CHERAN : A SIERRA TARASCAN VILLAGE — BEALS 



117 



dance groups dominated by the cabildo or the 

 a(5es. Although a Mass in church is involved, 

 the ceremonies are conducted primarily by lay- 

 men. The aces are related to the church organi- 

 zation proper on the one hand, and control the 

 carguero system on the other. 



The fourth and final type of ceremonial con- 

 sists of maijordomia and dance groupings which 

 are not under the control of the aces. In some 

 cases connection with the church is maintained 

 to the extent of paying for a Mass, but neither 

 the priest nor the aces have any real control. 



THE CHURCH 



The physical aspect of the Church is repre- 

 sented by the church building, the priest's resi- 

 dence, and a chapel called the calvary. Form- 

 erly the physical structures were more 

 extensive, including a second chapel at one side 

 of the church, an extension of the priest's 

 residence, and the hospital, now in ruins. As 

 all the church property today belongs to the 

 State, under the administration of the muni- 

 cipio, parts of these buildings and associated 

 grounds have been taken over for other uses. 

 Part of what was formerly the priest's resi- 

 dence now is used for the Federal rural school. 

 The second chapel is used only in emergencies. 

 It was employed as the church at a time when 

 a new roof was being put on the church. At 

 the time of this study it was rented to the 

 tilemakers. The church building is reverenced 

 to some extent : men lift their hats as they pass 

 in front of it on the street. 



Maintenance of the structures still used by 

 the church organization and the priest depends 

 upon voluntary contributions by the faithful. 

 The municipal organization spends no funds on 

 repair or maintenance of the church structures, 

 although it may spend money on the parts used 

 for the school. Some of the extensive patios 

 formerly associated with the church are used 

 for recreational areas; others are still used by 

 the priest and are cultivated by him. Two 

 wooden structures occupy part of the grounds, 

 one used as a storehouse for certain ceremonial 

 equipment and one used by the kej^i, an official 

 of the cabildo or aces, as a residence. 



The church building has obviously undergone 

 a number of major alterations in its history. 

 Originally the church did not front on the 



plaza but upon an atrium facing the opposite 

 direction. The change of entrance probably 

 was made more than 50 years ago. At about 

 that time the walls of the church were raised 

 considerably and a row of windows placed near 

 the top of the walls. During the revolution 

 the roof was destroyed when the town was 

 burned and was replaced sometime during the 

 1920's. 



The cost of these changes and repairs, as 

 indicated, is borne by voluntary contributions. 

 The labor is paid for and there is no voluntary 

 labor for the upkeep of church structures and 

 property, although there is considerable volun- 

 tary work in connection with the ceremonials 

 and the care of the altars and images. In the 

 case of small improvements, the priest asks for 

 donations of some 10 centavos, usually making 

 an announcement from the pulpit. For larger 

 and more extensive repairs or improvements, 

 comisionados are named by the priest who go 

 from house to house soliciting larger contri- 

 butions. 



A new idea was introduced, however, by the 

 priest who left Cheran in 1940, an idea which 

 has had interesting economic repercussions. 

 With the completion of the reroofing of the 

 church, many other necessary improvements 

 still remained. With some funds at his dis- 

 posal, the priest succeeded in rebuilding the 

 pulpit. The priest then announced an inau- 

 gural ceremony and issued invitations to become 

 godparents of the pulpit. The invitations were 

 written or printed and stated that the persons 

 were being invited as honorable persons who 

 led good lives. Acceptance involved a payment 

 of not less than 1 peso nor more than 2 pesos. 

 Practically all those invited accepted the invita- 

 tion. The priest had prepared a large quantity 

 of pottery banks in the shape of pigs, made of 

 the attractive Black ware of Quiroga and Santa 

 Fe. At the inauguration, the priest announced 

 that additional improvements were being plan- 

 ned and that each person should take one of 

 the banks and put a 20-centavo piece in it every 

 15 or 30 days. Moreover, the person who first 

 "fattened" his pig, that is, filled it with 20- 

 centavo pieces, would be put in a position of 

 especial sanctity. With this incentive, many 

 people filled their banks rapidly in order to be 

 the first and even those who did it more slowly 



