INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY PUBLICATION NO. 6 



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farmers, "muleteers," "crate-carriers," "pot- 

 ters") to accept temporary posts as cargueros 

 with a view to organizing their activities in the 

 fiesta. The crate carriers and potters today work 

 as a group, since the former profession has been 

 almost entirely eliminated. The basic theme of 

 both Corpus and the Octava is the representation 

 of present and past ways of life, especially the 

 latter. 



Corpus Christi 



(El Corpus) 



On the morning of Corpus there are both the 

 early Low Mass and the High Mass, after which 

 temporary altars, or pozas, are prepared, four 

 on each side of the church. About 1 o'clock in 

 the afternoon all participants assemble in Ojo 

 de Agua to make a ceremonial entrance into the 

 churchyard together. First come the pack ani- 

 mals and then follow the yoked oxen, with the 

 share of the plow hooked over the yoke, tlie 

 beam dragging behind. Some ox horns are 

 adorned with mancornadas of maize, two ears 

 tied together by the husks, while others have 

 colored crepe paper draped over their heads. 

 Nearly all have thick wheat cakes, gorditas, 

 hanging on their heads and backs. Some of the 

 gorditas are very large, and others are cut to 

 represent various animals. Last come the hua- 

 caleros, half a dozen children from 4 to 8 years 

 of age, each with a tiny crate on his back con- 

 taining a haphazard assortment of herbs, tiny 

 pieces of pottery, petates, fire fans, and other 

 miniature objects of daily life. 



Upon entering the atrium the muleteers tie 

 up their animals and set about the preparation 

 of food. It is no surprise to find that Jesus 

 Huipe, master mason, master potter, barber, 

 Christ of the Passion play, and jack-of-all-trades 

 has been elected to make the tortillas. A ban- 

 dana over his face "porque le da pena" ("be- 

 cause he is embarrassed"), he pats out the thin 

 cakes and drops them on the griddle, burning 

 his own fingers in turning them, and making a 

 product which, while edible, is considerably be- 

 low par. The crowd stands around and roars 

 with laughter at his efforts. Meanwhile, other 

 men are preparing atole, straining red maize 

 dough through a sieve and pouring it into a 

 huge copper kettle. This ceremonial food pre- 

 paration is said to be a reenactment of early 



days when lai'ge groups of muleteers made trips 

 together, and while some busied themselves with 

 the care of the animals others set about the pre- 

 paration of the evening meal. On such trips 

 metates, griddles, and all other necessary equip- 

 ment were carried. The lead mule had a bell 

 around his neck to attract the others, and, true 

 to form, one of the Corpus mules is so equipped. 



Upon entering the atrium the ox-drivers tie 

 their plows to the yokes and start to plow a nar- 

 row strip along the south side of the church- 

 yard, followed by a few women sowers and a 

 boy or two who drop beans, maize, and squash 

 seeds in the furrows. Few women sow in Tzin- 

 tzuntzan, though it is common among the Ta- 

 rascans. Hence, their appearance here is in the 

 spirit of burlesque, which pervades the entire 

 day.'" The huacaleros enter last and dance to 

 the door of the church, accompanied by a small 

 orchestra from Ichupio playing a kind of semi- 

 mariachi music, the sweetest and most agreeable 

 of any that is ever heard in Tzintzuntzan, The 

 most characteristic event of the rosary, which 

 follows, is the visit by Father Tovar to each of 

 the eight minor altars, the pozas. He walks 

 under the rich cloth palio, held aloft by four 

 men, his path cleared by members of Catholic 

 Action, holding candles. Then he leaves the 

 church proper, flanked by the sacristan, altar 

 boys, and the almas puras, the tiny girls in 

 white, with blue sashes, who throw confetti on 

 him, and advances to the chapel of San Fran- 

 cisco, which serves as still another poza. For- 

 merly tlie procession did not leave the church. 

 Its departure, and other bolder processions 

 around the atrium and even in the streets of 

 town, represent increasing laxity in enforcement 

 of the law which forbids processions outside of 

 a church. 



As the rosary nears its end those who have 

 remained outside station themselves on the porch 

 in front of the burned parish church with pots, 

 mangoes, ears of corn, the wheat-cake gorditas, 

 and petates to throw at the crowds below. But 

 first Fatlier Tovar must sit with the muleteers 

 and eat atole, bread, and tortillas, after which 

 the muleteers themselves dine. Then he passes 

 to the porch, seats himself in a convenient posi- 

 tion and, like the United States President at the 



1" In 1946 a large part of the atrium really was plowed 

 and planted. The produce went to the maintenance of the 

 priest. 



