An understanding of Rarámuri (Tarahumara) cultural style and resistance to domination is enhanced when interpreted in relation to theories of muffled protest and discourse strategies based on dissimulation. In this article, I consider Scott's (1990) notion of discerning everyday resistance through what he calls "hidden transcripts," here in the context of Rarámuri‐Mestizo relations in northern Mexico. Scott's generalizing framework should be tempered in light of discussions of concealment, secrecy, and isolationism in Rarámuri culture. Analysis of the ritual, language, and behaviors associated with Rarámuri secrecy indicates that although the broad outline of his thesis is corroborated, specific elements invite reassessment. When hidden transcripts go public, the most compelling part of Scott's framework is also the weakest, [resistance, secrecy, interethnic relations, political symbolism, Tarahumara, Rarámuri, Mexico]

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This paper traces changing perspectives in archaeology and ethnology regarding the historical content of myth and demonstrates a method whereby mythological data are used to generate hypotheses amenable to falsification when integrated with other data sets. Based on a myth collected among the Tzotzil of San Pablo Chalchihuitan, Chiapas, Mexico, the presentation offers predictions regarding the location, contents, interpretation, and age of an unreported prehistoric burial site. It also sheds light on some currently unexplained aspects of an associated site in a neighboring community, and amplifies other ethnohistorical discussions relating archaeology to contemporary Indian mythology elsewhere in Mesoamerica. By showing how a modern Maya myth reveals significant information about an ancient Maya site, the study illustrates the complementarity of archaeology and ethnography through a suggested relation between myth and history.