Rarámuri people
The Rarámuri, also known as the Tarahumara, are an indigenous people residing in the Copper Canyon area of the Sierra Madre Occidental in northwest Mexico. With a population estimated between 50,000 and 70,000, they are recognized as the second-largest indigenous group in the country. The name "Rarámuri" translates to "the light-footed one," reflecting their exceptional running abilities, which have garnered international attention. Rarámuri individuals are known for their distinctive running style, often competing in long-distance races while wearing traditional flat sandals called huaraches.
Their lifestyle is rooted in simple farming practices, growing crops like corn and beans, and they maintain a close-knit community structure. While they hold a blend of Roman Catholic and traditional beliefs, their values emphasize doing good in the world rather than seeking rewards in the afterlife. Despite the pressures of modernization and encroachment from outside interests, the Rarámuri have largely preserved their cultural identity, continuing to live in small, remote communities and relying on traditional methods of trade and barter for their needs. However, they face challenges such as environmental changes, loss of land, and health issues due to external factors.
Rarámuri people
Rarámuri is the name the Indigenous Mexican people known as Tarahumara use to refer to themselves. Even in the twenty-first century, the Rarámuri continue to live simple lives as farmers in northwest Mexico. They are best known for their speed and ability as runners. Their technique has allowed them to dominate in races against elite, well-trained runners. As a result, many athletes and trainers study the running style and methods of the Rarámuri.
Background
The Tarahumara people have inhabited the Copper Canyon area of the Sierra Madre Occidental, the major mountain range in Mexico, for centuries. They are considered an Indigenous people. The Spanish explorers who came to the area in the 1500s used the name Tarahumara to to refer to the Indigenous people living there. The influx of Spaniards and other Europeans seeking gold, copper, and other valuable minerals caused the Indigenous people to move deeper into the canyons. This did not diminish their presence in Mexico, however. In contemporary times, estimates of the Rarámuri population vary between fifty thousand and one hundred thousand.
The word Rarámuri means "the light-footed one" or "one who runs fast." The people use this name to refer to themselves. Running—or "foot throwing," as the Rarámuri call it—has always been the main mode of transportation for them. They live in small, separated communities in the mountains and canyons. This makes walking or running the only practical way to travel or share information between villages. Over the centuries, the Rarámuri began to take pride in their ability to run fast, even while wearing flat leather sandals and traditional clothing.
Running became an important part of their social and recreational life, especially in a contest known as rarjíparo. In this competition, opposing teams move a small wooden ball using only their feet and pass it from runner to runner relay-style as they race to a finish line. Races can last a few hours or up to several days. During the long races, the only break the runners get is while waiting at a relay point; however, this rest comes after they have run ahead of their teammates to get to the next relay point.
The Rarámuri have become so proficient at running long distances without tiring that they hunt by wearing out their prey. They will chase a deer or other game animal until the animal becomes tired. This makes the animal easier to kill. Their running prowess has made them internationally famous, and some Rarámuri have run in prestigious races, usually wearing their Indigenous huaraches or a similar flat sandal with a sole made of repurposed tires. Some competitive runners and their trainers seek out the Rarámuri to help them learn the techniques of speed and endurance that have made the Rarámuri outstanding runners.
Overview
In some ways, the Rarámuri live just as they have for centuries. They make their homes in caves or recesses under cliffs in Copper Canyon or in small stone or wood cabin-type homes spread throughout the canyon. They support themselves by farming corn, beans, potatoes, and other produce, such as apples. Some Rarámuri raise cattle or goats. Their diet is supplemented with fish, deer, herbs, and wild greens. In contemporary times, the Rarámuri have also been known to enjoy typical Western fare, such as soda and chips, when it is available to them. They use currency when necessary but usually rely on trade or barter to get the things they need.
The Rarámuri are generally quiet people who keep to their own villages. At least since the Spaniards arrived in their homeland in the sixteenth century, the Rarámuri have called all non-Rarámuri Chabochi, or outsiders. This is not necessarily a negative term, as the Rarámuri are known to be an easy-going people not given to excessive expenditures of emotion or energy. Some have credited this ingrained tendency to conserve energy as part of their success in endurance running.
They dress in traditional garments that include loose white pants and white shirts that may have colorful patterns added. Sometimes the men wear loincloths with additional bands of white worn around the waist. The women wear long skirts. Women who compete in running events do so wearing these skirts and long-sleeved blouses. More color may be added in belts, necklaces, or other decorative elements. Many Rarámuri wear red headbands. They nearly always wear flat sandals, or huaraches, for which they are so well known in the running world. However, some Rarámuri are beginning to wear contemporary Western clothing, such as more fitted pants and T-shirts.
Jesuit missionaries followed the Spanish explorers who first encountered the Rarámuri around 1607. Their Roman Catholic beliefs took root among the long-standing traditional beliefs of the Rarámuri. Contemporary Rarámuri practices are a mixture of Roman Catholicism and ancient Indigenous beliefs. For instance, they believe in one god, as do Roman Catholics, but that god has a wife and children who live with him in heaven. This detail is a holdover from their traditional beliefs. The Rarámuri believe that the mortal world and the afterlife are mirror images and that the purpose of doing good on Earth is not to gain eternal reward but to make life on this planet better. Psychologists have determined that this belief in doing good to make the world a better place is so strongly embedded in the Rarámuri that they cannot and do not lie or cheat. Additionally, they feel a moral compulsion to help people in need.
Even though the Rarámuri have adopted some Western customs and Christian beliefs and have moved beyond their traditional homeland in northwestern Mexico, they have an overall tendency to keep to themselves. Just as it did when the Spaniards first arrived, an influx of outsiders has the effect of forcing the Rarámuri further into the mountains and more remote areas of the canyon. This has been the case in the twentieth and early twenty-first century as more outsiders intrude on their ancestral home in an ongoing hunt for precious minerals. As a result, contemporary Rarámuri have suffered the effects of drought, hunger-related diseases, and loss of farmable land. The Rarámuri have also been significantly affected by Mexico's drug cartels, who have exploited the Rarámuri's farming skills to cultivate product. Rarámuri are also sometimes forced to become drug mules because of their running prowess. Violence related to the cartels has taken the lives of many Rarámuri activists, and others have fled their homeland for safety elsewhere.
Bibliography
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