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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY PUBLICATION NO. 6 



dian. Still, the native curandero is almost a 

 thing of the past, and increasingly the know- 

 ledge of modern medical science will be adopted 

 by the Tzintzuntzenos. 



Although folklore has not been considered in 

 this monograph, it is worth while calling atten- 

 tion to the fact that, to a greater extent than in 

 almost any other part of Mexico, pre-Conquest 

 stories have been replaced by Spanish. Certainly 

 the folklorist seeking ancient legends would do 

 much better in the Federal District than in any 

 part of Michoacan. Origin stories, explanatory 

 tales, and accounts of witchcraft (Indian as 

 contrasted to European) are almost entirely 

 lacking. One tells stories, yes, but they are 

 stories about the Twelve Dancing Princesses, 

 about Tar Baby, about kings with three sons, or 

 orphans with wicked stepfathers. Likewise, no 

 aboriginal music survives. In the sierra songs 

 are composed and sung in Tarascan, to the ac- 

 companiment of stringed guitars. Perhaps the 

 musicologist might find ancient non-European 

 strains in more than the words, but that remains 

 to be proved. 



An itemization of probable origins of traits 

 is apt to convey a false sense of reality. Almost 

 invariably the ethnographer finds his attention 

 more drawn to the ancient, to the exotic, to the 

 indigenous, and unconsciously these elements 

 may tend to sway his judgment about the total 

 configuration. Broad categories of human cul- 

 ture can be examined with better success: the 

 basic economic patterns, tools and the way 

 they are used, social institutions and relation- 

 ships, religious beliefs and activities. With this 

 approach, it becomes very clear that the modern 

 culture of Tzintzuntzan can be considered Indian 

 only in the loosest sense of the work. In fact, 

 one of the most striking aspects of the entire 

 ancient Tarascan area is the extent to which the 

 old way of life has been so completely swept 

 away. In Tepoztlan, in Mitla, in Chan Kom and 

 in a thousand other Indian villages, one can 

 balance each European trait with an Indian one. 

 Significant parts of the old life remain in each 

 of the major categories of human experience, 

 and one can point to the processes whereby 

 earlier elements have been replaced by others 

 of a geographically more distant origin. These 

 cultures represent, in every sense of the word, 

 a blending, the results of an assimilative process 



that has successfully combined two very different 

 strains. 



But the Tarascan area is long since past 

 this stage. Of all the major Indian groups of 

 Mexico, these people are the least Indian. The 

 Aztecs, the Zapotecs, the Mixtecs, the Totonacs 

 — all have guarded a significant part of their 

 cultural heritage, to an extent undreamed of by 

 the Tarascans. And much less do the inhabitants 

 of Tzintzuntzan reflect the indigenous. The town 

 apparently represents a stage in the development- 

 al process through which villages which have re- 

 tained Tarascan speech will not pass until a 

 later date. And as compared to Tarascan towns, 

 particularly "closed" ones (i. e., those less 

 receptive to outside influences), there is a very 

 significant psychological difference to be found 

 in Tzintzuntzan. The Tarascans think of them- 

 selves as members of an ethnic and linguistic 

 group, to which first loyalties are due, and 

 which though a part of the Mexican nation, is set 

 off from the surrounding Mestizo populations. 

 The Tzintzuntzeiios, however, though conscious 

 of their Tarascan background, think of them- 

 selves as Mestizos, and are proud of the word. 

 As Mestizos, they can look tc and be proud of, 

 not only the race of the great calzonci, the Ta- 

 rascan emperors, but also to the race of Don 

 Vasco de Quiroga. 



The fact that the people of Tzintzuntzan are 

 rural Mexican rather than Tarascan in their 

 outlook and viewpoint implies that hypotheses 

 and conclusions applicable to this village should 

 also be applicable to many other similar com- 

 munties. I believe this is true. More and more 

 I am impressed by the fact that rural Mexicans 

 of the highland area — and to a lesser though 

 significant extent, those of a much larger part 

 of the country — share a common basic culture. 

 The regional peculiarities and differences are 

 less striking than the similarities and identities. 

 The ethnologist thoroughly acquainted with 

 Tzintzuntzan could describe, without ever vis- 

 iting them, 75 percent of the culture of Mitla 

 or Tepoztlan — not only the traits or elements, 

 but their function as well. Or, to put it another 

 way, a typical Tzintzuntzeno could be placed in 

 any one of a thousand other rural Mexican vil- 

 lages, and quietly and unobtrusively he would 

 take his place. The psychology which serves 

 him in Tzintzuntzan would serve equally well 



