EMPIRES CHILDREN: 



THE PEOPLE OF TZINTZUNTZAN FOSTER 



189 



confirmed, married, and buried by the Church. 

 They have gone to Mass, confessed their sins, 

 participated in a bewildering number of fiestas 

 and Church obligations, and supported a series 

 of mayordomias. From the earliest days little 

 time was given to think about old beliefs. The 

 Franciscans who were charged with the conver- 

 sion of Michoacan (later aided, on a lesser scale, 

 by the Augustinians) were capable, conscien- 

 tious, and thorough men. The almost complete 

 loss of the old religion is all the more remark- 

 able in view of the pre-Conquest strength of the 

 Tarascan culture, and of the great importance 

 of its religion to the people. 



Perhaps the only surviving hints of ancient 

 belief are the attitudes toward saints and other 

 images. The ancient Mexicans were polytheistic, 

 and worshiped a large number of deities, each 

 with special attributes. These deities were repre- 

 sented both in stone carvings and writing in such 

 fashion that usually there is no question as to 

 who is meant. ^ Each shrine of importance and 

 each ceremonial center had a collection of im- 

 ages to whom the inhabitants of the region were 

 particularly addicted. The success of the con- 

 quering Spaniards was plain evidence that their 

 gods were powerful. Hence, although the Mex- 

 icans were loath to abandon their own deities 

 they saw no inconsistency in trying to adopt the 

 new ones. If 10 gods were good, 20 ought to 

 be twice as good. 



This desire on the part of the Mexicans to 

 claim as their own the Spanish God — gods to 

 them, as represented by the cross and images — ■ 

 is one reason for the rapid conversion of thou- 

 sands of people. It is far easier to convert poly- 

 theistic peoples than monotheistic peoples, for 

 the obvious reason that the structure of their 

 religion is such that new gods can be admitted 

 to the pantheon without sacrificing the old. More 

 than the early friars would like to admit, this is 

 exactly what happened in Mexico. For many 

 years, and even to tlie present day in some re- 

 moter parts of the country, the pre-Conquest de- 

 ities were, and are, cherished and their memories 

 kept alive with sacrifices, rituals, and prayers. 

 Hence, the "idols behind altars," the presence in 

 remote churches of Catholic images side by side 

 with ancient carved deities. In places where 



1 This statement applies rather to the Aztecs than to the 

 Tarascans. 



Catholic influence was especially strong, as in 

 the Tarascan area, little by little knowledge of 

 and belief in the ancient deities were stamped 

 out. But the thought patterns remained virtually 

 unchanged. Worship of a series of pagan gods 

 was transferred to a series of Catholic images. 

 In the minds of the conquerors themselves there 

 was a large element of polytheistic belief mani- 

 fest in the adoration of certain saints and virgins 

 as particularly powerful or as particularly capa- 

 ble of helping certain classes of peoples. Small 

 wonder then, that the Indians of Mexico failed 

 to grasp the distinction between the Holy Trinity 

 on the one hand and the material representation 

 of Christ, the Virgin, and the saints on the other. 

 The ancient Mexicans were used to worshiping 

 gods they could see; when their own disappeared 

 the Catholic images took their place. 



CHURCH STRUCTURES 



The rather elaborate religious plant of Tzin- 

 tzuntzan, at present in a bad state of decay, is 

 the result of a long period of construction, most 

 of which dates from the 16th century. The 

 Franciscans arrived late in 1525 or early in 

 1526, and first built a wooden chapel, Santa 

 Ana, and a temporary convent. Quickly there- 

 after the first stone chapel, also called Santa 

 Ana, was built, a short distance above the pre- 

 sent town. Though no structure now remains, a 

 pile of rocks and a wooden cross mark the site 

 of this building. Tlie maps of Beaumont and 

 Seler, which are probably from the years 1540- 

 45, show the present large churchyard, the 

 atrium with its olive trees, and on the west side 

 the small chapel of San Francisco adjoining on 

 one side the first part of what later became the 

 large convent, and on the other side the complet- 

 ed Iglesia de la Parroquia, the parish church. 

 On the Beaumont map the hospital is shown out- 

 side the atrium on a site somewhat removed 

 from the modern kengueria. which tradition says 

 is the hospital, and also lacking is the beautiful 

 open chapel of La Concepcion, today enclosed 

 with adobe walls and a tile roof and unused for 

 any religious services. The Seler map is more 

 accurate in this respect, and both the chapel and 

 the adjoining hospital are shown in their correct 

 location. La Concepcion faces north and is. in 

 reality, merely a roofed altar with three arches 

 on the wide side and one each on the east and 



