The Las Flores people live in Veracruz state in eastern Mexico. Their primary food crop is corn and beans. As a cash crop, some grow coffee or oranges, although sugar cane is more common. Many young people have sought temporary work in cities because the local economy cannot support them. Older women still make and wear traditional hand-embroidered blouses with intricate patterns of flowers, fruit, birds and animals.
Because the priest who worked in the area after the land wars of the 1930s was not Roman Catholic, but Eastern Orthodox, the result is something unique among rural Mexican towns. The church in the town square is Orthodox and not Roman Catholic. In spite of this, the majority of the people really don't understand how the Orthodox church differs from the Roman Catholic Church.
Most Las Flores speakers identify themselves as Catholic, but their belief system demonstrates what anthropologists call "Cristo-paganism." The saints of the church are considered gods or mini-gods with special power in certain domains.
In addition to the Orthodox congregation, a Roman Catholic priest conducts mass with a small group of devotees in a private home. There is a local Assemblies of God congregation as well.
While people acknowledge God, they also practice traditional medicine. A family will often seek out a modern cure from a local government clinic first. But if the illness persists, they will then turn to the local shaman to deal with the spirits.
Scripture Prayers for the Tepehua, Pisa Flores in Mexico.
| Profile Source: Anonymous |
