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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
The O’oba Yumare (Low-Lying Mountain Pimas) and their Oral Tradition
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
The O’oba Yumare (Low-Lying Mountain Pimas) and their Oral Tradition
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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
The O’oba Yumare (Low-Lying Mountain Pimas) and their Oral Tradition
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.
The O’oba Yumare (Low-Lying Mountain Pimas) and their Oral Tradition
31
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.
The O’oba Yumare (Low-Lying Mountain Pimas) and their Oral Tradition
32
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.
The O’oba Yumare (Low-Lying Mountain Pimas) and their Oral Tradition
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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.
The O’oba Yumare (Low-Lying Mountain Pimas) and their Oral Tradition
34
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
2007 Sergio Carreón Arias
2007 by Sergio Carreón Arias
Don Paulino with finished flower
2004-2005
Victoria Granados
2004-2005 by Victoria Granados
The O’oba Yumare (Low-Lying Mountain Pimas) and their Oral Tradition
35
Photographs
Identifier Title or brief caption
Date Name of the photographer
Credit information: © [year] by ---------
Sotol flower
2007
Sergio Carreón Arias
2007 by 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
Victoria Granados, Horacio Almanza y Juan Loera
2004-2005 by Victoria Granados, Horacio Almanza and Juan Loera
Women girls in front of the altar
2004-2005
Victoria Granados, Horacio Almanza y Juan Loera
2004-2005 by Victoria Granados, Horacio Almanza and Juan Loera
The O’oba Yumare (Low-Lying Mountain Pimas) and their Oral Tradition
36
Photographs
Identifier Title or brief caption
Date Name of the photographer
Credit information: © [year] by ---------
Finished altar
2004-2005
Victoria Granados, Horacio Almanza y Juan Loera
2004-2005 by Victoria Granados, Horacio Almanza and Juan Loera
Dancers and rattles
2007 Sergio Carreón Arias
2007 by Sergio Carreón Arias
Decorating The croix
2007
Sergio Carreón Arias
2007 by Sergio Carreón Arias
The O’oba Yumare (Low-Lying Mountain Pimas) and their Oral Tradition
37
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):
The O’oba Yumare (Low-Lying Mountain Pimas) and their Oral Tradition
38
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)
The O’oba Yumare (Low-Lying Mountain Pimas) and their Oral Tradition
39
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.
The O’oba Yumare (Low-Lying Mountain Pimas) and their Oral Tradition
43
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
The O’oba Yumare (Low-Lying Mountain Pimas) and their Oral Tradition
44
LISTA DE ASISTENCIA ENCUENTRO PARA POBLACION PIMA RESCATE DE LA LENGUA
YEPACHI, TEMOSACHI, CHIH. 28 AL 30 DE AGOSTO DEL 2008.
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
The O’oba Yumare (Low-Lying Mountain Pimas) and their Oral Tradition
45
LISTA DE ASISTENCIA ENCUENTRO PARA POBLACION PIMA RESCATE DE LA LENGUA
YEPACHI, TEMOSACHI, CHIH. 28 AL 30 DE AGOSTO DEL 2008.
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
The O’oba Yumare (Low-Lying Mountain Pimas) and their Oral Tradition
46
LISTA DE ASISTENCIA ENCUENTRO PARA POBLACION PIMA RESCATE DE LA LENGUA
YEPACHI, TEMOSACHI, CHIH. 28 AL 30 DE AGOSTO DEL 2008.
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
The O’oba Yumare (Low-Lying Mountain Pimas) and their Oral Tradition
60
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
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