the o’oba yumare (low-lying mountain pimas) and their oral … · the o’oba yumare (low-lying...

The O’oba Yumare (Low-Lying Mountain Pimas) and their Oral Tradition

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Index

PRESENTATION 4 A. State(s) party (ies) 4 B. Name of element 4 C. Community (ies), group(s) or, if applicable, individual(s) concerned 4 D. Brief textual description of the nominated element 5 E. Brief statement of the viability of the element, need for safeguarding and the proposed safeguarding measures. 5 NOMINATION 7 1. IDENTIFICATION OF THE ELEMENT 7 1.a. Name of element 7 1.b. Other name(s) of the element, if any 7 1.c. Identification of the community(ies) group(s) or, if applicable, individual(s) concerned and their location 7 1.d. Geographic location and range of the element 7 1.e. Domain(s) represented by the element 10 2. DESCRIPTION OF THE ELEMENT 10 3. NEED FOR URGENT SAFEGUARDING(CRITERIA U.2) 13 3.a. Viability assessment 13 3.b. Threat and risk assessment 15 4. SAFEGUARDING MEASURES (CRITERIA U3) 16 4.a. Current and recent efforts to safeguard the element 16 4.b. Safeguarding measures (cf. Criterion U.3) 18

4.c. Commitments of states and of communities, groups or individuals concerned 26

5. COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT AND CONSENT (CF. CRITERION U.4) 28 5.a. Participation of communities, groups and individuals 28 5.b. Free, prior and informed consent 29 5.c. Respect for customary practices governing access to the element 29


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6. INCLUSION ON A INVENTORY (CF. CRITERION U.5) 32 7. DOCUMENTATION 33 7.a. Required and supplementary documentation 33 7.b. Cession of rights or creative commons license 33 7.c. List of additional resources 29 8. CONTACT INFORMATION 40 8.a. Submiting State Party Mexico 40 8.b. Contact person for correspondence 40 8.c. Competent body involved 40 8.d. Concerned community organization (s) or representative (s) 40 9. SIGNATURE ON BEHALF OF THE STATE PARTY 40 Attached 1 42 List of participation 43 Letter of assent 58 Attached 2 59 Directory of collaboration in the "Yúmare O'oba" file for urgent safeguarding list 60


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The O’oba Yumare (Low-Lying Mountain Pimas)

and their Oral Tradition

Presentation

A. State(s) party (ies) United Mexican States

B. Name of element


C. Community (ies), group(s) or, if applicable, individual(s) concerned

Pima Town from the Communities of Mesa Blanca, El Cable, Municipality of Madera,

Chihuahua; Yepachi, Piedras Azules, municipality of Temosachi Chihuahua; Maycoba,

municipality of Yecora, Sonora.

D. Brief textual description of the nominated element

Yumare is the most important agricultural-cycle related festivity for the Pima and other

indigenous peoples living in the State of Chihuahua such as the Raramuri; nevertheless

the Pima version includes particular characteristics of its own within its performance

phase, and also because it is sung in an archaic form of the Pima language, one that


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might reflect an older stage of the language perhaps even predating the time of the

European contact. It represents the O’oba variant of the propiciatory ryte of the

indigenous groups of Northwestern Mexico and the Southwestern United States.

The celebration consists of a gathering that lasts for three concecutive nights, organized

in order to ask for rain in the propitious time of the year, and also in order to ask for the

right conditions for agricultural production and collective welfare, as well as to express

thankfullness for the harvest. Also, there might also exist personal motivations o the part

of the organizer, such as asking for health or for the beneficial outcome of some familiar

project.

Yumare still resists as an element of cohesion and unity from within the Pima

community, which can be due to several factors. In the first place, the ceremony is

linked to the traditional subsistence system and its dependence on seasonal agriculture,

the latter leaning strongly on the indigenous Weltanschaung the axis of which are the

forces of nature and a hybrid religiosity that was the result of ancient ideas and the

contact with the friars of the Colonial Period.

E. Brief statement of the viability of the element, need for safeguarding and the proposed safeguarding measures.

Yumare is a part of a ritual cycle that the Pima people have to perform in order to

perpetuate its existence in the world. Through this ceremony the Pima establish their

essential links with sacredness and nature, who in turn provide the necessary

conditions to ensure life. This is how it has been done for centuries and how it will be

done as long as Pima Spirit survives.

Nevertheless, and as a result of a process of unequal contact and exchange with the

mainstream Mexican society, Yumare has been weakened due to two main facts: a) the

imposition of an official model of education that displaces traditional culture and

debilitates Pima identity dynamics; b) the demographic diminishing of the Pima


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population, which has decreased from 6,000 during colonial times (XVIII Century,

according to Pennington: 1976) to less than 800 nowadays.

The eventual loss of the Yumare tradition would mean the loss of the main

element of identity and collective unity of the Pima, so that reinforcing the conditions

necessary for its further transmission is an urgent task for the preservation of group

identity. Based on this idea, the Pima authorities consider both viable and urgent to take

the necessary steps to preserve the Pima ceremony.

Taking into account the above mentioned considerations we hereby propose a

preservation plan that includes measures such as: ethno-musical investigation; a data-

base of musicians and singers of Yumare; an urgent record of the chants (both in audio

and video); a transcription of oral and musical tradition to physical media (musical

scores, recordings and printing materials); the design of a methodology for the

implementation or workshops in which the Yumare ceremony might be transmitted, as

well as workshops for the revalorization of Pima heritage.


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Nomination

1. Identification of the element

1.a. Name of element


1.b. Other name(s) of the element, if any

1.c. Identification of the community(ies) group(s) or, if applicable, individual(s) concerned and their location

Pima Town from the Communities of Mesa Blanca, El Cable, Municipality of Madera,

Chihuahua; Yepachi, Piedras Azules, municipality of Temosachi Chihuahua; Maycoba,

municipality of Yecora, Sonora.

1.d. Geographic location and range of the element

The territory of the O’oba (Pima) is located within the territory of the Mexican State of

Chihuahua, in Northern Mexico. The O’oba inhabit the municipalities of Temosachi and Madera,

as well as the municipality of Yecora in the State of Sonora, mostly around the communities of

Maicoba and Yecora. All of these localities are enclosed in a wider region known as the Sierra

Tarahumara (Tarahumara Mountain range).


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1.e. Domain(s) represented by the element

The domain of the Pima Yumare belongs to social practice, rituals and festivities.

2. Description of the element

Yumare is a rite the expresses the ethnical identity of the Pima people. Through this

ceremony the people renew their loyalty to their own origins and cultural principles.

According to Pima oral tradition, the Pima Yumare reenacts a Creation myth through

ritualistic practices dedicated to propitiate the necessary conditions for the perpetuation

of life and cultural reproduction of the tribe.


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According to Pima oral tradition, many years ago men inhabited a flooded world,

full of water due to a deluge, but the world began to dry, opening new but muddy fields.

Their god —whom they consider their “Creator Father”— descended to Earth and

danced for three consecutive days and nights with the aim of strengthening the world

(“macizar el mundo”), dancing on the soft soil, so that the people might inhabit the land

and procreate there. Thus was the world created, according to the Pima.

Later on, God gathered the people around him and showed them how to dance

and sing, and this was named “Yumare”. He showed them how to dance in order to

stabilize the world, and to propitiate the abundance of food and rain each year. This

would ensure the perpetuation of mankind and the Pima would not die. From then on,

the ceremony was instituted1. He also taught them how to make “sotol flowers”2 for the

decoration of the altar and the space where the Yumare is danced.

According to the Pima interpretation, the dance symbolizes the deluge. The

dancer mimic animals that have inhabited the land from long before the coming of the

Pima. Participation of women and children is significant, since the dust they make when

they are dancing represents the clouds full of water.

The rite is presided by a singer (piajichtam nei). He has learnt a great number of

chants that were handed down to him by his direct ancestors. This knowledge is

culturally conditioned through linage. Through the chants the singer transmits the

values, ritual practices, oral tradition, mythic history, cosmogony and elements of Pima

identity in front of all the people, and the people reinterpret its symbolic contents. The

singer is responsible of transmitting the Yumare to the new generations. His chants

show the experience and the magic of invoking different natural entities; they deal with

animals from the woods as well as mythical anecdotes, the magical qualities of which

can propitiate rains and produce a good crop, this in its turn, ensures the reproduction

and continuity of both the people and their culture.

1 According to Don Lorenzo Nabogame, Temósachi, November 2003. 2 Sotol is an endemic plant, common in Northern Mexico, belonging to the family of Lilaceae. The Pima call it

shuriki.


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The Yumare embodies the symbolic core of a ritual which is necessary for the

agricultural cycle, collective survival, ethnic identity, and friendship and family links. All

the Pima must perform it at least once along their lifetime, and must show respect for

their tradition for the benefit of all the people, and they also must transmit it orally from

one generation to the next.

The celebration consists in a collective meeting that lasts through three consecutive

nights, and it functions a unifier that brings together people from different localities. For Pima

social life, the Yumare works as an unifying link for the different communities. This aspect is

important, since the Pima pattern of settlement is characterized by geographical dispersion,

which accounts for an almost permanent separation between families and individuals.

Nevertheless, the Yumare represents an opportunity of reunion for the people and it strengthens

the communication and social interaction of the tribe.


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3. Need for urgent safeguarding(criteria u.2)

3.a. Viability assessment

The ritual of Yumare is celebrated during the winter and spring seasons, coinciding with

the beginning and ending of the agricultural cycles. In order to celebrate it the traditional

authorities of the main communities fix the exact date of its performance, according to the moon

phases calendar. The places where Yumare is celebrated regularly are the villages of Yepachi

and Mesa Blanca; and only occasionally in neighbouring villages.


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The singer, main character of the Yumare, has the subtle task and responsibility of

transmitting the symbolism, sense, order, practice, and organization that Yumare needs for an

adequate sacred and everyday life in the Pima world. His work consists in singing during three

consecutive days and nights the supernatural stories about fabulous creatures and spirits that

surround the Pima habitat since the creation of the world. The “chants” reveal to the audience

the cosmological, mythical and historical elements that form the basis of collective identity

through oral tradition.

In order to become a singer a long process of apprenticeship is needed, through which

the student must learn by heart a great number of chants. The selection of new singers, as well

as the transmission of knowledge is inherited and transmitted along family lines. Nowadays only

as many as six singers are still working: tree around Yepachi and the rest near the Mesa Blanca

region, the age of which varies from 60 to 70 years old.

The ceremony of Yumare gathers around 50 people, from which about 20 take part in

the organization of the ritual, and the rest as dancers and members of the audience. The dance

consists in different steps that are practised by men and women who, side by side, march to the

rhythm marked by the chants and the rattles of the singers.

The long tradition of Yumare is still in force among the Pima, in spite of the severe socio-

cultural changes that have occurred during the last decades in the whole region. This has been

possible thanks to the commitment of the traditional authorities of the Pima people, who

constantly encourage the population to be a part of community efforts that entail the

safeguarding of their traditions and culture.

As a result of this kind of attitude, there is now a group of young people in Yepachi that

have undertaken the apprenticeship of the singer’s profession. While in other communities

reciprocity strategies have been developed, so that the organization of the Yumare can be


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made between different villages. When a community supports another one in the organization of

Yumare, the people are carrying out a mandate ordered by God when the world was created.

3.b Threat and risk assessment

Yumare is a core cultural element for the Pima, since it allows the reproduction of basic loyalties

towards their culture, creting spaces that foster communication and social exchange.

Nevertheless, the practice of Yumare has been diminishing. The most evident obstacle for the

continuity of this practice is the permanent condition of conflict and tension between the Pima

and mainstream Mexican cultures.

In this contexts, the model of education that has been imposed by the Mexican

authorities, gives a place of privilege to the contents and elements of the mainstream culture,

displacing the native ones. The overwhelming presence of the media imposes alien models and

values, such as mestizo music and “narco-corridos” (musical genre that glorifies the actions of

violence usually associated with drug-trafficking); migration of yoiungsters in search for better

incomes, as well as alcoholism and social violence; the incomprehension and mock of Pima

practices on the part of the mestizo, have generated a hostile ambiance. An ambiance that

devaluates the indigenous culture and discourages community participation, hindering both the

practice and the continuity of the Pima Yumare.

Pima culture is nowadays a besieged culture, one in which Yumare, it’s main element of

identity has ceased to be practised on a regular basis. This is evidently proven by the fact that

the number of communities in which it is practised has steadily diminished, because if it once

was an extended practice, at the present time it is only kept in a couple of villages, namely

Yepachi and Mesa Blanca. In some localities the ceremony is not celebrated because of fear of

harassment on the part of the mestizo, as it has already occurred in the past, when drunken

mestizo individuals have interrupted the ceremony, violating the sacred mandate of the Pima.

The tense interethnic relationships are now a considerable factor in the search of better

conditions for the safeguarding and strengthening of the tradition of Yumare.

Within this threatened culture, the conditions in which the singers work, are a manifest

sign of the above mentioned situation. And this situation is sometimes worsened by inter-


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generational conflicts, given the fact that many youngsters disregard the value of traditional

knowledge, choosing the practices of the dominant culture.

The fragility of this tradition is evident in the fact that traditional singers are now only six,

all of them being elderly individuals, which shows the “crisis” of the traditional model of

transmission of ritual knowledge. Only one singer is being now taught in the traditional way. In

front of this crisis the Pima have had to display their capacity for innovation: in Mesa Blanca a

woman is being trained as a singer, which means a split from traditional schemes; and in

Yepachi a workshop is being implemented, with the participation of as many as five apprentices;

nevertheless, these youngsters do not speak the Pima language, a basic trait of any traditional

singer. Taking this into account, it is possible to say that the long chain of transmission of the

Yumare rite will be interrupted, and the tradition of thanking and asking the cycles of natures will

disappear.

4. Safeguarding measures (criteria U3)

4.a. Current and recent efforts to safeguard the element

In the communities of Mesa Blanca, Madera (September 2007) and Yepachi, Temósachi

(September 2008), a series of workshops were offered, the aim of which was to enable the

participants to evaluate and diagnose their linguistic and cultural heritage. The participants

came from the localities of Maicoba, El Kipor, Yepachi, Piedras Azules, Nabogame, Mesa

Blanca, and El cable, among others3.

During the workshops the participants came to a conclusion: A series of community meetings on

the subject of Yumare has to be organized to discuss measures to be taken in order to

safeguard the tradition of Pima Yumare, with the full support of the whole community, since this

must be a commitment for all the Pima people. This is why the authorities are now engaged in a

permanent program the aim of which is to encourage the people to preserve this tradition. Due

to the fact that the Pima insist in maintaining respect for the traditional ceremonies, they

3 A lis of all the persons who atended the workshop is included.


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consider as viable to undertake a campaign of revalorization of the ceremony of Yumare, where

both Pimas and Mestizos can be taught about the importance of this rite.

The cultural institutions of the State Government design, take part, and implement several

mechanisms the aim of which is to support initiatives coming from the indigenous communities,

the Pima being considered as a most important subject. Several books and video and audio

recordings have been published, traditional celebrations have been financially supported,

several initiatives for the acquisition of materials and equipment related to the production of

traditional crafts have also been supported, as well as the acquisition of musical instruments

and traditional dressing.

Other cultural and academic institutions have also undertaken several investigation projects

with the aim of improving our understanding and knowledge of this indigenous culture; some of

them have already been published, and others are soon to appear in the book form. Several

efforts to produce linguistic materials also exist, with the purpose of providing learning materials

related to the Pima language. In this context of growing recognition of human diversity, different

new spaces have been opened, where the promotion of different artistic and cultural

manifestations is possible, among them those of the Pima People. This will make possible the

exchange of the different societies and culture to communicate with one another.

Recently both the institutions and the indigenous peoples have agreed in that it is very important

for the indigenous communities to gain a capacity of self-management and negotiation, through

the creation a body of cultural promoters and negotiators able to administer and protect their

own cultural resources.


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4.b. Safeguarding measures (cf. Criterion U.3)

The current revitalization plan of the pima intangible patrimony, emerged based on the

approaches that the community itself, consider a priority in order to safeguard the

essential parts of their rituals and ceremonies as well as their oral traditions. When

numbering the security proposals there are considered the actions on the part of other

institutions or different organizations worried about take part on the strengthening of the

pima cultural patrimony. The records form the auto diagnosis workshops of the cultural

and linguistic pima patrimony.

Below there are enlisted the different actions which are classified according to their level

of priority: A to mean for urgent safeguard of patrimony, B to mean intermediate level,

with priority towards another aspects, and C to mean necessary but not urgent.


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SAFEGUARDING MEASURE Training of cultural promoters OBJECTIVE To transmit habilities, knowledge an methodologies for the documentation of immaterial heritage ACTIVITIES 1) Formation of group of cultural promoter 2) Permanent capacitate-on RESULTS EXPECTED 1) Body of cultural promoters IMPLEMENTATION Communitary assembly to name the promoter to be capacitated OFFICE ICHICULT, DGCP, URCP, INAH, CDI HUMAN RESOURCES Three persons specialized in capacitation TIMESCALE From April to May 2009 AMMOUNT $25,000.00


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SAFEGUARDING MEASURE Creation of a commission for the safeguarding of the Yumare OBJECTIVE Count on an organism able to support and coordinate the proposed measures for the preservation of the Yumare ACTIVITIES

1) Integration of a group of promoters 2) Composition of the objectives and operation rules of the commission 3) Coordination and administration of the safeguarding plan

RESULTS EXPECTED 1) Management plan with rules and guidelines IMPLEMENTATION Operate meetings in the communities and gathering of indigenous authorities and cultural promoters so they can be a part of the commission OFFICE ICHICULT, DGCP, URCP, INAH, CDI HUMAN RESOURCES Two indigenous cultural promoters, 8 traditional indigenous authorities from the main communities and a transdisciplinary team consisting of 10 persons belonging to the different institutions TIMESCALE From June to October 2009 AMMOUNT $50,00.00


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SAFEGUARDING MEASURE Register and documentation of the Pima Yumare OBJECTIVE Coordinate and permanent investigation on the ritual practices and the cultural elements in force among the Pima ACTIVITIES

1) field work and register in audio an video in the different Pima communities 2) Analysis and sistematizati-on of information 3) Edition and design of materials for publication and diffusion

RESULTS EXPECTED

1) register of the calendar of celebrations 2) Census/Directory of singers 3) Publication of investigation about Yumare and its symbolism 4) Directory of the repertoire of Yumare chants

IMPLEMENTATION Community gatherings, self diagnosis workshops and interviews with musicians, dancers, traditional authorities OFFICE ICHICULT, DGCP, URCP, INAH, CDI HUMAN RESOURCES Two indigenous cultural promoter, a team of five investigators and technicians in field work recording TIMESCALE From December 2009 to December 2010 AMMOUNT $350,00.00


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SAFEGUARDING MEASURE Transcription and translation of Pima oral tradition OBJECTIVE To safeguard the chants and the singer’s tradition ACTIVITIES 1) Register in audio and video of the chants 2) Transcription of the chants of Yumare 3) Edition and reproductions of the audio materials, videos and printing materials 4) Diffusion of materials RESULTS EXPECTED 1) Book with the table/ score of both music and lyrics of chants, with an ethno-musical study about the tradition included 2) Anthology of Pima chants and production of casset 3) Register video about the Yumare and promotional video about the ritual IMPLEMENTATION The community will participate as informant and translators OFFICE ICHICULT, DGCP, URCP, INAH, CDI, INALI HUMAN RESOURCES Translators and promoters from the Pima community, a team of 5 investigators and technicians TIMESCALE From January 2010 to December 2011 AMMOUNT $200,000.00


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SAFEGUARDING MEASURE Revizalitation of the Yumare tradition OBJECTIVE Revalorization and streghting of the practice of yumare among the pima population ACTIVITIES 1)Design and elaboration of methodology about the transmission of yumare based on the pima experience 2) Workshops for teaching of yumare 3)Assessment of impact of the workshops RESULTS EXPECTED 1) Methodology of transmission of element 2) Workshops indifferent communities IMPLEMENTATION The Pima will assist in the design of the methodology and they will be in charge of the workshops OFFICE ICHICUT, DGCP, URCP, INAH, CDI HUMAN RESOURCES Authority and community at large, assist by investigators of institutions TIMESCALE From January 2012 to December 2013 AMMOUNT $175,000.00


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SAFEGUARDING MEASURE Social revalorization of the practice of yumare OBJECTIVE Generate and ambiance of tolerance and respect for the Pima rituals through interculturality ACTIVITIES 1) Campaign of revalorization of yumare and Pima cultural heritage through actions of interculturality 2) Elaboration of teaching materials about yumare RESULTS EXPECTED 1) Sensibilizing the mestizo population about ritual Pima practices 2) Publication of textbooks for elementary school children 3) Implantation of workshops about cultural exchange IMPLEMENTATION Bilingual teachers of the community will take part in the design and implementation of the materials OFFICE ICHICULT, DGCP, URCP, CDI,SEECH HUMAN RESOURCES 5 Bilingual teachers from the community, department of culture for educative development of ICHICULT, teachers from SEECH TIMESCALE From January 2010 to December 2013 AMMOUNT $600,000.00


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INAH: Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (Centro Inah Chihuahua)

ICHICULT: Instituto Chihuahuense de la Cultura

URCP: Unidad Regional Chihuahua de Culturas Populares

CDI: Comisión Nacional para el Desarrollo de los Pueblos Indígenas (Delegación Chihuahua)

INALI: Instituto Nacional de Lenguas Indígenas

SEECH: Servicios Educativos del Estado de Chihuahua


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4.c. Commitments of states and of communities, groups or individuals concerned

Participation of people belonging to communities and their authorities was the base for

the plan presented here. Likewise, any action regarding the preservation should include

the indigenous people.

Any institutional action regarding the protection, preservation and diffusion of O’oba

yumare will avoid protectionist actions that might, on the long term, inhibit

communitarian response. On the contrary, these actions should addressed the

strengthening of collective capacity, cultural reflection and organizational structures

generated from within the community.

The Pima people has its own government system, consisting by traditional authorities

freely elected in open assemblies, independent from the national party system, on from

any other system whatsoever. This system is the basic form of organization among the

O’oba, although not the only one.

Any actions coming from the Mexican national government or from any other institution

from the outside must be approved by the Pima assembly before any action or program

is undertaken, so any action plan needs to be discussed inside the Pima representative

structures.

Competent authorities endorsing this initiative have experience in dealing with the

O’oba people and affairs, and their attributions and responsibilities are directed towards

the preservation of their culture an traditional way of life.


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Likewise, the results of the self-diagnosis undertaken by INAH/CDI related to the O’oba

region were originnaly proposals and commitment of members of the Pima people.


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5. Community involvement and consent (cf. Criterion U.4)

5.a. Participation of communities, groups and individuals

During September 2007 and September 2008 two workshops were organized under the

name “Talleres de autodiagnóstico sociocultural Pima”, being undertaken by an

interdisciplinary team. Both workshops were essential in the process of pointing

directions in the field of social, cultural, economical and linguistic projects within the

Pima community. The plan consisted in starting a series of actions designed to address

particular “problems” that the Pima people considered to be the most relevant to

improve their social and cultural situation. With that aim, the participants proposed

several lines of action that might be of help when trying to solve adversity regarding

language and culture issues. Beginning from this plan, several other measures have

been proposed in order to try solve the aforementioned problems, taking into account

that this work is an initiative originated within the Pima people.


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5.b. Free, prior and informed consent

The pima nation after a series of gatherings, has considered that exists primary parts of

their culture in danger to dissapear, due this affirm that is important to make actions

respect this, and had proposed a list of solutions that must be taken in consideration to

saveguard their inmaterial cultural patrimony, in this case yumare ooba. Their

community has consent work in the elaboration of a list of urgent saveguard in this

cultural patrimony an advance in this work has been approved and express a positive

answer at the respect, hence they think that with the coordinated work among the

institutions involved and the community, will be possible to take concrete actions that

make possible the revitalization of the cultural patrimony.

5.c. Respect for customary practices governing access to the element

Within the frame of the state constitutional reform, Mexico acknowledges its nature as a

multicultural nation. This is stated in article number two of its Constitution:

“The nation has a multicultural composition based originally in her indigenous peoples

which are those that originated from the population that inhabited the modern territory of

the country when the colonization begun, and that still have their own economic, cultural,

political and social institutions, or part of them”.4

And continues in paragraph A, pointing that “This constitution recognises and guaranties

the right of the indigenous peoples and communities to free determination”; continuing in

fraction I where the indigenous people can “Decide their internal forms of coexistence and social

economical, political and cultural organization”; continuing in its paragraph II: “Apply their own

normative systems in the regulation and solving of conflicts”. This constitutional recognition has

allowed the reform of several older laws, as well as the creation of others, such as the “Ley

federal de derechos lingüisticos” (General Law of Linguistic Rights). Likewise, at the

international level, Mexico has ratified the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible

4 Constitución Política de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos: Artículo 2, edición del Congreso de la Unión México

2004


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Cultural Heritage within the UNESCO. The recent declaration of the United Nations about the

rights of the indigenous people and Agreement 169 of the Labour International Organization

conform another international instrument of consideration in the relationship that governmental

institutions establish with the indigenous peoples.

This legal frame establishes a commitment of the state to adopt safeguarding measures

that might guarantee the respect of the cultural traditions and customary practices of the

indigenous peoples. In this manner the demands expressed by the communities can be fulfilled,

taking in to account their free determination, their needs and their ethnical characteristics.

One must point out that the institutions responsible for the implementation of cultural

policies towards the indigenous peoples do not disrupt traditional normativity nor traditional

organization; on the contrary they seek to generate an ambiance of dialogue under horizontal

structures that might be beneficial and egalitarian towards the indigenous communities.

On the State level, these ideals are reflected in the “Programa Estatal de Cultura” (2004-

2010), made by the Instituto Chihuahuense de la Cultura (ICHICULT), where it is stated that: it

is necessary to support all these (cultural) manifestations and to enrich them in order to place all

these elements of identity in the very heart of regional development”. That is why in this same

document it is stated that “culture must become a strategic instrument to accomplish the goal of

making social equilibrium the guide of State development”, favouring Mexican and world ethnic

diversity5.

At large, State government offices and local NGO’s do fund and support Pima specific

demand regarding the safeguarding of their cultural heritage. Pointing out that the Pima Yumare

is an element that must urgently be preserved, so it can be handed dow to the next generations

(“Relatoría del taller de autodiagnóstico, Yepachi, 2008). The commitment of both the Pima

community and the concerned State an federal institutions towards the indigenous cultures, is in

the sense of creating forms of preservation of the indigenous cultural heritage.

At present, two Pima individuals are being enabled to work as promoters and negotiators

for their communities. This is hoped to conform the basis so that in the middle run it may be

Pima individuals the ones responsible for generating initiatives towards the preservation of their

5 INSTITUTO CHIHUAHUENSE DE LA CULTURA. Programa Estatal de Cultura 2004-2010. Talleres Gráficos de Gobierno del Estado. Chihuahua, México. 2006. Pp. 7-8.


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own cultural heritage. On the other side, there is still great ignorance on the part of the Mexican

public at large about Pima culture and society. This is why it is necessary to create professional

teams, able to generate ethnical and pedagogical information aimed at filling this informational

need. Regarding this subject, several works have appeared, some of them based on previous

actions of safeguarding and recording of the Pima collective memory and oral tradition. All these

experiences have been based, as stated above, with the acquiescence of the Pima community,

because they have been respectful of both the forms and the rhythms of Pima tradition.

The safeguard measures herby proposed do not affect in any manner whatsoever the

practice of Yumare. On the contrary, the Pima governors are the ones who have allowed, based

on a previous deliberation and authorization, access to their heritage, and they have endorsed

the proposal for the inclusion of Yumare in the List of Urgent Safeguard.


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6. Inclusion on a inventory (cf. Criterion U.5)

The first advance of the process of elaboration of the inventory of the intangible

patrimony of mexico

The monitoring of the acquired commitment by the mexican state in the convention for

the safeguarding of the UNESCO intangible cultural patrimony, which article 12

establishes that:

"1. To assure the identification in order to safeguarding each state will make up,

according to their own situation, one or several inventories of the intangible cultural

patrimony present in their territory said inventories will be regularly updated”.

And according to the established the said advance was authorized in the place where

the yumare of the o’obas is found on its cultural field: social practices, rituals and

festive acts, inventory consecutive 9.


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7. Documentation

7.a. Required and supplementary documentation

7.b. Cession of rights or creative commons license

FORM ICH-07

CESSION OF RIGHTS AND REGISTER OF DOCUMENTATION

Name of nominated element: The O’oba Yumare (Low-Lying Mountain Pimas) and

their Oral Tradition

Submitting State(s) Party(ies): United Mexican States

1. We, the undersigned, hereby grant to UNESCO the non-exclusive rights to use,

publish, reproduce, distribute, display, communicate or make available to the public, in

any language or form and by any means including digital, the following material(s), in

whole or in part. I grant these rights to UNESCO irrevocably, for an unlimited period of

time and for the entire world.


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Photographs (add as many rows as photos)

Identifier Title or brief caption

Date Name of the photographer

Credit information: © [year] by ---------

Pima omáwari altar Sotol flower

2007 Sergio Carreón Arias

2007 by Sergio Carreón Arias

Altar



Don Paulino with finished flower

2004-2005

Victoria Granados

2004-2005 by Victoria Granados


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Photographs




Sotol flower

2007

Sergio Carreón Arias


Musicians in the altar

2004-2005

Victoria Granados, Horacio Almanza y Juan Loera

2004-2005 by Victoria Granados, Horacio Almanza and Juan Loera

Offering of the altar

2004-2005



Women girls in front of the altar

2004-2005




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Photographs




Finished altar

2004-2005



Dancers and rattles



Decorating The croix

2007

Sergio Carreón Arias



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Audiovisual documentation (add as many rows as necessary)

Identifier Title of the film or recording

Date Name of the creator Credit information: © [year] by --------------

Video Yumare o´oba 2009 Gustavo Palacio

Flores, Silvia Olvera,

Eugenio Porras

2009 by

CONACULTA,

ICHICULT and

Unidad Regional

Chihuahua de

Culturas

Populares

CD Ceremonials pimas songs 2008 Pima nation 2008 by

PRODICI

2. I further grant to UNESCO the non-exclusive right to sub-license third parties to

use the material(s) in whole or in part, solely for non-profit educational or public

information uses.

3. These rights are granted subject to the condition that the respective above

mentioned credit, or its equivalent, is provided if and when the material(s) is/are used.

4. I certify that I am entitled to grant all the rights under paragraphs 1 and 2 of this

agreement and that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, the material(s):


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a) is/are in no way whatever a violation or an infringement of any existing

copyright or licence; and

b) is/are in no way whatever a violation or an infringement of any customary

practices governing access to the heritage depicted or incorporated, and

contain(s) nothing obscene, libellous or defamatory.

(Please sign, return two originals of the Cession to UNESCO and retain one for yourself)


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7.c. List of additional resources ALMANZA ALCALDE, Horacio (coord.) (2006): Diagnóstico socioculturales de los pimas del estado de Chihuahua. Chihuahua, Colección Solar/ICHICULT. México. AGUILAR VALENZUELA, Berta Alicia y Padre David Joseph Beaumont Pfeifer O.F.M. Cap. (2004). El mensaje de las rocas. Pinturas rupestres en la región pima. CNCA/INAH Sonora/ Instituto Sonorense de Cultura/ PACMYC AGUILAR ZELENY, A. (1998A). ‘Territorialidad y sitios sagrados entre los o´odham (pimas y pápagos)’, en: Etnografía de las regiones indígenas de México. (En prensa) BEAUMONT PFEIFER, D. (ed.) (2002). Catecismo pima. Nuestra espiritualidad pima. DUNNIGAN, T. (1983). ‘Lower Pima’, en: Sturtevant (ed.) Handbook of North American Indians. Washington: Smithsonian Institution GUERRERO, M. et al. (2001).The Forestry Industry in the State of Chihuahua: Economic, Ecological and Social Impacts Post-NAFTA. Austin: Texas Center for Policy Studies. MOCTEZUMA ZAMARRÓN, José Luis, en prensa, “El devenir de las lenguas indígenas en el norte de México”, en Primer Coloquio Carl Lumholtz, Juan Luis Sariego (ed.), Chihuahua. NETTLE, J. y Romaine, S. (eds.) (2000). Vanishing Voices. The extinction of the world’s languages. New York: Oxford University Press. NOLASCO ARMAS, M. (1969). Los pimas bajos de la Sierra Madre Occidental (Yécora y Nebome Altos). México: INAH. ORTIZ GARAY, A. (1995). ‘Los pimas de la Sierra Madre Occidental’, en: Etnografía contemporánea de los pueblos indígenas de México. Noroeste. México: INI, págs. 295-362. PENNINGTON, W. Campbell (1979) The Pima Bajo of Central Sonora, Mexico. The Material Culture. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press. PENNINGTON, W. Campbell (1973). ‘Plantas medicinales utilizadas por el pima montañés de Chihuahua’, en: América Indígena 33 (1). PORRAS CARRILLO, E. (1999). ‘Identidades sumergidas: pimas de Chihuahua’, en Noroeste de México. PORRAS CARRILLO, E. (2001). ‘Los pimas de Chihuahua a la búsqueda de la identidad perdida’, en: Molinari, C. y Porras, E. Identidad y cultura en la Sierra Tarahumara. México: INAH. RADDING, C. (1995). Del desierto a la sierra. México: INI. SAUER, C. (1934). ‘The distribution of aboriginal tribes and languages in Northwestern México’, en: Ibero-Americana 5. Berkeley: University of California Press/Cambridge University Press. SÁMANO, D. (2001). ‘O’ob: un paisaje humano en la sierra. Una aproximación histórica y antropológica a los pimas’, en: Los pimas. Beaumont Pfeifer, D. y Duarte Rodríguez, B. Hermosillo: Gobierno del Estado de Sonora, CNCA, Instituto Sonorense de la Cultura y Revista Así. SARIEGO Rodríguez, J. (comp.) (1998). El indigenismo en Chihuahua, Antología de Textos. Chihuahua: ENAH. STURTEVANT (ed.). Handbook of North American Indians, Washington: Smithonian Institution. URTEAGA, A. (1996). ‘Aspectos culturales del sistema político rarámuri’, En: Krotz, E. El estudio de la cultura política en México (perspectivas disciplinarias y actores políticos). México: CNCA/CIESAS.


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LISTA DE ASISTENCIA ENCUENTRO PARA POBLACION PIMA RESCATE DE LA LENGUA

YEPACHI, TEMOSACHI, CHIH. 28 AL 30 DE AGOSTO DEL 2008.

Name Community

Rosa Álvarez Contreras Patricia Sierra Ortiz Argelia Álvarez Ortiz Cornelio Sierra Cansio Adelina Valenzuela L. Paula Rivera Cruz Angelina Rivera Cruz María Ponciano Casimiro Sierra Francisca Contreras Cruz María Álvarez Valenzuela Elba Castellanos Álvarez Santos Casimiro Galaviz Enésimo Rodríguez Galaviz Benjamín Moreno Contreras Martina Contreras Martín González Francisco Jiménez Benjamín Alberto Castellanos Teo Álvarez Víctor Toquinto

Yepachi Yepachi Yepachi Yepachi Yepachi Yepachi Yepachi Yepachi Yepachi Janos Yepachi Piedras Azules Maycoba Yepachi Yepachi Mesa Blanca Yepachi Yepachi Mesa Blanca


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Name Community

Ema Contreras Angelina Contreras Guadalupe Álvarez Refugio Galaviz Elvira Espinoza Crispín Álvarez Adolfo González Pedro Vargas Antonio González Trinidad González Adriana Álvarez Francisco Jiménez Cruz Consuelo González Alberto Vargas Castellano Martina Contreras Rosa Alicia Casimiro Rascón Antonia Casimiro Moreno Teresa Moreno Contreras Refugio Galaviz Velia Bustillo Domínguez

Nabogame Nabogame Maycoba Yepachi Mesa Blanca Mesa Blanca Yepachi Mesa Blanca Mesa Blanca Yepachi Mesa Blanca Yepachi Yepachi Yepachi Piedras Azules Yepachi Maycoba, Son. Rancho Providencia


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Name Community

Alicia Jiménez Ma. Esther Jiménez Peña Ofelia Lau Coyote José Onéscimo Rodríguez Adolfo González Salvador Galván Celso López Víctor Toquinto Álvarez Quinardo Bustillos Santos Casimiro Galaviz Luis Casimiro Galaviz Ma. Francisca Contreras C. Genoveva Contreras Margarito Castellanos Teodoro Álvarez Efraín Contreras Juan Martínez Fernando Sierra Martín González Margarito Toquinto Álvarez Crispín Álvarez

Maycoba, Son. Maycoba, Son. Maycoba, Son. Maycoba, Son. Mesa Blanca Mesa Blanca Mesa Blanca Mesa Blanca Kipor Piedras Azules Piedras Azules Yepachi Yepachi Yepachi Nabogame Nabogame Piedras Azules Janos Mesa Blanca Mesa Blanca Mesa Blanca


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Name Community

Gabriel Álvarez Pedro Vargas Teofilo Álvarez Toño González Trinidad González Marta Ramírez Manuel Ángel Casimiro

Nabogame Yepachi Yepachi Mesa Blanca Mesa Blanca Mesa Blanca Yepachi


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Staff:

Preparation of the dossier:

Almanza Alcalde, Horacio

Carreón Arias, Sergio Demian Castillo Cuevas, Samantha

Loera González, Juan Jaime Ortega Balderrama, Luisa Palacio Flores, Gustavo

Sánchez García, Hugo C.

Design: Franco Deándar, Gisela Iliana

Translators:

Brouzes Pellicer, Francoise Coronado Loya, Juanita Servín Herrera, Enrique

the o’oba yumare (low-lying mountain pimas) and their oral … · the o’oba yumare (low-lying...

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