Songs of the Tepehuane Tribe
Last Song Sung at the Feast when the Morning Star Appears
So-(só-)da-gi u-ki-(ji-)ru tu-vá-ni-mi.
(There is) water (i.e., tesvino) in the house; He is coming down (to us).
As to their religion they are far more reticent than the Tarahumares, and it is difficult to get information on this subject. One reason for this is that they are afraid of being laughed at by the Mexicans. They still keep up their dances and secret rites and their ceremonies, customs, and beliefs. Although in many points they resemble the Tarahumares, in others fundamental differences exist, such as the complex observances of rules in regard to puberty, none of which have been found among the Tarahumares.
Ignorant Mexicans, who have but a faint idea as to who is president of their country, more than once have attributed land-grabbing intentions to my expedition. With my three or four Mexicans and Indians and a dozen pack mules, I have been credited with designs of conquering Mexico for the Americans. Even here in Nabogame a Mexican settler felt uneasy about his holdings and stirred the Indians up, saying that if they allowed “that man to photograph them, the Devil would carry off all of them, and it would be better to kill him.” I was to meet the people on a Sunday, and in the morning I received this discouraging letter written by a Mexican for the Indian gobernador or “general,” who, to affirm or authenticate the letter, had put a cross, as his mark or signature, underneath his name:
Pueblo De Nabogame, January 29, 1893.