The yoreme
Deer dance
The Yoreme represent an important group of indigenous people in northern Sinaloa. They are a hard-working people who are proud of their traditions. Dance and music are part of these traditions, whose meaning pays homage to nature. In the Deer Dance, this animal can be seen as graceful and evasive, and one that ends up being sacrificed by man. The dance tells the story of this sacrifice, and the music is a song to the world that surrounds it.
The grace and elasticity of the dancer’s movements, making him seem like a deer prancing through the woods, are what characterize this dance. The dancer moves to the rhythm of the “deer singers” - the musicians who have composed a specific song and now play the traditional instruments and sing.
This dance is a favorite. Traditionally it had been reserved for men, but now children and women also perform this dance.
The life and death of the deer, represents a sacred ritual for these indigenous peoples; they act it out in a religious ceremony with the aim of appeasing God, in addition to being a ceremony to ensure a good hunt.
Participants in the contest of deer dancing that took
place in Mochicahui, on the 22nd of November.
Villagers from different communities signed up.
The Dance begins with the sound of a reed flute and a drum with the deer appearing seconds later accompanied by the sound of its rattles; the dancer displays movements imitating those of a deer. The hunt begins, where the deer ends up being hurt by an arrow accompanied by the sound of a drum representing the beats of the Deer’s heart; thus the fight against death begins, until in the end he becomes totally still. Meanwhile, around him can be heard the sound of the instruments together with the singing, and the other dancer (the hunter) with blood on his hands, turns into the spirit of the Deer, interpreting his steps and movements.
The dancer’s wardrobe consists of a white head covering with a deer head mounted on top, adorned with ribbons; a loin cloth or wrap-around shorts covering front and back held up by a “grijuútiam,” a belt made of deer hooves; tied around his calves are tenevoim – strings of dried cocoons filled with tiny stones that make a unique sound a he dances barefoot, and in his hands he carries gourd rattles with which he keeps the beat.
The dance’s music is made up of the sounds made as “The Deer” dances and instruments such as: the flute, water drum, scraper, and primitive songs sung in the Yaqui language and played by the accompaniment.
The flute and the drum are played simultaneously by one individual, the water gourd consists of a semi-spherical jug that is placed top down upon a surface of water contained in a clay pot measuring about 50 centimeters in diameter and that is embedded in the ground; the scraper is made of a strip of Brazilian wood, 60 centimeters long by 2 cms. wide, and with a series of ridges along its length that produce a sound similar to that of the guiro when scraped; the musicians who play the scraper also sing during the dance.
Winner.
The Yoreme represent an important group of indigenous people in northern Sinaloa. They are a hard-working people who are proud of their traditions. Dance and music are part of these traditions, whose meaning pays homage to nature. In the Deer Dance, this animal can be seen as graceful and evasive, and one that ends up being sacrificed by man. The dance tells the story of this sacrifice, and the music is a song to the world that surrounds it.
The grace and elasticity of the dancer’s movements, making him seem like a deer prancing through the woods, are what characterize this dance. The dancer moves to the rhythm of the “deer singers” - the musicians who have composed a specific song and now play the traditional instruments and sing.
This dance is a favorite. Traditionally it had been reserved for men, but now children and women also perform this dance.
The life and death of the deer, represents a sacred ritual for these indigenous peoples; they act it out in a religious ceremony with the aim of appeasing God, in addition to being a ceremony to ensure a good hunt.
Participants in the contest of deer dancing that took
place in Mochicahui, on the 22nd of November.
Villagers from different communities signed up.
The Dance begins with the sound of a reed flute and a drum with the deer appearing seconds later accompanied by the sound of its rattles; the dancer displays movements imitating those of a deer. The hunt begins, where the deer ends up being hurt by an arrow accompanied by the sound of a drum representing the beats of the Deer’s heart; thus the fight against death begins, until in the end he becomes totally still. Meanwhile, around him can be heard the sound of the instruments together with the singing, and the other dancer (the hunter) with blood on his hands, turns into the spirit of the Deer, interpreting his steps and movements.
The dancer’s wardrobe consists of a white head covering with a deer head mounted on top, adorned with ribbons; a loin cloth or wrap-around shorts covering front and back held up by a “grijuútiam,” a belt made of deer hooves; tied around his calves are tenevoim – strings of dried cocoons filled with tiny stones that make a unique sound a he dances barefoot, and in his hands he carries gourd rattles with which he keeps the beat.
The dance’s music is made up of the sounds made as “The Deer” dances and instruments such as: the flute, water drum, scraper, and primitive songs sung in the Yaqui language and played by the accompaniment.
The flute and the drum are played simultaneously by one individual, the water gourd consists of a semi-spherical jug that is placed top down upon a surface of water contained in a clay pot measuring about 50 centimeters in diameter and that is embedded in the ground; the scraper is made of a strip of Brazilian wood, 60 centimeters long by 2 cms. wide, and with a series of ridges along its length that produce a sound similar to that of the guiro when scraped; the musicians who play the scraper also sing during the dance.
Winner.
Posted by Martha Rojas
