This book presents a fine example of ethnohistory at its best. The geographic focus of Nathaniel Morris's study encompasses the Gran Nayar, an ethnically and topographically diverse area of Mexico that overlaps the states of Jalisco, Durango and Nayarit. The author's specific attention is on the Wixáritari, O'dam, Náayarite and Mexicaneros indigenous communities inhabiting different spaces within the Sierra Madre Occidental mountain range that straddles this region.
Morris sees costumbre as a vital factor in the identity of each indigenous community. Taken as a heterogenous mix of ‘ritual practices, church-based festivals, and faith in the power of saints, ancestors and pre-Hispanic gods’ (pp. 8–9), costumbre not only sets each group apart from the other, but all groups from mainstream mestizo society. It was this source of separateness that, during the colonial and independence eras, erroneously gained the Gran Nayar a reputation as isolated and barbaric. Drawing upon previous studies questioning the notion that peripheral areas are necessarily disconnected from outside influences, Morris seeks to understand how the ravages of violent revolution, religious conflict and nation-building in the first half of the twentieth century affected the area. Two salient conclusions result from his detailed comparative study. The first is that, although fiercely independent, the region's communities were nonetheless adept at using external initiatives to deliver local objectives. Secondly, he suggests that, even as decades of intra- and inter-communal factionalism, violent repression and unrelenting state encroachment threatened the very existence of many communities, salvation lay in a revitalised belief in the very costumbres that had historically defined them.
The structure of Morris's study is framed by the many flashpoints in early twentieth-century Mexican history: the Revolution, post-revolutionary state-building, the anti-secular Cristero rebellion, Plutarco Elías Calles's ‘Maximato’ (1928–34) and Cardenismo, the presidency of Lázaro Cárdenas, 1934–40. For each period, he offers case studies that exemplify how each of the ethnic groups within the Gran Nayar reacted to, and were affected by, national developments. In doing so, attention is paid to the extent to which traditional values were challenged by more contemporary socio-political developments, sometimes strengthening unity within communities, but often causing division both within and beyond.
Scholars of caciquismo will not be surprised to find that the violent unrest of the Revolution and its inconclusive aftermath gave rise to a new form of leadership within Gran Nayar communities. ‘Men on horseback’ gained social mobility through their military prowess, links with external authorities and ability to deliver desired benefits for their communities. In challenging traditional forms of leadership linked to the performance of civil and religious duties, such developments sometimes fostered tensions within and between communities. In some communities, caciques were seen as facilitators of post-revolutionary reform that would bring ‘civilisation’ in the form of schools and modernity through new concepts of land tenure. While similar developments took place elsewhere in Mexico during the 1920s, Morris argues that the experience was different for many Gran Nayar communities. He finds that the distinct costumbre of each indigenous group offered a greater degree of resilience in their struggle to selectively accept change while retaining the fundamental cultural values that defined their place in the world. As such, while pro-government caciques, schoolteachers or agronomists might attempt integration within national projects, they often recorded only minor victories.
Such tenacity was frequently exemplified when the violence of the Cristero rebellion and, later, the socialist reforms of the Cárdenas presidency reached the indigenous communities of Gran Nayar. Morris shows, again, how they sought to adopt positions best suited to defend their autonomy. Some chose to take up arms in rebellion, others professed loyalty to the government. Yet the decision to opt for one side or another was more often determined by local considerations than by national rhetoric. Even after the Cristero rebellion had been quelled, enduring suspicion regarding the ultimate aims of the Cárdenas presidency had the effect of stirring determined, sometimes violent, resistance. By this time, however, the overwhelming military advantages of the state had left many indigenous communities broken and destitute. Nonetheless, the same deeply ingrained beliefs that had sustained them through tough times in the past were once again summoned to bring about their revival. Although modified by the ravages of revolution and on-going violence, rituals associated with costumbre once more provided a focal point of identity and resistance; so much so that despite the many inroads the ‘outside world’ has made within the Gran Nayar, the author argues that the region is still viewed as one of the final bastions of indigenous identity against state-sponsored integration.
An underlying strength of this book emanates from the author's in-depth knowledge of the region he sets out to elucidate to us. While he recognises the limitations of an ‘outsider’ ever being fully able to penetrate the fundamental beliefs, sentiments and life experiences of the indigenous communities under study, he nonetheless gives it his best shot. By this I mean that Morris does what any serious local and/or regional historian of Mexico should do, and that is to get his or her boots well and truly soiled by the dust and mud of the local terrain. While due consideration is given to material found in state and national archives, Morris reaches for a much more intimate perspective of a region, its people and its past by doing his level best to share their experiences. Recognising that I am repeating arguments I made at a similar stage of my own career, I restate that it is only by spending time in communities, observing the often conflicting sentiments of its people and enduring the physical and emotional demands of its climate and terrain that the diverse sources of documentary, anecdotal, material and cultural evidence can make real sense. As I approach the end of my academic career, it is heartening to discover that a new generation of historians not only recognises the vast potential of local history but engages with it in such a way as to maximise its full potential.
