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Tarahumara [archive]
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Tarahumara
Location: Chihuahua, northern Mexico
History: The Tarahumara Indians were hunters and gatherers. They developed agricultural technology and grew maize. They had a migratory lifestyle, moving each season to where their food needs would be met. Later, they descended with the Aztecs who settled further south. Before the Spaniards arrived in Mexico, Tarahumara communities ranged across the entire area of the northern state of Chihuahua. They rebelled against the Spanish as their territory shrank back deeper and deeper into the most isolated canyons. The Spanish forced them to work in the mines and they were treated as slaves. Some opted to retreat to more remote sites where they could live in peace, but this meant giving up their best lands.
Daily Life: Today many of them stay in permanent communities on the plateaus or have been assimilated into Mexican towns. But several thousand retain their traditional migratory lifestyle, moving into the canyons and then back to the plateaus annually. They tend apple and peach orchards on the plateaus, and oranges and papayas in the canyons. Respect for one another is very important to the Tarahumara. People are much more important than things.
Best Known Features: Famous for their ability to run, the Tarahumara routinely trot up and down the sides of the canyons for hunting, herding goats, carrying goods or just for fun. This ability is reflected in the name these people use for themselves: Rarámuri, meaning 'foot runners'. In their daily lives they regularly cover large distances by jogging. It is not their running speed, but their stamina which is exceptional; Tarahumaras have been known to hunt deer by chasing them until the deer drops from exhaustion.
Additional Reading
Tarahumara Indians
Indigenous People of Mexico
Uto-Aztecan Languages
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