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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY PUBLICATION NO. 6 



RASTER Saturday 

 (Sdbado de gloria) 



The church is well filled long before High 

 Mass. A table covered with a white cloth has 

 been placed in front of the main altar, and the 

 Santo Entierro continues to occupy its glass case 

 in the center of the church. Father Tovar takes 

 his place in a chair, faces the table and chants 

 alternately with the choir of two men and three 

 boys. This represents the blessing of the holy 

 water, although actually the water remains in 

 the font, concealed in the sacristy. This com- 

 pleted, the table is cleared away and the priest 

 goes to the main altar. This is the signal to ring 

 La Gloria, and the church bells again peal forth 

 after 2 days of silence. The purple curtains fall 

 away from the high altar, revealing a master- 

 piece of floral decoration and lighted candles, 

 while a boy climbs to the niche at the very top 

 and lights the candles of La Virgen de la So- 

 ledad. At the same time the purple cloth cover- 

 ing the picture of Nuestro Senor del Rescate 

 falls away, and a narrow white strip of cloth 

 with paper angels pinned to it is cut down from 

 the Monument to the Holy Sacrament. 



Out of the corner of my eye I see Carmen 

 pick up her year-old daughter Lupe, the palms 

 of her hands over the little girl's ears. Three 

 times she is raised from the ground in the hope 

 that her growth will be stimulated, and each 

 time the astonished Lupe protests loudly and 

 vigorously. Looking farther behind me, I see 

 still other mothers doing the same with their 

 children.^ It is a moment of great rejoicing, the 

 culmination of the week's activities, and the 

 symbol of the rebirth of life. The small glass 

 case with the twin children, Jesus and John, is 

 brought in from the sacristy and placed on the 

 Monument. Otherwise, La Soledad has few 

 images to unveil to take out of mourning. Father 

 Tovar cuts short the Mass by eliminating the 



^ Anyone who, by chance, is not at Mass, may strike 

 fruit trees either with the palms of his hands or with 

 switches so that the trees will grow large and give much 

 fruit. 



^ Because of space limitations, two earlier accounts of 

 Holy Week which I had hoped to include have been eliminat- 

 ed. The first, by Nicolas Leon, describes events as he saw 

 them during the latter part of the 19th century (Leon, 1906, 

 pp. 454-459). The second is an account of the Judea as wit- 

 nessed by Frances Toor in 1925 (Toor, 1925, pp. 21-25). 

 During this 50-year period very few changes appear to have 

 taken place. 



sermon, passes the Host for those who wish to 

 take Communion, says the final prayers, and 

 allows the crowds to file out. Holy Week is 

 officially over and one can do pretty much as one 

 pleases, even to a little work. However, few 

 will begin before Monday. 



During all of Holy Week no opportunity is 

 lost to get contributions for the Church. The 

 alms box is brought out of its corner and be- 

 comes a semipermanent fixture in the center of 

 the church. One penitent breaks the general rule 

 and makes his rounds during daylight, and one 

 of his cirineos carries a plate, taking contribu- 

 tions from all passers-by. During the representa- 

 tion of the Passion, several men pass through 

 the audience with plates asking for contributions 

 for the Three Falls. Before Christ is placed on 

 the cross a money plate lies beside the image, 

 and many people approach, kneel, kiss the feet, 

 and leave $0.50. After the descent from the 

 cross the spikes and the crown are placed on 

 plates and passed through the audience, and the 

 plaque "Inri" itself serves as another collection 

 plate. Hence, although the contribution at any 

 one lime is not great there is ample opportunity 

 to contribute a good deal of money during the 

 course of the week.* 



ASCENSION THURSDAY 



This Thursday, Maundy Thursday, and the 

 Thursday of Corpus Christi are known as the 

 Three Thursdays. In former times there was a 

 representation of the ascension of Christ to the 

 heavens: a cloth was painted and hung to re- 

 semble clouds and at the appointed hour the 

 Santo Entierro was hoisted to the ceiling of the 

 church. At the present time, the blessing of the 

 ciborium, the small box in which the Holy Sac- 

 rament is kept, is the special act of the Mass. 



THE MONTH OF MAY 

 (El mes de Maria) 



The month of May, known as the month of 

 Mary and also as the month of flowers, is of 

 considerable ceremonial significance. As a sign 

 of special devotion, individuals or groups of 

 individuals ask to be encendedores, which means 

 assuming the responsibility for paying for Mass 

 and decorating the church with candles and 

 flowers on a given day. Not all of the days of 



