CHERAN: a sierra TARASCAN village — BEALS 



207 



zorilla (a wild animal, perhaps a small fox) 

 is used in ways not specified to cure skin diseases 

 with small ulcers or pimples, illnesses of the 

 blood, and pneumonia. Buzzards are also used 

 in some cures, while spiders and snakes are 

 employed in curing vial oficio or witchcraft. 

 Green tomatoes are used as food in illness ; they 

 are also rubbed over the chest when there is 

 pain, to "freshen it." 



The majority of Capacuaro residents have 

 goiter. This is said often to result from drink- 

 ing from a spring of bad water. The spring is 

 said to be bad because many humming birds 

 drink there. Evidently only acute goiter is 

 believed to be a disease, as the majority of 

 people in Capacuaro consider a certain amount 

 of swelling of the neck to be natural, so com- 

 mon is the affliction. If the goiter becomes too 

 large, a knife is passed over it as though the 

 goiter were being cut out. This is believed to 

 stop its growth. A string about the neck is 

 also thought to stop the goiter from growing 

 (the same belief exists in Cheran) or, when the 

 moon is in the first phase, someone pretends to 

 take bites out of the swelling. 



The power of the evil eye belongs only to 

 certain persons in Capacuaro. The face of the 

 person afflicted is suddenly twisted, he feels 

 burning in the face and body and "wishes to 

 take out his heart." The first step in the cure 

 is to cause the patient to sweat freely. The 

 body is "cleaned" with tules; the curer (appar- 

 ently a man) also rubs the patient with his 

 (the curer's) trousers. 



The following remedies are reported by 

 Rendon from Chilchota in La Caiiada : 



For pains, stitches, or palpitations of the 

 heart : 



1. Place on the chest a piece of red Chinese 

 paper cut in a square and previously dipped in 

 tepid alcohol. Over this sprinkle lemon juice 

 and then cover the patient warmly. 



2. Give tea of cooked magnolia petals with 

 cinnamon. 



3. Give tea from cooked branches of 

 "asparagus" (of a. type not eaten). 



4. Give hot fresh deer blood as it comes 

 from the animal or dried deer blood dissolved 

 in hot water. 



For "attacks," give the patient water which 

 has been heated and into which the nostrils of 



a recently killed coyote have been placed just 

 befoi'e the water reaches the boiling point. 



Scorpion stings are treated by giving the 

 patient immediately a drink made by boiling 

 casaguate with salt. Another treatment is to 

 give powder produced by rubbing two stones 

 together. The powder is dissolved in water. 

 The wound is also rubbed with lemon juice. 



Rabies is treated by giving water in which 

 has been macerated a ball of the male ash tree 

 (male and female trees are distinguished). 



Sickly children are treated by bathing them 

 with turtle blood. After a sufficient number of 

 fresh water turtles are collected, they are made 

 to put out the head by putting coals on the 

 shell. The neck is then severed with a single 

 blow of a machete, and the turtle is suspended 

 over the head of the child (who is standing 

 naked) so the blood streams down from head 

 to foot. 



DEATH 



Death is regarded as a normal event in 

 Cheran and mourning is restrained and, in the 

 main, private. Somewhat more grief is shown 

 when the deceased is a child or a person still 

 vigorous. An old person, who has begun to 

 lose some of his vigor, is often spoken of as 

 only half alive. Similarly, very small children 

 are often regarded as not fully alive. For per- 

 sons already regarded as not fully members of 

 the community of the living, no great 

 emotional response to death may be expected. 



Ideas about death and afterlife are essentially 

 Catholic. Small children who die are believed 

 to go directly to heaven, while adults must pass 

 some time in purgatory. The dead are not 

 particularly feared, nor is it believed that they 

 ordinarily return. However, if a person dreams 

 frequently of a dead relative it is believed that 

 the deceased individual has returned for a 

 member of his family and that one of the 

 household will certainly die. There is no 

 remedy for such a situation. 



Because of the different beliefs regarding the 

 afterlife of children and adults, there are some 

 differences in funerals for the two age groups. 



In the case of a child, the godfather of baptism 

 provides the burial dress, which is placed on 

 the body by the godmother or the mother, or 

 by the sisters of the mother. The body is not 



