Rarámuri
© Ali Eminov - View of the Copper Canyon, home to the Rarámuri people
© Ali Eminov
|
© Lance Fisher - Tarahumara Women Selling Handmade Baskets
|
The Twelfth Principle of the Earth Charter
Uphold the right of all, without discrimination, to a natural and social environment supportive of human dignity, bodily health, and spiritual well-being, with special attention to the rights of indigenous peoples and minorities.
a. Eliminate discrimination in all its forms, such as that based on race, color, sex, sexual orientation, religion, language, and national, ethnic or social origin.
b. Affirm the right of indigenous peoples to their spirituality, knowledge, lands and resources and to their related practice of sustainable livelihoods.
c. Honor and support the young people of our communities, enabling them to fulfill their essential role in creating sustainable societies.
d. Protect and restore outstanding places of cultural and spiritual significance.
Practicing Process Thought
by Upholding the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples and Minorities
With their emphasis on "compassionate communities" and "ecological civilizations," process philosophers and theologians encourage us to work toward world which is, as John Cobb puts it, a community of communities of communities. Communities come in different shapes and sizes, large and small and in-between. Families are communities, neighborhoods are communities, nations are communities, religions are communities, and indigenous peoples are communities. They endure and change over time, too, which means that they are multi-generational. Communities are always in-process.
Indigenous communities are a special kind of multi-generational community that can and should be part of the hoped-for world. They have wisdom to add that other communities lack. These communities ought not be defined by their pasts at the expense of their evolution into new futures; the key is to listen and learn from indigenous peoples, and to help them flourish and define themselves. Indeed, the 12th principle of the Earth Charter is to "uphold the right of all, without discrimination, to a natural and social environment supportive of human dignity, bodily health, and spiritual well-being, with special attention to the rights of indigenous peoples and minorities."
This upholding is one way of practicing process thought. Process thinkers add that outsider are rightly motivated to uphold, not simply by informing ourselves of facts and figures, but also and perhaps more importantly by listening to stories, like that of Guillermo Palma below. In the process of listening we are humbled We realize that we are one among many, not one over many, and the others have values we lack. This self-relativization, this humbling, is one of the fruits of the spirit. It is one way that we realize the evolving whole of things, the One in whose heart we live and move and have our being, is itself many as well as one. In the manyness God is more beautiful, and we are, too.
- Jay McDaniel, October 20, 2021
Indigenous communities are a special kind of multi-generational community that can and should be part of the hoped-for world. They have wisdom to add that other communities lack. These communities ought not be defined by their pasts at the expense of their evolution into new futures; the key is to listen and learn from indigenous peoples, and to help them flourish and define themselves. Indeed, the 12th principle of the Earth Charter is to "uphold the right of all, without discrimination, to a natural and social environment supportive of human dignity, bodily health, and spiritual well-being, with special attention to the rights of indigenous peoples and minorities."
This upholding is one way of practicing process thought. Process thinkers add that outsider are rightly motivated to uphold, not simply by informing ourselves of facts and figures, but also and perhaps more importantly by listening to stories, like that of Guillermo Palma below. In the process of listening we are humbled We realize that we are one among many, not one over many, and the others have values we lack. This self-relativization, this humbling, is one of the fruits of the spirit. It is one way that we realize the evolving whole of things, the One in whose heart we live and move and have our being, is itself many as well as one. In the manyness God is more beautiful, and we are, too.
- Jay McDaniel, October 20, 2021
"I Prefer to Disappear Dancing"
Guillermo Palma, Norogachi Pueblo, Northwest Mexico
The Sierra Tarahumara is at the heart of the Mexican Sierra Madre Occidental, state of Chihuahua, in the northwest of Mexico. It is home to four ethnic groups:
- Raramuri or Tarahumaras.
- O'obas or Pimas
- Guarojío
- Ódamí or Tepehuanes
More Videos from Youtube
|
"The Pascol is normally a solo dance performed at Easter, celebrating a joyous occasion. The dancer wears a collection of dried butterfly chrysalis attached to his feet, which make a rattling sound. His dance is ment to resemble a deer. On this occasion, the woman join the men with their Tutuburi (owl) dance. Their steps are keeping evil spirits below ground."
|
"Parte de la danza de pascola durante las fiestas de la Santísima Trinidad en Jupare municipio de Huatabampo, Sonora"
"recuerdos y fomento a la cultura raramuri a los alumnos de la sierra tarahumara y padres de familia en evento cultural. gracias a MALOCHA NUÑEZ Y JUAN CHAVES (EL ÑECO)"
|
Web links on the Rarámuri
- National Geographic: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/11/tarahumara-people/gorney-text
- Image Gallery: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/11/tarahumara-people/kendrick-photography
- Wikipedia information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarahumara
- Tarahumara language: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarahumara_language
- The Tarahumaras: An Endangered Species
About the Rarámuri
From the Milwaukee Public Museum
Jenna Zbichorski and Rebekah Ryan
Stylized Human Carving
E63909
"The Tarahumara, or self-called Rarámuri, are one of the largest indigenous tribes in North America with nearly 100,000 people. The majority are concentrated in the highlands of the Sierra Madre Occidental, Mexico, while others choose to live in las barrancas – the gorges of the Sierra Madre. Despite their large number, the tribe managed to remain relatively uninfluenced by the surrounding Mexican culture until recently. This is primarily a result of the harsh landscape in which they live, and their general reluctance to embrace outsiders.
The Tarahumara have maintained traditional cultural practices in light of ever-increasing outside pressures; in many cases they still rely on the customs of their ancestors. Conquistadors came in contact with the Tarahumara during the 16th century and brought with them Christian missionaries, domesticated animals, cultivated fruit trees, steel tools and certain musical instruments. The Tarahumara incorporated these concepts and items into their everyday life by varying degrees; however, their popular name “Tarahumara” is the most obvious Spanish influence - a mistranslation of the group’s own name, Rarámuri.
According to the primary ethnographers of the Tarahumara, Wendell Bennett and Robert Zingg, the tribe, as of 80 years ago "can be regarded as almost nomadic agriculturalists" (1930:14) due to their production of corn and their pastoral lifestyle. In the past, only small patches of land were usable for agriculture, requiring Tarahumara to move to provide subsistence year round. At present, the lands of the Tarahumara are being drastically changed by mass logging efforts and drug production.
The Sierra Madre has two contrasting climates: the cool highlands and the tropical barranca (gorges). The highlands provide lumber and land for herding sheep, cattle, and goats as well as crops such as wheat and corn. Those living in the barrancas cultivate fruit trees, marijuana, and tobacco. Many of the Tarahumara that live in the highlands migrate into the barrancas to escape the harsh winters and to keep their herds safe. Despite their different resources, both groups of Tarahumara have similar lifestyles.
A small percentage of the Tarahumara also live in pueblos and are often referred to as "Mexicanized." These pueblos are made up of the Christianized Tarahumara and have a centralized church, courthouse, and jail.
Recent pressures from the Mexican government, the tourist industry, and drug traffickers challenge the traditional lifestyles of the Tarahumara. Jeans are worn and prepackaged food like Ramen noodles are part of the Tarahumara diet. Developmental infrastructure projects created by local governments are putting the tribe’s traditions at greater risk. The government is hoping to deter the ever-increasing drug trade by developing the area with a highway, hotels, and new businesses, but this growth could cause significant culture changes, as well.
The Milwaukee Public Museum is fortunate to have one of the largest Tarahumara collections in the United States. With well over 300 pieces, this collection represents the Tarahumara before widespread modern changes encroached. Some of the items can be seen on exhibit on the Museum’s 3rd floor within the Middle America exhibit area.
- Webpage developed by Anthropology department interns Jenna Zbichorski, 2011 and Rebekah Ryan, 2012.For more information, please contact Dawn Scher Thomae.
The Tarahumara have maintained traditional cultural practices in light of ever-increasing outside pressures; in many cases they still rely on the customs of their ancestors. Conquistadors came in contact with the Tarahumara during the 16th century and brought with them Christian missionaries, domesticated animals, cultivated fruit trees, steel tools and certain musical instruments. The Tarahumara incorporated these concepts and items into their everyday life by varying degrees; however, their popular name “Tarahumara” is the most obvious Spanish influence - a mistranslation of the group’s own name, Rarámuri.
According to the primary ethnographers of the Tarahumara, Wendell Bennett and Robert Zingg, the tribe, as of 80 years ago "can be regarded as almost nomadic agriculturalists" (1930:14) due to their production of corn and their pastoral lifestyle. In the past, only small patches of land were usable for agriculture, requiring Tarahumara to move to provide subsistence year round. At present, the lands of the Tarahumara are being drastically changed by mass logging efforts and drug production.
The Sierra Madre has two contrasting climates: the cool highlands and the tropical barranca (gorges). The highlands provide lumber and land for herding sheep, cattle, and goats as well as crops such as wheat and corn. Those living in the barrancas cultivate fruit trees, marijuana, and tobacco. Many of the Tarahumara that live in the highlands migrate into the barrancas to escape the harsh winters and to keep their herds safe. Despite their different resources, both groups of Tarahumara have similar lifestyles.
A small percentage of the Tarahumara also live in pueblos and are often referred to as "Mexicanized." These pueblos are made up of the Christianized Tarahumara and have a centralized church, courthouse, and jail.
Recent pressures from the Mexican government, the tourist industry, and drug traffickers challenge the traditional lifestyles of the Tarahumara. Jeans are worn and prepackaged food like Ramen noodles are part of the Tarahumara diet. Developmental infrastructure projects created by local governments are putting the tribe’s traditions at greater risk. The government is hoping to deter the ever-increasing drug trade by developing the area with a highway, hotels, and new businesses, but this growth could cause significant culture changes, as well.
The Milwaukee Public Museum is fortunate to have one of the largest Tarahumara collections in the United States. With well over 300 pieces, this collection represents the Tarahumara before widespread modern changes encroached. Some of the items can be seen on exhibit on the Museum’s 3rd floor within the Middle America exhibit area.
- Webpage developed by Anthropology department interns Jenna Zbichorski, 2011 and Rebekah Ryan, 2012.For more information, please contact Dawn Scher Thomae.