Paths of Life

Seri: At the Edge of Desert and Sea

All of the barrel cactus that grow on this land
Fog coming from them
They all have life
It is the sound of the land.
It is the sound of the land.
—A shaman's song

The Seri live at the edge of a sparse, dry desert along the shore of the Sea of Cortez in the Mexican state of Sonora. Over the centuries they have developed a huge body of knowledge about the plants and animals of this dual environment. While their tools and homes may strike outsiders as simple, their physical and spiritual understanding of their world is very complex.

It was Hant Caai, "he who made the land," that taught the Seri people to use resources from the sea. He placed a Seri woman, a man, and a horse on the earth. When Hant Caai told the man to ride the horse, he fell off. But when he was told to paddle a balsa, he headed out to sea and harpooned a turtle. The Seri knew they were not to be farmers.