ATDTDA (1): Tarahumara Indians

[Tim Strzechowski]

[...] "Tarahumara Indians from northern Mexico crouched, apparently in total nakedness, inside lath-and-plaster replicas of the caves of their native Sierra Madre, pretending to eat vision-producing cacti that sent them into dramatic convulsions scarcely distinguishable from those of the common "geek" long familiar to American carnival-goers" (p. 23).

The Tarahumara or Raramuri, as they call themselves, inhabit the Copper Canyon, as it is known in the U.S., or the Sierra Tarahumara in northwest Mexico. The actual name Tarahumara was what the first Spanish called these Native American people. 
The Spanish originally encountered the Tarahumara throughout Chihuahua upon arrival in the 1500's, but as the Spanish encroached on their civilization the shy and private Tarahumara retreated for the nearly inaccessible canyons of the Sierra Tarahumara. Only the Jesuit missionaries followed at first and with only scattered success. [...] 
http://www.mexonline.com/raramuri.htm 
http://www.mexicoscoppercanyon.com/tarahumara.htm 

"vision-producing cacti" 
http://www.potseeds.co.uk/peyote/ 
http://www.mescaline.org/sanpedro/index.html 
http://peyote.org/ 

Main Entry: geek 
Pronunciation: 'gEk
Function: noun
Etymology: probably from English dialect geek, geck fool, from Low German geck, from Middle Low German
1 : a carnival performer often billed as a wild man whose act usually includes biting the head off a live chicken or snake
2 : a person often of an intellectual bent who is disliked
3 : an enthusiast or expert especially in a technological field or activity <computer geek> 
http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=geek 
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=geek 
http://www.epica-awards.org/assets/epica/2004/finalists/print/images/16024b%20%20%20small%20Geek.jpg 
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