CHERAN: A SIERRA TAKASCAN VILLAGE — BEALS 



119 



tributions. For some time before this visit, 

 rockets were fired off at noon and at 3 p. m. and 

 the church bells were rung about 3:45 p. m. 

 This was to call people to confess in anticipation 

 of the Bishop's visit. 



Another activity, about which little is known, 

 IS in connection with the various societies. As 

 indicated previously, there seems to be a degree 

 of secrecy about the functions of these groups ; 

 undoubtedly they are primarily religious. For 

 example, on January 3, the day of the Sacred 

 Heart, members of the Society of the Sacred 

 Heart spent the day in church. They wore red 

 bands about their necks with ornaments of red 

 ribbons and spent much of their time kneeling 

 and in group prayers led by a maestro or lay 

 reader. There is also reason to believe that the 

 new priest, at least, used these groups for 

 political purposes. Scarcely a day passed with- 

 out one group or the other being summoned to 

 a meeting at church by means of special signals 

 on the church bells. 



The majority of the people in town belong 

 to one society or another. Rarely or never do 

 they belong to two. The societies of Saint 

 Joseph and of Mary are for boys and girls, 

 respectively ; when they marry they are dropped 

 from membership. Adults belong to the other 

 societies. Membership is by invitation only. 

 Each society has a board of directors (mesa 

 directiva) which issues the invitations. All 

 meetings are held in the church or in the priest's 

 quarters. 



There can be little doubt that Cheran is a 

 strongly Catholic community. During the 

 height of the conflict between the Church and 

 the Government, when priests were forbidden 

 to officiate and the churches were closed,^^ 

 Cheran residents underwent considerable risk 

 to bring a priest to the town periodically. 

 Many of the services were held in a private 

 house belonging to a certain Cheran resident who 

 was later in bitter conflict with the new priest 

 who arrived in 1940. The minority in the town 

 who were opposed to Church domination in 

 political affairs did not dare to speak openly. 

 Quotation of a statement given me by one of 



^ It will be recalled that this restriction was imposed when the 

 Church refused to permit priests to obey the new laws requiring 

 them to register. The real point of the conflict, of course, was in 

 those aspects of the laws which prohibited Church schools and 

 stripped the Church of all economic rights. 



these men illustrates the situation clearly, par- 

 ticularly as it came to a head in 1940. That 

 the informant had no violent anti-Church senti- 

 ments is indicated by the fact that ho previously 

 depreciated the rumors that a school was to be 

 established, pointing out that it would merely 

 be a sort of religious seminary primarily for 

 the girls, who were not being sent to school in 

 Cheran anyway. His statement was as follows : 



The priest (referring to the new priest in 1940) is 

 entering into political matters and spealis from the 

 pulpit about them. In the meetings which he calls, he 

 speaks much more directly. In one which I attended, 

 he said he was sent to put himself in front of the 

 people to guide them on the road they should follow. 

 No one, he said, could molest him nor interfere with 

 him. Even though there were some misguided persons 

 in the town who spoke against him, he would not per- 

 mit them to prevent his arriving at his ends, and if it 

 proved necessary, he himself knew how to manage pistol 

 and rifle and knew how to fight in the forefront of his 

 people for their rights. 



This speech was received with great enthusiasm and 

 applause and I had to remain silent. That is" one of 

 the unfortunate things here that no one can say any- 

 thing against the priest or practically the whole town 

 turns against him. As the people have always the 

 idea that the priest is a sacred person and that a town 

 without a priest is not a town with a complete life, the 

 priest has only to say that a cei-tain person is against 

 him and the whole town will attack the person. 



I believe that this priest is very disruptive {miiy 

 divisionista) for the town. He wears his clerical garb 

 in the town very proudly, receiving homage in the 

 streets, a thing that the priests have not done before. 

 The priest who left here was somewhat that way when 

 he arrived, but when, as a friend, I indicated to him 

 that he had spoken of political matters from the pulpit, 

 he said it was a slip which he would not repeat. With 

 the old priest one could speak reasonably about any- 

 thing and discuss the affairs of the town and the 

 attitude he should take, but with this one it is impossi- 

 ble to say anything. He will not permit the slightest 

 criticism. 



Some of the minority faction in the town 

 who are inclined to be anticlerical are un- 

 doubtedly affected by their experiences in the 

 United States. A former mayor was very out- 

 spoken in his objections to the behavior of the 

 local priests. Many of the priests, he said, are 

 guilty of much opposition to the Government 

 and especially to the schools. He asserted that 

 the priests seem not to wish people to read and 

 write and are responsible for many fathers not 

 sending their children to school. For this 

 reason there is much unnecessary ignorance in 



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