Rarámuri people
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The Rarámuri or Tarahumara is a group of indigenous people of the Americas living in the state of
Chihuahua Chihuahua may refer to: Places *Chihuahua (state), a Mexican state **Chihuahua (dog), a breed of dog named after the state **Chihuahua cheese, a type of cheese originating in the state **Chihuahua City, the capital city of the state **Chihuahua Mun ...
in Mexico. They are renowned for their long-distance running ability. Originally, inhabitants of much of Chihuahua, the Rarámuri retreated to the high sierras and canyons such as the Copper Canyon in the
Sierra Madre Occidental The Sierra Madre Occidental is a major mountain range system of the North American Cordillera, that runs northwest–southeast through northwestern and western Mexico, and along the Gulf of California. The Sierra Madre is part of the American C ...
on the arrival of Spanish colonizers in the 16th century.Pennington, Campbell W. (1963) ''The Tarahumar of Mexico, their environment and material culture''. University of Utah Press. The area of the Sierra Madre Occidental which they now inhabit is often called the Sierra Tarahumara because of their presence. Estimates put the Rarámuri population in 2006 at between 50,000 and 70,000 people. Most still practise a traditional lifestyle, including inhabiting natural shelters (caves or cliff overhangs). Staple crops are
corn Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...
and
bean A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes th ...
s; however, many of the Rarámuri still practise
transhumance Transhumance is a type of pastoralism or nomadism, a seasonal movement of livestock between fixed summer and winter pastures. In montane regions (''vertical transhumance''), it implies movement between higher pastures in summer and lower vall ...
, raising
cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...
, sheep, and goats. Almost all Rarámuri migrate from one place to another during the course of a year. The
Rarámuri language The Tarahumara language (native name ''Rarámuri/Ralámuli ra'ícha'' "people language") is a Mexican indigenous language of the Uto-Aztecan language family spoken by around 70,000 Tarahumara (Rarámuri/Ralámuli) people in the state of Chihuah ...
belongs to the
Uto-Aztecan Uto-Aztecan, Uto-Aztekan or (rarely in English) Uto-Nahuatl is a family of indigenous languages of the Americas, consisting of over thirty languages. Uto-Aztecan languages are found almost entirely in the Western United States and Mexico. The na ...
family. Although it is in decline under pressure from Spanish, it is still widely spoken. In the Rarámuri language, the endonymic term ''rarámuri'' refers specifically to the men; women are referred to as ''mukí'' (individually), and as ''omugí'' or ''igómale'' (collectively).


History

The Rarámuri are believed to be descended from a people of the Mogollon culture. The Rarámuri repulsed and were never conquered by the Spanish conquistadors or fully converted by the Jesuit missionaries. When the Spanish arrived in the 1500s, they called these native people the "Tarahumara". By the early 17th century, the Spanish had established mines in Tarahumara territory and made some slave raids to obtain workers for the mines. Jesuit
Juan Fonte ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, t ...
established a mission,
San Pablo Balleza Mariano Balleza is a town in the Mexican state of Chihuahua, close to the border with Durango. It serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality of Balleza. As of 2010, the town had a total population of 2,087, up from 1,990 as ...
, at the southern end of Tarahumara territory, expanding from missionary work with the Tepehuan to the south. The Tepehuan's violent resistance to Spanish incursion in the Tepehuan revolt of 1616 killed Fonte and seven other Jesuit missionaries, closing the mission for over a decade. The discovery of the mines of
Parral, Chihuahua Hidalgo del Parral is a city and seat of the municipality of Hidalgo del Parral in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. It is located in the southern part of the state, from the state capital, the city of Chihuahua, Chihuahua. As of 2015, the city ...
, in 1631 increased Spanish presence in Tarahumara lands, bringing more slave raids and Jesuit missionaries. Missions were established at Las Bocas, Huejotitlan, San Felipe and Satevo. In 1648, the Tarahumara waged war against the Spanish. They gathered at Fariagic and then destroyed the mission of
San Francisco de Borja San Francisco de Borja is a town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin ...
. Two of the leaders of this attack were captured by the Spanish and executed. Shortly afterward, the Spanish established Villa de Aguilar in the heart of the upper Tarahumara country. From then on, the Tarahumara split into two groups. Those in the lower missions continued to move into the general Catholic population and largely lost their tribal identity. Those in the upper areas went to war under the leadership of Tepóraca and others, driving the Jesuits and Spanish settlers from the area. The Jesuits returned in the 1670s and ultimately baptized thousands of Tarahumara, but these people have retained a separate identity. Tepóraca was executed by the Spanish in 1690. From 1696 to 1698, the Tarahumara again waged war against the Spanish, but were defeated. An important 1691 Jesuit report concerned the resistance of the Tarahumara to evangelization, ''Historia de la tercera rebelión tarahumara''. By 1753, the Jesuits turned over the lower Tarahumara missions to secular priests, and in 1767 the Jesuits were expelled from Spanish territories. Most missions in Tarahumara country ceased to operate or were turned over to
Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...
s. Despite devoted and enthusiastic efforts, the Franciscans could not match the Jesuits’ feats, and the missions declined. The Jesuits reestablished the missions in the early 20th century.


Culture


Athletic skills

The Tarahumara word for themselves, ''Rarámuri'', means "runners on foot" or "those who run fast" in their native tongue according to some early ethnographers like Norwegian Carl Lumholtz, though this interpretation has not been fully agreed upon. With widely dispersed settlements, these people developed a tradition of
long-distance running Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance running comes two d ...
up to in one session, over a period of two days through their homeland of rough canyon country, for inter-village communication, transportation, and hunting.Irigoyen, Fructuoso and Manuel Palma, Jesus (1995). ''Rarajípari, the Tarahumara Indian Kick-ball Race''. La Prensa. The Tarahumara's use of huaraches, their traditional form of sandals, when running has been the subject of a lot of scientific studies, as well as journalistic discourse. In his book, '' Born to Run'', author Christopher McDougall argues in favor of the
endurance running hypothesis The endurance running hypothesis is a series of conjectures which presume humans evolved anatomical and physiological adaptations to run long distances . and, more strongly, that "running is the only known behavior that would account for the di ...
and the
barefoot running Barefoot running, also called "natural running", is the act of running without footwear. With the advent of modern footwear, running barefoot has become less common in most parts of the world but is still practiced in parts of Africa and Latin A ...
movement based on his time with the Tarahumara people and their running in huaraches. Tarahumara sandals has become a byword in many US minimalist running circles with many companies starting since McDougall's book popularized the style. Their long-distance running tradition also has ceremonial and competitive aspects. Often, men kick wooden balls as they run in "foot throwing", ''
rarajipari Rarájipari is a running game played by the Tarahumara (also known as the Rarámuri The Rarámuri or Tarahumara is a group of indigenous people of the Americas living in the state of Chihuahua in Mexico. They are renowned for their long- ...
'', competitions, and women use a stick and hoop. The foot-throwing races are relays where the balls are kicked by the runners and relayed to the next runner while teammates run ahead to the next relay point. These races can last anywhere from a few hours to a couple of days without a break. The Tarahumara commonly hunt with bow and arrows but are also known for their ability to run down deer and wild turkeys. Anthropologist Jonathan F. Cassel describes the Tarahumaras’ hunting abilities: "the Tarahumara literally run the birds to death in what is referred to as persistence hunting. Forced into a rapid series of takeoffs, without sufficient rest periods between, the heavy-bodied bird does not have the strength to fly or run away from the Tarahumara hunter."


Religious beliefs

The Rarámuri religion is a mélange of indigenous customs and
Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...
. During the late 1600s and early 1700s, there was strong Jesuit mission activity, which was met by resistance. Later, when the Jesuit order was expelled, the Rarámuri were left free to interpret, modify, maintain or promulgate Catholic beliefs, symbols, and practices with little outside intervention . While native religious elements have been maintained, there are Spanish Catholic ritual elements, demonstrating "a genuine integration with vital cultural interests". The beings of most importance are: God (''Riosi''), God's wife, who is the Christian Virgin Mary transformed, and the devil (''Riablo)''. ''Riosi'' is thought to be the indigenous deity ''Onoruame'' ("Great Father"), and the Virgin Mary is ''Iyeruame'' ("Great Mother"). The indigenous counterparts of Father-Sun and Mother-Moon overlap, respectively, with these concepts of God and God's wife. Another reported variation is that God has a wife who lives with him in heaven, along with their sons, the so-called ''sukristo'' (from Spanish ''Jesucristo'') and their daughters, the ''Santi''. These beings have a direct link with the physical world through Catholic iconography, crucifixes, and saints’ medallions, respectively. Although ''Riablo'' aligns with the devil, the Rarámuri do not believe in a being that embodies Evil wholly. Instead it is tainted through its ties with the ''Chabochi'' (non-Rarámuri). The Devil is said to sometimes collaborate with God to arrange fitting punishments and can be appeased through sacrifices. In some cases, the Devil can be persuaded to act as a benevolent entity. Some Rarámuri religious practices have the sense of ''konema'' (i.e., feeding God), the sense of returning to God a little of the much that he has given is prevalent. Some Tarahumaras maintain a belief that the afterlife is a mirror image of the mortal world and that good deeds should be performed—not for spiritual reward—but for the improvement of life on earth. The Rarámuri share with other Uto-Aztecan tribes a veneration of
peyote The peyote (; ''Lophophora williamsii'' ) is a small, spineless cactus which contains psychoactive alkaloids, particularly mescaline. ''Peyote'' is a Spanish word derived from the Nahuatl (), meaning "caterpillar cocoon", from a root , "to gl ...
.


Music

Music and dance are highly integrated into Tarahumara social life. The classical pianist
Romayne Wheeler Romayne Wheeler (born 1942) is a concert pianist, composer, writer and researcher who is best known for life and work with the Tarahumara people in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. While born in California, Wheeler has lived in various parts of th ...
writes that "Music sanctifies the moment in the life of all the Tarahumaras," and "All of our actions have musical meaning." During the end of the year cycle, the Tarahumaras play violins which are masterfully carved but not varnished. The tunes are known as ''matachín'' pieces and are danced by dancers lavishly dressed in colorful attire resembling North African garments and accompanied by rattles (''sáuraka''). During
Lent Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke ...
they play three-holed flutes of river cane, together with drums.


Food

Staple crops of the Tarahumara are maize, beans, greens, squash, and tobacco. Chilli, potatoes, tomatoes, and sweet potatoes appear in Mexicanized regions. Corn is planted in February and March using oxen which are often loaned as not everyone owns one. Corn begins to flower in August; by November it is harvested and cooked or stored. Common corn dishes are '' pinole'',
tortilla A tortilla (, ) is a thin, circular unleavened flatbread originally made from maize hominy meal, and now also from wheat flour. The Aztecs and other Nahuatl speakers called tortillas ''tlaxcalli'' (). First made by the indigenous peoples of Me ...
s, ''esquiate'',
atole ''Atole'' (, from Nahuatl '' ātōlli'' ), also known as ''atolli'' and ''atol de elote'', is a traditional hot corn- and masa-based beverage of Mexican origin. Chocolate ''atole'' is known as ''champurrado'' or ''atole''. It typically accomp ...
,
tamale A tamale, in Spanish tamal, is a traditional Mesoamerican dish made of masa, a dough made from nixtamalized corn, which is steamed in a corn husk or banana leaf. The wrapping can either be discarded prior to eating or used as a plate. Tamale ...
s, and boiled and roasted ears. Beans are one of the Tarahumaras’ essential protein-rich foods and are usually served fried after being boiled. Tamales and beans are a common food that the Tarahumara carry with them on travels. Wheat and fruits were introduced by missionaries and are a minor source of nutrition. The fruits grown by the Tarahumara include apples, apricots, figs, and oranges. The Tarahumaras also eat meat, but this constitutes less than 5% of their diet. Most of the meats that they consume are fish, chicken, and squirrels. On ceremonial occasions, domesticated animals such as cows, sheep, and goats are killed and eaten. The Tarahumara practice persistence hunting of deer and wild turkeys by following them at a steady pace for one or two days until the animal drops from exhaustion. According to William Connors, a dietary researcher, their traditional diet was found to be linked to their low incidence of diseases such as Type 2 Diabetes. However, the Tarahumaras' health is transitioning in regions where processed goods have begun to replace their traditional staples.


Clothing


Tesgüino, a fermented drink, and associated Tesgüinadas festivals

'' Tesgüino'' is a fermented drink made year round from sprouted corn. Sometimes it is also made with still-green stalks, fruits of certain cactuses, shrubs, wheat, and trees when corn is sparse. The process begins by malting the corn and spreading it in a shallow basket covered with pine needles each day for four or five days. It is kept moist until the corn sprouts by which time the starch in the corn has been converted into smaller sugars. It is then mashed and boiled for eight hours. Varied herbs are ground up and mixed with water into a paste which is then fermented overnight by fire. Then the paste is combined with the corn liquid and fermented for another three to four days. Partaking of the alcoholic beverage usually takes place soon after its preparation, as the ''tesgüino'' can spoil within 24 hours. Gatherings for celebrations, races, and religious ceremonies often take place with tesgüinadas, a Tarahumara-style beer festival. These gatherings take place all year round, but most happen in winter, and are the social events between the neighboring Tarahumara people. Tesgüinada events include rain fiestas, harvest ceremonies, curing fiestas, Guadalupe Fiesta,
Holy Week Holy Week ( la, Hebdomada Sancta or , ; grc, Ἁγία καὶ Μεγάλη Ἑβδομάς, translit=Hagia kai Megale Hebdomas, lit=Holy and Great Week) is the most sacred week in the liturgical year in Christianity. In Eastern Churches, w ...
, races, and Sunday gatherings. Some of these events take place during and after communal activities, for example when neighbors help one another's families with their fields or build large structures like granaries, houses, and corrals. The harvest and rain ceremonies take place during the farming months to ensure a good crop season. These events also require either a shaman, ''curandero'', or chanter. The job of the shaman and ''curandero'' are purely religious, as the ''curandero'' is there to diagnose and to heal the sick of the community, and chanters lead the tesgüinadas in chants and rhythms to accompany the ceremonies. Tesgüinadas is an important aspect of Tarahumara culture as it is often the only time when men have intercourse with their wives. They act as social lubricants, as Tarahumara are very shy and private. Anthropologist John Kennedy describes the institution of tesgüinada as an important social fabric of Tarahumara culture which he calls the " tesgüino network". He also states that "the average Tarahumara spends at least 100 days per year directly concerned with tesgüino and much of this time under its influence or aftereffects." The religious role of tesgüino is a very important aspect of tesgüinada. Before one can drink an
olla An olla is a ceramic jar, often unglazed, used for cooking stews or soups, for the storage of water or dry foods, or for other purposes like the irrigation of olive trees. ''Ollas'' have short wide necks and wider bellies, resembling beanpots o ...
of tesgüino they must dedicate it to Onorúame. During the curing ceremonies, the olla must rest in front of a cross until the ceremony is over. At age 14, a boy is allowed to drink tesgüino for the first time after a short sermon about his manly responsibilities. These rituals can sometimes last as long as 48 hours. Tesgüinadas are usually accompanied by dancing and the playing of fiddles, flutes, drums, and guitars.


Rarámuri

*
Arnulfo Quimare Arnulfo is a masculine given name. It is the Spanish and Italian form of the German name Arnulf. As a given name * Arnulfo Aparri, Jr., Filipino murder suspect *Arnulfo Arias (1901–1988), Panamanian president *Arnulfo Fuentebella (1945–2020) ...
, ultra marathoner *
Carmelita Little Turtle Carmelita "Carm" Little Turtle is an Apache/ Tarahumara photographer born in Santa Maria, California, on June 4, 1952. Her hand-painted, sepia-toned photographs explore gender roles, women's rights and the relationships between women and men. Littl ...
, photographer *
Daniel Ponce de León Daniel Ponce de León (born July 27, 1980) is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2014. He was a world champion two weight classes, having held the WBO super bantamweight title from 2005 and 2008, and the WBC featherw ...
, former WBO world junior featherweight champion *
Dr. Octavio Casillas Doctor is an academic title that originates from the Latin word of the same spelling and meaning. The word is originally an agentive noun of the Latin verb 'to teach'. It has been used as an academic title in Europe since the 13th century, w ...
, award-winning educator *
Edwin Bustillos Edwin Bustillos García (May 16, 1964 – February 21, 2003) was a Mexican human rights activist, environmentalist, and agricultural engineer from the Sierra Madre in Mexico.Fort Lewis College (Retrieved on January 7, 2012) He is partially of Tara ...
, award-winning agricultural engineer *
Isidro Baldenegro López Isidro Baldenegro López (c. 1966 – 15 January 2017) was a farmer and community leader of Mexico's indigenous Tarahumara people in Sierra Madre and an environmental activist who fought against unregulated logging in his region. Early life ...
, community leader and activist *
Jacob Casillas Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Jac ...
, award-winning mechanical engineer *
María Lorena Ramírez María Lorena Ramírez Hernández (born January 1, 1995) is an indigenous long-distance runner belonging to the Rarámuri ethnic group. She lives in Rejocochi, a small community in the state of Chihuahua (state), Chihuahua, Mexico. She became int ...
, ultra marathoner *
Mario Trejo Mario Trejo may refer to: * Mario Trejo (writer), Argentine poet, playwright, screenwriter, and journalist * Mario Trejo (footballer, born 1956), Mexican football manager and former defender * Mario Trejo (footballer, born 1971) Mario Alberto ...
*
Rochelle Gutierrez Rochelle Gutierrez is a professor of education at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. Her main focus is changing the way in which mathematics is taught to the minority and the effects of race, class and language on teaching and learni ...
, professor of education


Threats


Environmental factors

Logging has occurred since the end of the 1800s when the first loggers arrived. Later, the liberalization of laws in the 1990s resulted in the exhaustion of resources.''The forest industry in the Sierra Madre of Chihuahua: Social, Economic and Ecological impacts''
. De los Derechos Humanos, A.C. Chihuahua Mexico and Texas Center for Policy Studies (2000) pp. 5–6.
In 1995, it was declared that "after hundred years of logging, only two percent (300,000 acres) of these unique forests remains", leaving one of the most biologically diverse ecosystems in North America, containing hundreds of medicinal plant, oak and pine species in danger of extinction. The Mexican Commission of Solidarity and Defense of Human Rights produced a report in 2000 noting the lack of studies by the government on how lumber production affected the ecosystem. Similarly, the
North American Free Trade Agreement The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA ; es, Tratado de Libre Comercio de América del Norte, TLCAN; french: Accord de libre-échange nord-américain, ALÉNA) was an agreement signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States that crea ...
(NAFTA) boosted foreign investment which resulted in the privatization of communal land and market-based mechanisms of environmental regulation. In January 2017,
Isidro Baldenegro López Isidro Baldenegro López (c. 1966 – 15 January 2017) was a farmer and community leader of Mexico's indigenous Tarahumara people in Sierra Madre and an environmental activist who fought against unregulated logging in his region. Early life ...
(2005 recipient of the Goldman Environmental Prize) a community leader of the Tarahumara, was shot and killed in Mexico. Baldenegro spent much of his life defending the ancient forests of the Sierra Madre region from the devastating effects of logging. Drought has also been affecting the region for ten years and has worsened in recent years. During 2011, it was the driest year in Mexico on record, with just 12 inches of rain, compared to a historic average of 21 inches. The most severely hit area was the Sierra Madre region. Agricultural losses in Chihuahua are estimated at $25 million; 180,000 cattle have already died, as a result of the growing lack of precipitation in the region. Due to the lack of water, crops were destroyed and famine spread. Combined with the freezing temperatures of a cold front, living conditions have become poor for the Rarámuri. Their dependence on the environment worsens the situation, as they lack employment opportunities to generate income in non-farming activities. Moreover, increased contact with the outside world might be damaging as it creates dependency. These indigenous people face extreme poverty, as reflected in the Mexican
Human Development Index The Human Development Index (HDI) is a statistic composite index of life expectancy, education (mean years of schooling completed and expected years of schooling upon entering the education system), and per capita income indicators, whi ...
(HDI) which in the Sierra Madre is the lowest in the country: 49.1% below the national average. Alberto Herrera, the Mexican director of
Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...
stated that the indigenous people in his country have endured "permanent discrimination, exclusion, and marginalization."


Mining

Mining dates to 950 AD with the Toltec and
Mayan Mayan most commonly refers to: * Maya peoples, various indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica and northern Central America * Maya civilization, pre-Columbian culture of Mesoamerica and northern Central America * Mayan languages, language family spoken ...
civilizations. Since the Spanish conquest, thousands of tons of mercury and lead have been released in the Mexican mining belt, which stretches from Oaxaca to Sonora in the northwest. The Sierra Madre part of this belt is one of the world's most prolific gold and silver mining districts. Georgius Agricola mentioned in 1556 that mining led to
deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...
, the disappearance of wildlife and watershed contamination. Large areas were deforested to exploit metal deposits. Reforms in the 1990s allowed foreign ownership and resulted in the reopening of mines and increased mining. According to the Secretaría de Economía, 204 mining companies with direct foreign investment had 310 ongoing projects in Mexico in 2006. In 2010, Mexico's mining output reached high levels: 19% of the world's silver production was extracted here, and the mining belt was the world's most productive district as it was historically. The environmental impacts are dramatic, resulting in landscape change and the spread of heavy metals.


Effect of drug violence

Drug violence, cultivation and trade in this region have affected the lifestyle of the Rarámuri, given the proximity of the people and the Sierra Madre, one of the most productive drug-growing regions on Earth. Logging is not only controlled by the Mexican government but also practiced illegally by loggers and drug lords who use the forests to grow marijuana or opium or as space for their operations. Drug cartels usually have links with logging companies that launder money earned in the drug trade. Narco-trafficking weighs heavily on the Tarahumara, as the drug lords force the farmers to grow drugs instead of their own crops. Cartels have exploited the Tarahumaras' reputation as long-distance runners by forcing them into running illegal drugs into the United States.


Forced displacement

The conditions of violence that are lived urge the Raramuri population to flee from their place of origin, often intimidated by criminal groups and extraction companies both Mexican and foreign.


Tourism

The remote terrain of the Sierra Madre has long served as a refuge for the Tarahumara. However, roads and tourism have expanded, bringing opportunities for some but problems for others. Ironically, the Rarámuri themselves seldom have sought this publicity. In the 1800s, attempts were made to build a railway. Currently, this line is used by the train Chihuahua Pacífico or
El Chepe EL, El or el may refer to: Religion * El (deity), a Semitic word for "God" People * EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer * El DeBarge, music artist * El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American po ...
to transport tourists, lured by false representations of the area as pure and pristine, to sightseeing locales. It stops near many Tarahumara villages, attracting visitors expecting to see primitive natives (the legend of the Tarahumara). Along with new auto roads, railways built into the area have developed logging and tourism, which have accelerated the rate of modernization among the Rarámuri.


See also

*
Ivan Ratkaj Ivan Ratkaj (22 May 1647 – 26 December 1683), also Ivan Rattkay, was a Croatian Jesuit missionary, explorer and cartographer. He wrote the first detailed description of the Tarahumara, a Native Mexican people. Biography Ratkaj was born in Pt ...
* Multiday races * Raramuri Criollo cattle * Tarahumara language


References


Bibliography

* *


Further reading

*:An introduction to the history and culture of the Tarahumara. *:A brief overview of Tarahumara culture and history. *:A comprehensive account of Rarámuri world view. *:A detailed case study of Tarahumara ceremonial healing. *:A modern edition of the first detailed report about the Tarahumara, written by a Croatian missionary in the 17th century. Published in Croatian, German and
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
. *:An account of Artaud's visit to the Tarahumara in the mid-1930s and of his peyote experience. *:An account of Biggers's sojourn among the Tarahumara in the late 1990s. *:An account of Wampler's travels on the Chihuahua al Pacifico railroad that winds along the Barranca Del Cobre through Tarahumara lands. *:An early anthropological account from the 1890s of the peoples in the remote mountains of northwest Mexico, including the Tarahumara. *:In another text, "La montaña de los signos" The Mountain of Signs" Artaud said the Rarámuri were descended from the lost people of Atlantis, a fictional island described by Plato. *:Provides the classic baseline ethnography of this group for the early 20th century. *
Antonin Artaud Antoine Marie Joseph Paul Artaud, better known as Antonin Artaud (; 4 September 1896 – 4 March 1948), was a French writer, poet, dramatist, visual artist, essayist, actor and theatre director. He is widely recognized as a major figure of the E ...
: ''The Peyote Dance'', (transl.
Helen Weaver Helen Weaver (June 18, 1931 – April 13, 2021) was an American writer and translator. She translated over fifty books from French. ''Antonin Artaud: Selected Writings'' was a Finalist for the National Book Award in translation in 1977. Weaver wa ...
; Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Inc., 1976) *Bennett, W. and Zingg, R. (1935) The Tarahumara. Univ. of Chicago Press. Reprinted by Rio Grande Press, 1976. *
Carl Sofus Lumholtz Carl Sofus Lumholtz (23 April 1851 – 5 May 1922) was a Norwegian explorer and ethnographer, best known for his meticulous field research and ethnographic publications on indigenous cultures of Australia and Mexico. Biography Born in Fåberg, N ...
: ''Unknown Mexico: A Record of Five Years' Exploration Among the Tribes of the Western Sierra Madre; In the Tierra Caliente of Tepic and Jalisco; and Among the Tarascos of Michoacan'', (New York: Scribner's and Sons, 1902) * Christopher McDougall: "The Men Who Live Forever", '' Men's Health'' April 2008 * Christopher McDougall: '' Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen'', (Knopf, 2009. ) * Cynthia Gorney: "A people apart", '' National Geographic Magazine'' November 2008 *Don Burgess. Photos by Don Burgess and
Bob Schalkwijk Benjamin Diederik "Bob" Schalkwijk (1933) is a Dutch photographer who lives and works in Mexico since 1959. His lifestyle and travel photography has been called a graphic testimony of Mexico's identity, transformations and continuities. Notable i ...
: ''Could you live like a Tarahumara? Podrias vivir como un tarahumara?'', (Taos, NM: Barranca Press, 2015. ) * Fructuoso Irigoyen Rascón. Cerocahui, una Comunidad en la Tarahumara. 40 Años Después. Don Quixote Editions/AmazonKindle. 2011. *
Ivan Ratkaj Ivan Ratkaj (22 May 1647 – 26 December 1683), also Ivan Rattkay, was a Croatian Jesuit missionary, explorer and cartographer. He wrote the first detailed description of the Tarahumara, a Native Mexican people. Biography Ratkaj was born in Pt ...
: ''Izvješća iz Tarahumare'' (Reports from Tarahumara), (Zagreb: Artresor, 1998) *
Jeff Biggers Jeff Biggers (born in 1963) is an American historian, journalist, playwright, and monologist. He is the author and editor of ten books. His most recent book,Sardinia: An Unexpected Journey in Italy, is a cultural history and travelogue of the isl ...
: ''In the Sierra Madre'', (University of Illinois Press, 2006) *Jerome M. Levi: "Tarahumara (Rarámuri)", In: David Carrasco, editor-in-chief. ''The Oxford Encyclopedia of Mesoamerican Cultures, Vol. 3''. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001: 183–185. *
Joseph Wampler Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...
: ''Mexico's 'Grand Canyon': The Region and the Story of the Tarahumara Indians and the F.C. Chihuahua al Pacifico'', (Berkeley: Self-Published, 1978. ) *Kennedy, J.G. (1978) Tarahumara of the Sierra Madre; Beer, Ecology and Social Organization, AHM Publishing Corp, Arlington Heights, Illinois. Republished, as The Tarahumara of the Sierra Madre: Survivors on the Canyon's Edge in 1996. * *Lumholtz, C. (1902) Unknown Mexico. 2 volumes. Scribner's Sons, New York. Republished in both English and Spanish. *Pennington, C. (1963) The Tarahumar of Mexico, their environment and material culture. Univ. of Utah Press. Reprint by Editorial Agata, Guadalajara, 1996. *Schalkwijk, Bob. (2014) Tarahumara. Mexico, DF: RED, Conaculta. 168 paginas. Español and English. Extensive collection of photographs by Bob Schalkwijk with an introduction by Ana Paula Pintado. *Wendell C. Bennett and Robert M. Zingg: ''The Tarahumara: an Indian tribe of northern Mexico'', (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1935) *William L. Merrill: ''Rarámuri Souls: Knowledge and Social Process in Northern Mexico'', (Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press, 1988) * *


External links


"The Men Who Live Forever"
'' Men's Health'' article on the Tarahumara's athletic prowess
''Tarahumara Books: Books by, for and about the Ralámuli of Chihuahua, Mexico.''

Tarahumara Foundation- Organization that has worked with indigenous communities for twenty years, improving child nutrition, education, food security, water availability and conservation

The Tarahumara Ultrarunners
{{Authority control Indigenous peoples of Aridoamerica Indigenous peoples in Mexico Chihuahua (state) Peoples of the Sierra Madre Occidental