seaturtle.org : MTN : ARCHIVES : Sign In

Marine Turtle Newsletter 108:27, © 2005

Marine Turtle Newsletter-Online

Seri Leatherback Release Ceremony: Renewing Spiritual and Ecological Traditions

Kama Dean
Co-Director, Pro Peninsula (E-mail: kama@propeninsula.org)

Due to declines in leatherback populations, the last time the Seri people, an indigenous group from northwest Mexico, were able to perform their sacred four-day ceremony celebrating the animal was in 1981. The Seri consider the leatherback, the largest of all sea turtle species, sacred and have profound respect for the animal. Years ago on the rare occasion when a leatherback was captured, the ceremony was held to provide protection for the turtle before it was released, unharmed. Today, the Pacific leatherback is one of the world’s most endangered marine turtles. The Seri have strong emotional, spiritual and cultural ties to the leatherback and the elders are dedicated to continuing their ceremonial practices in order to bring protection to the leatherback and to the people of the region. The elders envision singing to the leatherback and praying for her protection once again. Both the youth and elders fear that without a concerted effort the ceremonial traditions could be lost.

During the first week in February, five members of the Seri community had the opportunity to perform the ancient and nearly forgotten ceremony. In collaboration with Pro Peninsula, the Grupo Tortuguero and ASUPMATOMA, a group of Seri travelled to Agua Blanca, BCS, a leatherback nesting beach on the east cape of the peninsula, to perform the release ceremony with leatherback hatchlings. In Agua Blanca, ASUPMATOMA runs an incubation programme to ensure the successful hatching of leatherback eggs.

The full four-day ceremony was performed in Agua Blanca, with a few modifications. A number of precautions were taken to safeguard the fragile hatchlings that were used for the ceremony, including keeping the turtles in the incubator as opposed to a house built by the Seri. Additionally, the ceremony is traditionally a community event, with an entire Seri village taking part in the festivities. There were only five Seri members present at this ceremony, however members of Pro Peninsula, Grupo Tortuguero, ASUPMATOMA and others became the community, painting their faces, dancing, playing games, and taking part in all aspects of the sacred activities. This traditional ceremony puts emphasis on the importance of protecting sea turtles throughout the region and renews the spiritual and cultural practices of the Seri Indians. This monumental event helped the Seri elders pass this important tradition on to the next generation of conservationists, the Seri youth.

Acknowledgements: We would like to thank ASUPMATOMA, Raquel Briseno, World Wildlife Fund, Mexico and the Seventh Generation Fund for their support in making this event a reality. To see a collection of photos from this event, visit <http://www.propeninsula.org/>. For more information on the event, email Pro Peninsula at info@propeninsula.org.