Seri
Encyclopedia
The Seris are an indigenous group of the Mexican
state
of Sonora
. The majority reside on the Seri communal property (Spanish, ejido), in the towns of Punta Chueca
(Seri
Socaaix) and El Desemboque
(Seri
Haxöl Iihom) on the mainland coast of the Gulf of California
. Tiburón Island
(Tahejöc) and San Esteban Island
(Cofteecöl and sometimes Hast) were part of their traditional territory, but some Seris also lived in various places on the mainland. They were historically seminomadic hunter-gatherers who maintained an intimate relationship with both the sea and the land. It is one of the ethnic groups of Mexico that has most strongly maintained its language and culture during the years after contact with Spanish and Mexican cultures.
The Seri people are not related culturally or linguistically to other groups that have lived in the area, such as the Opata
, Yaqui, O'odham
, or Cochimí
. The Seri language
is distinct from all others in the region and is considered a linguistic isolate.
The name Seri is an exonym of uncertain origin. (Claims that it is from Opata or from Yaqui were nineteenth-century speculations based on similarity to words in those languages and not with clear evidence.) Their name for themselves is Comcaac (phonemically /komkɑɑk/, phonetically [koŋˈkɑːk]); singular: Cmiique (phonemically /kmiikɛ/), phonetically [ˈkw̃ĩːkːɛ]).
Three of the bands were further subdivided. Relations between bands were not always friendly, and internal fights sometimes occurred.
After the Seri population was greatly reduced by conflicts with the Mexican government and the O'odham
, and epidemics of smallpox
and measles
, the remaining Seris grouped together and the band divisions were lost.
•A 1940 documentary film, part of John Nesbitt's Passing Parade series (MGM), recorded scenes from the life of the Seri on Tiburon Island, under the title "Utopia of Death." It uses film from the Harold Austin expedition, claiming that this was the first motion picture footage of the tribe. http://ctva.biz/US/Documentary/PassingParade.htm
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
state
States of Mexico
The United Mexican States is a federal republic formed by 32 federal entities .According to the Constitution of 1917, the states of the federation are free and sovereign. Each state has their own congress and constitution, while the Federal District has only limited autonomy with a local Congress...
of Sonora
Sonora
Sonora officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 72 municipalities; the capital city is Hermosillo....
. The majority reside on the Seri communal property (Spanish, ejido), in the towns of Punta Chueca
Punta Chueca
Punta Chueca is a Seri town located on the Gulf of California in the Mexican state of Sonora. It is located 16 miles north of the fishing and tourist town of Bahía de Kino...
(Seri
Seri language
Seri is a language isolate spoken by the Seri people by between 716 and 900 people in two villages on the coast of Sonora, Mexico.-Classification:...
Socaaix) and El Desemboque
El Desemboque
El Desemboque, known as "Haxöl Iihom" in the Seri language, is a town located 376 km from Hermosillo on the shore of Gulf of California in the Mexican state of Sonora; coordinates N 29° 30' 13", W 112° 23' 43". It is one of two major villages on the Seri Indian communal property, the other being...
(Seri
Seri language
Seri is a language isolate spoken by the Seri people by between 716 and 900 people in two villages on the coast of Sonora, Mexico.-Classification:...
Haxöl Iihom) on the mainland coast of the Gulf of California
Gulf of California
The Gulf of California is a body of water that separates the Baja California Peninsula from the Mexican mainland...
. Tiburón Island
Tiburón Island
Tiburón Island is both the largest island in the Gulf of California and the largest island in Mexico, with an area of . It was made a nature reserve in 1963 by President Adolfo López Mateos. Tiburón is Spanish for shark. The etymology of the Seri name is unknown...
(Tahejöc) and San Esteban Island
San Esteban Island
San Esteban Island is a small island in the Gulf of California, Mexico, located to the southwest of Tiburón Island. It is part of the Municipality of Hermosillo in Sonora, and has a land area of 39.773 km² , the 15th-largest island in Mexico. It is located in the Sea of Cortés...
(Cofteecöl and sometimes Hast) were part of their traditional territory, but some Seris also lived in various places on the mainland. They were historically seminomadic hunter-gatherers who maintained an intimate relationship with both the sea and the land. It is one of the ethnic groups of Mexico that has most strongly maintained its language and culture during the years after contact with Spanish and Mexican cultures.
The Seri people are not related culturally or linguistically to other groups that have lived in the area, such as the Opata
Opata
Opata is the collective name for three indigenous peoples native to the northern Mexican border state of Sonora. The whole of Opata territory encompasses the northeasterly and central part of the state...
, Yaqui, O'odham
O'odham
The O'odham peoples, including the Tohono O'odham or Papago, the Pima or Akimel O'odham, and the Hia C-ed O'odham, are an indigenous Uto-Aztecan peoples of the Sonoran desert in southern and central Arizona and northern Sonora, united by a common heritage language, the O'odham language...
, or Cochimí
Cochimi
The Cochimí are the aboriginal inhabitants of the central part of the Baja California peninsula, from El Rosario in the north to San Javier in the south....
. The Seri language
Seri language
Seri is a language isolate spoken by the Seri people by between 716 and 900 people in two villages on the coast of Sonora, Mexico.-Classification:...
is distinct from all others in the region and is considered a linguistic isolate.
The name Seri is an exonym of uncertain origin. (Claims that it is from Opata or from Yaqui were nineteenth-century speculations based on similarity to words in those languages and not with clear evidence.) Their name for themselves is Comcaac (phonemically /komkɑɑk/, phonetically [koŋˈkɑːk]); singular: Cmiique (phonemically /kmiikɛ/), phonetically [ˈkw̃ĩːkːɛ]).
Bands
The Seri were formerly divided into six bands. They were:- Xiica hai iic coii ("those that are towards the wind"), who inhabited a large area to north of the other bands.
- Xiica xnaai iicp coii ("those that are to the south"), who inhabited the coast from Bahía KinoBahía KinoBahía Kino is a town in the Mexican state of Sonora, on the Sea of Cortez Gulf of California; it was named after Eusebio Kino. The name also applies to the adjacent bay between Tiburón Island and Punta San Nicolás, Sonora...
to GuaymasGuaymasGuaymas is a city and municipality located in the southwest part of the state of Sonora in northwestern Mexico. The city is located 117 km south of the state capital of Hermosillo, and 242 miles from the U.S. border, and is the principal port for the state. The municipality is located in the...
. - Tahejöc comcaac ("Tiburón Island people"), who inhabited the coasts of Tiburón IslandTiburón IslandTiburón Island is both the largest island in the Gulf of California and the largest island in Mexico, with an area of . It was made a nature reserve in 1963 by President Adolfo López Mateos. Tiburón is Spanish for shark. The etymology of the Seri name is unknown...
, and the coast of Mexico opposite it, north of the xiica xnaai iicp coii. - Heeno comcaac ("desert people"), who inhabited the central valley of Tiburón IslandTiburón IslandTiburón Island is both the largest island in the Gulf of California and the largest island in Mexico, with an area of . It was made a nature reserve in 1963 by President Adolfo López Mateos. Tiburón is Spanish for shark. The etymology of the Seri name is unknown...
. - Xnaamotat ("those that came from the south"), who inhabited a small strip between the xiica hai iic coii and the Tahejöc comcaac.
- Xiica Hast ano coii ("those that are in San Esteban Island"), who inhabited San Esteban IslandSan Esteban IslandSan Esteban Island is a small island in the Gulf of California, Mexico, located to the southwest of Tiburón Island. It is part of the Municipality of Hermosillo in Sonora, and has a land area of 39.773 km² , the 15th-largest island in Mexico. It is located in the Sea of Cortés...
and the southern coast of Tiburón IslandTiburón IslandTiburón Island is both the largest island in the Gulf of California and the largest island in Mexico, with an area of . It was made a nature reserve in 1963 by President Adolfo López Mateos. Tiburón is Spanish for shark. The etymology of the Seri name is unknown...
.
Three of the bands were further subdivided. Relations between bands were not always friendly, and internal fights sometimes occurred.
After the Seri population was greatly reduced by conflicts with the Mexican government and the O'odham
O'odham
The O'odham peoples, including the Tohono O'odham or Papago, the Pima or Akimel O'odham, and the Hia C-ed O'odham, are an indigenous Uto-Aztecan peoples of the Sonoran desert in southern and central Arizona and northern Sonora, united by a common heritage language, the O'odham language...
, and epidemics of smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
and measles
Measles
Measles, also known as rubeola or morbilli, is an infection of the respiratory system caused by a virus, specifically a paramyxovirus of the genus Morbillivirus. Morbilliviruses, like other paramyxoviruses, are enveloped, single-stranded, negative-sense RNA viruses...
, the remaining Seris grouped together and the band divisions were lost.
Trivia
- The autoethnonym of the Seri people, Comcaac, was first recorded by United States Boundary Commissioner John Russell BartlettJohn Russell BartlettJohn Russell Bartlett was an American historian and linguist.-Biography:Bartlett was born in Providence, Rhode Island...
, who was in the area for a short visit in early 1852. The word was included in the list of approximately 180 words that Bartlett archived in the Bureau of American EthnologyBureau of American EthnologyThe Bureau of American Ethnology was established in 1879 by an act of Congress for the purpose of transferring archives, records and materials relating to the Indians of North America from the Interior Department to the Smithsonian Institution...
(now part of the National Anthropological Archive, housed at the Smithsonian). He recorded the word as "komkak", which reflected the pronunciation of the word at that time (although he missed the vowel length and did not indicate stress). Other word lists, obtained by other people during the last half of the nineteenth century, confirm that pronunciation. The phonetic rule by which the consonant /m/ is pronounced as a velar nasal in this context (after an unstressed vowel and preceding a velar consonant) may not have come about until sometime in the early twentieth century or researchers may have encountered slow-speech deliberate pronunciations for which the assimilation was held in abeyance. The singular form, Cmiique, was first recorded by French explorer and philologist Alphonse PinartAlphonse PinartAlphonse Pinart was a French explorer, philologist, and ethnographer. He was an early champion of the theory that the Americas were first populated by migration across the Bering Strait. To support his research, he made extensive travel in the Pacific, from Alaska and the Aleutian Islands to...
in 1879. He recorded the word as "kmike", which must have reflected the pronunciation of the word at that time (although he also missed the vowel length). The phonetic rule by which the consonant /m/ is pronounced as a nasalized velar approximant in this context (after a velar stop) may not have come about until sometime in the mid twentieth century.
•A 1940 documentary film, part of John Nesbitt's Passing Parade series (MGM), recorded scenes from the life of the Seri on Tiburon Island, under the title "Utopia of Death." It uses film from the Harold Austin expedition, claiming that this was the first motion picture footage of the tribe. http://ctva.biz/US/Documentary/PassingParade.htm
- The Seri Indians figure in the plot of the Louis L'AmourLouis L'AmourLouis Dearborn L'Amour was an American author. His books consisted primarily of Western fiction novels , however he also wrote historical fiction , science fiction , nonfiction , as well as poetry and short-story collections. Many of his stories were made into movies...
novel CatlowCatlowCatlow is a 1971 western film based on a 1963 novel by Louis L'Amour. It stars Yul Brynner as a renegade outlaw determined to pull off a Confederate gold heist. It co-stars Richard Crenna and Leonard Nimoy....
(1963), made into a (1971) movie by the same name starring Yul BrynnerYul BrynnerYul Brynner was a Russian-born actor of stage and film. He was best known for his portrayal of Mongkut, king of Siam, in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The King and I, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor for the film version; he also played the role more than 4,500 times on...
, Richard CrennaRichard CrennaRichard Donald Crenna was an American motion picture, television, and radio actor and occasional television director. He starred in such motion pictures as The Sand Pebbles, Wait Until Dark, Body Heat, the first three Rambo movies, Hot Shots! Part Deux, and The Flamingo Kid...
, and Leonard NimoyLeonard NimoyLeonard Simon Nimoy is an American actor, film director, poet, musician and photographer. Nimoy's most famous role is that of Spock in the original Star Trek series , multiple films, television and video game sequels....
.
External links
- General essay by Edward W. MoserEdward W. MoserEdward W. Moser was an American linguist and expert in the Seri language and culture working with the Summer institute of Linguistics.-Life and career:...
, The Seris - A study of Seri place names
- The Seri Indians of Sonora Mexico
- Lengamer site
- Bibliography of Seri language and culture