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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY PUBLICATION NO. 6 



pozole is being served in heaping plates to all 

 who come. At 10 o'clock the deconeada Mass, 

 with three visiting priests, is held, and the little 

 chapel, gaily festooned with paper streamers, is 

 filled to overflowing, with several hundred peo- 

 ple standing outside, hoping to catch a glimpse. 

 A number of Tarascans arrive in canoes from 

 other lake villages, the band and chirimias play, 

 and trade at the little stands is brisk. 



More than ever one realizes the social role 

 which fiestas play in the lives of the people. For 

 some it is an opportunity for a little commerce, 

 though even for these perhaps the commerce is 

 the excuse and not the end. For more there is 

 the attraction of spiritual welfare, and for all, 

 there is occasion to break away from daily rou- 

 tine for a few hours, to enjoy the feeling of a 

 full stomach and no pressing work, to bask in 

 the warm sunlight, to have a drink or two, and 

 just to relax with one's family and friends. The 

 recreational attractions of the big cities have lit- 

 tle to offer of greater interest to people of the 

 small towns than these products of their own 

 effort and initiative. 



SUMMARY 



The Church is an absolutely essential complex 

 in the lives of the Tzintzuntzenos. Without it 

 there would be no spiritual hope and, probably 

 even more important, few means of recreation. 

 As the sociospiritual focal point of the culture, 

 it is comparable to the Protestant churches of 

 pioneer, midwest, rural communities of the 19th 

 century in the United States. The Church is a 

 very expensive complex. Contributions are ex- 

 pected at regular intervals throughout the year. 

 Collection is taken at each Mass; an alms box 

 is prominent when one enters the church at any 

 time; membership in the various religious or- 

 ders requires periodic contributions; special as- 

 sessments are made at the time of fiestas; Masses 

 for the dead must be paid; tithes in the form 

 of agricultural produce are expected; candles 

 and wax must be purchased; special clothing for 

 some events is donated ; the several Church coun- 

 cils have their treasuries to which one must 

 make contributions, and work must be donated 

 for the repair and maintenance of Church prop- 

 erties. Cargueros have heavy expenses mount- 

 ing to several hundred pesos a year. Religious 

 ^penses fall into three categories: money and 



produce which go directly to the priest; con- 

 tributions to the several Church councils, for 

 care and maintenance; and expenses for fiestas, 

 corgueroships, and the like. Estimating Church 

 income is very difficult, and the results are open 

 to question. A former sacristan of the early 

 1930's estimated the direct income to the priest 

 as follows: 



Sunday Mass S5-8 



Daily Mass $2-3 



Fiesta del Rescate $2,000 



Maundy Thursday $300 



Ascension Thursday. . .$300 

 Thursday of Corpus.. $300 



Other fiestas lesser amounts. 



200-300 faneg.as of maize (20,000-30.000 



liters). 

 25 cargas of wheat (5,500 liters). 

 30 fanegas of beans (3,000 liters). 

 Eggs, chickens, fruit, vegetables. 



Maize, wheat, and beans are sold by the 

 priest, while the eggs, chickens, fruit, and vege- 

 tables are for his own table. The former sacris- 

 tan estimates the total amount of Church income, 

 including produce, at $20,000. Since that time 

 Mexico has experienced inflation of between 300 

 and 400 percent. Probably contributions have 

 not increased in proportion; it seems reasonable 

 to assume, however, that by 1945 Church income 

 was between $30,000 and $40,000, and possibly 

 considerably more." Contributions to the three 

 Church councils are small, perhaps not more 

 than $1,000 for all. On the other hand, con- 

 tributions to costs of fiestas, money spent at 

 fiestas, and above all, expenses of cargueros, are 

 very considerable, though any estimate would 

 involve so much guesswork as to be worth almost 

 nothing. 



It is interesting to compare these figures with 

 those for municipal government. In 1944 the 

 total income of the municipio, of which the 

 town itself accounts for only about one-fifth of 

 the population, was $2,675.70. Rural lands be- 

 longing only to Tzintzuntzan are assessed for 

 $556.48 in taxes, although somewhat less than 

 this sum is collected. Urban property brings 

 perhaps as much, in addition to which there 

 are taxes on stores and bars. It is probable that 

 the total amount spent on civic improvements 

 and government, apart from the school, is from 



'3 It must l)e remembered that perhaps a half or more 

 of this total is contributed by the inhabitants of the neigh- 

 boring ranchos, which do not have churches of their own. 



