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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY — PUBLICATION NO. 6 



teristic feature. These Masses are prayers for 

 good maize harvests. On May 15 the Mass is 

 dedicated to San Isidro, patron of agricultural- 

 ists. Each farmer carries a handful of seed to 

 be blessed by the priest, which is then mixed 

 with the profane seed before sowing. If rains 

 are delayed, farmers carry the image of the 

 Santo Entierro in a solemn procession through 

 the town, and the next day there is a special 

 Mass. Christ, witnessing this show of devotion, 

 takes pity on the farmers and sends rain. And 

 all informants agree that rain invariably fol- 

 lows such a demonstration. The cargueros of 

 San Isidro are in charge of these functions, and 

 collect the costs of the Mass from all farmers. 

 Before sowing, farmers say "En el nombre 

 de San Isidro Labrador, acompdnenos en el dia 

 de hoy" ("In the name of San Isidro, accom- 

 pany us today"), and "En el nombre de Dios 

 Padre, Hijo, y Espiritu Santo vainos a tirar" 

 ("In the name of God the Father, Son, and Holy 

 Ghost, we are going to sow"). When the final 

 cultivation is completed, the farmer shouts 

 "Ave Maria Purisima," while the peons reply 

 "Gracias a Dios concehido" ("Thanks to God 

 conceived without sin"). The same day many 

 farmers put a cross and a frond of blessed 

 palm in the field, to ward off damage from 

 storms and hail. Some also prepare a light 

 meal, for unknown reasons called a comhate 

 ("fight"), consisting of rice cooked in milk, 

 milk atole, and bread, which is given to all the 

 field workers who have participated. The day 

 of the harvest a similar meal is offered by the 

 farmer to all those who have worked for him 

 during the season. The fact that there are no 

 rites or beliefs connected with wheat suggest 

 that these purely Catholic maize observances 

 may represent a post-Conquest substitute for 

 earlier indigenous beliefs. 



THE YEARLY CYCLE 



In Tzintzuntzan there is a rather marked di- 

 vision of the year into two unequal parts, owing 

 to the all-pervading effect of the rainy season. 

 This division, most marked in the agricultural 

 cycle, nonetheless extends itself to most other 

 aspects of life. Pottery, for example, the single 

 most important economic pursuit, is made on a 

 very small scale during the rains, in part due 



to the fact that landowners are farming, in part 

 due to lessened demand, and in part to the fact 

 that the rains do not permit thorough drying 

 of the earth. More by chance than causal con- 

 nection, religious and festive activities are more 

 pronounced during the dry season; no major 

 fiesta comes during tlie rains. The following sum- 

 mary attempts to capture the spirit of the change 

 of months, and the different pursuits during 

 the year: 



January. Period of little agricultural work. Corn- 

 fields have either been cleared of stalks, or the brown 

 stalks still stand, affording forage to cattle. Wheat 

 fields stand out as soft green patches on the hillsides, 

 a few of them turning yellow for the early harvest 

 of the violento variety, which takes place this month. 

 The first mezcal is offered for sale, to be eaten with 

 alole, and chayote roots will be dug during the next 

 2 months. Pottery production is in full swing, and 

 the rescatones are occupied with trips to the hot coun- 

 try, bringing back with them sugarcane and mangoes. 

 Fishing is at its height, and ducks are plentiful. 

 Adobe making and house building are occupations 

 all through the following dry months. Nights are cold, 

 days clear and cool. 



February. Activities much like January. Chayotes 

 are planted, and some squash sown February 2, Can- 

 dlemas. Attention is oriented toward the Fiesta del 

 Rescate, and new clothes are bought or made, houses 

 cleaned up, replastered, and in general the town pre- 

 pared for this 10-day period of little work. Consider- 

 able sickness traditionally follows tlie fiesta. Nights 

 are still very cold, and the air very dry. School begins. 

 March. Beginning in this month and continuing 

 through April and part of May there is much wind 

 and dust. Temperatures have somewhat moderated, 

 but generally the next 10 weeks are the most disagree- 

 able of the year. By the end of the month wheat 

 fields are yellow, though there is still little agricultur- 

 al work. Fresh green peas, boiled in their shells, are 

 the between-meals delicacy. Nopalitos, boiled prickly 

 pear cactus leaves, are a frequent food item. When 

 Easter comes in this month there is a slackening in 

 the pottery making tempo and other activities. Wind 

 makes pottery making difficult, since it cracks the un- 

 fired pots. 



April. Continued wind and dust. Most wheat is 

 cut and threshed. Corn fields have been cleared, and 

 some plowing is observed. First apricots ripen. Burn- 

 ing of grass lands around lake causes frequent for- 

 est fires. April and May are the hottest months of 

 the year. 



May. Final cutting and threshing of wheat. Peas 

 and janamargo zacate also are tlireshed. Corn lands 

 are plowed, and the first rains are anxiously awaited. 

 First capulines, first zapotes, and first alligator pears 

 appear. With early rains, the first maize, beans, and 

 squashes will be planted. End of the mezcal season. 



June. Intensive planting of maize, beans, and 



