Sometimes on The Travel Channel or National Geographic we get to see westerners meeting and greeting tribal people around the globe. It is always a
treat to watch the clumsy visitors attempt to quickly learn the various greeting customs; the posturing, body language, exchange of words or small
gifts that mark the first important ceremony. What we don?t usually get a chance to see is what happens next. If the visitors should linger, for
weeks, months or longer, to fit in it is necessary for them to learn much more than new handshakes.
Those parts of Baja California that can be called rural are home to small groups living off the land or sea we could still call tribes. Some of you
have wandered through the villages of such tribes as you read the fascinating histories of the area, the people, in books and stories by the late
Jimmy Smith of Southern Baja California.
The whole concept is a forest for the trees thing because those who have spent most of their lives in Baja California think of the place as though it
were an island. Islands and tribes go hand in hand. Isolation is key.
Tribes consist of families. The colorful history of Southern Baja California recalls the founding of the place by an unusually small but prolific
number of families whose names ring out in every voting roster of every small hamlet near the tip of the peninsula. Down here, if you, like our
clumsy TV westerners want to fit in, you need to learn the customs and some things about the families, the clans, the tribes.
It takes time. It is taking me forever. Before I could recognize the tribe thing I stumbled about telling new friends their cousins were lazy
liars, paying great homage to all the wrong people while ignoring the whole family of the next mayor. I did not know that if I befriended the Cosios
I would not be trusted by the Monta?os. I recognized way too late that my key to meeting the mountain people, being invited to see their world would
hinge on my courtesy toward the little guy who built my palapa. Were I to apply for a business license it might depend on something I said or did on
the beach three years ago. Trouble with the law, going before the local judge might turn good or bad because of my behavior last week on a visit to
the dump.
After ten years in this little village I am still a stranger. Every encounter with my Mexican neighbors has hidden danger or opportunity I still
don?t quite fathom. I?ve learned that every small thing I say or do is magnified in importance to where I stand in the eyes of the villagers ? every
courtesy is deemed more grand, every unintended slight or dismissal augurs poorly for my reputation.
There are times when the villagers take me in, treat me like one of their own. These are the rare occasions when we are together witnessing some
blatant discourtesy by a newcomer; a new, clumsy westerner meaning no harm but unfamiliar with life among the tribes.Bruce R Leech - 6-4-2006 at 11:07 AM
Osprey you are truly someone that has mad an effort to know and understand the people here I can tell by what you write. few people that have lived
here for forty or more years know about what you have just wrote.Paula - 6-4-2006 at 12:35 PM
Osprey, we haven't been here so long, but I'm sure learning to be very careful of what I say, and to talk about the good things, not the less good I think I needed this lesson. I don't think I've made any enemies here, but I have
made a fool of myself a time or two!bajalera - 6-4-2006 at 12:53 PM
Well told, Jorge.
Call me ignorant but....
Sharksbaja - 6-4-2006 at 02:51 PM
"Before I could recognize the tribe thing I stumbled about telling new friends their cousins were lazy liars, paying great homage to all the wrong
people while ignoring the whole family of the next mayor. I did not know that if I befriended the Cosios I would not be trusted by the Monta?os."
is this a McCoy/Hatfield type of rivalry. Does this continue on from past to future generations? Are you a marked person if of an undesirable tribe? I
have trouble visualizing this. Are we not led to value their existance through their ability to coexist peacefully for eons? Can I know? Should I
know?
Yes, I believe I should. To be honest, how many outsiders actually(beside yourself) have come to reality in terms of comprehending the tribes'
motivations and actions of these disparate peoples. Not a whole lot I would venture to guess.
Jorge, tell us more please.Bruce R Leech - 6-4-2006 at 03:11 PM
Sharksbaja believe it or not every thing written above applies to our little paradise of Mulege. I don't think there is a better place to study this
than here. you don't even need to say something dumb to get in trouble. to really get in touch with this small town you first need to find out where
the dividing lines are and that can take many years. then you need to decide which side of those lines you want to be on. you cant be on both. some of
these lines are drawn right through the middel of some families. peple in the same family will never talk with each other. it gets much more
complicated as you get in to it. but you will never be board here. you cant hire someone frome one side of the line and expect them to work with
someone from the other side.Sharksbaja - 6-4-2006 at 03:25 PM
Ohhhhhhh! You mean like "Days of Our Lives" Bruce R Leech - 6-4-2006 at 04:06 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by Sharksbaja
Ohhhhhhh! You mean like "Days of Our Lives"
oh it is way better than thatBruce R Leech - 6-4-2006 at 04:34 PM
all you need to do is forget the Ice cream once and you have joined the dark sideSharksbaja - 6-4-2006 at 05:44 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by Hose A
Sharks you simply do not have a clue.
Oh. You may be correct as far as Mex goes, but I spent 4 years in a two company town with only 60 full time residents. I KNOW small town bulls__t.
It can't be all that bad down there!Osprey - 6-4-2006 at 05:46 PM
Sharks, Days of Our Lives is WHO IS THE REAL FATHER? This is more like: How come Jose Manuel charged my gringo neighbor only $70 for labor to replace
his whole tin roof and wants $300 from me to just fix a plumbing leak?
Yep Osprey
Sharksbaja - 6-4-2006 at 05:53 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by Osprey
Sharks, Days of Our Lives is WHO IS THE REAL FATHER? This is more like: How come Jose Manuel charged my gringo neighbor only $70 for labor to replace
his whole tin roof and wants $300 from me to just fix a plumbing leak?
Absolutely, the old saying " it's who you know" takes on new meaning for Gringos in Mexico. It sure is prevalent here in jobless coastal Oregon.
Sounds like it's amplified in Baja.
That makes this forum and resource invaluable for us "in the know".
I think I needed this lesson. I don't think I've made any enemies here, but I have
made a fool of myself a time or two!
