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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY — PUBLICATION NO. 2 



3 liters milk daily ") 



25 tablets chocolate daily 



3 or 4 centavos of bread each 15.00 



daily 

 Tliree breakfasts for musicians J 



2 kilos of sugar .70 



3 bottles alcohol (estimate) 3.00 



Coffee for musicians (estimate) 1.00 



Total $266.70 



Ordinarily the new carguero seeks the mayor- 

 domia from the principals. The carguero in 

 1940 had some doubts as to what would be done 

 because of the insistence of their priest that 

 mayordomias should in future be asked of him. 

 On the other hand, the principals had no doubt 

 that the mayordomia was their special property. 



The mayordomia of the Three Kings was 

 definitely a new departure in Cheran. The 

 dance group apparently had performed for 

 many years. 



According to the three principals, whom by 

 good luck it was possible to interview together, 

 until a few years ago only a group of dancers 

 performed on the Day of Kings. The dancers 

 were not organized but each year a group of 

 volunteer performers got together informally. 

 There were images of the Three Kings in 

 church, but none were taken to private houses. 

 Onetime the three principals were talking about 

 the dance when "God sent them the idea" of 

 creating a mayordomia. From some 15 or 18 

 others they collected some money. The princi- 

 pals, however, put in a good deal more than the 

 others. Then they started with the three small 

 images which one of them had in his house, in 

 the meantime ordering the new images. One 

 of the principals received the mayordomia first. 

 The carguero in 1940 was the third and those 

 for the following 2 years had already been 

 appointed. 



With regard to the position of the priest, the 

 principals remarked that the saints belonged to 

 them and neither the cabildo nor the priest nor 

 anyone else had anything to say about the 

 images. However, the priest, according to the 

 principals, accepted this situation, for he had 

 no cause to be angry with them. 



MAYORDOMIA OF SANTA CECILIA 



Very few data were collected concerning this 

 maijordomia which was not discovered until 



shortly before the close of the study. (It is 

 quite probable that two or three mayordomias 

 exist in Cheran which were not discovered at 

 all ; no one in the town appears to know all of 

 them.) Santa Cecilia is patroness of the 

 musicians, and the carguero is always a musi- 

 cian. In 1940 no one wished to "take the 

 saint," so the image remained in the same 

 house, a nephew of the former carguero who 

 lived in the house taking the responsibility. 

 The musicians all gather at the house of the 

 carguero and play all day. (This is how the 

 mayordomia was discovered; however, no out- 

 siders were invited in, despite the most obvious 

 hints.) 



THE MIRACULOUS HOLY CHILD 



This saint. El Milagroso Santo Niiio, is not 

 properly to be included among the mayor- 

 domias, as it is the property of a single family 

 and does not circulate among other households. 

 According to the story told by the owners, the 

 saint was found by the man of the family some 

 18 years before, while he was cutting wheat 

 below the town. Tiring, he sat down, and while 

 picking idly at the dirt with his sickle he 

 uncovered the image. He had the image fixed 

 up (at present it looks entirely like the other 

 saint's images with respect to the technique and 

 painting). With the aid of others, a chapel 

 was then built for the saint in the yard of the 

 house. When the image was found it was only 

 about 30 cm. high. It is claimed that it has 

 grown steadily until it is now between 70 and 

 80 cm. 



The saint first became knovv'n as a miraculous 

 saint when a man from the ranches (a group 

 of small Mestizo settlements on the boundaries 

 of Cheran in the mountains) cut his foot while 

 alone in the woods. As he was bleeding to 

 death, he recalled the saint, of which he had 

 heard, and vowed to take it to his rancho 

 accompanied by dancers. The bleeding stopped 

 and he recovered. 



Keeping his vow, the Mestizo brought dancers 

 to Cheran and took the saint to the rancho. 

 There other miracles occurred. For example, 

 a child who could not walk and who was dumb 

 had the crown of the saint put on him ; he now 

 walks and talks very well. 



As a result of these experiences, the people 



