264 



INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY PUBLICATION NO. 6 



mal godparents of a child who dies may not 

 become godparents of a subsequent sibling in the 

 family. Compadres are expected to be unusually 

 polite and considerate to one another, to invite 

 each other to all of their family fiestas, and to 

 help each other in time of need. They address 

 each other as compadre or comadre. as the case 

 may be, rather than by given names. No special 

 terminology is required between godparents and 

 godchildren, though children usually say pa- 

 drino or madrina to the individuals occupying 

 this relationship. Baptismal godparents must 

 pay for the burial of an unmarried godchild, 

 and the godfather must go with the real father 

 to ask the girl's father for permission to marry. 

 Sexual relations between compadres or godchil- 

 dren and godparents are considered especially 

 reprehensible, and one known case of an affair 

 between a man and his marriage godmother was 

 considered an unusually choice bit of gossip. 



Functional importance of the compadrazgo 

 system.- — Though religious in form the compa- 

 drazgo system has more far-reaching implica- 

 tions. In a community where formal law and 

 order are relatively poorly developed, it has 

 the effect of strengthening the position of the 

 individual. He has not only the support of his 

 blood relatives, who may or may not stand with 

 him, but also that of all his compadres, who are 

 bound to do so. Obviously, compadres of two 

 quarreling persons or families will be partic- 

 ularly interested in helping them to reach an 

 amicable settlement, since they are torn between 

 two sets of conflicting obligations. Godfathers 

 have the right, and are expected, to intervene 

 when any of their godchildren are found fight- 

 ing, telling them to stop. Only a very badly 

 brought up youth would continue to disregard 

 the word of his godfather, who only need re- 

 mind him that "I am your godfather." At the 

 same time the sword is two-edged. A youth who 

 finds his godfather fighting, if words are nec- 

 essary at all, reminds him that as godfather he 

 is setting a very poor example, and that the 

 youth is very much ashamed to see the man 

 whom he respects in a street brawl. 



On the economic level the compadrazgo sys- 

 tem forms a kind of social insurance. Few are the 

 families which can meet all emergencies with- 

 out outside help. Often this means manual help 

 at the time of a fiesta, or the responsibility of 

 a cargucro. Sometimes it means lending money, 



which near blood relatives do not like to do, 

 because of the tendency never to repay a debt. 

 But compadres feel obliged to lend, and no one 

 would have respect for a man who refused to 

 repay a compadre. 



For persons who travel, having compadres in 

 all regularly visited villages is a matter of pri- 

 mary importance. It means a place to stay on 

 trips, and obviates the necessity of carrying 

 large quantities of food, or money to buy it. 

 And always, when one goes to another town 

 for a fiesta, it is convenient to have "relatives" 

 with whom one may stay. Thus, the compadraz- 

 go system gives the individual greater support 

 and strength than he could obtain from his 

 family alone, and facilitates commerce and 

 trade over a wide area. 



An interesting speculation — and it can be no 

 more than a speculation — is to what extent the 

 compadrazgo system may be compensation for a 

 former extended family or other kinship group- 

 ing. Its great importance in all aspects of life 

 suggests that it may fulfill the function of some 

 previous complex now disappeared. Parsons 

 believes that the compadrazgo system among 

 the Zapotecs may i^eplace a former "more com- 

 prehensive category of relatives," though she 

 does not equate this "category" specifically 

 with a clan or lineage organization (Parsons, 

 1936, p. 70). I suspect that lineages may have 

 been the rule among all pre-Conquest Tarascans. 

 If this supposition is correct, it is by no means 

 improbable that the compadrazgo relationship 

 is the functional equivalent of one aspect of 

 pre-Conquest social organization. 



HOUSEHOLD COMPOSITION 



Marriage raises the problem of residence of 

 the new couple. Ideally, each family consisting 

 of a married couple and children should have 

 its own house with small yard, and a few of the 

 wealthier fathers are able to provide a separate 

 home for their sons, whicli is lent or given out- 

 right to them. In most cases, however, such 

 arrangements are impossible. Renting of houses 

 is not uncommon; 13 family heads rent homes, 

 paying from $3 to $11 monthly, except for 

 two men who pay $20 and $25 respectively 

 for larger quarters used as stores. In addition, 

 six family heads live for nothing as caretakers 

 in homes belonging to other individuals. In- 



