The culture group that I’m researching is Yaqui (The Sonoran Desert, U.S, and Mexico). The traditional name for Yaqui was Yoeme, Yoeme means small people. The Yaqui people are geographically located Sonora, California, Nevada, and the Southwestern part of the United States. The Pascua Yaqui tribe is based in Tucson, Arizona. The topics I have chosen to research based on the Yaquis are death/funerary customs and rituals. I those topics to research because not every culture has the same rituals and funerary customs to me that's just so interesting to learn. The reason I have chosen to research the Yaquis are that growing up in Arizona there are many Yaquis surrounding where I live. Not only that I’m surrounded by Yaquis, but I’m also biologically related to some Pascua Yaqui people. I want to understand whether our cultures can either compare and contrast.
The topics that I have chosen are death (funerary customs) and rituals. One of the anthropological concepts I’ve chosen is death (funerary customs. Death is “irreversible cessation of all vital functions especially as indicated by the permanent stoppage of the heart, respiration, and brain activity: the end of life-see brain death” (Webster Definition). An example of growing up Catholic and there was a death there would be a rosary then a wake, we lay the person to rest, and we’d celebrate not that we were happy. We’d celebrate because we remember all the good memories we had with that person. Even though that person they are gone their gone physically they don’t leave our hearts. The soul of someone is considered the center part of them. They consider the souls of the bad people witches and thieves. At the site of the burial, they often place water, food, and play music while they dance. The dancers often wear very elaborate clothing. They aren’t celebrating their death but honoring them. Yaqui people followed the Christians traditions for burials. After one pers...