Indigenous people in Burepecha carry incense during a festive procession as part of the “New Fire” Festival (French)

80-year-old Catalana Nambu lined up in a 100-kilometre procession, organized on the occasion of the Burepecha - indigenous people's New Year - that included revived traditional rituals in the mountains of western Mexico.

The Purepecha people are one of the indigenous peoples of Mexico, who are concentrated west of the capital, Mexico City, in the northwestern region of Michoacán, and inhabit the highlands around Lakes Patzcuaro and Quetizio.

The Burepecha were famous for their geometric patterns, especially the stepped pyramids in the shape of the letter T, and they were also famous for their mosaic art made from hummingbird feathers, which was considered a luxury item in the region.

After decades of oblivion, the Purepecha people succeeded in reviving the New Year's tradition with the help of historians and anthropologists. For three days every year, participants wear traditional dress and carry torches for a distance of approximately 100 kilometers, from one village to another across the mountains of western Mexico.

Members of the local army participate in a New Year celebration in Ocumichu, in the Mexican state of Michoacán (French)

New Fire Festival

The Fuego Nuevo (New Fire) festival is held on the night of February 1 to celebrate the beginning of the year according to the Purépecha calendar.

Catalana Nambo, who works in agriculture even though she is eighty years old, says, “When the Spanish (invaders) arrived, they took away our way of dressing and our way of speaking, but we are trying to restore the customs of our ancestors.”

The journey across the state of Michoacan culminated this year in Ocumichu, where Purépecha people from all over the state gathered, amid a flurry of colour, music and dance.

A girl carrying a saxophone participates in the “New Fire” festival to celebrate the New Year in Okomicho (French)

The fire will remain burning in this small town for a year before making the journey to another village.

“We realized that our ancestors had been holding this celebration before the invasion,” said Javier de la Luce. “Now it is our turn to revive it and we have been doing so since 1983.”

The 66-year-old agricultural worker noted that his community is facing a conflict to protect its forests from logging. “In a way, this celebration has enabled our communities to defend their natural resources.”

Local residents dance during the Burepecha New Year celebration at a bonfire ceremony to mark the beginning of the new year (French)

For her part, Lucia Guterres (41 years old), who divides her time between Michoacan and the United States, where her husband lives, said that the ritual represents a much-needed respite from modern life.

"People associate our habits with things from the past, outdated, but I think this is what the world needs: to take a step back and realize that we are progressing very quickly," she continued.

“We forget what is really important: nature and these celebrations,” she concluded.

Source: French