194 



INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY PUBLICATION NO. 6 



established after the fire of 1944 to implement 

 the reconstruction of the church and to oversee 

 maintenance of Church property. 



In addition to these individuals who are di- 

 rectly concerned with the functioning of the 

 parish, there are other persons who function in 

 a religious capacity, usually for a stated period 

 of time. Most important are the cargueros who 

 are charged with the care of specific images, or 

 of chapels. They are appointed in different 

 ways, to be explained in the appropriate section. 

 Less formal in organization are the rezanderos, 

 or prayermen, of whom there are about half a 

 dozen. They are usually older men who have 

 mastered the innumerable prayers and chants 

 open to laymen, and who are temperamentally 

 inclined toward passing a large part of their 

 time in extraordinary religious affairs. They 

 are hired by cargueros for specific tasks or pe- 

 riods, and follow their profession as long as 

 they wish, or as long as their services are in 

 demand.^ 



Finally, a great many persons, perhaps a ma- 

 jority of all adults and children, participate in 

 religion, apart from the usual Masses, through 

 membership in one or more of a number of 

 special orders, each with special insignias and 

 special obligations and functions. A week never 

 goes by but that the members in some way are 

 reminded of their responsibilities, and often for 

 days on end they must take time off from their 

 regular occupations to participate in proces- 

 sions, to velar ("keep vigil"), or otherwise to 

 meet the minute requirements of their organ- 

 ization. 



Church functions fall into several categories. 

 Every day in the year, unless the priest is ab- 

 sent from town for a day or two, there is a 6 

 o'clock misa rezada (Low Mass), and on Sun- 

 days, as well as many special fiesta days, there 

 is in addition a longer misa cantada with music 

 (High Mass). Every day when the priest is in 

 residence there is a 5 o'clock rosary, and on 

 Thursdays and Sundays there is a rosario so- 

 lemne which differs from the others in that the 

 church is better illuminated with candles, and 

 there is music. All of the regular Masses and 

 rosaries are paid for by the priest, which is to 

 say, the Church. Special Masses, such as those 



for the dead, for weddings, and those connected 

 with the veneration of certain saints and images 

 of the Virgin, are paid for by the interested 

 parties. In addition to these, the priest's normal 

 duties include visits to neighboring settlements 

 and houses in town to call on sick individuals 

 and to administer the last rites. Likewise his 

 days are filled with marriages, baptisms, first 

 communions, and confessions. His nieces are 

 charged with the indoctrination of the youth of 

 the community, boys going to doctrina Monday 

 evenings and girls Saturday afternoons. 



Mass is, for any priest, fraught with distrac- 

 tions. The church is perhaps half full when it 

 begins, and during the initial 30 minutes late- 

 comers continually arrive, pushing their way 

 forward between those who have already taken 

 their stands, until the crowd is so great that at 

 times there is scarcely room to kneel. Men oc- 

 cupy the left half of the building, kneeling with 

 much scuffling at the appropriate intervals, and 

 standing at ease during the rest of the time, 

 some even sitting comfortably on the floor dur- 

 ing the sermon. A few lucky early arrivals take 

 seats on the two long benches which line the 

 wall. Women kneel on the right side throughout 

 the' long service, except for a few gente de ra- 

 zon who may occupy the benches when kneel- 

 ing for all is not in order. Babies and children 

 are, of course, brought by their mothers, and 

 though most are remarkably quiet and good, 

 there are always a few who wander about, play, 

 or cry, so that the good Father Tovar often has 

 a hard time making his tired old voice audible 

 above the din. The act of crossing oneself is a 

 minor gymnastic exercise. 



Thumb 



anc 



index 



■* Formerly the cargueros were expected to buy huaraclies 

 for the rezanderos, in addition to the small sums of money 

 paid them. 



finger of the right hand are placed together in 

 the form of a cross, and in this position a small 

 cross is described on the forehead, another over 

 the mouth, another over the chest, and then with 

 the hand a large cross is made from forehead 

 to chest and from the left to the right shoulder, 

 finally touching the mouth with the thumb. Of- 

 ten this process is repeated a second time. Dur- 

 ing Mass one has a stronger feeling of being 

 in an Indian community than at any other time. 

 This is because the ranches of La Vuelta and 

 Ojo de Agua have no priests, and their inhabi- 

 tants come to Tzintzuntzan for regular services. 

 Hence, the church shows a far higher proportion 

 of indigenous costume than one sees about town 



