Traditional+and+Contemporary+Adaptive+Strategies

= **Traditional Strategies** = At the height of the Tarascan empire before Spanish conquest the Tarascans used two main strategies to incorporate people into their empire, ethnic segregation and ethnic assimilation (see Traditional and Contemporary Political Organization page for more details). Tarascan society was very negatively impacted from the Spanish conquest. Vast numbers of Tarascans died from European diseases such as measles and smallpox. Additionally, even more Tarascans died later from being incorporated in to the Spanish's forced labor system called encomiendas. This massive loss of Tarascan populationvirtually destroyed the Tarascan social order. The Tarascans who survived the initial hardships of conquest adapted to life under Spanish rule in a variety of ways. Many Tarascans became hispanicized and adapted to and even embraced Spanish culture. Trascans today are predominantly Catholic, which shows how converting under Spanish rule allowed them to adapt to European ways. The Tarascans also learned new skills from the Spanish which they adapted into their own culture. From the Spanish the Tarascans acquired knowledge of new instruments such as violins which they integrated into their own tradition music (See Arts, Crafts, and Music page for music samples). Also, many Tarascans intermarried with the Spanish creating a class of mixed race peoples, who often acted as intermediaries between the two groups.



**Contemporary Strategies**
Although there is some debate as to whether Tarascans have become completely immersed into Mexican peasant culture or remain their own distinct cultural group, Tarascan themselves typically identify as Tarascans and are working to preserve aspects of their culture. Today, Tarascan professionals are attempting to consolidate a general pan-Tarascan regional identification among Tarascan towns and to achieve institutional recognition of this unity through electoral redistricting.Their main goal is to revitalize Tarascan heritage. Celebrations such as the Phurhépecha New Year are organized to spur ethnic pride and local consciousness of the homeland. Tarascans' religious practices today blend both traditional elements and Catholic doctrine. For example, Tarascans sing songs to perpetuate harvests, but also have local worships of Catholic saints.