The "Yoeme" or Yaqui are a border Native American people who live in the Sonoran Desert region, comprising part of the northern Mexican state of Sonora and the southwestern U.S. state of Arizona. The Yaqui call themselves "Yoeme," the Yaqui word for person ("yoemem" or "yo'emem" meaning "people"). The Yaqui call their homeland "Hiakim," from which some say the name "Yaqui" is derived. Many folk etymologies exist as to how the "Yoeme" came to be known as the "Yaqui." Brazilian Indian chiefs The scope of this indigenous peoples of the Americas article encompasses the definitions of indigenous peoples and the Americas as established in their respective articles. ... Sonoran Desert wildlife Mountains in the Sonoran Desert 3D photograph of Saguaro National Park at dusk. ... Sonora is a state in northwestern Mexico, bordering the states of Chihuahua to the east, Sinaloa to the south, and Baja California to the northwest. ... United States is the current Good Article Collaboration of the week! Please help to improve this article to the highest of standards. ... Official language(s) English Capital Phoenix Largest city Phoenix Area  Ranked 6th  - Total 113,998 sq mi (295,254 km²)  - Width 310 miles (500 km)  - Length 400 miles (645 km)  - % water 0. ...

Lifestyle of the Yaqui

In the past, the Yaqui subsisted on agriculture, growing corn, beans and squash (like many of the natives of the region). They also made cotton products. Cotton ready for harvest. ...

The Yaqui have always been skillful warriors.

Don Juan Matus, the mystic teacher appearing in a series of books by Carlos Castaneda, was described as Yaqui Indian. Don Juan Matus is a major character in the series of books by Carlos Castaneda (Don is a common, polite, term of deference in Spanish). ... Mysticism from the Greek μυστικός (mystikos) an initiate (of the Eleusinian Mysteries, μυστήρια (mysteria) meaning initiation[1]) is the pursuit of achieving communion or identity with, or conscious awareness of, ultimate reality, the divine, spiritual truth, or God through direct experience, intuition, or insight; and the belief that such experience is an... Carlos Castaneda, previously Castañeda, (December 25, 1925 – April 27, 1998) was an author of a controversial series of books that claimed to describe his training in traditional Native American shamanism (ancient sorcery of the Toltec people). ...

Yaqui cosmology and religion

The Yaqui conception of the world is considerably different from that of their Mexican and United States neighbors. For example, the world (in Yaqui, anía) is composed of four separate worlds: the animal world, the world of people, the world of flowers, and the world of death. Much Yaqui ritual is centered upon perfecting these worlds and eliminating the harm that has been done to them, especially by people. There is a belief current among many Yaquis that the existence of the world depends on the yearly performance of the Lenten and Easter rituals.

The Yaqui religion (which is a syncretic religion of old Yaqui beliefs and practices and the teachings of Jesuit and later Franciscan missionaries) relies upon song, music, and dancing, all performed by designated members of the community. There are also other, Catholic, practices that are seamlessly woven into the old ways. Syncretism is the attempt to reconcile disparate, even opposing, beliefs and to meld practices of various schools of thought. ... The Society of Jesus (Latin: Societas Iesu), commonly known as the Jesuits, is a Roman Catholic religious order. ... The Order of Friars Minor and other Franciscan movements are disciples of Saint Francis of Assisi. ...

The Yaqui deer song (maso bwikam) accompanies the deer dance which is performed by a pascola [from the Spanish 'pascua', Easter] dancer (also known as a deer dancer). Pascolas will perform at religio-social functions many times of the year, but especially during Lent and Easter. In Western Christianity, Lent is the period from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday, the day before Easter Sunday. ... This article is about the Christian festival. ...

The Yaqui deer song ritual is in many ways similar to the deer song rituals of neighboring Uto-Aztecan peoples such as the Tohono O'odham and Mayo. However, the Yaqui deer song is much more central to the cultus of its people and is greatly tied in to Roman Catholic beliefs and practices. The Uto-Aztecan languages are a Native American language family. ... The Tohono Oodham are a Native American tribe formerly known as the Papago who reside primarily in the Sonoran Desert of the southwest United States and northwest Mexico. ... Places called Mayo include:hi County Mayo, a county in Ireland Mayo, a settlement in County Mayo, Ireland Mayo, a place in the U.S. state of Florida Mayo, a town in Trinidad and Tobago The Division of Mayo, an Australian Electoral Division in South Australia Mayo, a town in... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ...

Flowers are very important in the Yaqui cultus. According to Yaqui teachings, flowers sprang up from the drops of blood that were shed at the Crucifixion. Flowers are viewed as the manifestation of souls, to the point that occasionally Yaqui males may greet a close male friend with the phrase "Haisa sewa?" ("How is the flower?"). Artistic depiction of the crucifixion of Jesus. ...

History of the Yaqui

Throughout their history, they remained separate from the Aztec and Toltec empires. They were similarly never conquered by the Spanish, defeating successive expeditions of conquistadores in battle. However, they were successfully converted to Christianity by the Jesuits, who convinced them to settle into eight towns: Pótam, Vícam, Tórim, Bácum, Cóorit, Huirivis, Belem, and Rahum. The Aztecs were a Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican people of central Mexico in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. ... The Toltecs (or Toltec or Tolteca) were a Pre-Columbian Native American people who dominated much of central Mexico between the 10th and 12th century AD. Their language, Nahuatl, was also spoken by the Aztecs. ... Conquistador (Spanish: []) (meaning Conqueror in the Spanish language) is the term used to refer to the soldiers, explorers, and adventurers who brought much of the Americas and Asia Pacific under Spanish colonial rule between the 15th and 17th centuries, starting with the 1492 settlement established in modern-day Cuba by... St Francis Xavier converting the Paravas: a 19th-century image of the docile heathen Ansgar, the 9th century apostle of the North in an 1830 drawing. ... Seal of the Society of Jesus. ...

For many years, the Yaqui lived peacefully in a relationship with the Jesuit missionaries. This resulted in considerable mutual advantage: the Yaqui were able to develop a very productive economy, and the missionaries were able to employ the wealth created to extend their missionary activities further north. In the 1730s the colonial Mexican government began to alter this relationship, and eventually ordered all Jesuits out of Sonora. This created considerable unrest amongst the Yaqui and led to several rebellions. Further, the Franciscan priests never arrived to be their religious leaders, leaving the Yaqui with no western religious ties.

The Yaqui attempted to form an independent nation separate from Mexico in the 1820s, under the Yaqui leader Juan Banderas (executed 1833) who wished to unite the Mayo, Opata, and Pima tribes, but the effort failed and the Yaqui remained within the scope of Mexican legal authority. approximation of the extension of the Mayo habitat The Mayo are a mexican indigenous people living in the mexican state of Sonora and Sinaloa, originally living by the Rio Mayo in Sonora. ... The Opata (enemies, so called by their neighbors the Pimas) were a tribe of Mexican Indians of Piman stock. ... The Akimel Oodham or Pima are a group of Native Americans living in an area consisting of what is now central and southern Arizona (USA) and Sonora (Mexico). ...

The nation suffered a succession of brutalities by the Mexican authorities, including a notable massacre in 1868 where 150 Yaqui were burned to death by the army inside a church. 1868 (MDCCCLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Friday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ...

Another prominent (and failed) effort to win independence was led by the Yaqui leader Cajemé. Following this war, the Yaqui were subjected to further brutality under the regime of Porfirio Díaz, who implemented a policy of ethnic transfer, in order to remove the Yaqui from Sonora so that he could encourage immigration from Europe and the United States. The government transferred tens of thousands of Yaqui from Sonora to the Yucatán peninsula, where they were sold as slaves and worked on plantations; many of these slaves died of the brutal working conditions. Many Yaqui fled to the United States to escape this persecution. Today, the Mexican municipality of Cajeme is named after the fallen Yaqui leader. Cajemé (Yaqui for he who does not drink), born José Maria Leyva was a Yaqui leader who lived in the Mexican state of Sonora in the late 1800s. ... Term of office: 29 November 1876 to 30 November 1880 (first term) – 1 December 1884 to 1910 (second term) Preceded by: Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada (1876), Manuel González (1884) Succeeded by: Manuel González (1880), Francisco León de la Barra interim (1911) Date of birth: 15 September... Yucatán is the name of one of the 31 states of Mexico, located on the north of the Yucatán Peninsula. ... Cajem (Yaqui for he who does not drink), born Jos Maria Leyva was a Yaqui leader who lived in the Mexican state of Sonora in the late 1800s. ...

Yaquis in the United States

In 1964, Yaquis received 202 acres (817,000 m²) of land from the U.S. Federal Government near Tucson, Arizona. Formal recognition of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe by the U. S. came on September 18, 1978. Nickname: The Old Pueblo Location Location in Pima County and the state of Arizona Coordinates: , Government Country State Counties United States Arizona Pima Mayor Bob Walkup (R) Geographical characteristics Area     City 505. ... The Pascua Yaqui Tribe is a tribe of Native Americans, given recognition by the United States government on September 18, 1978. ... September 18 is the 261st day of the year (262nd in leap years). ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ...

Yaquis have dwelt in the area of the southwestern United States since the incursions by Spanish missionaries and soldiers in the 1700s; Yaqui oral tradition is that there were small Yaqui settlements even earlier. The town of Tubac, Arizona had Yaquis in its Spanish garrison. Some Yaquis continued with the Spaniards as far as the Pacific coast during the development of the network of Spanish missions. A town in southern Arizona, in the United States, situated on the Santa Cruz River. ... Official language(s) English Capital Phoenix Largest city Phoenix Area  Ranked 6th  - Total 113,998 sq mi (295,254 km²)  - Width 310 miles (500 km)  - Length 400 miles (645 km)  - % water 0. ...

Several communities of Yaqui have existed in Arizona since the mid-1800's: Pascua Pueblo is in the northwestern part of Tucson and Hu'upa was to the south (and has since been absorbed into the Valencia and Freeway neighborhood of Tucson); Marana has had continuous settlements of Yaqui. A city street near downtown Tucson, Arizona. ... Marana is a town located in Pima County, Arizona. ...

In the late 1960's, several Yaqui, among them Anselmo Valencia and Fernando Escalante, started development of a tract of land about 8 km to the west of the old Hu'upa site, calling it New Pascua or, in Spanish, Pascua Nuevo. This settlement has a population (estimated in 2006) of about 4,000 and is the center of administration for the Tribe. Most of the middle-age population of New Pascua is bilingual in English and Spanish, with some knowledge of Yaqui. Many older people also speak the Yaqui language fluently, with a growing number of youth learning the Yaqui language in addition.

Many Yaquis also moved further north to Tempe, Arizona and settled in a neighborhood named after Our Lady of Guadalupe. The town incorporated in 1979 as Guadalupe, Arizona. Now more than 44 percent of the town's ethnic make up is still Native American many of them trilingual in Yaqui, English and Spanish languages. Downtown Tempe and Arizona State University Tempe (pronounced by local residents) is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, USA, with a 2004 population estimate of 160,676. ... Our Lady of Guadalupe Our Lady of Guadalupe or the Virgin of Guadalupe is a Roman Catholic icon and Mexicos most popular image: Nobel laureate Octavio Paz is quoted as saying that the Mexican people, after more than two centuries of experiments, have faith only in the Virgin of... This page refers to the year 1979. ... Guadalupe is a town located in Maricopa County, Arizona. ... A Hupa man, 1923 The term Indigenous peoples of the Americas encompasses the inhabitants of the Americas before the European discovery of the Americas in the late 15th century, as well as many present-day ethnic groups who identify themselves with those historical peoples. ...

There is a small Yaqui neighborhood in south Scottsdale.

External links

• The Official Website of the Pascua Yaqui Government
• The Un-Official Website of Yoemem/Yaquis in Mexico
• 15 Flower World Variations - adapted by Jerome Rothenberg from Yaqui Deer Dance Songs