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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY — PUBLICATION NO. 2 



latter are given to the girl by her relatives. 

 Her father and mother present her with 1 bag 

 and 1 cloth, but the rest, as many as 20 of each, 

 are presented by her grandparents and cousins. 

 At the top of the cross and at the end of each 

 arm are fastened small sprays of green palm. 

 On Palm Sunday this cross is carried by the boy. 



The girl carries a stick, usually of oak, about 

 2 yards high. Hung to this is every kind of 

 fruit, especially tropical fruits, all provided by 

 the boy. These may include a bunch of bana- 

 nas, some coconuts, and perhaps a watermelon. 

 Or the girl may carry a watermelon, together 

 with some honeycombs, on her back. Often 

 she can scarcely carry the load. 



There is much competition between the 

 barrios in this regard (the only hint of barrio 

 competition secured) . Each looks to see which 

 girl is most laden with things, which girl has 

 been able to make the largest balls of pinole 

 and decorate them best, and which has the most 

 grandparents and cousins (and hence the most 

 bags and tortilla cloths) . 



On the afternoon of Palm Sunday all go to 

 the little rise in the road toward Nahuatzen (the 

 road to the hot country) beyond the bridge at 

 the edge of the town, and from there all go 

 together to the church. The boy and girl from 

 each barrio have their companions, all rela- 

 tives. Those relatives of the girl who have 

 given a bag or a cloth and those relatives of the 

 boy who have given a honeycomb for the girl 

 to carry are adorned with the gorditos. The 

 four boys together will have hired musicians, 

 and many others come to see and hear. About 

 4 o'clock they all reach the church; they go 

 inside for a moment and then return home, 

 where they divide the things among the rela- 

 tives who have helped them or accompanied 

 them. There is no special ceremony in the 

 church on this day. 



During Holy Week a Mass is held every day 

 in the church. The Tenebrae are also repre- 

 sented. All the candles are put out. Sulfur 

 is burned and bombs are exploded to represent 

 the lightning. Then the candles are relighted 

 with an ordinary wax match. 



Thursday the image of Christ is placed in a 

 cage of bars. It is guarded by a number of 

 persons representing the Jews, who are dressed 

 in common-colored women's dresses and hats 



of catucho (a word I have not identified) and 

 are carrying spears. 



On Friday, the three times that Christ falls 

 with the cross are represented with a cross 

 and the image of Je.sus of Nazareth. The cross 

 is very large, but it is made of light materials, 

 so it weighs little. The figure carrying the 

 cross is put on a table, and it is manipulated 

 from beneath the table to make it fall slowly 

 and rise again. While the figure falls, the Jews 

 pretend to beat it and mistreat it. 



The Crucifixion is represented at a vclorio. 

 Three cro.s.ses, one bearing a crucified Christ, 

 are placed upright in a corner of the church. 

 The Jews pretend to beat the figure and injure 

 it with their lances. Later in the same service 

 the figure is lowered from the cross and placed 

 in a special box. This represents the Holy 

 Sepulcher and is guarded by the Jews. 



On Saturday morning, 12 boys are placed in 

 a corner near the altar. One of these washes 

 the feet of the others. This act (obviously out 

 of place in the chronology of events) is the only 

 representation of the Twelve Apostles. 



Some 20 years ago a somewhat more elabo- 

 rate representation was given which included 

 the portrayal of the garden of Gethsemane. 

 Persons representing Pilate, Herod, and the 

 Jews went about the plaza asking for Jesus. 

 One, representing Judas, went up to a Christ 

 image surrounded by branches and kissed the 

 image. Jesus now answered, and the whole 

 group fell down. Then they tore down the 

 branches and took the image prisoner. Judas 

 went around showing people the money he had 

 received. On two occasions in the past the 

 apocryphal incident of Veronica was also repre- 

 sented in connection with the three falls of 

 Christ. After one of the falls, a girl pretended 

 to wipe the face of the image with her hand- 

 kerchief. 



The activities in connection with Easter 

 week are carried on by the persons attached 

 to the church and the various societies. 

 Nurukata, laurel, is brought from the moun- 

 tains in large quantities and is used to decorate 

 the church during the week. After it has been 

 "sanctified" it is taken home and kept in the 

 houses. It maj' later be used for medicinal 

 purposes. A special food for Easter week is 



