TARAHUMARA

also called Rarmuri, Middle American Indians of southwestern Chihuahua state in northern Mexico. Their language, which belongs to the Sonoran division of the Uto-Aztecan family, is most closely related to Yaqui and Mayo. Culturally the Tarahumara show similarities to such neighbouring Uto-Aztecan peoples as the Cora, Huichol, Tepehuan, and Pima-Papago. The land inhabited by the Tarahumara is high, broken plateau, cut by deep gorges and canyons; the climate is reasonably cool, but conditions are not particularly suited for agriculture. The Tarahumara are nonetheless small-scale farmers, growing corn (maize), beans, squash, and potatoes. They also keep goats and cattle, but pigs and chickens are uncommon. Crops are grown in small pockets of suitable soil, and a household's crops may be separated from one another by several miles. Settlements are scattered, usually loose clusters of households called rancheras. Each home consists of a one-room log or stone house and several storage huts. Settlements are not particularly stable, and a certain amount of seasonal mobility is usual. Pottery, blanket weaving, and basketry are the chief crafts practiced. Nominally Roman Catholic, the Tarahumara celebrate fiestas for local patron saints; in the rancheras, however, pre-Christian rituals are usual, and native fiestas are held. Their mythology blends pagan and Christian elements.