By Eugenio Amézquita Velasco
Sponsored by Posada Chamacuero
Translation: Metro News Mx
Translation: Metro News Mx
The Guamares, in the 17th century, Gonzalo de las Casas wrote about the Guamare Indian: "The bravest, most belligerent... and most destructive of all the Chichimecas, and the most cunning."
One of the most numerous dances in Los Remedios is precisely the one known as Los Guamares, who become quite a spectacle when they perform in their battle attire and war paint.
The Guamares
The Guamare confederation, called Pechichitane Altepetlatskostli by the Nahua peoples, was a league or tribal alliance that appeared in what is now the state of Guanajuato in Mexico at the end of the Mesoamerican Postclassic period.
Their form of government was a kind of representative democracy in which the tribal chiefs elected the actions of their respective governments through a parliament. It arose as a response to the threat of the Aztec Empire to the east and the Purépecha to the south around the year 1400.
It succumbed to the Spanish when they founded the various Indian towns and mining cities in the region. Not all members of the confederation were of the same ethnic affiliation; the Guaxabanes were Guachichiles, the Xiconaques were Zacatecos; only some, like the Copuces, were pure Guamares.
When the Spanish arrived in the region, they did not distinguish between the ethnic groups, calling all of them Ixtlachichimecas or Guamares, even though only three of the constituent tribes were true Guamares, which led to their cultures intermingling and becoming homogenized.
Around 1563, an indigenous military movement known as the Guamare Rebellion appeared, peaking in 1563, the year they destroyed Pénjamo and attacked Comanja de Jaso, leaving only two Spanish survivors. In 1569, they attacked El Robledal near Guanajuato and reached Jilotepec where they were defeated by Pedro de Ahumada Sámano.
Organization
The Guamare peoples had a complex confederation, different from all the peoples around them, established in a kind of cooperative village-states. Military activities were planned through a parliament or Coatlakán Yaoyotl, where the respective leaders met to diplomatically choose their tactics. This parliament could be held at the general headquarters within the main village or, if there was an invasion, in a location predefined by the nobles.
Like most of the Chichimecas, the members of Pechichitane communicated over long distances through their bonfire system, warning each other if there was danger or not.
There were four main groups: The Guaxabanes, the Sauzas, the pure Guamares (who were subdivided into three: those around Pénjamo, those of Comanja de Jaso, and those of San Miguel), and the White Chichimecas who roamed between Jalostotitlán and Aguascalientes.
Geography
The Guamares were centered in the sierras of Guanajuato, extending north to San Felipe and Portezuelo, to the east bordering the Kingdom of Jilotepec in the current state of Querétaro, to the west as far as Ayo and Lagos, and to the northwest to the current state of Aguascalientes.
The Indigenous People Who Plagued New Spain
-The generic epithet Chichimeca, imposed in ignominy by the Mexicans on all wandering, non-farming Indians, means "dog that drags the rope" or "leash dog".
-The Guachichiles occupied the most extensive territory, from the Balsas River to Saltillo, and were distinguished by their red feather headdresses or because they painted their heads and hair red.
-The Guamares were the bravest and most dangerous nation of the Chichimecas, with four or five subgroups, concentrated in the sierras of Guanajuato and confederated with the Copuces, Guajabanes, and Sanzas.
-The Pames, the closest to Mexico City (at 20 degrees latitude), were culturally superior to the Guamares and Guachichiles due to their contact with the Otomí and Tarascans.
-Their subsistence depended on hunting (deer, snakes, mice) and gathering prickly pears (tunas) and mesquite (used to make bread), without practicing agriculture or having a fixed domicile or clay vessels.
The Barbarous Frontier and the Meaning of the Name
The term Chichimeca was a common word among Spaniards and Christian Indians to designate a group of heathen and barbarous Indians. It did not refer to a specific race or language, but to a group of desert dwellers and those of the arid zone who, without distinction of race or language, shared a homogeneous unity in their way of life and anthropological characteristics.
This generic name was applied in opprobrium by the Mexicans to all indigenous people who roamed around, without sowing or cultivation, and who traveled from one place to another, without knowing "riches, or delights, or the dealings of human governance." The word comes from the Nahua words chichi (dog) and mecatl (rope or cord), giving rise to the expression "dog that drags the rope" or "leash dog".
Ancient chroniclers and historians applied this name to any belligerent or savage indigenous group. The Chichimeca people were divided into two large groups: the inhabitants of the Northern Plateau and those of the Central Plateau, whose cultural differences were attributed to the influence of the Mesoamerican groups to the south (Tarascans, Nahuas, and Otomí). The current trend restricts the use of the name to the inhabitants of the northern arid zone with similar anthropological characteristics.
The vast territory they occupied, called "La Gran Chichimeca" (The Great Chichimeca), extended from the Lerma River to Texas. These provinces were located far north of Mexico City. The line separating the Chichimeca hunter-gatherers from the sedentary peoples of central and southern Mexico was the course of the Lerma and Pánuco rivers.
The border between the peaceful and warlike Indians extended for more than 200 leagues. They moved in central Mexico within a circumference with a radius of about 170 kilometers, centered in northern Guanajuato.
The Chichimeca Nations: Pames, Guamares, and Guachichiles
The Pames were the Chichimeca nation closest to Mexico City, found mixed among the Otomí and Tarascans. The Spanish assigned them this name because their negative, or the word "no", was frequently used in their language.
Their habitat began approximately at 20 degrees latitude, encompassing the area below the San Juan River. Their boundaries started in Michoacán, in towns subject to Acámbaro (such as San Martín and Santa María) and Yuririapúndaro, and even reached Ucareo, on the other side of the Río Grande. From there, they extended through the northern province of Jilotepec (north of the San Juan River), passing through Querétaro, Tulimán, San Pedro, Parrón, Sinquía, and Sichú to the north, as far as Izmiquilpan and Meztitlán, and partly within the Huasteca. The Pames occupied Querétaro, eastern Guanajuato, and San Luis Potosí. Their territory bordered the Otomí of Jilotepec, the Tarascans of Michoacán, the Guachichiles, and the Guamares to the west.
Despite being nomads, they were considered more advanced than the Guamares, Guachichiles, and Zacatecos, as they had absorbed cultural refinements from the Otomí, particularly in religious practices and abstract ideas.
The Guamares: The Most Bellicose Nation
The Guamares were considered by Gonzalo de las Casas to be "the bravest and most belligerent, treacherous, and harmful nation of all the Chichimecas" and the most prepared, although composed of four or five groups speaking the same language, with slight differences.
Their habitat was located between 21 and 22 degrees latitude, with their main dwelling in the Villa de San Miguel. Their dominion reached San Felipe and the mines of Guanajuato, and extended to the province of Michoacán and the Río Grande.
They were settled in Pénjamo and Cuerámaro, their first settlement, and moved through the sierras of Guanajuato and Comanja up to Los Órganos and Portezuelo. Their center was in the sierras of Guanajuato, extending north to San Felipe and Portezuelo, almost to Querétaro in the east, and at least to Aguascalientes in the west, sometimes beyond the Lerma River to the south. They were confederated in friendship with the Copuces, Guajabanes, and Sanzas, who were counted as one; San Luis de la Paz was the seat of the Guajabanes.
The Guachichiles: The "Red-Painted Heads"
The Guachichiles occupied the most extensive territory of all the Chichimecas and were considered the largest population.
The name "Guachichil" was given by the Mexicans. It comes from the word Quachichil, meaning sparrow (quaitli - head, and chichiltia - something red or reddish), owing the name to their red head. It was given because they commonly smeared and dyed their hair red, or because they wore pointed hats made of red leather.
Their extensive territory began partly in Michoacán of the Río Grande (Lerma), and extended through Ayo el Chico, Valle de Señora de los Arandas, the sierras of Comanja, and the town of Lagos. They took the sierras of El Xale, Bemal, and Tunal Grande, near the border of the Guamares. They continued to Bocas de Maticoya, Las Salinas, Peñol Blanco, and Mazapil, and bordered the province of Pánuco through the Macolias. They occupied a vast territory from the Balsas River to Saltillo, crossing Guanajuato, Jalisco, Aguascalientes, part of Zacatecas, Nuevo León, and Coahuila. They roamed from Saltillo to San Felipe in the south, and from the Sierra Madre Occidental to Zacatecas.
They were considered among the most brutal and lived wandering through the forests and mountains. They did not live together, nor did they have designated places to live, or known land, "wandering the fields" as people without knowledge of the holy Catholic faith or any other subjection. There were many subgroups among the Guachichiles.
Way of Life, Culture, and War Skills
The Chichimeca life was characterized by its extreme nomadism. They had no certain dwelling, settlement, house, town, or cultivated land. They were not ashamed to leave their house or sown land, as they had none, living "alone by themselves, like animals or birds of prey." They wandered from one place to another, making their night's rest wherever the sun found them, carrying their women and children.
-Housing: They slept in the mountains, caves, among the bushes, or sheltered next to some trees. Their ranches and straw huts were located in rough and broken places, in or near sierras, never on plains, to be safer.
-Diet: Their subsistence was based on hunting and gathering. They did not sow or cultivate the land, even though it was very fertile. They sustained themselves by hunting hares (which they cornered running with their bows), deer, birds, weasels, moles, wildcats, birds, and even filth like snakes, vipers, lizards, mice, locusts, and worms. They ate everything roasted, nothing boiled. The dead game was left in place, and the women were obliged to go get it no matter how far away it was, as the man was not supposed to carry it on his back. The hunter who let a piece escape was penalized with a woman's garment, to imply that he who was not a great and accurate archer was not a man, but a woman.
-Fruits and Roots: The most used fruits were the prickly pears (tunas), of many kinds and colors (the white ones were the best and the red ones, which stained the urine, the least appreciated). They also ate the fruit of the mesquite (a wild tree with pods like carob beans), with which they made very large loaves of bread that they ate throughout the year, described as "delicious bread and without any virtue, it is such as they are." The maguey was very helpful to them, eating the leaves and roots cooked in a small oven, which they called mixcalli. They also ate herbs and roots they found wherever they arrived, such as lechuguillas. They could drink a fermented beverage called colonche.
-Material and Body Culture: They walked naked (in puris naturalibus), although the women wore some deer hides fastened around them. They did not accept clothing and, before the Spanish, sought to cover their shame with rags or herbs. They had no clay or wooden vessels, only some they wove so tightly with thread that they were sufficient to hold water.
-Adornment and Marking: They made great use of smearing or painting themselves with colors using red ochre (almagre) and other black and yellow minerals. They scratched their faces for elegance and pleasure. Descriptions are mentioned of Guachichiles with stripes from the hair on the forehead to the nose, harpoons on the temples, beauty marks, and pierced ears.
-Political and Religious Organization: They had no kings, government, or laws, but elected captains or leaders (great raiders) with whom they roamed in bands. Some recognized one as the elder, whom they obeyed as a pater familias. They had no idols, blood sacrifices, rites, or any religion, although others say they only called the Sun God and offered him birds, snakes, and butterflies.
-War and Weapons: They were very belligerent. Their weapons were bows and arrows. They were so skilled and accurate that before one arrow reached the spot, another left the bow. If they aimed at the eye and hit the eyebrow, they considered it a bad shot. The arrows, with flint tips, were fragile and easy to despise, but in their hands, they found no resistance. They were raised and practiced shooting from childhood.
-Rituals: When they killed a captive, they danced around the fire, chained by the arms, with disordered jumps and shouts. The captive was forced to dance, and as the Chichimecas entered the dance, they gave him an arrow, until the one who wanted to took it and shot him with it. The women made wine by putting the fruit to the fire or the sun.
Chichimecas: Steel Bodies, Deadly Arrows
The Chichimecas possessed notable physical robustness, agility, lightness, and strength, being described as nervous and sturdy, living healthy, tough, and brave despite adversity.
The average stature of the males was estimated to be between 1.60 and 1.68 meters, which influenced the design of their war bows, which were precisely measured and adjusted to their height.
Their weapons were the bow and arrow, in whose use they were extremely skillful and accurate; however, they did not use or apply any poisonous herb or venom on the tips of their projectiles.
The males were described as very much given to idleness, without working or planting, leaving the dead game in the spot so the women were obliged to carry it no matter how far it was found.
They were so resistant that they endured cold, snow, heat, hunger, and thirst sleeping naked on the ground, and could travel from 50 to 100 leagues as easily as others 10 or 20.
Weapons and the Absence of Poison
The primary weapons of the Chichimecas were arrows and bows, which they handled very skillfully. Despite their combat dexterity, a notable feature is that they did not use or apply any poisonous herb or venom on their projectiles.
The bows were measured to the height of the one carrying them for battle.
The physical build of the Chichimecas was an object of admiration and fear among the Spanish. They were a well-proportioned people, brown, robust, light, and fit for hard work. They differed from the peaceful and Christian Indians in their strength, ferocity, and bodily disposition. They were described as well-disposed, nervous, sturdy, and beardless.
-Health and Endurance: They lived healthy, tough, and brave. Chronic diseases were extraordinary among them or very short-lived.
-Extreme Resistance: They showed a capacity for resistance that astonished the chroniclers. They slept naked on the bare earth, even if it was swampy, enduring deadly cold, snow, heat, hunger, and thirst in perpetual solitude, without these adversities causing them sadness.
-Agility: Their robustness and agility allowed them to travel 50 or 100 leagues with the same ease that it took others 10 or 20 leagues, finding little difference between a flat floor and the most rugged defiles.
The Role of the Woman and the Idleness of the Man
In contrast to their physical vigor, the Chichimeca males were remarkably given to idleness. They did not have the habit of cultivating the land and found it difficult to perform work.
The women, on the other hand, exercised assiduously, whether cultivating the field or carrying loads and piles of firewood. The game that the man killed was left in the spot, and he obliged his wife to go get it, no matter how far away it was.
Subsistence without War Logistics
Their nomadic way of life and dependence on gathering gave them a strategic advantage in war. To fight, they did not need to carry provisions or war apparatus. They only required their bow and arrows, as they found something to eat wherever they arrived.
Their sustenance on the road consisted of roots, herbs, prickly pears (tunas), and lechuguillas (wild maguey), in addition to mesquite, whose fruit they used to make bread. With this simple diet, they sustained themselves and maintained their health and vigor.
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