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Guarijios call themselves "macurawe" or "macoragüi", term that means "those who hold on to the land" or "those who walk on the land."
Several historical documents make reference to names like ihios, varohois, warijios, guarojios and guarijios. At this moment, only two of these are conserved.
The term guarojio designates the members of this indigenous town that live in the state of Chihuahua and that is related to the Tarahumara culture. Guarijio corresponds to those who live in the state of Sonora, related to Yoremes.
Guarijíos live in the Southeastern part of the state of Sonora at the side of the Sierra Madre Oriental, where the states of Chihuahua and Sonora are contiguous. The land is non-uniform and with little plains; there it cross several streams and rivers as well as affluent of the Mayo River, which falls to the valley of the same name and that previously ended at the sea; among these, they are the Guajaray and the Mochibampo streams.
The zone where Guarijios inhabit is included basically the municipalities of Alamos and Quiriego.
The Guarijio culture appears like a bond that relates Tarahumaras to Cahitas; They have a close relationship with Mayo Yoremes. Its historical document presence is little and not much well-known. In general terms, its history is interspersed and subject to references from Tarahumaras or Mayos.
Linguistically, Guarijios belong to the group Nahua-cuitlateco, Yuto-nahua stock, and Pima-cora family. Two variants are recognized from this language, which represent a bond between Tarahumaras and Mayos. In general the population is bilingual, except for some old people who don't speak spanish.
Guarijios make crafts with natural materials like palm, clay, branches and fibers, which they use to weave baskets, mats, hats, angarias or angarillas (baskets done with three hoops of braided branches and one natural fiber net, used to carry objects hung in the back).
In San Bernardo, they make Pascola masks and some of characters related to the Cava-Pizca celebration. They also make Torote wood carvings of birds and other wild animals with beautiful combinations of colors. They manufacture and repair stringed instruments, such as harps, violins and guitars, among others. The artisan production is of familiar character and is mainly done by women. These objects are for domestic use or for its regional sale.
Guarijios have a great religiousness that combines Pre-Hispanic elements with catholics; they do not have formal cult spaces. At the Tuguradas, Cava-Pizca, wakes and the ends of years, maynates, singers, and prayers lead the ceremonies keeping time with rattles made out of squash, and with guttural and repetitive songs, that narrate the animal life of the woods. |
