Paper short abstract:

Ever since the earliest documentary evidence on ceremonialism in the Gran Nayar began to appear in the sixteenth century, ritual practices have been a sign of resistance to colonial and national authority.

Paper long abstract:

During the last decade of the XX Century, ritual practices have been significant in land claim litigation by Náyarite people of the Gran Nayar, Mexico. The unusually prolonged and violent struggle of Náyarite people to defend their religious systems and territory is related to opium cultivation. Thus, this paper examines how náyarite people use everyday ritual actions such as pilgrimages or treks, transporting sacred waters from distant springs back to sacred sites and share encoded messages via two-way radios to delimitate and inscribe their cultural space. We also discuss Náyarite’s emic concepts of social space, landscape and territoriality and how poppy cultivation has been used to sustain political and territorial autonomy throughout the Gran Nayar region.

Thus, this paper examines how Náyarite people use everyday ritual actions such as pilgrimages or treks, transporting sacred waters from distant springs back to sacred sites and share encoded messages via two-way radios to delimitate and inscribe their cultural space or territory.