32 



INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY PUBLICATION NO. 6 



An impressionistic estimate would say that 

 the Tarascan-speaking inhabitants of Tzintzun- 

 tzan are racially also more Tarascan. Material 

 culture, particularly clothing and house furnish- 

 ings, shows some differences between Spanish- 

 and Tarascan-speaking families, but as in the 

 case of physical type, there is such a gradual 

 transition from one stage to the next that meas- 

 urement is difficult. Language alone can be 

 treated by simple statistical techniques to show 

 how the Tarascan becomes Mestizo. Hence, 

 though the expressions "Tarascan-speaking" and 

 "Spanish-speaking" are used, a gradual change 

 in physical type and culture is implied. 



Table 4 reveals how the loss of Tarascan 

 speech is occurring. Out of 248 inhabited 

 houses in Tzintzuntzan, there are 69 with one 

 or more persons of Tarascan speech, or approx- 

 imately one in four, as against the population 

 average of one Tarascan in eight. Thus, the 

 Tarascans are diluted in the sense that many 

 are living with non-Tarascans, and hence neces- 

 sarily must speak Spanish rather than their 

 own tongue. In 32 homes all dwellers are Ta- 

 rascans. In the cases in which there are children 

 in the family it can be expected that they will 

 grow up speaking both Tarascan and Spanish. 



In the remaining 37 homes it seems likely 

 that Tarascan will be carried on by few if any 

 individuals. In the three cases of a Tarascan 

 husband living with a Mestizo wife, and the 

 three cases of a Tarascan wife living with a Mes- 

 tizo husband, necessarily all communication 

 must be in Spanish. In the 22 additional cases 

 of a Tarascan husband or wife married to a non- 

 Tarascan, in which there are children in the 

 family, none of the children speak Tarascan. 

 In an additional case the children of Tarascan 

 parents speak only Spanish. In still another 

 case with Tarascan parents the older children 

 know the native idiom, while the younger ones 

 do not. In all 24 cases, another generation will 

 see the Tarascan language completely dead. In 

 the few remaining cases shown in the chart it 

 is also apparent that the native language will 

 shortly die out. In only two cases of a mixed 

 marriage in which one parent speaks no Ta- 

 rascan do the children understand the language, 

 and in the record the older children only can 

 be included. Practically speaking, then, the 

 Tarascan language will continue as a second 



Table 4. — Composition of homes tvith Tarascan 

 speakers 



Composition 



Parents Tarascans ; no children 



Parents and children Tarascans 



Three unmarried female relatives Tarascans 



Widow, children Tarascans 



Homes entirely composed of Tarascan speakers. . 



Husband Tarascan, wife not; no children 



Husband Tarascan, wife and children not 



Wife Tarascan, husband not; no children 



Wife Tarascan, husband and children not 



Widowed parent Tarascan, adult child, spouse, grand- 

 children not 



Parents, older children Tarascan, younger children not 



Parents Tarascan, children not 



Wife, children Tarascans, husband not 



Widower and mother Tarascan, children not 



Widow Tarascan. children and other relatives not... 



Wife, 2 older children Tarascan; husband, 3 younger 

 children not 



Priest and oldest niece Tarascan, 2 younger nieces not 



Total mixed households 



Total families with Tarascan speakers 



No. of 

 cases 



14 



16 



1 



1 



32 



3 



7 



3 



15 



2 

 1 

 1 

 1 

 1 

 1 



1 

 1 



37 



69 



tongue (Spanish will be spoken by all children 

 of school age and above) only in those homes 

 in which both parents are Tarascans, and these 

 account for less than half of the homes in which 

 someone speaks this language. There is little 

 pressure against mixed marriages. Of the 61 

 marriages represented in table 4, 29 are mixed 

 as against 32 composed of pure Tarascans. 



The number of mixed marriages indicates 

 that considerable contact must take place be- 

 tween the two linguistic groups. Presumably 

 greater Mestizo strength is reflected by the fact 

 that of the 29 marriages, 19 involve Tarascan 

 women, while only 10 involve Tarascan men 

 with Mestizo women. In spite of the fact that 

 the Indians are looked down upon by the Mes- 

 tizos there is no shame or reproach attached to 

 the taking as wife of a pretty, intelligent Indian 

 girl. In fact, the municipal president during 

 1945 was married to a Tarascan of Ihuatzio. 

 Mestizo girls marry Tarascans because often 

 they are wealthier than the Mestizo men who 

 might otherwise be considered. Contact with 

 the Tarascans in Tzintzuntzan is on two levels. 

 There are those Tarascans who have lived for 

 years in the town, own their own homes, perhaps 

 have a store, are potters, farmers, and occa- 

 sionally fishermen. In their normal dealings 

 with others they speak Spanish, and for prac- 

 tical purposes are considered as Mestizos. They 



