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Community protects indigenous language in Mexico
 "We are a very proud community. Being Cucapá is something to be proud of," says Nicolas.
Nicolas, a member of the Cucapás Indians of Mexico talks proudly
of the origins of his ancestors: "The history of the Cucapás begins
when Cepa and Commat were under water. As they thought about how to get
out Commat started smoking and they rose from the water in the smoke.
They began creating everything and dried this land. Cepa made the sun
but it did not shine. Commat said it would be the moon and made the sun
we have."
The Cucapá reserve, in which Nicolas lives, has a population of
178 and is located in San Luis Rio Colorado. The Cucapás used to
navigate the difficult Río Colorado river on reed rafts. Talking about
the Cucapás way of life, Nicolas says: "Our ancestors did not work in
the fields, they only fished and hunted. But now the river is dried up -
it's closed. So now we plant cilantro and parsley for trade".
Sadly, the river is not the only thing to run dry, for the
Cucapás language has also been evaporating. It is estimated that as many
as 93 Indian languages have disappeared altogether. However, the young
members of the group have designed programs to aid in the preservation
of the language. The telling of fairy tales is very popular and the
custom of elders teaching the youngsters ways in which to preserve the
language is carefully being maintained. "I am very happy being Cucapa,
teaching the children our language so they can teach others," says a
woman Margarita.
Historically, the Cucapás lived in four groups, believed by the
Cucapás to have been assigned by the gods: wiahwir, mat skuri, kwakwarsh
and hwanyak. The land of the Cucapás was divided when the border
between Mexico and North America was established. As a result, the
Cucapás now live in four communities speaking English or Spanish and
their ancestral Cucapás tongue.
The community is rich in belief and custom, which contains their
own concept of the afterlife and the creation of man. The ancient
Cucapás based their religious beliefs on nature and took part in rituals
such as worshiping the sun, the ocean and even lightening. They
possessed an impressive knowledge of medicinal herbs and employed desert
plants like mesquite and agave in a wide variety of uses.
Mexico has between 8 to 10 million Indians divided into 56
ethnic and language groups speaking over 100 different dialects, some
spoken by only a few people. Some groups, such as the Nashuas, Mayas,
Zapotecs and Mixtecs, number in the hundred thousands, while others like
the Cucapás, Lacandones, Kiliwas, and Paispais, have been reduced to a
few dozen families.
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