Cáhita

Cahíta is an umbrella term for several Indigenous peoples of Mexico in the West Coast states of Sonora and Sinaloa.

[3][needs update] An early 17th-century Jesuit first recorded the term Cáhita, which referred to the Hiaki, Mayo, and Tehueco.

Despite common cultural elements, the Spanish divided them into subgroups based on their spoken language and area inhabited.

The Jesuits identified five main nations within the Cahitas, considered the most important due to the large number of families forming them: Sinaloa, Ocoroni, Zuaque, Mayo and the Yaqui.

They were demographically distributed between five rivers: Mocorito, Sinaloa, Fuerte, Mayo and Yaqui, but did not establish strong ties with each other.

A large and developed population, such as the Nahuas, were able to exert their influence through contact with groups and tribes in the region.

As the river seasonally grew, the lands flooded, and the indigenous people would wait for the plants to grow and fruit to ripen in order to harvest them.

They had a basic social organization, and did not recognize any individual authority beside a military leader in times of war.

The majority of the indigenous people were monogamous, although polygamy was allowed and divorce was socially acceptable and occurred frequently.

Their therapeutic practices were heavily religious, leading to the Jesuits referring to healers as 'sorcerers' and political leaders due to their high prestige within the group.

They lived in houses made of sticks, mud, and palm, similar to that of the Tahues, built away from the rising river and close to fields.

They created things for other uses such as whistles, and left space in the legs of their pots to insert small balls that made sound when shook.