HISTORY

The Cora (Nayariite) are a small Amerindian group who live in the rugged Sierra del Nayar, part of the Sierra Madre Occidental, in Nayarit state. They number about 15,000 and are divided into five "comunidades", which are autonomous communities. The Cora share many common linguistic and cultural traits with their neighbors, the Huichol and the Tepehuan, as well as other Sierra Madre indigenous peoples. The Cora have maintained a distinct cultural identity and a large part of their prehispanic material culture, religion, and mythology. They speak their own language, which is divided into several different dialects. Local social and religious customs also vary between the different communities.

The origins of the Cora are not well-known, although investigators have found evidence of human habitation in the area at least 2000 years ago, and it is very possible that people arrived here much earlier. Evidence for a long cultural development in situ may be found in the cultural similarities between all Sierra groups, and in the complex mythology which is based on the local landscape.

The Cora (as well as the Huichol) maintained their independence against the Spanish during most of the colonial period. Part of the reason was the difficult terrain and the lack of valuable resources in the Sierra del Nayar, but the principal factor was the fierce resistence to Spanish domination. The Cora, especially, refused to accept Catholic missionaries, and several military expeditions against them were unsuccessful. The Cora often raided the Spanish settlements on the edges of the Sierra, and took part in several native rebellions. They did, however, adopt livestock, metal tools, and other material goods which they found useful. The Cora were the last independent native group in Mexico, but the Spanish finally conquered them in 1722, over 200 years after the conquest of the Aztecs. The final assault was against the Cora ceremonial center of Yauhke (Mesa del Nayar). Spanish soldiers destroyed the Cora temples, and the skeleton of the Cora leader Tayau Nayari (el Rey Nayar) was taken to Mexico City and burned in a public ceremony. The local churches and missions were founded by Jesuit priests at this time. Jesuit missionary activity continued for about 45 years, and after the Jesuits were expelled from the Americas the Franciscans took over the missions, staying until the end of the colonial period.

Mexico became an independent nation in 1810, but for decades the central government was weak and had little control over many of the more remote areas. The Cora have always asserted their autonomy whenever possible, and during much of the 19th century they were in open conflict with the Mexican government. They formed the nucleus of a rebel army led by Manuel Lozada, which took over and controlled what is now the state of Nayarit during the 1860's and 1870's. Their goal was to expel all Europeans from Mexico and return the country to Indian rule, but the movement was eventually defeated. However, during the Mexican Revolution from 1910 to 1920, and during the Cristero Rebellion of the 1920's, the Cora again rose in revolt, always with the goal of independence from central rule. The Mexican government only established definitive control over the area in the 1940's. Since then, it has consolidated control through the contruction of roads and airstrips, schools and clinics, and a bureaucratic structure based in the town of Jesús María. However, even today the government maintains only nominal control over large areas of the Sierra.

ECONOMY AND SOCIAL ORGANIZATION

The Cora have always lived off the land, and their economy and social structures are a reflection of the particular conditions in the Sierra Madre. Resources, especially water, are scarce and thinly distributed, and so the Cora have had to devise a subsistence strategy which is flexible and mobile. In Cora communities, there is no privately owned land-- one may own a house or a fruit tree, but the land itself is held in common, and may not be bought or sold. This is because practically no small patch of land is worth much by itself, and the people must move about over a wide territory in order to meet their material needs. Only members of the community have land use rights. In practice, most family groups have ancestral rights to certain areas, which are recognized by everyone within the community. However, the land remains part of the community at large.

Traditionally, the main form of subsistence is from agriculture, principally corn, beans, and squash, but the rainfall in the Sierra is barely enough to support corn crops. The Cora supplement agriculture with hunting, fishing, and also with gathering a wide variety of wild plants. Most families also maintain vegetable gardens and fruit orchards, as well. Despite many recent changes, the basic subsistence pattern continues, and many people still maintain a high degree of self-sufficiency. A Cora man can build his own house using only local materials, a machete, and his hands. Many families live for long periods with little or no money, and most people are well familiar with the basic survival skills.

Because resources are so thinly spread, Cora settlement patterns are also very scattered. The oldest and most basic form of settlement is the "rancho", which consists of a small group of family homesteads, usually of related family members. It is not uncommon for a single family to live in an isolated rancho in the mountains, a day's walk from the nearest neighbor. This is a very different situation from mestizo Mexicans, who tend to live in tightly clustered villages. The location of the ranchos depends above all on the availability of water and arable land. Besides the permanent dry season ranchos, Cora families often have rainy season ranchos, where they tend their animals. In addition, many families maintain houses in the ceremonial centers, where they stay during ceremonial periods.

Each community is divided into agricultural and grazing zones, which are divided by rock walls and other barriers. During the dry season, there are no crops and the animals may wander at will, but during the growing season they must either be corralled, tethered, or led out of the agricultural zone in order to protect the crops. As the planting time approaches, the Cora take their animals out of the agricultural zone and close the gates for the season. The animals spend the summer at rainy season ranchos, called "ranchos de agua". They are often kept in corrals so they can be milked, and milk, cheese, and other animal products are much appreciated during this time.

Cora agriculture is of two basic types. On the high flat plateaus, they till the soil with plows, and plant corn, beans, squash, and amaranth together. In the lower altitudes, the terrain is usually much steeper, but the soil more fertile. Here they use swidden (also known as "slash-and-burn") agriculture. For this type of cultivation, they first clear a patch of ground with machetes. After the cut vegetation has dried it is burned, usually just prior to the rains in June. The ash from the burnt vegetation fertilizes the soil. Planting is then done by hand using a digging stick. A hole is poked in the ground, and a few corn, bean, and squash seeds are deposited. Within a few weeks the first weeding must be done. Agriculture in the Sierra is very hard work, by the weeding is considered the most difficult chore. They may do a second weeding, depending on local circumstances. During the first part of the rainy season there is no harvest, and many families rely on wild plants to supplement their diet. The first watermelon, squash, and fresh corn is usually ready in August. This is the time when many Coras sleep in their fields, in order to scare off racoons, opossum, and other hungry animals. Most of the corn crop is left to dry on the stalk, and depending on the elevation is harvested between September and November. Fall is a time of plenty, when the corn bins are full and the food supply is assured.

However, not many families grow enough corn to last all year, and even those who do need a certain amount of cash. The opportunities to earn money in the Sierra have always been slim, and it is common for families to temporarily migrate to the Nayarit coast to work as agricultural laborers during the winter and early spring months of February, March, and April. There, they pick tobacco, beans, coffee, and other crops in order to buy provisions and bring a little money back to the mountains.

With the extension of roads into the Sierra, new needs and opportunities have been created, and the Cora have been increasingly drawn into the national and international economy in several ways. Many Cora make a living with small commerce, selling a few items out of their homes. The Mexican bureaucracy has created many jobs for administrators and teachers. The drug trade has also affected many Cora communities, and growing marijuana and opium poppies is now a major source of income, as well as a major source of conflict. The lumber companies have long coveted the pine forests of the Coras, which are among the last unlogged forests of the Sierra Madre. Recently the community of Santa Teresa contracted to log part of its communal forests, a move which has raised controversy. In addition, many Cora have migrated to the United States, either temporarily or permanently, and this migration has been a big help to several communities.

RELIGION

Much of Cora religion is shrouded in mystery and secrecy, and it is considered taboo to discuss the traditional "costumbre" with outsiders. Like all religions, the Cora religion represents a dynamic and ongoing mixture and reinterpretation of diverse elements. Within the modern-day Cora religion, we can identify two main cultural traditions, the Mesoamerican and the Catholic. Although the Cora have integrated many aspects of Catholicism into their religion, their cosmology-- their ideas of how the world operates-- clearly retains its pre-hispanic base. Along with the Huichol, the Cora are notable for having maintained a large part of their pre-hispanic deities, rituals, and mythology, and in this sense may be considered among the most traditional indigenous groups in the hemisphere. They are very conservative in religious matters, and have strongly resisted outside attempts at evangelization, whether to orthodox Catholicism or to Protestantism.

The basis of Cora religion is a combination of ancestor worship, shamanism, and animism (nature worship). There are no sharply defined differences between humans and gods, or between humans and nature. According to the Cora, when a person dies he or she is converted into natural phenomena, such as soil, water, rock, clouds, etc. At the same time, these natural phenomena are considered to be have magical powers. In this way, the deceased ancestors continue to influence the lives of the living, and are so treated as gods. All the main Cora gods have family names: the principal god is the sun and is called Tayau (our father). Other important gods are fire, Tayashure (our grandfather); the morning star Venus, called Tahatsi Shurave (our elder brother), and the corn and fertility goddess Tatí (our mother). Jesus, Mary, and many Catholic saints have been integrated into the Cora pantheon, and many of these figures are associated with the older Cora gods. Shamanism is very strong among the Cora, the shamans acting in the dual roles of healers and priests.

The basic aim of Cora religion is not to attain paradise in the afterlife. Rather, the goals are more immediate, and include good rains, abundant crops, and good health. These are all connected: health depends on the crops, which in turn depend on the rains. Much as with ancient Mesoamerican agricultural peoples such as the Aztecs and Mayas, much of Cora religion and symbolism relates to obtaining rains and fertility. Everything in life depends on propitiating the gods in order to maintain the natural balance of the world. In former times the Cora practiced human sacrifice, and today the fasts, pilgrimages, offerings, and complicated ceremonies they perform are all ritual forms of sacrifice. Cora ceremonies are performances put on for the ancestors. Participants communicate with the dead through a complicated symbolic language of song, dance, and the use of sacred objects. They also enter into the realm of the divine through altered states of conciousness; long repetetive chants and dances, fasting, tobacco, and peyote are all standard methods.

The Cora maintain a complex ceremonial cycle which basically follows the natural seasonal rhythms. Mitote ceremonies are performed in direct reference to the rains and the maiz cycle. Other festivals, such as the Cambio de Varas, mark the time when new community leaders take office. The largest and most important festival is the Semana Santa, which combines fertility ceremonies with initiation rites for young men.

THE SIERRA DEL NAYAR

The Sierra Madre Occidental is a mountain range which begins near the U.S. border, and continues ina southeasten direction parallel to the Pacific coast through the states of Chihuahua, Sonora, Sinaloa,Durango, Nayarit, and Jalisco, ending near the city of Guadalajara. The Sierra del Nayar, which is the Cora territory, is a small part of this chain, and is located near the southern end of the Sierra Madre. Most of the formation of the Sierra is volcanic, although there are also basaltic formations in certain areas.

The Sierra Madre is not especially high by world standards-- the highest areas reach about 10,000 feet altitude. There are also very few mountain peaks-- the tops of the Sierra ranges are usually a flat, pine-covered plateaux. The most outstanding characteristic of the Sierra are its deep canyons, or "barrancas", which have been carved out through erosion over millions of years. The barrancas are not especially noticeable on the eastern side of the range, because the plateau of north-central Mexico is almost as high as the Sierra Madre. However, on the western side the mountains drop to sea level, and create canyons of up to 7000 feet deep. The most famous example is the Copper Canyon in Chihuahua, although there are similar canyon systems throughout the Sierra.

The abrupt changes in altitude have created a wide range of climatic and ecological zones. In the highest regions pine and encino forest prevails, with areas of natural grassland on the plateaux. At intermediate altitudes oak forests are found, frequently in dry, rocky areas. The lowest areas have a semi-desert matorral vegetation of cactus, small trees, and bushes. The richest vegetation zones are in the steep canyons, where water collects and where cliffs block out direct sunlight, thus allowing the air to remain relatively humid. These areas can resemble oases amid the dry season landscape. The westernmost ridges of the Sierra del Nayar are also frequently bathed in clouds and mist from moist air rising off the Pacific Ocean. Here, dense foliage forms in the canyons, and the encino trees on the canyon rims support a wide variety of orchids, bromelias, moss, ferns, and fungi.

Seasonal changes in the Sierra are quite drastic, and are divided basically between the 4-month rainy season and the 8-month dry season. During the rainy season, which begins in late June and lasts until early October, the entire Sierra is lush and green, and there is abundant water. The first rains are monsoons which arrive from the east in the form of violent thunderstorms, frequently accompanied by lightning and hail. Though intense, these rains are often highly localized, and often only affect small areas at any given time. Dry gullies fill with torrents of water, and the water levels of the major rivers may rise several feet. The rainy season flow in the rivers is, on the average, about 50 times greater than during the dry season. This is the time in which most of the erosive action takes place, as entire hillsides may suddenly slide off into the canyons. Later in the rainy season, in August, September, and into October, Pacific hurricanes send gentle rains which may last for days on end. Because these rains fall over large areas they are the cause of the most severe flooding of the year. After October the region then becomes progressively cooler and drier, and temperatures may drop below freezing in the higher altitudes. Since the coldest temperatures occur in the dry season, it rarely snows in the southern Sierra Madre. After February it begins to warm up again, and the climate becomes quite hot by April and May, especially in the canyons where temperatures regularly reach 100 degrees farenheit. Late spring is also the driest time of year, when only a few permanent springs and streams contain water. By early June many plants begin to bloom in anticipation of the coming rains.

Like the vegetation, the wildlife in the Sierra Madre Occidental must adapt to the long dry season. Many of the animal species in the higher regions of the Sierra Madre are similar to those of the American West: coyote, wild boar, wild turkey, fox, badger, deer, opposum, raccoon, squirrel, etc. There are also many tropical bird species including several varieties of parrots and parakeets, especially in the greener western regions near the Pacific coast. Poisonous animals include rattlesnakes, coral snakes, gila monsters, and scorpions. Snakebites are rare, although scorpion stings are common in the lower elevations, and many Cora children die from stings. Since rifles were introduced to the Sierra, many animal species have been overhunted and are now hard to find. This is especially the case with deer, who are considered sacred and whose meat is necessary for many religious fiestas. Many animals are now found only in the steepest canyons, where they are protected by inaccessible terrain.