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INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL AKTHROPOLOGY — ^PUBLICATION NO. 1 1 



*Asociaci6n or Congregaci6n de las Hijas de Marfa 

 Inmaculada. (The Sodality of the Children of Mary.) 



*Asociaci6n de Madres de Familia. 



*Cofradfa de N. S. del Carmen. 



**CofradIa de N. S. de la Concepci6n. 



*Conferencia de San Vicente de Paul. 



**Confraternidad or Devotos de la Preciosa Sangre de 

 Cristo. 



*Congregaci6n (Niiios y Ninas) del Catecismo. 



*Culto Perpetuo de San Jos6. 



*Devotos de la Divina Providencia. 



**Hermandad or Confraternidad de la Vela Perpetua. 



**Mayordomia del Santo Patr6n San Diego. 



**Venerable Orden Tercera de San Francisco. 



RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS 



Quiroga has no outstanding religious festivals, 

 ceremonies, or dances. Anticlericalism, the growth 

 of a local agrarian group with atheistic or agnostic 

 trends, comparative prosperity, and the lack of a 

 truly Indian population, may explain this condition 

 in part. However, apparently Cocupao-Quiroga 

 never had a noted and widely attended festival 

 or even a fair. Undoubtedly the comparative 

 unimportance of Cocupao in colonial times, its 

 subservience to Tzintzuntzan until only a century 

 ago, and the presence of ancient and potent mirac- 

 ulous images or bulios in nearby Patzcuaro and 

 elsewhere in the region, combined to prevent the 

 development of outstanding religious festivals in 

 Quiroga. Judging from the religious festivals we 

 saw from December to June (the period of the year 

 which has the greatest religious activity) there is 

 little that deserves special mention, and there is 

 practically nothing which is unique. In the church 

 all the days of the church calendar are fittingly 

 observed, but very few of these days affect the 

 tempo of life in Quiroga or result in public displays 

 of fireworks, instrumental music, dances, pageantry, 

 etc. Only some 6 or 8 days or periods are out- 

 standing in the local religious calendar. 



The Christmas Period. — From December 24 

 (Noche Buena) until January 6 (Dia de los Santos 

 Reyes) is a general time of rela.xation and religious 

 and secular celebration. December 24, December 

 25, January 1, and January 6 are the most im- 

 portant days. Fixed allegorical floats (carros 

 alegoricos fijos) depicting events in the life of 

 Jesus are set up; some individuals dress as the 

 Wise Kings of the East (Los Reyes Magos) ; and 

 there is some dancing and singing by groups 

 representing the Reyes Magos and shepherds and 

 shepherdesses (who are children). Also, in some 



homes a pinafa (container filled with candies and 

 other goodies, hung from the ceiling) is displayed 

 for a time; then it is broken and a scramble for 

 the contents ensues. Private and public dances 

 are common in this period, and fireworks are set 

 off in the churchyard on several of the days. 



Holy Week. — The Semana Santa, from Palm 

 Sunday to Easter Sunday, is a period of intense 

 religious devotion enlivened chiefly by the dances 

 of the Moros y Cristianos, and the attire of so- 

 called "Jews" (men dressed as women). 



May, the Month oj Mary. — In this month 

 commonly a number of pious associations, guilds, 

 and individuals defray the expenses of mass and 

 church decorations (candles and flowers) on spec- 

 ified days. In May of 1945 the groups represented 

 (not including private individuals) were: 



May 1, Devotos de la Divina Providencia. 



May 3, Cargueros del Santo Patr6n San Diego. 



May 6, Devotos de la Preciosa Sangre. 



May 8, Congregaci6n de Hijas de Maria Inmaculada. 



May 10, Hermandad, de la Vela Perpetua. 



May 11, Asociaci6n de Madres de Familia. 



May 12, Superiores y Alumnas del Colegio 



Guadalupana. 

 May 17, Venerable Orden Tercera de San Francisco. 

 May 19, Ninos y Ninas del Catecismo. 

 May 20, Gremio de Panaderos. 

 May 28, Gremio de Obrajeros. 

 May 30, Gremio de Zapateros. 



May 1 , 2, 3. — On these three days the cargueros 

 of the patron saint San Diego (men who are 

 responsible for the program and much of the 

 expense of the celebrations on the day of the 

 patron saint, November 13) for the new year are 

 changed or installed. There are two sets of 

 cargueros — one for the upper town (El Calvario 

 district in general) , and another for the lower town. 

 Each set consists of a capitdn, an alferez, and a 

 sargento (all terms of military rank). During 

 these days there is much playing on chirimias (a 

 type of flute), beating of dnuns, displaying of 

 flags, and setting off of rockets and firecrackers. 

 CoincidentaUy, May 1 is the day of Saints Philip 

 and James, and it is also Labor Day, so little 

 work is done, many firecrackers are set off, and 

 much liquor is consumed. May 3 is the day of 

 the Holy Cross, and that evening a large cross is 

 outlined by many bonfires on the slope leading up 

 to the Cerro de la Cruz. These fires formerly 

 were of pitch pine, but now pieces of rubber tires 

 are the chief fuel. This is a specially important 



