DANCE OR DIE

When Onoruame created the world, he made the EARTH somewhat too soft. Therefore the Rarámuri dance on her, to stamp her solid and make her habitable for humankind.

With the approval and help of the Rarámuri, the SOIL gathered in the Sierra Tarahumara originates from sites where the Raramuri people dance through the whole night. In dancing, the Rarámuri give thanks to Onoruame, who embodies both mother and father, for the rain and the harvest, while at the same time praying to him for the well being of humankind, the animal kingdom and nature as a whole.

There I found the WHITE and RED which they use for the body painting of the Matachine dancers, and which they use for cave and church painting.

I gained SOIL from a place where the runners tank their energy. The races of the Rarámuri take place several times a year over several days. Thereby, distances of up to 200 km are covered. Furthermore, the barefooted or sandal wearing runnners kick a wooden ball in front of them, through ragged plateaus and inaccessible canyons. The tradition has given this people their name - TARAHUMARA is a derivative of the Rarámuri word for foot runner.

Finally, I excavated EARTH at the widely dispersed block houses of the rancherieas and in caves, where some Raramuri still live today and where other withdraw in very cold winters.

The people of Rarámuri came via the Behring Strait to middle America about 20,000 years ago. About 2000 years ago they settled on the area of the current state of Chihuahua. 400 years ago the Spanish occupied Mexico. On the hunt for gold and silver they drove the Rarámuri out of the best pasture land and fertile fields. The resulting insurrections ended in bloodshed. Following that, most escaped to the vast area of Barranca del Cobre, the Copper Canyons. There they have lived until today, trying to conserve their original culture.