![]() He is not a cultural anthropologist-nor does he see himself as a “crusader,” aiming to right wrongs. Lieberman, a biological anthropologist who studies the biomechanics of running, did not set out to write a comprehensive study of Rarámuri civilization. It was one of the greatest runs of my life.” “For them, this is spiritual,” Lieberman says, “a form of prayer, a symbol of how the world works and giving thanks to their God.” He, too, yelled encouragement and maneuvered his torch to help the team find their komakali, a baseball-sized wooden ball they kick forward as they race.Ĭlose up, he noticed the trance-like state of the racers, which helped them combat their obvious signs of physical strain. He joined the melee after dark, keeping pace with them until the end. Lieberman had been filming the race to study the biomechanics of these fabled runners. Like the others present, he wore simple sandals called huaraches. In the midst of these colorfully clothed, torch-carrying followers was a figure clad in a sweatshirt and trail pants: Harvard anthropologist and marathoner Daniel Lieberman. Around them, people shouted encouragement in the Rarámuri language: “ Iwériga!” (Breath! Soul!) and “ Iwérisa!” (Stamina!). The runners maintained a roughly 10-minute-mile pace, racing back and forth on a more than 3-mile track. The teams had been at this rarajípare event since noon and would persist past midnight. On a mesa above 6,000 feet in elevation among the Sierra Madre peaks of Northwestern Mexico, the Rarámuri racers, carrying flaming torches under a star-studded sky, ran steadily.
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