The Hummingbird's Daughter

The Hummingbird’s Daughter focuses on the tensions between Indigenous peoples and the colonizer culture that is embedded in Mexico’s government and its religious institutions. While the government seeks to erase Indigenous people from the landscape of the nation, the Catholic Church is more adaptable to uniting its own beliefs with that of Indigenous people. The Indigenous groups of The Hummingbird’s Daughter adopt Catholic beliefs while still holding Indigenous independence and spirituality close. This dynamic can be observed in the Yaquis who attack Cabora. As the narrative states, “Aguirre stood beside a big overstuffed chair, stacked carefully in it were all the crosses and crucifixes gathered from the main house. The family Bible and a statue of the Virgin of Guadalupe nestled there, along with a small statue of Saint Francis” (157). The Yaquis that attack the ranch do so because they believe that there is war between them and the Yoris, as attacks by the government have become more frequent. Despite their actions to protect their independence and community, they take the time to preserve the ranch’s Catholic iconography, demonstrating that the Catholic faith is now an important part of their own cultural identity as well. When Aguirre questions why the Yaquis have saved these religious objects, Tomás explains that when missionaries came to the Yaquis, they precipitated a union between the different belief systems, and the Catholic faith in God became blended with Indigenous traditions.

This union of spiritual practices is most clearly reflected and explored in the character of Huila. For Teresita, Huila is the bridge between the practical world of the ranch and the mystical world of the local Indigenous traditions. Huila understands how to use plants to heal others and frequently exercises her faith in God alongside her Indigenous knowledge. Huila also does not see a big divide between these practices, and she situates the Catholic God into an Indigenous worldview instead of accepting the white God that is often promoted by the Catholic Church. Huila incorporates prayer with an intimate proximity to nature and uses natural remedies to heal her patients. When she heals Buenaventura after his seizures, which were inadvertently caused by Teresita, Huila blends these different methods, burning sage, using specific oils, and praying to the rosary to heal him. Praying the rosary is a common Catholic practice that demonstrates a commitment to the belief that God can heal the sick and improve the lives of the people. Additionally, she performs a limpia ceremony, an Indigenous practice meant to cleanse toxins from the mind, spirit, and body. Through Huila’s work, Buenaventura makes a recovery, and this episode demonstrates the importance of these traditions to the novel’s protagonists.