CHERAN : A SIERRA TARASCAN VILLAGE — BEALS 



173 



the child of the latter btiny known as Pablo 

 Juan or Luisa Juan, etc. 



CHILDHOOD 



Small children are usually clothed today. 

 Occasionally a small boy is seen wearing noth- 

 ing but a shirt, but this is uncommon, while 

 girls able to walk always have a blouse and a 

 skirt. In early childhood there is a good deal 

 of affection between parents and children. 

 Adults of both sexes play with the children and 

 carry them about a great deal. Small children 

 are kissed by both parents. Fear of strangers 

 is absent. While opportunities for observation 

 were limited, on several occasions when I had 

 opportunity to be with children while talking 

 with parents, they responded immediately to 

 any caress on my part, often promptly climbing 

 into my lap, or seizing hold of my clothing if I 

 were standing. At this age there is evidently 

 little correction. Some children cry and whim- 

 per a good deal and are reproved for it or told 

 to hush, but nothing is done if the child 

 continues. 



As the child grows a little older, it evidently 

 goes through a somewhat trying period of 

 readjustment. This probably coincides with 

 the coming of another child and also with the 

 increasing care of the child by older brothers 

 and sisters. At this period some rough treat- 

 ment is given by the parents. Several times 

 children were seen to stumble and fall on the 

 street. When the child began to cry, the father 

 either smacked it on the rump or kicked it 

 along, gently it is true. 



A boy about 4 was observed in a temper 

 tantrum on the Cheran plaza. The tantrum 

 began when the mother took a large piece of 

 sugarcane held by the child, broke it, prepared 

 the smaller piece, and gave it to the child. 

 The child began to scream and weep, demand- 

 ing the larger piece back. The mother laughed 

 good-naturedly and told him to come along. 

 He refused, and finally the mother gave the boy 

 a gentle tap on the rump with her piece of 

 sugarcane. The child screamed and beat at the 

 mother with his cane. She continued to laugh, 

 made some comments to others passing by and 

 gradually got the child moved along, but he 

 continued screaming as long as he was within 

 earshot. In this case the mother showed more 



forebearance than seems likely to be usual. 

 Possibly her behavior was inhibited by aware- 

 ness that I was watching. 



In another instance, a group of small boys 

 were playing marbles. The mother of one of 

 them, a boy probably not over 7, came up behind 

 him, kicked him rather smartly, and scolded 

 him shrewishly for crawling around on his 

 knees and destroying his trousers. The boy 

 was obviously furious but made no reply ; when 

 his mother was out of sight he resumed his 

 game — and the crawling. The opportunities 

 for observation of the treatment of small chil- 

 dren were far too few to be certain the fore- 

 going cases are typical. 



Other situations are handled without stress. 

 Masturbation by small boys is simply ignored 

 by everyone even though it be in public. There 

 seem to be no efforts to inculcate fears in the 

 children or to control them by fear. Children 

 showed some curiosity but certainly no fear of 

 members of the staff. In one instance a mother 

 trying to get a small boy to come to her re- 

 marked that I might carry him off. He looked 

 me over calmly and was sufficiently perturbed 

 to make a start in his mother's direction, but 

 he certainly did not take the possibility very 

 seriously. It may be of significance that the 

 mother spoke to the small boy in Spanish. 



Being an orphan is regarded as a grave mis- 

 fortune, even though a child may be helped by 

 its godfather. A child whose father has left 

 the mother or died is also spoken of as an 

 orphan. A common figure of speech in Cheran 

 when a person wishes to emphasize how he has 

 had to struggle is to compare himself to an 

 orphan or to say his parents were so indifferent 

 that he felt himself an orphan. 



About 25 percent of the boys go to school at 

 ages between 6 and 8. None of the girls are 

 ever sent to school. Generally by 5 or 6 there 

 is some start toward participation in adult 

 activities. Boys may be sent on errands, while 

 girls begin to play at adult activities. 



Actual participation in adult work begins at 

 about 8 years for boys. At this age they 

 accompany their fathers to the woods and help 

 carry back firewood. In the fields they may do 

 no more than guard the father's blanket, but they 

 are given a sense of participation. They may 

 also help drive animals or care for them. By 



