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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY PUBLICATION NO. 6 



every sense the assumption of a cargo is a fam- 

 ily affair, and in popular thought both man and 

 wife are considered to be cargueros, sharing 

 equally in the work and the attendant prestige. 



Most, though not all, cargueros belonging to 

 a specific mayordomia have distinctive names. 

 Possibly representing the former unity of the 

 Church and State, these names applied to reli- 

 gious officials are those of Spanish civil officers. 



During the last 40 years a number of mayor- 

 domias have either died out or been reduced in 

 importance. The process began before the Mex- 

 ican Revolution of 1910, probably due to the 

 onerous time and money requirements. A fur- 

 ther reduction occurred in the early 1940's as a 

 result of the pressure of the priest preceding Fa- 

 ther Tovar. Cargueros have not ceased to func- 

 tion overnight; there has been a gradual lessen- 

 ing in importance and activity and finally only a 

 shell remains of the original form. Cargueros 

 become simply encargados ("those in charge 

 of"), with lessened duties, and presently they 

 too cease to exist. At present in Tzintzuntzan 

 there are five groups which actively function, 

 although only four are of real importance. In 

 addition there are several others which are either 

 dying out or which are only a memory. 



Cargueros de la Judea 



These are the most important of surviving 

 cargueros. The five men are the centurion [cen- 

 turion, here corrupted to cinturion), mayordo- 

 mo, captain (capitdn), ensign (alferez), and 

 sergeant {sargento) . Vulgarly they are called 

 cargueros de habas ("broadbean cargueros") 

 because the pozole which they serve on the Fri- 

 days of Lent is made with broadbeans as a sub- 

 stitute for meat. 



The chief obligations of these cargueros are 

 fulfilled during Lent. All five carry a candle 

 each Friday in the Via Crucis procession. The 

 night of the second Friday the mayordomo offers 

 the first of the pozole dinners, and on the suc- 

 ceeding Fridays the centurion, captain, ensign, 

 and sergeant, in the order indicated, do likewise. 

 On the sixth Friday the centurion names a youth 

 who, in his stead, dresses in a Vi'liite tunic which 

 covers his head. The mayordomo and captain 

 appoint two boys of about 8 years of age who 

 dress as "Jews" and who, armed with machetes, 

 serve as escorts to the mock centurion who is 

 mounted on a white steed, escorted by the real 



carguero. All four go to the church to attend the 

 rosary, after which they fall in with the proces- 

 sion of the Via Crucis. 



On Maundy Thursday the mock centurion 

 attends the representation of the Last Supper 

 and stands behind the table as the "apostles" 

 eat, later accompanying them to the church for 

 the sermon of the lavatorio. On Good Friday 

 he follows the image of Christ around the atrium 

 in the procession of the Three Falls and, as soon 

 as the figure of Christ has been bolted to the 

 cross, goes home to change his white clothing 

 for black, and his white horse for a black steed. 

 Returning to the church he stands near the foot 

 of the cross until the wooden image is lowered, 

 which he follows to its resting place in the cen- 

 ter of the church where he seats himself, accom- 

 panied by four children dressed as angels, and 

 where, with the other cargueros, he must keep 

 vigil all night. 



Next day all the cargueros make the rounds 

 of the town, breakfasting in the house of the 

 mayordomo, dining in the house of the centur- 

 ion, and supping in the house of the captain. 

 Between meals they are offered brandy in all 

 homes which they visit. On the evening of Eas- 

 ter Sunday the election of new cargueros is held 

 in the house of the outgoing centurion. In 1945 

 the fiesta which accompanies the election fell to 

 the lot of Jose Medina, retiring centurion, and 

 upon his invitation I attended the ceremony 

 which proved to be lively and animated. Gui- 

 llermo Morales went with me to explain the sig- 

 nificance of each action. 



Preparations begin early in the morning for the 

 pozole and alole, which will be used to feed the 

 crowds. About 3 o'clock the band of Pascual Corral, 

 the school caretaker, begins to play, but the dancers 

 are few and the fiesta is muy triste, very dull, until 

 nightfall. Gradually more faces appear, and the 

 tem])0 quickens. In one room, lighted by a burning 

 ocote fagot placed on a piece of pot stuck into the 

 adobe wall, the alole is boiling, and half a dozen 

 women squat amidst the huge pots. In a corner 

 an enormous copper cauldron is filled almost to the 

 brim. An old woman with a long stick stirs contin- 

 uously, from time to time taking a wooden ladle to 

 taste it. With the eerie light of the burning pine, the 

 fire, the sweat on her brow, it is a perfect scene of a 

 witch preparing her brew. In another room the po- 

 zole is being cooked over open fires, while the band 

 is crowded into the narrow space of the porch. About 

 9 o'clock the music stops and we all file through the 

 door into the street. "We're going to get the judge," 



