The Guamare people were an indigenous people of Mexico, who were established mostly in

Guanajuato Guanajuato, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guanajuato, is one of the 32 states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Guanajuato, 46 municipalities and its cap ...

and at the border of

Jalisco Jalisco, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in western Mexico and is bordered by s ...

. They were part of the Chichimecas, a group of a nomadic hunter-gatherer culture and called themselves Children of the Wind, living religiously from the natural land. As a tradition, they would cremate their dead and spread their ashes into the wind back to 'Mother Earth'. The Guamare people were politically united with the Chichimeca Confederation, but like other Chichimeca nations were independent. The Chichimeca were established in the present-day Bajio region of Mexico.

Territory

The Guamares were centered in the Guanajuato Sierras, but some settled as far east as

Aguascalientes Aguascalientes, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Aguascalientes, is one of the 32 states which comprise the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. At 22°N and with an average altitude of above sea level it is pre ...

. The 17th century author Gonzalo de las Casas described the Guamares as "the bravest, most warlike, treacherous and destructive of all the Chichimecas, and the most astute (dispuesta)."Powell 38 One Guamare group called the "Chichimecas Blancos" lived in the region between Jalostotitlan and

. This branch of the Guamares painted their heads white. However, much like the Guachichiles, many of the Guamares colored their long hair red and painted the body with various colors.

History

From 1550 to 1590, the Guamares along with other Chichimeca groups waged a fierce war against the Spaniards and their Indian allies in a conflict known as the Chichimeca War and in the

Mexican War of Independence The Mexican War of Independence (, 16 September 1810 – 27 September 1821) was an armed conflict and political process resulting in Mexico's independence from the Spanish Empire. It was not a single, coherent event, but local and regional ...

with a newly assimilated Mexican country. The Spaniards were unable to defeat the Chichimecas, the Spaniards offered many goods and previously colonized land for the Chichimecas to make peace.

Notes

References

External links

"Indigenous Origins: Zacatecas, Guanajuato, Aguascalientes and Jalisco,"
''LatinoLA'' Indigenous peoples of Aridoamerica Extinct Indigenous peoples in Mexico {{Mexico-hist-stub