CHERAN: a sierra TARASCAN village — BEALS 



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these prayers, but it is not necessary for other 

 relatives to do so. However, if a relative 

 attends the first day, he is obligated to continue 

 the entire 9 days. On the ninth day, the 

 novena is sometimes observed with prayers in 

 the house. There is no purification or burn- 

 ing of incense or other materials in the house. 



After the funeral, the parents or the surviv- 

 ing spouse may remain very sad. If it appears 

 they may be made ill of "sadness," the relatives 

 visit the survivors frequently, talking to them of 

 things which they think may alleviate their 

 condition and giving consolation. If this does 

 not improve matters, they seek a curer who 

 gives medicines. 



A very few families pay for Masses for the 

 deceased. More commonly, members of the 

 family of the deceased will visit the church 

 from time to time and burn candles and pray 

 for the dead. 



A few additional observations may be of 

 interest. It is said that formerly the bells were 

 tolled 10 or 12 times in the morning and after- 

 noon when someone had died. This is not done 

 now. The graveyard is on the lower edge of 

 town and is surrounded by an adobe wall. In 

 some cases the graves are paved with cobble- 

 stones or more elaborate masonry pavements. 

 On rare occasions a tomb or head stone is erected, 

 but in the majority of cases only a wooden cross 

 is put up. The age of the present graveyard is 

 unknown ; the oldest date found on a grave was 

 1883. There is no evidence of offerings 

 (except in connection with the Day of the 

 Dead), although the graveyard is apparently 

 visited at night by some people to judge by the 

 presence of numerous partially burned pitch 

 pine splinters about the entrance. All inform- 

 ants denied knowledge of such visits, however. 



The major mourning ceremony is the Day 

 of the Dead, November 2. Several days before 

 this date the graveyard is divided in four 

 sections and the young men from each barrio 

 are required by the municipal officials to clear 

 the brush and weeds away from the entire 

 cemetery. On November 1 everyone prepares 

 quantities of nakatamales, a small tamale filled 

 with beef in chile sauce and wrapped in husks 

 rather than maize leaves. Fruit is also pur- 

 chased and bread is made. A few make 

 tamales for sale, but most people make their own. 



The night of November 1, a Mass is celebrated 

 in church. In 1941 the priest spoke to the 

 people against taking candles or food to the 

 graveyard, telling them instead to bring candles 

 to the church. Another Mass is held the morn- 

 ing of the 2d, after which people go to the 

 graveyard. There is no organized procession, 

 nor does everyone arrive at the same time. In 

 many cases only the women and children attend, 

 although usually the men drop in for a short 

 time and some stay for several hours. Indeed, 

 the function is said to be a woman's affair and 

 men may not carry candles or even take part if 

 they have no women folk. 



Generally, the first thing the visitors do is to 

 • more thoroughly clean the graves of their dead. 

 Often the ground is dug up and the mounds are 

 built up and shaped. The graves of the more 

 recent dead (children, parents, and siblings) 

 are then decorated with flowers and pine 

 boughs. Often pine boughs are set up at each 

 corner of a grave or group of graves. Each 

 grave mound has flowers sprinkled over it, 

 mostly yellow marigolds and purple orchids. 

 In some cases part of the flowers are finely 

 shredded and sprinkled over the grave and 

 crosses are sometimes marked out in flowers. 

 Pine needles are also sprinkled over some graves 

 and sometimes baskets of food placed on the 

 graves. Food is placed at the foot of the grave 

 in all cases and candles are burned, despite the 

 admonitions of the priest. 



After the grave is decorated, the family sits 

 around and chats. There are few evidences of 

 sorrow ; one or two people remark that the day 

 is "very sad," but most people seem cheerful 

 in a quiet way and there is even some subdued 

 laughter, the rezacJores or "prayers" go 

 around from group to group and say lengthy 

 prayers using a rosary. Everyone in the group 

 kneels while the prayers are said. Fruit, bread, 

 and tamales are given the rezador for his 

 prayers. 



In 1941 the priest came and said prayers. 

 He charged a real, 12 V2 centavos for each 

 prayer. His prayers were shorter than those 

 of the rezador and he and those with him re- 

 m.ained standing, but he sprinkled the grave 

 with holy water. He also scolded people for 

 having candles and food offerings, so most 



