Latest news with #MariaFrancisco
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
A Tohono O'odham family integrates Catholic and Native beliefs in the Arizona desert
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — On St. John the Baptist's feast day in late June, an extended Tohono O'odham family attends Mass out at their desert camp, where they gather to harvest saguaro fruit in a process sacred in their Native spirituality. 'When you're raised as being a Catholic and raised as being an O'odham, you have both of those within your home, you have both of those within your family,' said Maria Francisco. 'So it's a combination.' With her cousin, Tanisha Tucker Lohse, and about three dozen other family members and friends, Francisco worshipped at the early morning Mass in a ramada — a canopy topped with saguaro ribs to provide shade, this one decorated with paper flowers. A folding table covered by a white and gold tablecloth served as an altar. A priest visited from Tucson to celebrate the Mass. A statuette of St. John the Baptist stood by a bunch of fresh flowers, candles and burning desert sage in lieu of incense. There also were photographs of Tucker's late mom and their great-great-aunt, known as 'Grandma Juanita,' whose advocacy preserved the camp. Juana is Spanish for Jane, so she celebrated her name day on St. John's and the family is continuing the tradition. A dozen cross-shaped saguaro fruit-picking poles leaned behind the table. Made from saguaro ribs, they're used to hook the fruits and push or pull them down from the towering plants. The history of encounters between Catholicism and Native spirituality has often been marred by violence and oppression. But many members of the Tohono O'odham Nation hold onto both faith traditions as they were passed down since the late 17th century, when an Italian-born Jesuit missionary, the Rev. Eusebio Kino, introduced Christianity to these remote deserts in what now are the U.S.-Mexico borderlands. 'To me, it's the lived consequence of trying to do Catholicism on their own,' said Seth Schermerhorn, a Hamilton College professor who studies Indigenous adoption of Christian practices. Many O'odham villages have mission churches, though a shortage of priests means regular Mass is a rarity. The Rev. Aro Varnabas came from his parish, Saint Kateri, to celebrate this service. 'Making people feel connected to God through the things they're familiar with, that's what I see,' he said. Michael Enis, who works for the O'odham's San Xavier's district — home to one of the most beautifully decorated colonial Catholic churches in the Southwest, San Xavier del Bac — brought his three young children. He sees a special kinship between his nation and Jesus' cousin, who lived off the desert, calling for repentance at the risk of his life, and baptized Christ himself in the Jordan River. 'You connect the story of St. John and O'odham life, and you're stronger for it,' Enis said. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Toronto Star
2 days ago
- General
- Toronto Star
Why Tohono O'odham Nation's centuries-old saguaro fruit harvest is experiencing a revival in Arizona
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Cousins Tanisha Tucker Lohse and Maria Francisco set off from their desert camp around dawn on most early summer days, in search of ripe fruit from the towering saguaro cactus, an icon of the Southwest that is crucial to the Tohono O'odham Nation's spirituality. One plucks the small, thorn-covered fruits called 'bahidaj' with a 10-foot-long (3-meter-long) stick made with a saguaro rib as the other catches them in a bucket. The harvest ritual is sacred to the O'odham, who have lived for thousands of years in what are now U.S.-Mexico borderlands, and it's enjoying a renaissance as many seek to protect their traditional way of life.
Associated Press
2 days ago
- General
- Associated Press
PHOTO ESSAY: Tohono O'odham families carry on sacred saguaro fruit harvest in Arizona borderlands
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — The saguaro cactus is the iconic plant of the Arizona borderlands, and in June and early July, its thorn-covered small fruit ripens. For members of the Tohono O'odham Nation, whose ancestors have lived in this hot desert for thousands of years, harvest time for the 'bahidaj' is sacred. The towering saguaros — which live 200 years and routinely reach 25 feet (7.6 meters) in height — are part of the O'odham creation story, and are considered family. 'We were all taught that they were family, they are family to us,' said Maria Francisco after harvesting near her extended family's camp in the foothills west of Tucson. 'So we have a very great respect for them. And we pray to them and we thank them.' The saguaro fruit is boiled and strained until it becomes a naturally sweet syrup. Some of it is fermented to make wine for annual ceremonies asking the Creator to send the monsoon rains that render desert life possible — and mark the O'odham new year. For many families, harvest time is also an opportunity to pass down the traditions and centuries-old knowledge enjoying a resurgence as more youth rediscover their ancestral ways. 'It's just important for the generations to be out here, to see this,' said Tanisha Tucker Lohse, Francisco's cousin. The two women are carrying on the legacy of an ancestor, Juanita Ahil, who in the 1960s advocated for continued access to their harvesting land after it became part of Saguaro National Park. In her memory, a Mass is also celebrated at the camp on St. John the Baptist's feast day, since many O'odham integrate Catholic and Native beliefs. This is a documentary photo story curated by AP photo editors. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
San Francisco Chronicle
2 days ago
- General
- San Francisco Chronicle
PHOTO ESSAY: Tohono O'odham families carry on sacred saguaro fruit harvest in Arizona borderlands
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — The saguaro cactus is the iconic plant of the Arizona borderlands, and in June and early July, its thorn-covered small fruit ripens. For members of the Tohono O'odham Nation, whose ancestors have lived in this hot desert for thousands of years, harvest time for the 'bahidaj' is sacred. The towering saguaros — which live 200 years and routinely reach 25 feet (7.6 meters) in height — are part of the O'odham creation story, and are considered family. 'We were all taught that they were family, they are family to us,' said Maria Francisco after harvesting near her extended family's camp in the foothills west of Tucson. 'So we have a very great respect for them. And we pray to them and we thank them.' The saguaro fruit is boiled and strained until it becomes a naturally sweet syrup. Some of it is fermented to make wine for annual ceremonies asking the Creator to send the monsoon rains that render desert life possible — and mark the O'odham new year. For many families, harvest time is also an opportunity to pass down the traditions and centuries-old knowledge enjoying a resurgence as more youth rediscover their ancestral ways. 'It's just important for the generations to be out here, to see this,' said Tanisha Tucker Lohse, Francisco's cousin. The two women are carrying on the legacy of an ancestor, Juanita Ahil, who in the 1960s advocated for continued access to their harvesting land after it became part of Saguaro National Park. In her memory, a Mass is also celebrated at the camp on St. John the Baptist's feast day, since many O'odham integrate Catholic and Native beliefs. ___ This is a documentary photo story curated by AP photo editors. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
The Independent
2 days ago
- General
- The Independent
PHOTO ESSAY: Tohono O'odham families carry on sacred saguaro fruit harvest in Arizona borderlands
The saguaro cactus is the iconic plant of the Arizona borderlands, and in June and early July, its thorn-covered small fruit ripens. For members of the Tohono O'odham Nation, whose ancestors have lived in this hot desert for thousands of years, harvest time for the 'bahidaj' is sacred. The towering saguaros — which live 200 years and routinely reach 25 feet (7.6 meters) in height — are part of the O'odham creation story, and are considered family. 'We were all taught that they were family, they are family to us,' said Maria Francisco after harvesting near her extended family's camp in the foothills west of Tucson. 'So we have a very great respect for them. And we pray to them and we thank them.' The saguaro fruit is boiled and strained until it becomes a naturally sweet syrup. Some of it is fermented to make wine for annual ceremonies asking the Creator to send the monsoon rains that render desert life possible — and mark the O'odham new year. For many families, harvest time is also an opportunity to pass down the traditions and centuries-old knowledge enjoying a resurgence as more youth rediscover their ancestral ways. 'It's just important for the generations to be out here, to see this,' said Tanisha Tucker Lohse, Francisco's cousin. The two women are carrying on the legacy of an ancestor, Juanita Ahil, who in the 1960s advocated for continued access to their harvesting land after it became part of Saguaro National Park. In her memory, a Mass is also celebrated at the camp on St. John the Baptist's feast day, since many O'odham integrate Catholic and Native beliefs. ___ This is a documentary photo story curated by AP photo editors. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
