The Tarahumara (Rarámuri)

The Tarahumara, or Rarámuri, have a population today of approximately 61,000 people, the vast majority of them in the Mexican state of Chihuahua (Sheridan 1996:143). Their homeland is the Sierra Madre Occidental, a very rugged landscape of canyons (barrancas) and valleys. The origins of the Tarahumara are uncertain, but what little archaeological evidence there is suggests they have occupied these mountains for at least two millennia. The Tarahumara speak a Uto-Aztecan language related to Piman and Cáhitan, and practice a subsistence strategy based on the cultivation of maize, beans, and squash. However, hunting and gathering is still an important source of food. Since the arrival of the Spanish, herding domesticated livestock such as sheep has also been incorporated into the Tarahumara economic system.

One of the most striking features of the Tarahumara lifestyle is their seasonal mobility. Martha Graham (1993, 1994) has conducted an ethnoarchaeological study of Tarahumara settlement patterns. For the most part, the Tarahumara live in scattered settlements known as ranchos that usually consist of one to two dwellings, a storage structure, and various outbuildings. Residences change throughout the year, and many households have from two to three different residences that can be classified into three main types. The main residence is located near the agricultural fields and is occupied during warm weather, usually more than six months a year. Most households also have a winter residence, often in a nearby cave or rockshelter, that is occupied during cold weather. In some cases, a household may also have one or more agricultural residences, which are necessary if they own fields in a distant region; these residences are only occupied for several days or weeks at a time. All of the ordinary functions of the household may be carried out at main and winter residences, including ceramic production and the preparation of maize beer, known as tesgüino. The Tarahumara usually live in nuclear family groups or small extended families that may include elderly parents, married children who have not yet established their own residence, or unmarried brothers; the residence pattern is matrilocal until the married couple establishes their own household (Merrill 1983:290; Washburne 1961:157). This social context of scattered ranchos is extremely important in understanding the function of alcohol consumption in Tarahumara society.

Tesgüino

The consumption of alcohol plays a key role in Tarahumara society. It is hardly an exaggeration to say that almost every social activity that the Tarahumara engage in includes tesgüino. From organizing communal labor to performing marriage ceremonies, the role of tesgüino in Tarahumara culture is crucial. In fact, the use of alcoholic beverages is often cited as the defining characteristic of Tarahumara culture. Kennedy (1963:635) states that, “it is no exaggeration to estimate that the average Tarahumara spends at least 100 days per year directly concerned with tesguino and much of this time under its influence or aftereffects.”  The creation of tesgüino is a simple process that all households perform on a regular basis. The Tarahumara call tesgüino batári, sugíki, or paciki depending on how the brew is prepared. Sugíki is the general term for alcoholic beverages made from fermented maize, while batári is maize beer made with a particular catalyst of the same name; paciki refers to tesgüino made from fresh corn stalks (Pennington 1963:149-150). The varieties of tesgüino made from maize are the most important, but the Tarahumara also make similar drinks from agave hearts or stalks, cactus fruits, berries, peaches, apples, crabapples, wheat, and Mesquite seeds (Pennington 1963:149-157).

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