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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY PUBLICATION NO. 6 



It is believed that drinking little water during 

 the period reduces the flow. 



First menses normally appear during the four- 

 teenth or fifteenth year. Occasionally there are 

 abnormal cases, as that of one woman who be- 

 gan liaving severe stomach cramps at the age 

 of 14, but no flow. Her mother explained that 

 she would shortly menstruate, and that it was a 

 normal experience. Not until she was 20 was 

 she finally taken to Patzcuaro where a doctor 

 pronounced her anemic and prescribed medicine 

 which quickly normalized her periods. Normal 

 periods last 3 to 4 days, during which time 

 heavy underpants are worn which are washed 

 each day. This relatively short period, coupled 

 with the fact that even without sanitary pads 

 of any kind mothers can conceal their condition 

 from their daughters, suggests that the menstrual 

 period among Tzintzuntzan women may be less 

 severe than among women of our own society. 

 Apparently not uncommonly after the birth of 

 a child menstruation is delayed from 1 to 2 

 years. Though no regular count of days or 

 weeks is made between the onset of periods, 

 women may note the position of the moon so 

 as to know approximately when the next period 

 can be expected. 



The objections of parents to marriage of 

 daughters in many cases causes severe strains 

 within the household. Natividad, the oldest 

 daughter in her family, grew up expecting never 

 to marry. After puberty she was seldom permit- 

 ted out of the house, not even to go to Mass. 

 For fear of her father's anger she was very 

 submissive and led a secluded and unhappy life. 

 When friends gave a pozole or other fiesta he 

 permitted her to help only on the condition that 

 she keep her eyes to the ground, not look around 

 when grinding corn on the metate, and above 

 all not go out to fetch water, the classic time 

 for making contacts with boys. When there was 

 dancing she shrank miserably into the corner 

 hoping not to be seen. When she was 18 years 

 old Vicente asked her parents' permission, and 

 was refused. Later he was refused another girl 

 in a different family, and then left to work in 

 another town for 6 years. During all this time 

 Nati was not permitted to go out of the house, 

 and if she talked with other girls, her parents 

 would ask, "What were you talking about just 

 then?" She decided that going into the service 



of a priest was the only way out. Subsequently 

 Vicente returned and began secretly hanging 

 around her house, throwing pebbles over the 

 wall to attract her attention. Still, for fear of 

 her father, she refused to speak to him. Finally 

 he threatened to kill her if she would not elope 

 with him, so terrifying her that she was afraid 

 to go into the patio at night to draw water for 

 fear she would be shot. Finally, in desperation, 

 she agreed to go with him, but stalled him off 

 with the plea that she was needed a short time 

 to help with a new baby, and this, that, and the 

 other thing. Finally she could stall no longer, 

 and, torn between fear of Vicente and her fa- 

 ther, she eloped, still convinced that her father 

 would kill her on sight. 



However, at the Church wedding her mother 

 received her kindly, and her father accepted 

 the fait accompli, though with a few grumblings. 

 Curiously, in spite of the fact that she is one of 

 the most happily married women in Tzintzun- 

 tzan, Nati unconsciously has absorbed so much 

 of this philosophy that she hopes her daughters 

 will set their minds against marriage. 



This case history, though extreme, illustrates 

 a common pattern for adolescent girls. Sexual 

 matters are never discussed by the mother — 

 "the mothers would be ashamed to tell their 

 daughters" — so that most girls enter marriage 

 with very little understanding of its biological 

 aspects. 



For boys there is no sharp transition between 

 childhood and maturity. More subtle changes 

 mark the relationships between the adolescent 

 boy and members of his family. There is a 

 marked tendency to avoid confidences with the 

 parents; a youth would never think of telling 

 his father that he had a sweetheart, unless he 

 were ready to marry her and were sure his 

 father would approve and help him. Younger 

 sisters become anathema to boys, particularly 

 if they are forced to take them some place 

 through the streets, to be jeered at by their age 

 mates. Likewise, one's friends are limited to 

 almost exact age categories. Older brothers are 

 avoided. Sexual talk and off-color stories em- 

 barrass one in the presence of older siblings, 

 and first attempts at smoking and drinking must 

 be concealed from them. At a small reunion 

 of masons two unmarried brothers came. The 

 father, hearing that drinking was to take place, 



