The TRAVELER'S JOURNAL: January eighteenth, meeting the Tarahumara.

This week, we've explored the canyons of Mexico's Sierra Tarahumara mountains. No journey here would be complete without visiting the reclusive Indians who give these mountains their name.

The Tarahumara have inhabited these mountains for thousands of years. When Spanish conquistadors tried to enslave them to mine gold and silver, they escaped en- masse into the remote canyons. Since then, many have followed their traditional ways, removing themselves as much as possible from the encroachment of western civilization.

Even today, as many as 60,000 Tarahumara farm tiny, self-sufficient plots tucked into nooks and crannies along these steep canyons. Each family may have two dwellings, simple single-room wood or stone structures, some built into the caves that pocket this region, moving up and down the canyon walls as seasons change.

Despite their primitive living conditions and limited diet, the Tarahumara are known as a hardy people, as evidenced most recently in their world-class prowess as ultra-marathoners. Villages hold run-till-they-drop races where team members run for days on end, covering hundreds of miles, while dribbling small wooden balls with their feet.

The Tarahumara also practice a pantheistic form of Catholicism; Pagan gods hold sway in their churches with Christ, and sorcerers consult with priests on spiritual matters. The rituals of their religious feasts, Corpus Christi, Christmas and Holy Week, are all familiar, but the colorful Tarahumara interpretations are unique in all the world.

FMI For Copper Canyon railroad information contact: www.railsnw.com or 503.793-0523. For tours Columbus Copper Canyon Travel www.canyontravel.com or 1 800-843-1060. For hotel information or reservations, contact Balderama Hotels in Mexico, (681-8-70-46)

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