IDOLATRY OR DEMOCRACY

Apologies to Max Harris for overusing his 2003 book titled Carnival.  Several of the essays contained there have given me guidance in understanding my experiences.   But, please read Harris for yourself.

Pilgrims returning multiple images of the black Jesus which have visited the original black Jesus in another town.  My understanding is these images will rotate among the homes of the more faithful of the pueblo.   The dancers on either side are Arqueros (a version of the Matachines).

Not being Catholic I have always been struck by the number of religious images in Mexico.  As a protestant I was raised with the beliefs that follow from this bible quotation: Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven images.  (Ex. 20:4)   There is a great deal of debate even within Protestantism as to the meaning of this, but for Catholics God appears to be everywhere so can certainly be in a man-made object.  It is quite common to see a representation of a saint or of the Virgin being paraded through the streets and when you enter the homes of the working poor or the rural poor you might become aware of  the absence of what we might call “art”.  Instead the walls are often bare or if there is anything hanging there it might be a religious calendar, a mass produced image of a saint or the Virgin or something handed out at a religious festival.  I recently picked up a book-mark sized image of Pope John  Paul II when his relics passed through Patzcuaro.   I picked up a playing card sized image of Don Vasco on one of the few days his mausoleum was open.  I was given an image of Guadalupe when I passed through the church on her “day” to be blessed.   On Palm Sunday most people purchase a palm and these have usually been worked into a stylized image of Jesus or the Virgin.  On one saints day I noted that people were given long-stemmed gladiolas.   You also almost always find a small alter in the home, usually with a simple religious image, some flowers, a candle or two and perhaps an object or two.  You also may find alters in the doctor’s office (perhaps an image of “Dr. Jesus” with a stethoscope around his neck); you know you are in good hands. 

One of many stalls selling religious  images. 

The central image in Mexico is that of the Virgin (and Queen) Guadalupe and the most powerful image is that of the Virgin that appeared on the tunic of Juan Diego, the first person (a poor, indigenous, rural farmer) to be visited by Guadalupe. (It is important to keep in mind that in this founding story it was an indigenous person who first saw Guadalupe and he was instructed to speak to the local priest.) This image of Guadalupe is centrally controlled (the image never leaves the wall of the Basilica in Mexico City); not by the indigenous people’s themselves, but  by the religious hierarchy, few if any of whom are indigenous.   The skeptical might argue that the story of Juan Diego and the tunic with its image were creations of the Mexican Creole (those Mexicans born in Mexico of Spanish parents) who wanted to attract the indigenous population to Catholicism.  It was a device to attract the attention of the indigenous peoples.  However, the image never had much importance for the Indigenous peoples until Miguel Hidalgo (himself a Creole and annoyed about his group’s exclusion from political power) used the image in the first revolutionary steps towards independence from Spain.  Since then the image has appeared everywhere, mugs, tea towels, t-shirts, playing cards, greeting cards, and on and on.  And, the story and its image have become widely loved by indigenous peoples.  In this sense the image was taken from the central church and at least symbolically off the walls of the Basilica and placed in every aspect of peoples lives.   As I write this post we are approaching the fiesta for Guadalupe and almost daily an image (sometimes quite elaborate and others a simple painted depiction) goes through the streets with a few people following and bearing witness to their faith before returning to a local church.  Harris puts it this way:

Power thus spreads from the single sacred image, controlled by clergy, to the many images that live daily with the folk.  Power is refracted and diffused; sacred space is decentralized.  If the more powerful control the image at the center of the sacred space, the less powerful multiply the image, extending power to the margins.

 He argues that the multiple representations of religious figures is an indication of the ways in which spiritual power is (infinitely) divisible and often taken into the hands of local people themselves.  Spiritual power may be central and controlled centrally but it can soon move out into the community, to people’s homes and even to their clothing.  It can do this without taking the image itself.  As we have seen in other posts, I can touch the image and thus take some spiritual power home with me.  In one church where they distributed gladiolas to pilgrims they often tied a stick to the flower in order to lift the flower high enough to make contact with the painting of a sacred image.   To conclude, we can return to where this post began.  The homes of the rural power may have no art in some sense of the word but they do have multiple very ordinary images that presumably are thought to have some power (and perhaps even some beauty).

In a separate essay (also in Carnival, 2003) Harris suggests that much of Western theology (and other aspects of society) is built on a belief in scarcity - you have to choose A or B - there is never enough to go around.   But he suggests, folk theology prefers to believe that you can choose A and B, that is spiritual power can be divided and divided.  God is indeed generous.  It was in reading these few simple lines that I came to really understand the importance of the concept of “folk”.   Folk music, folk art, folk theology ad folk medicine have in common that they have their origins outside of the standards, belies, values and so on of the central authorities (priests, art historians, medical schools, etc.).  In the same fashion Guadalupe (or Mary) of the centralized church can become Maringullia of the folk dance, Malinche, or Tonantzin (the female godess of the Mexica of central Mexico).

Postscript:  Just as I finished this post I was in the Basilica when a Pilgrimage arrived with their image of Salud (the more important image of Mary in this pueblo).  Followed by the brass band which filled the sacred space, the local Virgin (a copy so to speak) came face to face with the real Virgin (the older image that is), but only for a moment.   The copy was quickly ushered into a back room and out of sight of the original.  While images can multiply and perhaps sacred power be distributed, it appeared that it wasn’t quite correct to have the two images in the same space.
Postscript 2:  I was recently in a restaurant in Morelia  (bearing a religious name) where there were 100 or more images of religious figures and they were all standing on their heads.  That is they were all turned upside down.  Was this just marketing or was their a political message?

MAGICAL THINKING

"El Santisimo".  My belief is that the centre of the central cross represents the communion wafer and therefore the body of Christ. This was what gives it power.

Pilgirms being blesssed as they enter the church.

Let me begin this post with apologies to Catholics.  I am sure I do not fully understand your traditions but I am struggling in that direction.   I was overwhelmed when I learned that the Catholic church had a problem with Mary, mother of Jesus.  We all know the story about Mary being a virgin (in some sense of that word), but it goes further.  At some point the church realized it was unacceptable to have Mary, the mother of god, herself born as the result of normal human sexual contact and thus being just another human.  As a human she would be subject to the normal temptations and vices.  Her image was cleaned up by creating the belief that Mary’s mother had conceived in the regular way but that God had interfered after this conception to provide divine grace -  in effect allowing us to erase the memory of that sexual contact, she was freed of original sin and her soul made immaculate.  This is magical thinking on a grand scale.

Examples of this type of magic occur daily.   People talk or sing to the virgin; they make promises to the virgin; they thank the virgin when they believe she has helped them, they dance for the Virgin, and on and on.  During the celebration of Guadalupe priests bless (sprinkle water on) all of the cars, taxis, buses and trucks in the parade and then later blesses all of the people who walk by the Virgin in the church.  On another day people take their pets to be blessed.  What do people believe about this water?  People pin milagros (little metal pieces representing a part of the body) in the church or as close to the Virgin as is allowed.  People touch the garments of the Virgin.  People take their baby Jesus figure to the church to be blessed before they put it in their nacimiento ( manger) on Christmas Eve.  In some communities a doll (taken to be a representation of Jesus) is carried through the streets by the most prestigious dancers (often the negritos).  Indeed some of these baby Jesus figures actually have god parents who are responsible for looking after them. In May, workers (and often others) make beautiful crosses, carry them to the top of the nearby hill where there is a larger cross and a priest who blesses all of the crosses.  These crosses are then returned to the work place and assumed to protect the house and its workers - thus no need for hard hats.  Some touch an image of the Virgin with flowers and then place the flowers in the house.  What are the beliefs behind this? One final example:  during a large competition of dancers with about 1000 observers, I learned that the dance costumes had been blessed by the priest the day prior to the event.  At the end of the competition we witnessed one of the dance groups enter the church and dance before the virgin. 

This following example amazes me but again I am a stranger to these traditions.  When there is a procession the priest or religious figures are almost always preceded by what I believe to be called “el santisimo” (the holy, the sacred).  In one village where people had created a tapete (a form of carpet) of flowers that stretched for more than one kilometer.  The priest was to walk down this tapete later (I am not sure if there was a religious image as well).    The priest was preceded by el santisimo and this simple act transformed the space and the priest.  The priest was no longer an ordinary human.  When the relics of Pope John Paul II passed through the pueblo here his vehicle was preceded by el santisimo.   Again, this simple act transforms everything.   When the Virgin of Health (Nuestra Señora Virgen de la Salud) is taken through the streets of Patzcuaro she is preceded by el santisimo and this act makes the space different than it was before.    One final example.  A young Mexican woman described her grandmother;s beliefs around Good Friday.  It is assumed that Jesus died at 10:00 AM and for the next 24 hours the small hole in the sky that allowed communication with God was closed.  For this reason her grandmother did absolutely nothing during those hours.   The young woman herself seemed to find the words to express this belief and the idea of a hole was the only description available.

Some will see this as a little harsh and perhaps naive and it may be all of these as I am a newcomer to all of this.  However, there are equally strange beliefs held by non-religious people.   Think of the beliefs many hold about the economy:  giving money to the wealthy will trickle down and “raise all boats”.  Low taxes will stimulate growth.  Acting in a communal way to provide health care or other necessities is a version of communism and thus dangerous to our liberties.  Democracies can be imposed on traditional societies.  Capitalism makes people happier than do hunting and gathering societies (often called primitive societies).   The rich have worked hard (harder than others) for their rewards.   When you eat fat it turn to fat on the body.  By not including the number 13 in an apartment tower the 13th floor somehow disappears.

We are all caught in a web of magical thinking of one kind or another.  It is only when in the midst of a quite different magical perspective that we are forced to think about our own perspective.

MATACHINES OR MATLACHINES

This post began while watching the festivities surrounding “el dia de conquista” in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. The Aztec dancers were the centre of attraction as noted in a previous post , but there were two groups of dancers who seemed to be attached to churches outside the city of San Miguel and their banners declared them as dancers celebrating the conquest. Later in the day I happened to see one of these groups getting on their bus and noted the sign on the back of the bus stating that they were “Matlachines”. So who are the Matlachines?

To complicate matters dance groups referred to as Matlachines are called Matachines in nothern Mexico and the southern USA where they have been heavily studied. According to Max Harris the term matachines appeared in Italy prior to the conquest of New Spain were it referred to groups of entertainers performing acrobatic acts and dance. If this is so, the term may have been brought to Mexico by the Spanish but the dance the term refers to was originally a form of the dance of the Moors and Christians, a dance of conquest and conversion. However, shortly after the Spanish conquest they took Aztec dancers to Spain and perhaps it was there that they took on the name of Matachines. The sequence of events and the naming are difficult to understand clearly. The Moors are apparent in current dances in New Mexico among pueblo Indians but the primary roles are a young girl playing Malinche and a man playing Motecuzoma, the Aztec emperor (there are also two men dressed as women referred to as “abuelas” (grandmothers) but playing a role similar to that of clowns). Malinche is commonly known as the mistress of Cortes who played a role in the Spanish conquest through her work as interpreter. But in this dance Malinche is the wife or daughter of Motecuzoma. According to Harris the term Malinche may well be a version of Maria (Mary, mother of Jesus) in the native language and her role is to encourage Motecuzoma to convert to Christianity and to return from the dead to reconquer the country. In this reading the dance is one of subversion and driving out the foreigners who are represented by a toro who in the end is castrated. In all of the dances I believe the majority of the dancers represent soldiers, but not Spanish soldiers. They represent Aztec soldiers or native soldiers and they represent the possibility of reconquest.
In the Pueblo Indian communities that dance makes no reference to Christianity or to conversion but it entirely focused on resistance against the foreigner, in this case the Mexicans who now share their land. Although the same dance is performed in Mexican communities the focus is much more on Christianity and conversion with little or no elements of subversion. While this may be true I am unclear as to why the Mexican communities would not be more like the Pueblo Indian communities - they have both suffered conquest, intrusion and dominance and the loss of an earlier heritage. Why would the Mexicans so innocently accept their conversion? Harris himself shows that in other dances the Mexican communities do show subversion and resistance.

In Central Mexico the dance is referred to as “Matlachines” and again according to Harris this name appears in a pre-conquest Aztec combat dance celebrating their victory over a group called Matlatzinca. One can image that it was easy for the Spanish to attach their dances of defeat of the Moors on to a dance like this and for some people to retain the original name.
Now back to what I did see. In San Miguel both groups of Matlachines wore feathered headresses which looked like they were using feather dusters as the materials. Their faces were uncovered and they wore beaded clothing, making them look quite “Indian”. The dance was clearly a half conquest dance although there were elements of combat. The 12-15 dancers arranged themselves in two lines and did some weaving in and out and moving in two elipses with each line returning to its original position. They each carried machetes in one dance and performed a mock battle at times. I saw no evidence of other role players however. The second group did not use machetes but carried a small bow and arrow in one hand and a rattle in the other. Their banners identified their home church, an image of Guadalupe as well as a statement about the day of conquest.

I have seen other dances which reveal some similar elements. In Santa Clara del Cobre, Michoacan, on the return of the black Jesus images from a long pilgrimage the “Arqueros” perform for the fiesta. These dances have large Indian headresses sewn onto their capes, carry small bows and arrows, small crowns with coloured feathers and dance in a very rapid and highly choreographed fashion. While there are leaders for each line of dancers there do not seem to be other roles, except perhaps for young boys dressed as skeletons or devils playing the role of entertainer or crowd control. A friend also showed videos taken in La Penita on the west coast at a festival for St. Patrick in which there were lines of dancers dressed like Indians, with a different group coming from surrounding communities each day. I have also seen a group of performers engaged as entertainers in brightly coloured costumes including bright feathered headress and matching tunics and skirt with long pieces of plastic bead hanging from the edges of clothing.
Unfortunately the Matachines dances of New Mexico have more thoroughly studied that those in central Mexico where, according to Harris, the dance began before traveling north.

LA DANZA DEL TORITO

In previous posts I have described and commented on la danza Aztecs and la danza Matlachines, both of which I saw in San Miguel de Allende during the celebration of el dia de la conquista. The third dance performed that day was la danza del torito. I was not able to make any sense of this dance, thinking it must be a version of a carnival dance. Then I stumbled on a post from “mexicobob” which provides a description and explanation. Have a look at his post: mexicobob.

Photo: in the photo above you are able to see two of the three maranguillas performing that day (one of these may have been la borracha), el viejito (with the cane), el charo (the one with the little horse) and the devil with his whip. Other dancers, including the bull, were there but not in the photo.

The viejito

Perhaps this is the rancher

El toro and one of the Maranguillas.

Bob’s description of this event makes sense to me except for the role of the bull. Having read Max Harris I have begun to look for “hidden transcripts” and considering that the dance took place during the celebration of the conquest, I wondered if the bull in fact wasn’t a representation of the Spanish (the invader or the foreign). Is the message: they too will pass and we will remain? But, it the dance was first performed in 1830 and the primary character is a hacienda owner we are talking about those of pure Spanish blood but born in Mexico (Criollos), the group which began the first revolution and in spite of the significant role of Morelos (the indigenous military leader who first talked about independence and equality) came to own the land and dominate politics. Further, if the dance began in 1830 I am quite sure it was a creation of an indigenous group (rather than mestizos) and it would have a message. Is the dance then a show of resistance to this group? If we follow the logic of Harris, very few dances are just entertainment, there is frequently a hidden message. Could it be as simple as: the Spanish - or the Criollos - are caught between evil and death. But evil didn’t win out during the dance so we are left with death being the victor. The indigenous peoples are represented by the “apache” (I have not seen this dancer in two viewings) but since he is also defeated this does not appear to be a dance of resistance. Or, is it a more obvious dance of resistance with the toro representing the indigenous people who will only be defeated by death?

This is "el Moco"

I am open to suggestions on how to interpret this dance.

KIDS MATTER

I have talked about children a lot in these post but I return to it again for a more focused look. We often here the expression that “it takes a village to raise a child”. This expression seems to have multiple meanings depending on the speaker or the audience. It might mean better education, more program support for parents, fewer punitive responses from the community or more acceptance of children in housing and on the streets. Let’s look again at a few events which I believe show how the community here participates in raising children.
I describe again the feature of the day of the revolution parade that impress me. The celebration takes place on November 20, but the week before the preschool children dress in their revolutionary costumes and take to the streets in a parade. There are quite a number of children in rural Mexico but the community waits patiently while the parade blocks streets and parents and friends throw confetti on the children. This year they were accompanied by an adult marching band. Then on November 20 the older children, as well as a few adults like the mayor, the queen for the day, and men on horses form a parade that takes about 90 minutes to pass. The majority of the towns traffic is brought to a standstill. The young people have their own school bands and it is clear that everyone is taken seriously; they are centre stage for the day and much of the community participates with cheering and confetti. Young people learn their history (some being dressed as revolutionary heros and other carrying images), a great deal of time is spent in preparing (learning how to march around corners) and they are seen as important in the eyes of the community.
Surprisingly this whole thing is repeated for the first day of spring when the preschool children hold a parade through the centre of town in their birds and bees costumes. But in a very general sense we find that children are not excluded from events. They spend the night in the cemeteries with their parents and grandparents, they are taken to restaurants, they walk on the streets (there being very few strollers), they help their parents in stores and stalls from a very early age and they appear to be part of the community in ways seldom seen in other parts of North America (except perhaps among immigrant families).
During the biggest religious festival of the year I was struck by the clarity of this belongingness and the inclusion of children. Two images: first, in the Basilica many families chose to crawl on their knees up the aisle to the alter (thus fulfilling a promise). Parents and children did this together. At times the children would turn the crawl into a competition but they were never scolded or restrained. One parent chose this occasion to provide her daughter with another lesson in crossing herself properly. All of this in a standing crowd of 600-700 people. Second, during a religious procession (the entire event had gone on 16 hours) one of the mothers playing an important role throughout the day, was carrying a young child who was sound asleep. This while following the most important image of the community and also the bishop who had come to town to assist in the celebrations.

In this community I have seldom heard children crying, being shouted at, being treated roughly or throwing a tantrum. If you do see any of these behaviours it is invariably a family from the big city. Children appear happy, alive, confident of who they are and fully participating in the life of the community. One can not help but be struck by the absence of a strong youth culture in this semi-rural community. Everyone listens to the same music, the only difference being individual preference not age. By the age of 2 years, children know exactly how to move their body and feet to the music.
We attended a concert of a local, and somewhat famous, group a few nights ago and the theatre appeared half full of children, none of whom were quiet. I heard no one complain nor did I hear children being scolded. (Although we did move seats because the kids behind us were talking and hitting the seat.) I decided at that moment that here was the answer to why the volume is always very loud at Mexican events.
Some of these same children of course put graffiti on our walls on the way home from school. I am also not naive enough to believe that all is sweetness. Many children are abandoned by families too poor to care from them or have limited parenting skills or no extended family. One little boy we have watched for a few years is not allowed to get back into the house without a specified sum of money. He literally sings for his supper. There are probably the same numbers of abused children and mothers, the same numbers of family breakdowns and so on as you would find in other parts of North America. But something is clearly different as well.

DANZAS AZTECAS

For the second time in three years we visited San Miguel de Allende for the dance of the conquest (el dia de conquista) which features about 200 hundred Aztec dancers and a few Matlachines. This is the only Aztec dance that I have actually seen (although a small group dances annually in Patzcuaro and I have seen 3-4 dancers in Cucucho. Historically earlier, and of more interest, are those dances depicting the conquest of the Aztecs by Cortez and the Spanish as well as a similar dances referred to as the Malinches or Matlachines performed as often in southwest USA as in Mexico, la danza de los Moros and Cristianos and la danza de la pluma. This group of dances depict combat and conquest and with role playing there is a great deal of room for symbolism and hidden messages. Max Harris provides some exceptional examples of acts of resistance in these dances and I will return to this in a subsequent post. However, more often the Aztecs, Matachines and Moros have been lifted from these combat dances and perform on their own at events honouring a patron saint or celebrations of conquest. These dances with only one side participating so to speak are referred to as “media conquista” (half conquest). One wonders how these groups became isolated from the larger dance and I at least speculate that the church had some influence on this as the full dances often carried an undertone of resistance to the conquest, even after 500 years. What has puzzled me in watching the “media conquista” dances is the celebration of Christian conquest of Mexico. But, if one sees this against the full dance, although seldom performed in most parts of the nation, there is the possibility that in the minds of the dancers they are presenting a tribal view of the world as well as the “hidden transcripts” which are implied by the full dance. The past rector of the Basilica de Guadalupe in Mexico City was born in Quiroga, Michoacan and for at least 5 years returned to participate in the dance of the Moors (the half dance) on the day of the town’s patron Saint. His account is of interest: he returned each year because he saw the dance as a way to bridge the conflict between the Indian part of the community and the mestizo part. This would seem to be an excellent occasion for the Indian community to show resistance but if there is any it is not apparent, perhaps drowned out by the shear number of participants or by respect for the rector. Also, one can imagine that it is the mestizo community that organizes events and occupies important positions.

Now, however, let’s turn briefly to the Aztecas. Harris distinguishes between Los Aztecas and Los Concheros along class lines - the Concheros typically being dancers of a lower class and putting the concha shell (actually in the form of a guitar made from the shell of an armadillo) more at the centre of the dance. Los Aztecs by contrast are more middle class and give no significance to the concha and place the drum at the centre of the dance. Los Aztecas can be found on almost any day in the Zocalo of Mexico City where drumming goes on for hours and people dance with or without costume. The costumes consist of men in loin cloths and vests and with enough feathers in their head gear to frighten birds for miles. All fabrics are embroidered with what one immediately imagines as Aztec designs. They wear small bells on their feet and to the deafening rhythm of the drums dance for hours at a time. Although billed as el dia de conquista, what is really going on here?

Max Harris provides some useful insights based on his observations of the dance in Mexico City.
“The danzas aztecas are self-conscious attempts, as many participants told me, to revive ‘the dances of our [Aztec] ancestors’. They are far from authentic. .. The urban mestizo’s ideas abut his Aztec ancestors are culled as much from popular films, posters, newspapers, and magazines - and from Hollywood representations of Native Americans - as they are from the ancient codices and subsequent scholarship. To put it unkindly, the danzas aztecas resemble a cross between a Plains Indians powwow and the gaudy fantasies of a Las Vegas costume designer. The performers are not living tradition bearers but escapees from the alienation of daily routine to a world of ‘invented ethnicity’”. (Carnival and other Christian Festivals. 2003: 54-55)


Unkind indeed, but Harris goes further. Commenting on the fact that the danzas aztecas take up much performance space and make a great deal of noise, they attract large audiences and drown out the indigenous dancers often present at public events. He says the following:
Urban Mexican contempt for the cultural products of unsophisticated rural Indians marginalized real Indians in the name of a romantic, middle-class vision of Mexico’s indigenous past. ... In the danzas aztecas, urban mestizos defiantly assert the value of a native heritage they despise in the flesh of their Indian neighbors. (2003:55)

This is rather blunt but after being a witness to a large scale dance, I believe there are elements of truth in his claims. Many of the dancers carry a very obvious urban “paunch” and one worries about their health during the vigorous dancing. Further, the smaller groups of dancers who look more “indian” are relegated to small corners of the pubic plaza.

Please see my post for February 2012 in which I re-describe the Aztec dance for an improved interpretation.  Click here for my most recent words on this.

IMPRESSIONS OF TEMPLO MAYOR

It is difficult to roam around the Templo Mayor site, the Aztec (or more properly Mexica) archaeological site in the historic centre of Mexico City, without being impressed or moved in some way. I was struck by two thoughts. First, how recent the history of this site is. The last major renovation to the Aztec temple occurred about 100 years prior to the arrival of the Spanish. The Spanish cathedral, literally a stones throw from the earlier temple, is itself impressive but if we can imagine traveling back in time another 100 years from its construction, there was the Aztec temple.

The second image that grew in my mind and became much more powerful than the image of the shortness of history, was that of the killing field. In the archaeological site and in the museum itself one sees the skull rack (I presume the one in the museum is original work while that in the site is probably a reconstruction), a representation of those killed in battle who were then sacrificed to the gods. Reliable accounts suggest that when the last renovation was made to the ancient temple 1000 people were sacrificed each day for the 20 days of the festival - 20,000 people lost their lives for the glory of god. All of this is now invisible but one can imagine the blood running down the temple, the body parts being dealt with and the fear that must have run through the streets. A visit to the ruins is like a visit to a concentration camp in Germany, the Cambodian killing fields or the country side of Rwanda. Yet, there are no signs telling us we are entering a killing ground, no suggestions to remember those who died at the site, no explanation of the use of body parts. It gets worse: there were five renovations to the ancient temple. Did each have a similar number of deaths associated with the grand reopening? Also of corse there were regular sacrifices at the site. Let your mind travel further and recall the enormous numbers of deaths in the streets (in what was really quite a small island) at the hands of the Spanish and of the Aztecs.

In an earlier post I reviewed the debate over cannibalism among the Aztecs and now it has become more real. One can indeed find images from Aztec sites of body parts being cooked and eaten. We know there was a belief that the bodies of those sacrificed became sacred: after death they took on additional importance. So it is unlikely the bodies were simply disposed of and more likely the bodies were consumed by the religious elite. This of course is only different from our treatment of the body of Jesus in its concreteness, not in its symbolism. How one might ask, could they possibly eat 20,000 sacred bodies? Perhaps this protein did in fact work its way down the “food chain” so to speak and fed a great many people.

EL TORITO (THE LITTLE BULL)

You do not need spend very many days in Michoacan until you see the torito dance. There are many forms of this dance and with many viewings I have begun to appreciate the symbolism buried in this small event. The story goes that the figure of the little bull and its attendant characters was developed shortly after the arrival of the Spanish as a form of mockery of the importance the Spanish gave to the bull fight. In this post I examine some of the more common forms of the dance and attempt an archeology of the images.

The most frequent use of the dance is during carnival and it is here that one finds the largest array of characters and in this see the mockery of the Spanish. The characters are of the course the torito made of animal skin and real horns and perhaps the name of the dancer’s barrio written on the side. The figure is carried on the head and shoulders of a man who swings the torito wildly and chases after other characters. The second person is the maranguilla (little Mary) who invariably is a man dressed as a woman, sometimes with a mask and whose role is to taunt the bull. Another character is the cowboy (jinete) who may have a small figure of a horse head strapped to the front of his belt and the back end of the horse attached to the back of the belt. He usually carries a rope with which on occasion he catches the bull - usually when it is time to move on to another street corner. Then there are a number of strange characters who act as crowd control, create a sense of excitement by forcing members of the audience to dance with them and to collect donations. On at least one occasion I have also seen a devil character cracking a substantial whip. Cross dressing is a common element of carnival in many communities. In San Bartolo for example many men and some women engage in cross dressing and for a period exchange societal roles. These legitimized occasions for violating the rules are common to most societies and are not just to let off steam but to display what happens when you break the rules. A short aside - there is a common dance called the feos (uglies). In my favorite 6-8 men dress as women and go through the streets engaging in women’s activities like sweeping (they also look up each other’s dresses). The crowd reaction is much laughter which serves to reinforce the traditional gender roles. I will return to carnival in a moment but first another use of the dance.
Many times one sees the torito when all of the participants, except the torito dancer and the band, are women. Rather than dressing as maranguillas (little Marys), they are the guaracitas (literally mountain people, but refers to women in their traditional clothing). For example this happens during celebrations of the festival of San Jose (Joseph the other half of the ideal family). Here the dancer follows an image of the saint and the procession ends at the basilica. Joseph is a difficult image for men (wasn’t he the cuckold - husband of an adulteress) so they are conflicted by his image. In a patriarchal society like Mexico he is also a difficult image for women. They would rather talk to the Virgin Mary, so in this dance we see the woman teasing the torito but always backing away. Are they learning how to relate to men (and making this public)? The patriarchal father or husband in his disguise.
Now if we go back to the carnival image we see that the torito is more than the patriarch - he is temptation itself. In Spanish or perhaps Catholic tradition the devil is not understood as evil but only as sin or temptation. As temptation it can be avoided, mastered, or excused (confession). It came as a great surprise to me that in many barrios the torito is symbolically killed at the end of the evening. Remember that ash Wednesday follows carnival and so the slate has to be cleaned as the period of lent is undertaken. For a period at any rate temptation has to be driven out. One is about to embark on a period of dealing with your temptations - giving up smoking, drinking, eating bread, etc. Now if we return to the second image of carnival. In Santa Fe de la Languna, Michoacan, the carnival dancers are all women (except the bull of course). At the end of the evening the woman take long piece of freshly cut thorn bushes in their gloved hands and whip the back sides of the men (perhaps their husbands and the men in charge of the community events). We can see them whipping temptation into place but also the making a public statement about gender roles.
There are two or three other images that confirm these claims. In one town on the evening of carnival all of the cross dressers make a small procession in their tight dresses and high heel to the bull ring for the annual jaripejo (rodeo). Here brave men attempt to ride bulls without benefit of saddle or even a rope to hang on to. Once the man is dislodged the bull is allowed to run wild in the ring in order to give the cross dressers the opportunity to tease the bull (often kicking off their heel to quickly climb the fence). It is good fun but as almost all bull riders and bull fighters are men (there is a current and very competent woman bull fighter in Mexico) this routine also entrenches traditional gender roles - we laugh at women attempting to do what only men should do.

During carnival period there is also a competition of torito dances performed by children. This training is necessary of course if the community wishes to maintain traditions. But there are at least two other uses of the torito. First, it is not unusual after the castillo (literally the castle, but it refers to the tall Mexican fireworks with elements of awe and danger) to have a torito loaded with fireworks. Usually carried by a young man this dangerous creature runs through the crowds sending everyone scrambling. On occasion these toritos carry what are called “buscapies” - literally searchers for feet. These fireworks go straight out from the torito and travel in unpredictable directions, often resulting in burns to young children (most often boys). I also saw this type of torito used in Taxco by a group of young men who played tag with it, running and falling through the streets as they attempted to stay out of reach. If they are tagged, it becomes their turn to carry the torito. One final example. In her discussion of the Matachines dance Syliva Rodriguez (1996: 24) describes the role of the torito in this performance of Spanish conquest and resistance. At the end of the dance the torito is castrated - the symbolism of this is clear and dramatic.

Now I need to do some reading to understand the symbolism of the bull in Spanish culture and see how this transferred to New Spain.

THREE STRANGE KINGS

This year we went to Ihuatzio, a small town only a few kilometers from Patzcuaro, on January 6 which is Three Kings day. We arrived in the middle of things so were unable to get a real sense of the events of the day but here are some notes on what we have learned.
There appeared to have been a pastorela dance which is common during the Christmas season. Some of the dancers were entering homes which quickly became overcrowded . The centre of attention was on a group of about 7 men who wore unusual outfits: they wore fedora hats (a European style hat) and long summer overcoats (abrigos or gabardinas). I thought these men must be the cargueros of the village or of the dance but I later discovered they represented the Three Kings. Would like to know where this tradition came from. The men were called capoteros (derived from the word for cape). The Kings immediately linked arms and began moving quickly in all four directions, creating the threat of one of them falling over or of members of the crowded being knocked over. Would like to know what this represented. This lasted only a few minutes with great laughter and then they sat down and food was brought to them while a group of female dancers (guarecitas) performed. After 15 minutes the action moved on.
At the next stop we were offered a plate of food by one of the Kings. It contained a bowl of fava beans coved with sugar and the whole bowl covered with a very large tortilla. We later learned that the gift was a sweet gift typical of the season. The large tortilla was really a buenjelo (usually a very sweet flat bread which is deep fried rather than quickly cooked on a comal). We were expected to make a taco of the material but few if any people appeared to do this. (Perhaps this was their 4th or 5th offering).
We saw two other groups of dancers. First, a rowdy group of feos (usually cross-dressed) and second large group of young boys (perhaps 40) in pink to red smocks with hoods. These boys represented the hermits which again are common to the pastorela dance.
More about this event next year.

JANUARY 1 CIRCUMCISION

For two years we have gone to Purepecha villages to witness celebration and dancing. One might think this is just a celebration of the New Year but for the Purepecha the new year begins on February 1, their calendar being set by the motions of Orion. Also, there are often images of Santo Niño on this day. This is perhaps understandable since the day is close to Christmas but it doesn’t really make sense.
A little research uncovered two things that might makemore sense of the celebrations on this day. First, according to Jewish tradition baby boys are circumcised 8 days after birth. If you count December 25, this means Jesus was circumcised on Jan. 1. So what is the deal? Catholics were encouraged to see this circumcision in a non-Jewish framework so saw this drawing of blood as the first indication of the crucifixion and the blood shed to save each of us. In addition, this day was when Jesus would have received his name - the first day he was called Jesus. Until 1960 this day was part of the Catholic calendar but has been removed and replaced with another celebration. The indigenous peoples of Mexico, however, may have hung on to this earlier tradition as it had become linked to fiestas and dances.

Or, here is another take: I have been reading further writings of Max Harris on the “feast of Fools”, a much misunderstood festival present in the medieval Catholic church and silenced by later religious authorities. The event was part of a sequence of nativity festivals and occurred on December 28 (the festival of innocents, what we are now told is similar to April fools day). This festival involved an element of revelry and practices which can easily be misinterpreted as pagan or inappropriate. For example, the ass was welcomed into the church, there was cross-dressing even among the clergy, the lower clergy played the parts of the higher clergy, and so on. Harris reinterprets these events within a religious (rather than pagan) framework and begins with the observation that all religious drama should be seen as having the intent of making the invisible incarnate. Complex theological narratives were made clear through theater, drama, and performance and the feast of fools was just another of these dramas. He then reminds us of one of the most peculiar aspects of the Christian narrative - Jesus was born in a manger among the animals and his mother was carried to her delivery by an ass. Further, the first to be told of the birth were the shepherds and the animal world. In short, Christianity is presented as beginning with the lowly and the humble and not the kings or religious authorities. The feast of fools appears to celebrate this aspect of the Christian narrative. Finally, the bible tells us that the world will be turned upside down - the lowly shall inherit the earth, etc. This is what we see in the cross-dressing and the lower clergy acting above their station and so on - things are turned upside down.

Now, although this festival was discontinued 500 years ago and it is not clear from Harris if the festival also occurred in Spain, one does wonder if the festival in Michoacan on January 1 are remnants of this festival of fools. The cross dressing on January 1, for example, would make sense in this context.