CHERAN : A SIERRA TARASCAN VILLAGE — BEALS 



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same duties, but the colector is the superior of 

 the two. Their duties are to select and super- 

 vise the ke7;i and the matters of the church. 

 The day-to-day expenses involved they must 

 pay out of their own pockets (despite the 

 charges against the cahildo to be reviewed later, 

 no one denied this expenditure by the prioste 

 and colector) . The two officers receive the 

 gifts of maize and wheat made to the church 

 and give them to the priest, who in turn entrusts 

 them to the ke^^i. 



The kcT/i is selected by the colector. For 

 1 year he lives in a house on the church grounds 

 (probably formerly in the hospital before it fell 

 to ruins), cares for the church property and 

 the stores of the priest, rings the church bells 

 every noon, runs errands for the colector, and 

 does any odd jobs he may be assigned. After 

 1 year he does not become a member of the 

 cabildo but retires to private life. 



During his year of office, the colector has to 

 provide the kej;i with the maize he needs for 

 his family and some money for minor expenses. 

 Usually the kei^i is a man who has a grown 

 son or a brother to look after his affairs for the 

 year. Among the public outside of the church 

 group it is not regarded as a great thing to be 

 a kcTji. The church group, on the other hand, 

 make a good deal of the individual. Moreover, 

 it is believed that the service is rendered to 

 God and will bring recompense in the future 

 life. The offices of ke,ji, prioste, and colector 

 change each year on December 8. The main 

 ceremonies circle about the change of kei/i. 



At one time the ke^^i began in the month of 

 November to visit the cargueros of the saints 

 belonging to the cabildo every Saturday early in 

 the morning, accompanied by musicians. The 

 cargueros served posole. By December 8, the 

 ker;i had visited all the saints, saying farewell 

 to them. On this date a large lantern was 

 suspended from a pole outside the house of the 

 ke7;i and remained until the ceremonies of 

 changing the ke7;i were concluded. 



For the change of office, both the old ke7;i 

 and the new provide themselves with "old men" 

 or vie j OS. These are men dressed in an over- 

 coat and with a cane. They carry a little bell 

 adorned with flowers, wear a small hat, and a 

 wooden vicjo mask (a wooden mask carved to 

 represent an old man with a long white beard) . 



These are the speakers for the two ke/;i. Each 

 ke7;i (in conjunction with the new and retiring 

 priostes) has a band of music. Both the old 

 and the new prioste invite friends and relatives 

 to their houses for a meal. The cabildo goes to 

 both places. 



About 3 o'clock in the afternoon both parties 

 go to the house occupied by the ke7;i in the 

 church grounds, still sometimes called the hos- 

 pital despite the assertion of many that the 

 kev/i never lived in the hospital. The new ke»,i 

 brings with him all the things he needs to set 

 up housekeeping: new brooms, dishes, a carga 

 of maize, the head of a beef, ax, metate, mats 

 and clothes, all carried on burros. Arriving 

 at the house, he finds all in disorder. The 

 house is full of trash, the fireplace has been taken 

 down, and everything has been left in the worst 

 condition possible. The old kcT^i carries away 

 everything he has used. Even old brooms and 

 broken pots are saved through the year to be 

 carried away at this time. 



The two viejos or old men now begin to argue. 

 The viejo representing the incoming key^i makes 

 a long speech, criticising the administration of 

 the outgoing key^i. The other viejo then re- 

 sponds, defending the outgoing keT^i and 

 explaining all the good things he has done. 

 The two argue for some time. The music then 

 plays a tune. First one and then the other 

 dances; they endeavor to outdo one another, 

 both in their ridiculous manner of dancing and 

 in making jokes. Each is accompanied by a 

 woman dressed as an old woman in a very much 

 embroidered blouse and wearing a hat. Then 

 the new officials inspect all the patio of the 

 hospital; the new key/i enters the kitchen and 

 takes possession. The old ke7;i goes out 

 through the r.aguan or gate with his belongings. 

 The old ke7;i goes to the house of the old prioste 

 with his friends and they drink until night. 

 The new keT^i and his prioste do the same in the 

 hospital after the celebration of Mass. 



Sometime during these events the cabildo 

 elects the new colector. This official takes office 

 on the 1st of January when he goes to church 

 to celebrate the Circumcision. The new. colec- 

 tor and his wife receive the benediction at the 

 Mass. The wife of the colector carries with 

 her an outfit of clothing for the Christ Child. 

 After Mass the two go to the house of the new 



