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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY PUBLICATION NO. 6 



for the adoration of all who wished to come. 

 After dark it was carried to a home in Ojo de 

 Agua to be placed on a small altar, and after 

 the rosary pozole was served. On Christmas Eve 

 tlie cargueros again went to Ojo de Agua wliere, 

 after the rosary, they ate ponteduro (toasted 

 maize mixed with brown-sugar sirup) and then 

 returned with the image to La So'edad. The 

 procession was timed to arrive at La Soledad 

 just at midnight, the presumed hour of birth of 

 the Christ Child. After placing the image on the 

 altar the misa de gallo or Mass of the Cock fol- 

 lowed, and then atole and buniielos were served 

 in the small atrium between the two chapels. 



A particularly onerous obligation of the car- 

 gueros was connected with the carnival. Shortly 

 before midnight on Thursday following the Res- 

 cate fiesta they went to the municipal judge's 

 home where their contributions were counted 

 and certified. During the preceding days each 

 carguero had brought or purchased quantities 

 of fruits from the tierra caliente, and on Friday 

 a procession was formed to visit each home to 

 collect this produce and carry it to the church. 

 The attorney, who was required to furnish two 

 arrobas of wax, again played the part of a bull, 

 baited by the others. Each carguero arranged 

 a section of the church, making a fence of sugar- 

 cane and placing the fruit behind it. On Satur- 

 day High Mass in honor of the Santo Entierro 

 was paid for by the cargueros, and on the next 

 day breakfast was served to the judge and car- 

 gueros of Guadalupe, during which the band 

 played, especially a number called El Toro 

 ("The Bull"). The significance of the symbol- 

 ism of the bull in these activities in unclear. 

 On Ash Wednesday the cargueros gave away the 

 fruit and sugarcane which first were blessed by 

 the priest. 



Activities during Easter week were particu- 

 larly important. On Maundy Thursday the car- 

 gueros removed the Santo Entierro from its 

 usual resting place in the glass "urn" and placed 

 it on a table covered with a white cloth. Friday 

 afternoon they cooperated with the ex-cargueros 

 in placing the image on the cross and Saturday 

 morning they removed it, after which all went 

 to the pinole fiesta. 



This pinole fiesta apparently was very pictur- 

 esc{ue. Great quantities of red maize, brown 

 sugar, cinnamon, anise, cocoa beans, and achiote 



{Bixa orcllana) were assembled in the houses of 

 each of the cargueros, a row of metates was set 

 up around the patio, and girls were asked to 

 come to grind maize. The first metate of the 

 line was occupied by a widov/, known as the 

 chapdquata (T.), who supervised the girls, who 

 were known as pinoleras. She ceremonially pass- 

 ed all maize over her metate, broke it slightly, 

 and passed if on to the girls. The last girl of the 

 line, the extrema, in addition to mixing the in- 

 gredients as they came to her, served soft drinks 

 to the other girls. In one corner of the patio a 

 band played "so that the grinders would not 

 tire." After grinding most of the nixtamal the 

 girls joined the men and the band for a parade 

 around town, leaving only a few married women 

 to grind the huerfano ("orphan"), so-called be- 

 cause it was said that, since the girls, the music, 

 and the rockets had left, the pinole was now an 

 orphan. The pinole was eaten on Sabado de 

 Gloria, the clay after Good Friday. Until recent 

 years the deputy had the additional obligation 

 of providing food for the representation of the 

 Last Supper, which at that time represented a 

 real banquet and not just the symbolic wafers 

 of today. 



On Sunday after Easter new cargueros v/ere 

 elected informally by the retiring ones. 



Cargueros de La Capilla de Guadalupe 



The cargueros of the Chapel of Guadalupe in 

 Ojo de Agua, like those of La Soledad, have 

 undergone recent changes in functions and num- 

 bers. Today there are 12, 3 of wliom, includ- 

 ing the mayordomo, are from Ojo de Agua, and 

 the remainder from Tzintzuntzan. Their function 

 is described in connection with the fiesta of De- 

 cember 12. Formerly there were but three car- 

 gueros, the carguero of San Bartolo, the cargue- 

 ro of La Magdalena, and the carguero of San 

 Pablo, names which correspond to three of the 

 ancient barrios. Individuals asked for the re- 

 sponsibility when they had to fulfill a manda, or 

 vow. Each Saturday they swept the chapel and 

 on Sundays they arranged flowers within and 

 said the rosary. Each kept the door key during 

 1 month and delivered it on the 12th day to the 

 succeeding guardian. New cargueros took of- 

 fice on December 12, following the fiesta. This 

 system of three cargueros was abandoned in the 

 early 1940's in favor of the present organization 



