Opatas – Official Opata Nation website

Matachines Opata

opataedgar — Sun, 09 Aug 2020 23:51:17 +0000

As a historical fact, it is important to mention that the Spanish conquest in the region that is known today as Sonora was attempted by arms in the first expeditions, but failed, that is why the following expeditions were carried out with the help of the Jesuits who applied with success another technique, religion.

This dance was introduced among the Indians of central Mexico in the 16th century as part of semi-religious theatrical performances, whereby the Franciscans gradually replaced the dances considered by Christians as idolaters. In addition, the dance of the Matachines is one of the vehicles that contributed to popularize the name of Moctezuma in these regions.

Before the arrival of the Jesuit missionaries, the Matachines were just a dance of the Opatas towards their beliefs. The current dance of the Matachines includes steps mainly from Spanish dances.

With the arrival of the missionaries, they set up a conflict of wanting to establish a belief which the Opatas refused to carry out and since they could not refuse, they made an exchange. In which the Opatas would not stop dancing their dance, but would include the Catholic Cross. These missionaries called the Mission Cross to the place assigned by the dancers to worship God.

Previously the inhabitants of the Opata people used to decorate their legs with beautiful pieces of ribbon and red cloth, as a sign of the blood shed by Christ on the Cross, the pieces of sheet were so that together with the Guajes they will sound to the sound of the dance.

The gourds were decorated first from their approach, according to the women, they said they had to take care of the plant from its birth so that the large and perfect gourd could be formed. After it was mature, the women used to cut it to dry, once it was dry they broke the upper part to fill it with small pebbles and decorate it with china paper in the shape of a flower.

Many years have passed since the creation of the festivals have been changing. The women no longer wear their special costumes, they decided to change to make their costumes very colorful and dance to the music now with musical instruments.

Currently the festival of the Holy Cross is celebrated in the town of Jecori, located in the Municipality of Cumpas, has 581 inhabitants, and is 800 meters above sea level. Its name comes from the word jecota, the structure of the town consists of a single street from north to south, and it is located on the right side of the Moctezuma river, its festivities are on May 3. In 1989, Father Miguel Vásquez Velásquez arrived at the Cumpas parish and decided to implement a Uniform for this tradition, a red blouse and white skirt meaning the Purity of the Blood shed by Christ. And regarding this uniform, in my very particular opinion, it seems too conventional, very simple and ordinary for such a particular dance, I think they should wear more striking and better elaborated clothes, a white skirt and a red blouse, they stay very poor and do not attract attention at all, Jécori is for more color and much more capable. The dance is performed without shoes as a sign of sacrifice and symbolizing respect for the land that Jesus stepped on and with flowers in hand, symbolizing love for nature, making the sign of the cross with his feet. Sometimes it is a command that is offered for favors granted. After the dance, delicious biscuits based on wheat middlings are offered, which in the region are known as “puchas” or coricos, accompanied by a drink based on pineapple or corn that is sweetened with brown sugar, which we commonly know as tesgüino. This festival on May 3, which begins on the hill of the cross, with the celebration of Holy Mass, depending on the will of the parish priest in turn, and which is carried out in different parts of the town, many people attend. I consider it a very intimate moment with our few traditions and nothing like listening to the tacatacas with the tune of the Matachines, which we only hear once a year but all day three and eating with tesgüino.

The color of the red and green crosses, which also makes me think that they should be changed or increased colors because Mexico is very colorful and Cumpas does not have to be left behind. The red and green colors of the crosses are attributed to the tabachin, or matachin, which is a very showy flowering plant that abounds in this region and elegantly decorates our roads. And the number three of the crosses is defined by the great significance of this number in relation to the cross, first it symbolizes the holy trinity, father, son and holy spirit, there were also three crosses that afternoon in which Jesus died in one of them, that of Jesus and that of the two thieves, the party takes place on a day three.

The monarch is the only male dressed in white, marking purity before the three crosses, generally he is a single, reverence to dance happily and call to God through the roar of the Guajes and to the sound of music, mark his happy face giving to the spectators a good taste for this dance.

WINDOW TO THE PAST: History of Sonora

opataedgar — Sat, 08 Aug 2020 21:18:23 +0000

The following column was published by the newspaper El Imparcial (In Spanish) on Friday, October 8, 1937 in the EDITORIAL PAGE, and is a window into the past about what has been written about us Opatas and other Indigenous Nations of the region:

SONORA HISTORY

By Dr. Arego

An article by Prof. Manuel Sandomingo, in “La Opinion,” September 24 motivates these lines.

It is titled “The Opata Tribe” and says: “… in 1931 there was not a single opata that could be explained in their language, being able to assure that it has ceased to exist as an ethnic group … in Sonora, the first Spaniards surprised Indians who poisoned a pool of water for deer, to make provision of skins and winter clothes, according to Gomara.”

Without controversy, Prof. Sandomingo will forgive us the warning: The tribe has not ceased to exist as an ethnic group. Here in Arizona there are thousands of opatas, towns and villages that speak and write their dialect: in Florence, Zacaton and Coolidge.

That they “poisoned a puddle” is as fantastic as the fact that Sonora owes its name to the fact that the Indians could not use the word — lady — because they did not speak their language. The ñ, as it sounds in Spanish. It is a gala of dialects. “Baijqui zuñi” the last of the three calls to MISA. There is the “zuñi” tribe and the word also means bell, sound.

Neither tribe nor Apaches poisoned puddles, nor for beasts, much less to kill deer.

The water, gift of the Great Spirit, God, is sacred to them. Their food and their water, we can take them without fear, no matter the tribe. They poisoned their arrows against a tenacious enemy, but not for hunting. They do not leave a deer or wounded animal in the field; by law, under very severe penalties. If the SERIS ever killed white people, it was that they left wounded deer. At the time of pregnancy, they do not kill females. In August, they have their “deer party” barbecue of all those who can capture, with art, running it on foot, or with stones, without firing a shot. So much care for hunting.

The years that the calving is scarce, they know certain herbs that they put in the waters to attract the deer; and others to heal the belly of the females and obtain offspring. This perhaps Gomara saw and the Indians told him — poison — to kick him off. their hunting laws are very harsh and well observed.

Upon arrival of the Spaniards, all the tribes knew much about the laws of Moses and many Indians still do not eat the forbidden meat or pork, or wear a fur poisoned animal. They had a transcript of the Gospels and by tradition, they waited for the conquerors. Thus they accepted those Holy Missionaries to whose devotion the conquest was due, rather than to the adventurous weapons. Say it if not, that amazing trait of aboriginal nobility: the victorious Indians, initiated peace treaties with the brave Hurdaide to feed their fiercely defeated legions and save them from going to perish. . .!

Ay. . . and what a painful lesson the unsuspecting Indians received in exchange for such an act of nobility and unprecedented heroism. . .! Nothing less than the productive slaughter of OTANCAHUI, baptized the place with this name that means “where the bones are whitened like salt” by the Indians, as a sad indelible memory. . . !

And we accuse them of a felony when we have not given them other lessons. . .! Eternally, we have always been the first to break the peace treaties!

There is in Arizona the “Hieroglyphic Canyon” with millions and millions of signs in cliffs and basalts, which, according to some scholars, date up to 40 thousand years. The data seems exaggerated to us. And there, the “Newspaper Rock” so called for the regularity and symmetry of its writings, like printed columns, before which the most notable archaeologists and men of science have crashed. without deciphering the slightest bit of such a remote civilization, or even guessing its purposes and conflicts, even perhaps with very different configuration and physical geography.

For us, this is nothing but their Code, their Fundamental Law, which was their HISTORY, for them sacred; to which kings and vassals were linked; dominators and tributaries. There are registered the signs of all the tribes, including the SERIS of Sonora. Soon “Big House” Opata construction, will appear today in ruins in Arizona. And apart from “Jose Rafael Campoy, a Great Sonorense” a clear precursor of our Independence.

We know Bancroft, Velázquez and others, but we have not read the history of the Seris, for themselves; sad and painful narration drawn on the rocks and cliffs of the coast, from Isla Tiburon to the delta of the Colorado River. It speaks of the white predation in its desolate domain. Of a prodigious odyssey from distant unknown countries; down impossible roads through regions that have now disappeared. Dirty and weathered to the unbelievable, he and his hut reek of fish and moth-eaten leather, sadder and brooding, preserves the legend of a better past. Everlasting victim, the surrounding ranchers, more guilty than him, cry out to the government for the extermination of the tribe when they kill a stolen cattle! And the SERI is being extinguished by leaps and bounds — deliberately suicidal — says an American writer who studied it — consumed by inexorable tribal consumption — he adds. There is only one way to save it – we say: the Church, through Catholic missionaries.

Unlettered Indian, leads many points with the alphabet of the idea, open to him the book of nature that we do not even spell it, foolish. In Caborca, Sonora, it is notorious how an Indian set fire to the house occupied by filibusters in 1857, with incendiary arrows, fired by parable from behind the temple, which determined the triumph! Oh . . God, who reveals these things to the humble illiterate, hidden from the wise and learned!

If there is no reflection, a little more exactness, in terms of justice, so as not to hurt ourselves: Sonora will continue without HISTORY. . .

Dr. AREGO.
Glendale, Ariz.

Finding this piece of history would not have been possible without the open digital repository “Arizona Memory Project”.

References:
-Gomara: Francisco López de Gómara
-Hurdaide: Captian Hurdaide (1616s).

Update status of the delivery of the Opata Care packages

opataedgar — Fri, 08 May 2020 00:02:07 +0000

Thanks to the monetary contributions of 18 people, almost a week ago, we managed to complete the purchase of the necessary food for some of the Opata families. The first beneficiaries live in the towns of Tuape and Meresichic (8 Opata families with 33 people overall).

On the morning of May 5th, the 8 packages of provisions were delivered by Cristina Murrieta, a member of the Opata Traditional Government Council in Hermosillo, Sonora, to the Commander of Public Security of Opodepe, Official Ricardo Sánchez, to be delivered later that day to the above-mentioned Opata families:

The Commander, in coordination with our contact point in the region, Professor Hilda Contreras, who is the official Chronicler of the municipality of Opodepe and a member of ACROS, delivered the packages the same evening/night of May 5th:

Our Opata relatives who first received this support of the Care Packages are deeply grateful. In the photographs, there is Professor Hilda Contreras, who helped coordinate reaching an agreement with the mayor of Opodepe in Opodepe (Municipality) so that Commander Ricardo Sánchez and Narvel officer could support us by collecting the Care Packages from the capital of the state and later take them to towns of Tuape and Meresichic for the delivery to each of the 8 Opata families.

Historical landmarks:
-Entrance to Tuape.

-Entrance to Meresichic.

-Tuape Primary School.

-Plaza from Tuape.

-Church of San Miguel de Tuape built by the Jesuits José Ma. Salvatierra and José de Aguilar, visitors of Padre Kino in 1687, rebuilt.

-The old window of the old church; Windows are double adobe.

-The saints inside the church are the original ones.

-There is a Chino Christ that dates back to 1626.

What we have completed so far has been thanks to donations in the campaign via gofundme platform, to the efforts, and to the contributions made by Cristina Murrieta, the Opata Traditional Government Council, Claudia Nolasco, César E. López, Carlos Valenzuela, Lourdes Bojórquez, Beda Domínguez, and Edgar García Madrid.

We hope to maintain the good “streak” to fulfill the support of the other Opatas of the Opodepe town (same name as the municipality), Querobabi, and Pueblo Nuevo of the Opodepe municipality.

For monetary donations:

Current Campaigns

Or visit directly:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/covid19-emergency-care-package-for-opatas

For in-kind donations in Hermosillo, Sonora:
Cristina Murrieta
+52 1 662 142 1895
email: donaciones@opatanation.org

#VaXHermosillo y #VaXSonora

Diôs e’mêe’na (Thank you)

First Library donation campaign completed

opataedgar — Wed, 04 Dec 2019 16:22:58 +0000

We just want to thank you!

Your donation has allowed us to initiate this crucial project for our Opata community, the Opata Library, which is set to be a place that will promote and preserve Opata knowledge and culture, inspire community members to achieve higher levels of education continuously, and enhance personal/community development to enrich and improve the quality of life for all Opata people via the Internet.

Here the details of the order placed today to upgrade to the feature required with Librarika:

Diôs e’mêe’na (Thank you),
The Opata Nation

Great Pride for the Opata Nation

Martin Ortega López — Fri, 12 Jul 2019 20:32:46 +0000

“Indigenous Peoples of Sonora Mexico” team holding the flag of the Tohono O’odham Nation and the flag created by Teresita Leal (mayo-opata) to represent the Opatas.

During the past NABI, it was of great pride and honor that the honorable Verlon Jose who was the tribal chief until May of 2019 as vice president of the Tohono O’odham Nation carries the coat of arms of our people Hoi-Ra-Ua. called Opatas. It is very significant for us and of high value because it indirectly contributes to our process and struggles for reunification as a differentiated people that have not been extinct as it had been expressed in the last two decades. We are recognized as a people from which we descend thousands, but unfortunately many do not assume for different reasons that have happened over the centuries.

Through this note, we want to give the specials again thanks to my brother Julio Cesar Ortega Lopez and my nephew Julio Everardo Ortega who represented us very well in this event where brothers from many parts of the world and original peoples of Sonora – Arizona met. The creator is sending us blessings so that we can help him to rescue this wonderful place that he created for us and that we call home, our mother earth. And although the theme was the sport we know that if our young people, our children live in a healthy environment, they will be the ones that continue with this fight. Thank you very much to the teacher Edna Soto Gracia and Isabel Valadez Arias who coordinated for this to be possible, you are a blessing for our peoples.

This flag was designed by Teresita Leal, our commander who today takes care of us from that spiritual level where she undoubtedly continues to send us blessings. She gave it to me and we will always wear it with pride, WE ARE the Hoi-Ra-Ua, Opatas (Tehuimas, Jovas, Eudeves to mention the most numerous families), WE ARE BRIDGE BEINGS, a nation that came to light again to enrich the culture of our State of Sonora and of our country.

Opata songs on National PBS Documentary

opataedgar — Wed, 10 Jul 2019 17:51:36 +0000

We recently found out via our Noragua Rushingwind (Opata-Cahuilla), that 2 songs of his solo album “Keeper of Secrets” (Google play Music) that won a NAMMY Award will appear 4 times on the Documentary “The Warrior Tradition” which will air November 11, 2019, on National PBS. There will be a premiere at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian in Washington DC in October 2019.

The Warrior Tradition tells the astonishing, heartbreaking, inspiring, and largely-untold story of Native Americans in the United States military. Why do they do it? Why would Indian men and women put their lives on the line for the very government that took their homelands? The film chronicles the accounts of Native American warriors from their own points of view – stories of service and pain, of courage and fear.

The Warrior Tradition, a one-hour documentary, is a co-production of WNED-TV, Buffalo/Toronto and Florentine Films/Hott Productions, Inc. Produced and directed by Lawrence Hott, written by Ken Chowder, Edited by Rikk Desgres. Cinematography by David Litz, Sound by Mark Henry. John Grant is an executive producer for WNED. NativeAmericanMusicAwards.com High Spirits Flutes Southwest Stories with the two Steves

Indigenous Peoples of Sonora participate for the first time in NABI

opataedgar — Mon, 08 Jul 2019 21:38:15 +0000

The 17th Annual Native American Basketball Invitational (NABI) was held during the last week of June, were Native American basketball players (featured 128 teams) in boys and girl’s tournaments from across Canada, the United States, two teams from New Zealand and for the first time, Mexico converged on the Arizona Valley for one of the largest amateur sporting events of its kind.

Early-round games were played in Maricopa and Bapchule (teams were seeded in Gold or Silver, 32-team brackets for single-elimination competition toward a national championship) on June 24-26 and the National-title games were held at Talking Stick Resort Arena, home of the Phoenix Suns, in downtown Phoenix on Saturday, June 29.

During this event, some the Hoi-ra-ua (Opatas) participated alongside our brothers Tohono O’odham,Yoreme (Mayos), Yoeme (Yaquis) y Comcaac (Seris) under the same flag, the team “Indigenous Peoples of Sonora Mexico” where to their surprise they were very well received with great affection and respect for the teams representing the other indigenous nations and organizers.

This participation would not have been achieved without the previous efforts of many people who worked and supported so that our teams would be present, and thanks to one of the councilors of Nogales, Sonora Edna Soto Gracia and her husband, who were kind enough to travel from Nogales in representation of these young people, great thanks to Isabel Valadez Arias and her team Víctor and Ahmed of the Consulate General of Mexico in Nogales, AZ, who supported the boys incredibly so that many of them will visit the United States of America for the first time, the honorable Verlon Jose whose was the Vice President of the Tohono O’odham Nation until May 2019 for his support for this participation to become a reality, because it should be noted that their support was incredible, and Nike7, Fry’s and the city of Maricopa in Arizona for their sponsorship.

The NABI Foundation is a national foundation committed to supporting Native American youth by implementing programs that encourage higher education, sports, health & wellness, and community building.

For more information about the schedule of events, game schedules, locations, admission fees, and how to donate and/or become a sponsor visit www.nabifoundation.org

NABI sponsors on 2019:
Phoenix Suns, Phoenix Mercury, Talking Stick Resort Arena, City of Maricopa, Steward Health Care, Bank of American, Native Health, Arizona Diamondbacks, Universal Insurance Programs, Tohono O’odham Nation, Yavapai Prescott Indian Tribe, National Indian Gaming Association, Seneca Nation of Indians, Fry’s Food Stores, DEA, Waste Management/Phoenix Open, Rosette LLP, Pascua Yaqui Tribe, KONE Elevators, A.R. Mays Construction, Adventurous Antelope Canyon Photo Tours, Gun Lake Tribe, Helios Education Foundation and APS.

We are bridge beings

Martin Ortega López — Sat, 04 May 2019 13:56:45 +0000

The Hoi Ra Ua, is a spiritual human being, always seeks to unite the brothers and sisters, with a great spirit of sacrifice, a generous gift for others to successfully cross the difficult paths of life … We are human beings bridge;

Teuri teta buchânasiben
Teresa Leal