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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY — PUBLICATION NO. 2 



is no bull riding and the market is unimportant. 

 In place of the market there is a mock market 

 conducted by the persons who have some special 

 occupation. 



While all the occupations in the town are 

 represented in the fiesta, only the more impor- 

 tant ones take official part. These are the 

 arrieros or muleteers, the traveling merchants 

 and storekeepers, the agriculturists, the shake 

 makers, the board makers, and perhaps others. 

 For each of these groups, eight commissioners 

 are named for each barrio, or a total of 32 for 

 each occupation involved. The commissionei's 

 are obligated to provide a group of musicians 

 for their occupation. They are privileged to 

 take up a collection from other members of the 

 occupation, but contributions are strictly vol- 

 untary and payment is not enforced by the 

 municipio as is the case with the fiesta of the 

 patron saint. The merchants usually nomi- 

 nate their own commissioners, transmitting the 

 list to the mayor; this may be true of other 

 occupations also. 



Other occupations, such as the breadmakers, 

 the weavers, the butchers, the storekeepers, 

 and the honey collectors, are also participants 

 in the fiesta, but they are not obligated to pro- 

 vide a group of musicians, although they some- 

 times do so. The honey collectors, however, 

 have special duties. 



Some 15 days before the fiesta, the honey 

 gatherers take the two images of their patron 

 saint, San Anselmo, to the rancheria of Cosumo. 

 They usually make a camp in the woods, where 

 they have music and drink a great deal in the 

 evenings. During the day they collect bee 

 nests or panales. These are brought to Cheran 

 shortly before the fiesta, and two structures, 

 katarakua, are prepared. These are made of 

 two poles crossed at one end to form a V 

 Cross pieces are fastened to these and the whole 

 well covered with shakes. To the shakes are 

 fastened the honeycombs collected, held in place 

 with a large net similar to the fish nets of Lake 

 Patzcuaro. The two largest honeycombs are 

 placed at the top of each structure. In this 

 fashion they are paraded around the plaza on 

 the days of fiesta (some say only on Tuesday). 

 After the fiesta they are sold. 



The pannier OS or honey gatherers also stage 

 a greased-pole climb near the calvary on tiie 



east side of town. At the top of a smooth, 

 well-greased pole are placed cigarettes, hand- 

 kerchiefs, etc. These are called the qmyial or 

 "honeycomb" and form the reward of the first 

 man to get up the greased pole. The honey 

 gatherers also often hire musicians, but this is 

 voluntary on their part. 



The fiesta begins on Monday and ends on 

 Saturday, but the main events take place on 

 Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. On these 

 days all the persons following different occupa- 

 tions assemble in the plaza, and there is a mock 

 market. Each person exhibits the type of 

 goods he has made or the occupation he follows. 

 Shake makers split shakes on the plaza and 

 the plank makers saw planks. In addition, 

 miniature shakes and planks are made and 

 offered for sale. The carpenters make minia- 

 ture houses. The farmers (and possibly the 

 restaurant keepers) set up tiny tables with 

 miniature dishes and serve miniature portions. 

 They offer tiny tortillas about 2 or 3 cm. in 

 diameter and other things, including the dishes, 

 in proportion. When people partake of the 

 food they ask, "How much?" The reply is 

 "One hundred pesos" or some fantastic sum. 

 The purchaser, however, usually gives a piece 

 of chewing gum, candy, or some other small 

 object. The blanket weavers and belt weavers 

 offer miniature blankets and belts for sale as 

 well as tiny woven wrist bands. Agricultur- 

 ists exhibit all the seeds they grow, and in pro- 

 cessions scatter seeds over the crowd. The 

 arrieros or muleteers exhibit the goods they 

 carry, such as salt, rice, brown sugar, and other 

 basic necessities. They also make atole in the 

 plaza, with a man grinding the maize on a 

 metate. The traveling merchants and store- 

 keepers exhibit notions such as thread, chewing 

 gum, and dry goods. The breadmakers make 

 quantities of miniature breads about an inch 

 and a half in diameter. These are used as 

 money by everyone. 



About 2 o'clock in the afternoon of Tuesday, 

 Thursday, and Friday, those exhibiting their 

 wares carry them about the plaza, giving a 

 special high-pitched cry used on no other occa- 

 sion. At first they say nothing, but then they 

 use special Tarascan words, also employed on 

 no other occasion. "Arijeta," they shout, 

 meaning "Come quickly everyone," followed by 



