EMPIRES CHILDREN: THE PEOPLE OF TZINTZUNTZAN FOSTER 



215 



the month are spoken for at any one time. 

 Examination of the sacristan's calendar reveal- 

 ed 10 vacancies. For May 1 appears the legend 

 "Tomas Felipe, Liborio Aparicio and Compan- 

 ions." Then there is a vacancy until May 7 

 which is the day of Matias Ojeda, Francisco Pe- 

 rez, and companions. Often the rights to certain 

 days remain in families from generation to gen- 

 eration. Moises Ramos, for example, is charg- 

 ed with May 10, which was the day of his father. 

 When his father died, he was reluctant to let 

 the day slip away from the family. Since he 

 is one of the richest men of the town, he can 

 well afford music as well as a small fiesta in 

 his home. Other days belong to special groups. 

 Las scnoritas — the unmarried, teen-age girls — 

 have May 12. May 15 belongs to the cargueros 

 of San Isidro, while May 18 is the day of the 

 Association of the Perpetual Candle. May 21 

 is spoken for by the members of Pascual's band; 

 May 28, by the married women; and May 31, 

 by the unmarried youths of the town. As con- 

 trasted to their regular and recognized obliga- 

 tions, individuals sometimes ask the priest for 

 free dates for a single time only. 



During May many mothers take their young 

 daughters to each rosary, dressing them in white 

 garments tied at the waist with a blue sash, in 

 honor of the Virgin. 



HOLY CROSS DAY (MAY 3) 

 (El dia de la Cruz) 



The Day of the Cross is the festive day of 

 masons all over Mexico. In Tzintzuntzan, those 

 who were engaged in building the house at the 

 ydcatas asked for and, of course, received time 

 off to prepare an elaborate meal and to buy 

 and fire the inevitable rockets. For Tzintzun- 

 tzan however, it is a day of fiesta for everyone, 

 and beginning at 5 o'clock in the morning one 

 hears exploding rockets in all parts of the town. 

 Eight crosses, survivals of the ancient barrio 

 town division, still stand. These are decorated 

 with colored paper and flowers, and in some 

 cases almost resemble small altars. This is a 

 survival of an ancient custom which has under- 

 gone several transformations. Formerly, it will 

 be remembered, there were cargueros de la cruz. 

 When tradition begins, they decorated a single 

 cross on the slopes of the hill of Tariaqueri 



above the present section of El Rincon, and at 

 a later date the custom was extended to all eight 

 crosses. Aided by the inhabitants of each of the 

 barrios the cargueros were required to decorate 

 their cross and to prepare food for all those 

 who came to pray.® Each cross featured a spe- 

 cial dish so that one could select his favorite 

 food. The cargueros of the cross functioned 

 until about 1940, when they were stamped out 

 by the former priest. 



Today the crosses have their substitute encar- 

 gados, four for each, who are informally select- 

 ed by the retiring encargados from among the 

 responsible families who live in the vicinity. 

 They must furnish food and decorate tlie cross 

 with colored paper, flowers, and candles. The 

 drum and chirimia players pass by all crosses 

 early in the morning and rezanderos are invited 

 to come to pray, though they receive no pay- 

 ment. The offering of food at present occurs 

 after dark, following a period of prayer. 



DAY OF SAN ISIDRO (MAY 15) 



The day of San Isidro, patron saint of farm- 

 ers, is celebrated with Mass, attended especially 

 by the Tarascans from La Vuelta. Some bring 

 maize, beans, and squash seeds to be blessed to 

 ensure good harvests. 



CORPUS CHRISTI AND THE OCTAVA 



Corpus Christi, depending on the date of 

 Easter, falls late in May or in June. A com- 

 plementary aspect of the fiesta is the Octava, 

 which falls 8 days later. In spite of the obvious 

 religious motifs of both of these days, more 

 indigenous elements appear to remain than in 

 any of the other major fiestas. Certainly these 

 2 days are the most amusing of the entire year 

 from the standpoint of the spectator. Corpus 

 Christi is the responsibility of Tzintzuntzan, 

 while the Octava is primarily an affair of the 

 Tarascans from La Vuelta. Most of the activ- 

 ities of both take place in the churchyard, 

 though the organization is largely civil. A cou- 

 ple of weeks before Corpus the municipal presi- 

 dent asks about half a dozen men from each 

 profession, traditionally the yunteros, arrieros, 

 huacaleros, and alfareros ("ox drivers," i. e. 



» This information rather conflicts with the general scheme 

 of cargueros who normally are expected to bear the financial 

 burdens. 



