(or Rarámuri As They Prefer To Be Known)
The archeological record of the Tarahumara or Rarámuri, as they prefer to call themselves, suggests that they are descendants of the Southwest Basket Making cultures. Their Uto-Aztecan language supports the theory that they migrated with other groups of the same language stock which includes the Huichol and Papago, at an early date. Four related indigenous peoples inhabit the contemporary Sierra Madre Occidental: the Mountain Pima, who number only a few hundred; the Guarijio, whose population is now said to be less than two thousand; the Tepehuan, or Odame, with perhaps nine thousand members in two communities in Chihuahua and one in southern Durango; and the Rarámuri, or Tarahumara, who number around 80,000. All are members of the same language family, closely related to the Huicholes, Seris, Mayo and Yaquis.
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laFor centuries, two hundred tribes of native Americans have inhabited this land of Northwestern Mexico. Perhaps most notable are the Rarámuri, a people whose rich spiritual ideology and strong cultural identity have persevered despite the intrusion of foreign customs. While more warlike tribes such as the Apache were overwhelmed and assimilated, the passive resistance of the Rarámuri protected their identity. Even today, the Rarámuri manage to resist the culture of the chabochi, the Rarámuri word for white people or rather bearded faces. The Rarmuri have retained their traditions better than most groups and their society and culture is much the same as it was in the sixteenth century despite encroachment from mining, timber and tourism.
The name Tarahumara is a Spanish corruption of the name Rarámuri. The are the second largest Indian group, the Navajo being the largest. The Rarámuri live in small settlements called rancherias.They subsist on an agricultural economy, growing maize, wheat, squash, beans, potatoes and chile. They fertize their fields with droppings from their herds of goats and sheep and rarely slaughter an animal for food. They plant crops wherever they find level land, generally using a wooden plow, pulled by a team of oxen. They also gather wild plants for food, seasonings, medicine and ceremonies.
Rarámuri means “fleet foot, light footed, or foot runner.” This is an adaptation to their harsh landscape because it is difficult even for animals to traverse. The Rarámuri prefer to run when traveling from one point to another. They compete in long distance kickball races called Rarajipari. They kick a small wooden ball for distances of 50 to 100 miles and often longer continuing into the night requiring runners to carry torches of Chopeke, a resinous pinewood. The Rarámuri place place bets on these races, sometimes wagering large amounts of money. Also, Rarmuri runners have competed and won in the Leadville 100 and other ultra marathon races in the U. S.
The Rarámuri believe themselves to be descended from corn, and corn is the center of their life, their principal crop and source of food, it is also the indispensable common element in their rituals. Tesgüino, a beer made from fermented corn, is a sacrament and the motive by which the widely scattered families gather.
Traditional society is deeply egalitarian, and values harmony with the earth and with one’s neighbors more than the accumulation of material wealth. Through Kórima, the obligation of reciprocal sharing, the Rarámuri alleviate extreme poverty; anyone in need has the right to call on a neighbor to share their surplus. This sharing does not incur indebtedness but is a way of ensuring the survival of the community as a whole.
Women enjoy relatively high status; a few have even become shamans. While men and women perform different tasks, their isolation often requires them to take on the work of the other. No stigma is attached to men cooking, or women plowing. Inheritance passes separately from each of the parents to each one of the children. Women keep their own property when married and divorce is easily granted.
The Rarámuri use 300 different plants for medicinal purposes. Many state that they learned this knowledge from Onoruame, their God, in their dreams. Their language has no word for poison and therefore no room to envision a plant that is solely harmful. Every plant maintains a beneficial quality because of their cultural view of the universe. All living things derive their inherent beingness from one of the three levels. In the upper level exists Onoruame and other beneficial spirits. This is also the level to where human souls go after death. The middle level is the one in which all living human beings exist. In the lower level exists the evilness of the universe. Here live Diablo and the malevolent spirits including several species of plants.. Evilness to the Rarumri is not absolute and some plants from the lower level can be beneficial if tapped of their usefulness by knowledgeable healers. These plants are inherently harmful but have the ability to heal if correctly prepared and administered.
Their religion is monotheistic, with the exception of a few minor gods. They worship Onoruame, the one who made all things. Onoruame changes from God the father, similar to the Catholic faith, among the more acculturated Rarámuri, to Reyenari, which means the sun, among the more traditional people. Rarámuri traditional religion is difficult to separate from the assimilated Christian dogma. There is also a difference in beliefs among the different groups of Alta, the high sierra, and Baja, the lowlands of the canyon depths. Generally, Onoruame lives on a level higher than that of the people, which is above the underworld. Onoruame is accompqnied by his wife, Bisa Riwigachi, and by spirits. Onoruame and Bisa Riwigachi watch over the people and their cultivated fields. Onoruame, at times, will ask for dancing ceremonies and ritual sacrifices of animals because he may become hungry. If he gets lonely he may cause the death of a person.
The Rarámuri concept of immortality was so strong, Carl Lumholtz wrote, “that death means to them only a change of form.” According to William Merrill, a Smithsonian anthropologist who spent three years in a remote village for his groundbreaking study, “Rarámuri Souls,” “People must overcome their feelings of sadness as soon as possible after the death of a loved one because if one’s souls are sad, they will want to leave the body to be with the deceased.”
They are very poetic in their expressions usually with themes that center on harmony with the earth. They are very shy and this can be interpreted by outsiders as being unfriendly but they are open to visitors that repect them and their way of life.
What the World Can Teach Us
A few years ago, San-Francisco-based physician Dr. Daphne Miller set out to study the world’s highly effective diets. Drawn to regions where certain diseases rarely occur–known as “cold spots”–she focused on five disparate places: Cameroon (in West Africa); Iceland; Okinawa; Crete, Greece; and Copper Canyon. She returned with advice that might benefit patients struggling with diabetes, heart disease, colon cancer, depression and breast and prostate cancers. She documented her experiences in the book The Jungle Effect.
Putting the Diets in Practice
In order for these dishes to work for others, Miller says, people have to be mindful of the traditional style of cooking and the quality of the ingredients. The best pork in Okinawa, for example, subsisted on nutrient-rich sweet potatoes instead of commercially grown grain.
Similarly, flour tortillas won’t impart the same nutritional benefit of the Tarahumaras’ fiber-rich corn tortillas treated with nutrient-enhancing lime.
