The Hummingbird's Daughter

“Military men appeared one day with a deed from the government that his land had been sold to a gringo investor who intended to run sheep on the land and harvest peaches irrigated with Yaqui River water. When the old man had resisted, he had been tied to a fence and horsewhipped.”

The issue of the Mexican government’s land policies is a major conflict that drives the plot of The Hummingbird’s Daughter. In this instance, the government sells this man’s land without his permission, and when he resists, he is violently put down. This scene therefore demonstrates the violent lengths to which the government will go to enrich its holdings and political power.

“Tomás gazed at them through the blue glass. He knew they were being dragged north to Guaymas or south to Culiacán or to some field somewhere to be executed. This was the way of the world—Tomás didn’t know yet to feel bad for them.”

A major aspect of Tomás’s development in The Hummingbird’s Daughter is his growing awareness of the issues plaguing Indigenous people, and the more he learns, the more his sympathy for them grows. At this early stage in the novel, however, he sees the abuses against Indigenous people and simply dismisses them as normal, believing that nothing can be done.

“She looked up: a hummingbird made of sky came down from the heavens. It was too small to be seen, yet she could see it. Its blue breast reflected the world as it descended. Its wings were white, made of writing. Although she did not have words, she recognized them.”

Hummingbirds are a significant recurring symbol in the novel, and as Huila tells Teresita, they act as messengers from God. When Teresita sees this hummingbird in a dream, she recognizes it as a messenger, and its wings “made of writing” imply that it bears a message that she can somehow understand.

“One of Huila’s mysteries was: ‘You are not always meant to understand, only to accept.’”

In the early years of Teresita’s spiritual training, a significant point of contention between Huila and Teresita comes from the notion that mystery must be accepted rather than studied or fully explained. Teresita wants answers to the questions of the world, and she struggles to accept that she cannot understand everything.

“They made only nine miles that first day, and when they stopped, they felt as if they had traveled one hundred or more. They could have walked home and been there before midnight, yet they felt as if they were cast adrift in the most foreign land.”

With the issues of land rights causing the evictions of many in Mexico, this excerpt demonstrates the severity of the emotional effect of eviction. The people of Tomás’s ranch feel lost once they leave their homes and journey to a new place. The idea of putting down new roots and starting all over again is a daunting prospect for them to consider.

“Owls visited them at night. Some thought the owls were witches. Some thought they were the angels of death. Some thought they were holy and brought blessings. Some thought they were the restless spirits of the dead. The cowboys thought they were owls.”

The Hummingbird’s Daughter often explores the differences in various beliefs. In this instance, the People recognize a mystical element in the owls that visit them, while the cowboys, who come from different communities, only see owls. The wry tone of this passage also injects an element of humor into the novel’s matter-of-fact observation that different cultures entertain different perceptions, and beliefs.

“‘If God is everywhere, my children,’ he was saying, ‘then He is in everything. If He is in everything, then He is in me, then He is me. And I am God.’”

Niño Chepito’s message about being God is in direct contradiction to Huila’s teachings for Teresita and the primary way in which she recognizes him as a fraud. Huila says that God is everything, but that does not mean that everything is God, and this statement renders Niño Chepito a false prophet in her eyes, for he makes an unfounded claim to holiness.

“No matter who she asked, no matter how many of the People, even Huila, even Aguirre and the seemingly omnipotent cowboys, nobody could explain why there was suffering, why there was pain or death of hurt in the world.”

Once again, Teresita struggles to accept mystery into her life, wanting to know why there is suffering in the world. She craves an explicit answer that will give her peace of mind, but no matter who she asks, the adults in her life have diverse experiences and opinions, and no one can provide her with a definitive answer to her questions.

“The old man of the village murmured something to her, and she nodded, and he gently lifted the hair away from her head. Both of her ears had been cut off. Under her hair were ghastly stumps, ragged and white. ‘White men,’ the old Yaqui leader said.”

When Tomás returns with the Yaquis, they explain their reasoning for attacking Cabora, the main one being that they believe they are at war. They provide proof of their reasoning by showing the People harsh physical evidence of the abuses and violence that white men have inflicted upon them. This scene therefore demonstrates the complicated and violent political situation of the time, setting the stage for Teresita’s future resistance.

“The honeysuckle made the People particularly happy, since it attracted holy hummingbirds, and as long as hummingbirds hovered nearby, things would be all right.”

Once again, the cultural significance of hummingbirds is explored. Hummingbirds possess a special place in Aztec culture and are seen as a positive omen. Their association with happy times is significant enough to push the People to attract them in an effort to bring luck.

“‘Still,’ he said. ‘Still. We are both man and woman. My brothers can be tender as mothers with their infants. Women can fight like tigers. Do you see? We are all a mix of each. Power starts when you strike the proper balance. Believe me when I tell you that the woman part of you is the better part. But you are also a man.’”

In many ways, Manuelito’s teachings provide Teresita with additional answers to her unanswerable questions, for he gives her deeper insight into hidden aspects of human nature. This passage reflects Manuelito’s belief that everyone occupies a space between male and female. He associates specific qualities with these two labels and explains that just as everyone has access to both, each person uses them differently.

“‘Oh yes,’ the priest said. ‘I am the Vatican’s eyes and ears in Sonora. Did you not know? Unlike you Protestants, we have a Holy Father who is interested in the well-being of all his children. It is my duty to report. Name names and tell tales.’ He smiled.”

The Catholic Church is a major power in The Hummingbird’s Daughter, and Aguirre and Tomás are unnerved by Padre Gastélum’s assertion that he can wield power and influence politics. The Catholic Church acts as an arm of enforcement for the Mexican government, and this is one of the reasons that Teresita is seen as a threat, for her teachings oppose the government’s approach to land rights even as they directly contradict the message of the Catholic Church.

“Gabriela was ashamed, but strong. She loved Tomás, and he loved her, and there was nothing one could do when love came. It was fast, and it was strong, and if it were not good, then surely God would not have allowed it such power.”

Gabriela understands the complications of her situation with Tomás, for he is still married to Loreto. Despite this significant snag in an otherwise idyllic romance, she is committed to Tomás in a way that Loreto is not, and their relationship grows from mutual love to become a strong and lasting bond. In this way, Gabriela serves as a foil to the bitter and detached Loreto.

“He was supposed to be working, but to hell with work. His sister never worked. All she did was run around like an idiot with the little Indios, then rub them on their heads and mutter mumbo jumbo in their ears. He shook his head.”

Buenaventura grows jealous of Teresita in the aftermath of her acceptance into Tomás’s house. He not only dislikes Tomás’s favoritism, but he also resents the fact that her spiritual gifts give her a privileged position in the community, one that he does not share. This passage foreshadows the moment of the siblings’ conflict, and only at the conclusion of the novel will the rift between them be repaired.

“Buckaroos told terrible stories of the riders held down by soldiers, and the soldiers using their great knives to cut off the Indians’ feet and then forcing them to walk for miles on the stumps until they fell. Mercifully, the soldiers shot them when they could walk no more.”

Once again, the violence and cruelty of the Mexican army is displayed in the context of eviction. The military oversees the forced relocation of Indigenous people, and the soldiers often murder and torture the People in the process, perpetuating multiple injustices that fuel the inevitable uprising of the People.

“Lauro Aguirre would have been the perfect man to speak some final words over the grave, but he was in El Paso, trying to incite the Mexican revolution from the safe confines of the United States. He published broadsides and wrote incendiary tracts denouncing President Díaz, and if he had come to the funeral, he himself might have been a candidate for internment beside the old woman.”

Aguirre leaves Mexico and flees to the US because his political views, which criticize President Díaz’s regime, place him in great danger of retaliation. Despite his exile, he remains committed to fueling change in Mexico, and he therefore uses his writing to foment rebellion by openly criticizing the government from a much safer distance.

“And she fell into her hot heavy, stinking body. Not dreaming, returning. The lilt of wings in her veins melted back into meat and the slowness of blood. Her fingers slipped down her own fingers, as if they were empty gloves. She saw the blows that felled her. She saw the box and the cold face of Huila.”

In this excerpt, Teresita wakes from her post-resurrection stupor. She relives the attack and becomes aware of the passing of Huila. This realization is a shock to her and marks a transition for her character. In this moment, she returns to a more normal emotional state but retains the gifts that God has given her.

“She had healed the sick, they said. And she preached revival. Dangerous revival-even war. War, he said, what saint preaches war? They had heard her with their own ears, this half-Yori girl, sweet in her face, but strong and sturdy in her spine, telling them that God himself had given them their lands.”

Teresita’s preaching and healing is completely integrated with her belief that the Indigenous people of Mexico deserve their land and that the government should not take it away from them. This message brings just as much attention to her as her healing powers do, drawing both Cruz Chávez and the government to Cabora.

“‘Sometimes,’ she murmured, ‘I take their pain into my body. I pull their affliction into me, and then God cures me. It is very hard. It leaves me very tired. It is the ultimate test of faith.’”

Teresita tells Cruz how she heals the sick and explains that doing so is a burden to her, for she often takes the illness from her patients. Only her faith that God will cure her allows her to risk taking her patients’ illnesses and pain into herself. This admission highlights the deep stresses on her mind and body as she struggles to fulfill the role that she believes to be her destined path.

“Perhaps. But if she is evil, why are her actions purely generous, acts of charity and pity? Love. And thou and the rest of thine priests only preach hatred. Why is this? You hate all who are not Romans, and all you conspire to do is to take our money!”

In this confrontation between Cruz Chávez and Padre Gastélum, the differences between Teresita and the Catholic Church are explored. The passage demonstrates why the Catholic Church sees Teresita as a threat. Teresita’s preaching brings people together and unite them, making them a politically viable group, which threatens both the government and the Catholic Church’s power.

“It was Segundo who first noticed that Cabora itself seemed to mirror Teresita’s moods. If she was happy, the crowd was joyful and full of laughter and song. If she was ill, the crowd was sullen and listless.”

The pilgrims and Teresita are connected, and Segundo notices how they react with each other. There is a mystical element to Teresita’s following, and it becomes clear that her religious connection to the pilgrims operates on an emotional level.

“Armed revolt, Don Tomás. Armed revolt. They have recognized your daughter as a saint. Only she can express God’s plan to them, you see. They’re coming to seek her counsel.”

In this excerpt, the threat of Teresita’s holiness is openly acknowledged. The government views her ability to unite a broad following as the beginnings of an armed revolt, for the more militant factions of her following, like Cruz, will take her counsel as a direction to fight.

“And her father, Tomás Urrea, has been found to be an enemy of the state and a general danger to Mexican society. Political, fiscal, and moral supporter of the Indigenous uprisings in the states of Sonora, Sinaloa, and Chihuahua.”

This excerpt demonstrates the great development of Tomás’s character over the course of the novel. In the beginning, he did not care much for what happened to the Indigenous people around him, and yet his support for his daughter and her mission causes him to be labelled as a strong advocate for Indigenous people. This cements the government’s certainty that he is an enemy.