History of the Mexico cliff dwelling Tarahumara Indians and their Traditional Pottery

Native History of Mexico’s Tarahumara (Raramuri) Indians

In their native tongue, the Tarahumara' word for themselves (Raramuri) means runners on foot. They are an ancient indigenous people of native Mexico, renowned for their long-distance running ability. While hunting, Tarahumara have been known to display the capability to run non-stop for days and as far as 100 miles to catch animals such as deer. The animals eventually tire and fall over from exhaustion.

Native history tells of the Tarahumara originally inhabiting much of the state of Chihuahua in Northern Mexico, the Tarahumara retreated to the Copper Canyon in the Sierra Madre Occidental on the arrival of Spanish explorers in the sixteenth century. By retreating into areas so remote, the Spanish were unable to conquer them or subject them to Spanish rule.

Today, the Tarahumara still live the most remote areas of the Copper Canyon inhabiting natural shelters such as caves or cliff overhangs and observe strict native traditional ceremonial practices. They keep to themselves, rarely intermarrying or even intermixing with the general population although recently Jesuit missionaries have been able to reach them and some of their religious ceremonies now mix traditional Tarahumara beliefs with Catholic doctrine.

Tarahumara Native Traditional Religion (with sprinkles of Catholicism)

The Tarahumara native traditional religion is characterized by 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 soul ascends a series of heavens, is reincarnated after each death, and after three lives becomes a moth on Earth. The moth represents the final existence of the soul. When the moth dies, the soul dies completely. However, this end is not regarded as negative or a punishment, but merely as a continuation of the order of life.

For the Tarahumara, God has a wife who dwells with him in heaven, along with their sons, and their daughters. The Devil and God are brothers (the Devil is the elder). Both jointly created the human race. God, using pure clay, created the Tarahumara, whereas the Devil, mixing white ash with his clay, created the Chabochi (non-Tarahumara). Therefore, the Devil is as much protector and life-giver to the Chabochis as God is to the Tarahumara. The Devil's world is not necessarily evil, but is tainted through its ties with the 'Chabochi'.

An amazing characteristic of the Tarahumara is their apparent inability to tell a lie. It seems ancient religion has bred into the Tarahumara a moral code so strict that they seem incapable of it. Some psychologists even suggest that over the centuries this value system has actually caused physiological changes in their brain that preclude speaking anything but the truth.

Native Traditional Pottery Designs

The Tarahumara are known for the brewing of tesguino, a corn-based beer brewed in ceramic designs pottery jars that feature prominently in many Tarahumara religious rituals. History pottery typically do not include paints and instead rely on accessories like rawhide to decorate the vessels. At ceremonies, Tesguino is considered a required drink for both men and women and has required protocol for serving it. It is also used to signal changes in self evaluation, for example a young girl will begin publicly drinking tesguino at religious ceremonies when she concludes that she is ready to look for a husband.

Native traditional pottery is also used to store the sacred peyote. The plant is believed to have four faces and sees everything; it is very powerful. Peyote spirits are said to be mischievous and capricious, therefore a Tarahumara will address a peyote plant directly and ask its permission to accompany him before the plant is picked.