EMPIRES CHILDREN: THE PEOPLE OF TZINTZUNTZAN FOSTER 



197 



explains Guillermo. Civil authority is necessary to 

 make religious elections legal. After stumbling 

 through the dark streets, guided by the music, we 

 presently arrive at the house of Mariano Cornelio, 

 whose brother-in-law, Antonio, is judge. Our arrival 

 apparently is not unexpected, for several dozen peo- 

 ple are gathered on the porch and drinking already 

 is under way. The band takes its place and strikes 

 up a tune, and drinks are passed to the newcomers. 

 Then the drum, chirimia, and clarin, a truni]ietlike 

 instrument on which a series of weird notes is sound- 

 ed by inhaling,'' take the stage, and again the band 

 plays, this time a jarabe, and men and women dance 

 simultaneously, though not as partners. Formalities 

 concluded, and Antonio properly urged to come, we 

 return to Jose's house to find the banquet ready. A 

 single oil lamp scarcely takes the edge off the dark- 

 ness. Antonio seats himself at the head of the table, 

 but delegates authority to speak for him to his assist- 

 ant, Ernesto Reyes. 



\^'hen all are seated Jose lays his lance and tablet, 

 insignias of office, on the table in front of the judge. 

 Then the majordomo and captain do likewise. But 

 all does not go smoothly. The retiring ensign has 

 moved to Patzcuaro several months earlier and failed 

 to carry out his obligations, thereby losing the respect 

 of all the villagers. Worse yet, he has carried off 

 his cross, the insignia of office which must be passed 

 on to the newly elected official. To make matters 

 worse the sergeant has not shown up, apparently 

 disgruntled for unknown reasons. Antonio, given an 

 unexpected chance to show his authority, through his 

 assistant insists that without these symbols there can 

 be no election, it would be illegal. While all sit in 

 perplexed silence Jose saves the day by producing two 

 small wooden crosses from the family altar which 

 will serve until the others can be regained. 



Now, all is ready. "Que entre el publico,'^ shouts 

 the assistant, "let the public come in," and those who 

 up until now have preferred to dance rather than 

 join in the more serious deliberations crowd into the 

 small room, drunken and noisy, but in good humor. 

 Previously the women have crowded into one corner, 

 and a couple of candles have been added to aug- 

 ment the thin light of the lamp. Antonio, Mariano, 

 and the assistant confer in low tones. Then the 

 assistant rises and shouts, "^^Que les parece a Bonifa- 

 cio Morales como centurion?" Cries of "Estd bien, 

 bueno, bueno," show that the choice is satisfactory. 

 Now a new cry is heard. "Que venga la yosha, que 

 venga la yosha ("bring on the yosha'). The candi- 

 date, to put the seal on his new office, is expected to 

 offer brandy, on this occasion only called yosha, to 

 the assembled multitude. 



Again a whispered consultation is followed by 

 " iQue les parece a Ezequiel Morales para mayor- 



* Ing. Robert Weitlaner of the National Museum of Mex- 

 ico informs me that in the Rio Balsas region of Guerrero he 

 has seen, in use today, trumpets of cane and sirian tree gourd 

 which are sounded in the same way. This suggests that the 

 Tzintzuntzan instrument — at first glance derived from the 

 European trumpet — may in fact be a modern adaptation of a 

 pre-Conquest instrument. 



dome?" but for some reason this fails to meet with 

 the approval of the crowd, and cries of "No, no, no" 

 are heard. "He is just a boy, he can't do it, we don't 

 want him." I decide that Ezequiel, whom I do not 

 know, must be a pretty unjiopular fellow. Yet be- 

 fore the end of the election he is unanimously named 

 sergeant. It would be a sign of servitude, to accept 

 all propositions without disapproving at least one, 

 to show that the "public" is the group that actually 

 elects. "\^'e want Bernardo Saldivar, we want Ber- 

 nardo Saldivar," is the cry, and general approval 

 results in his election. More yosha is called for and 

 obtained, and in like fashion the remaining three 

 cargueros are named. All five now stand before the 

 judge who takes lance and tablet, kisses each, and 

 hands them to the new centurion, who does likewise. 

 The crosses are similarly treated and handed to the 

 other four newlyelected men. This is the formal seal 

 of acceptance; there is now no backing out. The 

 assistant writes all names on a sheet of paper, the 

 judge signs, and outside the drum, chirimia, and cla- 

 rin are heard. 



By election time all potential candidates are rather 

 drunk. This is a more or less essential preliminary, 

 because accepting a position as carguero means a 

 severe financial strain, and not all persons are will- 

 ing or able to do so. When drunk, a man's resistance 

 is weakened, and carried away by the spirit of the 

 occasion he will accept what, in a more sober moment, 

 he might decide to put off until next year. Jose Re- 

 yes, the new ensign, is suddenly sobered by the realiz- 

 ation of what has happened. Insistently he tries to 

 renounce; he is the retiring captain, he has acquired 

 all the honor possible, and he now finds himself sad- 

 dled with a financial yoke he is not anxious to bear. 

 Time after time he tries to put the cross back on the 

 table, but his comrades refuse to let him. "X'i'hat 

 has been done has been done, " philosophically re- 

 marks the judge, and poor Jose is in for another year 

 of hard work and self-denial. 



Now comes the atole, served in jars with a capac- 

 ity of a liter or more, with several pieces of bread 

 laid across the tops. When the seated men have had 

 enough they pass what remains back to the waiters, 

 also men, who, unless refilling is necessary, give the 

 same jars to the seated women. Next comes the po- 

 zolc, rich with pork, and far tastier than the flat 

 broadbean pozole which has been the festive fare 

 all through Lent. One eats with spoons made from 

 palm leaves, the same instrument used long before 

 Easter or Christianity was known to the Tarascans. 

 After the important persons have been satisfied, the 

 "public" is served, and the crowd files out of the 

 stifling room to dance in the cool night air. More 

 yosha is brought, and the animation and gaiety con- 

 tinue until nearly dawn, when the participants file 

 home for a fev» hours' rest before the day's work. 

 Nobody has been hurt, nobody has been seriously 

 angered, the fiesta has been a great success, and Jose 

 retires with the knowledge that he has lived up to 

 his obligations and acquired a new stature which will 

 follow him to the grave. 



