of Christianity which the Jesuit missionaries
forced upon them, mixing the bible with their own tribal beliefs.
The celebration at Christmas of the Virgin of Guadalupe
consisted of much drinking, dancing and feasting, though
many of them really have no idea who the Virgin Mary is.
Tarahumara People
The Tarahumara typically wear white shirts and trousers or
wrap skirts with colourful belts and red headbands. The tribes
people live in the Chihuahua State in a number of mountain
towns and villages. These villages are all situated on one
of the highest peaks of the Sierra Madre Occidental
mountain range in the Copper Canyon, also known as
the Sierra Tarahumara.
The oldest skill of the Tarahumara is running, and
they call themselves "Raramuri" which means
"those with light feet". They are masters at long
distance running and have won many international events. Running
is a necessary for survival in the mountains as there is no
transport and villages are many miles apart. They hold racing
competitions known as Rajiparo which is like a football
relay race and can last for days.
They are also skilled farmers, living mainly off corn, beans,
potatoes and apples with a little fish, small game, herbs
and goats. Famine has been a problem for the Indians in recent
years.
Sharing is seen as a principle of their life, which is why
white men were so easily able to steal their land. Tarahumara
marriages and partners are also sometimes fairly "interchangeable".
History
It is thought that the Tarahumara Indians ancient ancestors
arrived from Asia, crossing the strait of Bering around 20,000
years ago. Weapon like the famous Clovis spearheads
were found in the Sonora State dating back a phenomenal
15,000 years.
White men in the form of missionaries first made contact with
the Indians in the 17th century, and soon after Spanish farmers
invaded the Indians land, trading it for them with soap, salt
and trinkets. Some Indians became badly paid and treated labourers
of the Spaniards, others fled to the mountains. The mountains
were soon discovered to be rich with copper and minerals,
so the Tarahumara were forced into the most remote and inaccessible
canyons.
Ancient Beliefs
The Tarahumara belief that the world began with the sun and
moon, who were two children who dressed in palm leaves and
lived in shacks. The only light that shined on earth was the
morning star. The moon swallowed the lice from the head of
the sun and the earth was plunged into total darkness. The
Tarhumara Indians healed the sun and moon by erecting redwood
crosses soaked in tesquino alcohol and the sun
and moon began to shine. Like Christian mythology, there was
then a flood, and one Tarahumara boy and girl hid in the Lavachi
Mountain, and after the storm they returned with three
corn kernels and three beans which they planted in a rock
which soon yielded a rich harvest. This boy and girl were
thought to be the ancestors of all Tarahumara Indians.
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