118 



INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY — PUBLICATION NO. 2 



accumulated a substantial contribution without 

 feeling the drain on their finances. In this way 

 the priest accumulated enough money to rebuild 

 the altar and the choir loft as well as make 

 other improvements. 



This procedure would have amounted to little 

 more than a clever money-making scheme had 

 not the priest projected it much more deeply 

 into Cheran life. At the same time he gave the 

 pig banks to the adults, he gave smaller banks 

 to all the children. The children he instructed, 

 not to save money for the church, as one might 

 expect, but to accumulate their centavos so that 

 when a fiesta came along they would have 

 money to buy what they wanted and have a 

 good time. The result of this procedure was 

 that today the majority of Cheran residents, 

 both adults and children, each has his bank, in 

 which he accumulates small change, and the 

 habit of saving, usually for some specific end, 

 has become quite common in the town. A 

 regular part of the pottery stocks brought to 

 Cheran at fiestas are pottery banks, now made 

 not only in the shape of pigs but in the shape of 

 many other animals, with a frequent touch of 

 the fantasy and caricature which characterize 

 Tarascan modeled pottery.-'' 



THE PRIEST AND THE CHURCH 

 ORGANIZATION 



The priest, of course, is appointed by the 

 Bishoii in Zamora. At the time the study 

 began, the resident priest had been some years 

 in Chcriln and evidently was popular and well- 

 liked. Shortly afterward he was transferred 

 to another parish, and consideral)le efi'orts were 

 made to persuade the Bishop to change his 

 mind about the appointment. A petition was 

 also circulated and taken to the Bishop. Con- 

 siderable feeling was generated by the Bishop's 

 adamant stand on the matter, and for several 

 weeks no request was made for a new priest in 

 hopes of getting a return of the former priest. 

 When the old priest returned for a visit and to 

 settle some business affairs, the entrance to the 

 residence was ornamented with flowers and pine 



^ The pig bank, as is well known, was introduced to Mexico by 

 the wife of the late Ambassador Morrow. Tho.^e interested in 

 making anthropology a predictive science might well be somewhat 

 nonplussed by the devious, even fantastic, route by which the pig 

 bank and the savings idea were transmitted to Cheran and became 

 a part of Cheran culture. 



branches, and large numbers came to visit him. 

 Despite these efforts, a new priest arrived some 

 2 weeks after the departure of the old priest. 



The household and assistants of the priest 

 vary somewhat. The mother of the old priest 

 served as his housekeeper, and there were 

 several servants. The old priest relied pri- 

 marily on the cabildo or aces for his aides in 

 church. The new priest brought a household 

 whose exact composition I did not learn. In 

 addition, he brought a sacristan and one or two 

 other assistants, who took over several of the 

 functions of the cabildo. In general, the new 

 priest adopted a much more aggressive atti- 

 tude. Not only did he immediately get into a 

 bitter quarrel with the cabildo (to be described 

 later), but he interfered with customs on every 

 hand, wore his priestly dress in public and per- 

 mitted people to kneel in public and kiss his 

 hand, and mixed in political matters. Con- 

 siderable numbers of Cheran residents resented 

 his attitude bitterly, including many of the 

 devout members of the community. 



The supi)ort of the priest is based on volun- 

 tary contributions, but in Cheran the priest is 

 aggressive. Formerly, the cabildo kept the priest 

 informed as to the amounts of harvest, and the 

 priest, often personally, at other times through 

 one of his assistants, directly asked for "alms." 

 The amount suggested is the traditional tenth; 

 in some cases people give him this arriount, but 

 many give less. The payments are mostly in 

 kind, usually wheat or corn, which is brought 

 to the priest's residence and placed by him in a 

 storehouse in charge of the kei^i. It was re- 

 ported that the priest normally sells corn and 

 wheat to needy local residents at about 1 peso 

 a bushel below the market price. The facts in 

 the case at the time of inquiry were somewhat 

 obscured by the quarrel with the cabildo. 



The functions of the priest in Cherjxn are 

 numerous. Not only does he say the obliga- 

 tory Masses, but he also celebrates special 

 Masses in connection with every fiesta and 

 via]/ordomia. All weddings are also celebrated 

 with special Masses. He also arranges for such 

 special events as visits of the Bishop for con- 

 firmation. 



The Bishop paid one visit to Cheran during 

 the time of the study. The priest appointed 

 four comisionadoF: in each barrio to gather con- 



