The Tarahumare's Firm Belief in a Future Life--Causes of
Death--The Dead are Mischievous and Want Their Families to Join
Them--Therefore the Dead Have to be Kept Away by Fair Means or
Foul--Three Feasts and a Chase--Burial Customs--A Funeral Sermon.
The idea of immortality is so strong with the Tarahumares that death
means to them only a change of form. They certainly believe in a future
life, but they are afraid of the dead, and think that they want to
harm the survivors. This fear is caused by the supposition that the
dead are lonely, and long for the company of their relatives. The dead
also make people ill, that they too may die and join the departed. When
a man dies in spite of all efforts of the shamans to save his life,
the people say that those who have gone before have called him or
carried him off. The deceased are also supposed to retain their love
for the good things they left behind in this world, and to be trying
every way to get at them. So strong is the feeling that the departed
still owns whatever property he once possessed, that he is thought to
be jealous of his heirs who now enjoy its possession. He may not let
them sleep at night, but makes them sit up by the fire and talk. To
soothe his discontent, tesvino and all kinds of food are given him,
because he needs the same things he needed here. In the course of
the year several ceremonies are performed, by which he is actually
chased off, and the survivors constantly take precautions against
his return to bother them.
Sometimes the dead are sent by sorcerers to harm people and make them
ill, but generally they come of their own accord. They enter the house
at night and drink the tesvino and eat the food prepared for a feast,
and what they cannot eat they spoil. To protect the beer against such
mischief the people place bows and arrows next the jars, and cover
the vessels with sprigs of the odorous artemisia. The dead will also
kill cattle and sheep, and spit and blow in the faces of the people,
to make them ill, and possibly cause their death. Sometimes the dead
are viewed as spirits, and the shaman sees them flying through the
air, like birds. If the spirit of a dead person takes up his abode
in a house, the owner of the dwelling will feel a choking sensation,
dry up, and die, unless the shaman gives to the dead plenty of tesvino,
and drives him away with incantations.
The dead are supposed to be about at night; therefore the Tarahumares
do not like to travel after dark, for fear of meeting the dead, who
whistle when they pass the living. Only shamans can travel at night,
although sometimes even they have to fight with the dead, who come
running out of the caves on all fours. In the daytime the Tarahumares
are not afraid of the dead, though even then they do not dare to visit
burial-places, modern or ancient. I found it difficult to get Indians
to carry bones of skeletons excavated from ancient burial-caves, and
even the Mexicans would not allow their animals to carry burdens of
that kind, for fear that the mules would get tired, that is to say,
play out and die.
When a person dies, his eyes are closed, his hands crossed over
his breast, and the relatives talk to him one by one, and bid him
good-bye. The weeping widow tells her husband that, now that he has
gone and does not want to stay with her any longer, he must not come
back to frighten her or his sons or daughters or anyone else. She
implores him not to carry any of them off, or do any mischief, but
to leave them all alone.
A mother says to her dead infant: "Now go away! Don't come back
any more, now that you are dead. Don't come at night to nurse at my
breast. Go away, and do not come back!" And the father says to the
child: "Don't come back to ask me to hold your hand, or to do things
for you. I shall not know you any more. Don't come walking around here,
but stay away."
The body is wrapped in a blanket almost before it is cold, to be
buried later, but food is at once placed around it, and ashes are
liberally strewn over and around the corpse, to enable the relatives
to discover, by the tracks, into what kind of animal the dead has
changed. At night some fox or coyote, polecat or rat, is sure to be
attracted by the smell of the food; but the people believe that it
was the departed who returned in the form of the animal to get his
food. A shaman, without even looking at the tracks, may be able to
tell what animal shape the dead assumes.
Within twenty-four hours the corpse is taken away to be buried. It
is tied in three or four places to one or two poles and carried by
two men. Women never go with them to the funeral. As soon as the
undertakers have accomplished their task, they immediately wash their
persons well. Upon their return, branches of the mountain cedar are
burned inside of the house, to "cure" it.
The body is laid at rest in a shallow grave inside of a cave or
just outside of it, with the head to the east and the feet to the
west. In some caves, however, this rule is not adhered to, for I
found corpses placed in accordance with the formation of the floor
of the cave. The body is covered with an inch of earth, then with a
row of pine or palm sticks put on lengthwise, and over this a layer
of earth is spread five or six inches deep. On top of all, stones
are thrown. The bodies of grown persons are stretched out to their
full length, but with children the knees are generally drawn up.
This is one Way in which the pagan Tarahumares bury their dead. Another
mode, equally common, is to place the body lying on its back, on the
surface, without any earth to cover it; in this case the mouth of the
cave is walled up with stones, or stones and mud, and several bodies
may be found inside.
When exhuming skeletons I have frequently found bits of charcoal,
which was explained by the fact that during the first night the
mourners keep a fire near the grave, which to-day serves the same
purpose as candles. This also accounts for the smokiness of the
interior of the burial-caves, even of the ancient ones.
The dead keeps his buckskin pouch and three small gourds with
beans. Three ears of corn are placed to the left of his head,
as well as a small jar of tesvino. Another small jar of tesvino
is placed near his feet, as well as his bow and arrows, the stone
with which the arrows are stretched, reeds and sinews, his steel for
striking fire, the small stick with which paint is put on the arrows,
his sucking-tubes when the deceased has been a shaman, in fact all
his light-weight belongings, besides balls of gum from the pine-tree,
necklaces of _Coix Lachryma-Jobi_ and a hikuli plant. Everything heavy,
such as his axe, machete, beads, and money, he leaves, as it is thought
that the weight would hinder him from rising to heaven. This is the
practical view the Indians have taken since their contact with the
whites, as valuables frequently attract marauders. The dead man's
sandals, his violin, and the vessels from which he used to take his
food, are kept in a separate place for a year, that is, until after the
last function for the dead is over; then at night the shaman and other
men take them away and bury them somewhere, but not with the dead. The
skins on which he died are treated in the same way, and are never
used again, lest a very ugly dog might be born of them. The house is
always destroyed, and the me-tare and many jars and baskets are broken.
On the third day after the death, the relatives begin to prepare
the first feast for the dead, which is held within a fortnight. One
or two sheep or goats are killed, and the lungs, the heart, and the
windpipe are hung from a stick outside the burial-cave.
As soon as the tesvino is ready the feast comes off, although
comparatively little of the liquor is used at this first function. The
relatives, men and women, visit the grave and leave a jar with pinole,
a small jar with tesvino, three tortillas, and three cigarettes
with the dead, if he was a man; with a woman, four tortillas, etc.,
are required. The size of the tortillas varies with the age of the
person. For adults the ordinary tortilla is used; to young people over
six years old, medium-sized ones are given; and children get small
ones, about an inch and a half in diameter. I have seen medium-sized
ones made into the shape of a cross.
All the mourners talk to the departed, the shaman first. He tells
him that he had better take away everything they have given him, and
not come and disturb the people he has left behind. He should leave
them alone, and some day they, too, will have to go where he is. He
should not kill any of the animals belonging to the family, as they
have killed a sheep for him and given him the best part, the lungs,
that he may eat and be satisfied and not take what now is theirs.
At the first feast I have seen worn in the hair by both men and Women
a peculiar kind of artificial flower. It is made from a short bit
of reed in one end of which four incisions are made, with the parts
turned outward to stand out like the corolla of a flower. It is stuck
under the hair-ribbon at one side of the head. The mourners also make
crosses on their foreheads with charcoal.
The second feast is given half a year later, and again animals are
killed and a large quantity of tesvino is made. Three men and three
women carry food and tesvino to the grave, the relatives remaining
at home. On their return they stop at a distance from the house and
throw ashes over each other's heads before entering.
For the third function, which is the largest, an animal is selected
from among those last acquired by the deceased, and quantities of food
and beer are prepared. This feast is the final effort to despatch the
dead. A large earthen bowl is made especially for the purpose. It is
about two feet in diameter and six inches deep. It is filled with
water, and a drinking-gourd placed inside of it, upside down. The
shaman beats this gourd with a corn-cob fastened to the end of a
little stick. His assistants help him, one by swinging the rattle,
the other by singing. After a while the shaman lifts the bowl up and
after carrying it about in three ceremonial circuits throws it into
the air. It falls to the ground and breaks into many pieces, and the
people dance and trample on the shreds and on the drinking-gourd.
The young people conclude the function by running a race of some
hundred yards. The men have their ball, and as they run they scatter
ashes to the four cardinal points to cover the tracks of the dead. They
return rejoicing, manifesting their delight by throwing up their
blankets, tunics, and hats, because now the dead is at last chased
off. If the deceased be a woman, the women run a race with rings
and sticks.
A very elaborate third function, given by a widow, was described to me
as follows: There were five patios. On one, for the dead, was erected
one large cross and two small ones, and three gourds with tesvino and
a basket with uncooked meat were placed near by. A fire was lighted,
and one man had to watch here. On another patio one cross was raised,
and a branch from a pine-tree placed next to it. Here, too, a jar
with tesvino and a basket with uncooked meat were deposited, and one
man and two women kept watch, but no ceremonies were performed. A
third patio was for the hikuli cult, where the shaman rasped and
sang. On the fourth patio, yumari was danced, and one large cross
and two smaller ones had been erected. Finally, on the fifth patio
four torches of resinous pinewood, each a yard high, were placed at
the four cardinal points. A peculiar feature was that one man alone
danced here between these four torches, cutting with his knife three
times through each flame as he danced. This he did in reprises.
According to the names which the Tarahumares apply to the three
functions for the dead, the main idea of the first is to give food;
of the second, to replenish the first supply; and of the third to give
drink. The three feasts are on an increasing scale of elaborateness,
the first being comparatively insignificant. Each generally lasts one
day and one night, and begins at the hour at which the dead breathed
his last. There is always a special patio prepared for the dead, and
another one for the hikuli cult, besides the ordinary dancing-place,
and much howling and singing goes on, especially at the last.
At the feasts, the shaman steeps herbs in water and Sprinkles this
medicine over the people. Hikuli dancing and singing always play a
prominent part at all the festivities, for the plant is thought to be
very powerful in running off the dead, chasing them to the end of the
world, where they join the other dead. Yumari is danced at intervals
and much tesvino is used, and at all feasts the survivors drink with
the dead.
There are three feasts for a mall, and four for a woman. She cannot
run so fast, and it is therefore harder to chase her off. Not until
the last function has been made will a widower or a widow marry again,
being more afraid of the dead than are other relatives.
After the death of a person, anyone who rendered him any service, as,
for instance, watching his cattle for a week, claims something of what
the dead left. He is satisfied, however, with a girdle or the like.
Once I was present at the burial-feast for a man who had hanged himself
a fortnight before, while under the influence of liquor and angry
over some property out of which he considered himself cheated. He had
changed into a lion. Two men and two women carried food and tesvino;
the wife did not go with them, as the deceased had died alone, and
she was afraid of being carried off by him. His father-in-law led the
procession, carrying a goat-skin with its four feet remaining. The
animal had belonged to the deceased and had been sacrificed for him,
and the skin was to be given to him that in his new life he might
rest on it. The suicide had been buried in a little cave with his
feet toward the entrance. Having deposited the food near the dead
man's head, the women sat down on a stone inside, while the men stood
up near the mouth of the cave, all faces turned toward the grave. The
father-in-law seated himself on a stone near the feet of the dead. It
was a dreary winter evening in the Sierra and the scene was singularly
impressive. The old man was a strong personality, powerfully built,
and a shaman of great reputation, who in his entire bearing showed
his determination to keep the dead at bay. He seemed to exercise a
reassuring influence over the whole assembly.
I shall not easily forget the solemn and convincing way in which he
upbraided the dead for his rash act. Taking the reed flower from his
hair and holding it in his right hand, he waved it down and up, as if
swayed by the force of his own thoughts, in accentuating his points,
and he talked and argued with the dead for a quarter of an hour. The
man was a great orator, and spoke so earnestly that my interpreter
Nabor was affected almost to tears. The speech was a kind of dialogue
with the dead, the speaker supplying the responses himself, and this
is the gist of it:
Why are you there?--Because I am dead.--Why are you dead?--Because I
died.--Why did you die?--Because I chose to.--That is not right. You
have no shame. Did your mother, who gave you birth, tell you to do
this? You are bad. Tell me, why did you kill yourself?--Because I
chose to do it.--Now what did you get for it, lying there, as you are,
with stones on top of you? Were you not just playing the violin in
the house with us? Why did you hang yourself in the tree?
Here I leave this tesvino and food for you, the meat and tortillas,
that you may eat and not come back. We do not want you any more. You
are a fool. Now I am going to leave you here. You are not going to
drink tesvino in the house with us any more. Remain here! Do not come
to the house, for it would do you no good; we would burn you. Good-bye,
go now; we do not want you any more!
All present then said good-bye to him, and all the women added,
"Fool!" and then they all ran quickly into a deep water-hole, splashing
into it clothes and all, that nothing from the dead might attach
itself to them. They changed their wet attire after their arrival
at the house. Later in the evening a magnificent hikuli feast was
held. The Indians sat around the big fire, which cast a magical light
over the tall old pine-trees around the patio, while the dancers moved
about in their fantastic way through the red glow. Such a scene makes
a deeper impression than any that could be produced on the stage.
The Christian Tarahumares believe that the shaman has to watch the
dead throughout the year, or the deceased would be carried away by
the Devil. If the feasts were not given, the departed would continue
to wander about in animal shape. This is the direful fate meted out
to people who are too poor to pay the shaman. Sometimes, if the dead
person has not complied in life with the customary requirements
in regard to feasts and sacrifices, the shamans have a hard time
in lifting him to heaven. It may take hours of incantations and
much tesvino to get his head up, and as much more to redeem his
body. Sometimes the head falls back, and the shamans have to call
for more tesvino to gain strength to lift him up again.
The Tarahumares had no great scruples about my removing the bodies of
their dead, if the latter had died some years before and were supposed
to have been properly despatched from this world. Where a body had
been buried, the bones that were not taken away had to be covered up
again. One Tarahumare sold me the skeleton of his mother-in-law for
one dollar.