MODULE 6

Topic Jumpstation
Printer Friendly Version
The Yaqui
The River Yumans

THE YAQUI

Key Concepts:
fusion
Rancheria Period
Mission Period
Autonomous Period
Relocation Period
diaspora
Enchanted World
Flower World
Surem
Deer Dancer
Yaqui Easter
Pascolas
Matachines
Fariseos
Chapayekam

Reading Assignment, Text: Chapter 6, "The Yaqui," pp. 204-231

Yaqui Contact History: Yaqui culture is remarkable for its fusion of European and indigenous traditions. In contrast to the Pueblos who kept Catholicism and their traditional religion separate by compartmentalizing each, and the Tohono O'odham who simply added the veneration of a Catholic saint to their traditional beliefs and practices, the Yaqui actually fused Catholicism with their own traditions, which is especially visible in their best known ceremonial, Yaqui Easter.

None of the other groups discussed in this course had a history with such distinct periods of cultural change, depending upon the type of contact with Spanish and then Mexican cultures. Anthropologist Edward Spicer divided Yaqui history into four periods of cultural change. In the rancheria period, before sustained contact with another culture, the Yaquis maintained their traditional type of rancheria communities. In 1617, the arrival of the Jesuits, whom the Yaqui invited to come to them, introduced the mission period, which was characterized by the acceptance of Spanish innovation. The first Yaqui Revolt, in 1740, inaugurated the autonomous period, a 150-year period of relative freedom from Spanish or Mexican domination that allowed the Yaquis to experience a time of cultural fusion and resynthesis when they integrated and blended Catholic-European traditions and beliefs that had been introduced by the Jesuits with their own world view. The reestablishment of Mexican control marked the beginning of the relocation period when the Yaquis experienced a diaspora, fleeing their homeland to stay alive. They dispersed throughout Mexico and the southwestern United States, going through a period of cultural revival and assimilation. The following chart summarizes these four periods of cultural change:

The Rancheria Period (1533-1617)
30,000 Yaquis lived in 80 rancherias
1533: the Yaqui first encountered Europeans
the Yaqui Talking Tree had prophesied the coming of armored foreigners
fierce warriors who organized tribally under a single captain, the Yaqui defeated the Spanish, but requested the Jesuits to return by themselves

The Mission Period (1617-1767)
introduced Catholicism with the help of Yaquis whom they trained
consolidated the Yaqui population into 8 church-centered towns
introduced agricultural items and techniques

The Autonomous Period (1740-1887)
Yaqui-Mayo Revolt of 1740 tried to crush non-Jesuit Spanish intrusion into their territory
1767: the Catholic church expels Jesuits from the New World
Yaquis then left in state of relative autonomy
modified Jesuit institutions to fit own needs
1771: Spanish secularized missions to get Indian land
Yaquis lived in state of defensive preparedness to protect their land
Mexican Independence 1821

The Relocation Period (1887-1906)
Mexican government initiated policy of deportation of Yaquis
Yaqui diaspora: Yaquis fled to other parts of Mexico and to the U.S.
1906: Yaquis received political asylum in the U.S.
1978: Yaquis received tribal recognition and reservation land in U.S.
1939: Land set aside by Mexican government for Yaquis