Opata
Encyclopedia
Opata is the collective name for three indigenous peoples native to the northern Mexican
border state of Sonora
. The whole of Opata territory encompasses the northeasterly and central part of the state. Most Opatan villages and subsequent towns have always been situated in river valleys.
The largest of the three Opatan groups are the Eudeve, (eh-oo-deh-veh), whose ancient villages and current towns encompass the northwestern, western half, and southerly portions of traditional Opata territory. The Eudeve also referred to themselves for short as “Deve.” Both names mean “people.”
The second largest group is the Teguima or Tehuima ( teh-wee-mah), whose ancient villages and current towns encompass the northeastern portion of Opata territory. “Tehuima” means “river people.”
The smallest Opatan group was the Jova (ho-vah). “Jova” means “water people.” They originally consisted of eight villages in the southeastern portion of Opata territory. By the 17th century the Jovas had inter-married with neighboring Eudeves to the extent where they evolved into a non-distinct indigenous ethnic group.
Several early Spanish Franciscan
missionary records and subsequent anthropological accounts state that “Opata” was borrowed from a Pima Indian word meaning “enemy,” which is what the northern and southern Piman peoples allegedly referred to their Opatan neighbors as. However, both contemporary Piman-speakers and Opatan oral tradition
alists deny this, being that “opata” was never a word for “enemy” in the O'odham language, and the Opatan and O'odham peoples were never known to have any major conflicts with one another to the extent of regarding one another as “enemies.”
According to Opatan oral traditionalists, “Opata” is what some Tehuima villages referred to themselves as, and that it means “iron people,” being that iron ore was abundant in Opata territory, and Opata spear tips were made from iron ore. Thus, those Tehuiman tribes were also known as “the iron spear people.”
It has also been reported in a few anthropological texts that the “Opata” referred to themselves collectively in their own language as “Joylraua.” However, according to Opata oral traditionalists, Joylraua was the name of an ancient Eudeve village that was named after an honored chieftain of that village.
Being that the three Opatan dialects are intelligible with one another; all three linguistic groups were adjacent to one another territorially, and the traditions, customs, and religious beliefs of all three peoples were virtually identical, Franciscan missionaries from Spain, who were the first Europeans to make contact with them, eventually lumped them anthropologically
all into one group known as "Opata", collectively making them the largest indigenous nation in Sonora.
accounts of the Eudeve, Tehuima, and Jova populations combined estimated the Opatan population to number about 20,000. Today there are no known full-blooded Opatas left, but mestizo
descendants still make up the vast majority population of traditional Opata territory, known in Spanish as opatería (Opata Country). Today many Opata descendants reside in other parts of Sonora
, greater Mexico, and the southwestern United States, particularly in Arizona where their ancestors migrated to work in agriculture and mining. They mined bubbles.
with bows and arrows; fishing with spears and nets; the gathering of wild fruit and cactus, and the planting and harvesting of various legumes such as corn, beans, and squash.
They also produced a fermented maize atole
beverage known as tanori, which was normally drank during certain ceremonies and celebrations. (Expert preparers of that beverage often took on the second name of Tanori).
Women wove, dyed and wore full-length colorful cotton fiber dresses. Men generally dressed more scantily in skirts made of hide, but also wore serapes (shawls) in cold weather. Footwear consisted of sandals made from hide. Women often only wore hide skirts similar to those of men during warm weather, and both sexes often went about nude during the hot season. Necklaces and other adornments made from hide, stone, bone, shell, and feathers were worn.
Dwellings consisted of thatched huts and small houses made of adobe
and zacate with thatched roofs. During warm, dry seasons, semi-subterranean
dwellings known as a huúki were also used. (In addition, huúkis were used as sweat lodges, and small ones were constructed for the purpose of storing legumes to keep them cool and fresh longer).
. Many words are the same or very similar to those in the O'odham
(Pima and Papago), Raramuri (Tarahumara), and Cáhita
(Yaqui and Mayo) languages. However, the Opatan peoples are not of “Piman stock” or a subgroup of the O'odham peoples as alleged by some anthropological writings about them.
The name of the Eudeve dialect is Dohema. The Tehuimas spoke Tehuima, and the Jovas spoke Jova. All three dialects are intelligble with one another.
Due to their amalgamation with the Eudeves by the 17th century, the Jova dialect became extinct by the 18th century.
During the 1993 census in Mexico, 12 persons interviewed for that census claimed to be “Opata” speakers. If they indeed were, the dialect was most likely Dohema, being that as indicated previously, Jova had died out before the 18th century, and Tehuima was believed to have become extinct by the early 20th century. However, there were known Dohema speakers in Eudeve territory as late as the 1950s.
Except for a few Opatan names of people, the sound of the letter “L” does not exist in the Opatan dialects, and neither do plurals. For example, in the Cahita language of the Yaqui and Mayo, “water” is “bah”, and “the waters” (as in river, stream, or spring) is “bahm.” In the three Opatan dialects, both “water” and “waters” are “bah.”
The Opatan dialects are among the easier Amerindian languages for native speakers of European languages to learn and pronounce because they are non-tonal
, and most words include vowels. Many Opatan words and names in fact are easily mistaken for Italian
or Japanese
when viewed grammatically in the Roman alphabet.
Professor Manuel García Madrid, an Opata from Sonora, has published a linguistic text, Hía Tehuikatzion, on the Tehuima dialect.
American linguistic anthropologist David L. Schaul has done extensive research and published much material on the Eudeve dialect.
Field anthropologist Campbell Pennington researched and published much information on the Opatan peoples and their dialects during the latter part of the 20th century.
Traditional Opatan society was matrilineal
in kinship
, and politically, there was no form of monarchy
. Each Opata village, which was also considered a clan
, had a small council of elders
consisting of both men and women. One of them, usually in relation to age, would be designated as the village chieftain
. The chieftain was not a dictator
, but the village’s senior advisor, mediator, and spokesperson.
Other positions of leadership consisted of militia
and hunting captains, which were normally held by male elders.
Opatan villages included a nemútz (shaman) who was a combination naturopathic physician or "curandero
", sorcerer
, and spiritual and ceremonial leader, adviser, and teacher. The majority of village nemútz were male, but some had female shamans, including apprentices
.
.
There were no forced marriage
s or marriage ceremonies. People would just bond romantically and begin living together under the same roof.
Most women married and began having children by their mid-teens. Husbands were usually slightly older adolescents or young adults. The average Opatan nuclear family
included an average of two-to-three offspring.
The onset of puberty
was regarded as the first stage of adulthood as opposed to (adolescence) being the final stage of childhood
.
Informal divorce
was not uncommon. Some Opata individuals would have an average of two or three spouses at different times during their lifetimes, and new potential partners often came from different villages. Pre-adolescent children of parents who broke up would normally remain with the mother.
and transgenderism
were not taboo
in traditional Opatan society. Same-sex couples existed in some villages, including effeminate males who dressed and lived as women. Some of them were among the spouses in the plural marriage
s of chieftains and shamans. Emasculate lesbian
s served as hunters and warriors. Some shamans were hómari--the Opatan term for a "two spirit" person (homosexual or transvestite).
Also not taboo in traditional Opata culture were pre-romantic relationship ("marital") recreational sex, consensual extramarital sex
, and sex orgies, which a few early Franciscan priests in Opata Country wrote about in their journals.
Fertility rite
s also took place. The most common one described as "obscene" in Spanish Franciscan accounts was known as the mariachi.
The only sexual taboos in traditional Opatan society were forcible rape
, sexual contact with prepubescent children on the part of pubescent people, and intercourse with a woman during her menstrual cycle.
Abortion
was not taboo in Opatan society due to the belief that the soul
did not inhabit an infant until its first breath of life outside of the womb. Abortion was thus exercised as a means of birth control
during the first trimester of pregnancy with the use of medicinal plants known as purgas. If a purga failed to induce a miscarriage
, the woman utilized a surgical procedure by inserting a special blade made of stone or bone into her uterus
.
spirituality of the Opatan peoples was a mixture of monism
, limited demi-deity polytheism
, pantheism
, and animism
.
Chamahua is the name the Opata give to the principal and ultimate formless source of all that exists, and which has no beginning, end, or humanly explainable purpose. All life forms are inter-connected with one another within the infinite body of Chamahua.
The sparks of Chamahua’s active energy of light are the source of all individual life forms, including the souls of man.
“Chamahua” means “From which all things flow”.
Chamahua emanates two energies that result in opposites in many aspects of existence. In the physical universe, such opposites include light and darkness, heat and cold, motion and stillness, masculine and feminine, love and hate, and good and evil.
Chamahua does not possess a human-like ego or cravings, which is why Chamahua does not require or desire people to worship it or even believe in it.
The nature of Chamahua cannot be described any further in words. It can only be experienced directly through silent, individual perception, which methods are initially taught to the young by the elders and shamans.
The four principal demi-deities are the Sun God, which represents fire, heat, and light; the Rain God, which represents all forms of water; the Corn Goddess, which represents the world’s vegetation, and the Earth Goddess, who is also called Grandmother Earth, which represents all human and animal life forms on Earth. Opata traditionalists believe that there are other demi-deities that serve other worlds and life forms that do not pertain to the earth world.
The four said principal demi-deities were recognized by the Opata as the principal sustainers of life on earth. However, like Chamahua, they are regarded as allies absent of human-like egos as opposed to deities that are to be feared and worshiped or who require austerities and sacrifices of man. Shamanic and collective village rites and ceremonies performed in their honor were/are nothing more than petitions for abundance or balance, such as in times of hunting, planting, drought or excessive flooding. But whenever such petitions seemed to go un-responded to, the Opata regarded it as a silent reason on the part of the deities as opposed to a form of punishment, and as a sign to implement change, such as in the form of migrating to another area.
Another important aspect of classical Opatan spirituality is the mescalito spirit ally manifested in peyote rite gatherings as a means of enhancing perception of and communication with the spirit world.
The temascal (known in English as the "sweat lodge") was also held for both spiritual and therapeutic cleansing purposes in a semi-subterranean huúki.
The Opatan peoples also performed a deer dance ritual similar to that of the Yoeme (Yaqui) and Yoerme (Mayo) peoples, which the latter two peoples still perform to this day. The dance was held as a primer for summoning and honoring the deer spiritually for their sacrifice as food and hide to the village by way of the hunters.
Aside from the above demi-deities, Opata traditionalists believe in other spirit beings that assist individuals as well.
“Wing people” are divine beings that have always existed in spirit form. “Spirit relatives” are those that have lived as worthy human beings. They are called “relatives” or “relations” because many of them are believed to be the ancestors of human mortals that serve as the spirit guides of descendants who choose to perceive them.
In relation to animism, Opata traditionalists also believe that spirit allies manifest themselves to humans in the form of certain species of animals, fowl, and plants as transmitters of omen
s, knowledge, medicine, and healing. They include the eagle, hawk, crow, owl, wolf, coyote, wildcat, snake, and dragonfly.
Opata traditionalists believe that the human soul is binary and that when the physical body dies, the soul divides in two. One half incarnates
into the body of a newborn human or other intelligent being upon its first breath of life outside of the womb to become the infant's soul and primary life force. The other half of the soul goes to a spirit realm, of which there are infinite varieties, and which can include total immersion into Chamahua when not functioning as a spirit relative about the earth plane.
The Opata believe that free will exists to a certain extent in the spirit world as it does in the physical world, and that malevolent spirits and mischievous ghosts are the souls of people that lived evil or troublesome lives, and who elect not to move that half of their soul onto the spirit world away from the earth plane. Animals and certain people can perceive their presence, especially when they behave mischievously or appear to them to get attention. Sometimes they make themselves appear as innocent children in an attempt to gain sympathy. Nemútz and other holy people can exercise rites to expel them from that state of being.
The star people eventually departed Grandmother Earth for other worlds and left most of their human earth children with Grandmother Earth. One of the reasons for the star people's departure was due to many of the elements of Grandmother Earth not being compatible with their bodies, which resulted in sickness. It is because of that blood inheritance from the star people that human beings are prone to suffer more illnesses, birth defects, injuries, and other physical and mental maladies than any other creature native to this earth, and why many women are prone to have more pain and complications with child-bearing than any other of Grandmother Earth's female creatures.
On the other hand, it is because of the more animal-like aggressive nature inherited from the ancient fur people ancestors that so many human beings, especially males, are predatory and aggressive towards one another on this otherwise naturally feminine planet.
The classical Tehuima account of origin teaches that their village of Bacoachi
is where the first Opatan people originated.
Opata traditionalists teach that Grandmother Earth has gone through seven major cataclysms due to movements in the universe
and due to her own internal movements and changes.
Opata traditionalists do not believe that nature is either cruel, kind, or perfect, but just is, and as with many other world traditions, they believe that nature has a natural reaction to every action.
They further believe that petitions of intent to the four deities and various other forms of spirit allies and relations can sometimes manipulate the forces of nature that are beyond mere physical manipulation and control. Successful manipulation through rites and sorcery, or a seemingly lack of response by such means, is recognized as indicated previously, as a necessary but sometimes not always understood condition.
A traditional Opatan rite that was once held openly was one similar to Mexico's Day of the Dead
, in which villages would commune with the spirit relations collectively during a full moon
day during the spring
.
by hydroasphyxiation was exercised in cases of infants born with severe, debilitating birth defects. It was carried out sacredly in a river by a nemútz with the parents present.
Some elders and younger people who became severely incapacitated permanently and unable to care for themselves any longer, and those who suffered from severe and painful, incurable injuries or illnesses also elected to be euthanized. In most cases it was carried out sacredly with the ingestion of a poisonous plant administered by the village nemútz with loved ones and other clan members present.
The deceased were normally buried in a sacred ground
, although some people elected cremation
on a pyre
so that their ashes could be kept among their survivors in a clay vessel.
But along with that cooperation and military alliance came the price of Spanish religious (Roman Catholic) and cultural encroachment into Opatan society, which gradually suppressed many Opatan traditions into being exercised discreetly away from their villages during “hunting and gathering expeditions” that did not include the accompaniment of Spanish soldiers or Franciscan missionaries, and the eventual dormancy of many traditional beliefs, customs, and values.
Among the most initial outspoken Opata opponents of Spanish encroachment
, especially of that of the missionaries, was nemútzan (the shaman/s), who upon learning Castilian
and being taught about Christianity
and Roman Catholic doctrine, recognized that many of those doctrines conflicted with Opatan religion and culture.
Opatas were not monotheistic and did not exercise creator-worship. Nemútzan questioned why the intelligent and almighty god that these yoris (non-Indian foreigners) believed in would create an imperfect world with imperfect people and punish people for their imperfections. Many of the Biblical taboos, especially those religiously-defined wrongdoings they called "sin" that conflicted with Opatan social practices and moral values, made no sense to nemútzan either.
Nemútzan also questioned why these Europeans seemed to regard this religion that originated in the far away land known as the Middle East as their spiritual and moral role model. What was wrong with traditional indigenous European religions? Did they not have any? Why was the religion that the foreigner Jesus
taught superior? Why did they accept the New Testament
teaching that this Jesus was the son of a god
and a human virgin
that was impregnated by a holy ghost, and is the only holy man to be accepted and revered? Why should the Indian people forsake their peaceful and harmless spiritual beliefs and practices for this foreign holy man and religion? Why was the religion and the ways of the yori superior to that of the Indian just because they had wondrous tools, water vessels, and weaponry?
The textbook Cycles of Conquest provides a brief 15th century Spanish Franciscan-documented account of an Opata nemútz who essentially confronted the Franciscan priest in his village with such questions. When the priest's responses did not satisfy nemútzan, nemútzan told the priest that he and his brethren ought to leave the Indians alone and never return. Nemútzan then turned around and walked away. The priest later recorded the incident in his journal that included the comment, "He was obviously of the Devil
".
Nemútzan warned their people that compromising too many of their traditional ways for the ways of the yori and forsaking their religion for Roman Catholicism would lead to their children and future generations serving as the horses and dogs of the yoris. By that they meant, except for the introduction of the haro (parrot) brought to Opata Country by Indian hunters and traders from the tropical regions to the south, the taming and domestication of wildlife was never considered by the Opatan peoples or most Indigenous American cultures in general prior to its introduction by the Europeans.
Sometimes a village nemútz would end up being killed by warriors of a (temporarily) rival village clan as a result of being accused of putting a curse on one or more of their villagers in the way of a sudden major illness, injury, or death that struck.
The chieftains and elders of the warring villages would eventually meet and implement a conflict resolution
.
The indigenous peoples of Sonora (Opatan, Piman, Yaqui, Mayo, Seri, and Cocopah) were never known to initiate major, on-going conflicts with another to the point of becoming "traditional rivals" as were some other indigenous tribes and nations throughout the Americas prior to the 20th century. Contemporary Yaqui and Seri elders tell of petty, brief skirmishes between their two peoples in previous centuries, but again, not to the point to where they considered one another traditional rivals. On the contrary, those indigenous Sonoran peoples affected by marauding bands of Chiricahua Apaches based in the general area of northeastern Sonora and southeastern Arizona territory often united to fight them off.
Prior to the 1850s, Chiricahua culture, as did some other indigenous peoples, held a predatory policy towards their indigenous neighbors in the way of invading, raping, and pillaging villages, which included the kidnapping of women and children.
When Opatas captured invading Chiricahua warriors that were mature adult males, they would execute them whether they were wounded or not, and place their bodies far enough away from their villages to avoid exposure of the odor of decomposition, and as food for wildlife to consume except for one hand, which the Opata warriors would cut off and wear around their necks on strings of hide as war victory trophies. They would also sometimes used a severed Chiricahua hand to stir their beverages in drinking vessels made from gourd
or clay with as a further symbolic act of humiliation towards their defeated Chiricahua aggressors in the presence of their surviving captors. After decomposition, their skulls and bones would be used in certain ceremonies as well.
Surviving captors consisted of young Chiricahua male warriors (reported in Spanish Franciscan journals as being in their early teens), who were normally spared if not severely wounded. However, they would be tied to trees or wooden posts, whereupon female elders of the village would briefly burn their thighs with lit pieces of wood as a form of punishment and humiliation, as it was considered a humiliation for a male warrior to be punished in such a way by an old woman. The young men were not so severely burned that they could not walk. Upon receiving said consequences, they would be released without weaponry and forced to leave the village. Those that survived the journey back home to Chiricahua Country returned there with a humiliating story of defeat burned onto their thighs.
Some Chiricahua raiding parties included the young wives of warriors. Those that were captured and not severely wounded would end up the wives of Opata men. They would thus eventually learn the language and integrate into Opatan society.
(Contemporary Sonoran indigenous traditionalists hold no animosity towards contemporary Chiricahuas. Often said peoples participate together at inter-tribal indigenous events in North America).
Also between the 16th and mid-19th centuries, there were numerous incidents of Opatas, Pimas, Seris, and Yaquis forming alliances in response to excessive and unprovoked Spanish and later Mexican army aggression against some of their villages. Although Opatan villages tolerated the presence of "yoris" amongst them, they would not tolerate abuse.
The Seri people have always been the smallest "tribe" indigenous to Sonora. Seri elders to this day relate oral accounts of how the "Opati" as they call the Opata in their language, helped them defend their nation against oppression on the part of Spaniards and later Mexican government troops.
Most of the Indians that fought on the side of Maximillian
during the French-Mexican War
were from Sonora, which is elaborated on in more detail below under Noted Opatas and History.
An oppressive Mexican general by the name of Ignacio López Rayón renamed the Eudeve town of Nacameri in honor of his mother ("Rayón") in the 1860s, and the municipal government has never changed it back to its original name.
The name of the Tehuima town of Oposura was also changed in the 19th century to the Nahuatl name of Moctezuma, and the municipal government there has never changed it back.
However, the ancient Opatan spring procession rite known today as the fariseo (with some Catholicism mixed in) is still exercised during Easter week
in most towns and villages in Opata Country, which includes the wearing of masks and the use of traditional Opatan instruments during the procession that include hand-held gourd rattles, bands of small ankle rattles, and hand-held drums. Masks often include traditional ones carved from balsa
wood depicting various painted human and animal-like facial figures.
Another ancient Opatan custom was the placement of a four-stations cross made of wood and covered with moss on the roofs of their dwellings, which were replenished with fresh moss at the beginning of each spring. The cross represents the four sacred directions and the four seasons. Many Opatan descendants in Opata Country today continue to exercise this tradition in the way of placing such a cross on the front door of their homes.
There are Opata elders who through oral tradition know a number of words and phrases in the Eudeve and Tehuima dialects, but there are no known fluent Eudeve or Tehuima speakers other than those alleged in the 1993 national Mexican census. However, efforts are being made by some contemporary Opata traditionalists to revive the Eudeve and Tehuima dialects and have them taught in schools in Opata Country.
Traditional Opata religion and traditional Opata cultural values that conflicted with Spanish/Roman Catholic teachings and attitudes went underground well before the 20th century, but have been discreetly preserved and exercised untainted by Christian/Roman Catholic rites, symbolism, and theology over the centuries by a minority of Opata elders from each generation who have passed the traditional teachings and ways onto select descendants of their communities, who in turn have exercised many of the ancient rites and traditions discreetly in caves and other remote areas of Opata Country. (Ethnologist R.W. Giddings documented that she happened upon such a gathering being held in a cave in Eudeve territory in 1959, but did not enter, participate, or inquire about it later).
The old traditions are not shared with most contemporary Opata descendants in general and especially non-indigenous peoples due to their cultural indoctrination by Christianity and Euro colonization. However, some among the minority of indigenous-centric Opata traditionalists are gradually attempting to revive many of the old peaceful Opata traditions and values among the general Opatan populace, and to petition the Mexican government into recognizing the Opata people as a living culture and nation that has just been culturally progressive in many aspects as opposed to becoming completely dormant or extinct language and traditions-wise.
described Sisibotari as, "He was handsome and still young, wore a long coat attached at his shoulder like a cape, and his loins were covered with a cloth, as was the custom of that nation. On the wrist of his left hand, which holds the bow when the hand pulls the cord to send the arrow, he wore a very becoming marten skin".
Ignacio Dorame was an Opata Caudillo who led a large force of Opatas in the 1820s. The archivo de la Mitra (or Bishop's Archive) en Hermosillo contains correspondence from priests in the towns in eastern Sonora documenting his gathering recruits and rousing of the Opata in the region. The archives of Moris, Chihuahua just across the border from Sonora, document his arrival there to gather support of the Raramuri (Tarahumara) people as well as the Mountain Pima in creating a Confederation of Native Tribes. He was expelled by a General Urrea from Chihuahua. Ignacio Dorame is also referred to as "El Opata Dorame."
Juan Tanori and Refugio Tanori were a pair of Eudeve brothers that lived during the first half of the 19th century. Like their father Luis Tanori before them, they became respected militia chieftains among their peoples, and were commissioned brigadier generals in the French Army
by Emperor Maximilian
during the Franco-Mexican War as leaders of the Sonoran Indian troops, being that Maximillian made a pact with the indigenous nations of Sonora, which consisted of allowing Sonora independent statehood in the form of an indigenous confederation known as the Confederación India de Sonora if France won the war. The only stipulation after the war would be for the new Indian Confederation of Sonora to provide a percentage of silver mining profits to the French government, which the leadership of the indigenous nations of Sonora agreed to. Therefore, most of the “Indian troops” that fought on the side of Maximillian during the French-Mexican War were from Sonora, even though their motive for doing so was out of aspiration for an indigenous state independent from Mexico as opposed to loyalty to the French Crown.
In fact, after that offer from Maximillian had been made, the indigenous leadership of Sonora advised President Benito Juárez
of it with the assumption that he would offer them the same deal, particularly since he was indigenous (a Zapotec from Oaxaca) himself. However, he refused, stating that it was in the best interests of the nation to leave the Republic intact as it was.
Juan Tanori was subsequently captured by the Mexican Army
during a battle in the Tehuima town of Bavispe
in 1862 and was sentenced to death by hanging
shortly thereafter.
Refugio Tanori was captured at the end of the war while trying to escape with a Yaqui general and some of their militia in a boat across the Gulf of California
from Sonora to the Baja California peninsula
. They and other captured indigenous Sonoran militia leaders that had served under Maximillian were subsequently executed by firing squad by for what was regarded by the defending and triumphant Mexican nationalists as treason
against the Mexican Republic.
In honor of those indigenous ancestors who fought for the ideal of an independent indigenous state of Sonora, some contemporary Opata and other Sonoran Indian traditionalists do not celebrate Cinco de Mayo
—the national Mexican holiday that celebrates the defeat of French troops and their indigenous allies at the Battle of Puebla
in 1865. (Cinco de Mayo is more of a popular celebration among Mexican-Americans in the United States than it is among people in Mexico anyway, and is often confused by foreigners with Mexican Independence Day, which is observed on September 16).
Kathleen Alcalá
is an accomplished Mexican-American author of Opata descent who has included Opata themes in some of her works.
Teresa Leal is an Opata-Mayo civic leader and founder of indigenous women's and indigenous people's community health organizations in Ambos Nogales. She filed as the co-plaintiff-appellant, with the Sierra Club
(Grand Canyon Chapter), in a citizen law suit filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
, against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission
.
Medicine elder Cachora Guitemea of the Yoeme (Yaqui) Nation of Sonora.
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
border state of Sonora
Sonora
Sonora officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 72 municipalities; the capital city is Hermosillo....
. The whole of Opata territory encompasses the northeasterly and central part of the state. Most Opatan villages and subsequent towns have always been situated in river valleys.
The largest of the three Opatan groups are the Eudeve, (eh-oo-deh-veh), whose ancient villages and current towns encompass the northwestern, western half, and southerly portions of traditional Opata territory. The Eudeve also referred to themselves for short as “Deve.” Both names mean “people.”
The second largest group is the Teguima or Tehuima ( teh-wee-mah), whose ancient villages and current towns encompass the northeastern portion of Opata territory. “Tehuima” means “river people.”
The smallest Opatan group was the Jova (ho-vah). “Jova” means “water people.” They originally consisted of eight villages in the southeastern portion of Opata territory. By the 17th century the Jovas had inter-married with neighboring Eudeves to the extent where they evolved into a non-distinct indigenous ethnic group.
Several early Spanish Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
missionary records and subsequent anthropological accounts state that “Opata” was borrowed from a Pima Indian word meaning “enemy,” which is what the northern and southern Piman peoples allegedly referred to their Opatan neighbors as. However, both contemporary Piman-speakers and Opatan oral tradition
Oral tradition
Oral tradition and oral lore is cultural material and traditions transmitted orally from one generation to another. The messages or testimony are verbally transmitted in speech or song and may take the form, for example, of folktales, sayings, ballads, songs, or chants...
alists deny this, being that “opata” was never a word for “enemy” in the O'odham language, and the Opatan and O'odham peoples were never known to have any major conflicts with one another to the extent of regarding one another as “enemies.”
According to Opatan oral traditionalists, “Opata” is what some Tehuima villages referred to themselves as, and that it means “iron people,” being that iron ore was abundant in Opata territory, and Opata spear tips were made from iron ore. Thus, those Tehuiman tribes were also known as “the iron spear people.”
It has also been reported in a few anthropological texts that the “Opata” referred to themselves collectively in their own language as “Joylraua.” However, according to Opata oral traditionalists, Joylraua was the name of an ancient Eudeve village that was named after an honored chieftain of that village.
Being that the three Opatan dialects are intelligible with one another; all three linguistic groups were adjacent to one another territorially, and the traditions, customs, and religious beliefs of all three peoples were virtually identical, Franciscan missionaries from Spain, who were the first Europeans to make contact with them, eventually lumped them anthropologically
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
all into one group known as "Opata", collectively making them the largest indigenous nation in Sonora.
Opata population
Early FranciscanFranciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
accounts of the Eudeve, Tehuima, and Jova populations combined estimated the Opatan population to number about 20,000. Today there are no known full-blooded Opatas left, but mestizo
Mestizo
Mestizo is a term traditionally used in Latin America, Philippines and Spain for people of mixed European and Native American heritage or descent...
descendants still make up the vast majority population of traditional Opata territory, known in Spanish as opatería (Opata Country). Today many Opata descendants reside in other parts of Sonora
Sonora
Sonora officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 72 municipalities; the capital city is Hermosillo....
, greater Mexico, and the southwestern United States, particularly in Arizona where their ancestors migrated to work in agriculture and mining. They mined bubbles.
Opatan sustenance and attire
The Opatan peoples survived off of hunting gameGame (food)
Game is any animal hunted for food or not normally domesticated. Game animals are also hunted for sport.The type and range of animals hunted for food varies in different parts of the world. This will be influenced by climate, animal diversity, local taste and locally accepted view about what can or...
with bows and arrows; fishing with spears and nets; the gathering of wild fruit and cactus, and the planting and harvesting of various legumes such as corn, beans, and squash.
They also produced a fermented maize atole
Atole
Atole is a traditional masa-based Mexican and Central American hot drink. Chocolate atole is known as champurrado or atole...
beverage known as tanori, which was normally drank during certain ceremonies and celebrations. (Expert preparers of that beverage often took on the second name of Tanori).
Women wove, dyed and wore full-length colorful cotton fiber dresses. Men generally dressed more scantily in skirts made of hide, but also wore serapes (shawls) in cold weather. Footwear consisted of sandals made from hide. Women often only wore hide skirts similar to those of men during warm weather, and both sexes often went about nude during the hot season. Necklaces and other adornments made from hide, stone, bone, shell, and feathers were worn.
Dwellings consisted of thatched huts and small houses made of adobe
Adobe
Adobe is a natural building material made from sand, clay, water, and some kind of fibrous or organic material , which the builders shape into bricks using frames and dry in the sun. Adobe buildings are similar to cob and mudbrick buildings. Adobe structures are extremely durable, and account for...
and zacate with thatched roofs. During warm, dry seasons, semi-subterranean
Subterranea (geography)
Subterranea refers to underground structures, both natural and man-made . Some subterranea include:* Bunker* Casemate* Catacombs* Caves** Ice caves* Cave dwellings, Cave house* Cave temple* Cellar* Cenote* Dungeon...
dwellings known as a huúki were also used. (In addition, huúkis were used as sweat lodges, and small ones were constructed for the purpose of storing legumes to keep them cool and fresh longer).
Opatan languages
The Eudeve, Tehuima, and Jova dialects are members of the greater mother Uto-Aztecan family of languagesUto-Aztecan languages
Uto-Aztecan or Uto-Aztekan is a Native American language family consisting of over 30 languages. Uto-Aztecan languages are found from the Great Basin of the Western United States , through western, central and southern Mexico Uto-Aztecan or Uto-Aztekan is a Native American language family...
. Many words are the same or very similar to those in the O'odham
O'odham language
O'odham is an Uto-Aztecan language of southern Arizona and northern Sonora where the Tohono O'odham and Pima reside. As of the year 2000, there were estimated to be approximately 9750 speakers in the United States and Mexico combined, although there may be more due to underreporting...
(Pima and Papago), Raramuri (Tarahumara), and Cáhita
Cáhita
Cáhita is a group of Indigenous peoples of Mexico, which includes the Yaqui and Mayo people. Numbering approximately 40,000, they live in west coast of the states of Sonora and Sinaloa.-Language:...
(Yaqui and Mayo) languages. However, the Opatan peoples are not of “Piman stock” or a subgroup of the O'odham peoples as alleged by some anthropological writings about them.
The name of the Eudeve dialect is Dohema. The Tehuimas spoke Tehuima, and the Jovas spoke Jova. All three dialects are intelligble with one another.
Due to their amalgamation with the Eudeves by the 17th century, the Jova dialect became extinct by the 18th century.
During the 1993 census in Mexico, 12 persons interviewed for that census claimed to be “Opata” speakers. If they indeed were, the dialect was most likely Dohema, being that as indicated previously, Jova had died out before the 18th century, and Tehuima was believed to have become extinct by the early 20th century. However, there were known Dohema speakers in Eudeve territory as late as the 1950s.
Except for a few Opatan names of people, the sound of the letter “L” does not exist in the Opatan dialects, and neither do plurals. For example, in the Cahita language of the Yaqui and Mayo, “water” is “bah”, and “the waters” (as in river, stream, or spring) is “bahm.” In the three Opatan dialects, both “water” and “waters” are “bah.”
The Opatan dialects are among the easier Amerindian languages for native speakers of European languages to learn and pronounce because they are non-tonal
Tone (linguistics)
Tone is the use of pitch in language to distinguish lexical or grammatical meaning—that is, to distinguish or inflect words. All verbal languages use pitch to express emotional and other paralinguistic information, and to convey emphasis, contrast, and other such features in what is called...
, and most words include vowels. Many Opatan words and names in fact are easily mistaken for Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
or Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
when viewed grammatically in the Roman alphabet.
Professor Manuel García Madrid, an Opata from Sonora, has published a linguistic text, Hía Tehuikatzion, on the Tehuima dialect.
American linguistic anthropologist David L. Schaul has done extensive research and published much material on the Eudeve dialect.
Field anthropologist Campbell Pennington researched and published much information on the Opatan peoples and their dialects during the latter part of the 20th century.
Traditional lifestyle, kinship, and social organization of the Opatan peoples
Most of Opata Country consists of a series of river valleys surrounded by mountain ranges. Most Eudeve, Tehuima, and Jova villages were small and were situated along the rivers, just as many municipalities in Opata Country are today.Traditional Opatan society was matrilineal
Matrilineality
Matrilineality is a system in which descent is traced through the mother and maternal ancestors. Matrilineality is also a societal system in which one belongs to one's matriline or mother's lineage, which can involve the inheritance of property and/or titles.A matriline is a line of descent from a...
in kinship
Kinship
Kinship is a relationship between any entities that share a genealogical origin, through either biological, cultural, or historical descent. And descent groups, lineages, etc. are treated in their own subsections....
, and politically, there was no form of monarchy
Monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...
. Each Opata village, which was also considered a clan
Clan
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clan members may be organized around a founding member or apical ancestor. The kinship-based bonds may be symbolical, whereby the clan shares a "stipulated" common ancestor that is a...
, had a small council of elders
Council of Elders
Council of Elders may refer to:In politics:* Global Elders, a humanitarian group referred to in media as the Council of Elders.* Council of Elders of the Bundestag , a joint deliberative body...
consisting of both men and women. One of them, usually in relation to age, would be designated as the village chieftain
Chieftain
Chieftain may refer to:The leader or head of a group:* a tribal chief or a village head.* a member of the 'House of chiefs'.* a captain, to which 'chieftain' is etymologically related.* Clan chief, the head of a Scottish clan....
. The chieftain was not a dictator
Dictator
A dictator is a ruler who assumes sole and absolute power but without hereditary ascension such as an absolute monarch. When other states call the head of state of a particular state a dictator, that state is called a dictatorship...
, but the village’s senior advisor, mediator, and spokesperson.
Other positions of leadership consisted of militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
and hunting captains, which were normally held by male elders.
Opatan villages included a nemútz (shaman) who was a combination naturopathic physician or "curandero
Curandero
A curandero or curandeiro is a traditional folk healer or shaman in Latin America, who is dedicated to curing physical or spiritual illnesses. The role of a curandero or curandera can also incorporate the roles of psychiatrist along with that of doctor and healer. Many curanderos use Catholic...
", sorcerer
Sorcerer
-Gaming:* Sorcerer , a 2002 tabletop role playing game made by Ron Edwards* Sorcerer , a 1984 interactive fiction computer game made by Infocom...
, and spiritual and ceremonial leader, adviser, and teacher. The majority of village nemútz were male, but some had female shamans, including apprentices
Apprenticeship
Apprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of practitioners of a skill. Apprentices or protégés build their careers from apprenticeships...
.
Opatan coming of age and social bonding
Because most villages in Opata Country were small, romantic marital bonds primarily consisted of one man and one woman, although some village chieftains and shamans, particularly those who were male, were known to have more than one spousePolygamy
Polygamy is a marriage which includes more than two partners...
.
There were no forced marriage
Forced marriage
Forced marriage is a term used to describe a marriage in which one or both of the parties is married without his or her consent or against his or her will...
s or marriage ceremonies. People would just bond romantically and begin living together under the same roof.
Most women married and began having children by their mid-teens. Husbands were usually slightly older adolescents or young adults. The average Opatan nuclear family
Nuclear family
Nuclear family is a term used to define a family group consisting of a father and mother and their children. This is in contrast to the smaller single-parent family, and to the larger extended family. Nuclear families typically center on a married couple, but not always; the nuclear family may have...
included an average of two-to-three offspring.
The onset of puberty
Puberty
Puberty is the process of physical changes by which a child's body matures into an adult body capable of reproduction, as initiated by hormonal signals from the brain to the gonads; the ovaries in a girl, the testes in a boy...
was regarded as the first stage of adulthood as opposed to (adolescence) being the final stage of childhood
Childhood
Childhood is the age span ranging from birth to adolescence. In developmental psychology, childhood is divided up into the developmental stages of toddlerhood , early childhood , middle childhood , and adolescence .- Age ranges of childhood :The term childhood is non-specific and can imply a...
.
Informal divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
was not uncommon. Some Opata individuals would have an average of two or three spouses at different times during their lifetimes, and new potential partners often came from different villages. Pre-adolescent children of parents who broke up would normally remain with the mother.
Opatan sexual mores and family planning
HomosexualityHomosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
and transgenderism
Transgenderism
Transgenderism is a social movement seeking transgender rights and affirming transgender pride.-History:In her 1995 book Apartheid of Sex, biopolitical lawyer and writer Martine Rothblatt describes "transgenderism" as a grassroots social movement seeking transgender rights and affirming transgender...
were not taboo
Taboo
A taboo is a strong social prohibition relating to any area of human activity or social custom that is sacred and or forbidden based on moral judgment, religious beliefs and or scientific consensus. Breaking the taboo is usually considered objectionable or abhorrent by society...
in traditional Opatan society. Same-sex couples existed in some villages, including effeminate males who dressed and lived as women. Some of them were among the spouses in the plural marriage
Plural marriage
Polygamy was taught by leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for more than half of the 19th century, and practiced publicly from 1852 to 1890.The Church's practice of polygamy has been highly controversial, both within...
s of chieftains and shamans. Emasculate lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
s served as hunters and warriors. Some shamans were hómari--the Opatan term for a "two spirit" person (homosexual or transvestite).
Also not taboo in traditional Opata culture were pre-romantic relationship ("marital") recreational sex, consensual extramarital sex
Extramarital sex
Extramarital sex occurs when a married person engages in sexual activity with someone other than his or her marriage partner.Where extramarital sexual relations breach a sexual norm it may also be referred to as adultery, fornication, philandery, or infidelity...
, and sex orgies, which a few early Franciscan priests in Opata Country wrote about in their journals.
Fertility rite
Fertility rite
Fertility rites are religious rituals that reenact, either actually or symbolically, sexual acts and/or reproductive processes: 'sexual intoxication is a typical component of the...rites of the various functional gods who control reproduction, whether of man, beast, cattle, or grains of seed'..They...
s also took place. The most common one described as "obscene" in Spanish Franciscan accounts was known as the mariachi.
The only sexual taboos in traditional Opatan society were forcible rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
, sexual contact with prepubescent children on the part of pubescent people, and intercourse with a woman during her menstrual cycle.
Abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
was not taboo in Opatan society due to the belief that the soul
Soul
A soul in certain spiritual, philosophical, and psychological traditions is the incorporeal essence of a person or living thing or object. Many philosophical and spiritual systems teach that humans have souls, and others teach that all living things and even inanimate objects have souls. The...
did not inhabit an infant until its first breath of life outside of the womb. Abortion was thus exercised as a means of birth control
Birth control
Birth control is an umbrella term for several techniques and methods used to prevent fertilization or to interrupt pregnancy at various stages. Birth control techniques and methods include contraception , contragestion and abortion...
during the first trimester of pregnancy with the use of medicinal plants known as purgas. If a purga failed to induce a miscarriage
Miscarriage
Miscarriage or spontaneous abortion is the spontaneous end of a pregnancy at a stage where the embryo or fetus is incapable of surviving independently, generally defined in humans at prior to 20 weeks of gestation...
, the woman utilized a surgical procedure by inserting a special blade made of stone or bone into her uterus
Uterus
The uterus or womb is a major female hormone-responsive reproductive sex organ of most mammals including humans. One end, the cervix, opens into the vagina, while the other is connected to one or both fallopian tubes, depending on the species...
.
Overview of traditional Opatan cosmology, religion, and rites
The traditional pre-ColumbianPre-Columbian era
The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during...
spirituality of the Opatan peoples was a mixture of monism
Monism
Monism is any philosophical view which holds that there is unity in a given field of inquiry. Accordingly, some philosophers may hold that the universe is one rather than dualistic or pluralistic...
, limited demi-deity polytheism
Polytheism
Polytheism is the belief of multiple deities also usually assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses, along with their own mythologies and rituals....
, pantheism
Pantheism
Pantheism is the view that the Universe and God are identical. Pantheists thus do not believe in a personal, anthropomorphic or creator god. The word derives from the Greek meaning "all" and the Greek meaning "God". As such, Pantheism denotes the idea that "God" is best seen as a process of...
, and animism
Animism
Animism refers to the belief that non-human entities are spiritual beings, or at least embody some kind of life-principle....
.
Chamahua is the name the Opata give to the principal and ultimate formless source of all that exists, and which has no beginning, end, or humanly explainable purpose. All life forms are inter-connected with one another within the infinite body of Chamahua.
The sparks of Chamahua’s active energy of light are the source of all individual life forms, including the souls of man.
“Chamahua” means “From which all things flow”.
Chamahua emanates two energies that result in opposites in many aspects of existence. In the physical universe, such opposites include light and darkness, heat and cold, motion and stillness, masculine and feminine, love and hate, and good and evil.
Chamahua does not possess a human-like ego or cravings, which is why Chamahua does not require or desire people to worship it or even believe in it.
The nature of Chamahua cannot be described any further in words. It can only be experienced directly through silent, individual perception, which methods are initially taught to the young by the elders and shamans.
The four principal demi-deities are the Sun God, which represents fire, heat, and light; the Rain God, which represents all forms of water; the Corn Goddess, which represents the world’s vegetation, and the Earth Goddess, who is also called Grandmother Earth, which represents all human and animal life forms on Earth. Opata traditionalists believe that there are other demi-deities that serve other worlds and life forms that do not pertain to the earth world.
The four said principal demi-deities were recognized by the Opata as the principal sustainers of life on earth. However, like Chamahua, they are regarded as allies absent of human-like egos as opposed to deities that are to be feared and worshiped or who require austerities and sacrifices of man. Shamanic and collective village rites and ceremonies performed in their honor were/are nothing more than petitions for abundance or balance, such as in times of hunting, planting, drought or excessive flooding. But whenever such petitions seemed to go un-responded to, the Opata regarded it as a silent reason on the part of the deities as opposed to a form of punishment, and as a sign to implement change, such as in the form of migrating to another area.
Another important aspect of classical Opatan spirituality is the mescalito spirit ally manifested in peyote rite gatherings as a means of enhancing perception of and communication with the spirit world.
The temascal (known in English as the "sweat lodge") was also held for both spiritual and therapeutic cleansing purposes in a semi-subterranean huúki.
The Opatan peoples also performed a deer dance ritual similar to that of the Yoeme (Yaqui) and Yoerme (Mayo) peoples, which the latter two peoples still perform to this day. The dance was held as a primer for summoning and honoring the deer spiritually for their sacrifice as food and hide to the village by way of the hunters.
Aside from the above demi-deities, Opata traditionalists believe in other spirit beings that assist individuals as well.
“Wing people” are divine beings that have always existed in spirit form. “Spirit relatives” are those that have lived as worthy human beings. They are called “relatives” or “relations” because many of them are believed to be the ancestors of human mortals that serve as the spirit guides of descendants who choose to perceive them.
In relation to animism, Opata traditionalists also believe that spirit allies manifest themselves to humans in the form of certain species of animals, fowl, and plants as transmitters of omen
Omen
An omen is a phenomenon that is believed to foretell the future, often signifying the advent of change...
s, knowledge, medicine, and healing. They include the eagle, hawk, crow, owl, wolf, coyote, wildcat, snake, and dragonfly.
Opata traditionalists believe that the human soul is binary and that when the physical body dies, the soul divides in two. One half incarnates
Incarnation
Incarnation literally means embodied in flesh or taking on flesh. It refers to the conception and birth of a sentient creature who is the material manifestation of an entity, god or force whose original nature is immaterial....
into the body of a newborn human or other intelligent being upon its first breath of life outside of the womb to become the infant's soul and primary life force. The other half of the soul goes to a spirit realm, of which there are infinite varieties, and which can include total immersion into Chamahua when not functioning as a spirit relative about the earth plane.
The Opata believe that free will exists to a certain extent in the spirit world as it does in the physical world, and that malevolent spirits and mischievous ghosts are the souls of people that lived evil or troublesome lives, and who elect not to move that half of their soul onto the spirit world away from the earth plane. Animals and certain people can perceive their presence, especially when they behave mischievously or appear to them to get attention. Sometimes they make themselves appear as innocent children in an attempt to gain sympathy. Nemútz and other holy people can exercise rites to expel them from that state of being.
The Opatan account of the origin of life on Earth
Opata traditionalists believe that all life forms on earth were born out of the muddy womb of Grandmother Earth, and that the first earth ancestors of humans were the fur people. The seven races of fur people lived and behaved more as animals until the star people came to Grandmother Earth in the bellies of large birds and planted their seed into the fur people through the wind and the waters, which eventually created the human race.The star people eventually departed Grandmother Earth for other worlds and left most of their human earth children with Grandmother Earth. One of the reasons for the star people's departure was due to many of the elements of Grandmother Earth not being compatible with their bodies, which resulted in sickness. It is because of that blood inheritance from the star people that human beings are prone to suffer more illnesses, birth defects, injuries, and other physical and mental maladies than any other creature native to this earth, and why many women are prone to have more pain and complications with child-bearing than any other of Grandmother Earth's female creatures.
On the other hand, it is because of the more animal-like aggressive nature inherited from the ancient fur people ancestors that so many human beings, especially males, are predatory and aggressive towards one another on this otherwise naturally feminine planet.
The classical Tehuima account of origin teaches that their village of Bacoachi
Bacoachi
Bacoachi is a small town in Bacoachi Municipality in the north of the Mexican state of Sonora. The area of the municipality is 487 square miles and the population was 1,456 in 2005, with 924 inhabitants residing in the municipal seat...
is where the first Opatan people originated.
Opata traditionalists teach that Grandmother Earth has gone through seven major cataclysms due to movements in the universe
Universe
The Universe is commonly defined as the totality of everything that exists, including all matter and energy, the planets, stars, galaxies, and the contents of intergalactic space. Definitions and usage vary and similar terms include the cosmos, the world and nature...
and due to her own internal movements and changes.
Opata traditionalists do not believe that nature is either cruel, kind, or perfect, but just is, and as with many other world traditions, they believe that nature has a natural reaction to every action.
They further believe that petitions of intent to the four deities and various other forms of spirit allies and relations can sometimes manipulate the forces of nature that are beyond mere physical manipulation and control. Successful manipulation through rites and sorcery, or a seemingly lack of response by such means, is recognized as indicated previously, as a necessary but sometimes not always understood condition.
A traditional Opatan rite that was once held openly was one similar to Mexico's Day of the Dead
Day of the Dead
Day of the Dead is a Mexican holiday celebrated throughout Mexico and around the world in many cultures. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. It is particularly celebrated in Mexico, where it attains the quality...
, in which villages would commune with the spirit relations collectively during a full moon
Full moon
Full moon lunar phase that occurs when the Moon is on the opposite side of the Earth from the Sun. More precisely, a full moon occurs when the geocentric apparent longitudes of the Sun and Moon differ by 180 degrees; the Moon is then in opposition with the Sun.Lunar eclipses can only occur at...
day during the spring
Spring (season)
Spring is one of the four temperate seasons, the transition period between winter and summer. Spring and "springtime" refer to the season, and broadly to ideas of rebirth, renewal and regrowth. The specific definition of the exact timing of "spring" varies according to local climate, cultures and...
.
The Opata and death
EuthanasiaEuthanasia
Euthanasia refers to the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering....
by hydroasphyxiation was exercised in cases of infants born with severe, debilitating birth defects. It was carried out sacredly in a river by a nemútz with the parents present.
Some elders and younger people who became severely incapacitated permanently and unable to care for themselves any longer, and those who suffered from severe and painful, incurable injuries or illnesses also elected to be euthanized. In most cases it was carried out sacredly with the ingestion of a poisonous plant administered by the village nemútz with loved ones and other clan members present.
The deceased were normally buried in a sacred ground
Sacred Ground
Sacred Ground may refer to:* Sacred Ground , a 1983 film starring Tim McIntire and Jack Elam* "Sacred Ground" , a 1989 song by Kix Brooks* Sacred Ground , featuring their version of the above song...
, although some people elected cremation
Cremation
Cremation is the process of reducing bodies to basic chemical compounds such as gasses and bone fragments. This is accomplished through high-temperature burning, vaporization and oxidation....
on a pyre
Pyre
A pyre , also known as a funeral pyre, is a structure, usually made of wood, for burning a body as part of a funeral rite...
so that their ashes could be kept among their survivors in a clay vessel.
Classical Opata inter-tribal relations and justice
The Opatan peoples were generally peaceful and non-imperialistic. They held a universal ethic amongst themselves of not initiating aggression against other Indian Tribes and nations, particularly for the benefit of dominating more territory or stealing. The administration of justice by clan councils for certain societal violations depended on the offense, which ranged from various forms of restitution; temporary or permanent banishment from the village or territory, and in severe cases, execution.Spanish encroachment into Opata Country
Because most Opatan villages were small and scattered apart from one another, they were vulnerable to attack by marauding bands of Chiricahua Apaches that were mainly based in southeastern Arizona. Because of that, the Opatan peoples by-and-large did not resist the encroachment of Spaniards into their territory, being that the Spanish soldiers had more advanced weaponry in fighting off the Chiricahua and could have eventually crushed the Opata themselves had they not been cooperative.But along with that cooperation and military alliance came the price of Spanish religious (Roman Catholic) and cultural encroachment into Opatan society, which gradually suppressed many Opatan traditions into being exercised discreetly away from their villages during “hunting and gathering expeditions” that did not include the accompaniment of Spanish soldiers or Franciscan missionaries, and the eventual dormancy of many traditional beliefs, customs, and values.
Among the most initial outspoken Opata opponents of Spanish encroachment
Spanish colonization of the Americas
Colonial expansion under the Spanish Empire was initiated by the Spanish conquistadores and developed by the Monarchy of Spain through its administrators and missionaries. The motivations for colonial expansion were trade and the spread of the Christian faith through indigenous conversions...
, especially of that of the missionaries, was nemútzan (the shaman/s), who upon learning Castilian
Castilian Spanish
Castilian Spanish is a term related to the Spanish language, but its exact meaning can vary even in that language. In English Castilian Spanish usually refers to the variety of European Spanish spoken in north and central Spain or as the language standard for radio and TV speakers...
and being taught about Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
and Roman Catholic doctrine, recognized that many of those doctrines conflicted with Opatan religion and culture.
Opatas were not monotheistic and did not exercise creator-worship. Nemútzan questioned why the intelligent and almighty god that these yoris (non-Indian foreigners) believed in would create an imperfect world with imperfect people and punish people for their imperfections. Many of the Biblical taboos, especially those religiously-defined wrongdoings they called "sin" that conflicted with Opatan social practices and moral values, made no sense to nemútzan either.
Nemútzan also questioned why these Europeans seemed to regard this religion that originated in the far away land known as the Middle East as their spiritual and moral role model. What was wrong with traditional indigenous European religions? Did they not have any? Why was the religion that the foreigner Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
taught superior? Why did they accept the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
teaching that this Jesus was the son of a god
Son of God
"Son of God" is a phrase which according to most Christian denominations, Trinitarian in belief, refers to the relationship between Jesus and God, specifically as "God the Son"...
and a human virgin
Mary (mother of Jesus)
Mary , commonly referred to as "Saint Mary", "Mother Mary", the "Virgin Mary", the "Blessed Virgin Mary", or "Mary, Mother of God", was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee...
that was impregnated by a holy ghost, and is the only holy man to be accepted and revered? Why should the Indian people forsake their peaceful and harmless spiritual beliefs and practices for this foreign holy man and religion? Why was the religion and the ways of the yori superior to that of the Indian just because they had wondrous tools, water vessels, and weaponry?
The textbook Cycles of Conquest provides a brief 15th century Spanish Franciscan-documented account of an Opata nemútz who essentially confronted the Franciscan priest in his village with such questions. When the priest's responses did not satisfy nemútzan, nemútzan told the priest that he and his brethren ought to leave the Indians alone and never return. Nemútzan then turned around and walked away. The priest later recorded the incident in his journal that included the comment, "He was obviously of the Devil
Devil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
".
Nemútzan warned their people that compromising too many of their traditional ways for the ways of the yori and forsaking their religion for Roman Catholicism would lead to their children and future generations serving as the horses and dogs of the yoris. By that they meant, except for the introduction of the haro (parrot) brought to Opata Country by Indian hunters and traders from the tropical regions to the south, the taming and domestication of wildlife was never considered by the Opatan peoples or most Indigenous American cultures in general prior to its introduction by the Europeans.
Engaged conflicts of the Opata
Over the centuries, neighboring Opatan clans (villages) often ended up engaging in brief armed conflicts with one another. In most cases, the conflicts were initiated by some petty dispute between two or more individuals, which would then fester into more members of their clans backing them up. In many cases it was without prior consultation with the village chieftains and elders.Sometimes a village nemútz would end up being killed by warriors of a (temporarily) rival village clan as a result of being accused of putting a curse on one or more of their villagers in the way of a sudden major illness, injury, or death that struck.
The chieftains and elders of the warring villages would eventually meet and implement a conflict resolution
Conflict resolution
Conflict resolution is conceptualized as the methods and processes involved in facilitating the peaceful ending of some social conflict. Often, committed group members attempt to resolve group conflicts by actively communicating information about their conflicting motives or ideologies to the rest...
.
The indigenous peoples of Sonora (Opatan, Piman, Yaqui, Mayo, Seri, and Cocopah) were never known to initiate major, on-going conflicts with another to the point of becoming "traditional rivals" as were some other indigenous tribes and nations throughout the Americas prior to the 20th century. Contemporary Yaqui and Seri elders tell of petty, brief skirmishes between their two peoples in previous centuries, but again, not to the point to where they considered one another traditional rivals. On the contrary, those indigenous Sonoran peoples affected by marauding bands of Chiricahua Apaches based in the general area of northeastern Sonora and southeastern Arizona territory often united to fight them off.
Prior to the 1850s, Chiricahua culture, as did some other indigenous peoples, held a predatory policy towards their indigenous neighbors in the way of invading, raping, and pillaging villages, which included the kidnapping of women and children.
When Opatas captured invading Chiricahua warriors that were mature adult males, they would execute them whether they were wounded or not, and place their bodies far enough away from their villages to avoid exposure of the odor of decomposition, and as food for wildlife to consume except for one hand, which the Opata warriors would cut off and wear around their necks on strings of hide as war victory trophies. They would also sometimes used a severed Chiricahua hand to stir their beverages in drinking vessels made from gourd
Gourd
A gourd is a plant of the family Cucurbitaceae. Gourd is occasionally used to describe crops like cucumbers, squash, luffas, and melons. The term 'gourd' however, can more specifically, refer to the plants of the two Cucurbitaceae genera Lagenaria and Cucurbita or also to their hollow dried out shell...
or clay with as a further symbolic act of humiliation towards their defeated Chiricahua aggressors in the presence of their surviving captors. After decomposition, their skulls and bones would be used in certain ceremonies as well.
Surviving captors consisted of young Chiricahua male warriors (reported in Spanish Franciscan journals as being in their early teens), who were normally spared if not severely wounded. However, they would be tied to trees or wooden posts, whereupon female elders of the village would briefly burn their thighs with lit pieces of wood as a form of punishment and humiliation, as it was considered a humiliation for a male warrior to be punished in such a way by an old woman. The young men were not so severely burned that they could not walk. Upon receiving said consequences, they would be released without weaponry and forced to leave the village. Those that survived the journey back home to Chiricahua Country returned there with a humiliating story of defeat burned onto their thighs.
Some Chiricahua raiding parties included the young wives of warriors. Those that were captured and not severely wounded would end up the wives of Opata men. They would thus eventually learn the language and integrate into Opatan society.
(Contemporary Sonoran indigenous traditionalists hold no animosity towards contemporary Chiricahuas. Often said peoples participate together at inter-tribal indigenous events in North America).
Also between the 16th and mid-19th centuries, there were numerous incidents of Opatas, Pimas, Seris, and Yaquis forming alliances in response to excessive and unprovoked Spanish and later Mexican army aggression against some of their villages. Although Opatan villages tolerated the presence of "yoris" amongst them, they would not tolerate abuse.
The Seri people have always been the smallest "tribe" indigenous to Sonora. Seri elders to this day relate oral accounts of how the "Opati" as they call the Opata in their language, helped them defend their nation against oppression on the part of Spaniards and later Mexican government troops.
Most of the Indians that fought on the side of Maximillian
Maximilian I of Mexico
Maximilian I was the only monarch of the Second Mexican Empire.After a distinguished career in the Austrian Navy, he was proclaimed Emperor of Mexico on April 10, 1864, with the backing of Napoleon III of France and a group of Mexican monarchists who sought to revive the Mexican monarchy...
during the French-Mexican War
French intervention in Mexico
The French intervention in Mexico , also known as The Maximilian Affair, War of the French Intervention, and The Franco-Mexican War, was an invasion of Mexico by an expeditionary force sent by the Second French Empire, supported in the beginning by the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of Spain...
were from Sonora, which is elaborated on in more detail below under Noted Opatas and History.
Contemporary Opatan society
Although most residents of Opata Country today are of Opata descent and acknowledge it, very few Opata traditions are exercised by the general Opatan populace today, and their character is generally mestizaje (mainline Mexican mestizo) as opposed to a traditional indigenous character and lifestyle. Some have even gone so far (in objection of Opata traditionalists) as changing certain Opatan names that sound offensive in Spanish. For example, the Tehuima town of Oputo was changed to Villa Hidalgo by the municipal government as a result of mestizaje-centric people making fun of the "puto" in "Oputo". ("Puto" is a slang word in Spanish and Portuguese for "male prostitute" and also the derogatory equivalent of the English term "faggot" as in homosexual. In Portuguese, "o puto" means "the faggot" or "the male prostitute).An oppressive Mexican general by the name of Ignacio López Rayón renamed the Eudeve town of Nacameri in honor of his mother ("Rayón") in the 1860s, and the municipal government has never changed it back to its original name.
The name of the Tehuima town of Oposura was also changed in the 19th century to the Nahuatl name of Moctezuma, and the municipal government there has never changed it back.
However, the ancient Opatan spring procession rite known today as the fariseo (with some Catholicism mixed in) is still exercised during Easter week
Easter Week
Easter Week is the period of seven days from Easter Sunday through the Saturday following.-Western Church:In the Latin Rite of Roman Catholicism, Anglican and other Western churches, Easter Week is the week beginning with the Christian feast of Easter and ending a week later on Easter Saturday...
in most towns and villages in Opata Country, which includes the wearing of masks and the use of traditional Opatan instruments during the procession that include hand-held gourd rattles, bands of small ankle rattles, and hand-held drums. Masks often include traditional ones carved from balsa
Balsa
Ochroma pyramidale, commonly known as the balsa tree , is a species of flowering plant in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is a large, fast-growing tree that can grow up to tall. It is the source of balsa wood, a very lightweight material with many uses...
wood depicting various painted human and animal-like facial figures.
Another ancient Opatan custom was the placement of a four-stations cross made of wood and covered with moss on the roofs of their dwellings, which were replenished with fresh moss at the beginning of each spring. The cross represents the four sacred directions and the four seasons. Many Opatan descendants in Opata Country today continue to exercise this tradition in the way of placing such a cross on the front door of their homes.
There are Opata elders who through oral tradition know a number of words and phrases in the Eudeve and Tehuima dialects, but there are no known fluent Eudeve or Tehuima speakers other than those alleged in the 1993 national Mexican census. However, efforts are being made by some contemporary Opata traditionalists to revive the Eudeve and Tehuima dialects and have them taught in schools in Opata Country.
Traditional Opata religion and traditional Opata cultural values that conflicted with Spanish/Roman Catholic teachings and attitudes went underground well before the 20th century, but have been discreetly preserved and exercised untainted by Christian/Roman Catholic rites, symbolism, and theology over the centuries by a minority of Opata elders from each generation who have passed the traditional teachings and ways onto select descendants of their communities, who in turn have exercised many of the ancient rites and traditions discreetly in caves and other remote areas of Opata Country. (Ethnologist R.W. Giddings documented that she happened upon such a gathering being held in a cave in Eudeve territory in 1959, but did not enter, participate, or inquire about it later).
The old traditions are not shared with most contemporary Opata descendants in general and especially non-indigenous peoples due to their cultural indoctrination by Christianity and Euro colonization. However, some among the minority of indigenous-centric Opata traditionalists are gradually attempting to revive many of the old peaceful Opata traditions and values among the general Opatan populace, and to petition the Mexican government into recognizing the Opata people as a living culture and nation that has just been culturally progressive in many aspects as opposed to becoming completely dormant or extinct language and traditions-wise.
Noted Opatas and history
Sisibotari was a respected Jova chieftain known throughout Opata Country who lived from the late 16th century to the mid-17th century. He served as a major intermediary between the Opatan peoples and the Spanish, which helped maintain peace between the two peoples during his time. ("Sisibotari" means, "The Great Lord"). Father Andrés Pérez de RibasAndrés Pérez de Ribas
Andrés Pérez De Ribas was a Spanish Jesuit missionary, and historian of north-western Mexico.-Life:...
described Sisibotari as, "He was handsome and still young, wore a long coat attached at his shoulder like a cape, and his loins were covered with a cloth, as was the custom of that nation. On the wrist of his left hand, which holds the bow when the hand pulls the cord to send the arrow, he wore a very becoming marten skin".
Ignacio Dorame was an Opata Caudillo who led a large force of Opatas in the 1820s. The archivo de la Mitra (or Bishop's Archive) en Hermosillo contains correspondence from priests in the towns in eastern Sonora documenting his gathering recruits and rousing of the Opata in the region. The archives of Moris, Chihuahua just across the border from Sonora, document his arrival there to gather support of the Raramuri (Tarahumara) people as well as the Mountain Pima in creating a Confederation of Native Tribes. He was expelled by a General Urrea from Chihuahua. Ignacio Dorame is also referred to as "El Opata Dorame."
Juan Tanori and Refugio Tanori were a pair of Eudeve brothers that lived during the first half of the 19th century. Like their father Luis Tanori before them, they became respected militia chieftains among their peoples, and were commissioned brigadier generals in the French Army
French Army
The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...
by Emperor Maximilian
Maximilian I of Mexico
Maximilian I was the only monarch of the Second Mexican Empire.After a distinguished career in the Austrian Navy, he was proclaimed Emperor of Mexico on April 10, 1864, with the backing of Napoleon III of France and a group of Mexican monarchists who sought to revive the Mexican monarchy...
during the Franco-Mexican War as leaders of the Sonoran Indian troops, being that Maximillian made a pact with the indigenous nations of Sonora, which consisted of allowing Sonora independent statehood in the form of an indigenous confederation known as the Confederación India de Sonora if France won the war. The only stipulation after the war would be for the new Indian Confederation of Sonora to provide a percentage of silver mining profits to the French government, which the leadership of the indigenous nations of Sonora agreed to. Therefore, most of the “Indian troops” that fought on the side of Maximillian during the French-Mexican War were from Sonora, even though their motive for doing so was out of aspiration for an indigenous state independent from Mexico as opposed to loyalty to the French Crown.
In fact, after that offer from Maximillian had been made, the indigenous leadership of Sonora advised President Benito Juárez
Benito Juárez
Benito Juárez born Benito Pablo Juárez García, was a Mexican lawyer and politician of Zapotec origin from Oaxaca who served five terms as president of Mexico: 1858–1861 as interim, 1861–1865, 1865–1867, 1867–1871 and 1871–1872...
of it with the assumption that he would offer them the same deal, particularly since he was indigenous (a Zapotec from Oaxaca) himself. However, he refused, stating that it was in the best interests of the nation to leave the Republic intact as it was.
Juan Tanori was subsequently captured by the Mexican Army
Mexican Army
The Mexican Army is the combined land and air branch and largest of the Mexican Military services; it also is known as the National Defense Army. It is famous for having been the first army to adopt and use an automatic rifle, , in 1899, and the first to issue automatic weapons as standard issue...
during a battle in the Tehuima town of Bavispe
Bavispe
Bavispe is a small town and a municipality in the northeast part of the Mexican state of Sonora.-Location:The municipality is located in the northeast of the state at . The elevation of the administrative seat is 902 meters above sea level...
in 1862 and was sentenced to death by hanging
Hanging
Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
shortly thereafter.
Refugio Tanori was captured at the end of the war while trying to escape with a Yaqui general and some of their militia in a boat across the Gulf of California
Gulf of California
The Gulf of California is a body of water that separates the Baja California Peninsula from the Mexican mainland...
from Sonora to the Baja California peninsula
Baja California Peninsula
The Baja California peninsula , is a peninsula in northwestern Mexico. Its land mass separates the Pacific Ocean from the Gulf of California. The Peninsula extends from Mexicali, Baja California in the north to Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur in the south.The total area of the Baja California...
. They and other captured indigenous Sonoran militia leaders that had served under Maximillian were subsequently executed by firing squad by for what was regarded by the defending and triumphant Mexican nationalists as treason
Treason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
against the Mexican Republic.
In honor of those indigenous ancestors who fought for the ideal of an independent indigenous state of Sonora, some contemporary Opata and other Sonoran Indian traditionalists do not celebrate Cinco de Mayo
Cinco de Mayo
Cinco de Mayo is a holiday held on May 5. It is celebrated nationwide in the United States and regionally in Mexico, primarily in the state of Puebla, where the holiday is called El Dia de la Batalla de Puebla...
—the national Mexican holiday that celebrates the defeat of French troops and their indigenous allies at the Battle of Puebla
Battle of Puebla
The Battle of Puebla took place on 5 May 1862 near the city of Puebla during the French intervention in Mexico. The battle ended in a victory for the Mexican Army over the occupying French forces...
in 1865. (Cinco de Mayo is more of a popular celebration among Mexican-Americans in the United States than it is among people in Mexico anyway, and is often confused by foreigners with Mexican Independence Day, which is observed on September 16).
Kathleen Alcalá
Kathleen Alcalá
Kathleen Alcalá is the author of a short-story collection three novels set in the American Southwest and nineteenth-century Mexico and a collection of essays. She teaches creative writing at workshops and programs in Washington state and elsewhere, including Seattle University, the University of...
is an accomplished Mexican-American author of Opata descent who has included Opata themes in some of her works.
Teresa Leal is an Opata-Mayo civic leader and founder of indigenous women's and indigenous people's community health organizations in Ambos Nogales. She filed as the co-plaintiff-appellant, with the Sierra Club
Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is the oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States. It was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by the conservationist and preservationist John Muir, who became its first president...
(Grand Canyon Chapter), in a citizen law suit filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is a U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* District of Alaska* District of Arizona...
, against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission
International Boundary and Water Commission
The International Boundary and Water Commission is an international body created in 1889 by the United States and Mexico to administer the many boundary and water-rights treaties and agreements between the two nations....
.
Oral traditionalist consultants
Elders Doña Claudia, Don Domingo, Doña Gloria, and "El Güico" of Opata Country.Medicine elder Cachora Guitemea of the Yoeme (Yaqui) Nation of Sonora.
External links
- Opatas Unidos An open membership Yahoo! Groups discussion forum in English and Spanish that includes files, links, and images.