Pame People
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The north Pame, or Xi'iuy (alternate spelling: Xi'úi, Xi'ui, Xi'oi, or Xiyui), as they refer to themselves, the south Pame, or Ñáhu, Nyaxu (in Hidalgo), and the Pame in
Querétaro Querétaro, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Querétaro, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Querétaro, 18 municipalities. Its capital city is Querétaro Cit ...
or Re Nuye Eyyä, are an Indigenous people of central
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
primarily living in the state of
San Luis Potosí San Luis Potosí, officially the Free and Sovereign State of San Luis Potosí, is one of the 32 states which compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 59 municipalities and is named after its capital city, San Luis Potosí. It ...
. When
Spanish colonists Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance-speaking ethnic group native to the Iberian Peninsula, primarily associated with the modern nation-state of Spain. Genetically and ethnolinguistically, Spaniards belong to the broader Southern and ...
arrived and conquered their traditional territory in the sixteenth century, which "extended from the modern state of
Tamaulipas Tamaulipas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas, is a state in Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 43 municipalities. It is located in nor ...
in the north to Hidalgo and the area around
Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...
in the south along the Sierra Madre," they renamed "the area ''Pamería'', and applied the name Pame to all of the peoples there." Estimates for population of the Pames at the time of contact with Spanish colonists in 1519 range between 40,000 and 70,000. In 1794, the population was estimated at 25,000. Recent figures for the Pame have estimated the population to be approximately 10,000 people. The Pames, along with the Chichimeca-Jonaz of the
Sierra Gorda The Sierra Gorda () is an Ecoregion, ecological region centered on the northern third of the List of states of Mexico, Mexican state of Querétaro and extending into the neighboring states of Guanajuato, Hidalgo (state), Hidalgo and San Luis Po ...
in eastern
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 ...
, are the only two intact cultural groups "of all the peoples known collectively as
Chichimeca Chichimeca () is the name that the Nahua peoples of Mexico generically applied to nomadic and semi-nomadic peoples who were established in present-day Bajío region of Mexico. Chichimeca carried the same meaning as the Roman term "barbarian" tha ...
s" who have survived colonization.


History


Pre-colonization

Prior to colonization, the Pame were traditionally traders who established relationships "with and even speaking the dialects of many other Indigenous groups" in the region. As a
nomad Nomads are communities without fixed habitation who regularly move to and from areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the population of nomadic pa ...
ic population, they were also "known as skilled hunters and fierce warriors." The Pame were closely related with the Mesoamerican culture to the south, which "differed from other Chichimeca groups," as "some Pame rancherias lived intermingled with Nahua, Otomi, and
Purépecha The Purépecha ( ) are a group of Indigenous people centered in the northwestern region of Michoacán, Mexico, mainly in the area of the cities of Cherán and Pátzcuaro. They are also known by the derogatory term " Tarascan", an exonym, app ...
settled villages on the northern frontier of Mesoamerica and apparently were aware of Mesoamerican agricultural techniques."


Mission period and Spanish occupation

In 1522, the Pame "allied with neighboring allies to resist the
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...
, but they were defeated and forced to accept mission life, like most other indigenous peoples of Latin America." Under missionization, the Pame were "settled in and around the missions" which simultaneously led to
Christianization Christianization (or Christianisation) is a term for the specific type of change that occurs when someone or something has been or is being converted to Christianity. Christianization has, for the most part, spread through missions by individu ...
and an end to their largely nomadic way of life as "the Pame were converted to Christianity and taught the skills of sedentary farming." The Pame lost territory in the
Bajío The Bajío (the ''lowland'') is a cultural and geographical region within the Mexican Plateau, central Mexican plateau which roughly spans from northwest of Greater Mexico City, Mexico City to the main silver mines in the northern-central part ...
in the 1530s to Otomi settlements and Spanish rancherias moving into the area. They reportedly played a minor role in the
Chichimeca War The Chichimeca War (1550–1600) was a military conflict between the Spanish Empire and the Chichimeca Confederation established in the territories today known as the Central Mexican Plateau, called by the Conquistadores La Gran Chichimeca. ...
with the Spanish, "limited to small raids on cattle ranches" in the Bajío, which caused minor casualties on either side. Cattle ranches had invaded much of the "more hospitable areas of
heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Offi ...
Rioverde erritoryafter 1600." In the early eighteenth century, Gerónimo de Labra, "a military man of the eighteenth century" who was assigned by the Spanish to be the "captain protector of the Indians of the Sierra Gorda," described the Ximpece, Pame, and Chichimeca Jonaz, described "the Ximpeces... of so docile nature that there is no tradition that persuades its conquest... the Pames are similar to the Ximpeces and more applied to the work and commerce with the Spanish and opposed to the Jonaces... the untameable rebellious Jonaces..." Pame territory in the more rugged Sierra Gorda remained relatively "unreduced" in comparison, "til a belated conquest, by soldiers and
Franciscans The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor being the largest conte ...
, in 1742." By the 1730s, Spanish military officer and slaveowner José de Escandón was "entrusted with 'pacification' of the region" in which the Pames lived. Escandón's methods of addressing them brought him "into conflict with the missionaries," as he carried out a "different method of colonization" in the region. As early as 1735, Escandón "undertook military campaigns against the Jonace and other Indians of the Sierra Gorda" for which he was awarded with the rank "colonel." In 1741, he was placed in control of the entire Sierra Gorda region. He used his newfound power to implement his plan "to gather into missions the Indians who were willing to be congregated and to attack and defeat those who were unwilling." Escandón was dissatisfied with the manner in which the Augustinian missionaries were allowing the Indigenous people freedom of movement. He wanted the "Indians" to become agricultural workers so that they could "be forced to work at the missions," which had come to be known as the "Texas Method" among colonizers because, in the fertile regions of
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
, "missionaries... had been able to congregate the indigenous people close to the mission." Escandón removed the Augustinians from control over the mission and assigned control over it to the apostolic colleges (''colegios apostólicos''), specifically the Colegio de San Fernando, who he also tasked with establishing three more missions at Landa, Tancoyol, and Concá, which "he had identified as already populated by Pame settlements." Escandón then "forced the Pame living in these areas to congregate near the missions by occasionally sending soldiers out to burn as many indigenous dwellings as they could find in the mountains." Although Escandón eventually left the Sierra Gorda, he was awarded the title Conde de Sierra Gorda in 1749 for "undertaking the colonizing task there and for his success in keeping costs down" and was presented with the "opportunity to colonize Nuevo Santander, the area south of Texas on the Gulf coast of New Spain." Before leaving the region, Escandón "forcibly uprooted some of the northern Pame and took them with him. Those who survived the brutal trek were forced to work on lands in the new colony." In the mid-eighteenth century, Juniper Serra was "first assigned to the remote Sierra Gorda region in what is now south-central Mexico's Queretaro state" and "worked among" the Pame, before embarking on a "preaching mission across Mexico." In the 1760s, missionary Juan Guadalupe Soriano who had "gained the greatest knowledge of their knowledge," recorded: "The more one deals with them, the less one knows about them." Following what had now been decades of indoctrination attempts by missionaries and ongoing violence by Spanish military officers, Soriano confessed that "the Pame were still 'inclined to idolatry' and that virtually all of them still followed their own religious leaders and still practiced their traditional dances."
Francisco Palóu Francisco Palóu (, ; 1723–1789) was a Spanish Franciscan missionary, administrator, and historian on the Baja California Peninsula and in Alta California. Palóu made significant contributions to the Alta California and Baja California miss ...
's account of the eighteenth century missionary period presents an image "in which the missionization of the Sierra Gorda was an unbridled success." Palóu claimed that "there remained not a single pagan in that entire district, for all its inhabitants were baptized by my Venerable Padre uniper Serraand his associates, and civilized, living in towns by the sound of the bell." There was no mention of the "population decline of the Pame experienced as a result of the mission's process." There was also no mention of the "significant numbers of Pame people horesisted the Texas method and fled the five Fernandino establishments," not only to the surrounding hills but to "missions administered by other religious groups in the surrounding area where the Indians felt they would have more freedom." During the 1760s, "settlers and groups of Pame continued to agitate for
secularization In sociology, secularization () is a multilayered concept that generally denotes "a transition from a religious to a more worldly level." There are many types of secularization and most do not lead to atheism or irreligion, nor are they automatica ...
," which would free the latter from the mission system. Finally, in 1770, "saying that it needed to devote all its available manpower to support the missions in the Californias," the colegio missionaries left the Sierra Gorda. Despite this, in 1770, the "Spanish declared that the conversion of the Pame was complete" and the missions were quickly secularized. The Pame "were left to defend for themselves" against Spanish
settler A settler or a colonist is a person who establishes or joins a permanent presence that is separate to existing communities. The entity that a settler establishes is a Human settlement, settlement. A settler is called a pioneer if they are among ...
s who were moving into the region and "had taken the best farmlands."


Mexican occupation

As a result, the Pame revolted in 1810 and 1848, and "they lost more of their land under the government land policy reforms of 1870, which favored landowners of European descent over the indigenous peoples." Eventually, a land reserve was an established for the Pame by the Mexican government along the Sierra Madre in the 1920s and 1930s. However, the "hilly and rocky terrain made it unsuitable for farming." During the Mexican presidential campaign of Carlos Salinas, with regard to these difficult conditions of Pame life, and in company with representatives of the Nahua and Tének people, a representative of the Pame stated, "I want to tell you about the survival worries of our group. We are few and highly dispersed; we are no more than ten thousand, and each day we lose more of our language and our customs. The migration of our brothers, due to lack of water and bad soils, has meant a rapid advance in the loss of our culture and in our uprooting." The Pame representative asked that the lands which were established for them by the Mexican government in 1922 be returned to them and for a "water work" which had not been authorized by the government at the time. Most of the Pame continue to live in poverty with "no agriculture or industry" in the region. The places of residence of many Pame are "cobbled together out of cardboard, plastic, sticks, and whatever other materials are available." Although schools are now being built in the region, it has been noted that "progress is slow." Many "rituals and religious festivals" are widely attended. Some Pame have "migrated to the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
to work as laborers in
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
,
the Carolinas The Carolinas, also known simply as Carolina, are the U.S. states of North Carolina and South Carolina considered collectively. They are bordered by Virginia to the north, Tennessee to the west, and Georgia to the southwest. The Atlantic Ocean ...
,
Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...
,
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
, and Washington."


Language

The Pame speak what are referred to as the Pame languages, which belong to the Oto-Pamean group of the
Oto-Manguean The Oto-Manguean or Otomanguean () languages are a large family comprising several subfamilies of indigenous languages of the Americas. All of the Oto-Manguean languages that are now spoken are indigenous to Mexico, but the Manguean languages, Ma ...
language family. The Pame language has no written tradition. Although it was claimed in Francisco Palóu's biography that Juniper Serra had "quickly learned the Pame language," despite his confession in letters from
Alta California Alta California (, ), also known as Nueva California () among other names, was a province of New Spain formally established in 1804. Along with the Baja California peninsula, it had previously comprised the province of , but was made a separat ...
that "he had always had great difficulty in learning indigenous languages," this was unlikely if not entirely questionable. While it is "quite conceivable" that Serra had "composed a short treatise in which he translated some basic prayers into a simple and phonetic version of the Pame language" anything more elaborate is implausible, especially given the fact that the Pame language was "not widely studied in Mexico in the middle of the eighteenth century." The earliest Pame grammar was "composed by Juan Guadalupe Soriano" and dates from the 1760s, which was "well after Serra had left the Sierra Gorda." Many of the Pame people today cannot read or write in
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...
.


References


{{Authority control Indigenous peoples of Aridoamerica Indigenous peoples in Mexico History of San Luis Potosí