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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY PUBLICATION NO. 6 



the dead. Other families have arrived, and on a num- 

 ber of graves other arcos have already been placed, 

 surrounded by candles, and covered with yellow mar- 

 igold petals. Visitors go from grave to grave, praying 

 a moment in front of each, and receiving a chayote, a 

 bit of squash, or a piece of fruit. 



In the afternoon Dofia Epitacia and the other 

 watchers go with the arco to the church, where the 

 priest blesses the offerings. She is upset because 

 Father Tovar merely blesses the food and does not 

 take it. In Santa Fe, she says, the priest takes all 

 the food and sells it to the townspeople, the money 

 to be used for the upkeep of the church. Somehow, 

 she feels, the blessing has not been thorough, but 

 there is nothing that can be done. As the last act of 

 the day she carries the utco to her house, where it is 

 placed on the altar, with the angelito, to remain dur- 

 ing the entire year. 



Meanwhile, in his own home, Cirilo counts the 

 cost of his token of filial esteem: 



Musicians $ 40.00 



Supper for musicians 22.00 



Colored tissue paper (papel de 



china) 2.00 



Candy angels 3.00 



The large wax angel 21.00 



One fatiega of maize 20.00 



One small pig 25.00 



Brandy 36.00 



Rockets and powder 10.00 



Candles 12.00 



Rezandero 1.50 



A Mass for Antonia _12:^ 



Total .$202.50 



All during the night of November 1-2 the 

 church bells are tolled by young boys who build 

 a fire to warm themselves, and people on their 

 way to the cemetery bring them raw foodstuffs 

 which they cook over the open fire. About 4 

 o'clock in the morning family groups begin to 

 wend their way to the cemetery, carrying ar- 

 cos and other offerings of food, to take up 

 their vigil by the graves of departed relatives. 

 Again yellow marigold flowers are scattered over 

 all graves, and candles are lighted. Toward 

 dawn perhaps 40 tombs are thus arranged, and 

 the twinkling of several hundred candles in the 

 dark suggests will-of-the-wisps run riot. The 

 night is cold, and tire mourners crouch, wrap- 

 ped in scrapes, occasionally saying a few words, 

 but for the most part guarding silence. After 

 daylight other persons come, to talk with friends 

 keeping vigil, to eat a little, and to see what is 

 happening. By 11 o'clock most people have 

 gone home and the graveyard is again deserted. 

 The explanation that the vigil is at night rather 



than during the day — so that the heat of the sun 

 will not melt the candles — appears to be ration- 

 alization of ancient custom rather than based on 

 fact. Three Masses are held on November 2, 

 with which the observances terminate. 



Two classes of food offerings are recognized, 

 new and old. The former are intended for per- 

 sons who have died during the preceding year, 

 while the latter are for those who have died in 

 earlier years. New offerings are primarily dis- 

 tinguished by being more abundant and of bet- 

 ter quality than the old. Perhaps inost families 

 keep vigil the first year after a death. A reduced 

 number continue for 3 or 4 years, but rare are 

 those who continue throughout their lives. In 

 many parts of Mexico as, for example, in Mitla 

 (Parsons, 1936, p. 281), it is believed that the 

 food is for the spirits of the dead, who actually 

 come to earth to eat. In Tzintzuntzan, as well 

 as the purely Tarascan villages of Lake Patz- 

 cuaro, this belief is largely nonexistent. A few 

 of the naturalitos, the Indians, suggest that it 

 mar be the case, but more general is the feeling 

 that the spirits of the dead are present, watch- 

 ing, appreciating the thoughtfulness of their 

 survivors in remembering them, but not eating. 

 One never hears, as in the case of Mitla, of souls 

 making themselves visible to survivors. Neither 

 is there the belief that glass, crockery, clothing, 

 and other household items should be new. 



The night vigil of All Souls' Day is also found 

 in Ihuatzio, and particularly in Janitzio, where 

 it has become one of the most famous specta- 

 cles of Mexican indigenous life. Here a mock 

 tomb is arranged in the center of the church, 

 a bier covered with a brown cloth and adorned 

 with fruit of many kinds, chayotes, squashes, 

 and bread of the dead. Four huge cirios, enor- 

 mous candles, one at each corner, give the only 

 light; the altar is completely dark and undec- 

 orated. People wander in from time to time, 

 a few to pray a little, most just to cross them- 

 selves. A youth stands watch, lolling in the 

 corner, and a drunk snores loudly on the floor. 

 The cemetery, which occupies a cut on the side 

 of the island, is dark until 1 o'clock in the 

 morning. A few tourists arrive to watch, and 

 presently the first Janitzefias appear. Women 

 carry baskets and trays of foods, and small girls 

 trail them, clutching candles and marigolds. All 

 squat beside the graves, lay out the food, ar- 



