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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY — PUBLICATION NO. 2 



The godfather is supposed to supervise the 

 growing up of the child. He should see that 

 his godchild "grows straight like a tree" and is 

 properly trained and clothed, and he should 

 make presents of clothing from time to time 

 and remedy any deficiencies in the parents. 

 Should the parents die, the godfather is respon- 

 sible for rearing the child. 



The name is usually selected by the parents. 

 There are four ways of naming a child : using 

 the name of the saint on whose day the child was 

 born ; the name of some distinguished person ; 

 a name selected by the godfather; the name of 

 some relative, such as the grandparent or 

 sibling of the parents. In the case of persons 

 named for San Juan, San Jose, San Pedro, 

 San Pablo, or San Francisco there are special 

 observances in connection with their name day 

 throughout the rest of their lives. Early in the 

 morning, people visit persons of these names 

 on their name day; often they will be strangers, 

 for it suffices if one member of the party knows 

 the person. The guests merely say "Good- 

 morning" to the person visited and then are 

 given posole. They may then stay around and 

 talk a bit or may leave immediately, merely 

 saying "Thank you" in the ordinary way. 

 Sometimes the band starts at midnight, going 

 around to various persons' houses and playing. 

 In some cases the band members appear to be 

 paid and to come by invitation, but in others 

 they seem merely to be following the usual 

 custom. 



Persons with other names are also expected 

 to show hospitality on their name day. When 

 one of the schoolmasters, who is a native of the 

 town but is stingy and not well liked, celebrated 

 his name day, the town officials thought it 

 would be a good joke to invite themselves to his 

 house for dinner and did so. Meeting mem- 

 bers of the staff of the study on the street, the 

 mayor and secretary promptly invited them 

 along. As the invitation was not seconded by 

 the rather surly school teacher, who showed 

 considerable signs of distress already, the invi- 

 tation was not accepted. 



Infants are subject to a number of diseases, 

 but there are few special treatments for them. 

 Only the evil eye must be guarded against 

 especially, for it is usually fatal for infants of 

 a year or less. This illness is especially in- 



sidious as it is usually caused inadvertently, 

 that is, the person with power to cause the evil 

 eye does not know it and is apt especially to 

 cause it to attack a child that is particularly 

 liked or admired by the person. As a preven- 

 tive a "deer eye" is hung from the neck or 

 wrist, or a little sack filled with cooked black 

 chile, lime, and salt is suspended from the neck. 

 Additional data are given under sickness and 

 curing. 



In La Canada the infant's name is said to be 

 chosen at a council of the adult relatives who 

 pick a name from among the deceased relatives, 

 never the saint's day, as is the case among the 

 Mestizos at Chilchota. Neither does the god- 

 father ever choose a name. The godmother 

 presents the parents with a basket of bread, 

 a package of chocolate, 30 centavos of soap, and 

 1 or 2 kilos of sugar. The other items may 

 vary, but bread and chocolate must be included 

 in the gifts. The parents of the child give the 

 godparents a meal. A year or less after the 

 baptism the godfather takes musicians to the 

 child's house and presents the infant with some 

 clothing. With invited relatives and friends, 

 the godfather holds a day of fiesta. The 

 parents provide atole, aguardieyite, nacatamales 

 or tamales made with flour. It is to be noted 

 that here the emphasis in choosing godparents 

 is on selecting the proper godmother and that 

 the godfather's personality is of less importance. 



At Huansito in La Canada, infants are fed 

 atole, bread or tortillas, bean broth, cooked rice, 

 and similar bland foods, beginning when they 

 are less than a year old. Older children are 

 fed whenever they are hungry and may eat 

 numerous times during the day. Normally a 

 child of 6 years will eat bread or tortillas and 

 black coffee or cinnamon tea in the morning. 

 At 10 o'clock in the morning he will eat tortillas, 

 curipo, and perhaps beans with the elders. In 

 the middle of the day he will eat tortillas and 

 some other item (the adults will not eat at 

 this time) . In the evening about 6 o'clock will 

 be the main meal, perhaps broiled or fried meat, 

 broth, and beans with tortillas. 



At Ichan in La Caiiada, Rendon noted the 

 practice of children taking the baptismal name 

 of their fathers as their surname. For exam- 

 ple, the son of Diego is known as Juan Diego, 



