Since archaic times Seri or Comcaac people had occupied the central coast of Sonora, the Island of the Shark (Isla del Tiburón) and others islands like San Esteban. Presently they mainly live in two community fields (ejidos): Punta Chueca (Crooked Point) in the municipality of Hermosillo with an approximated population of 300 inhabitants, and Outlet in the municipality of Pitiquito, with a population of 312 inhabitants. Periodically, and according to the cycles of fishing, they also live in fishing fields like El Sargento (The Sergeant), las Víboras (The Sneaks), etc.
Seri territory extends about 210,000 hectares, 90,000 donated by ejidal sources and 120,000 by communal source (Island of the Shark).
Seri Group has always lived nomadic, without registries of their history, dedicating themselves to fishing and harvesting seeds of the desert.

HISTORY

• Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca found them in 1536 and Fray Marcos de Niza, by orders of the virrey Don Antonio de Mendoza, went to explore the territory described by Cabeza de Vaca. Fray Marcos de Niza comments that Indians with ostion pearls arrived to their encounter and said that they live in a great island to which they go in rafts (that probably was the Island of the Shark).
• In 1540, Captain Hernando de Alarcón embarked in Acapulco and followed all the coast line to north. Was the first to call Island of the Shark to this island, nevertheless he did not mention anything about seris (Seri group people).
  Also in that same year, Rodrigo de Maldonado, to the service of Vásquez de Coronado, coming back from an expedition to look for lost ships, took with himself a so tall Indian that the Spanish tallest man only reach him at the chest height. It is very probable that that Indian was a seri.
  
• In September Captain Melchor Diaz again refers to those giant Indians whom Maldonado had described, and tells that they were very hostile. Coronado ordered to punish these Indians for their hostility and an expedition commanded by Diego de Alcaraz was sent to do so. The expedition confronted seris and lost 17 men, who died as a result of minor wounds of arrows. These arrows were poisoned with animal poison, which only was used by seris. The other Indian groups used poisons of vegetal type.
  
• From 1545 the references to this group are lost.
  
• In 1645, a reference of father Andrés Perez Rivas says:
  “Is known that there is another nation called Heris, that is very wild, without cities, that do not have rivers nor streams in their land and that drink water of small pools or of holes that do in the land; that only in rare occasions they obtain maize of other nations in exchange for salt and skins, because they live of hunting, and nearest the coast, of fishing. In the near sea there is an island in which other Indians of the same nation live. Their language is very difficult”
  
• In January of 1700, Sergeant Juan Escalante Baptist executed a few salineros seri that had committed robberies and murders in towns. Later Sergeant Escalante went to the coast, where he found an island to which the Indians run away leaving behind in the beach 8 of them that couldn’t flee in the rafts.
  This was the first armed invasion to seri territory and the principle of the wars that desolated the region.
  
• In March of the same year Sergeant Escalante went back to the coast and into the Island, captured all the seris he found and hanged nine of them for example to the other seris.
  The Jesuits arrived in efforts of turning seris to Catholicism but had null result; later the franciscans came and had the same results, just like the Christian groups centuries later, seris always have maintained their customs and their beliefs alive. Some of those missionaries died martyrs in the attempt of the evangelization.
  
• Little by little, with the growth of the white population and the persecution of which seris were object, they fall back. In 1772, governor D. Juan de Pineda settles down the Town of Seris along with a sanctuary to try to catechize them. But this town soon was turned mexican and only some isolated Indians remained.
  
• In 1803 baron Von Humboldt arrives at Sonora to compile a map of the Island of the Shark, with which the scientific interest by the sonoran tribes awakes in Europe.
  
• In 1844 governor D. Francisco Ponce of Leon organized an expedition by sea and land to catch all the tribe and to bring them to live in Town of Seris where still were left some families of that race. With the command of Captain Spence they disembarked in the Island of the Shark and that was the first military detachment in the Island. Cap. Spence and his troops surrounded the island in nine days, burned 64 jacales, 97 rafts and captured 104 Indians with his families.
  
• In September 12th Cap. Spence comes back to Hermosillo, the seri children were distributed among the families of Hermosillo and the adult seris were relocated in different places. But this situation doesn’t last long because seris males (used as exclaves) escaped; women took their children (from the different families where they were relocated) back to seri territory and back to their costumes.
  
• Meanwhile the war with the seris that hadn’t been captured continued, until the army capitulates with them, making the peace and committing to treat them well if they submit under Government. At this point is possible to say that the Seri War ended.

After this fallows a history of robberies, persecutions and executions, that give a haul of mystery and ferocity to the seri ethnic, never putting themselves under Government authority, nor embraced a way of life or a faith that wasn’t their own.
At the moment they are moving due to the invasion of eatable products that are affecting their health and economic interests that, in certain way, are varying their traditional form of life.

LANGUAGE

Their language is part of the family Hokana, and in this language they call themselves comcáac, which means “people”, although they are more known by the name SERI, of origin cahíta, that means “those that lives in the sand”.
They continue using their language, which constitutes one of their main strategies for the cultural survival and continuity, and most of them are bilingual and even trilingual, speaking also English.

MYTHS: Creation of the Comcáac and Earth Creation

1. Many moons ago, too many to be able to remember them all, the God pelican “TOSSNI”, createdin those old years an island to which he put his name, time later created the sea, the island Shark “taheöje” and finally to the Comcáac (people). The Comcáac took their canoes and ventured towards the sea in search of their land, traveled from island to island for a long time, until they arrived at the island of the Shark, front the coasts of Sonora, there settled down because that was the territory that Tossni gave them.
2. Many years ago only the sea, the sky and many marine animal species existed. All the marine animals met together to try to reach the bottom of the sea and remove a little of sand so that land could exist. One by one they tried it, but the sea was very deep none of the animals could reach the bottom. Later it was the turn of the male caguama (sea turtle), one of the greater animals that existed. Caguama went deep for the bottom and spent many days without coming back.
   All the animals waited the exit of caguama, to know if he reached the bottom or just like them, couldn’t managed to arrive at the bottom of the sea.
   Passed a month caguama returned, he had arrived at the bottom and took a fist of sand but the only sand he brought were in his nails, the rest had fallen in his way up. That’s how Earth was created.

CRAFTS

Since the Sixties crafts constitutes an important economy incoming to seris:
Iron wood figures (olneya tésota): reproducing forms or symbolic images of the world that surrounds them such as: toninas (dolphins), caguamas (marine turtle specie), eagles, correcaminos, wild lamb, jaibas, fishes and many other animals and objects of their daily world.

FESTIVITIES

Festivities are related to the cycle of the life: birth, beginning of the puberty and death. Their songs and stories turn around the sea, sharks and soldiers of the past.

HERBOLARY

In Comcáac cosmogonic conception they attributes diverse meaning to the power of plants; some alleviate physical sickness, and others have been used to be protected of bad wishes and curses such as envies and bad luck, between the plants used for these aims are: salvia, jécot and dark torote. In addition there are others plants used for protection of the natural elements like the “coronas de gallinita” (crowns of hens) and others more that alleviate the hunger and thirst of the Comcáac in their pilgrimages,some of those plants are: choya, tunas and fruits of cactaceous. Little by little these plants have fallen in disuse.

TRADITIONAL HOUSE

During their nomadic life, the Comcáac group constructed their houses in a provisory way. Their huts were grouped in small nuclei, constituting the center of their activities (to fishing and hunt); Seris changed their place of residence when the natural resources of the area were exhausted.

The houses were constructed informally and in a collective way, they used to arm the skeleton of the house with three or four arcs of ocotillo, which were covered with branches and turtles’ shells. Another way seris constructed their homes was from the center of a pitahaya (a local variety of tree); each wood was cracked in two parts so they could be ensemble with each other and later covered them with mud. These houses only served to protect them, temporarily, of the inclemencies of weather.
Now they are starting to live in houses of modern materials (wood, cement blocks, lamina, etc,).

HEALTH

Comcáac have several different health issues some due their diet and water supply, others due to endogamy, hygiene less, weather and dust.
In the first case, their actual diet causes dental and mouth diseases due the highly consumption of soda drinks and water with a high concentration of flour, also bad hygiene habits. Undernourishment and gastrointestinal diseases are common in scholar age children.
Cataracts, blindness and diabetes are common problems in Comcáacs most probably because consanguinity.  Another noticeable issue is skin dryness due the nearest of sea, salt and the hours of sun exposition, needed because the fishing activities; skin and infected pimps
The Comcáac present diverse problems of health, some provoked by the type of nourishment and the water supply, the climate and dust, others due to endogamy and some others for the lack of hygiene.
In the first case, their current diet generates dental-mouth problems due the frequent consumption of soda drinks and water with a high concentration of fluorine, also bad hygiene habits.  Malnutrition and the gastrointestinal diseases appear with major frequency in the children of school age.
Cataracts, blindness and diabetes are frequent problems among the Comcáac; seemingly due to consanguinity.
Another problem that can be observed to simple sight is dryness skin, owed to the contact with the sea, salt and hours of exhibition to the Sun necessary in their fishing activity; spots and infected grains are a consequence of the dehydrated skin, dust and a deficient hygiene.

NOURISHMENT AND ECONOMY

The diet of the Comcáac has suffered changes from the abandon of nomadic life. Previously, in favorable nature conditions; they fed of fish, seafood and sea turtles, as well of hares, rabbits, bura deers, iguanas, etc., also they fed of desert seeds, the principal ones are: tart and sweet pitahaya, the sahuaro, sahueso or cord, the fruit of choya and “pechitas” or mezuite pods, according to season. All this food was consumed during the time that they were camping in different places, being obvious that they couldn’t store food. Nowadays sedentary life has allowed them to store food and some families have corral birds.

The remains of the natural food that they ate went back into the earth where it became part of the vegetative layer of the desert.  Actually, this very custom makes their communities appear dirty because the remains that are nowadays thrown on the ground are not biodegradable: plastics, acrylic wrappings, bottles, cans, etc.

Fishing is the principal economic activity of the Comcáac. Nowadays the  domestic and commercial activities are combined to guarantee the social reproduction of the group. To be employed at the fishing camps it’s required, besides the skill, determined fishing tackles as:  fiber glass boats with engine out of hut,nylon net  and diving gear. They also obtain incomes with the permits for wild lamb (Borrego cimarrón) hunt.

SERI HANDICRAFT (Article from BLUE & BLACK Magazine by Inmaculada Puente Andrés)

"The Seri or Comca’ac, an indigenous community of fishermen, collectors and artisans, who still lived in a nomadic style in the fifties by taking advantage of Desert of Sonora’s cycles, currently dwell amongs two cities: Punta Chueca and Desemboque, by the Sea of Cortés, 28 and 91 kms from Bahía Kino, facing Isla Tiburón, their sacred island.

Among their main activities is the handicrafts of Palo Fierro wood (Onleya tésota), from which men create beautiful pieces related to desert and sea life, mainly animal life forms grasping their essential movements, leaving secondary details aside.

Wickerwork is also amongst their main handicrafts. It is made from the wood of a sacred bush: Torote Prieto (Jatropha cuneata), called haat in Comca’ac language. As they leave their homes to cut haat branches, women take their children and husband along. They choose the best logs for their work (about 80 cms long) by verifying that the bark is easily peeled, an indication that the branch is ripe to be worked on. Once cut, the branches are tied together and women place them over heir heads in a cayagual made from small torote branches, wrapped in colored laces, while men carry them on their shoulder.

Once at home, Torote branches are browned in a small bonfire. Afterwards, they remove the bark and tear them in thick and thin strips, with their teeth. The thick strips are used for weaving the inner part and the thin ones, for the outer one. Before staring her embroidery, the artisan dyes fibers in black and brown. Mesquite tree’s gum and bark or else black half-burned logs and the roots of red mangroves, are boiled in salt water to produce black tints. Once the cooking is ready, the artisan will introduce the strips, leaving the mix to rest, in order to attain a darker color. Brown colors are obtained from grind or boiled cosahui or heepol roots. Depending on the desired color degree, she will leave Torote round logs in the cosahui fire for a longer or shorted time. Sometimes, she will also use the yellow hues of xomeete flowers. Once the fibers are dyed, they are immersed in sea water for flexibility, color reassertion and protection against termite larvae or any other animal.

The time has come to start weaving. The high temperatures of the desert do not allow working during the hot hours nor exposed to sun rays, so artisans usually work at dawn, in the shade, and in a fresh spot, careful not to lose strip humidity, since they are easily broken if not handled with care. The artisan shapes the geometric and figurative patterns (stars, butterflies, deer, snakes, etc.) she has created in her mind, with the aid of a deer bone-sharpened in the shape of a needle-and her skillful hands.

Small flat baskets are called “coritas” by Comca’ac women and, not so long ago, they were used as cribs for carrying babies on their heads. Furthermore, the ones used as water containers or desert-fruit plates are known as “canastas de olla” (clay pans). The embroidery begins with a cross-stitch nest called coafliz, and next it is shaped into a spiral, mingling the plants’ natural strips with those dyed in brown, black or yellow, according to the design.

While weaving, the artisan chants and prays for protection against bad spirits and envies, preventing the needle from squeaking, since creaks are bad luck sings for her and her family. If the needle-deer bone would squeak in the middle of her work, the Comca’ac woman will stop in order to perform an offering until the basket is pleased and she is allowed to continue until the end.

The price of a Seri basket or “corita” may seem too high for someone who is not acquainted with the degree of difficulty put in the work. For those who can really appreciate its value, this kind of wickerwork is worth its price, offering a highly sophisticated design that reflects the desert’s simple yet refined beauty. Once we are able to display them at our home, office or museums, it is not likely that we feel regrets for having purchased them: they are living works of art, filled with songs and prayers, enclosing the strength, magic and power of the Desert of Sonora".

Summary and research: Ma. Immaculate Puente Andres
Bibliography:
“Las razas indígenas de Sonora y la Guerra del Yaqui”. Fortunato Hernández. Talleres de la Casa Editorial J. de Elizalde. México 1902
“El Noroeste de México: sus culturas étnicas”, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia.
Folleto editado por la Dirección general de Culturas Populares, Unidad Regional Sonora. Ing. José r. Cáñez de la Fuente. 1997
Monografías de los pueblos indígenas de México. Seris. Comisión para el Desarrollo de los Pueblos Indígenas.
Fotografías de Cayetano Lucero, Mario Sánchez Luna, Carmen López, Ana Municio, Inmaculada Puente.