Indigenous Laughter in Sacred Ritual

Starting in 1987, the author attended and participated in Semana Santa (Easter Week) ritual celebrations in the Rarámuri (Tarahumara) community of Sojawachi in Northern Mexico over a span of ten years. This article discusses the author’s experiences in these celebrations and reflects on Rarámuri history. The Rarámuri Indigenous people, who have occupied a sizable area of Northern Mexico for some two thousand years, have faced, over the past four hundred years, a steady stream of invading outsiders (chabochis) and have opted to live apart on ever less desirable lands to maintain their traditions, beliefs, and values. Semana Santa among the Rarámuri, as practiced in Sojawachi, seamlessly integrates bawdy humor and slapstick with spiritual expression, and traditional Indigenous practices with Catholic ritual to express community values and critique the dominant culture. Central to the community’s well-being is the tenet of kórima (literally, “What I have you have also”), wherein one shares what the other needs to get by. Adherence to this principle continues to enable the Rarámuri to thrive in the face of chabochi incursions, climate change, and other obstacles.