ARIZONA STATE MUSEUM

I checked out this museum for the first time and I'd have to say it's the best one I've seen so far. Very informative and touching. It was frustrating to contemplate man's knack for war-making and need to conquer over others....

They also had another exhbit on Mexican Masks:







This exhibition takes an innovative look at ten American Indian cultures of Arizona and northwest Mexico: the Seri, Tarahumara, Yaqui, O'odham, Colorado River Yumans, Southern Paiute, Pai, Apache, Hopi and Navajo. For each group, a theme of special cultural relevance is traced through three exhibit sections - Origins, History, and Life Today.





Tarahumara Man:






But, what tripped me out was the Tarahumara religious belief system! Read this fascinating description of their religion:

The Tarahumara religion is a mélange of indigenous customs and Roman-Catholic Christianity, characterized by a belief that the afterlife is a mirror image of the mortal world, and that good deeds should be performed not for spiritual reward, but for the improvement of life on earth. In certain traditions (perhaps those more strongly based on pre-Columbian practice), the soul ascends a series of heavens, is reincarnated after each death, and after three lives becomes a moth on Earth which represents the final existence of the soul. When the moth dies, the soul dies completely. However, this end is not regarded as negative or a punishment, but merely as a continuation of the order of life. In Tarahumara cosmology, God has a wife who dwells with him in heaven, along with their sons, the so-called 'sukristo' (from Spanish 'Jesuscristo') and their daughters, the 'santi'. These beings have a direct link with the physical world through Catholic iconography, respectively crucifixes and saint's medallions. The Devil's world is not necessarily evil, but is tainted through its ties with the 'Chabochi', or non-Raramuri. The Devil is said to sometimes collaborate with God to arrange fitting punishments, and can be appeased through sacrifices. In some cases, the Devil can even be persuaded to act as a benevolent entity. The Devil and God are brothers (the Devil is the elder) who jointly created the human race. God, using pure clay, created the Raramuri, whereas the Devil, mixing white ash with his clay, created the Chabochi. Thus, the Devil is as much protector and life-giver to the Chabochis as God is to the Raramuri. The Tarahumara share with other Uto-Aztecan tribes a veneration for Peyote, the spirits of which are said to be mischievous and capricious.