CHERAN : A SIERRA TARASCAN VILLAGE — BEALS 



39 



and the nailed portions of the uppers. The toe 

 is open. As the manufacture of guaraches is 

 practiced by only a few Cheran residents, most 

 of them recent arrivals, no detailed description 

 of techniques is given. 



An inseparable part of the costume is the 

 straw hat. From infancy, every male is equip- 

 ped with a hat, which he always wears out- 

 doors, no matter how inconvenient the circum- 

 stances. Awkward jobs, such as carrying 

 heavy timbers, are infinitely delayed because 

 every time a man's hat falls off, the entire 

 operation stops until the hat is replaced. More- 

 over, the first way in which a man makes an 

 extra "luxury" expenditure in clothing is to buy 

 a more expensive hat. The hat is frequently 

 embellished by a bright-colored string about the 

 front of the crown and, passing through two 

 holes at each side, then going around the back 

 of the head. Flowers also are often worn on 

 the hat. Hat manufacture is described under 

 weaving. 



From the above-described working costume, 

 many departures occur. Without achieving 

 catrin styles, a gay and well-dressed man may 

 wear a brilliant rayon blouse or shirt of blue, 

 red, or yellow, and bright-yellow high shoes 

 (the latter without socks). A brilliant rayon 

 kerchief may be added, as well as a colorful 

 serape or poncho, although in Cheran the latter 

 is usually dull in color. In such a town as 

 Capacuaro, however, Sunday or fiesta dress 

 might consist of calzones of manta supported 

 by a brilliant red sash, a vivid blue rayon shirt, 

 bright green rayon kerchief, yellow shoes, a 

 striking orange or strong pink poncho folded 

 over one shoulder, and a large whitened straw 

 hat with a big spray of pink gladiolus or a clus- 

 ter of geraniums. Worn with an air, the en- 

 semble is impressive. 



In Cheran a good many men have shirts 

 bought in market or in Uruapan ; a necktie ; a 

 pair or two of cotton trousers, perhaps made 

 by a tailor in Uruapan ; a woolen sack coat ; and 

 a felt hat. Such a costume normally would be 

 worn on Sunday or on trips by bus to Uruapan 

 or some other town. Very rare, though, are 

 individuals with a complete wool suit. Sweat- 

 ers are fairly common for lounging about home 

 or on the streets. 



The dress of male children is similar to that 



of adults as soon as they have learned to walk 

 and have established habits of toilet control. 

 However, it is said that small boys formerly 

 wore only a shirt; calzones for the young be- 

 came common with the advent of the highway. 

 Young boys, including even infants in arms, 

 have hats, but until the age of 10 or 12 these 

 are cheap woven straw hats costing 15 to 25 

 centavos rather than the more expensive sewn 

 braid hats worn by men. The acquisition of 

 an adult hat and a poncho is the principal 

 recognition of adulthood. 



Today both men and boys wear the hair 

 short, cut either at home or by a barber. Only 

 one boy in Cheran was observed with long hair ; 

 his mother was not a native. Still remem- 

 bered, however, is the belief that to use scissors 

 or a knife to cut hair will retard small children 

 in learning to speak. Consequently, long hair 

 was formerly common among small children. 

 Although no memory persists in Cheran of long 

 hair worn by men, in other villages it is 

 asserted long hair was worn until a generation 

 ago. Elderly Capacuaro informants insisted 

 they had seen long hair worn by men in San 

 Lorenzo, while an old man in Chilchota, now 

 a Mestizo town, claimed his grandfather wore 

 long hair as did many others of similar age. 



Women's dress. — Probably the majority of 

 women in Cheran wear cotton print dresses for 

 everyday wear. However, only a few wear 

 the styles found among Mestizo women, that is, 

 a fairly short one-piece, rather simply cut dress 

 of garish cotton print cloth which might be 

 duplicated among cheap cotton house dresses in 

 the United States. Much more common is a 

 garment of archaic cut and usually with small- 

 er, less colorful figures in the material. This 

 garment is usually longer and has a definite 

 skirt, pleated at the waistband, and a blouse, 

 although usually the two are combined into a 

 single garment. Flounces or ruffles are not 

 infrequent on the skirt and the back of the 

 waist. This garment, in some of its forms, is 

 not essentially different from that worn by 

 Mixe women, as well as women of other Indian 

 groups, and probably dates back to at least the 

 seventeenth century. 



Virtually every woman in town also has a 

 traditional Tarascan dress. This is usually 

 worn for any formal occasion, even though only 



