The Seri

Figure 1: Seri women (Source: Barojas 2018)

 

As a long time educator with nearly two decades of experience teaching at the collegiate level I often hear from my students and others the same question: “Why do we need to learn about this?”  There are various benefits to knowing and understanding anthropological method, theory, and application, but there is just as much need to understand, appreciate, and learn from other cultural groups.  Today’s blog post will provide an example of how learning about a culture group can lend itself to not only appreciating the people but also aid in preserving natural resources that millions of people use every day.  This blog post will introduce you to the Seri of northern Mexico and their ecological knowledge of their unique environment.

 

The Seri (also known as Comcaac) reside along the Mexican coast of the Sonoran Desert.  Today they occupy a small sliver of the territory they once occupied, which included the Shark Island (Tahejöc himquij in Seri), San Esteban Island (Cofteecöl hipcap in Seri), coasts of Kino Bay, as well as the villages of Punta Chueca (Socaaix in Seri) and Desemboque (Haxöl Iihom in Seri).  They have survived and thrived as band level foragers in this inhospitable environment for thousands of years.  The rocky and dry Sonoran Desert flanks the west, while the rich marine resources of the Gulf of California to the east provided the necessary resources that ensured their survival. Despite numerous attempts of assimilation during the colonial period the Seri managed to maintain much of their traditional cultural ways and language until the early 21^st century, when they succumb to pressures to assimilate by both the American and Mexican governments and private fishing industries.  In the 1970s they were provided exclusive fishing rights to the region, but they have managed to lose some of this autonomy as they are forced by private entities to surrender these rights.

 

The small Seri population, which numbers just under 1000, remains resilient and are actively fighting to retain their traditional culture practices.  Men continue to practice traditional hunting, fishing, and policing activities, but women have also joined these occupational activities, as well.  Women also continue to be artisans, crafting beautiful and intricate baskets, jewelry, and wood carvings that they sell to tourists to help eke out a living.  Seri men and women are actively sought out by scholars because of their extensive ecological knowledge.  Their extensive knowledge of marine life has been employed by marine biologists who use the Seri names for hundreds of different marine species.  This, in part, makes their language of high importance and interest among anthropological linguists, particularly those seeking to study and further understand Seri through the study of environmental linguistics.  Seri knowledge has also been integral in the successful integration of various conservation efforts employed to conserve and save local flora and fauna from extinction.

 

Unfortunately, this same care is not afforded to the Seri language.  Younger generations of Seri are refusing to learn the language, risking the loss of their culture and the ecological knowledge they carry with them through their language.  This has led biologists and conservationists to partner alongside the Seri to collect all ecological information they can.  The Seri, however, fiercely cling to their customs, encouraging them to be practiced through various major holidays and in daily activities.  Seri women can be found wearing traditional clothing, which is defined by long colorful skirts and dresses and painted faces (Figure 1).  Traditional arts and song are taught to the interested younger generations, many of whom learn as these remain a means of making money.  Many young Seri also dedicate their studies to learning alongside the biologists and conservationists they meet because they, too, are dedicated to preserving their local environments.  Together, the Seri remain hopeful and determined to continue existing despite the hardships they have and continue to face, be they natural or manmande.

 

Works Cited

Barojas, Daniel. "Seri Tribe (konkaak / comca’ac) of Sonora Mexico." Creative Pinellas 14 June 2018. Electronic.

Basurto, Xavier. "How locally designed access and use controls can prevent the tragedy of the commons in a Mexican small-scale fishing community." Society and natural resources (2005). Electronic.

López Torres, Núria. "An Intimate Look at Mexico’s Indigenous Seri People." New York Times 16 May 2022. Electronic.

Nachi, Nemer E., et al. "An ethnomedicinal study of the Seri people; a group of hunter-gatherers and fishers native to the Sonoran Desert." Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine volume (2015). Electronic.

Tikkanen, Amy. Seri people. 20 July 2017. Electronic. 17 April 2023.