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Natives of the Canyons
Tarahumaras | Pascolas | Matachines | Fariseos | Mayo and Yaqui
The Tarahumara or Raramuri, as they call themselves, inhabit the Copper Canyon, as it is known in the U.S., or the Sierra Tarahumara in northwest Mexico. The actual name Tarahumara was what the first Spanish called these Native American people.
The Spanish originally encountered the Tarahumara throughout Chihuahua upon arrival in the 1500's, but as the Spanish encroached on their civilization the shy and private Tarahumara retreated for the nearly inaccessible canyons of the Sierra Tarahumara. Only the Jesuit missionaries followed at first and with only scattered success. ...read more
The pahko'ola -Pascola dancer means "Old Man of the Ceremony". The term comes from two words: pahko -ceremony and o'ola -an affectionate term for old man. The two words pahkola'ola were shortened into pahko'ola or pahkola and is pronounced pascola in Spanish.
The pahko'ola has many roles. He is first of all, the historian of the Yoemem, the Yaqui people. He keeps the history of the people alive through the legends, myths and sermons, and jokes. He is the host of the Pahko, and is an entertainer, with his jokes, stories and antics.
Matachines (Spanish matachin, or religious dancer) are bands of Mexican mummers who wander from village to village or from house to house dancing and hosting several Roman Catholic celebrations. They are found in northern Mexico especially in La Laguna Region (Coahuila and Durango), Sinaloa and Chihuahua. They are also very popular in Northern New Mexico and around the Rio Grande, specifically in the border cities of El Paso, Texas, Juarez, Chihuahua (Mexico) and Las Cruces, New Mexico.
The Easter Ceremonies of the Yaqui and the Mayo Indians of Arizona and Sonora represent a tradition that dates back to sometime in the early seventeenth century. At that time, pioneering Jesuit priests came into the valleys of the Río Mayo and the Río Yaqui in what is now Sonora, Mexico. The Catholic ceremonies and the Mayo and the Yaqui ceremonies blended into a cycle which includes sacred elements of both worlds.
Tarahumaras | Pascolas | Matachines | Fariseos | Mayo and Yaqui
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