MATACHINES OR MATLACHINES

This post began while watching the festivities surrounding “el dia de conquista” in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. The Aztec dancers were the centre of attraction as noted in a previous post , but there were two groups of dancers who seemed to be attached to churches outside the city of San Miguel and their banners declared them as dancers celebrating the conquest. Later in the day I happened to see one of these groups getting on their bus and noted the sign on the back of the bus stating that they were “Matlachines”. So who are the Matlachines?

To complicate matters dance groups referred to as Matlachines are called Matachines in nothern Mexico and the southern USA where they have been heavily studied. According to Max Harris the term matachines appeared in Italy prior to the conquest of New Spain were it referred to groups of entertainers performing acrobatic acts and dance. If this is so, the term may have been brought to Mexico by the Spanish but the dance the term refers to was originally a form of the dance of the Moors and Christians, a dance of conquest and conversion. However, shortly after the Spanish conquest they took Aztec dancers to Spain and perhaps it was there that they took on the name of Matachines. The sequence of events and the naming are difficult to understand clearly. The Moors are apparent in current dances in New Mexico among pueblo Indians but the primary roles are a young girl playing Malinche and a man playing Motecuzoma, the Aztec emperor (there are also two men dressed as women referred to as “abuelas” (grandmothers) but playing a role similar to that of clowns). Malinche is commonly known as the mistress of Cortes who played a role in the Spanish conquest through her work as interpreter. But in this dance Malinche is the wife or daughter of Motecuzoma. According to Harris the term Malinche may well be a version of Maria (Mary, mother of Jesus) in the native language and her role is to encourage Motecuzoma to convert to Christianity and to return from the dead to reconquer the country. In this reading the dance is one of subversion and driving out the foreigners who are represented by a toro who in the end is castrated. In all of the dances I believe the majority of the dancers represent soldiers, but not Spanish soldiers. They represent Aztec soldiers or native soldiers and they represent the possibility of reconquest.
In the Pueblo Indian communities that dance makes no reference to Christianity or to conversion but it entirely focused on resistance against the foreigner, in this case the Mexicans who now share their land. Although the same dance is performed in Mexican communities the focus is much more on Christianity and conversion with little or no elements of subversion. While this may be true I am unclear as to why the Mexican communities would not be more like the Pueblo Indian communities - they have both suffered conquest, intrusion and dominance and the loss of an earlier heritage. Why would the Mexicans so innocently accept their conversion? Harris himself shows that in other dances the Mexican communities do show subversion and resistance.

In Central Mexico the dance is referred to as “Matlachines” and again according to Harris this name appears in a pre-conquest Aztec combat dance celebrating their victory over a group called Matlatzinca. One can image that it was easy for the Spanish to attach their dances of defeat of the Moors on to a dance like this and for some people to retain the original name.
Now back to what I did see. In San Miguel both groups of Matlachines wore feathered headresses which looked like they were using feather dusters as the materials. Their faces were uncovered and they wore beaded clothing, making them look quite “Indian”. The dance was clearly a half conquest dance although there were elements of combat. The 12-15 dancers arranged themselves in two lines and did some weaving in and out and moving in two elipses with each line returning to its original position. They each carried machetes in one dance and performed a mock battle at times. I saw no evidence of other role players however. The second group did not use machetes but carried a small bow and arrow in one hand and a rattle in the other. Their banners identified their home church, an image of Guadalupe as well as a statement about the day of conquest.

I have seen other dances which reveal some similar elements. In Santa Clara del Cobre, Michoacan, on the return of the black Jesus images from a long pilgrimage the “Arqueros” perform for the fiesta. These dances have large Indian headresses sewn onto their capes, carry small bows and arrows, small crowns with coloured feathers and dance in a very rapid and highly choreographed fashion. While there are leaders for each line of dancers there do not seem to be other roles, except perhaps for young boys dressed as skeletons or devils playing the role of entertainer or crowd control. A friend also showed videos taken in La Penita on the west coast at a festival for St. Patrick in which there were lines of dancers dressed like Indians, with a different group coming from surrounding communities each day. I have also seen a group of performers engaged as entertainers in brightly coloured costumes including bright feathered headress and matching tunics and skirt with long pieces of plastic bead hanging from the edges of clothing.
Unfortunately the Matachines dances of New Mexico have more thoroughly studied that those in central Mexico where, according to Harris, the dance began before traveling north.

LA DANZA DEL TORITO

In previous posts I have described and commented on la danza Aztecs and la danza Matlachines, both of which I saw in San Miguel de Allende during the celebration of el dia de la conquista. The third dance performed that day was la danza del torito. I was not able to make any sense of this dance, thinking it must be a version of a carnival dance. Then I stumbled on a post from “mexicobob” which provides a description and explanation. Have a look at his post: mexicobob.

Photo: in the photo above you are able to see two of the three maranguillas performing that day (one of these may have been la borracha), el viejito (with the cane), el charo (the one with the little horse) and the devil with his whip. Other dancers, including the bull, were there but not in the photo.

The viejito

Perhaps this is the rancher

El toro and one of the Maranguillas.

Bob’s description of this event makes sense to me except for the role of the bull. Having read Max Harris I have begun to look for “hidden transcripts” and considering that the dance took place during the celebration of the conquest, I wondered if the bull in fact wasn’t a representation of the Spanish (the invader or the foreign). Is the message: they too will pass and we will remain? But, it the dance was first performed in 1830 and the primary character is a hacienda owner we are talking about those of pure Spanish blood but born in Mexico (Criollos), the group which began the first revolution and in spite of the significant role of Morelos (the indigenous military leader who first talked about independence and equality) came to own the land and dominate politics. Further, if the dance began in 1830 I am quite sure it was a creation of an indigenous group (rather than mestizos) and it would have a message. Is the dance then a show of resistance to this group? If we follow the logic of Harris, very few dances are just entertainment, there is frequently a hidden message. Could it be as simple as: the Spanish - or the Criollos - are caught between evil and death. But evil didn’t win out during the dance so we are left with death being the victor. The indigenous peoples are represented by the “apache” (I have not seen this dancer in two viewings) but since he is also defeated this does not appear to be a dance of resistance. Or, is it a more obvious dance of resistance with the toro representing the indigenous people who will only be defeated by death?

This is "el Moco"

I am open to suggestions on how to interpret this dance.

KIDS MATTER

I have talked about children a lot in these post but I return to it again for a more focused look. We often here the expression that “it takes a village to raise a child”. This expression seems to have multiple meanings depending on the speaker or the audience. It might mean better education, more program support for parents, fewer punitive responses from the community or more acceptance of children in housing and on the streets. Let’s look again at a few events which I believe show how the community here participates in raising children.
I describe again the feature of the day of the revolution parade that impress me. The celebration takes place on November 20, but the week before the preschool children dress in their revolutionary costumes and take to the streets in a parade. There are quite a number of children in rural Mexico but the community waits patiently while the parade blocks streets and parents and friends throw confetti on the children. This year they were accompanied by an adult marching band. Then on November 20 the older children, as well as a few adults like the mayor, the queen for the day, and men on horses form a parade that takes about 90 minutes to pass. The majority of the towns traffic is brought to a standstill. The young people have their own school bands and it is clear that everyone is taken seriously; they are centre stage for the day and much of the community participates with cheering and confetti. Young people learn their history (some being dressed as revolutionary heros and other carrying images), a great deal of time is spent in preparing (learning how to march around corners) and they are seen as important in the eyes of the community.
Surprisingly this whole thing is repeated for the first day of spring when the preschool children hold a parade through the centre of town in their birds and bees costumes. But in a very general sense we find that children are not excluded from events. They spend the night in the cemeteries with their parents and grandparents, they are taken to restaurants, they walk on the streets (there being very few strollers), they help their parents in stores and stalls from a very early age and they appear to be part of the community in ways seldom seen in other parts of North America (except perhaps among immigrant families).
During the biggest religious festival of the year I was struck by the clarity of this belongingness and the inclusion of children. Two images: first, in the Basilica many families chose to crawl on their knees up the aisle to the alter (thus fulfilling a promise). Parents and children did this together. At times the children would turn the crawl into a competition but they were never scolded or restrained. One parent chose this occasion to provide her daughter with another lesson in crossing herself properly. All of this in a standing crowd of 600-700 people. Second, during a religious procession (the entire event had gone on 16 hours) one of the mothers playing an important role throughout the day, was carrying a young child who was sound asleep. This while following the most important image of the community and also the bishop who had come to town to assist in the celebrations.

In this community I have seldom heard children crying, being shouted at, being treated roughly or throwing a tantrum. If you do see any of these behaviours it is invariably a family from the big city. Children appear happy, alive, confident of who they are and fully participating in the life of the community. One can not help but be struck by the absence of a strong youth culture in this semi-rural community. Everyone listens to the same music, the only difference being individual preference not age. By the age of 2 years, children know exactly how to move their body and feet to the music.
We attended a concert of a local, and somewhat famous, group a few nights ago and the theatre appeared half full of children, none of whom were quiet. I heard no one complain nor did I hear children being scolded. (Although we did move seats because the kids behind us were talking and hitting the seat.) I decided at that moment that here was the answer to why the volume is always very loud at Mexican events.
Some of these same children of course put graffiti on our walls on the way home from school. I am also not naive enough to believe that all is sweetness. Many children are abandoned by families too poor to care from them or have limited parenting skills or no extended family. One little boy we have watched for a few years is not allowed to get back into the house without a specified sum of money. He literally sings for his supper. There are probably the same numbers of abused children and mothers, the same numbers of family breakdowns and so on as you would find in other parts of North America. But something is clearly different as well.

DANZAS AZTECAS

For the second time in three years we visited San Miguel de Allende for the dance of the conquest (el dia de conquista) which features about 200 hundred Aztec dancers and a few Matlachines. This is the only Aztec dance that I have actually seen (although a small group dances annually in Patzcuaro and I have seen 3-4 dancers in Cucucho. Historically earlier, and of more interest, are those dances depicting the conquest of the Aztecs by Cortez and the Spanish as well as a similar dances referred to as the Malinches or Matlachines performed as often in southwest USA as in Mexico, la danza de los Moros and Cristianos and la danza de la pluma. This group of dances depict combat and conquest and with role playing there is a great deal of room for symbolism and hidden messages. Max Harris provides some exceptional examples of acts of resistance in these dances and I will return to this in a subsequent post. However, more often the Aztecs, Matachines and Moros have been lifted from these combat dances and perform on their own at events honouring a patron saint or celebrations of conquest. These dances with only one side participating so to speak are referred to as “media conquista” (half conquest). One wonders how these groups became isolated from the larger dance and I at least speculate that the church had some influence on this as the full dances often carried an undertone of resistance to the conquest, even after 500 years. What has puzzled me in watching the “media conquista” dances is the celebration of Christian conquest of Mexico. But, if one sees this against the full dance, although seldom performed in most parts of the nation, there is the possibility that in the minds of the dancers they are presenting a tribal view of the world as well as the “hidden transcripts” which are implied by the full dance. The past rector of the Basilica de Guadalupe in Mexico City was born in Quiroga, Michoacan and for at least 5 years returned to participate in the dance of the Moors (the half dance) on the day of the town’s patron Saint. His account is of interest: he returned each year because he saw the dance as a way to bridge the conflict between the Indian part of the community and the mestizo part. This would seem to be an excellent occasion for the Indian community to show resistance but if there is any it is not apparent, perhaps drowned out by the shear number of participants or by respect for the rector. Also, one can imagine that it is the mestizo community that organizes events and occupies important positions.

Now, however, let’s turn briefly to the Aztecas. Harris distinguishes between Los Aztecas and Los Concheros along class lines - the Concheros typically being dancers of a lower class and putting the concha shell (actually in the form of a guitar made from the shell of an armadillo) more at the centre of the dance. Los Aztecs by contrast are more middle class and give no significance to the concha and place the drum at the centre of the dance. Los Aztecas can be found on almost any day in the Zocalo of Mexico City where drumming goes on for hours and people dance with or without costume. The costumes consist of men in loin cloths and vests and with enough feathers in their head gear to frighten birds for miles. All fabrics are embroidered with what one immediately imagines as Aztec designs. They wear small bells on their feet and to the deafening rhythm of the drums dance for hours at a time. Although billed as el dia de conquista, what is really going on here?

Max Harris provides some useful insights based on his observations of the dance in Mexico City.
“The danzas aztecas are self-conscious attempts, as many participants told me, to revive ‘the dances of our [Aztec] ancestors’. They are far from authentic. .. The urban mestizo’s ideas abut his Aztec ancestors are culled as much from popular films, posters, newspapers, and magazines - and from Hollywood representations of Native Americans - as they are from the ancient codices and subsequent scholarship. To put it unkindly, the danzas aztecas resemble a cross between a Plains Indians powwow and the gaudy fantasies of a Las Vegas costume designer. The performers are not living tradition bearers but escapees from the alienation of daily routine to a world of ‘invented ethnicity’”. (Carnival and other Christian Festivals. 2003: 54-55)


Unkind indeed, but Harris goes further. Commenting on the fact that the danzas aztecas take up much performance space and make a great deal of noise, they attract large audiences and drown out the indigenous dancers often present at public events. He says the following:
Urban Mexican contempt for the cultural products of unsophisticated rural Indians marginalized real Indians in the name of a romantic, middle-class vision of Mexico’s indigenous past. ... In the danzas aztecas, urban mestizos defiantly assert the value of a native heritage they despise in the flesh of their Indian neighbors. (2003:55)

This is rather blunt but after being a witness to a large scale dance, I believe there are elements of truth in his claims. Many of the dancers carry a very obvious urban “paunch” and one worries about their health during the vigorous dancing. Further, the smaller groups of dancers who look more “indian” are relegated to small corners of the pubic plaza.

Please see my post for February 2012 in which I re-describe the Aztec dance for an improved interpretation.  Click here for my most recent words on this.