The Yaqui people have lived in southern Arizona and northern Sonora, Mexico since before the Spanish conquest of Mexico. Their traditional folk music is indigenous, religious in nature, and performed in honor of their patron saints.
Central to Yaqui folk music are two instruments: the flute and drum. One drum, a “water drum,” consists of a half-cut gourd, placed cut-side down in water-filled clay vessel or other water-filled receptacle. The gourd is beat with a corn husk covered stick. Large gourd rattles or wooden rattlers known as “sonajas” are also used to keep the rhythm or accent the indigenous music. Flute music is typically a learned trade from the elders in their community. Its sound evokes the spirit of nature and resonates to its people what it means to be Yaqui.
Another form of musical accompaniment is the Yaqui tribal dancer himself. The dancers wear “tenabares.” These are strings of dried butterfly cocoons which have been filled with tiny pebbles. They are strung together and wound from the ankles up each calf of a dancer’s legs. The use of the “tenabares” are also used by other Mexican tribal groups, dating back to the time of the Aztecs.
In addition to other special occasions, Yaqui folk music is ritually performed during Holy Week (“Semana Santa”) and during Advent. During those special events, a ceremonial dance called the “Matachines” is mandatory. Matachine dancers reenact the drama of good against evil, or that of the Mexican Indian Chief Montezuma versus the Spaniard Hernan Cortes. At times, when members of the at-large Yaqui community join the Matachine dance, their participation is not as part of the Matachine drama. Rather, it is that of a solemn prayer in veneration of a major religious icon, often the Virgen de Guadalupe (Mother Mary) or San Judas (St. Jude).
The deer dance or “Danza del Venado” is also performed during special celebrations. Almost like a rite of passage, young men learn the “Danza del Venado” through oral tradition, passed down from generation to generation, followed by practice and experience. The costume of the deer dancer includes the stuffed head of a deer, which is firmly tied to the dancer’s white cloth-covered head. The deer dancer makes quick spirited moves as other dancers representing hunters move in for the kill, eventually slaying the trapped deer. Several decades ago, the National Ballet Folklorico of Mexico of Amalia Hernandez incorporated the “Danza del Venado” into its repertoire. The Ballet’s version includes high stylized ballet jumps, unlike true indigenous dances whose steps are kept closer to the ground.
Hearing Yaqui music is not the same as experiencing it. You don’t have to travel into Mexico to witness a live performance. In the small humble town of Guadalupe, Arizona, nestled just south of the college town of Tempe, Arizona; Yaqui musicians can be seen performing in front of their little white church on the “Avenida del Yaqui” during every Semana Santa. Standing there – amidst the reverent, focused dancers – you will be transported to a time, long, long ago, before Mexico had borders.
Author Diana Hinojosa DeLugan, J.D. was a Mexican folk singer, dancer, and dance instructor for over 25 years. She performed across the United States with “Los Pregoneros del Puerto,” led by National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellow Jose Gutierrez; and in a trio with her father, Mexican folk musician Fidencio “El Jarocho” Hinojosa. Her new book entitled “Folk Songs of Mexico: Canciones Memorables de Mexico,” containing Mexican song lyrics, is set to publish in late 2010 and will be available through http://www.Amazon.com.
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