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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY PUBLICATION NO. 6 



tales of the plaza stands are set up, partitioned 

 off with walls of tule reeds. Tables are brought 

 out and signs put up to indicate the foods to 

 be sold — "enchiladas" "tamales," "polio," 

 "atole," "pozole," and "buhuelos." A stand for 

 the Red Cross is set up, and another with potted 

 plants. Finally the "bank" is organized, where 

 one exchanges money for printed tickets in de- 

 nominations of from $0.05 to $0.50. This is a 

 necessary check to jirevent chiseling. Gaiety of 

 a sort is lent by the music of the band, and 

 food and services are priced at twice their 

 normal value. As one strolls in the plaza, be- 

 tween meal courses at the stands, the girls accost 

 one with small corsages, which they pin to the 

 lapel. "One peso, please." Presently anotlier 

 girl comes along. "Sir, you look very sick. 

 Come to the Red Cross for doctoring." Iodine, 

 adhesive tape, and bandages are applied, or 

 pills and powders are prescribed, poured in 

 papers to be taken home. The food is good, 

 one's friends are present, and if the night is 



warm a pleasant time is had by all. With luck, 

 $150 will be taken in, half of which is needed 

 for expenses. 



FIESTA OF THE MUNICIPIO OF 



TZINTZUNTZAN 



The municipio of Tzintzuntzan was created 

 by General Cardenas on October 2, 1930, and 

 subsequently the date has been celebrated with 

 more or less fanfare. In former years General 

 Cardenas himself has been present, and some- 

 times the Governor of the State. In 1945 the 

 fiesta was rather flat, partly due to lack of in- 

 terest, and partly to rain. The program of school 

 children was to have been held in the open air 

 theater in front of the town hall, but at the last 

 minute everybody crowded into the school audi- 

 torium. Of most interest, to the ethnologists at 

 least, wele the dances of the Moors and Christ- 

 ians, from Ihuatzio, and the viejitos from Cucu- 

 chucho, the only time during the year when these 

 dances were held in Tzintzuntzan. 



RELIGION 



HISTORICAL NOTES 



It has become customary to preface discus- 

 sions of religion in Mexico with the statement 

 that modern beliefs represent a blending of 

 pagan and Catholic elements. In many, and 

 perhaps most parts of the country, this is true. 

 In Tzintzuntzan, and I suspect in most of the 

 rest of the Tarascan area, probably fewer non- 

 Catholic elements remain than in almost any 

 other part of rural Mexico. No stone idols share 

 the altar with saints and virgins; copal is not 

 burned in the milpa, and turkeys are not sacri- 

 ficed in secret mountain caves. Transforming 

 nagual witches do not pit their influence against 

 that of the priest, nor do diviners and medicine 

 men practice ancient rites. In theory and in fact 

 the inhabitants of Tzintzuntzan are Catholic, and 

 high Church officials would feel that doctrine 

 has made relatively few concessions to ancient 

 custom. This does not mean that the religious 

 beliefs and activities are identical to those of 

 Spain any more than those of Spain are identical 

 to Catholicism in the United States. The total 

 content of Catholic ritual, dogma, belief, and 



organization is so vast that any local group can 

 absorb only a relatively small amount. A selec- 

 tive process is involved in which, largely through 

 historical accident, certain elements come to be 

 a part of the total pattern, and others are either 

 rejected or never arrive. Hence, within the folds 

 of true Catholicism there is room for a great 

 deal of variation from place to place. In Mex- 

 ico, no two towns have exactly the same com- 

 bination of saints and virgins, of rituals and 

 fiestas, of organizations and dances. Depending 

 on the temperament of the local group and its 

 past history, Catholicism is either a rich, full, 

 time-consuming complex in the total cultural pat- 

 tern, or it is an empty shell to which people pay 

 lip service by going through the overt acts neces- 

 sary to conform, but which functionally is a 

 survival from an earlier period. 



Tzintzuntzan is in the former class. This is 

 not surprising, since it lies in the heart of the 

 strongest and most fanatically Catholic section 

 of Mexico, the States of Michoacan, Jalisco, 

 Guanajuato, and Mexico. For over 400 years 

 Tzintzuntzan has had a resident priest, and dur- 

 ing this time its people have been christened, 



