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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY — PUBLICATION NO. 2 



over the part of the rim the lips have touched, 

 before passing the pitcher on. 



Adults bathe fairly regularly on their own 

 initiative. Young men and women usually 

 bathe at least once a week ; older men may not 

 bathe more than once a month. Most people 

 go to a special bathing place, Uekuaro, a water- 

 fall in one of the barrancas beyond Paricutin, 

 but women sometimes bathe at home. The 

 bathing place at Uekuaro is reserved for men 

 on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday; for women 

 the rest of the week. Most people soap them- 

 selves freely and shampoo the hair thoroughly. 

 Young men seemed a bit shy when bathing, 

 often covering the genitals with the hand when 

 turning toward others, but older men and boys 

 seemed to have no self -consciousness. 



Head lice afflict many if not all Cheran resi- 

 dents, especially children. Delousing is a 

 common occupation when women are visiting 

 or resting with the children about. Men also 

 delouse the children, but a man was never seen 

 being deloused. Sunny days when people sit 

 about the house yards are a favorite time, but 

 delousing was never seen on the streets. 



Most adults possess a fairly common set of 

 likes and dislikes, some of which have been 

 developed during childhood, others acquired as 

 adults. Perhaps the strongest likes are for the 

 fiestas, viayordomias, and weddings. These are 

 the core of the costumbres and Cheran people 

 are as passionately attached to the body of 

 practices they call customs as are most Mexican 

 Indian groups. Most people are also fond of 

 flowers, and almost every house has a little 

 flower garden. Shasta daisies, dahlias, iris, 

 larkspurs, marigolds, geraniums, calla lilies, 

 roses, and gladiolus are the most popular plants. 

 Fancy pottery, especially the green glazed ware 

 of Patamban and La Canada, the brown or 

 black glazed ware of Santa Fe and Quiroga, and 

 the colored glazed wares of Guanajuato and, to 

 a lesser extent, Guadalajara, are all prized and 

 accumulated for special occasions. Lacquered 

 plates and gourds are also liked. Many have a 

 real passion for collecting miniatures of the 

 material artifacts of Tarascan life. Miniatures 

 are found on sale in abundance at every fiesta 

 and might be mistaken for playthings, but they 

 are all bought by adults who hang them up in 

 the kitchen and the "troje." Both sexes like 



drinking charanda, but only men get drunk out- 

 side the fiestas and weddings. 



Music is liked by both sexes. All ages will 

 gather to hear a phonograph, regardless of 

 what it plays. Boys gather to play the har- 

 monica and sing, often dancing the jarabe 

 ta patio. Older men often play instruments and 

 will gather together in their spare time simply 

 to play for the fun of it. Women never play 

 instruments, although they may sing. 



Fireworks, magicians, and ventriloquists will 

 always draw crowds at fiestas. Several years 

 before the study some of the "progressive" 

 families had social dances in their houses, with 

 ballroom dancing. The leaders were a group 

 of sisters who had lived outside the town. 

 They later married and left the town, and the 

 practice ceased. 



Women visit and talk together a good deal. 

 Much of the embroidery and crocheting done is 

 for amusement as well as for sale. 



Some men like gambling for small sums. 

 Gambling devices at fiestas are always well 

 patronized. A few years ago card games, 

 especially poker, were introduced by men who 

 had been in the United States. Games are 

 played at the billiard parlors, mostly by younger 

 men. The billiard games are also patronized 

 primarily by the young men. Perhaps 4 or 5 

 men in town smoke marihuana, growing it in 

 their lots. Cigarettes are the common smoke 

 of the majority; most adult males, and many 

 adult women, smoke. Cheap "tailor-made" 

 cigarettes are smoked, usually a brand known 

 as Tigres. 



Tastes are fixed even in some matters of 

 dress. Men in Cheran all wear dark serapes 

 and blue sashes. The bright rose and blue 

 serapes of Capacuaro are never seen, nor are 

 the red or white sashes of other towns. Some 

 say the dark colors are faster, others say the 

 bright colors are only for boys, and a few say 

 that the dark colors were more "civilized." As 

 Miguel 0. de Mendizabal pointed out in con- 

 versation, the first mark of urban influence in 

 Mexico is usually the disappearance of the 

 brighter serapes. 



Women have similar habits, although per- 

 haps they are more traditional. Of the several 

 belts worn by women in the traditional costume, 



