12 



INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY — PUBLICATION NO. 2 



in smaller communities in the nearby moun- 

 tains. 



In the absence of documentary evidence, it 

 may be surmised that Cheran is an old settle- 

 ment. Archeological remains occur at several 

 nearby places which may represent the ante- 

 cedent smaller aboriginal settlements spoken 

 of in tradition. About the period from the 

 founding of the original settlement until 1910 

 there are few data, documentary or traditional. 

 Although individuals were encountered who 

 claimed to remember the time of the French in- 

 tervention in Mexico, apparently events in the 

 rest of the country influenced Cheran very 

 little. Some outside settlers apparently lived 

 in the town before 1910. Frequent references 

 were made to a German family that owned a 

 considerable amount of land and had a preten- 

 tious house on the plaza, now in ruins. Physi- 

 cal evidence in the shape of ruined structures 

 suggests there once were a number of families 

 of greater wealth in the town than is now the 

 case, but apparently, with the exception noted, 

 these families were native Tarascans. 



During the revolutionary period, the town 

 was in the center of the agrarian movement in 

 Michoacan. This movement was related to the 

 Zapatista movement in Morelos, and residents 

 of other villages claim to have been Zapatistas. 

 As Michoacan is also a Catholic stronghold, 

 some villages participated in the religious 

 wars of the twenties. Cheran, however, seems 

 not to have taken an active part in any of these 

 movements. Nevertheless, it suffered from 

 them, and more particularly from the general- 

 ized banditry which operated under the cover 

 of one label or another. Twice the town was 

 attacked and burned in the period shortly be- 

 fore 1920, the last time being almost completely 

 destroyed. Apparently many hundreds were 

 killed or starved to death, while still more made 

 their way to the United States, starting a 

 migration which continued until 1929. Since 

 that time, the tide of migration has been to the 

 town. Probably a majority of families in 

 town, though, have been in the United States 

 or have relatives still living in the States. 



Some general details of the flora of Cheran 

 have already been mentioned. Nothing can be 

 added to these remarks, as the region is un- 

 studied botanically. The situation with respect 



to the fauna is equally unsatisfactory. Despite 

 the extensive forests, wild life is scarce. No 

 one in Cheran gets a living from hunting, and 

 the amount of game taken forms an incon- 

 siderable amount of the food supply. Deer and 

 peccary are sometimes hunted and occasionally 

 damage outlying fields, but they do not seem to 

 be numerous. Squirrels, rabbits, wild pigeons, 

 and quail are among the animals of most 

 economic importance. Badgers are known, but 

 are not eaten. An exception to the general 

 scarcity of wild life is the coyote. This animal 

 appears to be numerous and to be a danger to 

 livestock in the outskirts of the town. Larger 

 predatory animals, such as the jaguar and the 

 mountain lion, are unknown. Informants 

 could recall only one mountain lion being seen 

 or killed in the vicinity of the town. The re- 

 gion is, of course, too high for the absence of 

 the jaguar to be surprising, but smaller mem- 

 bers of the genus Fells are also rare. Only the 

 wildcat is reported. The rattlesnake and 

 culcbrUla occur, but are not common. As there 

 are few handicrafts practiced in Cheran, the 

 community is consequently primarily agricul- 

 tural and the only use of the forests is for 

 lumbering, charcoal making, and grazing. 



Little need be said about the people of Cheran 

 or their language. Although white admixture 

 certainly exists in the town's population, there 

 are virtually no acknowledged Mestizos. Until 

 studies of the Tarascan population are com- 

 pleted, it perhaps will suffice to say that the 

 people of Cheran seem to be typical Tarascans, 

 on the average relatively short and slender, 

 although stocky individuals are not uncommon. 

 Their complexion is relatively dark, the hair is 

 straight, and the features are attractive. Cor- 

 pulence in old age is very rare. Goiter or 

 incipient goiter is common, especially in the 

 mountain towns, although the disease is less 

 frequent in Cheran than in many other settle- 

 ments. Teeth are bad, a condition observed 

 for the area in pre-Columbian remains also. 

 Not only are caries frequent, but malocclusion 

 is common. Individuals with attractive regu- 

 lar teeth are the exception. (Pis. 1, upper and 

 lower right; 2; 3, center and lower I'ight and 

 left.) 



The language of Cheran is Tai'ascan, a tongue 

 which shows relatively few dialectic differences. 



