THE MOORS REVISITED

In several post I have described the dance of the Moors and provided my attempts to understand the importance of this dance. I now have a better handle on the dance and attempt to clarify my earlier interpretations here.

The first thing to know is that Santiago is the Patron saint of Spain and of Mexico. Santiago (or Santo Diego), Saint James in English, was one of the original apostles. Apparently he preached in Spain before returning to die in Jerusalem. His bones, however, were returned to Spain but not until about 800 AD and the famous pilgrimage route ends at the church built over his remains. The church was built in the early 800s and for 1000 years people have been walking this pilgrimage route. The second thing to know is that for several centuries the Moors, or Muslims, ruled Spain as well as parts of northern Africa. The Christians began to retake Spain around 800BC but did not complete this task until about 1490 with the capture of Granda, one of the most beautiful spots in the world, shortly before the discovery of Mexico. In the early days of the battle to drive out the Muslims a legend was developed that appears to have little foundation but it goes as follows. After being defeated by the Moors the Christian troops were regrouping when their leader had a dream in which a knight on a white horse with a sword in his hand appeared telling him that the Christians would be victorious. With this encouragement the troops returned to the field and were indeed victorious. The story claims that the knight in this vision was Saint James and he is now depicted on a horse with sword in hand and often with dying Moors at his feet. He became known as Santiago Matamoros, which in English means Saint James the Moor killer. You can find many images of Santiago in churches throughout Mexico.

So the Moors were important to the legend of Santiago, the patron saint of Mexico and for many years a dance depicting the battle between Christians and Moors was performed. As said in earlier posts this battle was important in a country were Christians were sent to convert “heathens” much as they had done with the Muslims. So the dance depicts the power of the Christian establishment and the senselessness of resisting. The most common dance today is the "half conquest", a representation of the conversion of Muslims to Christianity not the battle fought by Santiago. However, we do know that Muslims, Protestants and Jews did resist the Spaniards and it was for this reason that the Spanish Inquisition was established.

Poor resolution in photo but here we see the Moor dancing for the Virgin.

This is the only time I have seen female Moors.

To more fully understand this one needs an outline of the full dance. Although the dance has varied over the country some common elements are: Christian and Muslin troops approach each other, there is a period of negotiation between the two sides, as this fails the troops engage in combat and the tragic defeat of the Muslims follows. This tragedy is then made right by the Muslims being uplifted by their conversion to Christianity. The "half conquest" only depicts this last half - eliminating the tragedy and showing the faithfulness of the indigenous population to Christ and church.

These were Moors with a difference. Shot in Sevina.

The Moors almost always have beautiful capes with religious imagery on the back.

One wonders if the dancers or organizers continue to see these dances as being in part about Muslims or against Islam. I love to attend these dances for the beauty of some of the costumes but it is clear that you could not perform this in a multicultural society. The Muslim community would be outraged: they have not been assimilated to Christianity. The good news is that many Christian churches have begun to remove images of Santiago Matamoros, now realizing it is an insult to Islam. Others have suggested that in America the name be changed to Santiago Mataindios.

EATING WITH THE DEAD

This year we were invited by a Mexican Catholic family to share a meal with them at the grave site of family members. This was a small cemetery in rural Mexico, approachable only by a quite rough road and many of the graves were set among the trees. About 25 friends and family gathered for a meal of mole con pollo, corundas and the usual round of tequila.

I was struck by the antiquity of this Christian tradition. Before the birth of Christ the dominant belief among Romans and Greeks was that the corpse was defiled and to be avoided, thus burials were handled by “experts” and took place at some distance from the community. However, it was not unusual for family members to make the trek to the grave site and to share a picnic. After the death of Christ it became more common for people to gather and eat with the dead. Approximately 1000 years ago the Pope decreed that the spirits of the dead returned to earth on November 2, beginning at 12:01AM on the morning of the second. It is for this reason that Mexicans and many others spend the night in the grave yard and decorate their homes in order to help those spirits find their way home and to make them comfortable. In a few communities this tradition is carried on during the day rather than at night. Graves are cleaned and decorated to various degrees and families gather to eat with the dead. For some reason North America has transformed this day into an event that is supposed to frightening with witches and goblins. How did that happen?

During our meal with the dead there was no reference to the dead and in fact we sat slightly away from the grave to avoid the heat of the sun. However, the belief is that the dead are indeed at the scene, so are with you. You are eating with the dead. However, I did not see a plate set for the spirit. (However, many graves to do have food set out for the spirits.)

There is of course vast cultural differences among the peoples of the world in terms of their treatment of the dead. As noted some build cemeteries at some distance from the town (towns often sprawl so that they became more central) while others place them in the very centre of the village housing In yet others the bones of the dead are buried under the bed of the survivor. In the early Christian church it was traditional to build the church over the grave of a saint, preferably putting the alter directly above. In quite old churches it is common to find significant community members buried under the church floor and if possible to have the bones of the venerated within the church itself.

This seems related to the literal or symbolic act of eating the dead. Sharing the body of Christ during communion or actually eating the dead to retain the sacred quality of that person. Not too different than hunters an gatherers who placed great value on eating the heart or the eyes of an animal. These parts were believed to transfer powers to the hunter and to others. In Canada the head of state, while visiting Inuit peoples in the north, was offered a portion of the warm heart of a seal. She ate it as though accustomed to the act and created much conversation. What was intended as a spiritual act became a political act. Was she supporting the rights of the Inuit to hunt seals and sell their furs?

(NOTE: the references to history come from Margaret Visser, The Geometry of Love.)

LISTEN UP CANADIANS!

Hockey is important to Canadians, although the real national sport is lacross which predates hockey by many years having been played by indigenous peoples of the region. But, you only get hockey night in Canada and there is endless chatter in the media about teams and playoffs. When the Olympics come around Canada's pride and sense of identity is carried by the hockey team. But a form of hockey can be found at least 3500 years ago in Mexico, the center of this game being Michoacan.
Archeological artifacts from the above date show small clay sculptures of figures carrying what are clearly hockey sticks. This game is still practiced today and is undergoing a resurgence among the local indigenous community (Purepechas) and the non-indigenous. Traditionally, there were 5 people per side, the sticks made of a single piece of wood with a curve created by the growth of a branch. The sticks may be decorated and are quite heavy. The ball (our puck) can weigh no more than 500 grams (just over one pound) and is made of a stone covered in a foam-like material and then this is covered with a woven material (perhaps originally from cactus fibre) applied in such a way as to not allow the adherence of water. This ball is then soaked in gasoline and set afire. The ball can be hit with a very strong blow, sending it flying throw the air with the opposition only able to stop it with their sticks. There are frequent injuries to the players and almost always a little tension to the game as the ball may strike the clothing of an observer, go under a nearby car or land on a plastic tarp of neighboring food stalls.
The game appears to be very competitive but in fact it is pure ritual. Perhaps the equivalent of Canadians singing the national anthem prior to a hockey game, a shaman-like person opens the game with the playing of a conche shell, the recitation of verses giving thanks for the air, water, land etc. and then turning to the four directions. While this goes on the players have placed their sticks in a pattern around the ball. At the close of this ceremony they kneel to touch the earth. The purpose of this ritual in unclear but there is clearly an exotic and mysterious feel in the air. Perhaps the significance is carried in the fire ball. The new year for the local indigenous people is February 1 and the new year is ushered in with a ceremony of the new fire. The fire ball must have some connection to the importance of fire in this ritual.

CANNABILISM

This post begins with a comment overheard at a friend’s party. It was reported, and then discussion dismissed by claiming that everyone knew it was true, that the Aztec empire engaged in large scale cannibalism. To make this harder to believe the reporter added that they had “baby farms” as this was needed to meet their protein needs. Presumably this protein deficiency arose from environmental degradation. Knowing a little about anthropology, I suspected this couldn’t possibly be true. A little research turns up an interesting debate. On one side are those such as M. Harner (1977) who make the kinds of claims reported above (except for the notion of baby farms) . This argument is then advanced by others. Others, however, (see B. Ortiz de Montellano 1978) claim there is really no supportive evidence and suggest the claims derive from wild interpretations of murals and questionable claims about the lack of protein in the zone in question here. Some of the evidence the original claim makers use derive from early accounts written by the Spanish and these can easily be dismissed if one reads them as distortions in order to demonize the Aztecs and thus justify the brutality against the people and their conversion to Christianity. Similar wild claims have been reported about “savages” in North America”, claims used to justify brutality and conversion to Christianity.

There is no question, however, about the presence of cannibalism among the Aztec. They appear to have eaten parts of those offered to the gods as a sacrifice. Those sacrificed were believed to take on a sacred quality and thus to eat the sacrificial lamb, so to speak, was then to partake of the sacred. This activity was restricted to the elite of the society.

A small aside here regarding the numbers of people sacrificed. In a 1977 article Harner reviews the claims made. He reports that there is some consensus that the number was around 20,000 people each year while other estimates go as high as 250,000. These numbers come from very questionable evidence, in essence what they have done is take one sacrificial alter for which they believe there is good data and then multiply this number by the number of alters in central Mexico. If we accept the higher number the claim is they were eating 1% of the total population: talk a bout eating yourself out of house and home!

It is not too far fetched to see a link here to the act of communion in the Catholic church. Religious members partake of the body and blood of Jesus (although there is some debate about the idea of transubstantiation, that the wafer really is the body of Jesus) and thus take on some qualities of the sacred. The difference is that Jesus was sacrificed on our behalf and rather than repeat the act of sacrifice the act of communion offers a less messy substitute, and is open to everyone. One has to imagine that behind this religious belief is a history of cannibalism or the act would make no sense. This bring me back to the day of the dead.

One of the features of the day of the dead celebration is the preparation of, and consumption of, pan de muertos. Two types of bread are prepared. First, a loaf that looks like a small person and is placed on or around the ofrenda to represent the dead. Second a bread that has a representation of bones on its surface. This bread represents the spirit or soul of the person and is to be consumed. In this way we appear to be eating our ancestors, or at least their spirit.
ABOUT PHOTO: taken in the Museum of Anthropology. Objects like this were used to hold the hearts of the sacrificial victims. Small on in the back ground is from Ihuatzio, Michoacan.

PLAYING WITH DEATH

Spending time in Central Mexico one is struck by figures of death, some suggesting these are central to Mexican culture. One can debate the second argument but the first is very clear. Entering a restaurant to discover large clay images of death figures located as though to entertain the eaters. As the day of the dead approaches discovering bread for sale with simple images of bones on the crusts, others sell elaborate pieces for consumption or display. A whole street is given over to the sale of sweet images of death as items of decoration or consumption - men sitting up in coffins, a skull with your name on it, skulls on sticks creating a sucker or a skeleton at the beach. A local town that fashions small simple images of Catrinas* (death like figures) as well as large, elaborate and expensive images. One imagines these are used as decorative pieces in the home and indeed one becomes drawn to them, soon you have purchased several for your own home. Going to graves and watching people decorate ofrendas for their ancestors and on occasion using papier mache skeletons on which they places the cloths of the dead one. This strange person sits with the family all night observing the beautiful flowers, candles, many items of food and perhaps his favorite alcohol. Attending ceremonial dances to see children dressed in skeletal images as entertainment. Often seeing masks used in dances that show a face half alive and half dead or just a death mask. These are only a few examples.

To clarify, when a person dies the mood in Mexico is similar to that in most societies. There is crying, wailing, dressing in black and processions to the grave with the family in grief. That is to say, actual death is no laughing matter.

So what are all these figures, which some would see as morbid, about? I have struggled with this for some time and the other night felt something came together. I was watching a brief program about flamenco music and, while I didn’t see the entire thing, a teacher of the dance said a few words that jolted me. First she said that much Spanish music has death as an undertone and this enters the dance. She was standing with her arms hanging at each side and with her hands gave a gesture of flicking something away. She said in a musical way - “Death is here, death is there. it is everywhere. You have to play with it.” She went on to say very briefly that this is also what the bullfight is about. I was planning on attending a bullfight last year and so was able to spend a great deal of time with a friend who was very knowledgeable of the fight. The job of the torero was to put him (or her) self in danger, and, in the most artistic fashion possible face the danger, making it as much like a beautiful dance as possible - flick it away.

Most western cultures recognize death of course but there is a struggle to not talk about, to not see it, to protect your children from it and so on. But we don’t, as a culture, make fun of it or tease it. It is only when it comes very close to us that we have to name it. Such as when we escape a situation when we could easily have been killed. Images of death at halloween are seen as scary rather than as funny - death is at my door and yet I am alright! An acquaintance who lives in Mexico (he is from Russia) reported that he hates all the death stuff and he thinks it holds Mexico back. Playing with death brings your attention to the possibility of death he thought and consequently one does not have long-term visions. One needs to pretend death was not “here and there” and act as though you would live forever. I’m not sure I agree entirely, but it is another view.
PS. There is another tradition in Mexico, and perhaps other areas, and this is the painting of pictures of dead babies. Arte de Mexico has published an issue on this.
_______________________
* A catrin is a name for a city dweller and around 1900 a Mexican illustrator began to publish images of the wealthy urban folk in their fine dresses and suits, but appearing as dressed skeletons. These images became very popular and you now find images of every class and occupation.

DISREMEMBERING

Just returned to Canada after six months in central Mexico. Is this culture shock? Jet lag? Lack of adjustment? I’m not sure, but it does feel strange. I looked out the window this morning and could see nobody, the only sound that of a lone airplane high above the city. Occasionally someone would emerge from a neighboring house, enter their car and drive quietly away. Where are the church bells? Where are the children? Why does the traffic sound so muted? Where are the signs of life in this community?

The contrast with Mexico is stark. From our Mexican house we hear church bells most of the day, hundreds of school children come and go by our door (often ringing the bell) and the sounds of community life (to say nothing of the dogs and chickens) are present from early in the morning until dark. The neighborhood streets are always crowded as most people walk on errands and old people sit in their doorways watching the world go by.

What does it mean to adjust to life in Canada? We often say that we must get used to things here, we must adjust or get on with things. However, I believe what we must do is disremember Mexico. I begin to wonder if this is what immigrants go through. Eventually they forget what life in the home country was like. Perhaps they pick up on one or two local things and fixate on them as representing previous community - perhaps smells from a local restaurant or sounds of their native language. These small things are of course related to home but only in a distant way and when they do return home they are shocked by how different things are from what they carried in their memories. They have disremembered their native land and cling to a few false images which are more indicative of their new environment than of their home.

Having been back a few days I am also struck by features of the people: they appear so old, new mothers look like they could be grandmothers, young people are so tall.

After a month or two the weather warms and there is indeed street life in Canada. The boardwalks along the waterfront are filled with people - although there are just as many bikes, joggers, skateboards and so on. The area is like a gym rather than a community gathering place. There are many street festivals but they are all associated with business districts and appear to be just another way to sell product. We are given the illusion of it being a community event, and indeed there are opportunities for people to stroll and talk, but many are from outside the area and it is clear that if sales go down the festivals will be canceled. All very different than festivals and plazas in rural Mexico.

Welcome back and get on with forgetting things.

I am posting this after another six month stay in Mexico and the adjustment to “home” seems less dramatic. Not sure why.

VISIT TO 7 CHURCHES, HOLY THURSDAY

For the non-Catholic there are many events surrounding Easter that seem mysterious in the sense of being unfathomable at first. One of these is the practice of visiting seven churches during the evening of holy Thursday (Maundy Thursday). Why 7 churches? What are you to do while in the church? In Pátzcuaro it is very easy to visit 7 churches in a reasonable time as you can find them within about a 5 minute walk of each other. As a result, come 7 PM, the whole town appears to be on the move giving a friendly neighborhood atmosphere. The streets are a gentle flow of people going in all directions, often making vehicle traffic difficult. There are one or two food stalls outside each church but the focus appears to be on family gatherings, talking as they approach the next church. So many people are engaged that there are lines at each church and you are usually funneled in and out quite quickly. In many, the majority of the pews have been removed to give room to move and stand for a few minutes, but some people do manage to get to the remaining pews and appear to sit for awhile. We managed to enter two churches before deciding the lines too long. On returning from diner around 10:00 PM there were still substantial lines, so I have no idea when the flow eased. OK, what is this about?

The term Maundy appears to come from the Latin word at the base of the Spanish term “mandar”, meaning to command or order. Now we need to remember that Thursday was the day of the Last Supper and at this event Jesus is thought to have said: “Love one another, as I have loved you”. So the whole evening is a commemoration of the Last Supper. Although practice may vary from place to place, earlier in the day there may have been a Last Supper mass where the sacraments (the bread and wine) were used. After that mass the sacraments are removed and placed in the “alter of repose”, which may well be just a cabinet. (At this mass there may also be a blessing of the oil which will be used in religious events throughout the year and as many priests as possible are encouraged to attend to symbolize the disciples of Jesus). There will not be another mass until the day of resurrection.

So when one visits the 7 churches you are thought to be doing a number of things. Commemorating the Last Supper, but perhaps more importantly spending time with the “alter of repose” which I think now stands for Jesus. Perhaps we are declaring that we are disciples of Jesus. So we are sharing time with each other and also with Jesus prior to the dreadful events of the Friday to come. In previous centuries, and even today, these visits were also a way to obtain an “Indulgence”, which is a payment for the debt one owes to God. For this to count one must spend one hour in devotion to God and take communion earlier in the day or within the next week. This might help explain why so many participate in the activities of Holy Thursday.

So why 7 churches? This is unclear to me but in the book of revelations there are 7 churches mentioned which are now located in Turkey. These churches date from the first century and were a significant part of Christian history. Each of these carries a distinctive personality characteristics, also thought to be characteristics of people. For example, there is the church that falls asleep, the church that is neither hot nor cold, the church of brotherly love and so on. There are now 7 churches in Rome, identified by Papal order, to be the 7 that followers should visit. So in every city and town the 7 churches you visit must stand for those churches of the pilgrim route. If well informed each church gives you a moment to reflect on the features of your own personality.

As a non-Catholic I find it very hard to understand the conceptual language of Catholicism so it is very possible I have this story very wrong.

THE MARKET OF PATZCUARO

(photo: entrance to market at Codallos and Ramos)
This post had its origin in the public speculation and political activity over the past year around getting vendors off the street. It is difficult to get a straight answer but it seems that Pátzcuaro has been under pressure to “clean up” the streets in order to maintain its status as a “pueblo magico”, a designation which provides substantial money for local improvements. Two large building have been built in the past three years apparently designated as the new home of some of the vendors. There is no doubt that there are a very large number of street vendors in the town. (A newspaper recently suggested there were 2,000.) They are clustered around the Basilica, on many street corners, in the middle of blocks, the portals of the main plaza, and other places. There is a weekly market of indigenous goods in a plazuela close to the centre every Friday. During Semana Santa vendors arrive on the street running along this plazuela, carry in sufficient firewood for two weeks and begin to cook and sell sweet corn and tomales. During the Day of the Dead celebrations there is a large public market for artisans in the main plaza, this is repeated for Three Kings Day and again for Semana Santa. Until last year the annual fair (with a substantial mid-way) positioned around the fiesta for Guadalupe was located on a wide street running along side of the Basilica and the spill over from this was substantial. Until last year vendors were allowed in the smaller plaza and this was only allowed after a strike by the small buses and then the arrival of heavily armed police. For many these vendors are what give the pueblo its character (its magic) but clearly for others they are seen as a problem. With this in mind I felt it important to document the main fruit and vegetable market although I don’t think this market is in danger. But what if I am wrong and it is gone next year. (As I post this the government has been able to keep street vendors from the newly renovated plaza and negotiations are underway to clear others.)

Outdoor markets are very common in Mexico and go back many centuries. The Aztec word for these markets was “tianguis” and this is till used. So we are about to enter a large tianguis. Before we enter here is a brief summary.

Stalls on the streets and passageways of the area: 300
Stalls on the interior market (under a permanent roof): 113
Along the divider between the upper and lower part of interior 20
Stalls clustered around the Plaza entrance to the market: 45
Stalls clustered around the Codallos entrance to the market: 25
Stalls on the portals of the small plaza: 50
Giving us a grand total of 520 stalls. This must be the original department store

Now if we express this in meters we find the outdoor market covers about 0.9 kilometers
and the indoor market covers about 0.6 kilometers . So, a walk through might take a journey of 1.5 kilometers.

If we imagine the stalls all placed end-to-end they would cover 3.0 kilometers.

Now, we are standing at the corner of Codallos and Ramos and about to enter the market. Look around: along Codallos there are 2 regular trucks selling produce and 5-10 women sitting on the sidewalk and selling a few things from their yards perhaps. At the corner there are fresh flowers, in late afternoon and evening a hot food stand and on busy days a man with live chickens, quail or turkeys. On the opposite side are a few temporary looking (covered) stalls selling fruit, canes, fire starters, mortars and pestels, chocolate whips, dried corn leaves and dried fish. Just behind these stalls are 3-4 stand-up hot food stands and 3 more stalls selling low fired pots, dried fish (in short, many things for rural people). Continuing along Calle Codallos there are baskets of dried fish, 4-5 women sitting on the street selling fresh fish, a mobile stand selling hats, scarfs, and on occasion a hot food stand. This is now the entrance to the templo. Note: along Calle Benito Juarez you will find 2-3 locations that seem to serve as warehouses for produce and a woman selling cut fruit. At the back of all of this is a basketball court which on Tuesday and Friday serves as a flea market with up to 50 people displaying their goods laid out on the court.
Now we are ready to enter the main food market. The major section of the market is temporary in the sense that it occupies a public road so vendors must clean up each night and reassemble their stalls each morning. They all place plastic tarps over their stalls usually of quite different colours. Because this is a street there are regular stores (tiendas) behind the tarps and sometimes there are sidewalks. I do not describe these stores but there are about 18 stores along the Calle Codallos section (one of these entrances opens to an arcade with a further 10 stores) and another 28 along the lower part of Libertad section and an additional 18-20 on the upper part. The vendors on these streets each pay a small fee to display their goods. In 2010 I think it was 10 pesos per day. A government official arrives each day to issue small paper permits. There is also a large covered area creating a permanent market and this will be described later. On our right ...

cut fruit (ready for a snack)
fruit
cut fruit
vegetables
fruit
vegetables
fruit
fruit
fruit
fruit
vegetables
on ground: fish, peppers
clothing store with clothing
hair supplies dollar store
cloths
On the other side we find:
diapers
on ground: nopales
on ground: nopales
on ground: nopales
fruit
tissue and paper products
dried goods (peppers, seed, spice...)
dried goods
dried goods
clothing
on ground: fruit
fruit
large bags of munchie foods store
prawns fish store
fruit
fruit
fruit
cut fruit
vegetables
on ground: nopales (cactus leaves)
temporary hot food cart

We now turn right along an aisle that comes out at Plaza Chica. There are goods on each side of the aisle with a few stores on the right side and on the left side another aisle behind the one we are on. Many of the stalls in this area have some protection from the elements.

on ground: few household goods, bread, honey
on ground: clothing
food stall
pails store with household goods
fruit, nopales
underwear store with underwear
clothing
clothing
clothing
on ground: beans
clothing
clothing
clothing
clothing
bedding
household goods
clothing
tortilla maker
clothing
clothing store with clothes
household utensils fabric store
clothes
store
on ground: baskets
clothes
tortilla maker
barber
clothes
bathrooms
dollar store tortilla maker
dollar store
shoe store
shoe store
dollar store
dollar store

beyond this there are a variable number of hot food stands and then the plaza. If we now turn around and retrace our steps, but looking at the other side, we see...

hot food stall
clothing
clothing
barber
shoe repair
eye glasses
hats
shoe repair
(not set up)
(not set up)
dollar store
on ground: hats
watches, etc
tools
children’s clothing (an entrance to interior market)
dollar store
pans
tools
CDs
CDs
clothing
clothing
on ground: nopales, root vegetables
clothing
clothing
clothing
flowers
shoes
threads
Note as we walked up this aisle, all of which was under tarps, you will have noticed that there was another aisle running parallel and this contained about 20 stalls selling clothing.

shoes
flowers
clothes
clothes
small plastic stuff
?
on ground: 4 vegetables stalls
clothes
shoes
odds & ends
odds & ends
small hardware things
fish
3 hat stalls
baskets
sun glasses
watches
belts

We now turn right and proceed further along Calle Codallos and go deeper into the market

plants
underwear/socks
fruit
underwear
pig products (heads, feet, stomach, entrails, ears, etc.)
vegetables
vegetables
vegetables
dried goods (peppers, beans, spices)
clothing
clothing
vegetables
fruit
fruit
fruit
fruit
on ground: fish
dried things
dried things/tomatoes
vegetables
vegetables
vegetables

We are now at the intersection of Calle Codallos and Calles Libertad. If we turn left we arrive at a small hill which is another entrance exit to/from the market. On this short section you will find.

shoes
fruit
vegetables
vegetables/dried things
CDs
root vegetables
fruit
pineapples
shoes
drink stand
fruit/roots
fruit
fruit
vegetables
shoes
dried foods
cut fruit
dried foods
fruit
fruit
fruit
fruit
A side streets cuts off here
vegetables
vegetables
vegetables
vegetables
now a section with boxes or bags of fruit or vegetables -- like wholesale goods.
stand with watermelons
about ten handcarts and another 12 large push carts with men for hire to push vendors’ products into the market or to to take a large amount of shopping to your home or restaurant. There are also 4-5 trucks parked here with goods. The meat trucks also park here and the pork and beef carcases carried into the market on men’s backs.

Now we retrace our steps to the main intersection, and continue down calle libertad

dried foods
hot food
shoes
vegetables
vegetables
vegetables
vegetables
vegetables
fruit/vegetables
vegetables
vegetables
car abandoned from last night and now covered with corn
vegetables
oils/salsas/dried goods
vegetables
vegetables
vegetables
vegetables
vegetables/seeds/beans
vegetables
clothing
hot peppers
vegetables
on ground: two women selling nopales This is an entrance to the interior market.


If we had been looking to our left we would see

dried goods
hot food stand
shoes
clothing
vegetables
vegetables
jeans
vegetables
vegetables
vegetables
jeans
roast chickens
CDs
roast chicken
sewing patterns/threads and more

There is a side street now with small market section: It contains:

baskets
vegetables
on ground: vegetables
?
fish
cheese
herbs, flowers
vegetables
hot foods
clothes
herbs
on ground: vegetables
on ground: vegetables
on ground: vegetables
chicharon (pork rinds)
on ground: vegetables
vegetables
vegetables
hot food
vegetables
vegetables

Now retrace our steps and continue down Calle Libertad
dried goods
hot food stand
shoes
vegetables
vegetables
vegetables
fruit/vegetables
vegetables
vegetables
not yet occupied
not occupied
fruit
CDs
dollar store
bedding
CDs
on ground: sweets
hot food
?
shoes, few flowers
kitchens things
kitchen things
kitchen things
entrance to interior market
fruit
shoes
clothes
clothes
straw things, spoons
(not set up)
assortment, kids things
clothing
clothing
Jewelry
on ground: baby chicks, few foods
(not set up)
dollar store
tools

We are now facing Plaza Chica. Before leaving look around the Plaza and see what you need. You will find
9 shoe shine stands
4-5 stands selling shrimp cocktails
2 mobile ice cream stands and then squeezed around the entrance to the market
jewelry
flavored ices
on ground: hats
on ground: beans and seeds
nopales
plants
carved spoons
t-shirts
cut fruit
tomales
hot food
pails/toys
clothes
hat
underwear
plants
straw goods
2 food stands
clothes
fruit (often very Mexican items)
fruit (often very Mexican items)
straw goods
vegetables
dried seeds and beans
jewelry
4 tables you can sit down at and eat

In the evening about 4 large tables appear along with propane fires and what are called “plaza chickens” are prepared - a large piece of chicken, onions, and vegetables all prepared on very large comals. On the opposite side of Plaza Chica you will find 4-5 more tables set up on the side walk serving the same dishes. Under the portal on the west side of the plaza you will find another 20 stalls selling things like, CDs, breads, sweets, magazines, newspapers, watches, and so on. Then, under the portal on the south side of the plaza you will find another 25 stalls selling things like CDs, traditional clothing, rebozos, newspapers, hot food.

Let’s turn and retrace our steps and go back up Libertad and look on the right, we have

clothes (hand made), baskets
toys
hats, bags
on ground: food, nopales
on ground: breads
jewelry
jewelry
hair products, toilet paper
underwear
underwear
hangers, soaps, cleaning agents
vegetables
vegetables
fruit
clothes
slippers
shoes
bags
fruit
fruit
candy
honey
fresh cheese
CDs
medicinal herbs


Before leaving the outdoor market it should be note that the goods of these stalls change through the season. For example around Christmas many stalls appear selling mangers, animals for your manger, moss to place in the manger, Christmas lights. etc. Sugar cane also arrives close to Christmas and is piled high close to one entrance. There are also many mobile stands moving through the aisles selling batteries, puddings, drinks, honey, hot corn kernels in a cup, ice cream, and much more. As well there are often beggars, sometimes with no legs, deformed hands or a little crazy.

Now we must go into the covered market, a very large space which was partially damaged in a 1995 propane fire. This market has two parts, the upper part covering approximately 40 meters by 50 meters(2000 square meters). The second part, almost two-thirds of the interior, is 100 meters by 50 meters (5000 square meters).
Here is the appearance of the upper parts (West portion).
13 butchers
12 stalls with fresh chickens
6 stalls selling hot carnitas
1 stall selling lamb
1large flower stall. There are also piñatas in this area.
3 women sitting and selling fresh tortillas, gorditas, etc.
1 stall selling dried products
4 stalls with fresh vegetables and on occasion others sit in the doorway
several places to sit and have some hot food
medicinal supplements, etc.
5 stalls with dried goods
plastic dishes for fiestas
stand with sandwiches and drinks
stand with jewelry
2 stalls with a variety of goods including pails of lard, pails of moles, etc.
needlework supplies
toys/shoe laces
and in the south-west corner a bathroom and a large area serving food.

There is a passage way between the two halves and a change of levels. This area is often occupied by women selling tortillas, cheese, avocados, and much more. On the day I observed there were
4 shoe stalls
sweets
avocados
8 clothing stalls
toys
and women selling tortillas and nopales

Now to the larger half of this enclosed market. This is a complex structure of passageways so this description is not picture perfect.

along the north wall here are 16 stalls to sit and eat
on the east end there are another 8-10 stalls selling hot food
10 clothes stalls
threads
small household appliances
sheets of plastic
dried stuff
shoes
shoes
6 more shoe stalls
herbal medicines
knitting supplies
2 rebozo stores
2 stalls with wooden things (spoons, toys,..)
4 more stalls with wooden things
sweets
2 peanut stalls
4 more places to sit and eat
fruit

What a selection!

FRAGMENTS: DAILY LIFE, NUESTRA SENORA DE LA SALUD

Fragment #6 -- A day in Pátzcuaro. When we return to Canada from Mexico we are invariably asked, “What do you do there?”, or, “What would an average day be like?” There is of course no typical day, but the day described here is not uncommon.

Awakened by the sound of bottle rockets at about 5:30 am. Who knows what the celebration - it could be a birthday, but today it is most likely people starting to celebrate the day of San Jose (Joseph, the saint of families, carpenters and many other trades). 10:00 time to head to the plaza for the parade for the first day of spring. All of the pre-school children take to the streets dressed as birds, elephants, trees, butterflies and so on, often carrying signs urging the audience to look after the environment. The parade takes up 5 blocks and the traffic in the centre of town is shut down for 3-4 hours. Just as the adorable kids are beginning to disperse here comes a small procession with an image of San Jose, carried by, and followed by, a dancing group of Purepehca people. What’s this? About 100 motorcycles have roared into town and parked in the main plaza. It appears to be a club of BMW owners doing their spring ride. Lovely bikes and the riders all have matching sweaters identifying their ride. After an ice cream and a quick look around the plaza they take off, following their “staff” leaders. Home for a rest and then out for a free concert of classical music. There is also a free jazz concert that night but leave that for the next day. Walking home around 9:00 pm and the bells of Templo San Francisco are clanging loudly and urgently. It is Friday, the second last before Good Friday , and the regular procession with an image of Jesus is proceeding from San Francisco to Templo Calvario, stopping at the stations of the cross. Next Friday there will be a fiesta at Calvario after the last procession prior to the fateful day. In the distance the sounds of people enjoying themselves flow down from La Loma, a neighborhood up the hill, for whom San Jose is their patron saint. Soon ready for another day.


# 7 Nuestra Senora de la Salud

Living in Patzcuaro, Michoacán necessarily means learning something about Neustra Señora de la Salud, the Virgin of Health. Her home is the Basilica, she is the Patron Saint of Pátzcuaro, a queen - having been crowned in 1899 with the authority of the Pope, the source of much religious tourism and the reason for many special masses and events. But there are at least two things about this Virgin that seem quite special. First, she is the first image of Mary actually made in the new world. Don Vasco de Quiroga ordered her fabrication in 1540 and she was made by the local indigenous artisans who were experienced in working with what is called pasta de caña. As I understand it this is created by mixing the dried and ground central part of a corn stock with pine pitch, giving a substance that can be shaped and even carved. (Her original shape was later altered to allow for the wearing of garments and this is what we now see.)

The other thing that many visitors do not know about the Virgin, is her miracle life. The miracle that interests me here is her saving of the local markets (two blocks from our house) and presumable lives during the 1995 fire. In the section of the market serving hot foods and drinks a propane tank exploded, soon engulfing the surrounding stalls and part of the building itself. People ran in panic and gave up hope of extinguishing the fire (note there is still only a volunteer fire department but one day they demonstrated their ability to put out a propane tank). In this chaos a woman appeared dressed in black clothing - she was unknown to anyone. She approached the fire and put out her hands, demanding the fire to stop. She gradually lowered her hands into the fire. The fire went out. The next day people noticed that the hands of the Virgin of health, located in the Basilica, were a little charred and then, to lend credence to the miracle story, the restorers found they could not remove the darkened parts of her hands.

FRAGMENTS: PILGRIMS, DOCTORS

#4 Continuing with my some time theme of fragments, a brief comment on pilgrimages.These are common the world over and watching religious pilgrimages I am struck by how common it is for people to entertain long walks. One walk close to where I live covers a distance of perhaps 15 kilometers where the pilgrims must walk in the ditch at the side of the road. Nevertheless, hundreds of very ordinary people do this , sometimes in family groups or with friends. Some parents carry children on their shoulders or even push strollers (although these are very uncommon). They take on this duty early in the morning or after work. Some are enticed I am sure by the fiesta which is present in the town for pilgrims and visitors alike. Sometimes there will be a special mass for the pilgrims - at one event the pilgrims travel on bicycles and at another on horseback. One very special pilgrimage covers about 72 kilometers and many do this over several days, often camping by the side of the road at days end. Other will take the bus part way and then walk the remaining distance. At another there is a fiesta for the returning pilgrims who bring back religious images which appear to be in some way related to, or blessed by, the more important image in the distant town.

What continue to strike me as interesting is that these feats are given no status because of their exercise value, no certificates are awarded on completion, no names appear in the newspaper. That is, walking is not given a physical significance, rather it is the journey that is given religious significance. In the west, feats of walking or running are only given physical value or sometimes a social value for representing groups we would normally think unable to perform these feats (survivors of cancers, the elderly, etc.) for drawing attention to these people in our regular lives.

#5 A visit to the doctor

A visit to our Mexican doctors leaves two immediate impressions. First, there is no bank of patient files behind the receptionist whose major task appears to be acting as gatekeeper, collecting money and watching the soap operas. There are no patient files because information is always the property of the patient and the doctors themselves keep computer files. In Canada she would be busy making appointments, tracking down lab reports, making arrangements with specialists, attending to the enormous bank of files, and so on. The other, is the presence of images of the baby Jesus. In this waiting area there are three images. The largest is of Jesus dressed in white, carrying a doctors bag and seated in a chair. In the other he is dressed in a blue dress like garment and carrying a small basket. The third is a photo of an image dressed in white and again carrying a very small doctor’s bag. In addition there is a very small image of Guadalupe set again he photo. In Canada one might well find a religious image but I would think it quite uncommon.

Once in the office again you find a very small image of the baby Jesus seated in a chair. It is placed beside a souvenir from Alaska and amongst family photos. Almost hidden to the back of a shelf is a small wooden crucifixion cross. You know you are in good hands!

LOS NEGRITOS, OR THE BLACK DANCERS

I have already talked a little about the dance of the negritos and the importance of the negrito in the Purépecha culture. Now I am going to describe the negritos of San Lorenzo. This dance is described in some depth by Essler (1988) and you might want to read that as well.
The dance occurs on January 1 and is primarily about the transfer of care of the image of baby Jesus to a new carguero. The cargueros not only care for the image but they must organize the dance and transfer responsibility in the next year. For this reason it is perhaps the biggest event in the community and being associated with the image and the black dancers appears to bring status to community members. The dance itself is substantial with perhaps 50 male dancers with masks and costumes and a few women without masks but in fine clothing and hats of rancheras. The smallest contingent of dancers were the maranguillas ( who I believe represent Mary) wearing pink masks that were very feminine and included earrings and a few short ribbons hanging part way down their backs. They also wore bright skirts and wide brimmed hats with four artificial tulips standing on top. The next group of dancers continue to confuse me. Essler claims these dancers were viejitos but the masks were pink and very feminine, some had earrings and had finely embroidered aprons that looked a little like skirts and all if not most wore blond wigs. All wore cowboy boots and jeans and carried something which looked like a short whip. All had a few colourful ribbons attached to their heads which came a short ways down their back. Perhaps all of these dancers were maranguillas. There was one dancer who wore a mask that may have represented a viejito with a mustache but the mask gave no indication of old age. These two groups were the first to appear and performed a very typical two step and on occasion danced with members of the audience. This was clearly the preliminary act.

The negritos arrived to great fanfare. They wore beautiful black masks with flowers on top of their head and colorful ribbons hanging from the head almost to the ground. They wore traditional white pants and shirts. There were only five or six of these dancers and it was obvious that they were important from the crowd, almost entirely mature men, that pushed around them. These dancers made only a brief appearance in the courtyard before everyone took to the street to begin the procession through town. Although the negritos lead the procession they were not at first visible perhaps having withdrawn to a house until the procession arrived there. The other dancers were second in the procession followed by young women in beautiful traditional clothing carrying nine alters (four women to each alter) with images of the Virgin surrounded by flowers. These were followed by community members.

When the negritos appeared at the head of the procession it was clear they were honored, not only because one of them carried the baby Jesus but because they were in direct contact with the cargueros. The negritos carried a bottle of tequilla and a basket of sweets as gifts for the carguero. The negritos had linked arms with what I took to be the chief carguero as he carried a wand representing his authority (perhaps this was this the new carguero). Another carguero was always in front giving instructions on how to make the procession and the day the best possible (was this the old carguero?). To increase the number of negritos in the procession perhaps, two or three of the other dancers put on black masks in order to be close the cargueros.

Once the procession returned to the courtyard the negritos again were absent, arriving sometime later to great fanfare. As they had through out the procession the negritos clapped their hands rhythmically as if imitating a version of African rhythm. Upon entering , continuing to be surrounds by mature men, the negritos gathered in the centre of the yard where they appeared to have a contest of rapid dancing, usually in sets of two. On occasion the carguero would invite another dancer into the group but they donned a black mask before taking on the challenge of dancing with the negritos.

A wonderful introduction to the negritos in Purépecha culture but leaving a lot mystery as to what was really happening.

FRAGMENTS: COCUCHO, BODAS,

This and other post with this title are an attempt to simply capture a moment which will perhaps fall into a larger picture in the future, or perhaps not.

#1 During a fiesta for the Virgin of Immaculate Conception in Cocucho two things struck me. First, while watching a group of viejito dancers in a vigorous performance I noticed a teenage girl holding what looked like a Barbie doll. I concluded it was really an image of the Virgin and began to pay more attention to the crowds on the street. Indeed, many people had these small Virgins and young girls often compared their images, perhaps commenting on the way they were dressed. On occasion a man was seen carrying a larger image. There were countless images on the streets. Later on entering the church we found the pews all pushed to the sides. A moment later we heard the band approaching and the viejito dancers entered following an image of the Virgin and an incense burner. After vigorous dancing they left the church and it became apparent that many people were gathered at the front of the church where they appeared to be praying or touching a large image of the Virgin. Those that did received a gladiola flower. Some recipients then took part of the flower and ran it over the image, others tied their flowers to a stick and lifted it high to pass it over the glass protecting a painting of the Virgin, some ran their own image of the Virgin over the larger image and others just touched the images. A stranger approached us to tell her story. She had been badly injured in an accident and it was thought she wold not walk again. She prayed to this particular image (she said you have to also have faith) and indeed here she was walking into the church. She no longer lives locally but makes an effort to return to the church to pray and say thank you.

#2 A second fragment is perhaps related. We entered a village to find a main street blocked and tables being set up. We learned a wedding celebration was in the making and in talking to a friend who lived next door we were told something of the local traditions. One part of this tradition that struck me was the practice of “bendición” (the blessing). This portion happened the day before the wedding when the bride and groom could be found at home kneeling on a straw mat.
Their parents and godparents (and presumably others) enter the home and there make the sign of the cross on the forehead of the new couple. What was this about? Was it just the community acknowledging the new family being formed? In a very real sense giving their blessing to the union. Was it the community making it clear to the couple that what they were doing was before the eyes of God? Was it just a blessing (our way of saying good luck)? An unrelated part of the tradition was that on the morning after the fiesta which was about to begin the new couple was obliged to rise very early and make fresh atole (a local corn based hot drink ) and deliver it to their parents and godparents since it was assumed they may have had too much to drink and needed this assistance in starting their day.

#3 And a third fragment, also a wedding ritual. After the wedding the young couple are required to stand on chairs while their friends gently attempt to knock them off the chair. The two have to try and save the other from falling since it is believed that if they fall the marriage will not last. Perhaps a good metaphor for an enduring union.

SEEING COMMUNITY

Community! What is it? As a sociologist I have talked about community all my adult life having realized that sociology is a long nostalgic essay on the loss of community. If sociology is correct, most of us have never experienced community in the strongest sense of the term. We do see flashes of community in times of disaster or personal tragedies but what must it have been like in a stronger and or more encompassing form? First a word or two about this difficult notion of community. For me it refers to a strong sense of solidarity among a non-family group, a sense of belonging, involvement and emotional connection. The capacity and willingness of people to not necessarily deny their individuality but to be able to make substantial contributions to the common good or the welfare of the group. In most western societies this contribution is made in a very impersonal fashion - we pay our taxes and hope or even demand that government take care of the marginalized, the sick and the poor and even to organize our entertainment. Increasingly we rely on the corporate sector to arrange for public events, pay for what we call democracy and so on. Community would be a much more personal involvement and commitment to these projects.

This is a prelude to my trying to understand our experience of attending a Mexican fiesta on Three Kings Day (Jan. 6). We arrived in the pueblo, a place that is not really very remote now having good highway access, but felt like another world, around 3:00 pm. The town has a different feel to it because of being surrounded by forest and mountains and the more traditional type of housing. Not exactly the traditional trojes but troje-like. The town is an access point to the newest volcano in the world (having emerged in a farmer’s field around 1935 and exploded in the mid-1940s devastating a community), so attracts a number of tourist, many of whom are invited to travel to their destination on horse-back. The church was very attractive in it’s Christmas finery and the yard had a number of nacimientos (manger scenes) around the wall each with one or more doll sized images of baby Jesus. Local dancers were beginning to appear from houses and people were congregating in the large church yard. Before long there were too many dancers to count, a substantial crowd, three kings on horses and a beautiful image of the baby Jesus seated in a chair was brought from the church.

The dancers were unlike anything we had seen before but it became clear that they were “kurpites” (fittingly in the local language this means coming together). (However, some carried viejito canes adding to my confusion.) What was distinctive about the dancers clothing was that they had up to 20 aprons tied quite high up on the body and going around the body. This gave the dancers the appearance of being quite fat. These aprons were hand-made with fine needlework probably by mothers, aunts, grandmothers, girl friends. The dancers carried their personal history on their backs. These were the Kurpites dancers and as well one or two wore masks of Mary (Marangillas) and of Jose (Joseph). The dancers wore a scarf just over the nose and a mask covered in beads, tinsel and ribbons, on the top of their heads. Many appeared to have new cowboy boots and all had bells on their ankles. There appeared to be a group of quite young dancers (some 4 or 5 years old) and then a group of older teenagers. After much waiting the procession began with all of the dancers, the horses, an image of the Virgin, the image of baby Jesus and well as all of the Jesus figures from the mangers and a substantial crowd. An incense burner was carried before Jesus and immediately after one or two people throwing confetti on the carriers. The procession proceeded around the community on a very cold night accompanied by the usual cojetes (rocket-like fireworks).

On arrival at the church we found women appearing from the side streets with large containers of pozole, baskets of tortillas, more baskets of tamales and countless bags of oranges. Before long the church-yard was filled with perhaps 800 people (perhaps the whole town). The ritual of giving gifts to the children began. Remarkably they lined up without pushing or fighting and the young ones waited to be given a gift from one of the trucks parked in the yard. Girls appeared to receive small Barbie-like dolls, very small ironing boards, small plastic chairs and the boys very small plastic wheel-barrows and balls. Eventually the organization broke down as the men in the truck began throwing gifts into the crowd. There were no signs of “brought to you be corporation x” and no sign of political types.

In the background food was being prepared with a table set for the elders of the community and I assume everyone who wished would be given access to food. We too could have participated having been told that what was expected was presentation of a gift of cigarettes or tequila to the chief elder. Although we had purchased the gift we left the community before food was consumed having decided there just wasn’t enough space for 4 gringos to navigate the crowd.

For me a sense of community was every where but most clearly in the amount of effort and money many family had contributed to make this event happen and have the marvelous appearance and feel it did. For example, if there were 100 dancers (and there may have been more) each with 20 aprons, this would amount to 2000 aprons! Who purchased the gifts for about 200 young people? Who prepared all the food (this may have involved grinding the corn, making masa, filling tomales, etc.? In a traditional community like this there may have been a carguero in charge of the image of Santo Niño who may have been selected because of his resources and he may have borrowed money from others or required people to contribute money to purchase supplies, pay for the band, and so on. In any event what we saw was the signs of community with little presence of the usual stage managers of public events in the West.

One final thought: all of the dancers were under the age of 18 so this would create a constant need for new dancers thus bringing in the next generation. As a result the majority of the adults would share something in common with these kids. All of the males would be bound together in some fashion by this common service to baby Jesus and to the community. Females would be bound together in a similar fashion through their service to organization, costume creation and food preparation. I doubt if opting out of attendance was an option: saying you were tired or had other commitments just wouldn’t wash. Community came first.

DRIVING ON NEW YEARS DAY

Our destination was a Michoacán Pueblo in order to watch a traditional dance but we took the slow road so as to maximize the number of small pueblos we passed through on route. We were not disappointed. In Pichátaro we arrived in time to watch a procession through the town with the baby Jesus. A number of small alters were set up throughout the town and the procession consisted of about 6 alter boys dressed in white and red carrying copal (incense) and candles, a large group of women with ribbons in their hair and lovely bouquets of flowers, two men carrying a beautiful image of baby Jesus seated in a chair (strangely, Jesus had an American 2$ bill pinned to his clothing) and in the centre a priest in white garments and ribbons. The alters consisted of pine boughs decorated with ornaments and shaped around a table, a large piece of fabric forming a backgrounds with at least one image of Guadalupe, a framed picture of Jesus as a small child and in front of the table four baskets of corn - black, red, yellow and white. Upon arrival the priest placed Jesus on the table and at each stop a few people (perhaps the family who had erected the alter) came forward to kiss the baby. The Priest then raised the chair high and turned to all four directions (at this point the men removed their hats) while the band again began to play and the group moved on to the next alter. January is a special month in the calendar for Jesus - the entire month is dedicated to him and he was also baptized in early January. Perhaps more important is the fact that in many communities the family, or families, who have taken on the task of caring for the image throughout the year, changes. Therefore the image changes hands and there is often a ritual associated with this. In some communities it is the special dancers of the community who take the image from the church on December 26 and return it to the custodian family and these dancers may also carry the image in a procession in early January from the home of one family to that of the new custodian. In this pueblo there were no dancers but perhaps the men carrying the image were the custodians and at the end of the day the image is turned over to the new custodian.

Back on the road and we note that many people are parked along the roads where small and large family groups have walked into the woods to have picnics, some having tied piñatas in the trees. In some locations, in what appeared to be park-like settings, hundreds of people had gathered. Into Sevina where a 3 day fiesta was underway with the usual small rides for children, markets, auctioneers and bands. The dance of the “black men” was to happen around 3:00 pm but our destination called and this would have to wait until next year. (More about this in a post titled "Black men of Sevina".) Into Chéran where we had been told at a Pemex that if we took a left turn just before the church we would find the Rancheros dancing through the streets. About to give up our search and feeling unsure of how to get back on the the road to our destination we stumbled upon the Rancheros - not dancing but moving from one location to the next. Again, no time to follow as the clock was ticking. Having asked for directions to ensure we were heading in the right direction we approached Capicuaro where we encountered large groups of dancers (viejitos, negritos and what could have been rancheros) walking along the highway, probably going to a dance location. Our destination was close and the time was rapidly approaching so again we noted this event in our calendar for a future year and continued on.

At last our desired pueblo of San Lorenzo approached and we found the church and having had a quick torta headed to athe square where people had begun to gather and a few dancers were standing in wait. We were about to see a spectacular event but more about this in a subsequent post.

BLACK MEN OF SEVINA

an subsequent post (titled, Driving on New Years Day)) I mentioned learning that the “black men” were to dance on January 1 in the puebla of Sevina. On January 3 we returned to Sevina to see a concurso of dance happening in late afternoon. We had not seen the black men before, although we had seen them a previous year but only from from a distance so knew nothing of their masks. That year we had seen a number of dancers on the way to the home of a carguero, dressed in dark suits (what we now know to be “catrin” outfits, that is citifed clothing) but what were the masks? Were they negritios? This was my expectation. What a surprise when I walked up a hill to the carguero’s house this year having seen a crowd gathering and hearing band music. The dancers were all in their dark suits, but the masks! They were conquistadores. The masks of the conquerors of Mexico. These masks show a very pale skin, bright blue eyes and a substantial golden beard. Their hats were spectacular, looking somewhat like a traditional marching band hat but with flower decorations and many silver adornments. Later I was able to talk to the mask maker of this town and learned two things: first, the conquistadores were the ones who took baby Jesus from the manger in the church on December 26 and returned it to the carguero of the image. This job is reserved for the most honored dancers and in many communities this is the negrito. The history of the negrito in Tarascan communities is very interesting and well documented by Janet Esser (1988). So why were these black men not negritos? I am a little unclear of this, but the mask maker claimed that in the early days the mask maker either could not carve black masks or they were not very well done. His speciality was the mask of the conqueror and commonsense determined that this would be the mask used. Although very good negrito masks are now carved by the chief carver, the masks of the conquistadores are still the more honorable masks.

The dance competition began around 5:00 pm and while the conquistadores were present the centre of attention was on approximately 80 other dancers with a wide variety of masks, many of them of feos (or the uglies). These dancers came on throughout the night in small groups with the only rule seeming to be that no one could speak. They had to rely on their acting ability to try and get into the character of the mask. One came to appreciate the talent needed to really communicate, over a long period of time, the personality implied by the mask the person ws wearing. Towards the end of the evening there was more of a performance and participation in the judging from the rather large audience gathered around the basketball court and on adjoining rooftops.

NOTES ON A RELIGIOUS FESTIVAL (PART III)

Now I need to try to say something about the religious aspect of a portion of this day. Margaret Visser has been my guide to a small extent (see her book The Geometry of Love). Visser shows that the Catholic church edifice is an intentional physical construct with something more than architectural delight or aesthetics in mind. It is built and designed to remind people of mystical experiences they have had in the past but have put aside or forgotten - those occasions in which we have felt some profound insight into our place in the world. She suggests these insights are similar to the insights of the mystics - the ability to feel or experience two things at the same time, to live for the moment within a contradiction of our world. To feel you are unique and individual and at the same time that you are identical to all others in the world and thus insignificant. Or to give a trivial example, to see that something is black and white at the same time - the opposites have been collapsed.

This is achieved, if the church is designed well and you are ready, through a few things inside the church. First, in a Catholic church, one is surrounded by a history of your culture and indeed by the transcendent history of your people. Second, it encourages self reflection through a physical walk or a walk with your eyes - you see the stations of the cross and reflect on how each of these might reflect on your story, you walk to the alter and walk through history and through your own life history even that part which is not yet complete. Most churches allow you to walk up behind the alter and in a sense make a full circle, always coming back to where you began - life is infinite. Third, there is a great deal of ritual involved which takes you out of your personal situation and, through cooperation with others, create an event that can give you a transcendent experience. I am I and yet I am you. Some of these ritual events are quite profound. In the case of interest here it is the procession of the Virgin of Salud from the church and through the streets of the town, an event which takes several hours and much anticipation.

A long mass begins the event and at the end of this the curtains are drawn on the Virgin. In a few moments the Virgin appears from behind the alter and the crowd erupts in applause and shouts of “long live the queen of Pátzcuaro”. She is then placed on a platform and six men slowly walk her down the aisle to the front door. Those outside the church can now see her coming and begin to clap and take pictures. When she moves through the doorway there is loud clapping and shouts. Some try to touch her garments as She goes by. The same feeling erupts along the crowd-filled streets and at the 6 alters set up through the town. In each alter the men take the Virgin up a step or two and turn her to face the crowd. The Bishop blesses the site and with singing and praise the crowd cheers and again shouts long live the Queen. When She returns to the church, now full of people and anticipation, the place erupts on her entry- the brass band plays, fireworks explode outside. She slowly return to her place and the curtains are again opened, again to more applause.

This is a ritual event with power. First you experience some solidarity with those around you and you are drawn into the experience. There is a moment of transcendence as you see at one and the same time that the image is just a very old piece of art work made from “pasta de caña”, it is physical and at the same time is divine. The first we can see but the second is something that we all create and feel. No one truly believes that this image is real in the sense of being alive and able to hear our shouts and touches. Rather, we are able to see two things at the same time, the mundane and the divine and they are one.

This written by one raised in the Protestant tradition thus unfamiliar with the glorification of images. However, as a sociologist, fascinated by rituals and the roles they play in ordinary lives.

NOTES ON A RELIGIOUS FESTIVAL (PART II)

I will now try to explore in a small way the the symbolism of the Moors and the danza de los Moros. On December 7, the day before the Fiesta de la Salud, a relatively new group of Moor dancers performed in front of the alter of the Basilica. This year the dance group consisted of 4 men and 4 women (las Moras), each group in slightly different costume. While it is interesting that women were performing in this dance (the first time I have seen this) they did not perform together but as two groups. The group was accompanied by their traditional band and four horses. They gathered outside the Basilica and when ready the priest came to the door, blessed everyone and welcomed them into the church. The female dancers and then the male dancers performed in front of the alter and before a reasonable crowd. The dancers were introduced by the priest and supported as carrying on an ancient tradition. I believe this tradition represents the indigenous acceptance of Christianity and subservience to the new God. I wonder if the dancers or the audience associate the dance with Muslims or infidels or if it has just become the traditional dance of the region in praise of God and church. What do Muslims think of this dance? The inquisition was applied primarily to Muslims and Jews and then the emerging Protestants. Does any of this enter the minds of those in the Basilica?
On completing the dance the male dancers mount their horses and with the women walking in front begin a parade through the pueblo, terminating at the presidencia (the office of the mayor and officialdom). Here they are greeted by the mayor and an array of bureaucrats. The organizer of the dance then offers a glass of tequila to the authorities, a traditional male gift giving. The dance is performed before the mayor and gathered crowd. Then the torito dancers perform and at one point the mayor and then bureaucrat are invited to perform, first as the bull and then the teaser.

I may be making too much of this but we have seen the indigenous peoples presenting themselves to and dancing for the two primary structures of power in the community - church and state. The church that surpressed their ancient religion and worked hard to bring them into the state sponsored religion of the Spanish. The state that seized their land and rather quickly transformed their way of life and challenged their historic structures of power. Most have been left in a marginal state and clinging to some traditional ways, having incorporated religious beliefs and events into their ancient traditions.

So what is the dance about? The criticisms of Cortes and even Christopher Columbus have been put aside for the day, and at the invitation of the church and the state, they show their subservience and at the same time display some of their unique cultural style and color.
See next post.