BUNZ[L CHICHI QASIENANGO E 51.A51 P9 v. 22 A.ll NIOM + + o+ piTY Op INI M lv'4IAL> )). ~ -SrT o $ii OIL s*1vf 4r ~O + + + LI6V1 9Ql + +o+ PUBLICATIONS OF THE AMERICAN ETHNOLOGICAL SOCIETY Edited by MABIAN W. SMITH XXII RUTH BUNZEL CHICHICASTENANGO A GUATEMALAN VILLAGE AlI J. J. AUGUSTIN PUBLISHER LOCUST VALLEY, NEW YORK ALL RIGHTS RESERVED by RUTH BUNZEL i - I PRINTED IN GERMANY AT J.J.AUGUSTIN, GLUCKSTADT 1952 FOREWORD This book is an exploratory study of the town of Chichicastenango in the Department of Quich6 in the Western Highlands of Guatemala. The field work was done in 1930-32 and the manuscript was completed in substantially its present form in 1936. Introducing it to the public now is very much like writing a preface to another person's work. For since this was written many things have happened in the world and in the social sciences. Anthropology in particular has developed new methods and new orientations, and I also have developed. It is somewhat difficult to recapture now the orientation and theoretical preoccupations of twenty years ago. My first interest in going to Chichicastenango was to investigate problems of cultural change and at the same time to examine the dynamics of cultural integration. My thinking along these lines was somewhat as follows: In the past anthropology had been concerned with the study of presumed "pure" cultures, meaning by that those which had not yet been directly exposed to European intrusion, or in reconstructing the former "pure" cultures from the memories of those who had lived in them before they "broke" under the impact of European contact. It is true that the contemporary cultures of societies recently exposed to the full impact of European expansion did not offer attractive pictures to the ethnologist, with their declining population, loss of economic independence, social disruption, and general disphoria. However, the studies of "pure" or reconstructed cultures where we had no historical perspective were too static and gave a misleading impression of cultural stability. On the other hand the then popular studies of "diffusion" and "acculturation" which were concerned with isolating, identifying and tracing cultural "traits" told us little about the true nature of cultural change, and especially neglected the positive or synthesizing phase that follows the shock of the first violent impact. A more meaningful study of the full process of culture change would have to be made in an area where contemporary cultures could be related to a known historic background that included the sudden impact of an alien culture followed by a period of reorganization and synthesis. Fortunately such an area exists in Middle America where "native" cultures have survived four hundred years of European vi FOREWORD domination. We already knew from archaeology and from documents something about the pre-Columbian cultures of the area and were in the process of learning more. We knew a good deal about sixteenthcentury Spain. Within this general area the Guatemalan Highlands were, at that time, relatively isolated, relatively free from plantations and large landholdings, and were the home of vigorous and strongly differentiated Indian communities. It was something over four hundred years since Pedro Alvarado and his hundred and ninety Spanish soldiers and their Mexican allies burned the chiefs of the Quiches and slaughtered their armies on the plains before their capital, Utatlan, in the battle that decided the fate of the civilizations of Central America. The modern city of Santa Cruz Quiche, capital of the Department of Quiche, stands a mile from the ruins of Utatlan. The courthouse of the modern city has been built of stones taken from the ruins of the ancient capital, and many of these stones still bear traces of carved glyphs and sculptured ornament. Among the ruins of Utatlan are two crevices, blackened with the smoke of incense, to which Indian sorcerers from Santa Cruz and the nearby town of Chichicastenango still resort to make offerings to the spirits of their ancestors. The courthouse at Santa Cruz might serve as a symbol of the contemporary culture of Guatemala, each stone of which bears the impress of prehistoric civilization. Wherever one turns one sees the dramatic juxtaposition, alongside the modern industrialism, of the flamboyant Spanish colonial and the equally resplendent native tradition. In rural areas where modern civilization has not yet penetrated the two earlier elements have been fused into a new unity. It is the purpose of the present book to tell what this structure looked like after four centuries. It was at Santo Tomas Chichicastenango, a large Indian town nine miles from Utatlan, settled in all probability by refugees from that city, that Ximenez discovered in a niche in the wall of the Convent, a few feet from the room which I occupied, the Popol Buj, that extraordinary compendium of Quiche mythology and history, perhaps the most important literary monumant of the ancient Highland civilization. Today Chichicastenango is a great center of Indian commerce and tradition; its inhabitants have withstood the shock of conquest and colonization and have reorganized their lives in new patterns. They have come to terms with the inexorable forces of history, yielding where necessary, without sacrificing any of their essential human dignity and integrity. As one watches the Indian sorcerer calmly burning his incense and performing his incantations on the steps of the Catholic church, in defiance of the priests who FOREWORD vii have been fulminating against this particular practice for four centuries, one knows that the Quich6 Indian has come undefeated through the age of colonialism. My visit to Chichicastenango occurred immediately before a new government made far-reaching changes in the political and economic conditions of the country. These changes brought to a close one phase of the Colonial period. Improved communications and altered economic relations will bring other changes in their wake. Soon the culture described in the present book will be recoverable only from the memories of those who experienced it in the past. It represents a highly characteristic form of human life, caught at a moment of history, and now vanishing. Change engulfed Chichicastenango; change and the urgency of the problems created by World War II and its aftermath engulfed the United States also, and affected the lives and work of individuals and the whole course of social research. The urgency of these new problems pushed Chichicastenango into the background; I did not return, as I had planned, to do the studies of individual behavior which had been projected, and even publication of this part of the original plan was delayed. Chichicastenango will be revisited; it is one of those intriguing cultures like that of Zuni or Samoa or Vancouver Island that is bound to attract ethnologists for many years to come. I trust that this account of certain aspects of the culture of Chichicastenango will be of use to other workers and provide a base for the study of further phenomena of cultural change. II My work was planned originally as a general introduction and orientation preliminary to a concerted interdisciplinary study of the Guatemala Highlands. This project was to cover other towns and ultimately involve in addition to anthropologists, geographers, agronomists, economists, archaeologists, linguists, historians, and experts in such special fields as folklore, music, and decorative arts. This purpose dictated certain features of the content as well as the method of work. After consultation with Drs. Redfield and Kidder of the Carnegie Institution, Chichicastenango was chosen as the place for the first anthropological studies because much of its history was already known or recoverable, because it was an important center of Highland trade, because it was large enough to enable a number of people to work at the same time without interfering with one another, because there were enough Spanish-speaking natives to make pos viii FOREWORD sible short-term studies by experts in peripheral fields who would have to work with informants but who could not be expected to / learn a primitive language. Other places might have had other advantages -village more remote from the centers of communication might, perhaps, but not necessarily, have been more "Indian"; in a smaller village it might have been possible to know every individual and hence get a clearer picture of actual events and social structure. And indeed such a detailed study of a small, remote community, possibly one of the outlying hamlets of Chichicastenango, was projected as a later phase of the work. The choice of place and the projected position of this study within a wider framework influenced to a large extent the selection of material and the methods of fieldwork. Since this was to be an introductory study to an area it was concerned primarily with pattern or ethos - the view of life, institutional framework, habits of thought, and significant relationships, rather than with events or concrete data of individual behavior. It aimed at outlining the basic assumptions and expectations of the culture in terms of which all concrete data on the behavior of individuals must be measured and interpreted. Methodologically it was an attempt to penetrate a culture by looking at it through the eyes of members of it. Since one cannot oneself become a member of another culture, and since behavior within an unknown frame of reference is not self-explanatory, one must depend for an understanding of the significance of events on verbal communication with members of the culture - on what they tell one directly either spontaneously or in response to questions, or indirectly through their projections, their reactions to known situations, or even through their silences, evasions, and conscious or unconscious distortions. This means working with informants who are able to explain, interpret, and generalize. As a field technique this means working with a limited number of highly intelligent individuals with whom one is able to form and maintain fairly close personal relationships of mutual trust. I arrived in Chichicastenango early in October 1930. Through the good offices of Father Ildefonso Rossbach, the parish priest, and Fathers Carlos and Francisco Knittel who covered the important Chichicastenango parish while Father Rossbach was away on pastoral visits to other mountain parishes and of Sr. Don Flavio Rodas N., the noted Quiche linguist and scholar, and a native of Chichicastenango, I soon made contact with a group of leaders of the Indian community. Gradually the basic features of Chichicastenango social structure FOREWORD ix became apparent, among them the division into "town" and 'cantOn' which is discussed in Part III. It also became obvious that if one wished a complete and well-rounded picture of Chichicastenango culture one would have to live both in the town and in the cantones. (The religious, ceremonial, and political life were centered in the town, but the people who lived in the town were of a special kind, the political and religious leaders of the community. Most of the men spoke Spanish, some of them were literate, and all had business dealings or other contacts with Ladinos, either as merchants, officials, or plantation laborers, and were very much more sophisticated about the ways of the outside world than the more isolated mountain dwellers who came to Chichicastenango occasionally for the weekly market. A study of the institutional and ideological content of Chichicastenango culture, and of the political, religious and economic institutions, would have to be made in the town where the events of public life took place. But for the day-by-day life and the detail and tone of personal relationships of the common man of Chichicastenango one would have to go to the cantones. I started to work in the town with a group of highly intelligent, articulate, and willing male informants. For ordinary communication I used Spanish. Although I learned enough Quiche to be able to translate texts and to hold very simple conversations, I never learned enough to use it as a working language. This I now realize was a great mistake and one I would probably have corrected had field work gone forward as planned. In particular my inability to handle the native language hampered my contact with women and children, for I found none who spoke more than a few words of Spanish. The ritual texts were dictated to me in Quiche and Spanish by a literate informant. From the same informant and from others I collected descriptions of other institutions many of these also in Quiche text. I remained in Guatemala from September 1930 to March 1931, practically all of this time in Chichicastenango, with a few brief visits to neighboring villages. After leaving Chichicastenango I spent a few days in Momostenango where I did a little comparae work, and a few weeks in the villages around Lake Atitlan. The late spring and summer of 1931 I spent in Spain. I hadioped-to do some work in the Archive of the Indies in Seville, and in the Dominican archive at Avila and the Franciscan archive at Santiago Compostela, and also to visit some of the more conservative villages with the idea of planning more intensive work. Revolution broke out in Spain a few days after my arrival, and although I was able to go everywhere, X FOREWORD the temper of the country was not conducive to systematic work. The church archives were closed, the director of the Archive of the Indies was gone and no one knew quite what to do about foreign scholars. Although I visited many small villages and sat on the sands with fishermen in Galicia and dug potatoes with peasant women in the Gredos, and everywhere found the village people eager to welcome me and willing to talk by the hour, it was about their dreams for the future that they wished to talk, brushing aside as irrevelant their traditions and present condition. In the autumn I was back at Chichicastenango, skipping the two big autumn fiestas and taking that time to visit Totonicapan, Quezaltenango, Momostenango, Huehuetenango, and near-by villages. I remained in Chichicastenango until April when I had to leave rather suddenly, but with the expectation of returning after a year to tackle a different order of problems. Except for a short time when I stayed in a native inn in the town, I lived for the time that I was in Chichicastenango in the Convent, formerly a monastery of Dominican friars, and at that time the residence of the parish priest. Here I was the guest of Father Ildefonso Rossbach and his associates, Fathers Carlos and Francisco Knittel. This was in many ways an excellent arrangement. The church and convent, located at the southeast corner of the central plaza commanded the arena of public life; the church and convent patio were recognized meeting places for Indian visitors. I was completely independent and had, moreover, the benefit of Father Rossbach's wisdom and learning. Father Rossbach, German by birth and an American citizen by adoption, was a convert to Catholicism who had spent twenty-five years in the mountain parishes of Guatemala. He was a man of great education and wide sympathies, a linguist and scholar, and a humane and tolerant shepherd of his flock. He had a fair command of the Quiche language, and had interested himself in and collected a considerable amount of material on native custom and belief, mostly from Momostenango where he had served before coming to Chichicastenango. His relations with the Indians were amicable, and I could see no disadvantage in being associated in their minds with him. On the contrary, his sponsorship prevented me from being identified, as were most North Americans, with the Evangelistas, a North American Protestant missionary group, who were generally regarded by the Indians as an intrusive and hostile element who wanted to destroy their religion. After some months I wished to move out of town and live with an Indian family in one of the cantones, but none of my informants would accept me for more FOREWORD xi than an overnight visit. They claimed that they could not get permission from the alcalde, and it is quite true that the alcalde refused me when I asked. He and my informants gave many reasons: I was well off where I was; why did I want to move? They had no way to take care of an American lady in the cantones; they were poor; their houses were not good; I would not like their food; I would not be comfortable; I would not be safe. If something happened to me "on the roads" they did not want to be responsible, etc., etc. These excuses were to a great extent rationalizations; above all, I think, they wanted me where they could keep an eye on me. The other alternative was to rent a house in town, but I could not see that that would have any advantage over living in the Convent and would have had many disadvantages, not the least of which would have been the reluctance of male informants to visit me under those circumstances. For the most part I visited informants in their homes, although some informants preferred to visit me at the Convent, since that provided a perfect cover for them. Most of these informants received me in their homes for formal visits, at which everything was quite stiff and formal, with little opportunity to observe normal household activities. Even those informants who worked with me in their homes maintained rather formal relationships, regarding this as a professional rather than a social relationship. Chief among my informants was a man whom I shall call Manuel. He was approximately 30-35 years of age, rich by Chichicastenango standards, and literate. He was influential in many areas, and had his fingers in many pies. He was married, had three small children and lived on a small farm about three-fourths of a mile from the center of town, but also used the house of his father in the town. Manuel was a merchant with a drygoods stall in the market, secretary of the municipal government and of one of the religious brotherhoods, a recorder of deeds and referee in inheritance and other property disputes, and a shaman who made divinations and performed ceremonies for clients for fees. His activities touched almost every aspect of Chichicastenango life. This man was my chief informant; he dictated many of the texts in the following pages and wrote out more for me; with him I worked systematically on the calendrical rituals. I visited him regularly at his house outside of town, probably five or six times a week throughout my stay in Chichicastenango and we went on several trips together. We were frequently interrupted by men coming to consult him on a variety of matters, usually business or property disputes. His wife was a good Xii FOREWORD friend of mine despite the fact that we could not communicate very well, and I frequently visited her while her husband was engaged. Next in importance was Manuel's father-in-law, also a man of some influence in the community. His connections were chiefly with the cofradia system, but he was much called on to serve as godfather to children. He was employed by a coffee plantation to recruit labor. Sebastian (that is not his name) had been married three times; he lived in a rambling compound just outside of town with two wives, a large assortment of children of different ages including a married son and his wife and children. I visited him at his house and frequently went with him to other houses where he had business. He was my first important informant, and I used him a great deal during the early weeks in Chichicastenango. He was less intellectual and rigid that his puritanical son-in-law, but also less patient, less precise and less reliable in personal relationships. He failed to arrive for appointments, disappeared for days without communicating, got drunk and tried to borrow money from me. After the first conducted tours of Chichicastenango when we settled down to the serious business of ethnology he lost interest in being an informant, though he wanted to continue to earn money. I continued to use him chiefly to corroborate other information and to retail town gossip. His son Juan also wanted to be an informant. He was a rather sullen individual, not very articulate, and did not have a great deal to say. He insisted on coming to me at the Convent in order that his father should not know that he was working for me. He liked to come and talk about his problems, most of which concerned getting and holding on to enough money to move with his wife and children out of his father's house. There were other informants: Manuel's father, Tomas, a man important in the cofradia system and the town government, Tomas's companion in the cofradias, also named Tomas, a fine figure of a man, handsome, polished, urbane, willing but not very intelligent, and Tomas's son a little like Sebastian's son in trying to compete against his father for my patronage. There was Matteo, the chief sacristan, and Sebastian, the head of the boys who served the Convent. Unfortunately communication with the boys themselves was limited by language difficulties and by the fact that they disappeared at the end of a week to be replaced by a whole new set. There were many minor informants with whom I had more casual contacts. I found that these informants tended to repeat things that I already knew, largely, I think, because they came from the same group. Although I did not deliberately set out to concentrate on the FOREWORD Xiii esoteric religion, it soon became evident that that was the most available road to the inner content and "feel" of the culture. Chichicastenango is a highly ritualized culture, and because of the special knowledge and position of the individuals with whom I first made contact I was in a peculiarly advantageous position to study ritual. Moreover I had come to Chichicastenango fresh from the study of another highly ritualized culture (Zuni) and was probably predisposed to use again a field technique which I had found congenial and rewarding in the past. Then the absorbing fascination which the Maya problem has for all anthropologists made it almost inevitable that one should explore to the utmost any survival of ancient calendrical rituals. But it soon developed that calendrical rituals could tell more than the names and nature of the gods, the notions of time, space, the world, and eternity which had survived from an earlier culture. For Chichicastenango has a culture with open, avowed ingroup sorery which is made operative through calendrical rituals. All of the hostilities, anxieties, guilt feelings aroused by social tensions are projected in the rituals in a direct and unmistakable manner. It was marvelously exciting to find how near the surface and accessible were these usually hidden and repudiated aspects of culture. After I had been at Chichicastenango a little over a month Professor Schultze-Jena arrived to complete studies in Quiche language and folklore which he had begun at Momostenango. The results of his studies have already been published.' Dr. Schultze-Jena and I differed widely in training, theoretical orientation, method, interest, and temperament. We did not at any time compare information or discuss our experiences in the field. This I have always regretted; much duplication and waste of effort might have been avoided had he been willing to divulge his plans. But regrettable as this situation was there was some value in it. The very wide area of agreement in the interpretations of two such different people as Professor SchultzeJena and myself is of interest as a demonstration of the objectivity of anthropological field work. For this reason, if for no other, I have published my material as originally organized, although some of it duplicates his. Some of the agreement in our conclusions is due, undoubtedly, to the fact that we used some, but not all, of the same informants. We may conclude that our joint interpretations fairly represent at least how one group of Quiches view their culture. This 1 Leonhard Schultze-Jena, Indiana: Die Quiche von Guatemala, Jena. 1933. Unfortunately for purposes of comparison, Dr. Schultze-Jena does not always differentiate between material from Chichicastenango and material from Momostenango. xiv FOREWORD is the group of self-conscious, bilingual, literate, town-dwelling, relatively rich and influential male Indians that furnishes the overt leadership of the community. Other groups may have a different view of life and inner organization of experience. They may, as our informants believe, be less subject to extreme intra-psychic tensions. I sincerely hope that we shall some day hear from them too. I trust that Dr. Tax's work at Chichicastenango, done after mine, will give this side of the picture. III Anthropological field methods have never become rigidly standardized and, let us hope, never will be, since no scheme conceived in one culture can possibly foresee all the intricacies and potentialities of personal relationships in another culture. We may go into the field armed with instruments that we cannot use because they touch off basic anxieties or offer an insuperable task to our subjects whose thinking is not organized to deal with categories of experience that we present to them. On the other hand, we may step into a ready-made role or encounter situations (such as an earthquake, flood, or revolution) which overnight change our status from that of a stranger to that of a fellow-sufferer in which we can observe behavior under stress before we know what is "normal". There is no magic formula, but there are many paths to partial truths, and however wise we are, we never learn the whole truth about another culture or, for that matter, about our own. We should go into the field armed with the best technical equipment we can acquire, and the greatest flexibility, and then use those techniques which seem most appropriate to the particular situation in which we find ourselves. Furthermore, out of all the ways in which one can work in a foreign culture, each anthropologist has one which is preferred (though, of course, not to the exclusion of other methods) and which, for him, seems most natural and most promising. He will use this method whenever the situation permits, and it is right that he should do so because a person picks up more cues in a field which is familiar and natural to him. I, for instance, am only a moderately good observer. I have had to train myself to look at things, to observe them precisely and attentively. Even so I miss many subtleties that would be picked up by someone for whom visual experience is the primary method of orienting himself in life. On the other hand I am naturally very alert to those nuances in verbal communication that can reveal more than the informant intended to say. My preferred method of work is to become attached to a single FOREWORD xv family, living as intimately as possible within the orbit of their lives, identifying as fully as possible with them, and learning to see the culture through their eyes. This is not a method which I chose deliberately because I believed it to be better than any other; it was one that was forced on me because of the bitter hostility and intense factionalism of Zuni where I did my first field work. Another technique which I used, again without deliberate plan, in my early researches in Zuni was the technique of structuring an inquiry within a framework that is meaningful in the culture - in Zuni, first with a collection of drawings of masked dancers and later with a series of ritual texts. Since these two techniques - identification with a single informant or a single family and using a conceptual scheme native to the culture as the structural framework of research - have been used as basic techniques in the following study, it is relevant to consider their validity in some detail. Since it is the first approach that has been most seriously questioned by anthropologists who advocate the use of "quantitative methods", and since there is no satisfactory statement about what is meant by using single informants I would like to discuss here the experience at Zuni that provided, to some extent, the model for the present study. When Ruth Benedict and I first arrived at Zuni the village was in one of its periodic states of upheaval in which anthropologists figured. The "progressive" faction, favorable to Americans and friendly to anthropologists, had been ousted after unsuccessful attempts by anthropologists to photograph the midwinter ceremonies, and its members were so discredited that any contact with them would have been disastrous. We were consequently faced with the necessity of finding informants among the conservative and traditionally hostile group that was now in power. We soon made contact with a young woman employee of the Government school who spoke English and who was a member of the household of one of the leaders of the ultra-conservative faction. She agreed to rent us a house and to serve as our interpreter, but only with members of her own family. We moved in and began work with this family. For the first week it seemed doubtful that we would be able to remain, but through a mixture of caution and luck we survived. Although years later I had many friends at Zuni and was accepted everywhere, our first informant and her family remained the core of our informants and our anchor at Zuni. Eventually (after three years) I was formally adopted into this family. From the first it was apparent that our interpreter and mentor was of two minds about her role. As a conservative Zuni, fully accepting xvi FOREWORD the responsibilities and values of her culture, she was beset by anxieties both social and supernatural. On the other hand, she was attracted to White culture and White people, and saw in her relationship with us an opportunity to advance herself both economically (the custom of paying informants was so well entrenched in Zuni that it took me five years to break it down at certain points), and socially as a leader of what might be called "conservative progressivism". We realized that not only did our continuance at Zuni depend on being able to handle this delicate situation and allaying our informants' anxieties, but also that the difficulties of our position provided some of our best insights into the conflicts, tensions, anxieties, as well as social alinements in Zuni culture. Making a virtue of necessity, we fixed our attention on the inner workings of one family we knew well, and soon ceased to regret that our contacts were restricted. Later I began work with a male informant from another family with whom my relations were at least equally complicated and difficult. The practice of using single informants has had a long history in American anthropology. It has been used by Elsie Clews Parsons in the difficult Rio Grande pueblos where hostility was so intense that one could talk only to special informants far away from their villages, in hotels or ranches to which they could not be traced. It was used before that by Paul Radin and many others to reconstruct the earlier cultures of tribes which were practically extinct or whose lives had so changed that only a few old men or women remembered how things had been done in the past. It was used by Franz Boas with the Kwakiutl to secure greater masses of ethnographic data than could be obtained in a short field trip; to overcome limitations of time he trained a Kwakiutl Indian to write out for him the detailed data he did not have the time to collect in person. But it was obvious that our use of single informants differed somewhat from these classical examples. We were using single informants in a living culture whose institutional structure was already well known to obtain a deeper understanding, a more dynamic view. We were therefore faced in extreme form with the problems that beset all anthropologists in the field - in fact all social scientists dealing with human behavior - how reliable is this informant, how representative is my sample, of what is it representative, and to what extent is it justifiable to generalize from my data and what order of generalizations are valid? For anyone who has actually done intensive field work the problem of the reliability of informants, which seems to other scientists such FOREWORD xvii an obstacle to truly scientific work, quickly evaporates. The logical possibilities of error are endless, granting the fallibility of human beings. Conceivably, an informant might lie for any one of a number of reasons - venality, ignorance, vanity, a desire to please, and so forth. Actually, these motives are most likely to operate in informants whom one sees once or twice only. For when one works with the same individual several hours a day every day for six months or more a relationship is set up that differs as much from that with an informant who is interviewed once or twice in a quick survey or a "quantitative" study as the relationship with an individual met for a few hours at a cocktail party differs from that with a colleague who shares your office and collaborates with you on a joint research project. In order for an anthropologist to continue working with an informant, there must be a relationship of mutual trust, respect, and interest. If the informant is hostile, generally inhibited, bored, uncertain, or stupid the relationship languishes; he "dries up" as a source of information, the anthropologist drops him for a "better" informant, or the informant withdraws and becomes absorbed once more in the ordinary routine of native life. This identification of the informant with the anthropologist's aims reduces the probability of deliberate deception or concealment. In such a continued relationship deliberate and continued deception of the anthropologist for the sake of money or prestige is quickly recognized. However, I must say that in many years of field work and although I have had many informants who have worked for money I have known only one truly venal informant, and that was a man from a village in which I was not working who was interviewed once because he was reputed to have special knowledge and who tried to sell me a bill of goods. Naturally, in any informant relationship there will always be certain facts which the informant distorts or conceals. In so far as these distortions are conscious and lie in areas of cultural taboo or cultural "hot spots", such as incest within the informant's own family, polygyny in tribes which have had unfortunate contacts with missionaries, or land tenure among people who fear tax collectors, etc., the way to identify such hot spots and correct the distortions is not to know more people but to know the people one knows better. Fifty informants may deny polygyny; one informant may become confidential Qn the fiftieth interview and tell about his uncle's second wife. The anthropologist must constantly remind himself that a statement is not necessarily objectively true because all his informants agree that it is so or, conversely, that it is false because only one xviii FOREWORD informant reports it. In so far as they are repeating cultural myth or cultural fantasy repetition indicates the hold of the myth, but reveals little about objective reality. Nor is this reality always open to observation. One has to know a family well and understand the patterns of family behavior before one can recognize that the woman identified in the informant's genealogy as "a distant cousin of my mother's" is, actually, the informant's second wife. Regardless of what informants may tell one about family harmony - and in certain cultures it is not permitted to mention family quarrels - quarrels occur and they can usually be recognized. In Zuni, however, bitter quarrels can go on under the anthropologist's nose and be unrecognized because the indirect ways in which the Zuni express hostility are hard for outsiders to identify. In order to correctly interpret such subtle or unfamiliar patterns of behavior it is essential to know at least one person really well, to observe him in a variety of social situations with a number of people and to explore with him his reactions and motivations and his interpretations of the observed behavior of others. In addition to the time involved in cultivating this kind of relationship with informants and the problem of holding the informant's interest and retaining his confidence in an unfamiliar and difficult situation, there are more serious difficulties involved. By becoming identified with a single clan or household or individual the anthropologist finds his social relations with other members of the group to a great extent structured for him, the degree depending on the rigidity of the social structure, the amount of intra-group hostility, the physical arrangements of life, and many other factors. By entering the social structure at a given point he surrenders some of his freedom of choice - or apparent freedom of choice - in favor of an assigned role. This difficulty, however, should not be exaggerated. For even without developing special relationships with particular individuals, the anthropologist has his relationships structured for him, as outsider - missionary, trader, government employee, or whatever familiar category he may be identified with. Learning to play a role within the social structure as a member of Household A or as X's sworn friend, far from being limiting may be one of the anthropologist's most rewarding explorations. More serious are the tensions which may develop in the relationship between the anthropologist and the special informant, but these, too, may be turned to profit. The experience of being an informant of the kind we have been describing is likely to have distressing consequences for the informant. The anxieties aroused may be simple FOREWORD xix and overt - fear of envy or of reprisal for revealing tribal and personal secrets, fear that the information will be used to the detriment of the group, or such less open and conscious fears as anxiety over loss of power or native virtue, guilt about betrayal, doubts and insecurity that arise from examining the basic assumptions of one's culture or from questioning values that had previously been taken for granted, or emotional involvement with the anthropologist and disturbing fantasies and anxieties about growing dependence on the anthropologist. In Zuni I encountered informant resistance at all levels. Those whom I interviewed for data on economics and social structure were afraid that their neighbors would think they were telling "secrets"; those who were willing to talk about religious matters feared supernatural punishment; at least two female informants who formed warm personal ties with me found that this relationship intensified their conflicts in regard to cultural loyalties. They became increasingly attracted to White culture at the same time as they became increasingly self-conscious about their own cultural values. It happened that I was collecting dreams at that time, and the number of times I appeared, usually under some thin disguise, in the dreams of informants, and their spontaneous comments on these dreams were my first indication of the disturbing character of the informantanthropologist relationship. One male informant who was seriously ill at the time reported the following dream: "I was lying here in bed and a White girl - not you, but I don't know who it was - came into the room and came over and handed me a bundle of prayersticks. Then I knew I was going to die because this was the kind of bundle we make for the dead.... and it is true I will die because I have given away my religion (the esoteric texts he had dictated to me) and I have nothing with which to defend myself." He did die a few days later. He was an old man and his illness was of long standing; he was believed to be a sorcerer and his passing caused no sorrow in the village, although it was believed that he died as a result of betraying secrets. He himself had struggled to break off a relationship that he felt was destructive, but each time he came back of his own accord. Altogether this was a shattering experience for a young anthropologist doing her first intensive field work, and aware for the first time of "informants" as people, and of herself as an object in their emotional lives. Painful as this experience was I always believed that this and similar, but happily, less tragic experiences with other informants taught me more about the real essence of Zuni life - or those aspects of it which most interested me - than any XX FOREWORD amount of census taking and measuring of fields - although I did that too, and do not underestimate the importance of data of this kind. But the questions which I asked myself after my first brief visit to Zuni had impressed me with the alien character of Zuni life, and to which on later trips I sought the answers, were "What is it like to be a Zuni? How does it feel to live in a culture so organized? Can we ever know how it feels?" I believe that the close and often painful relationships with individual Zunis gave me some kind of answer to these questions. And, similarly, I believe that the far from easy relationship with Manuel at Chichicastenango, which paralleled in many ways my relationship with Nick, but fortunately ended more happily, told me how at least one Maxeno really felt about his culture, himself, his sex, and outsiders. There is still the question of how representative such data are. One must ask, What does one mean by "representative"? One cannot claim that any individual is "typical", "normal", "average" in a primitive community any more than any one individual represents the "average" American. An average is an abstraction which exists in the minds of social scientists, and it is not always a very useful abstraction. Nick was certainly no "average" Zuni, nor were the two women who came to me with their marital and other problems. But each one of them was representative, not of Zuni culture, but of the impact of Zuni cultural forms and requirements on individuals of particular biological endowment (at present we must regard individual variations in sensual acuity, mental capacity and energy potential as biologically determined) who had passed through certain life experiences. Nor is Manuel a "typical" Maxenio. His social situation and the scope of his activities alone make him exceptional. (Conversely, only an exceptional man could carry on so many activities and be an informant as well. Manuel would be exceptional in any culture). His view of the culture is, consequently, distorted by his particular character and situation. Let us, however, bear in mind that every view of a culture is distorted, since each individual looks at it selectively with eyes that distort. A less intelligent man than Manuel would have a less intelligent and integrated picture of his culture, and since in any society the unintelligent outnumber the intelligent, the unintelligent will find his view shared by a larger number of his fellows. That does not make it more "true", i. e., less distorted, than Manuel's more informed view. An Iowa farm hand's view of American political life is not more true than that of a wellinformed Washington correspondent just because there are more of him. Each is a partial truth and each is distorted. In evaluating FOREWORD xxi each cultural statement one must know who makes it, in what social context he is speaking, and, from the whole record of the person, his position and personal characteristics, estimate the kind and degree of his distortion. Manuel, I believe, tended to distort his culture paradoxically in two apparently contradictory ways: in the first place he emphasized the ideal patterns, the way things should be done - hence his delight in the minutiae of ritual - and at the same time was obsessed by the gravity of the deviations from the ideal. These are related phases of the same character structure, reinforced in the case of Manuel by the diversity of his social role, on the one hand as the Secretary of a cofradia and a padrino, in which positions he was concerned with correctness and the perpetuation of tradition, and, on the other hand as diviner and shaman and a settler of disputes in which positions he was peculiarly exposed to situations of conflict.2 Thus he swung from one extreme to another, from white to black, seeing good and evil as polarities rather than a continuum of more or less acceptable solutions. I realize now that my mistake at Chichicastenango was putting too great reliance on the exceptional informant without having adequate background for evaluating his formulations. There was no such problem at Zuni where I spoke the language, knew everyone, and really understood the culture. I would not wish to forego the experience of working with Manuel, nor would I want to "correct" the distortions in his view of his culture; he is an exceptionally intelligent man in a position of leadership; and how he sees his world is important. But much more work is needed with less exceptional individuals before we can generalize about Chichicastenango. I did not get the view of the Chichicastenango equivalent of the Iowa farmer, partly because I was beguiled by the excitement of working with an extraordinarily good informant, partly because I thought I had more time than turned out to be the case, but above all, I think, because I failed to master the language adequately, which, of course, was related to having a good Spanish-speaking informant available. I am happy to know that Dr. Tax followed me at Chichicastenango and that he got very different kinds of material. When his report is published, which I hope will be soon, it should make up for many 2 I am indebted to Dr. Sol Tax for first pointing out to me that Manuel's position as a licenciado would make him exceptionally conscious of family quarrels. Dr. Tax did not find Maxenos especially quarrelsome or concerned about quarrells. He did not in his communication mention the attitudes of his informants toward sorcery, whether they practiced it or feared that it might be used against them. XXLl. FOREWORD of the inadequacies of this presentation and place it in its proper perspective. IV The list of those to whom I am indebted for help is so long, and my indebtedness is of so many kinds, that I find it difficult to do justice to it. The opportunity to do field work in Guatemala was provided by a two-year fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. A grant from the Department of Anthropology of Columbia University assisted in the preparation of the manuscript, especially the time-consuming work of translating the full body of texts; and the publication of the volume in this series was made possible by a grant from the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research. For the generous support of these institutions I am deeply grateful. In Guatemala I received the fullest cooperation of all government officials who were in any way concerned with my work, and especially Sr. Carlos Palma of the Ministry of Foreign Relations and Dr. Mora, Minister of Education, who sponsored my work. Dr. J. Alfonso Villacorta of the Geographical and Historical Society of Guatemala, gave me much helpful advice. Sr. Flavio Rodas N. the distinguished Quiche scholar and a native of Chichicastenango, accompanied me to that village, gave me my first instruction in the Quiche language and helped me to orient myself. The local officials, business men, government employees, both at Chichicastenango and the provincial capital of Santa Cruz Quiche, too numerous to name, were without exception cooperative and friendly, and I wish here to thank them all for their help. Above all I must single out the late Father Ildefonso Rossbach, parish priest of Chichicastenango. Father Rossbach, himself a student of Indian customs and beliefs, offered me hospitality and aided me in countless ways. He helped me make my first contact with Indians, and was a source of encouragement and a mine of information, especially on Church matters. Among the anthropological colleagues who have helped in different ways I wish to mention above all Dr. Sol Tax who went over the manuscript in its original form and wrote out a detailed critique in which he offered many valuable suggestions and much sound criticism. Through his help I have been able to correct many inaccuracies of statement in the original draft, and his admirable caution has caused me to temper rash generalizations. I did not agree with all of his criticisms, but for his generosity in thus offering me the benefit FOREWORD xxiii of his own researches and thinking about Chichicastenango I feel not only gratitude, but also a profound respect for a truly detached and generous colleague. I regret that I was not able at the time it was made to act on his and Dr. Redfield's suggestion for a joint publication; I suppose I could not then face the prospect of rethinking the whole material. I hope, however, that Dr. Tax's material on Chichicastenango will soon be published and that his interpretation of the culture will clarify some of the problems raised in the foregoing pages. To Dr. Robert Redfield and Dr. A. V. Kidder I am grateful for having directed my attention to the Guatemala Highlands as a place of study. It was Dr. Redfield who first suggested Chichicastenango. Dr. Kidder visited Chichicastenango several times while I was there, and we had numerous conferences on the problems of the area. I have also profited from many discussions with Dr. Charles Wagley who worked in another section of the Highlands shortly after I was there and who permitted me to examine his data before publication. It is impossible to name all of one's teachers and colleagues who have contributed directly and indirectly to the shaping of one's thoughts and the direction of one's endeavors, or to recall the particular words which have set one to thinking in a certain way or which provided a fresh insight into familiar or amorphous material. I cannot name them all or single out some. But it would be quite impossible not to mention the part that the late Dr. Ruth Benedict has played in the design and execution of this study. Specifically she gave unstintingly of her time and her perceptiveness in innumerable letters and discussions all the while this book was in the making. But beyond that she had an influence on my thinking which I cannot measure. The years that we worked together were full of the excitement of discovering new vistas and exploring new paths. We walked on these paths together. For that comradeship and for her personal and intellectual qualities I am profoundly grateful. I can only hope that this book which she helped to produce will be in some measure worthy of the encouragement she gave. I wish to thank Dr. Margaret Mead for her continuing interest and efforts on behalf of the publication of this material, and Dr. Marian W. Smith for guiding it through the press. Finally I also wish to thank Miss Ruth Bryan and Miss Rosalind A. Zoglin who helped in the thankless task of proof-reading. I am afraid that I made the work of all of them needlessly difficult. New York, February 1952 RosTH BUNZEL TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD....................................... V INTRODUCTION........................................ 1 CHAPTER I. ECONOMIC LIE........................... 15 Land.................................. 16 ~ Land Tenure........................... 17 ~ M arriage............................... 25 ~ Work.................................. 30 Houses and Housebuilding............... 34 Food.................................. 40 Climate............................... 46 Agriculture............................ 48 ' Husbandry............................. 59 Industry............................... 60 Trade................................. 67 Professions............................. 76 Economics of Religion................... 83" Economic Attitudes...................... 88' CHAPTER II. FAMILY LIFE............................. 93 Pregnancy and Childbirth................ 93 Parents and Children.................... 98 Children............................... 100 Early Childhood........................ 102 Education.............................. 105 Growing Up............................ 107' Betrothal.............................. 109 Ceremonies of Marriage.................. 113 Husbands and Wives.................... 117 Marriage Ideals........................ 122. Divorce................................ 129 The Breakup of the Family.............. 132 Father and Son......................... 139 Sickness and Its Cure.................... 143 Death.................................. 150 CHAPTER III. GOVEaRMENT............................ 154 Baptism................................ 154 Church and State....................... 162 The Cofradfas........................... 164, The Civil Hierarchy.....................171 Local Organization......................181 The Principales.........................185 The Theory and Practice of Government... 188 xxv CHAPTER IV. FIESTAS................................... Fiesta of Maria del Rosario............. Todos los Santos........................ H oly W eek............................. Ritual in Cofradia of San Sebastian....... Ritual Patterns..................... Alcoholism............................. CHAPTER V. MAN'S FATE...................... The Powers............................. The Ancestors........................... The Nagual............................. The Days............................... Divination.............................. Sin and Penance........................ Sorcery and Protection................... Ritual Patterns........................ CHAPTER VI. RITUALS in TEXT TRANSLATIONS............ Introduction............................ General Thanksgiving................... Commemoration of the Dead............. Ceremony for Money................... Release from Evil Thoughts.............. Beginning and Undertaking.............. Invocation of the Destiny Animal......... Initiation of Chuchqajau................. To Placate the Idols..................... Protection after Theft.................... Protection after an Evil Portent.......... Protection against Envy................. Curing Ceremony....................... Curing Ceremony: Change of Personality.. Sorcery against a Thief.................. Sorcery against a Slanderer.............. Completion of Our Work................ 192 193 198 213 226 249 254 261 264 269 274 275 286 292 294 299 305 305 306 310 311 315 315 317 320 341 342 343 346 347 352 366 372 397 404 430 433 A PPEN DICES......................................... G LOSSARY........................................... BIBLIOGRAPHY....................................... xxvi INTRODUCTION The usual approach to Chichicastenango and the whole Quiche country is from the south, over the highway from Solola. Sololn belongs to the garden country around Lake Atitlan. The people around the lake are not mountain people, although they live among the most forbidding mountains of Guatemala. The Solol& huts of wattle and thatch are always built in sheltered hollows near running water, and around them are the carefully tended and irrigated gardens where luscious vegetables are grown the year round from the dark volcanic soil. Above these lush gardens tower grim volcanic peaks, stony and barren, their sides gashed by landslides. After many miles of this scenery, the road climbs suddenly until the high point is reached at Los Encuentros, a telegraph office and estancol at the junction of road from Tecpan to Totonicapsn. Los Encuentros is on a high, treeless, windswept ridge, 9,000 feet above sea level, and even in the dry season cold and foggy from low-hanging clouds. It is tierra fria, and, in so far as such a tumbled and chaotic country as Guatemala can be said to have a backbone, this is it. To the south lies the lake, and the steep valleys that descend precipitously into the narrow coastal plain of the Pacific. To the north lies the watershed of the Motagua River, which threads its way across the country to empty into the Atlantic at Livingston. Beyond this are other ridges, and then the country falls away in a series of undulations, towards "El Norte" and the impenetrable jungles of Chiapas and the Pet6n. The boundary between Solola and Chichicastenango is conspicuously marked by tall posts beside the road, a little north of Los Encuentros, but before the boundary is reached one is conscious of Each nation has its characteristic drinking place. The estanco is as peculiar to Guatemala as its volcanoes or its crazy currency. It is neither a saloon, a bar nor a cafe. It is a hut or open shack, with a counter. Sometimes there is a bench along the wall, sometimes not. It is run by a mestizo, generally a woman. Its offering is aguardiente, often bootlegged, a fiery, strongly flavored distillate of sugar. The more elegant estancos have bottled drinks, warm beer and soda pop. Sometimes there is a tienda, a counter where one can buy such luxuries of civilization as candles, matches, patent medicines and sometimes fly-blown bread and sweets. The estanco is one of the important institutions of Guatemalan life. 1 2 CHICHICASTENANGO being in a new country. The fogs from the Pacific do not come across the divide; before one all lies clear and sunny. The topography, the settlements, the house types, the methods of cultivation, the native costumes - all are different. This is a mountain country, smiling and open, with wide vistas. There are patches of pine forest, wide pasture lands, and tilled fields. The traveler is at once aware that the people who live here are at home among their mountains. Substantial homesteads of adobe and tile are scattered over all the hills. There are flocks of sheep, tended by little children. There are many people on the roads; all are clean and healthy, and well, almost richly, dressed in the most picturesque and sumptuous of all native Guatemalan costumes. The whole country wears an air of amplitude and prosperity; these well-built houses are the homes of a sturdy and industrious people. Before one reaches the town there is another barranco, a deep gash in the plateau, nearly a thousand feet deep, with precipitous walls. Into this the road descends by a series of hairpin turns. At the bottom is a muddy stream and a mill. After crossing the stream on an old stone bridge, one begins the ascent of the other side, which is equally precipitous, but not quite so high. One of the Quiche names for the town is siywan tinimit, "town of the barrancos," a name extended to include the whole jurisdiction.2 This is an apt name. There are barrancos on three sides of the village; on the east the barranco is literally in the back yards of the houses, the little cornfields that form a part of every house site tilting off abruptly into the abyss.3 The plaza is at an elevation of 6,900 feet. The general aspect of the town is similar to that of the country, clean, wholesome, prosperous, and well cared for. The town is very compact, as if it were surrounded by an imaginary wall. One is out in the open fields, with their scattered homesteads, and then, all at once, 2 The name Chichicastenango is Nahuatl, and means, according to Brinton, Brasseur de Boubourg, and others, "place of the bramble bushes." The Quiche equivalent, with the same meaning is Shtuwi-ld. This designation is rarely used. Siywdn tinimit is always used in ritual; in everyday speech the town is called Chichicastenango, or, more frequently, Santo Tomas. A discussion of the whole problem of the origin of Nahuatl place names in Central America is out of place here; it still remains an open question whether their wide distribution has any bearing on the problem of pre-Columbian interrelations. 3 In designating directions, I shall always use the conventional native designations, although the village is not actually so oriented. What the natives call "east" is actually northeast, perhaps a little more north than east. But since they refer constantly to directions, I have simply taken over their designations. INTRODUCTION 3 one is in town. Except along the old Quich6 road there are no suburbs, no straggling, poverty-stricken shacks. The boundary between town and country is sharp and abrupt. Within the town the streets are cobbled, some have sidewalks. All are free of refuse and carefully swept. The houses are well built and in good repair; they are freshly whitewashed or tinted pale pink or yellow. There is no filth of any kind in the streets, and, except for a stray dog or two, no wandering animals. The general plan follows that of all Latin American towns. Near the center is a spacious plaza with the church on one side, and colonnaded buildings surrounding the square. On one side is a formal garden with a bandstand. The rest of the town is laid out in regular rectangular blocks, so far as the irregularities of the site permit. The site of Chichicastenango is very irregular; it is all hills and barrancos; the plaza is about the only level area. Each entrance to the town is guarded by that characteristic institution, the estanco. Here the weary traveller to market may pause to refresh himself after his long tramp over the hills; here the returning merchant will be relieved of the greater portion of the day's profits. The plaza is dominated by the church, a huge whitewashed stone structure, built in its present form in the eighteenth century, and rebuilt several times since that time. The original church where Ximenes preached and where, presumably, the author of the Popul Buj labored, is now the sacristy. The present church, like the sacristy, is a splendid example of Spanish Colonial architecture, amply proportioned, with immensely thick walls, heavily buttressed. The fagade, unfortunately, has been modernized, but the two cupolas where the bells are hung and the narrow gallery between them, reached by a spiral staircase in the wall, are old. Adjoining the church is the cloister of the old Dominican monastery and behind it on the hill the sitio of the monks, with its milpa and fruit trees, peach, almond, quince, and fig. The church is built on rising ground, and the door, many feet above the level of the plaza, is approached by an impressive flight of stone steps, leading to a large semi-circular terrace before the door. This platform is extremely important in Indian ritual. There are eighteen steps leading up to it, and near the foot, directly beneath the door of the church, is a strange sight, a boxlike structure some three feet long by two feet wide, built into the staircase, and covered by a flat slab of rock on which at all times lie smouldering ashes. This is the quemador, the "burning place" where incense of copal is offered to gods not Christian. The Catholic priests have tried for centuries to have this sacrilege suppressed. The 4 CICHICASTENANGO last attempt to remove this shrine was made not many years ago, but the protest of the Indians was carried to the President of the Republic, and the priest was peremptorily rebuked and told "not to interfere with the customs of the Indians." So there, on the steps of the church, stands the smoking quemador, mute witness to the unyielding paganism of the natives. Across the plaza is another church, the chapel of Calvario. The building is much smaller, less pretentious and arrogant, the steps are higher, the platform wider, and the quemador is on top of the platform, practically in the door of the church. The first view of these massive steps, the smoking altars, the broad platforms above before the entrance to the sanctuary, recalled something seen before. It was Chichen Itza and Teotihuacan, and all the templed pyramids built by the ancestors and relatives of these people in the days of their greatest glory. Something of this architectural configuration has persisted throughout the centuries. These architectural features - the massive stairways and broad terraces, - are not Spanish, but are characteristic of the churches of the Guatemalan highlands, even in so large and modern a town as Totonicapan. The plaza is unusually large for a town of this size. In the center is a large fountain. There are a number of fountains at other points. The town is plentifully supplied with excellent water from the mountains, conveyed in an ancient stone aqueduct from a spring near the summit of Poqojil. The streets near the plaza are occupied by the houses of Ladinos (the mestizos). These are typical Latin American houses. There are the familiar barred and shuttered windows on the street. A wide doorway leads through a short passage into the small patio, on three sides of which the house is built. The third side is occupied by the pila, the red clay fountain, with a ledge for scrubbing clothes, which furnishes the water supply of the house. The kitchen, with its wood-burning tiled stove, is usually on this side of the patio, separated from the rest of the house, as are the sanitary conveniences, if any. The other rooms open into each other, and into the columned corridor that surrounds the patio. There may be some attempts at decoration in the form of sickly plants in gasoline tins. The patio is generally littered with miscellaneous debris, in marked contrast to the carefully swept streets outside.One room on the street is generally given over to business, a shop or estanco, for almost all Ladinos engage in small trade in addition to any other employment that they may have. The shops are usually tended by women., The Indian town houses are very different in appearance and INTRODUCTION 5 atmosphere. A narrow gate, sometimes closed by a low wicket of cornstalks, leads directly into a spacious open courtyard of irregular shape. At the rear is the sitio. In houses at the edge of town this may be a cornfield of some size, or else it is only a few stalks of cornin the corner of the courtyard, but always some evidence of the agricultural roots of the people. About the court are grouped a number of small buildings. There is the sala, the most pretentious room, with a columned portico. There are several other small buildings, all separate, - a sleeping room, kitchen, chicken house, storeroom, perhaps a workshop, depending on the occupations of the family, and a beehiveshaped sweat bath. The houses are small and low. They are entered from the patio. There are no doors on the street, and no windows. The earth is the floor. There are no sanitary conveniences (the sitio serves those needs). There is no water in the patio (individual fountains are taxed), and no electric light, although electric current is available. The first time I entered the town, my Indian chauffeur, following the wise custom of the country, sounded his horn continuously from the moment he entered the town - drivers never slow down, of course. But I saw none of the usual scurrying children and excited pigs. The streets were deserted. No one was visible in the patios of the Indian homes, and the doors of the houses were locked. A few Ladinos were lounging in the doors of their shops. In the vast expanse of the plaza three old women were sitting with covered baskets in front of them. The Indian alcaldes (the municipal officers) on benches in front of the courthouse, were busy with spinning and embroidery. Two little boys who proved to be sacristans of the church were playing a dice game on the steps of the church. Except for these, the town seemed devoid of inhabitants. Nor did it come to life at the close of day with the return of the workers from the fields. For no one comes in from the fields at night, but at sunset the few people who are around vanish. The Ladino section of the town may have its brief hour of sociability after the shops close, but the Indian houses remain closed and dark. Except for a few squares north of the plaza the town seems deserted. But, as darkness deepens, one can see lights twinkling here and there in the neighboring hills. The Quiche Indian is not a town dweller. He lives habitually in his monte, his homestead on his ancestral land. But although he does not live in the town he is very much of it. For the sociological unit is the municipality; the town is the center of all commercial, political and religious activities. "Life in the cantones (rural districts) is not very interesting," says the Quiche Indian, "It is triste. Everything that is interesting happens in town." So life is passed in regular 6 CHICHICASTENANGO alternation between the humdrum life of the canton, and the excitement, gayety and colorfulness of town. For the town is more than a center, it is the heart of the country, through which all life flows. That this rhythm of life is very ancient is extremely probable. The city of Utatlan, the ancient capital, which exacted tribute from many nations, and where the Quiche people took their stand to give battle to Alvarado, was unquestionably a great center of population, yet in the words of Alvarado, "it is more like a robbers' stronghold than a city."4 The place is, indeed, a stronghold. Surrounded on all sides by deep barrancos, the cramped site is given over almost entirely to large public buildings and spacious courtyards. There is no place where large numbers of people could have lived. Nor are there any extensive ruins on the plains which lie adjacent. So it must be assumed that the - eople lived then as they live now, dispersed on their farms, while the tjwn comprised the court, the temple, and the marketplace, the setting for public activities. To one fortunate enough to arrive in Chichicastenango on a Sunday, the town presents a very different picture. All the roads nearby are thronged with Indians, men, women, and children. In the morning they are coming in, in the evening they are leaving. Most of the men carry heavy loads of the most diverse kinds, the women are all burdened with babies. Sunday starts long before dawn. Generally at about four o'clock in the morning rockets and drums announce the beginning of one of the many ceremonies in the religious brotherhoods, whose activities fill the public religious calendar. It is about four o'clock, also, that the market-bound Indian starts out from his mountain home for the long trek to town; and it is at this hour that the native sorcerer leaves to visit one of the many mountain shrines before appearing at the church with his offerings. At midday all these converge upon the plaza, filling it with color and life, focussing in time and space all the intricate patterns of social life. The plaza, all week a vast empty space, is now a crowded hive of activity, as colorful as the legendary bazaars of Bagdad, where one may find displayed for sale everything from pigs to coffins. The northern side is given over to drygoods stalls, where, under snowy awnings, native textiles and imported wares are offered for sale. On the western side are traders returned from the Coast, with their piles of tropical fruits, painted gourds, bright mats and mountains of nets and ropes. There is a space set aside for visitors from 4 Letter of Pedro Alavarado to Cortes. INTRODUCTION 7 Solola, with their succulent onions and turnips. The space around the fountain is given over to incense, soap and oranges. The flowervendors, potters and weavers all have their accustomed places. In a courtyard adjoining the plaza is the animal market, rank with the smell of goat and the squeal of little pigs. Among the stalls the buying public mills about, resplendent in the glowing reds and purples of their regional dress. The men wear short black wool breeches and tunics, heavily embroidered, with scarlet sashes, and tasselled and embroidered5 squares knotted around their heads. The women wear short blue skirts, blouses of white or brown cotton, heavily embroidered in red or purple. They have red bands twined in their glossy black hair. No man is completely dressed without his matate, a large white cord bag, slung from his shoulder, into which he can stow a large part of his portable possessions. Women carry their belongings rolled in cloths, or in baskets tied up in large squares of native red or white striped cotton cloth. Babies are carried slung on their mothers' backs in the same striped cloths. The trading in the plaza is active, but quiet and orderly. This brilliant crowd throngs the plaza, the streets, the estancos and the church. The Indian homes are open for the day and their patios are full of women and children. A municipal officer, preceded by a boy with a drum, goes around reading proclamations, and rockets go off in unexpected places, to announce that something has happened: a baptism, a marriage, or some stage in some ceremony of the brotherhoods. All the municipal officers are on duty in the courthouse. Today there is no time for spinning in the corridor, for all day long the courthouse is thronged with litigants and their witnesses. The patio of the convent is filled with those waiting for baptisms. The women sit patiently on the floor, trying to pacify the whimpering babies, until the godparents come to take their children to church. Promptly at noon, when everything is at its height, the priest performs the baptisms, en masse. They average about twenty-five a week. The church is full of men and women performing complicated rituals with candles, incense and flowers. For one day in the week the cold, barnlike structure comes to life. All day the old men come and go. Inside the church are hundreds of little candles, set on the floor before the altars, and in long rows down the center of the nave. The building is full of the murmur of whispered prayers. On the steps 6 The decoration is not, technically, embroidery but a special kind of ornamental tapestry. See below pp. 60ff. for description of weaving techniques. 8 CHICHICASTENANGO before the church kneel other men and women, all burning incense, in incense burners or on the quemador. From all this incense burning rise heavy clouds of bluish smoke, that hang over the marketplace, swirl through the old Dominican cloisters, so that the odor of incense becomes the most highly charged memory of Chichicastenango. The chapel of Calvario is alive too, but here the activity is of slightly different order, one step further removed from respectable Christianity. Here the diviners, expelled from the church, await their clients and perform their rites. The church extends her hospitality to incense and candles, acknowledging the form, while ignoring the content. But she balks at divination within her holy precincts. So the wise Padre contrives not to know what goes on in Calvario. Nor, on the other hand, do the Indians welcome the presence of any whites or mestizos in Calvario. In mid-afternoon the market starts to break up. As the plaza empties, the estancos fill up. It is a weary and slightly intoxicated crowd that pours back over the mountain trails at sundown. By evening most of the houses are again locked until next week. At night one hears from some house near the plaza the plaintive notes of the native marimba, and the laughter and shouting of those who have remained in town to drink and dance at the zarabanda. The last stragglers, if still relatively sober, are on their way to the mountains before dawn, some of the drunks are in jail, and Chichicastenango is again a Ladino town until next market day. There is a small market on Thursday, but that is strictly commercial, with none of the ritual and excitement that characterize the Sunday market. At this point it is necessary to say something about Indian-Ladino personal relations.6 The following description is of the years 1930-32. Since then many changes have taken place in the political set-up and mnestizo-white relations. The old office of Alcalde has been abolished and different offices with different titles substituted. This has undoubtedly affected the whole political life of the town, but in what way I cannot say. Changes in the laws relating to plantation labor have greatly lessened the abuses of this system. On the other hand, the building of the Maya Inn at Chichicastenango and the influx of tourists who invade homes and desecrate sacred places have increased the hostility 6 The word Ladino, applied throughout Guatemala to the mestizo, by mestizo and Indian alike, means, literally, the crafty or cunning one. The word mestizo is never used. The Quiche term for the mestizo is mo's, "the crazy one." The word has no relation that I could discover to the name for the Spanish Jews of the Orient. INTRODUCTION 9 to whites, and resulted in a withdrawal of the Indians comparable to that in the pueblos on the Rio Grande in New Mexico. The fact that the Indian does not live in town may, perhaps, be responsible for the maintainance of the striking duality of organization that is characteristic of life in Chichicastenango and a few other towns of the Quiche highlands, notably Solola and Momostenango. These towns have a complete dual organization; there are Ladino alcaldes and Indian alcaldes, and each individual lives under the jurisdiction of one or the other. The Ladino alcalde outranks the Indian; his authority extends over the Indians. He does not rule them directly, but through the medium of their own officers. The two racial groups impinge upon each other, but they do not interlock. The line between them is clear and sharp. They maintain formal relations, but they remain two bodies, with their clear distinctions of language, costume, economy, social, religious, and political structure. They live in a state of polite antagonism, despising one another heartily. The Ladinos look down upon the Indians as a backward and subject race; but the Indian regards provincial Ladino life as sordid, insecure and vicious; he believes that the Ladino "lives like a dog," and suffers from poverty and venereal disease; he sees him constantly harrassed by debt and the shadow of political despotism. Although the plantation (finca, in Guatemalan Spanish) theoretically stands outside the circle of Indian life, although the mountain Indians have fared better than most in that they have retained their lands and can, by exercise of great strength of mind, preserve their independence, nevertheless, the plantation impinges constantly upon their lives. It stands at their gates like some multiple Circe, waiting to lure men to their destruction. To the restless youth chafing under the autocratic rule of his father, the finca offers escape and a golden lure. In the twenties when the planters were riding the crest of the wave of expansion, and coffee was selling for high prices on the exchanges in Bremen and Hamburg, thousands of Indians were shipped each year from the mountain villages to work in the coffee plantations. The labor problem on sugar plantations is different, since the crop is constant and settled labor can handle it. The difficulty of coffee culture is that great numbers of laborers are required during the picking season, but at no other time. Each plantation has its colonos, some families permanently settled in a village on the plantation, who can handle the routine tasks of pruning the trees, cutting the sugar cane as it ripens, and providing various services for the owner or manager and his household. This part of the picture of plantation life has been made familiar to us in many places. But when 10 CHICHICASTENANOO the coffee crop is ready for picking it is necessary to import large numbers of laborers from outside. The source of supply for this temporary labor must be sought in the populous villages of the Highlands. Large plantations maintain agents (obligadores, "slave-catchers," in the words of a leading German planter and banker) in all important centers of population, the smaller planters, in the most accessible large Indian village. These agents are (or were) liberally supplied with cash. They have their capitanes, Indians whom they employ to make their contacts. The obligador is a kindhearted fellow, always willing to stand a few rounds of drinks, and to listen sympathetically to a story about a sick child or a lost pig. He is liberal; he lends money to poor Indians to build a house or finance a marriage or a fiesta. The man signs a receipt, or the capitdn signs it for him, and he places his mark on it, and a promise to work off his debt during the coffee picking season. He gets a little book in which his accounts with the plantation are kept. The capitan's next job is to keep his eye on these men, make sure that they do not obligate themselves to another plantation, see that they do not get away before the debt is paid, and finally round them up when word goes out from the Coast that they are needed. In addition to his salary, the obligador get a bonus for each man he captures for the plantation. Part of this goes to the capitdn. The crop season is from the middle of October to the middle of January - it varies for different places. During these months every few days the bell in Chichicastenango is tolled to commemorate the passing of some citizen who has died "in the finca." The bodies are not brought back, but word of the death is sent to relatives who pay to have the bell rung. As labor is required the capitanes round up the debtors. They seek them out in their mountains, bring them to town where they are housed for a few days in sheds on the edge of town, and when enough have been brought together, they are sent in gangs to the Coast. The route is by foot to Panajachel on Lake Atitlan, thence by steamer across the lake to San Lucas or Atitlan, and from there down the valleys to the plantations. Their wives generally go with them. Very few workers from Chichicastenango go to the plantations of the north. In the plantations the laborers were paid, in 1930, 10 pesos (17 cents) for literally a "day's work," the jornal, a unit of work fixed by the planter, which takes the average laborer more than a day to complete. In addition to this he received a daily ration of corn. In 1932, due to the depression of the coffee market - which was so depressed as to be practically invisible - the pay, per jornal, was cut to 6 pesos INTRODUCTION 11 (10 cents) and the rations were suppressed. At the plantation the laborer trades at the company store, where liberal credit is extended to him and he is encouraged to buy the unfamiliar luxuries of civilization exposed to his view. He is also encouraged to drink - also on credit - at the plantation estanco. It is maintained by the planter that the Indian must drink; it is his one diversion and necessary to his physical and mental health, etc. There is a fortnightly payoff, so called, which generally consists in making notations in the laborer's account book, because he is almost sure to be in debt to the plantation. Or if his indebtedness is less than his wages, he is paid his wages, and the debt stands. If he is fortunate enough to escape the malaria and dysentery that exact such heavy toll among mountain people not used to tropical conditions, he is sent back to his mountains - in debt. So effectual are the familiar devices of colonial exploitation, alcoholism, easy credit, debt indenture, and liability for debts to the third generation, that once caught in the system, escape is difficult.7 Overproduction and the consequent collapse of world markets have wrought some changes in this idyllic picture. The new plantations were all heavily mortgaged, and when the coffee stood still in warehouses in Bremen, the mortgages were foreclosed. In the financial chaos that followed, all the banks in Guatemala closed, and vast fortunes were swept away. In 1932 many planters made no attempt to pick their crop, and so, of course, the golden days are over. There were no more advances, no more easy credit. And so the fiesta of Santo Tomas was triste, too few fireworks, only one dance drama 7 The information in the preceding paragraphs was obtained from obligadore8 in Chichicastenango, several of whom I knew well, from one of their Indian ca/pitanes, who was one of my best informants, and who let me examine the account books of his laborers, and from a liberal German coffee planter, who was frank in his denunciation of the system. He also let me look at his books, and I was present at the fortnightly payoff in his plantation. It was he who first used in my presence the word "slave-catcher." He deplored the whole system, but said, "What can we do? Otherwise the Indians would not work." Which may indeed be true. Even with fair wages it is doubtful if the mountain Indians would brave the hazards of the tropics. But the coffee industry is the backbone of the Government. An export tax of $1 on each quintal of coffee formed an important source of revenue. Under the present Government many of these abuses are being abolished or ameliorated. No one can now be held for another's debt. Contracts can be made for the current season only, and no indebtedness stands beyond that time. But there are vagrancy laws under which Indians must spend a certain time in plantation or other paid work. There is a movement to control more strictly the sale of intoxicating beverages. 12 CHICHICASTENANGO and no palo de volador, because no one could finance these things. But the gangs of unwilling laborers shipped to the coast were fewer also. To return to the question of Indian-Ladino relations in Chichicastenango, the numerical proportions are important. There are about 75 Ladino families in the jurisdiction of Chichicastenango, and about 25,000 Indians.9 The figures are approximate, as I did not take a census, and old census figures are unreliable. It is also important that the whole jurisdiction lies higher than 6,000 feet above sea level. Five thousand feet is the limit of coffee production. There are no known mineral resources. So the Indians have never been despoiled of their land and have escaped the worst ravages of conquest. There are no plantations of any kind on the jurisdiction; the Ladinos are not interested in tilling these unfruitful acres. They have, they think, better fish to fry. There are no manorial estates, no absentee landlordsiXthere is one large farm owned by a Ladino family. They own a large town house west of the park, with a small shop, and a flour mill, several houses, and their land lies in the flats to the north of the town. They employ Indian labor to till it. The family owns an automobile, livestock, and has money in Guatemala banks. They are "rich" by standards of the highlands. But these standards are not high judged by other places. This is true of all the highland regions of Central America, outside the zone of intensive cultivation. The "rich" people of these places often have a standard of living that would appal an Iowa farmer. The head of this family is sometimes referred to as duenio (owner), a term that harks back to the early Colonial period, the period of the encomienda when Indians lived as vassals on manorial estates, owing service to a Spanish overlord. Only the Church, with its tribute of produce and service, shows some vestige of Colonial splendor. The descendants of the Conquistadores are a group of underprivileged, debt-ridden shopkeepers, depending for their existence on patronage from above. They squeeze where they can. The Indians pay their tribute, as the price of peace and exemptions. Exemption from compulsory education is one of the privileges for which they pay regularly to the local school authorities. But they are strongly organized to defend themselves against any encroachment upon what they regard as inalienable 8 A tall pole with a revolving cap from which the daring swing on long ropes. This used to be a common feature of Guatemalan fiestas. Its erection was attended by many ceremonies and great expense to the sponsor. 9 Tax gives the figures as 25,137 of whom 628 are Ladinos (American Anthropologist 39: 428). INTRODUCTION 13 rights. They do not hesitate to take their protests to Guatemala when they feel their customs threatened. They are always listened to, for the Government is generally more respectful towards the organized protest of 25,000 Indians than to the interests of its own creatures. For back of the 25,000 Indians stands the spectre of Indian solidarity in the Highlands. The threat of Indian revolt hangs over the timid heads of Guatemala's gaudy dictators, and the memory of ~ Zapata and Obregon freezes their hearts. The political power of the Indians was shown in an incident that occurred in 1932. One day the Padre was beseiged by an excited group of protesting Indians. The newly installed Ladino alcalde, a young and inexperienced man, had decreed that the families of the sacristans and servants of the Convent were to be taxed. Like civil officers they had always been exempt from taxes, in recognition of their services. But the alcalde, thinking to curry favor with the jefe politico of Quiche, was anti-clerical. The Indian alcaldes, principales and heads of the religious brotherhoods protested to the Padre. He of course recognized in this an assault on Church privileges. In true Latin-American style he invited the Alcalde to dinner. He explained to him gently, "for his own good," that he had better not interfere with Indian customs, since the Indians were prepared to lay the case before the President, who would show no favor to anyone who aroused Indian antagonism. The power of the Indians was perhaps not so great as the good Padre represented it. However, the Alcalde was scared, and the order was rescinded at once. It is significant for Indian-Ladino relations that Ladinos do not regularly practise Christian nor civil marriage. They live in concubinage, and are consequently barred from Communion.10 Since the central government makes a show of being anti-clerical, its satraps in the provinces are also mildly anti-clericalRThe attitude is that the Church is for women and Indians, and only very little for women. The Church in the highlands is Indian, and a great mechanism of Indian solidarity. In Chichicastenango the Indian municipality holds the title to the church, and holds itself responsible for its maintainance.khe resident priest there is a German by birth and a citizen of the United States by adoption. He considers that the strength of the 10 During the time I was at Chichicastenango only one marriage took place among the Ladinos. The one wealthy Ladino, seventy-three years of age, had a cerebral hemorrhage, and in order to receive the Sacrament before he died, was married to the woman with whom he had been living for over thirty years, the mother of his grown children. There had been no civil service before this event. 14 CHICHCASTENANGO parish lies in the Indians. It is probably not an accident that there are a number of German, Dutch and German-American priests in the populous Indian towns of the Highlands. This phenomenon is probably not unrelated to the economic hold of the Germans on the whole country, which has broken down at the top, where it is giving way to American control. Thus, successive waves of imperialism, Spanish, German, American, beat about the bases of Indian strongholds. Directly, they have no effect on Indian life. The Indian makes no distinction between the Ladino, the German and the American. He is unconcerned by bank failures and the collapse of the coffee market, and the manipulation of the country's currency from desks in Wall Street. What is of importance in its indirect effect on Indian civilization is the fact that the Ladino is no longer the master of his country. X In Chichicastenango the Ladinos, harrassed from above, have little influence on the vigorous body of Indian culture. It is possible, therefore,.to disregard them, except at those points where their lives touch on those of the Indians, for their corruption lies outside the social body. This is not true of all sections of Guatemala. Throughout the plantation region the Indians have been expropriated and pauperized, but the picture of race relations in Chichicastenango, as drawn here, is fairly typical of the Highlands, from Tecpan to Huehuetanango.' CHAPTER ONE ECONOMIC LIFE I1 am the father of the house. We get up at five o'clock in the morning. There are many people who get up at three o'clock or even earlier.2 It is their custom, but we do not do that. First the woman gets up, as soon as the cocks crow. The real clock for the mornings is the crowing of the cocks, although we tell time also by the rising of the morning star. The woman hears the cocks crow, and she says to her husband, 'Now it is morning. Let us get up.' Then she gets up first and starts to build her fire. As soon as the fire is going the woman starts to grind for the morning meal. Then the man gets up and chops wood for the fire. If he wishes, he kneels in the patio as the sun rises and crosses himself. The man comes back with his firewood, and then goes right out to draw water to wash and for the uses of the household. Meanwhile the woman is preparing the tortillas, and at about half past eight or nine o'clock they eat their morning meal. They do not take anything when they get up in the morning; at least this was the way of the ancients, but now they make a mess with their coffee in the morning as soon as they get up. After breakfast they all go about their work; the men to the fields or to whatever work they may have to do; the women sit down to weave. At one o'clock the men come in from the fields to rest a few minutes in the house. They take a drink, and then go back to their work. Then the woman lays aside her weaving and starts to prepare the afternoon meal. At three or half past three the meal is ready and they send one of the children to call the men from the fields. Then they come in and eat, and go back again to work. We Indians never sleep in the daytime like the Ladinos. At five o'clock the women put away their weaving and begin to clean and boil the corn for the next day's meals. At six o'clock the men return from their work. During the evening the women spin cotton, and wind the yarn to make it ready for the loom; the men stay in, making ropes and bags. We use sticks of ocote (pitch pine) for light; we have no candles. Before going to bed we have a drink of atole and perhaps tamales, or what is left. At nine o'clock we put out the fire and go to bed. We say a short prayer before sleeping: "God, protect me this night, and defend me from my enemies. And give me some sign in my dreams that I may know whether to expect good or evil fortune." On rising in the morning one crosses oneself, gives thanks to God for good health, and prays that one may remain in health two or three days, two or three months, two or three years. 1 From a Quiche text. 2 Between two and three o'clock in the morning is the regular hour for the opening of ceremonies, for starting on a journey, or for going to ask for a wife. 15 16 CHICHICASTENANGO The father, as head of the house, orders everything. He buys pigs and chickens and cows and horses for transportation. All business is in his hands, and all things come from him; all expenses for food and clothing he bears. For example, he may buy some kind of animal. The women look after them if they are small animals, like pigs and chickens; but horses and cows are cared for by the men. And if they sell the animals, whatever money the father may get from these animals is for the purchase of clothing. He buys for each in turn, once for one, and next time for another, according to their needs. And if one of the sons has some special work, if he is a merchant or weaver, the capital belongs to the father and whatever he earns belongs to the father. He must give an account of all his transactions to him, and the father will buy for him whatever may be necessary. Land The territory of Chichicastenango consists of tilled fields, pasture, and woodland interspersed. Under the old system of cultivation without fertilizer fields were allowed to lie fallow for several years after each crop. This has resulted in scattering of fields. Small patches of forest are interspersed with patches of milpa3 and pastures, land originally cleared for tillage and now lying fallow. Woodland is not confined to distant mountains - there are woods within a stone's throw of town, on the steep slopes of the barrancos and on near-by hills. Although most of the higher hills are wooded, on some the trees have been felled for milpa. The summit of Poqojil, the sacred mountain of Chichicastenango and the seat of an important shrine, was under cultivation in 1930 and 1931. The woodland itself is in many places open park, with large trees and no undergrowth, land from which generations have been carefully cutting firewood. Dwelling places are more permanent than cultivations, so that houses are often situated in the midst of pasture, with the nearest fields some distance away. Except for the slight concentration in town (400 Indians have their residence in the town), the population is fairly evenly distributed throughout the whole jurisdiction. There is no longer any common land in Chichicastenango. 'All land has its owner, even the forest." There used to be common lands (ejido) but they were apportioned among the different cantones and all are now privately owned. Most forest land is owned by individuals but there are certain stands of timber owned by cantones where the poor may cut firewood for personal use or for sale. Permission to cut woods from canton lands must be obtained from the principal de 3 Milpa, technically, means cornfield. In Guatemala it is used for any cultivated land. LAND 17 canton or the auxiliar. Ownership of land does not include exclusive grazing rights. Animals are grazed in any pasture or woodland. During the last century the municipality of Chichicastenango became involved in a boundary dispute with Solola and the territories were surveyed and maps and titles drawn up. The land was surveyed from the summit of Poqojil, where the bench marks may still be seen. Two maps and two titles were made, which are kept by two principales of the pueblo in their homes in the mountains and guarded with the utmost care and secrecy. These documents are handled as sacred objects, and only moved on occasions of greatest ceremony. There is a framed map of the jurisdiction hanging conspicuously in the Indian courthouse, but it is not the original title. These titles represent the territorial rights of the community. In addition, many persons have titles to their individual land holdings. Pressure has been put upon the Indians to have their holdings registered in the land office in the departmental capital, and these are the only claims that are recognized by Ladino courts in cases of dispute. Other persons have documents drawn up by native scribes, who keep them on file. But most claims to land are still validated by the testimony of neighbors and local official "witnesses."4 The loss of common lands, and the greater individualization of holdings is a trend that is general throughout Guatemala, as part of the transition from native to European systems of land tenure. But in spite of the changes in legal procedure, the ideology and sentiments relating to land are still largely aboriginal. Land Tenure The Quiche Indian always refers to his home as his "mountain," (Sp. monte: Q. juyup), a word which has reference less to the topography than to the sacred aspect of the place. The mountain tops are all sacred; on all of them are shrines; the higher mountains and volcanoes are regarded with the greatest awe, and are visited only by initiated sorcerers.5 The piece of land which a man has received from his ancestors is sacred; it has its shrine, where offerings are made; in its role as a place where one can approach the supernaturals it is in effect a "mountain." To the land which nourishes him, which was the home of his ancestors, including his father, and the place which they still frequent in spirit, the Indian is attached by feelings 4 See below, pp. 171 /f. for a further discussion of legal and political organization. 6 See p. 264 for a discussion of mountains and volcanoes. 18 OHICHICASTENANGO of passionate intensity[4The love of the land, of each man for his own piece of ground, is one of the deepest emotions which he feels; it is at the root of family life and social structure; it is the basis alike of strongest attachments and bitterest enmitiesPIn gathering information about sorcery, land quarrels, especially quarrels between brothers, were the most frequently mentioned cause of discord which led either to angry visitations from the ancestors, or to recourse to black magic by the one who felt himself cheated. a Land is conceived of as belonging to the ancestors; one lives upon it by their grace. One does not own land, it is merely loaned to one as a lodging (Sp. posada) in the world, and for it one must continually make payment in the form of candles, incense and roses to the ancestors, who are the real owners. The ceremony for paying for one's lodging is given on pp. 306ff. Moreover, if one has purchased land one must apologize to one's own ancestors and to the ancestors of the former owners for this break in the line of inheritance.s Nor is one through with this. There are other payments that must be made for the right to live unmolested upon one's land. A younger son who has moved away from his father's house must make offerings to the spirits of the new place for protection against any act of sorcery that may have been committed in that place. This also is to guarantee his lodging, and is repeated periodically every 260 days on C the day named 6 q'.6 The rules by which land is passed on are clear and rigid. The general rule of inheritance is the division of land and other property among male children. Under certain circumstances women may inherit, but collateral relatives are excluded absolutely. There is some emphasis on primogeniture, since it is always the eldest son who is expected to remain in the ancestral home to carry on the lineage. The following native account of the rules of inheritance shows the rigidity of the system. When the parents die, the inheritance is for their children, men and women. If there are three sons, they divide the inheritance into three parts. If the daughters are not married, or if, being married, they have stayed at home with their father to help him, then they also inherit, equally with their brothers. But the daughters who have married and gone to their husbands' houses do not inherit if the father has sons, because they have gone away from their father's side. But if the man does not have sons, then the women inherit the land, even if they are married. The brothers of the dead man do not get anything at all. And if the children are all dead, then the inheritance is for their children. And if the man has no descendants at all, either from his sons or his daughters, then his brothers may take his land... 6 See pp. 21, 22. LAND TENURE 19 When a man dies, if he has property, they look for two witnesses, and in their presence they divide the property, the land and other things. The partition of the inheritance is as follows: If the father has only one piece of land and has, let us say, six sons and three daughters, if the sons have all given help to the father, all of them, then each one will be entitled to one mata,7 or two matas; and the daughters, if they have lived at home and have helped their father with the necessities of life, they also will receive their little inheritance of land, and their portion of the things that are in the kitchen. Then the brothers will all have to remain in the one house, or they go to work for others, or they go to fincas. And the daughters, if they have helped their father will be given money also, according to his capital; and all the things of the kitchen and the animals are divided equally among all the children. And they divide the corn and beans in the storeroom also - everything. If there is a horse, they do not sell it, but one of them will take it in lieu of other things. And sometimes, if there are three brothers and only one house, and if they quarrel, they will tear down the house, and divide the wood and the tiles. Or if they are considerate of one another, the eldest brother will remain there in the house, and the others will build houses on their land, and then the eldest brother will have to help the others build their houses. Everything in the house is divided equally. Then all the heirs have their documents for their land written out and certified in the town hall.8 These rules of inheritance are strictly enforced by the jealous watchfulness of the heirs, by supernatural sanctions, and, as a last ) resort, by sorcery. The land office at Santa Cruz, the provincial capital, is choked with litigation. Some of the suits drag along for years or even generations without being settled, and never can be settled satisfactorily because of the conflict of laws. The Maxeio9 usually takes more direct means for enforcing his claim - much as he loves litigationfor its own sake. The man who feels that he has been discriminated against in inheritance or otherwise defrauded will go and "weep before the idols," that is, he will perform ceremonies calling upon his ancestors and the spirits of the house to avenge his injury. Then, if his cause is just, the ancestors summon before them the guilty man, to answer to these charges. But the game of vindictiveness does not stop here. The man who has been so rudely withdrawn from the land of the living is not wholly satisfied with this arrangement and, in his turn, sends punishment from the other world. And so it drags on, with sorcery and counter-sorcery, defense and penance. 7 A mata was described as "a tiny piece of land"; how large, I never could find out although I asked many times. 8 This summary was given by a licenciado (a native recorder of deeds, see p. 8), secretary, and official witness - an expert, therefore, in questions of land tenure. 9 Local term for an inhabitant of Chichicastenango. The Quiche form of Tomas is Max. 20 CHICHICASTENANGO Nor can one be sure where the punishment will fall, it may fall upon a wife or innocent child, and only a diviner can tell the cause. All this is "asking for justice." It is not regarded as sorcery, and, although dangerous, is legitimate and commendable. It is the great sanction behind the fair enforcement of the laws of inheritance. Or, if one prefers more direct action, there is the black art - the direct techniques like burying bones under the enemy's doorstep, burning salt, burying crosses with the victim's name, curses and incantations. The saints, especially San Juan, figure in these affairs, but not the ancestors. This is sorcery (brujeria); in contrast to asking for justice (pedir justicia). It is illegitimate. Woe unto him who indulges in it unless his cause is just and his person pure of all sin. The sons are so jealous of their rights in inheritance that they usually force the division of the property before the father's death. This is not entirely a property matter, but is part of a general breakup of the extended family and the rebellion of the sons against the domination of the father. Nevertheless, property interests bulk so large, that it should be considered here. It is noteworthy that it is always younger sons who force the division, since they believe that they are in a stronger position if this takes place while the father is still alive to defend their interests. Moreover, the elder son has nothing to gain by rebellion, since he cannot, by any means, escape parental domination. The following account has been abridged from a longer Quich6 text describing procedures when a fanily separates. The children separate if there are disputes among relatives; if, among brothers, one says one thing, another, another. Or if, for example, the women quarrel over the work of the kitchen; or if the stepmother favors her own children at the expense of the others; or if brothers disagree about work; or if the children of one brother eat too much or are troublesome. The belief among us is that the eldest child, if he is a man, must remain in the ancestral house with his father; he must never, never leave. It is always the second or third sons who go out. And there is a belief also that if the second or third son remains in the ancient house and if the first son goes to some other place or some other house, the father will be punished by the first ancestors. In case he dies those who have usurped the ancient house will be called at once before their ancestors and will die. Because among our ancestors it was always the eldest sons who remained in the ancestral house. There is another belief also: that when the parents die, if the sons wish to separate there will be quarrels; they will not divide equally the things that are in the house. But if the father is still alive he will decide what shall go to each one, and there will be no cause to quarrel, because it is his command. The account then goes on with a description of the breakup of a family, telling of the request of the children, the anger of the father, LAND TENURE 21 the summoning of the witness, the confessions on both sides.l0 The father has already told the rebellious children where they are to go. If there is a house at the place, they go at once at the conclusion of this ceremony; otherwise they must build a brush shelter there. The account then procedes with the division of the property: The father of the man says to the witness, "Do you wish to measure the land; it already has boundaries marked." "No, why should we? It is enough if you give each his paper." "Very well. And now, witness, our money amounts to 9,000 pesos, which I have in my strong box, and there are three of us." (i. e. three sons.) "Well, then there will be 3,000 pesos for each one." "And our tools are only these." Then they bring out all the machetes, axes, hoes and they divide them in three parts. Then they go into the kitchen and bring out all the tools of the women, the jars and pots and the griddles for baking tortillas and knives, and they divide these in as many parts as there are children, so that each one has an equal share, men and women alike. Then they come back and sit down again. The witness speaks to the boy who is going out, and his wife. "Now give thanks, my son, and you, my daughter, to your parents." Then we kneel down before our parents and thank them for our land and our money and the things necessary for our living... Then the parents, if they are considerate of their children, come to ask pardon of the witness and say: "Sir, excuse this request. As for you, you are already acquainted with our property and our persons. We ask you, after you have finished paying for our bad qualities before the World,1 that you please go to the place where our children will live to ask the World that it give lodging there to my son and my daughter and to their children. For we do not know, Sir. Perhaps in this place some evil deed, some act of sorcery has been performed by the former owners. And if my children go to this place, let them not be the victims of these evil deeds. For my part I will give you four ounces of incense to communicate to the World at once the name of the place which my children will occupy, and later they will provide the payment to the World for their lodging. And you will see on what day to make this payment, Sir. Excuse this request." "Very well, I shall do it." "Excuse me, Sir. For your communication to the World I have only this to give." He gives him ten pesos. Then the witness goes to the World, and afterwards he goes to the place where the boy will live, to announce the name of the place to the World, saying that so and so will come there to live. At seven o'clock in the evening the witness goes to the place, accompanied by the boy. The payment is four ounces of incense and 15 pesos of aguardiente. The prayer is as follows: 10 See pp. 132 ff. for this part of the relation. 11 See p. 138. 22 CHICHICASTENANGO "Hail, World, Tsokoma! Let me present to you the family Morales.12 The son, Tomas Morales, has decided to separate from his father, and he has come to a satisfactory agreement with his brothers. They will have their necessities, but it is not just because of this that they go. The boy says that if, in the course of time his father should die, there will be no one to look after the division of the inheritance. He has respectfully and considerately asked pardon of his father before stepping aside, and now the boy, Tomas Morales, will come here to live, World, before your presence, with his wife and children. They recognize you, World, as their inheritance, bestowed upon them by their father. That is why I have come before your presence, World. Perhaps many things have happened here; perhaps our first ancestors when they were owners buried here evil bodies, and evil bones, or had evil idols.l3 Perhaps their spirits are weary, suffering hunger and thirst, World. World, I pray that this boy may not be their victim. That which I will do as witness for them is to pay their lodging here. On the master day 6 iq'14 we shall give our payment, World, and you, Watchers and Guardians of the Day and of the Night. You will be paid in their presence. And if there are evil things bound or buried before your presence, World, may those who have done these things be responsible for their evil deeds, and for all that they have done before your presence, World. May they claim their rights and dues from those who have done these things, World. You know whether this is so or not. We do not know. All that we know is to make payment for his lodging. World, accept this." He pours out the aguardiente and sprinkles it on the altar, and the witness drinks some. During these words he burns incense, first in the patio, then behind the house. Then he goes into the house, and afterwards he goes out and goes about the four sides of the house sprinkling aguardiente. The payment for lodging in the world is 100 cakes of copal; 9 wax tapers of 1 peso each; half a pound of incense; 15 pesos of aguardiente; 5 ounces of sugar. Half of the incense is burned on top of the copal, the other half is burned gradually in the incense burner. The sugar is burned with the copal. One looks for an enclosed place outside - not in the house, for that is bad. One covers the place with pine and there performs the rite. And it will be in this place that the owner will always perform his ceremonies. The boy prepares these things before the day 6 tq. By this time he will be living in his new house. He will wait there for the chuchqajau,15 and will have a meal prepared for him. Then they will perform this ceremony, repeating the same prayer as above. And each nine months (260 days) they will perform the same ceremony, with the same payment, and each time the same chuchqajau will come. And this the boy will do until he dies, to pay for his lodging in the world. 12 All names are fictitious. Tsokoma was the name of the informant's home. In the Quiche jurisdiction, every group of houses, almost every house site is named. 13 An allusion perhaps to the ancient custom of burying human sacrifices in the walls of houses. See p. 39. 14 The day sacred to "idols". See p. 280. 15 The native functionary who combines the functions of priest, confessor, physician, diviner and sorcerer. The word means, literally, "mother - father." LAND TENURE 23 The economic obligations of the children to their parents do not cease with the partition of the property and the breakup of the family. After children separate from their parents, every month or so they send! firewood to their parents, about three or four loads. One goes personally or sends it with a mozo. And good sons send their parents things to eat. When the parents are old the children contribute their clothing, one, one year, and another, the next year. The daughters make their kerchiefs and blouses, but the brothers furnish the materials. ] When the parents are harvesting their corn or have any other work, they send for their children to be with them in their house so that all may be happy together, and if the sons have work or any ceremony they send for their parents also. If our parents receive a cofradiacl in their house they send for us to be with them at all their ceremonies, and if we receive a cofradia, we send for them also. And if we are sick we let them know, and if they are ( sick we go to them at once to take care of them and give them medicine. And on all the important feast days, like Holy Week and the feast of Santo Tomas, we send them bread and chocolate, and they send to us also. And if they hear that we are quarrelling they come right away to scold us. And if the children fall sick we let them know, and they come to us, and perhaps they scold us if they think that because of some fault of ours before God our children have been punished. Since a man holds his land beneath the hands of his ancestors, and as a trust which he must pass on to his children, the sale of land is a great sin against the ancestors as well as against one's children. Nevertheless the sale of land does occur, but it is always extremely complicated, with many witnesses and many ceremonies of protection. Let us suppose that I, Manuel Calel, having no sons, wish to sell some of my land. Then I ask first among my neighbors whose land adjoins mine whether one of them wishes to buy it, and if they do not, then I must seek a purchaser outside. Then when I have found a purchaser and we have agreed about the price, then I ask my neighbors if they are willing that I should sell my land to this man, and if they do not wish him for a neighbor, then they agree among themselves that one of them shall buy the land so that there may be no quarrels among neighbors. Or if it is all right for him to buy this land, then I take the purchaser out and in the presence of my neighbors on four sides I show him the boundaries of the land, so that there may be no tampering with boundaries afterwards. Then we call the chief of the canton, and he sends for all my neighbors and asks them if it is true that I own this piece of land, and he asks my four neighbors whose land adjoins mine if they are willing that I should sell it to Diego Ventura, and if he does not know the land, then he goes with us to look at the boundaries. And we take with us a man who can read and write in Castilian, and he describes the boundaries of the land, and draws up the papers so that the title can be registered at Santa Cruz. Then we go to the house of the owner, 16 One of the religious fraternities devoted to the cult of some saint. 24 CHICHIOASTENANGO and he gives lunch to me and to the chief of the canton, and he pays him for his work. If the place is far away he gives him 45 pesos (75 cents) for his trouble. Land is something which a man receives from his father and withholds from his son; it is the material symbol of continuity between generations; it is the instrument through which a male proves his manhood, and wins the respect of woman. For a man must provide food for his family, and this food should be raised upon his own land. The produce of awoman's field, and the profits from her animals must not be used to feed the family:... if a woman has land which is hers as her inheritance, her husband engages mozos to cultivate it, and the crops belong to the woman and she sells them, and the money is hers for her clothing. For it is the share of the man in the household to supply food. But this is bad, very bad, because the woman will have no respect for the man if she has her own land and does not depend upon him for the necessities of life. From the foregoing accounts it is obvious that land has more than a purely economic value to the Quiche. The greed, vindictiveness and mutual suspicion that color all land transactions spring out of these sentimental attachments, for these attitudes are singularly lacking in all commercial transactions that are on a strictly economic plane. The projection of emotion upon land is illustrated in the case of Tomas Morales. This man was extremely wealthy; he was employed as Secretary in the courthouse, he was a merchant with a large and flourishing business, he was a licenciado, that is, he drew up papers and represented Indians in litigations in Santa Cruz; he was a sorcerer and diviner. He had a large house in town near the plaza, but he never lived in it, although he was in town on business every day. He stored his merchandise there; he opened the house every Sunday and his wife came up there to cook his meals, but he never spent the night there. He lived on his farm, a mile away, and it was there that I always visited him. He did practically no agricultural work himself, but hired laborers to do it for him. He had three small children, two of them boys, and was already much concerned with the problem of family limitation, "so that my sons won't quarrel over their inheritance, because if there are many children and little land, they will surely quarrel." Miguel also had many occupations besides farming; he also could read and write in Spanish and had been employed in the courthouse; he had a factory for the manufacture of dance costumes, and was employed by a large coffee plantation in their nefarious business of "slave-catching." Yet he also lived on his land, which he was too busy to work, and kept his grown son in a state of MARRIAGE 25 abject and sullen dependence, which flared into open rebellion and violence while I was there. Land, the gift of the ancestors and the source of life, is the focus of the bitter and suppressed antagonism between father and son, and the still more bitter rivalry of brothers for their father's favor. Marriage When a man marries, ideally his wife comes to live in his father's house, to share in the work of the household. The contributions of the woman to household economy are four: cooking, washing, tending of small animals, and weaving such garments as are made in the home. All outside work, and all the heavy work of the household including the chopping of wood and drawing of water are done by the men, and /, i: children contribute much in the care of animals. Since of all women's duties it is the weaving that is the most time consuming, that is always the point that is used by parents in urging marriage upon ' their sons ("Your mother has no time to make your kerchiefs.") - ] for it is the Quiche theory that children have to be driven like; reluctant beasts to the marriage altar. Marriages are arranged by the parents, usually after consulting the children. Child marriages do occur rarely. In such cases a boy of ten or twelve will be married to a girl old enough to be useful in the house. In selecting a mate for their son, parents are guided primarily by economic considerations. They look for a girl who is a good worker, ' and who has not repudiated another marriage - arranging a marriage is expensive, therefore stability is important. They recognize the importance of love in marriage, and therefore point out their select- ( ion to the boy, and if she is displeasing to him, the matter is dropped. The parents of the girl want a good provider for their daughter. Before acquiescing to a betrothal they satisfy themselves that the boy is a good worker, that he has some property and some trade or ( profession; that he has no debts, that he does not drink, quarrel or carry on with women, and that he has not repudiated any other woman. The gifts to the parents of the bride extend over a considerable period of time. The first gift is taken when the spokesman first goes to ask for the girl, and it is ritual in character'7. It consists of 25 or 30 seeds of cacao, the sacred seed of the Quiches, and one sapuyul, a condiment used in the preparation of ceremonial drinks. The acceptance of this gift seals the betrothal. Then follows a series of gifts of food. Each of these consists of a jar of atole, the drink of toasted 17 See pp. 113ff. 26 CHICHICASTENANGO cornmeal with cocoa butter, a jar of puliq, a spiced sauce used in various festive dishes, a basket of food to be cooked in the puliq, either a chicken or other meat, and bread and chocolate. It is always the mother of the boy who comes with these gifts. These gifts are repeated five or six times, at intervals of two months. Then the spokesman comes again, to inform the girl's parents that in two months they will come to fetch the girl. If the boy's family is wealthy they make this the occasion for still more elaborate gifts. They come with many of their relatives, bringing five or six large jars of atole. One of these is consumed on the spot, the rest are left as gifts to the girl's family. When they return to fetch the girl the boy comes with them. He brings a load of firewood and bunches of aromatic leaves to be used by the girl's parents in the medicinal sweatbath, with which they will dispel their loneliness for their daughter. If the boy lives far away he does not bring the wood, but sends money, 15 pesos (25 cents), instead. Each time the parents of the boy come with their gifts they are feasted by the bride's parents, and the visits are made an occasion for festive display. They always speak of these gifts as "performing ceremonies" (hacer costumbre) for the girl, and these ceremonies reflect the wealth and dignity of the family and are designed to impress the girl with the status of her new relatives. The purpose of the bride gifts is to cement the marriage, for it is believed that the woman will have more respect for the man and the man for the woman if all the ceremonies have been performed. It is in no sense a bride price, although the woman will always say that she has been bought. Her parents have nothing to say concerning the amount of the "price;" it depends entirely on the wealth and munificence of the boy's father. Of course, they will refuse their daughter, if she is a virgin, to a poor man. "If a girl is a virgin,l8 there are elaborate ceremonies, and the cost of getting her is great; but if she is a widow or a woman who has lived with some other man and left him, the cost is not so great." There are other honorable, if less desirable means of acquiring a wife, besides performing the ceremonies for her. A poor man can substitute service for gifts, if the parents of the girl wish it, and go every second week for a year to work in the household of his future father-in-law. This is considered highly undesirable from the point of view of the young man. Or else parents of a poor boy will look for 18 By a "virgin" they mean a girl who has not publicly repudiated a marriage. MARRIAGE 27 a wife for their son in families where there are only daughters. In that case the boy will go to the girl's house to work for her. He does this instead of going through the ceremonies. He lives there and sleeps and eats there. Then at the end of the year the parents of the boy come to get the woman. There is no ceremony and no expense to the parents for the wife of their son. If there are many daughters, some of them remain with their parents, and the others go to live in the houses of their husbands. If the woman does not want to live in the house of the man, if she is an only child, or if her parents have much property and much land, then the husband goes to live in the house of his wife. Then they stay there and inherit from the father of the woman. But all these are merely the expedients of the poor man, and, although there is no hint of impropriety in them, they are not nearly as desirable as the ceremonious marriage. The belief among us is that it is much better for a man to perform the full ceremonies for his wife instead of going to work for her at her house. Because if he goes one week to the house of the woman and one week to his own house it is bad, because they talk about the things of one house in the other, and complain, both the man and the woman. And if the boy goes to work for his father-in-law in the house of the woman, that is not good either. Because a year is a long time, and after a while they will start to quarrel the way husband and wife always do. Then the woman will say, "Well, why did you come here? Who sent for you? I never asked you to come. This is not your house; you had better go back to your father." No, it is better to wait a year and perform all the ceremonies for a woman, and then she goes with her husband for once and all, and she has nothing to say. For women are always irritable; they are always complaining. "Why did you come for me? I never wanted to go with you. It is only that my parents had nothing to eat that they accepted your food and gave me to you. I never wanted to have relations with any man." But it seems that even in Chichicastenango there are young people in love who want to get married and are impatient, so there are elopments. What then becomes of all the financial machinery? "If two young people come together without ceremonies, and of their own accord, then the girl's father will go to the Alcaldes to get her back; and if, after this she returns again to the man, then it is of her own free will that she goes, and God goes with her." In other words, man is helpless in the face of a woman's will. A woman is in no sense property, neither in the house of her father nor in the house of her husband. The pattern of submission to the will of the father is so strong that the girl rarely offers serious objection to his command. However, she cannot be coerced into a marriage which she really does not desire, any more than she can be effectively restrained from a union upon which she has set her heart. 28 SCHIOICASTENANGO Sor can she be kept in the house of her husband against her will, no matter how he has won her. If she is displeased with her marriage she returns home, where she is always welcome, and again, "God goes with her." There is no return of the bride gifts. On the contrary, the husband lets her go, and even pays for her confinement if she bears him a child in her father's house. Failure in economic duties on the part of either spouse is a legitimate cause for divorce. A woman will leave her husband if he fails to bring firewood and water, and if he does not provide adequate food and clothing for her and her children. A man is justified in divorcing his wife if she is lazy or incompetent in the work of the house. But it is always the woman who leaves of her own free will, although the man can force the issue by ill treatment, or even by taking another wife. "The man is the master of the house." Although the Quiche male vigorously upholds this theory even by such questionable expedients as beating his wife occasionally - but not too often - "so that she may respect him, and know that he is really a man (muy hombre)," it is apparent that privately he regards the woman question as muy delicado from every point of view. A wife is a necessity. She has a cash value, and parents of girls know it. It is best to pay up magnificently. But even then there are no guarantees - just hopes. When the girl leaves for her husband's house, she takes with her nothing but her personal clothing. Her father provides her with new clothing for the occasion. Theoretically, the girl is now completely cut off from her blood kin. In going from her father's side she forfeits her rights to inherit. She is discouraged from visiting her parents, and her relations with her family assume a purely formal character. It is assumed that she will never again return to their house.l9 In a fully developed patriarchal society such as one finds among the Quiches one would expect to find the levirate and, perhaps, the sororate. The whole social structure seems to demand the levirate. But neither institution is found at the present time. Contrary to the theory that the woman goes to her husband's house "for once and all," the widow at the death of her husband returns to her father's house with her young female children. But all early writers, including Ximenes and Las Casas report the levirate in detail. "These women, after they had once been paid for by the presents which (the man's family) sent, or the gifts which were made to their parents, never returned again to their families, but in the event that 19 A fuller discussion of marriage will be found pp. 117/f. MARRIAGE 29 the husband died, his brothers or some unmarried relative married her, as we have already said. The children of such women did not reckon as relatives of the families of their mothers because they counted relationship only through men and not through women, as we have said, and they recognized no impedement to marriage with such relatives..."20 Neither writer mentions the sororate. This lends further support to the view that the bride gifts are, and always were, persuasive argument rather than a payment for which a return is expected. But the levirate fits admirably into the Quiche social and economic structure. Having gotten a woman into the family they are reluctant to let her go. Moreover a woman cannot take with her her male children, since they must remain to inherit from their father's line. That so congenial a custom should have been abandoned must be attributed to Catholic influence. The Church has been less successful in the proscription of polygyny. Although not common, it does occur, usually as a result of dissatisfaction with the first wife. The second wife is married with all the ceremonies. If the man is rich, the children of both wives inherit equally, but if he is poor, or if he dies before the partition of the inheritance, the children of the second wife are excluded. "But the women are content. Otherwise they would not stay in the house, for the woman is always free to go." There is no confusion of personal property as between husband / and wife. A woman owns and has complete control of whatever she has made or received by inheritance or by gift. My informant would not sell his wife's utensils (in this case, a loom) or anything that she had woven, without her consent, and when it was sold, he insisted that the money be paid directly to her. This applies equally to livestock owned by the woman or the fruit of land which she has received by inheritance from her own family; we have already discussed the special significance attached to the land and its products. (p. 24). The man's opinion of this sad state of affairs, so subversive to his ideal of male dominance in the household, is best told in his own words: If a man breeds a sow or a hen, the care of them is up to his wife, and if the hen lays, whatever eggs she may lay belong to the man, and if the sow fattens and they sell it, the money belongs to the man. But if the woman has her own chickens and they lay, the eggs are hers, and if she owns a pig and it fattens and she sells it, the money is hers to buy her clothing and 20 Las Casas: Apologdtica Historia de las Indias p. 625. 30 CHICHICASTENANGO anything she may need in the kitchen. For it is the share of the man in the household to supply food. But this is bad, very bad, because the woman will have no respect for the man if she has her own money and does not depend on him. Work "In the tropics the siesta is necessary; in the lowlands because the heat of the day is unbearable, in the highlands because the combination of altitude and sunlight causes sunstroke and other bad physiological reactions." So say Ladinos and Europeans, physicians and laymen, and on this theory they order their lives. But the Indian takes no siesta; from the moment of his early rising before dawn has whitened the sky until he extinguishes his ocote torch late at night, his day is filled with orderly and unceasing activity. Neither darkness nor the midday sun deter him from his unhurried round of toil. Except at fiestas I have never seen an idle Indian, male or female. In the household the woman turns from the metate to the loom without pause. In the early morning the women are busy in the kitchen. At midday, when the sun is hottest they sit in their shadeless patios, busy at their weaving, bareheaded and unconcerned. The men work in the fields through the hottest part of the day, withno thought of seeking shade or rest. Travellers always make an early start, at two or three o'clock in the morning, in order to arrive at their destination in time for the market, or, on a long trip, to get as far as possible the first day so as to spend no more days than necessary on the road. At ten or eleven o'clock in the morning they stop by the roadside to prepare their dinner, and to rest for a short time, and then go on, along precipitous trails, through the hottest part of the day. A fair load on mountain trails is a quintal (100 pounds, not the metric quintal). If Europeans hire bearers through special channels, they set 80 pounds as a limit, but Indians on their own business sometimes carry as much as 150 pounds, or more. A day's journey on mountain trails, with burdens, is reckoned at 6-7 leagues.21 The porters from the Convent at Chichicastenango regularly made the round trip between Chichicastenango and Momostenango, a distance of 12 leagues each way, in three days. This was travelling without burdens, or with very little. However, merchants travelling with burdens also allowed three days for this trip. In the marketplace the drygoods merchants erect canvas awnings - 21 The Guatemalan league is equal to 2.5 English miles. WORK 31 to protect their merchandise, not their heads. The traders in indestructibles sit all day in the sun without protection; the women do not even wear hats. The alcaldes, who must be at their posts in the courthouse all day, frequently without any business to transact, occupy their time with small tasks, spinning, embroidery or the making of netted bags. The little sacristans, some of them not more than ten years old, often sit for hours in the patio of the church, working on bags, or trying their hands at embroidery. The older ones are always busy at something. The women of Santa Cruz make straw braid. They do this work, as they breathe, under all conditions. Women and little girls from this village sit all day in the marketplace at Chichicastenango, their fingers never idle; they walk along the rough trails with babies on their backs and heavy burdens on their heads, still working at their straw as they walk along. The Maxefios are scarcely less industrious. For all useful work the Indians have equal respect, and all tasks are approached with the same dignity. No work, however unpleasant, is despised, and no task, however menial is considered degrading. This / is true of Guatemala Indians in general. It is recognized throughout ' Guatemala that Indians make wonderful house servants, and, furthermore, that no mistress dare enter her kitchen if she wishes to keep her cook. For the cook has the same professional attitude towards her work as the sorcerer or the midwife. It is her work, which she accomplishes with pride and dignity. Europeans who hope to train native servants in European ways eventually give up in despair, after several disastrous occurrences, in which their whole household suddenly walks out, and they resign themselves to beans and tortillas. They attribute their lack of success, according to the particular color of their prejudices, to the mental inferiority, ineradicable conservatism or general cussedness of the Indian. The Indian cook is a professional, and she will not be taught by amateurs, unless suitable concessions are made to her professional pride. This pride has nothing to do with the matter of taking orders. To obey a command is in no sense demeaning to the personality, for all persons submit to those in authority. In Chichicastenango, filial 2 obedience is the cornerstone of the social system. Children learn to obey their parents, later they obey with the same unquestioning submissiveness those to whom authority has been delegated - the fiscal, the Alcade, the Padre, and in the plantations, the patron. All of them are addressed by the same term as that used in address to the father, ta't; and the wives of "fathers," who command the same 32 CHICHICASTENANGO obedience, are called chuch, "mother."22 When there is public work to be done laborers are not hired and paid from the treasury. Work is part of the Indian's civic responsibility; with willing cooperativeness they perform any task demanded by the government or the church. This was shown in the way the municipality took over the job of reroofing the church. The beams in the roof sagged, and in the rainy season the roof leaked. In Oaxaca on a Sunday morning an earthquake shook down the roof of a church, killing seventy-five people. The priest at Chichicastenango sent for the Alcalde of the village and laid the situation before him. "We shall see about it; and see what can be done." There were meetings in the corridor of the Convent. Soon afterwards one of the principales came to inform the Padre that after the fiesta (of Santo Toma6s) they would start work on the roof of the church. Then one afternoon in January there was a great commotion outside, people shouting and the bells of the church ringing. "The beams for the roof," said one of the sacristans, and when I went outside, they were carrying the beam around the plaza, shouting. It was a great round beam, about eighty feet long, and some thirty men were carrying it. "They brought it from the mountains far away." They brought the beam into the patio of the Convent where they left it, and then all went into the church for a moment to pray. Who these men were, and how they came there, no one knew precisely. "The principales tell the heads-of cantones, and they send them. No one pays them, it is a voluntary service." Later they brought other logs and presently, one morning at 5:30 I was awakened by the sounds of work, and there in the courtyard were several dozens of young men, with older men supervising them, swarming up ladders, and tinkering with tiles. They never got much further than that in the two years that I was there, because the job of roofing that tremendous building is a stupendous task, and the rains were upon them before they had done more than remove a few tiles. However the will was there, and the organization. The ordinary daily work of the Convent was performed with the same anonymous willingness. Each year twenty-four boys were assigned to the service of the Convent as part of their civic duties. They acted as house servants, carried messages and worked in the gardens. They were under the direction of two older men, the fiscales. They worked in shifts, six on each shift, changing on Sunday. 22 The other word for father, qau, is rarely used as a term of address. For mother there is only the one word. WORK 33 Each week the change was effected without the slightest disturbance in the household routine. Before leaving, one boy instructed the other in his duties, and informed him of any changes in the household schedule since the last shift. Punctually at the appointed hour on Monday morning, the hot water appeared, brought by a different person, who always remained a nameless actor in a prescribed role. "It is their work." In the same way, unseen hands sweep the plaza and the streets, bring pine for fiestas, and gangs of workers appeared unannounced to whitewash the church. During their periods of service these workers receive no pay, they must provide their own food and cook their own meals. They sleep in doorways or corridors. The sacristans slept in the doorway of the Convent, on a ledge inside the door; the servants in a shed behind the kitchen; each group had a room where they cooked their meals and kept their belongings. They were under the supervision of an older man, the fiscal, the chief sacristan, or in the case of the municipal servants, the mayor, who was responsible for their behavior as well as their work. It is the ancient system of temple service in new guise. All these youths had for their teacher and mentor the son of the lord of the place, or, if he has no son, his nephew or nearest relative. These had the duty of assembling all the youths of 7 or 8 years and over, and dividing them by families, and of giving to each group its teacher and captain. All these boys carried firewood for the temples, for in those days they used many great logs in their fires. They all slept in the doorways of the temple, not only at the times of their fasts, but all the year round; for they were forbidden to associate with, or know the affairs of the married. Nor, while they were bachelors, did they take any part in the arrangements for their marriages, nor did anyone speak to them of marriage until the day when their wives were handed over to them. So submissive and obedient were they to their parents. When they went for a day to see their parents, their parents spoke with the greatest restraint in their presence about girls and women, so that they might hear nothing indecent which might incline them through a bad example to know or desire Sin.23 The more unpleasant and menial tasks fall, inevitably, to the lot of the young. When the Guatemalan government requires laborers for work on the roads,24 the heads of families are notified when and how 23 Las Casas: Apologdtica Historia, p. 466. 24 Civilian labor had been substituted, in the mountain villages, for compulsory military service. The Indians of Chichicastenango were proud of being "civilians," they called their road service "voluntary." It was said repeatedly in Guatemala that the government was afraid to arm the Indians of the Highlands, because it is from this quarter that they fear social revolution. 34 CHICHICASTENANGO often they will be liable for this service. "I am told by the auxiliar when this work will fall to me, and then if I have a son I send him, and if I have no son I must go myself or pay a fine." Against such a command there is no rebellion. The path of life ("one's life and fortune" in the words of the ritualist) is visualized as a progress from one task to another more responsible and less disagreeable. The prayers that are said over an infant at the pre-baptismal ceremonies by which he is received as a member of the community, all concern work. The blessings asked for the child are not long life and health and procreative power, but rather that he may faithfully and honorably perform all the tasks which may be laid upon him, - the public services and the skills and the professions which he may be called upon to exercise either directly or indirectly through marriage. And all later ceremonies which a man performs on behalf of his "light and fortune" and "his personality"25 are oriented towards occupational concerns; for one's occupation is one's distinguishing characteristic, as inseparable a part of one's personality as one's sex. The fulfillment of life consists in the completion of one's appointed task, and the honorable accomplishment of what is expected of one. For this reason, perhaps, it has been possible to enslave Indians without sapping their integrity, and to exploit their labor without degrading their persons. Houses and Housebuilding We have already described the typical Indian house in the town. That represents the ideal, to which country houses conform in so far as the means of the owner permits. The country house of my informant followed the same general plan. The buildings are of adobe brick, as is the high wall facing the road; all except the chicken house and the shed over the sweatbath are roofed with tile. These two are roofed with grass thatch. The back wall which separates the patio from the sitio is made of cornstalks bound together with tough fiber. Manuel has made brave attempts to make the patio attractive. Three trees have been planted in it, a banana, an orange and a lime, none of which bear fruit, but which the owner loves for their decorative value. He is especially proud of the orange tree; it is difficult to grow orange trees at this high altitude. The trunks of these trees were surrounded by little fences of cornstalks. There are also 26 See pp. 305/f. HOUSES AND HOUSEBUILDING 35 flowering plants and medicinal herbs planted in gasoline tins26 standing at the foot of the pillar of the portico and hanging from the rafters. This form of decoration is copied from Ladino houses. The houses, like all Chichicastenango houses, are strongly constructed. The walls are thick, for the adobes of which they are made are large slabs, some twelve by eighteen inches, and eight inches thick. Both inner and outer walls are smoothly plastered and whitewashed a dazzling white.27 The doors are painted bright blue. The mud floor is a few inches below the level of the patio. The roof is peaked, with a ridgepole running down the center. The tiles are laid in interlocking courses on a light framework of poles. In many houses tiles are not mortared, but are held in place by their own weight and shape. Tile roofs, though excellent from many points of view, were never planned to withstand earthquakes, and roofs are shaken down by even slight tremors. There are benches along the wall of the portico which extend across the sleeping room and kitchen. The water jars hang from pegs in the walls. Hanging from the rafters of the portico are bundles of corn, onions and dried herbs. The woman does all her weaving in the patio, and during the day the loom always lies there fastened to one of the pillars of the portico. The children play in the patio which is also the living apartment of all the barnyard livestock - the chickens, turkeys, pigs, dogs, and kittens. The sala of this house boasts a tile floor and ceiling of planks. It is furnished with benches, a few wooden chairs, and a cupboard stuffed with papers, the top of which serves as a writing table, for the owner is a licenciado - an unofficial notary public. It is really an office, and not the typical Indian sala, for it contains none of the owner's sacred possessions. These are all kept in the sleeping room, to which he always takes such clients as come on sacred business. The sala had been added on recently to the old house, and was, obviously a bit of swank, a "parlor" to be used only on official occasions, in which the owner was not really at home. His wife never came into it. In the evening which is the only time that the Indians sit around indoors, they used the kitchen, never the sala. The bedroom contained the family altar - a table with cupboards underneath. On it stood several carved images of saints - Manuel was 26 The square five-gallon tins in which gasoline is sold in far places is, perhaps, the most widely diffused culture trait in the tropics. This handy utensil is put to the most diverse uses. In Guatemala it is used primarily as a flower pot. In Mexico it is used, also, for water. 27 The plaster is unusual for Indian houses. 36 CHICHICASTENANGO never very sure what saints they were - candlesticks, vases with flowers, and a miscellaneous litter of rags, stones, and bits of this and that. The owner's divining kit, wrapped in a red cloth lay there also. On the wall hung a framed colored print of the Corazon de Jesus, and framed photographs of the owner and his wife. The furniture consisted of two beds, several low chairs and a low table, and another cupboard. The beds were low, with headboard and footboard, and planks laid on crossbars between. Over the planks were thick reed mats and a miscellaneous heap of blankets. Clothing was stuffed into the cupboards, hung from the walls, over the footboards of the beds, and generally strewn around. All the native-made furniture is low. The chairs about 10-12 inches from the floor, the little tables about 18-20 inches high. The beds are low too. In many poorer houses the bed is just a raised wooden platform. Manuel and his wife occupied separate beds and I was told that this was customary, but I did not find out the precise sleeping arrangements in enough houses to know if this was a general rule. The kitchen had no wooden ceiling. Three stones in the center of the earth floor formed the hearth. There was a cupboard for dishes, knives, spoons, etc, in one corner. A few low stools such as the men use, and the square rush mats used by the women. In another corner stood the metate, a slanting slab of stone with three legs, and a large jar, about three feet tall, filled with water. Various cooking pots stood around. The kitchen was even more untidy than the bedroom and the pig was very much at home there. The workroom, in this case, contained a sewing machine used by Manuel in the manufacture of the men's shirts which he sold in the plaza. Like the other rooms in the house the only light entered through the small door, so when there was much work to do the sewing machine was moved out into the patio. In the houses of weavers which I visited the loom was always set up in the portico. The sweatbath was a tall, hive-shaped structure sheltered under a thatch shed. A door in the rear fence of the patio led into the sitio - 12 cuerdas planted with corn, potatoes, and fruit trees. The owner had another piece of land near his father's. An inventory of the interior furnishings of this typical Chichicastenango residence reveals a striking feature of Quiche economy, for everything in the house, except the boards and bricks and tiles, which are manufactured locally, has been imported. The native furniture comes from Totonicapan; the small cooking pots and the glazed bowls, jugs, vases, candlesticks, are from Totonicapan; the blankets from Momostenango; the large waterjars and tinajas from HOUSES AND HOUSEBUILDING 37 San Pedro Jocopilas; the metate from Naguala; the coarse mats from Santa Catalina; the fine mats from Rabinal; the netted bags, ropes etc. from Coban; the metal objects and other objects of White manufacture from Guatemala City. Even the bunches of onions hanging in the portico have been brought from Solola. The system of trade whereby these products are distributed involves the whole republic, from Tapachula to San Salvador. It will be discussed later. Housebuilding is a specialized trade. A man planning to build a house hires laborers and a mason to supervise the work. The wages of a mason are 25-30 pesos a day. (40-50 cents) The laborers are paid 10 pesos a day. They do not get their meals from the owner. Housebuilding is accompanied at all stages by ceremonies for the protection of the workers and future occupants. Let us suppose that I wish to build a house. First of all I seek the day ajpu to give notice to the World that I intend to build a house. I do this either at a shrine or at the place where the house is to be built. I burn a little incense, and say: "Hail, World. I have come to bow down and kneel before your presence. And also to ask favor before the holy Apostles, the Masters of the Building of Houses, Masters of Lead, Masters of Knives, Masters of Rules. They have their measures before the World and they go about in our village. And now, Masters of the Building of Houses, and our patron, Santo Tomas, see us, hear us before this World. It is I who ask and beg my place of rest before this World. I invoke the day, the hour, the master day, 8 ajpu,28 the day of the celebration of the house and hearth. And so, within twenty days perhaps it will be granted me to stand before your presence, World, and with me the one who will measure your face, World, the mason, Tomas Pakoxox. He is the one who has received the commission to erect my house. Perhaps the great people, the little people, my neighbors, will look kindly upon it. Or else perhaps it is not good, but evil; perhaps you are planning suffering for me, World. As for me, I only wish to provide for my children, a place where they may live. For if I should die they would have no house. It is for this, World, that I intrude upon you with my annoyances, in order to build this, my house. When I erect it I shall place my offerings, and when the work is finished I shall again place my offerings for you, World. Pardon me. Only the jun kalamld..."29 This is only the notification to the World. After twenty days or a month the work is begun. The mason marks out the place which the house will occupy. In each corner I burn offerings, 12 cakes of copal and a candle (1 peso) in each corner. This is done at 6 o'clock in the evening. At this time, also, the head mason makes his own offerings to dead masons. I say: "Hail, World, sacred place, Tsokoma: It is I who have invoked you before this divine spirit. This is the day, this is the hour we are gathered together in person with all our laborers. Perhaps there is one who is preoccupied, perhaps there is one who entertains evil thoughts. And also the mason, - 28 See p. 280. 29 See p. 307. 38 CHICHICASTENANGO perhaps there may be sickness, perhaps there may be pain, for him, or perhaps something may go wrong in his house. But may no evil befall him here in my presence. Perhaps the spade might do him injury, perhaps the knife might do it; perhaps the irons might do it, perhaps the adobes might do it, perhaps the beams might do it, perhaps when they raise the ridgepole, perhaps when they place the tiles. May no one fall, may they not cut their bodies with the irons, nor injure themselves with the adobes which they lay. It is for this, World, that we give our fine, for me and my laborers and the mason. "Come hither lords and leaders, builders of houses. Yes, great masons, little masons, it will only be for eight or nine or ten days that they will be building this house before your presence, World. May not the Lord of the Earthquake, the Lord of the Crevices throw down my house; may not he, Sefor Manuel Lorenzo,30 hurl the evil one against my house. Also may our leader, our crown and head, Santo Tomas, Apostle, and our Father Cristo, give me his holy blessing over my head and body on behalf of my work. "Yes, World, pardon my trespass. This is what lies upon your table. (I pour out the aguardiente in each corner.) This is for you, World. Accept it and do not be of two hearts, two minds towards me. May my work not be a loss, World. On the day, the hour when the house will be completed, on that day I shall give my offerings to render thanks before your presence, World, and also to render thanks before our leader, Santo Tomas, Apostle, and also our Father Christ in Calvario, and our Father Christ in heaven, and also to render thanks to the master builders, World. Pardon me. Only the jun kalamld...; If one wishes on the following day (or after two or three days, depending on the days) one may repeat this ceremony, but with an additional request, and all the offerings are increased. The prayer is as follows: I ask the presence of God in the Holy World, praying that He may send His spirit to His children, the poor ones, that they may painfully procure their daily bread, that they may painfully procure their clothing, that they may painfully procure a place to live and a lodging for the nights; that they may painfully secure good food and that with which to cover themselves by night. I ask most humbly of God and the Holy World that their spirit may descend upon all unhappy women and men; that they may receive and taste their poor mouthful before this Holy Light. With this poor offering I pay all my neighbors, near and far, and on all sides, that they may not look with disfavor or with jealous hearts upon this work which I am doing here. When the house is completed, I procure 6 rockets, aguardiente and candles. The tools of the mason are well washed. Inside the house is a table. The floor is well covered with pine needles. I light the candles before the tools of the mason and burn plenty of incense before the tools. I call in the mason and ask him to sit down with all his laborers, inside the building which they have built. I give the mason a good meal, and to each of the laborers a glass of aguardiente, which they take or not, as they wish. Then I give them coffee and bread. Meanwhile we set off the rockets. Then the mason comes and gives thanks to the owner of the house, and tells him to give thanks to the World, for now the work is finished. He says: "Hail, World; hail house and hearth! Come hither also our Father Cristo, Santo Tomas, Apostle, the 30 The "dueiiow of the hurricane. See p. 264. HOUSES AND HOUSEBUILDING 39 master builders, however many may be your persons, God has granted hands and feet to the laborers that they might give me aid. There is no need to render thanks before you save with this incense, this cold water, this freezing water. Accept it. And also serve yourself, mason and laborers. You are all equal. Perhaps there are those who see and those who hear that now my house is finished. Whether it is good or not good, what they say of my work only you know, Divine World. It is not to deceive people in the face of poverty. It is only as a place of rest for me and for my children. Accept this, World. Pardon me." And now the ceremonies for building the house are finished. And afterwards, on each Thursday and Saturday one burns incense in the house, and before the household saint if one has one. The house, like the land has its sacred character. Every house contains some sacred object and a place at which to make offerings. Although at present the Indians have images of saints as household gods, there is no doubt that it is really the ancestors who are considered the guardians of the house. They are believed to continue to live in the house which they occupied in life, and here they are approached. For this reason there is a strong resistance against breaking < the continuity of inheritance. But the ancestors are stern guardians, and exert strict discipline over their descendants, and it is in the house that their power is greatest. It is worthy of note that the day ( ajpu, which in Chichicastenango is sacred to the house, in other towns of Guatemala and in old manuscripts, is held sacred to the underworld and the dead. Ximenez reports as follows on the customs relating to housebuilding in antiquity: So, when they built new houses they dedicated and consecrated the center to the god of houses whom they called Chahalha, (that is, "the guardian of the house"), and in that part they made their altar, and kept as their place for making sacrifices, where they burned incense and killed birds and other animals. They put on the walls the blood which they drew (from their sacrifices) and they stuck feathers all around (rich feathers such as we use for hats and caps), and in the door of the house they did the same, for with these rites they assured themselves that no evil thing would enter the house; and when they, cut the wood for their houses they made sacrifices to the god of the house, praying that the house for which they were cutting the wood, might be fortunate and that they might live there for many days in happiness.31 Ximenez adds the following note to the above account: In regard to this they had another abuse; when they built a house they buried in the foundations or in the walls a corpse, that it might guard the 31 In Zuni, New Mexico, today when a new house is dedicated the walls are marked with cornmeal and offerings to the dead - prayersticks with feathers, and seeds - are buried under the doorstep and hung from the center of the roof. 40 CHICHICASTENANGO house, and so great was this abuse, that when I broke through a wall in the convent of Santo Tomas, Chichicastenango, to build the sacristy, I discovered the skeleton of a corpse which they had placed under the wash stand of the ancient sacristy. It is obvious that the ministers had not placed it there, but that the Indians themselves had placed it there in secret, that it might guard the building32. Food Meal hours at Chichicastenango are variable. Each household has its own routine, depending on residence and occupation. Those who live in town or work in town for Ladinos, or in any official capacity, those who work in the courthouse, the church, or the convent, eat three meals a day like Ladinos, a breakfast of coffee with bread or tortillas in the morning, a dinner of meat, eggs, beans, or tamales at noon, and supper of whatever may be left at six. Those who live in the mountains and work in the fields and, presumably, preserve ancient customs in their houses, take nothing on rising in the morning, but breakfast at nine o'clock on coffee and tortillas, eat dinner at three in the afternoon, and before going to bed take a drink of atole. Still others eat their principal meal in the evening, at eight or nine o'clock, and right after eating go to bed. The Maxefios are frugal eaters, but their diet is varied. The staple is corn in different forms, varied with beans, potatoes, many kinds of greens and fruit, and occasionally animal food in the form of eggs, meat, even fish - "but it is very expensive because it comes from far away" - and cheese of goats' milk. Chile and other condiments are widely used. All the work of the preparation of food falls to the lot of the women, but they do not, as Mexican women do, spend the greater part of each day bending over the grinding stones, in spite of the fact that corn forms the basis of diet. The preparation of tortillas and tamales is described as follows: To make tortillas, first the woman removes the kernels of corn from the ears, in sufficient quantity to last for all the meals for one day. She does this in the evening for the following day. After all the corn is removed, she places it in water in an earthenware pot, and places it on the fire. She puts some lime in the water first and when the water is white she puts the corn in. Then she puts more fuel on the fire, to make a hot fire, and keeps it cooking. After a while she looks at the corn, and if the skin peels off the kernels when they are pressed, it is cooked. Then she takes the pot from the fire and sets it aside and adds more fresh water, so that the corn will not taste of lime. Next morning when the woman gets up she builds her fire at once, and then gets the ixtamal to wash the corn. When it is well washed, she sits down to 32 F. Ximenez, Historia de la Provincia de San Vicentede Chiapa y Guatemala. Lib. I, Cap. 31. FOOD 41 grind. If one wants to have it well ground, one passes it four times through the grinding stone, or else only three times. Now it is ready; if one wishes to make tortillas, that is all, but if one wants to make tamales the woman goes to look for green leaves of the corn in which to wrap the tamales, or if it is not the time for leaves, one can wrap the tamales in dried cornhusks. Now when it is time to cook them, one looks for a large earthen pot and puts it on the fire, and pours in a little water. Then one puts the leaves or husks in the water for a moment, and then puts in the meal and wraps them. So one puts them in the water, and keeps a good fire going all the time they are cooking. After about half an hour one looks and feels them to see if they are cooked. And if they are cooked one takes the pot from the fire and puts it on the ground. Now it is the hour to eat, and so one prepares the food, and goes to eat. The tamales described are the most common variety, the every day food of poor people. But many kinds of more elaborate and savory tamales are made. Sometimes the cornmeal is wrapped in aromatic green leaves; sometimes chicken or other meat is used with the cornmeal, or it is sweetened with brown sugar, or contains raisins, cloves, chile or other condiments. The highly spiced tamale of Mexico is not common. The tamale, rather than the tortilla, is the food staple, and is called simply, "food." The third food product of maize is atole, called simply "the drink." There are at least three kinds of atole, the common garden variety for the ordinary uses of the household which contains simply cornmeal and water, the kind that is used at fiestas that contains cocoa butter and 8apuyul, and a special variety that is made only during Holy Week to be sent as a gift to relatives. The making of the festive atole is a complicated process. First the corn kernels are boiled in lime water as described above, skinned and ground into fine meal. The meal is mixed with water into a thick dough and thoroughly baked in a large flat cake on the comale.3 After it is baked it is allowed to cool. Then it is ground up and kneaded with water and spices, sapuyul and seeds of cacao, toasted and ground. Hot water is added and it is placed in a large pot over a slow fire and beaten with the hand until the cocoa butter rises in a foam like whipped cream on top. It is then ready to drink. This is the drink for Holy Thursday; for other fiestas the cocoa butter and sapuyul, which also contains a rich butter, are prepared separately and added when the drink is ready to serve. The ordinary atole for home use does not contain these condiments, it is a thick drink, like a gruel, of toasted cornmeal and hot water.34 33 The earthenware griddle used throughout Mexico and Central America for baking tortillas. 34 Equivalent to the Mexican pinole. Atole of plain cornmeal and water, hot or cold (Mexican po8ol) is also drunk. 42 CHICHICASTENANGO Chocolate is prepared with cinnamon. Coffee35 is prepared according to the method general throughout Guatemala, which was surely invented by the Devil. The bean is bought green and toasted until it is quite burnt. Then it is ground and made into a thick strong essence, and served, usually several days later, with hot water. Each drink is served in a special cup. Coffee is generally served in cups of glazed earthenware, imported china or enamel. Chocolate is served in tiny etched and painted black gourds; festive atole in somewhat larger black or brown gourds, and plain atole in large red and yellow painted gourds. These are about six inches in diameter, like huge Easter eggs, with a small round opening, an inch across, at the top. Beans form the other staple. These are cooked in many ways. Large black beans are stewed in lard; smaller beans, red or black are boiled, or boiled and then mashed and cooked again in lard (frijoles refritos). Cooking in lard is a Ladino technique, not used by poorer Indians. Boiled black beans are often served with sliced plantain, fried very dry and crisp. White beans are boiled with puliq, a highly spiced red sauce used especially for festive dishes (it corresponds to the Mexican mole). Meat is considered a delicacy. It is bought in the market in very small quantities. Beef, lamb, mutton are the most usual, also goat. Fish is a rare delicacy eaten occasionally during Lent. Chickens are never sold in the butcher shops; each family raises its own, and they are killed as needed. Chicken, usually in puliq, is the required dish for all festive or ceremonial occasions such as marriages, christenings, funerals, initiations, etc. There are many local vegetables, especially squash, cabbage, white turnips, potatoes, Swiss chard, and a number of unidentified greens. Of local fruits the most important are the peach, quince, cherry, anona, guava, and avocado. Of the tropical fruits which are brought up from the Coast regularly, the most important are, of course, the banana andplaintain, and also oranges, mangos, and papaya. These are regarded as delicacies, generally to treat the children. There are a number of local wild berries that are used for food. A woman is expected to know how to cook and to use a certain amount of initiative in planning meals with some variety. The tamale and tortilla and "the drink" form the basis of nourishment. With coffee, they comprise the morning and evening meals. For the prin35 Coffee, although at present the principal export crop is not indigenous. It was first introduced by the Spaniards, and only recently became important. It is not a native drink and never is served at festive meals. FOOD 43 cipal meal of the day one tries to introduce variety out of the resources of the country, but country people eat beans and tortillas year in, year out, with "variety" restricted to feast days and trips to market. Both men and women buy foodstuffs in the plaza. The man may give the woman money for food - women rarely have any money of their own, and that is not used for food - or, more often, he buys himself. It is almost always the man who buys the meat and the staples like sugar, coffee, salt, and chile. It is generally the woman who buys the fruit and vegetables. On the whole, most of the buying is done by men. Food is cheap and plentiful; there is no need for anyone to go hungry, and no one ever does. Food is not considered a serious problem. It is always believed that providing food is the least onerous part of a man's responsibility in household economy, that it is housing and especially clothing that are difficult to acquire. An informant, himself one of the "rich"men of Chichicastenango, offers the following comments on the food habits of his people: It is always the poor people here who are fussy about their food, because they do not have much to think about besides their meals each day. Although they do not look well and do not dress well, nevertheless they are always well fed and eat the best food. But not the rich; because they are always thinking of many things their peace of mind is destroyed, and they do not eat good food or good corn. No, they always eat the odds and ends, and the leftovers, and the spoiled corn. At regular family meals, the food is put in small dishes and the men and women eat together in the kitchen. The sign of the cross is made over the food. Ceremonious meals are always served on tables in the sala, and there are elaborate conventions of service and eating. At formal meals the head of the house and the guest, the chuchqajau, kalpul, or marriage spokesman eat together at a table, and are served very ceremoniously by the host's wife, who presents the food kneeling. At still more formal occasions, when the official visitor comes accompanied by his wife, the two men and the two women eat together, and are served by the younger women of the house. Grace is said over the food, first by the guest and then by the host. The host always apologizes for "this poor bit of food," and for the mistakes of his wife in cooking it. In the serving of formal meals, the order of service is according to status rather than sex. Food and drink play an important part in all ceremonies. The ceremonial gift is always food, and eating and drinking are part of the ritual. The godfather of a child is repayed for his services by gifts of food which are taken to his house. Food, not money, is given to 44 CHICHICASTENANGO the expert who instructs a child in any craft; food is exchanged between relatives at the great fiestas, and it is with gifts of food that one procures a wife. The article of food that holds first place in ritual is the cacao. For the cacao is the "taboo tree" (Sp. peccado arbol; Q. awas tee). The myth concerning the cacao is the only myth that is commonly told in Chichicastenango. It is given in its ritualistic form on pp. 239ff. Briefly, it relates that when Christ was being pursued by his enemies He took refuge under a cacao tree and the tree let fall a blanket of white blossoms over him, to conceal Him from His pursuers. Therefore Christ blessed the tree and decreed that its wood should never be used for firewood and that its seeds should be on the table in all ceremonies. Therefore the seeds of cacao are the first gift offered in opening the negotiations for marriage, and it is the last gift offered to a chuchqajau at the conclusion of the ceremonies of initiation, and in all ceremonies in the cofradias there is a point at which a plate of cacao is offered to someone who is to be honored. And on each such occasion the myth of the cacao is related in full or some allusion is made to it. The symbolism of the cacao at the present time seems to be somewhat as follows: All ceremonies were instituted by Christ for the benefit of the first ancestors; on the cacao He placed His special blessing, therefore its presence on the table is evidence of the authenticity of the ritual, and guarantee that one is following in the ways of the ancestors. However, there is another meaning to the cacao, for in ancient times the seeds of cacao, because of their high nutritive value and small bulk served as currency. In addition to this use, the beans passed as money throughout the country, and they carried with them sacks of these, and these they gave in exchange for whatever they might require, just as if they carried purses of doubloons.36 Whether or not the cacao was also a sacred plant, we do not know but it seems likely. Certain the apellation awas peq would indicate that. The other food that figures in all ceremonies is atole, the drink of maize. Whenever a person is summoned on any ritual errand, the messenger comes with a gourd of atole - sometimes a bottle of aguardiente if the occasion is not one of high formality. Large jars of atole form the principal item in the bride gifts; it is the viand that is used in the symbolic harvests feast (See p. 54) and the drink that is first offered in the sacramental meals of the cotradias. Atole is one of the sacred drinks of the Quich6s as it was of the ancient Mexicans. 36 Las Casas: Apolog4tica Historia, p. 153. FOOD 45 The sacred character of maize need not be documented; it is widespread among American Indians wherever maize is grown. That corn is sacred to the Quich6s is only to be expected. It is, however, striking that the animistic ideas about maize are so much more specific than those about any other part of the universe. The spirit of the corn is frightened in earthquakes and offended if its flesh is wasted or mutilated (a common Pueblo Indian belief), and the yellow and white ears cohabit if they are left lying together in the patio. The partaking of food marks every ceremonial or formal occasion. At the conclusion of a land sale, everyone concerned goes to the house of the purchaser and his wife gives them dinner. When a chuchqajau is summoned to perform a ceremony, he is always offered food at the conclusion of the rite; at the pre-baptismal ceremony the ceremonial meal precedes the rite with the child. The serving of food is not simply a courtesy, it is part of the ceremony. For the Quich6s are not a hospitable people; they do not ask strangers to eat with them at family meals; if a visitor arrives while the family is at its meal, he is ushered into another room and asked to wait until his host is free. This treatment is accorded not only to Ladinos but to Indians also if the guest is not a close relative. Although I called at the house of one individual nearly every day for months, I was never offered food until I came on a ceremonial mission - the man was to perform a ceremony on my behalf; on this occasion his wife served me very ceremoniously with bread and chocolate. In all of these ritual meals, part of the veneration is for the food itself. At the pre-baptismal ceremonies, before the child is brought, a table is set before the godfather and food is placed upon it. Over this food he pronounces a long benediction, and the head of the house (the grandfather of the child) makes the proper responses. Then the roles are reversed, and the grandfather speaks and the godfather makes the responses. Throughout this interchange, the mother of the child, who has prepared the food, kneels before the godfather, for it is her work which is being blessed. At the conclusion of this ceremony the food is not eaten but is removed and sent by messenger to the house of the padrino, and other dishes are substituted from which he eats. But the supreme expression of this veneration for food is to be found in the ceremonies of the cofradias which are little more than a series of sacramental meals in which the sacred character of food, especially maize and cacao, holds the center of interest, even to the exclusion of the saint in whose honor the ceremony presumably is held. Any Quiche will tell you that the retreat of the cofradia begins 46 CHICHICASTENANGO with moloj, the formal assembly of the members with their contributions of food, although the members have spent the whole of the day before in their ceremonial house. Yet on the second night they hold the ceremony which is called the "assembling of the mayordomos." In the evening, the musicians leave the house of the cofradia, accompanied by young men with pine flares. They go to the house of the sixth mayordomo, the one of lowest rank. Here there are long speeches; the musicians play in the patio, and finally the man and his wife leave, carrying with them their contributions of food for the ceremonies in the cofradia. Both the man and the woman wear their full ceremonial dress, and other men and women "assistants" accompany them. The most important object in this procession is the "tortilla," the large flat corn cake which will be ground up for the atole. This is carried by the woman; the man carries a basket with other things. There is a rocket "when the food leaves the house, and when it arrives at the cofradia" and more speeches. The procession itself is spectacular, it is the only procession that takes place at night, the escort carries bright pitchpine flares, and the music is exotic and distinctive. The tamboreros call at the house of each mayordomo in turn. The moloj lasts all night. At the feast of All Saints when all the cofradias convene it continues for two nights and two days. In the cofradia the preparation of food falls to the lot of the wives of the mayordomos, and the various tasks are strictly allocated according to their rank. Before any business is transacted in the course of the ceremonies of the cofradias there is a ritual meal of atole followed by chocolate, and for each of these drinks there are long speeches of blessing and a special type of music. The benediction of the cacao actually is called "the Resuscitation of Christ."37 Climate The town of Chichicastenango is situated at an altitude of 6,900 feet above sea level and has the characteristic climate of tropical highlands. There are two seasons, the dry season, called "summer" (verano) from November to April, and the wet season, called"winter" (invierno) from April to November. The first rains fall about the end of April or the beginning of May, and at the beginning of the rainy season it rains with considerable regularity, usually in the afternoon. Then, in midwinter there is a period of heavy precipitation (el temporal) when it rains steadily for days on end. Then the weather clears. 37 For the details of these ceremonies, and the texts, see pp. 226ff. CLIMATE 47 There is a period of several weeks, in August or September, when the weather is clear and sunny, with occasional brief showers, but then the temporal returns, and it rains without let-up for several weeks. With this outburst the rainy season ends. During my longest stay in Chichicastenango, all of September was clear and the last rain of the season fell during the feast of All Saints (November 1). The end of the rainy season is the most uncomfortable time of the whole year, - except possibly the end of the dry season. When it is not actually raining, the fog hangs over everything; one can actually see the clouds swirling like smoke of incense in the patios. The roofs leak, the adobe walls exude moisture, firewood is wet, equipment rusts over night, everything is clammy and unpleasant to touch, and nothing ever gets dry. And it is miserably cold. The roads are impassable, and everyone sulks at home and is generally miserable. The beginning of "summer" is a beautiful season. Everything starts to bloom.The peaches and almonds in the convent garden started to bloom in December and kept on blooming away until March. The nights are cold and the days clear and sparkling; there is not a cloud from one week to the next. It remains cold, there is hoarfrost on the meadows each morning. The weather is like that of September in the mountains of New England. After the first of the year it becomes much warmer, both in the daytime and at night. By April it has become very hot, although the nights are still chilly, and the natives begin to wait and look anxiously for the first rains. Although no rain falls, the air is sultry and oppressive, the atmosphere is hazy and laden with dust. The haze is variously attributed to heat, volcanic activity and to brush fires. At this time of year all the people from Mexico to the Isthmus of Panama are burning their cornfields, preparatory to planting. The year that I was in Chichicastenango at this season there was undoubtedly a great deal of smoke coming out of the volcanoes of Agua and Santa Maria at this time, Agua having been active since January. I found the Indians were extremely sensitive to weather conditions. They dislike the rain and the cold, especially the rain, and the sunless days. Summer is the best season, the season for festivity. But they also dislike the sultry heat of April. Their whole life, social as well as economic, is dominated by these seasonal changes. Naturally the agricultural cycle is ruled by the procession of the seasons. But they do not, as do many other agricultural peoples, fill in the idle days with festivities and social life. Quite the contrary. During the rains everyone mopes at home in the unsocial isolation of his monte. Even market fails to arouse any enthusiasm. I first arrived in Chichicaste 48 CHICHICASTENANGO nango in the middle of the rainy season, at the beginning of the temporal to be exact. No one could understand why I should have come at so unseasonable a time. (I wondered, myself.) For weeks I sat and shivered in the unheated convent, cursing the people who had thought of building in these dripping mountains the type of house that the Andalusians borrowed from the Moors, and deciding that no place could be quite so gloomy as tropical mountains in the rain. Then the rain stopped, the weather cleared suddenly, and everything changed. The Indians who had kept at home began to come to town, and everything became festive. As soon as the rains stop everyone wants to be gay at home and to go visiting in other villages. The two largest and gayest fiestas (Todos Santos, November 1, and Santo Tomas, December 21) are at the beginning of the dry season, and also right in the middle of the harvest season. In the interval there is much visiting in other towns for business and pleasure. The other gay fiestas are Corpus Christi (early in June) and San Juan (June 24), both in the early part of the rainy season, before the temporal. Carnival and Easter are not gay. Agriculture The agricultural staples are corn, several varieties of beans, squash and potatoes. There is a little wheat grown in the cold country. The principal fruit trees are the aguacate, anona and quince. There are a few orange and banana trees, but they do not bear in these altitudes. There is no coffee. The Quiches are excellent agriculturists; their agricultural knowledge is fairly complex and the methods are adapted to the climate and the quality of the soil. There are two agricultural zones, the temperate land (tierra templada) which includes all the land in the vicinity of the village, and to the north and east, everything below 7,500 feet. The cold country (tierra fria) lies to the south and southwest, towards Los Encuentros, and along the ridge betwen Tecpan and Totonicapan. Wheat is planted only in the cold country; they plant corn there too, and potatoes. The temperate country is planted with corn, beans, squash, fruit trees and potatoes. The Quiches recognize two types of soil, the fertile lands (tierras abonados) and the barren lands (tierras ruinadas). The latter are lands containing much red clay. There is a great deal of land of this character towards the west, near Santa Cruz Quiche. The barren lands bear only corn. The fertile lands bear all the crops of the country. The Indians make use of both fertilizer (the dung of domestic animals) AGRICULTURE 49 and of crop rotation to maintain the fertility of the soil. The use of fertilizer and crop rotation were probably learned from the Spaniards - the use of fertilizer surely, since there were no domestic animals in pre-Columbian times. But the planting of beans in the cornfield is a widely distributed North American Indian agricultural technique. There are two types of beans, the cornstalk bean (Sp. frijol de milpa: Q. kunaq' rech abix), a tall plant which is planted with the corn and climbs around the cornstalk, and the furrow bean (Sp. frijol de surca: Q. poq'op), a small plant which is planted in rows between the hills of corn. There are still other varieties of beans. A small farm of good land is adequate to supply a family with food staples, corn and beans, and some other things as well. Tomas for example, has what is considered a small farm, 22 cuerdas.38 It is good land. He does not plant wheat; he plants corn and beans, squash and a small patch of potatoes. The corn is enough for the family (two adults and three children) and also the beans, and he has a surplus of beans for sale; the potatoes are not enough and he has to buy more in the plaza. He also has to buy onions, tomatoes, chile, salt, achote (a spice grown in the tropics), sugar, panela (brown sugar), and coffee. "Only these, and sometimes meat, and fruit when we want it," and can pay for it. This is a relatively small farm near the town where land is expensive, the kitchen garden of a business man. The large farms in the mountains yield a surplus of agricultural produce which forms the basis of Chichicastenango exports. For Chichicastenango is a township that exports foodstuffs, and raw materials in general. The principal exports are beans, potatoes, corn, eggs, firewood, ocote (for illumination), pigs and wool.39 The Indians are technically horticulturists, since they make no use of domestic animals in the work of cultivation. They do not use the plow; the chief agricultural implements are the hoe and the machete. Any Indian can manage his farm with these and no others. Moreover, he can make a cornfield anywhere where there is sufficient soil. Near the village, where land is valuable, there are cornfields on the sides of barrancos so steep that one has to step sideways to get a 38 The Latin-American land measure is the cuerda, but it is not the same in all places. The ancient Spanish measure which is the one in use in Chichicastenango corresponds roughly to an area of 1200 square yards, an area about 100 feet on each side. The cuerda, however, is not a constant measure even here; there are cuerdas of 30 varas, (the vara is equivalent to 2.8 feet) and cuerdas of 40 varas. The quintal as used here is not the metric unit of that name, but the old Spanish unit of 100 pounds. 39 See pp. 67ff. for the full discussion of trade. 50 CHICHICASTENANGO foothold. The Indian has to zigzag back and forth, like a burro on a mountain trail, as he goes from the top to the bottom of his field. These are excellent fields. They are well drained, but the hilling up of the corn holds the moisture where it is required. Before planting, the field is burned over to dispose of the stalks from the preceding year, and the ground is broken with a hoe or a pick. This is done in February, theoretically; they were still burning cornfields in Chichicastenango in April when I was there. There is always a great rush of work before planting. There are two plantings. The early planting in February, the beginning of Lent, is necessary in high altitudes. Elsewhere it is small, and is done in order to have an early summer harvest to tide over until the main harvest. The principal planting is in May, after the first rains. Planting is done with the hoe. The man paces out the field, at each step turning up the ground with the hoe, and dropping in the seeds, which are then covered over with the foot. In fertilized fields five grains are planted in each hill, in barren fields four grains. The frijol de milpa are planted with the corn, and, in fertilized fields, chilacayotes (large green squash) also. At this time the field is manured with one almud (a measure of about fifteen pounds) to each mata of land. If one uses the manure of sheep or goats this is sufficient, but if one uses the manure of burros it has to be renewed when the corn is first hoed, and again after the first heavy rains. The white and yellow corn are planted separately, and the white corn matures faster. The Quiches have the general North American custom of keeping separate the corn of different colors. The white and yellow corn are never planted in the same field; and they are never planted at the same time or harvested at the same time. The white and yellow seed are never stored in the same place, nor are harvested ears allowed to lie together in the patio. The white corn is harvested first; after it has been put away, one waits a day or two days before beginning with the yellow corn, and the seeds are always kept separate. For it is our belief that if the ears lie together, the ears will be speckled. The next work after planting is cultivating. This is done two months after planting for white corn, two and a half months for yellow corn, and three months for sweet corn. Then from the cultivating to the first hilling of the corn is one month for white corn, five weeks for yellow and six weeks for sweet corn. At this time they plant the frijol de surca in the furrows between the hills. From the first to the second hilling is two months for all kinds of corn. Shortly before the corn is mature, but after the ears are well formed, the stalks are broken and bent over. This is done in October, before the temporal, in order that the rain may run out of the ears instead of being retained there to rot the corn. AGRICULTURE 51 The harvest season begins in September in the warm country. At this time the first early white corn is ripe (the February planting). A few squash and potatoes are harvested in August, but most of them are left in the field until much later. The height of the principal harvest is reached, in the temperate lands, in the beginning of December, before the feast of Santo Tomas (December 21). The harvest continues in the cold country until well into January, and is barely finished before the new agricultural year begins. The corn is cut with the machete and stripped in the fields. The ears are brought in in large netted bags. If possible, the whole harvest from a field is brought in at one time even if extra laborers must be hired to carry it. If it must be carried any distance, the bearers run the whole way, shouting. When they enter the house, the owner and his wife meet them. When the harvest from the large estate of Don Naches, a wealthy Ladino was brought into his town house more than fifty bearers were hired for the occasion. They ran into town in single file, shouting, encircled the plaza before taking the corn to the owner's house, and the church bells were rung. After the corn is brought into the house, the seed corn is immediately put aside, in a safe place where no chicken may walk over it, for it is believed that this would cause the ears to be incomplete. The rest of the corn is spread out in the patio for a few days to dry. After it is thoroughly dry it is stored in closed bins. Sometimes some of the husks are left on the ears, and they are braided into bundles and hung from the rafters of the corridor. The bins are raised from the floor, and have grated openings in front. Table I Agricultural Work40 February 15 Early planting of corn April 10 Planting potatoes April 15 Cultivating, early white corn Rains April 18 Late planting of corn May 1 Cultivating, early yellow corn 40 This was the informants' ideal schedule. Actually, work lags behind it, and there is always a rush to get one job done before the next must be tackled. 52 CHICHICASTENANGO May 10 May 15 June 1 June 15 July 1 July 8 July 15 August 1 August 8 August 20 August 28 September 1 September 8 September 15 September 20 October 1 October 10 October 20 October 30 November 1 November 15 Planting wheat Cultivating, early sweet corn Hilling, white corn Hilling, early yellow corn Cultivating late white corn Cultivating late yellow corn Hilling, early sweet corn Second hilling, early white corn Hilling late white corn Cultivating, late sweet corn First potatoes available Second hilling, early yellow corn First hilling, late yellow corn First hilling, late sweet corn Second hilling, late white corn First ayotes and chilacayotes ripen Second hilling, late yellow corn Second hilling, early sweet corn Second hilling, late sweet corn Beginning of harvest of early planting Wheat harvest Harvest of small beans and potatoes Doubling of stalks of late white corn Doubling of stalks of late yellow corn Doubling of stalks of late sweet corn Harvest of ayotes and chilacayotes End of Rains Beginning of main harvest of late planting AGRICULTURE 53 January 10 Harvest of corn in cold regions Harvest of large beans (Temperate land) February 1 Burning over of milpa, and preparation of ground for new planting. High Winds February 10 Threshing of wheat All agricultural work is done by the men. It is stated emphatically that women never do anything in the fields, not even to help with planting and harvest, although they do sometimes help with the winnowing of wheat. It is against the whole theory of marriage and household economy, and the relations of men and women, for women to have any part in the providing of food. I myself have never seen i any Chichicastenango woman working in the fields. They frequently accompany their husbands when the latter have work to do in fields that lie far from the house, as happens when a man cultivates two pieces of land, or is compelled by the requirements of office to live in town. In such cases they erect rough brush shelters in the fields, J with a bench or two, and stones for the woman's cooking pots, and posts to which to fasten her loom. Here the woman sits all day at her weaving, and here she cooks her husband's meals. But she does nothing whatever in the fields. At night they return home, carrying with them the hoe, the pots, the loom and the babies. They sometimes erect somewhat more substantial shelters in which to camp for a few days at busy seasons. The man who has much land, or who engages in other occupations, hires laborers for all large agricultural jobs, especially planting and harvest. There is no system of reciprocal services between relatives, i / perhaps because the relationships in which one would logically expect reciprocity, as between brothers, are just the relationships that are characterized by hostility, rivalry and mutual suspicion. This applies, though with less intensity, to neighbors also. Moreover, a woman is supposed to have no further relations with her family after marriage, which cuts out the possibility of affinal reciprocity. This leaves each household economically isolated. Therefore, when a man needs help he must hire it. There are two ways of hiring help, by the day or by the job. The pay of laborers in 1932 was 10 pesos a day (about 17 cents), or 4 pesos and meals. In paying for labor by the job the unit of work is the mandamiento, the labor on 6 cuerdas. The rate 54 CHICHICASTENANGO of pay varies with the type of work, 70 pesos ($1.16) for hoeing, 90 pesos ($1.50) for the first hilling, 60 pesos ($1.00) for the second hilling. Sowing and harvest are always paid for by the day. Laborers are drawn from the ranks of the disinherited - those who have little or no land by inheritance, and no trade, and those who have voluntarily left the parental roof and forfeited their heritage. For such there are the alternatives of seeking work among their neighbors, or going to work in the plantations. Although the hiring of laborers is on a strictly commercial basis, there is an element of ceremony connected with the work itself, when the work to be done is sowing or harvest - a reflection, perhaps, of a time when agricultural work was cooperative, as it still is among so many American Indian tribes. When a man hires laborers to plant he feeds them three meals a day, beans in the morning, meat at midday, and beans in the evening,41 and, when they leave, the woman of the house gives each man two tamales to take home with him to his house. At the time of harvest the laborers are feasted, along with the family and friends of the household. At this time each laborer is given atole to drink, eight to ten gourds, and he must drink it, until he is so full that he cannot swallow more, so that the granaries may be full to overflowing. During the harvest feast a gourd of atole is left for a day in the granary, on top of the bin, and in the evening the owner takes it down and drinks it. There is a great deal of agricultural folklore that is not part of formal ritual. The following are merely notes on a few customs and beliefs of this kind. During earthquakes the woman of the house runs to the storehouse and knocks at the door, calling to the corn, so that the spirit of the corn may not be frightened, and run away.42 I have seen this done twice during earthquakes. One does not eat onions when one is planting, nor avocados. For they say that if one eats onions while planting the corn plants will be broken by the wind, for the stem of the onions are soft and not hard; and if one eats avocado the ears will be full of fungus, black like the flesh of the avocado. If in one's field there are many ayotes and chilacayotes, but many, many, and big ones, then it means that perhaps the head of the family will die. For they say it is his head rotting, and that he must die, just as the fruit. And if the whole cornfield bears well, two or three ears to each stalk, and all over the field, not only the front rows, then also they say that the father 41 This is much more elaborate than the usual day's menu, and was mentioned without the need of asking any leading question. 42 Pueblo Indians are always afraid that the Corn Maidens, the vital principle of the corn, will run away if they are offended. AGRICULTYURE 55 of the family will die, for they say that the ears are the bones of the one who must die. There is a belief that if one wishes to have the best ayotes and chilacayotes one should take a handful of each kind of seed and place them under a table, and on the table place a glass of white honey. And one uses this honey during Holy Week. The whole family drink this honey, and one must do this on Holy Thursday in the night, and on the morning of Good Friday. And when one goes to see the procession in the afternoon (on Good Friday) one takes these seeds with one wrapped in a napkin. And whenever they put down Christ to rest in the course of the procession one takes out these seeds, wrapped in the napkin, and places them under the table on which they place Our Lord for His rest. And one does this as often as Our Lord rests throughout the whole course of the procession. When one returns, one puts these seeds aside carefully until the time of planting, and then one plants them. The belief is that in putting the seeds under the honey the ayotes and chilacayotes will turn out sweet like the honey, and in placing them under Our Lord they will turn out fruitful; for there are many heads of people around Our Lord, and so the fruit of the ayotes and chilacayotes will also be many. The nexus of the agricultural cult is temple ritual, rather than magical accompaniments to technological processes. There are, for instance, no ceremonies performed in the fields at planting or harvest, and the most important agricultural rituals are not performed at the actual time of planting. At no point are aboriginal ideology and Catholic ritual more inseparably interwoven than in the agricultural cult; the native and Catholic practices are so closely integrated that no separation along these lines is possible. Like all Quiche cults this is complex in ideology and structure, having its universal and seasonal aspects. The general worship of the earth and its products is associated with certain days in the ancient calendar, notably the days ix and qanil.43 Ix is preeminently the day of the earth, of life, of the world of the living as opposed to the world of the dead. It is the day on which to give thanks for one's lodging in the world. Qanil is the day sacred to corn and the milpa,; and hence the day most intimately associated with agriculture. The day 8 qanil which occurs every 260 days in the recurring cycles of the Quiche calendar, is the day for the celebration of the fruitfulness of V the earth, and, no matter what the season, is a day of obligation in the Quiche sense, as All Saints is a day of obligation in the Catholic church - a day on which each person must perform ceremonies, no - matter where he may be. These ceremonies include Masses for siem43 For the full discussion of the symbolism and use of the ancient calendar, see pp. 275ff. It is sufficient to note here that it is an occult, mathematical calendar, with no relation to natural phenomena. 56 CHICHICASTENANGO bres,44 individual rites in the house in front of the granary, in the mountains, and in the church, with special reference to Santiago and San Martin (see below). I once arrived in Chichicastenango on the day following 8 qanil. On the day before there had been a High Mass with Jubileo, unusual in the middle of the week, paid for by the principal of the cantones of the east. The people had brought from their canton an image of some saint and ears of seed corn to be blessed. The principal had consulted the Padre weeks in advance to order this Mass for the day qanil45 Unfortunately I did not see the ceremony, but I saw the procession leaving town for the mountains on Sunday morning, in spite of the market, and a few days later I saw a similar Mass ordered by a family from a neighboring village. They had not had this ceremony performed in their own village since they did not wish to arouse the envy of their neighbors by such unmistakable evidence of affluence; there was no resident priest in their village and it would have meant bringing the priest there specially for this. They left their corn lying on the altar all day, until the covering of the Sacrament in the evening, and the priest blessed the corn for them. This was seed corn, to be used in the next planting; but the ceremony was for the day 8 qanil, which did not occur this year during the planting season. The personal ceremonies for these days include the usual offerings: candles, incense, roses, aguardiente, in the mountain shrines, in the church to the ancestors, and to Santiago and San Martin, and in the home, in front of the granary, to the corn itself, with apologies for any outrages committed upon it.46 It is usual, but not obligatory, before and after planting, and after harvest, to perform individual rites of thanksgiving for the land and the crops. These ceremonies are performed on the days ix or qanil, and preferably on days with low numbers, which are the "gentle" days, days for giving thanks. But the most important seasonal ceremonies relating to agriculture are all fixed in the Catholic calendar. The optional ceremonies are performed if one has had bad luck, if one 44 This is a word which cannot easily be translated. It means much more than planting, or fields, it includes the cultivation of the earth, especially in its more occult aspects. 46 Throughout the highlands, the Catholic priests keep themselves posted on the more conspicuous features of the native calendar, since it affects their duties and income. In Momostenango all priests know that they must never be away from the parish on the day 8 bats, which is the day of obligation in that village. 46 A similar ceremony will be found on p. 306. AGRICULTURE 57 has performed no ceremonies for a long time, if one has omitted some obligatory ceremony, or if one has some secret sense of guilt. The vegetative aspect of the earth is worshipped under the name of Diego Martin, a name arbitrarily chosen when the first missionaries forbade the use of the names of the ancient gods.47 By verbal analogy he is identified with San Martin, who thereby has become dueno of the earth, and his day (November 11) is observed with ceremonies at mountain shrines. San Martin is not a Spanish saint, and his day is not celebrated with special ceremonies anywhere in Spain. Saint Martin's day occurred too soon after my arrival in Chichicastenango for me to be aware of its significance. I was told that there were to be ceremonies in the hills at night, with rockets, but I was not taken. But I heard the rockets and saw the fires during the night. The other saint who figures prominently in agricultural ritual is Santiago. Here, as in Spain, he is the patron of horses, who tramples on the corn. As destroyer of the milpa he is vaguely identified with Jurakan, the god of the tempest, who has been baptised under the name of Manuel Lorenzo.48 The season of planting is in May, and the two important Church festivals that come at that time are planting festivals. These are the Commemoration of the Cross (May 3) and Corpus Christi (late May or early June). Both of these days are celebrated by all in the mountain shrines. The day of the Cross is at the season of planting. A man prays for his siembres, in the church, but more especially in the hills. He burns copal, incense, candles. If he knows how to perform ceremonies he does it himself, otherwise he sends for a chuchqajau. He goes to some shrine, and adorns the place well with pine needles and branches of pine. Some go with drum and chirimia and fire rockets in the hills. Many people have zarabandas (festive dances) in their houses, with marimbas. They drink chicha and dance. It is a big day, a happy day, here in town and in all the mountains. It is a great day, the day _fy.the worship of the eaL..If anyone is sick or away on this day, he performs his ceremony the following week. Similar ceremonies are held a month later, at Corpus_ hristi: The planting is in May, when the first rain falls. We do not wait for dates, > but plant whenever the rain comes. Then on the day of Corpus Christi there a are ceremonies in the hills, for the dead and for Our Lord in Calvario, to give thanks for the siembre8 already in the earth. I In the hills we burn copal, candles, incense. We adorn the shrine with pine, and bring roses and aguardiente. We go into the hills with drum and chirimia and take food along and eat there at the shrine. It is beautiful 47 Father Rossbach is the authority for this. 48 See p. 268. 58 CHICHICASTENANGO when one goes this way into the hills. We go to the 'big hills' for this, and if when we arrive there are others performing their ceremonies, as there will be, for many people go, we ask pardon for interrupting, and say that when the others have finished we wish to perform our ceremony. 'No,' they say, 'put down your offerings now.' So then we put down our offerings, and when we offer the aguardiente we offer to the other sacrificers also, and they to us. Sometimes we get drunk, if there are many people there, for we must all drink together, and it is very gay. We take food to the hills, and if we meet anyone there, we invite them to eat also. We always greet others in the hills very respectfully by their titles. It is always very gay in the mountains during these days. We prepare our offerings and bless the candles in the house on Tuesday and take them out to the hills at dawn on Wednesday. On Thursday everyone comes to give thanks to the dead in the church, for our siembres, our property, for the medicine bundle, for all that we have. Similar ceremonies are performed on St. John's Day (Midsummer Day June 24). The feast of Santiago (July 25) is celebrated by ceremonies in the mountain shrines for the protection of the cornfields. The corn at this time is in flower. The meaning of this day is to ask pardon of Santiago that the milpa may not be blown down by the wind. On the other hand we ask horses of Santiago, and ask pardon of him that the bat may not eat the horses, and that we may not fall into the hands of thieves at night. Santiago is inaprivate house on the hill.49 We go there also to ask pardon of Santiago. There they make atole for those who may come, and all leave their contributions. The Saint goes into the church on the 24th to hear Mass on the 25th, and after that goes out in procession. The owner of the house pays for the Mass and all the expenses. His friends help him. Our ancestors said that Santiago had two sisters, Cumarya and another, whose name we no longer know. They say that Santiago asked his sister, 'When is my day?' and she said, 'Oh, it is a long way off.' She told him this because she did not wish to tell him the truth and have him go out, because he did much damage to the milpa riding around on his horse when he went out. And so she would not tell him when his day came, because she did not want him to go out. And then afterwards she said, 'Oh, your day is already past.' Therefore we pray to Santiago that he should not do damage to the milpa. Santiago is the patron saint of Spain. Is it unreasonable to see in this myth and the ceremonies of this day a reflection of the wanton destruction by the Spaniards, as related by Alvarado, of Indian cornfields? Except for the ceremonies against wind, there are no specific rituals for weather control. If there is drought in the spring, the principales have Masses said, and "perhaps perform some ceremonies in the mountains." But there are no regular native ceremonies for rain. 49 His cult is outside the system of the religious brotherhoods. HUSBANDRY 59 This is very strange, because neighboring towns have elaborate native ceremonies for rain. In Momostenango there is a series of ceremonies for rain performed each spring on the days 8 kiej, 8 ajpu, 8 aj and 8 kame - the order will be different in different years. These ceremonies are performed on behalf of the town by a chuchqajau at four different shrines at the east, west, south, and north, and finally in the church. But in Chichicastenango I could find no trace of tribal ceremonies for rain.50 Husbandry The most important domestic animals are sheep and pigs. Most familes living in the mountains own a few sheep. There are no large herds, ten to fifteen being a good number for the region. Sheep are cared for by children, both boys and girls, but especially by girls. They are driven out each morning to pasture, and penned in a corral each night. The manure is highly valued as fertilizer. They graze freely, regardless of the ownership of land, but must be restrained from damaging crops. Fields are fenced, or protected by hedges of maguey. Generally a herd of sheep belonging to neighboring families will be in charge of several children between the ages of 8 and 15. The sheep are sheared whenever their coats are full. There is no breeding season, the females come into heat at different times, and lambs are born the year round. Most of them are born between January and April. Sheep are raised for wool rather than meat. Very little raw wool is sold in the plaza. It is generally sold directly to weavers in the mountains, or turned over to them to weave into cloth for the owner. Some finished cloth is offered for sale in the plaza, but most of it is woven on commission or else taken to sell in foreign towns. Almost every household has at least one pig. They are fed cornstalks and other leavings of the kitchen, and are driven out by women and children to root along the roadside and in the forest. Pigs are not penned but wander freely in the patios and kitchens. The breeding of pigs is an important industry. Litters of piglets are driven into the market to be sold to outsiders, or to the women of Chichicastenango who fatten them for the Ladino markets. The presence of large numbers of pigs is always a mark of prosperity in a Middle American village - it means always that there is a surplus of corn on which to raise them. The great numbers of little pigs that throng the roads of 50 Schultze-Jena gives a prayer for rain; This may have been recorded at Momostenango, the existence of such ceremonies at Chichicastenango was denied by all informants. 60 CHICHICASTENANGO Chichicastenango and enliven the market with their squeals are an index of its relatively rich agricultural basis. Because of the prolonged dry season cattle do not thrive in the highlands. Industry Chichicastenango is not an industrial town as are many other Indian towns. There is no large industry like the ceramic industry of Totonicapan or the textile industry of San Pedro Sacatepequez. Chichicastenango is primarily agricultural and mercantile: whatever industry there is is home industry. The most important of the home industries is weaving. Chichicastenango is one of the few villages in which both men and women still wear the regional costume. The men wear short trousers and tunics of black wool, both pieces richly embroidered in silk with fringes, and a wide, fringed, red sash. On the head, they wear a folded square of red or white cotton cloth, hand woven in elaborate and fanciful patterns. The women wear blouses of white or natural brown cotton with elaborate woven designs in red wool or cotton, or purple silk, a short wrapped skirt of blue and white striped cotton, a narrow belt of native wool, solidly embroidered for several feet at one end in bright silk. Very young children wear a single garment, a loose sleeved shirt reaching below the knees. From abouttthe age of five, they are dressed like their parents, the boys in trousers, shirts and sashes, the girls in skirts and huipiles. With the exception of the woman's skirt, every article is hand woven in the village by Indians. The cloth for women's skirts is woven by two Ladinos, and the Indians buy from them. The cloth for men's suits is woven by men on heavy looms; the weavers live in the mountains, for the most part far from town, and they raise their own sheep. Men also weave the women's belts, on narrow looms. All other articles of clothing, and all the napkins, cloths for carrying or household use, are woven by the women on narrow portable looms. Every woman knows how to weave, and must provide garments for herself, her husband, and her children. Each individual owns at least two complete changes of clothing; a man has several head kerchiefs, and a woman; many cloths of all sizes for various uses. Babies are carried slung on the back in large square cloths, at least two per baby. Baskets when carried are always completely wrapped in large square cloths, with the corners tied up. Every bundle is wrapped in three or four different cloths. When a woman starts to pay for a pound of sugar in the market place she INDUSTRY 61 sits down and starts to undo her bundle, peeling off the cloths, like the successive layers of an onion. Finally, in the heart of the bundle is the little square cloth in which her money is tied. After she has made her purchases they are all wrapped up separately, each in several layers, and all tied together in several large squares. For the household there are tablecloths, and the little napkins that are used whenever food or drink is served ceremoniously. All of these are hand woven, many have charming and fanciful designs of birds and animals. So the greater part of each day a woman spends at her loom. To be able to weave is the chief prerequisite of marriage, and the argument that is always used in persuading young men to marry is that their mothers no longer have time to weave their kerchiefs. It takes a good weaver about three weeks or a month of steady work to make a woman's blouse, about a week to make a medium sized cloth, with designs (not fine), and about two weeks for a man's fine head cloth. All the sewing and embroidery is done by men. After the woman has finished weaving the cloth, she gives it to the man who sews the strips together, hems it, and, if it is a huipil, cuts out and embroiders the neck. Not all men are able to embroider, but most can. The earliest accounts of Spanish explorers describe the cotton garments worn by the natives, and Mexican codices show women weaving patterned cloth on the same type of loom that is used at the present time in every Guatemalan house. In Chichicastenango, weaving is an honored skill which even men appreciate. Skill in weaving is one of the blessings asked for girl children at their birth and baptism, it is the woman's counterpart of men's public service. Weaving is mentioned in all prayers that concern one's destiny, which always include one's wife. Men as well as women discriminate between good and bad weaving, and they send their daughters for instruction to the most skillful weavers. On the other hand, among men weaving is a specialized trade. Men weave belts but their chief contribution is the weaving of woolen cloth, which is woven on the heavy, stationary foot loom introduced by the Spaniards. There is no particular sentiment attached to men's weaving, as there is to women's, other than the general respect for craftsmanship. Most of the cotton yarn is bought already spun and dyed. The white yarn comes from a throwing plant in Cantel, near Quezaltenango, the colored cottons and silks for embroidery from Guatemala City. The latter are imported from Japan. Yarn is sold in hanks in the plaza at Chichicastenango. Brown yarn, and some of the white is spun in the village by women. The raw cotton is brought up 62 CHICHICASTENANGO from the coast by native merchants and is sold by the pound. The characteristic light brown used in Guatemala textiles is the natural color of the cotton. The spindle used by the woman is weighted with sealing wax or hard rubber. It is twirled in a shallow cup of gourd shell, and the thread is drawn out with the fingers. It is said that only the old women know how to spin. There is no dyeing done in the village. After the yarn is spun it is wound on a revolving frame from which it can be reeled off easily for warping. The warp is laid on a board about four feet long, around the edge of which are driven a number of pegs. The thread is wound around these pegs, so that the strands cross each other. Into the spaces thus formed will be inserted the different parts of the loom - the beams, the shed-stick, and the lease rods. After a sufficient number of threads have been laid the end is fastened, the strands are tied together loosely where the pegs separate them, and the warp is carefully removed and dipped into a bowl of thick sticky fluid, an infusion made from an unidentified native root. This serves as a dressing to stiffen the threads. While the warp is still wet the beams, shed stick, and lease rods are inserted, the loom is spread out in the patio to dry. After the warp is dry, the heddle is inserted. This is a slender stick to which alternate threads are whipped. This is the simplest type of loom, and it is very crudely made. A man can cut and whittle the sticks for a loom in an hour. The only piece that is well worked is the sword, which is made of hardwood, carefully worked and polished. Swords are made "in the mountains" by expert woodworkers, and are sold in the marketplace. There are only one or two men who make them. During the weaving process one beam is tied to a house post, the other is fastened to a leather strap which passes behind the operator's back. The weight of her body forms the tension on the warp. The shed is formed by a thick stick, about two inches in diameter. The heddle is attached to the threads that pass under this stick. For the first pick the stick is pushed away from the operator, the heddle is raised, bringing up the odd threads. The sword is inserted close to the breast beam and turned on end, holding the threads apart. Then the shuttle is passed, the thread beaten down and the sword withdrawn, releasing the heddle. The stick is drawn towards the operator, depressing the odd threads and bringing up the even threads. The sword is inserted again and another pick taken. The shuttles are long thin sticks, with grooves at the ends, and the thread is wound lengthwise so as to slip off easily. For plain weaving only one shuttle is used; for patterned weaving two. Large pat INDUSTRY 63 terns always have one predominant color, and this is threaded in the shuttle; the other colors are put in with the fingers, using short threads which are left hanging on the back of the cloth. All the cloth with scattered patterns is woven this way. In patterned weaving, the threads for each row are counted separately over the point of a small sword. After the color is put in, a white thread is passed through the same shed. The operator carries the design in her head and counts it out as she goes along. No patterns are used for even the most complex designs.51 The woman's huipil is woven in three sections, a broad center section and two narrower strips at the sides. The pattern covers the chest and back to the waist, and the shoulders and arms. A round hole is cut in the center for the head, and around this sewed an applique design of silk ribbon in a radiating pattern. There are four rosettes of ribbon on the chest and back and the shoulders. Small silver coins are sometimes sewed into these rosettes. The pattern of the huipil is stereotyped, consisting of combinations of very simple patterns, stripes, zigzags and diamonds. The predominating color is red (rarely purple) with touches of bright silk in the diaper patterns. The design represents the world. The round opening for the head is the sun, the ribbon being the rays of the sun; the four rosettes are the four cardinal points. The stripes are cornfields, the zigzags mountains and the diaper pattern is the kernels of corn. The value of a huipil depends on texture, amount of pattern, and material, whether the design is worked in cotton, wool or silk. The purple huipiles are all silk, and are the most valuable. I could not discover that any special symbolism or any ideas of rank were associated with different types of huipiles.52 However, there are two cantones on the border of Totonicapan where all the women wear plain white huipiles without ornamentation of any kind. "It is their custom, although they may be rich." The ceremonial huipil which is worn over the other on occasions of high ceremony - by godmothers at baptisms, and by the wives of members of the cofradias at important ceremonies where they are in official attendance - is white, with narrow bands of red on the front 51 Mexican codices show pictures of women weaving from patterns. 0' Neale's comprehensive study of Guatemalan textiles had not been published when this account was written. 52 I have been told that in TotonicapAn huipiles are of four grades, entirely different in color and design, and they are insignia of hereditary rank. Certain wealthy women of that town wear the cheapest and least attractive huipils, since that is the class to which they are entitled by birth. 64 CHICHICASTENANGO and back and on the shoulders, a much simpler affair than the everyday dress. It is worn outside the skirt, and probably resembles more closely the ancient type of dress. The huipil is a voluminous affair. It is slipped over the head, drawn back, folded across the back and tied down with a cord. The skirt is folded around the body. This is a big piece of clothing too. The extra length is folded in at the top, and is held in place with a tight belt, so arranged that it pushes up the abdomen and makes every woman look pregnant. Next to the huipil, the most elaborate textiles are the men's head cloths. These are large squares made by sewing together two narrow panels. They have thick silk tassels at the corners, and are worn folded diagonally and tied at the nape of the neck with two of the tassels hanging down the back and the others over the shoulders. The designs follow a few types. The older type had designs of small birds in bright colors on a red ground with black hair line stripes, or purple or red birds on a white ground. Some of these are of the most exquisite delicacy, with complex rhythms of design and a subtle distribution of color. The newer type which is worn by all the elegant young men, who go in for a lavish use of silk, which is expensive, has a black and red striped background, with a solid design similar to that on women's huipiles in heavy purple silk. Some of these are very fine in design and workmanship, but most of them are just lavish. The value of a kerchief depends on the amount of silk it contains. A good kerchief of the second type is worth from $5 to $6 in the marketplace. A man's sash is about ten inches wide and two and a half yards long. It is fringed at both ends, and has woven silk borders. It is worn wound around the body twice, and crossed in front, and the ends tucked in, so that the two bands of pattern show in front under the short jacket. By far the most interesting textiles are the women's cloths. Many of these are plain red with narrow stripes of yellow, green and black, interestingly arranged. The very large carrying cloths and all the little napkins used for ceremonial purposes are of this type. But there are also many patterned cloths, with elaborate, amusing and fanciful designs. Most of these have designs in bright colors on grounds of white with red and brown stripes. No two are alike; in these the women give free rein to the imagination, and an expert sense of design. These also are woven in two panels, which are later sewed together, and no attempt is made to make the two sides symmetrical. As a matter of fact they are always different and unsymmetrical, but perfectly ba INDUSTRY 65 lanced. The designs may be almost anything. Birds are common, as in all Guatemalan textiles. But there may be spiders and beetles, galloping horses with flowing manes and tails, Ladino girls with full skirts and earrings; one cloth depicted, among other things, a dog fight, and another an elopement on horseback. It is very hard to buy these cloths. They are never sold in the marketplace, being thought of little value, things which each woman makes for her own use and amusement, and not proper articles of trade. A word should be said about sewing. All sewing and embroidery is done by men. When two panels are to be joined the edges are laid together and joined with a figure 8 stitch, such as is used in coiled basketry. The sewing usually is done with silk in different colors, and when finished forms a striped band like a gaudy caterpillar, down the center of the cloth. What might have been a disfiguring seam has become an ornamental motive. On women's skirts these ornamental seams may be two inches wide. This lavish use of silk gives even these unexciting garments a rich and costly air. Contrasted with women's weaving which is a general household task, for men, weaving is a specialized trade. Wool was not an indigenous product; it was first introduced by the Spaniards, and along with the article went all the European techniques for handling it. Wool is never woven by women or on a woman's loom.53 The wool is first washed and carded on wire cards. It is then spun on a primitive spinning wheel, such as one might see in peasant houses in Europe. However, there is some hand spinning. The distaff, like that of the women is weighted at the bottom. The man stands, twirls, the distaff between his thumb and forefinger, and lets it drop as he draws out the thread. This is one of the small tasks with which men occupy themselves in otherwise idle moments. The loom is like that to be found in European peasant communities, before the days of the flying shuttle. It has a horizontal warp wound on rollers, and the heddles are operated by the feet. The black cloth used for men's suits is woven from natural black wool. It is a closely woven twilled cloth, about 27 inches wide. It takes from five to six yards for a man's suit, and it is sold by the piece in the marketplace. It takes an expert weaver three to five days to weave a length of cloth. This is the time taken for the actual weaving, and does not include the time required for spinning the yarn and preparing the loom, for which I could get no estimate. A length of black wool cloth sells in the plaza at from 120 to 300 pesos, de53 The exception to this is the woman's belt which is woven on a narrow portable loom - by men. 66 CHICHICASTENANGO pending on the quality ($2.00-$3.33). This cloth is a staple trade article, and is sometimes traded in other towns. It is the only manufactured article exported from Chichicastenango, and this only in small quantities. Two other woven articles are made: one is a fringed black blanket with a red and white border. This blanket is as characteristic as the woman's huipil. It is folded and laid across the indispensable bag, with the border on the outside and the fringes dangling around the legs. It is a necessary part of any man's equipment for travel. The other woolen article is a large plain black fringed robe or blanket which is worn by men with the title of "secretary" on dress-up occasions. It is passed over the left shoulder and under the right arm, like a Scottish plaid. It is closely woven of the best wool, and must be specially ordered from a certain man, and it is very costly. It is a very impressive garment. Men buy lengths of cloth from the weavers and cut and sew their own garments or take the cloth to native tailors. The costume was certainly copied from some Spanish military outfit. It consists of short trousers with wing-like flaps elaborately embroidered in bright silks. There is a bolero jacket, slipped over the head, with a fringe around the bottom. The front and sleeves are embroidered. Sometimes there is a sunburst applique like that on the women's huipil. I first associated this with rank, since all the principales seemed to wear it habitually, but it was denied that it had any significance, and I noticed later that many others wore it or not as they chose. At the present time practically all men wear cotton shirts under the jacket, but this is a recent innovation, and some of the older men do not wear them. When travelling or working the jacket is removed, and if no shirt is worn, the man is naked to the waist. A voluminous breach cloth is always worn under the trousers. No Indian is really clothed out of his house without his big bag. He may not have anything in it but a handkerchief, but he carries it nevertheless. These are large square bags of netted cotton cord or hennequin fibre, with long adjustable straps. Usually they are carried over the shoulder, but when packed full are carried on the back with the strap passing over the head or across the chest. These bags are very closely netted with a needle. The thread is twisted on the thigh as it is required. This is another little task with which men occupy themselves when they are waiting for something to happen, or when they have no outside work. Sandals are worn only by men. Women invariably go barefoot, except on long journeys. The same applies to hats, which are worn by women only on the road. Men also go barefoot a good deal of the TRADE 67 time, especially at home. Sandals are made to order by shoemakers in the plaza. The hides are tanned at a tannery at the edge of town. There are a number of leatherworkers with stalls in the plaza, where they make not only sandals, but belts, wallets, packstraps and other articles. The work is excellent. The leather is often dyed bright vermillion or bright mustard yellow. Belts wallets and straps are tooled. Simple sandals fastened by straps passed between the toes are the most usual kind, but there are many more elaborate affairs, with broad straps that are tooled and inlaid with leathers of different colors. Straw hats are worn by men at work or on journeys, but never as part of formal dress. Young men sometimes omit the head cloth when wearing hats. Hats are bought in the marketplace; the straw is braided from palm leaf by women in Quich6 and made into hats at a number of small factories. Women lay folded cloths over their heads as protection from the sun. In a ravine near the village is a factory for the manufacture of bricks and tiles. Here also are made the large sun dried adobes for walls, and the baked tiles for roofing and flooring. Most people, however, make their own adobes at their house site. Tallow candles are made by the cofradia of Santo Tomas from the fat of the steers which they slaughter for their butcher business. Tapers of wax or paraffin are also made in the village. The paraffin is imported from Guatemala. It has supplanted beeswax. The paraffin candle is called cera.5 This is a tremendous industry and is inthe hands of San Cristobaleios, of whom there are a number living in Chichicastenango. There are a number of flour mills in the barrancos wherever there is water power. There about ten in the township. Trade Although Chichicastenango is not an industrial center it is a great trade center - one of the most important in the highlands. Its plaza is one of the most colorful, picturesque and frequented markets in Guatemala, and it is wholly Indian. Throughout Central America the market is one of the most important institutions of Indian life. It is said of the Mexican woman that if she has three tomatoes growing on her vine, she will pick them, polish them up and, rising 54 In Momostenango and other villages, candles of beeswax are required for certain ceremonies. 68 CHICHICASTENANGO before dawn, will walk ten miles to market to sell them. There she will sit in the sun all day, and finally dispose of them, and buy three tomatoes from the woman at the next stall, and in the evening walk the ten miles back to her home with them, with the gratifying sense of something accomplished. Allowing something for poetic license, this is certainly true of the natives of Chichicastenango, male and female. For among people where each family lives in jealous isolation on its own farm, suspicious of neighbors and hostile to relatives, the market is the answer to the hunger for social life. Here the young man surveys the matrimonial prospects, and the girl has her suitor pointed out to her and privately makes up her mind. Here there are people and things happening, and, in the afternoon, the easy sociability of the estanco where one may drink and expand among strangers, without fear of being betrayed into quarrels. For between them are no smouldering antagonisms to be fanned into flame in "the madness of chicha and aguardiente," - as between brothers. In Chichicastenango any Sunday morning under the white canvas canopies that sprout like mushrooms in the empty spaces of the plaza, can be found products from every province of Guatemala. Among those who squat behind their wares in the sunny square one may distinguish Sololatecos with their onions and turnips, men from Totonicapan with their incredible loads of pottery, and the indefatigable women from Santa Cruz Quiche, working away at their hats. All these are near neighbors. But the products from more remote places, the luscious tropical fruits, the great sacks of sugar and coffee and cotton, the pyramids of incense and the piles of painted gourds lying like huge Easter eggs in their nests of cordage, have all been brought over precipitous mountain trails by the energetic traders of Santo Tomas. For Chichicastenango is a village of traders, and their trade relations ramify over the whole map of Guatemala. Many of them live by trade, for not content with selling the surplus of their own village, and supplying the lacunae in their own domestic economy, they are the middlemen of Guatemala, the agents through whom the anise of Lake Atitlan reaches the distant village of Salamrn in the north, and the ropes from Coban find their way to the railroad town of Mazatenango. This village is one of the hubs in the vast system of Central American trade. Here trade is an honorable profession in which leading citizens engage, and no young man grows up without some knowledge of the intricacies of commerce. The Maxenos are anything but parochial; they like to travel and are curious about the customs and habits of other places. Most young man have a Wanderjahr as a mozo for some established trader. He is sent along TRADE 69 West Park Marimubas Leather Goods Fruits,)b Ropes am meat South E '0 0.8 Id " -to0 So1oI4 0a. aq.,4 Trees CD Purniturek~ P Pottery 0 LO( Corn VE Firewood incense "'AL FRUITS EGGS GETABLES EM Large lats WIa.s ici Gourds 0 Hats ChikesIi' North Apothecary Cabildo, School Foes Herbs to Quich6 -a. [ndian Juzgado East FIGURE 1. Market Place at Chichicaatenango 70 CHICHICASTENANGO on some trading expedition to learn the ways of business and of the road, and to see something of the world. Local specialization and complex trade relations are very ancient patterns in Central America. The elaborate organization of trade in Mexico has been made familiar to us from many accounts. Bernat Diaz mentions that in the march across the Peten, Cortez relied on information and maps furnished him by local traders, and both Alvarado and Las Casas describe the cacao industry of the Coast which was obviously developed far beyond local needs. Economic interdependence was an established pattern in pre-Columbian Guatemala. Agricultural specialization, such as the cacao industry, depends on climate, which, in turn, depends on altitude. Cacao cannot be grown above 1600 feet, nor sugar, cotton, coffee or any of the tropical fruits above 5000 feet. The best oranges come from the region of Rabinal. On the other hand, wheat and other cereals, and potatoes cannot be grown successfully below 6000 feet, and corn and beans flourish best in higher altitudes. Totonicapan, the great industrial center, is too high (over 8000 feet) to grow even corn with any great success. It is more profitable to make pottery and buy corn in Santo Tomas. Corn can be grown as high as 9300 feet (3000 meters), but not very profitably. Salt all comes from the salt works at San Jose, and pitch pine for illumination comes from the high mountains behind Chichicastenango. And so the constant interchange of the necessities of life between the "Coast" and the "Highlands" is part of the rhythm of life throughout the country. In addition to this there has developed industrialization, sometimes quite fortuitous like the various textile centers. Cotton is grown on the coast; it is thrown in Cantel (near Quezaltenango); traders carry it to Huehuetenango - another big jump - where it is woven into a particular kind of cotton cloth, which is then brought to Chichicastenango to be made into men's shirts. This particular type of cotton cloth is traded all over the country; it is the staple for men's shirts in the village of San Pedro on Lake Atitlan. Almost all of the elaborately tie-dyed cloth used for women's skirts and aprons in many villages, comes from Totonicapan, where knowledge of the process of dyeing is guarded in certain families. It is traded all over the republic. But not an inch of it is worn in the very next village, Chichicastenango, where they weave their own blue cloth of a different pattern. However, a few yards are brought in each year at the fiesta of Santo Tomas, for the benefit of the San Cristobalefios residents in Chichicastenango who still wear the characteristic dress of their TRADE 71 own pueblo. Nahuala is the only town that makes grinding stones, and Santa Catarina de la Laguna the only town that makes the rush mats used for seats and bedding. Both of these are household necessities throughout Guatemala. San Pedro Sacatapequez is a weaving center of only local importance; but an extremely interesting one. For here, on heavy looms, are woven all the huipiles of the surrounding villages, for each village according to its traditional pattern. One can go into a shop in San Pedro and ask for a huipil of San Juan Ostuncalco, and get an authentic one, woven in San Pedro. Some of the more important specialized industries with general distribution are the following: Grindstones Nahuala Cotton thread Cantel Ropes Coban Copal incense Rabinal Colored mats Rabinal Plain mats Chinic Rush mats Santa Catarina Large ollas San Pedro Jocopilas Other pottery Totonicipan Blankets Momostenango Blue woolen cloth Momostenango Dark cotton cloth Huehuetenango Tie-dyed cloth Totonicipan The position of Chichicastenango in the general economic scheme is that of a producer of raw materials, especially foodstuffs. The principal export is eggs, with beans, potatoes, firewood next in importance, along with small amounts of corn and of wool and woolen cloth. There is no important industry, but the Maxefios handle a great deal of the carrying trade for other villages, to their great profit. The general system of distribution is at public markets which are held weekly, and on different days in neighboring villages. A few of the large cities like Quezaltenango and Totonicapan have daily markets and hold the markets in roofed buildings, but even in these more sophisticated places, one day in the week, generally Sunday, is always bigger than others. Chichicastenango is exceptional in having semi-weekly markets. Naturally, all the merchants know the market days of all important villages near and far, and the dates of their principal fiestas. For, in addition to the weekly markets, there are 72, CHICHICASTENANGO tremendous fairs55 in each village at the time of the fiesta of the patron saint. These fiestas and markets generally last for several days and attract merchants and visitors from near and far. The fiesta of Santo Tomas was the only time I saw in that village the men from Nahualanot, after all, very far away - with their grindstones, and women from Santa Caterina with their rush mats, and many other important specialists. Every month or so a man came from Momostenango with blankets. At the fiesta there were at least a dozen. The following are two native accounts of the general system of trade operations, and the established trade routes: One of the most important articles of trade here is eggs. Here eggs are worth 6 reales a piece.58 One takes a load of five to eight hundred. A good porter can carry eight hundred. One takes them to sell in Quelzaltenango or other towns. To Quezaltenango the journey is a day and a half. On arriving in Quezaltenango with eggs one goes at once to the bakery and sells them all there. Or, if the bakery does not take them, then one is forced to go down to the plaza and sell them there. If one does not sell all in Quezaltenango, one goes on to Retalhuleu with the rest. The eggs sell for 1 peso (8 reales) in Quezaltenango or Retalhuleu, so one makes a profit of 2 reales on each egg, or 200 pesos on the load. With this money one can buy two quintals of coffee. One carries one quintal, and sends the other with a porter. Or if one has an animal, one can take twice as much. One returns here, one day and a half, and sells the coffee here in the plaza for 5 pesos the pound or 500 the quintal, and makes a profit of 200 pesos on the sale of the coffee. So the total profit from such a trip is 400 pesos, or, with beasts of burden, 900 ($15). Of course, it takes some time to sell the coffee. The trip to the Coast is longer. One takes eggs, potatoes, beans. We leave here early Monday morning, and sleep the first night in Santa Lucia de la Laguna, and the second night in Santo Tomas la Uni6n. We start out from there at three o'clock on Wednesday morning to arrive in Mazatenango for the market on Wednesday. Here we make our sales and purchases, and return and are back in Santo Tomas Chichicastenango for the plaza on Sunday. The most important articles of trade from here are eggs, three kinds of beans, potatoes and ocote (pitch pine). Ocote is not very profitable, but if one has no capital, it is a good business, for one can go out and cut it, and sell it in the Coast and with 30 pesos one can buy a large load of fruit there. Hoes, machetes and all kinds of hardware come from Retalhuleu. They are cheap there, because they are brought up on the railroad. All the stones for grinding come from Nahuala; it is the work of that village. Chile comes from Guatemala, also silk for embroidery and incense. Cotton yarn comes from Retalhuleu; they make it nearby in Cantel. From the Coast we bring cotton, cacao, coffee, achote, a spice for flavoring puliq, and fruit. Fine mats and ropes come from Coban; baskets and gourds from Rabinal. This is a long trip. 65 In Guatemala the word feria is used to designate the animal exchange which precedes the fiesta and the commodity market. 56 In 1930; in 1932 it was four reales. TRADE 73 The people from here take beans, ocote, potatoes, eggs; they also take mats; these are made in Chinic, but the people from here carry them to the Coast to sell. They also go to CobAn for ropes and take them to the Coast. They also take fruits from here, peaches, quinces, avocados, to sell on the Coast, and buy other things, such as bananas, plantains, zapotes, pineapples, oranges, papayas; they also bring cacao, rice, cotton and coffee. To Quezaltenango also, they take eggs, beans, and potatoes, and bring back shrimps, fish and all kinds of imported things, such as matches, hoes, machetes, etc. To Guatemala we take eggs, potatoes, onions (from Solala), and bring back from there paraffin, candles, incense, embroidery silks, handkerchiefs, wash basins and imported china. To Tecpan, Santa Lucia, and other pueblos they take earthen jars from San Pedro Jocopilas, and bring back from there salt and sugar. To Rabinal and Salama they take cotton, onions, chile from Guatemala, earthenware from Totonicipan and San Pedro, and bring back ropes, fine hats, colored mats, baskets, hammocks; they also bring gourds and the incense of Rabinal, those cakes of copal. They go as far as Tapachula in Mexico and Ayutla, too. They take eggs, and bring back fish and shrimps. They say it takes forty days, with burdens; twenty days going and twenty days returning.67 The also go to Coban, a long journey, to get ropes, because they are very cheap there. They take from here palm fruits and anise which they buy at the Lake of Solala to sell there. They go to San Salvador, too, for silk and imported things. They are cheap there.8 Most of these journeys are made on foot. The time is not lessened by the use of animals, but the amount of the carga is increased. The Indian never rides. When he has animals, he loads his cargo on the animals and walks. But he doesn't walk empty-handed. He always carries some of the load himself. Indians travelling on foot sometimes make use of the mail stages between large towns on long trips. But only rich Indians can do that. Arriving in strange towns, they sleep in the porticoes around the plaza, or they go to inns. If they have animals, they must go to inns, for they cannot leave the animals to wander loose in the streets. Rarely, they go to the houses of friends. I There seem to be no formal trade partnerships of the Oceanic pattern, but each merchant has relationships with a number of people in different towns, by which he does business with them on credit. A man arriving in Coban with beans, does not sit in the plaza until his beans are sold; he takes them some place where he can dispose of them wholesale, to a shop or to some large merchant.His purchases of local produce he makes in the open market. And big 57 The merchants insist that they arrive with eggs, not chickens - believe it or not. 68 Another important traffic not mentioned by the informant is in contraband of all kinds which is smuggled across the Mexican border through ComitAn. The special product is aguardiente, the manufacture of which is unrestricted in Mexico, and especially Comiteco, the potent brew of Comitan. Arms and ammunition go across the same mountain trail. 74 CHICHICASTENANGO merchants send young men on journeys for them, to buy and sell in distant villages in affairs involving considerable amounts of money, _-and they are trusted. The plaza at Chichicastenango any Sunday is a cross section of the industry of Guatemala. A count of the number of articles on sale on an average market day showed one hundred and thirty-five different articles, and many small objects on drygoods stands were not noted. This was an average day. Big markets like the feast of Santo Tomas attract such rare items as grinding stones from Nahuala, drums from Totonicapan, a particular kind of molasses candy from Sacapoulas. This town is about three days journey from Chichicastenango, and at least fifty of its citizens arrived for the fiesta with loads of candy to sell. They came for the fiesta, of course, but the candy made it look like business. But they carried it along for three days, nevertheless. During these days there came also traders from many towns with the native costumes of their village to be sold to residents at Chichicastenango. For the Indian woman, no matter where she lives or whom she marries, always wears the huipil of the village of her birth, and her daughters also. Among the municipal officers is one called Mayor de Plaza, who regulates trade in the plaza. His only duty seems to be collection of fees from all who trade. The fees vary from 3 to 10 pesos according to the type of stall and the type of merchandise. He issues a receipt and makes the rounds several times in the course of the day. The drygoods is displayed on tables in canvas stalls; the leather workers, regular vendors of mats, ropes, coffee and sugar have canvas awnings, the rest of the people have no protection from the sun. Men usually provide themselves with low stools, women sit on mats, or on the bare ground. Women never use chairs or stools in the house, either. All the professional merchants have regular places. People who appear occasionally when they have something to sell, like a marimba or a turkey or a coffin go to the place where such things are customarily displayed. The arrangement appears illogical and haphazard at first, but one soon catches on to the general scheme. The arrangement is for the convenience of the merchant, not the customer. The general layout is to group things according to provenience rather than character or use. It is assumed that everyone knows that choca, a spice used in sauces, comes from the north and will be found among the mats from Rabinal, but that cloves come from Guatemala, and will be found on the drygoods stands, and that chickens being women's business, will be found among the flowers, and not in the livestock market. TRADE 75 In addition to their energy, the merchants of Santo Tomas are noted everywhere for fair dealing and respect for their profession. Buying and selling form a regular part of every man's life, and are always conducted with dignity and discretion. There is never any haggling over price, because the price of everything is known, and everyone is a judge of quality, since almost all have been traders at one time in their lives. The merchant sets up his stall in the market, lays out his wares in the most attractive fashion he knows, or he opens up his bundle and sits. There is no crying of wares. Customers wander through the plaza looking everything over. No one asks them to buy. When they see what they want, they look closer. If, for example, it is a man's head kerchief, the prospective customer takes it off the line where it is hanging, neatly folded. He opens it up, examines it carefully at all critical points, the tassels, the seams, the patterns, to see how much silk it contains. The merchant still says nothing. After the customer has satisfied himself concerning the value of the article, he asks the price. If he believes the price to be too high, he hands the article back to the merchant, who shrugs his shoulders, and returns it to its place without comment, but with a look of withering disdain. The article is rarely offered for less, nor does the purchaser make any offer of a lower price. Simpler transactions, like the sale of food staples are usually accomplished without even asking or naming the price, which is understood to be known to all. The sale of an expensive article, like a huipil or a blanket, and, of course, the sale of a horse of burro, might attract the attention of passers-by, who offer comments and advice. The sale of a marimba is a complicated process, because everyone around will stop to play on it, and express an opinion. Foreigners trading in the plaza always attract attention, and are asked to show their purchases and tell the price, and they are always told that it was too much or too little, on the general principle that they don't know how to trade. My own observation was that Ladinos and whites, especially white tourists buying textiles, drove harder bargains than Indians, and there was a corresponding tendency on the part of Indians to advance the prices for their benefit. But I never saw any evidence of sharp practice by Indians dealing with each other, nor did I ever hear any complaints or recriminations. The same man who suspects his neighbor of tampering with boundaries does not expect to be cheated in the plaza. Back of this policy of fair dealing lies deep seated respect for the 'traditions of an honorable calling, and supernatural sanctions against cheating, misrepresentation and greed. The ideal merchant earns his 76 CHICHICASTENANGO profits through industry and knowledge. He knows the products and needs of each town, and the days of their markets. He knows that he can sell beans in San Pedro Jocopilas, and buy jars there to sell in Guatemala. There he will buy chile to sell in Coban, and in Coban he will buy ropes to sell in Retalhuleu, for coffee to be sold in Chichicastenango. (It is not to be assumed that anyone does this all at once this way.) On each of these transactions there is a legitimate and reasonable profit, based on the general theory that any article increases in value in proportion to the distance from the source of supply. By such means the merchant of Chichicastenango waxes rich with honor. Professions The Indians recognize a number of occupations that are professions in exactly the sense in which we commonly use the word. The exercise of each of them presupposes the command of an organized body of knowledge, and a certain attitude of responsibility and public service, and carries with it high rewards of a monetary nature and a personal prestige that is not accorded even to the most highly skilled artisans. However, the professional man does not live by the practise of his profession. He is a farmer as well, and often practises a trade too. The general theory of professional service is that these offices, instituted by Christ and exercised by the ancestors, belong to them and are merely held in trust by those who now exercise them. This trust must not be abused, and for the right to profit from it one must continually make payments, just as one must make payments for one's right to live on the land. It is He who gave these ceremonies to the world in ancient time. It was the mothers and fathers, the divine spirits, in their earthly lives, who were masters and leaders of the sacred bundles before this World. But they did not take with them these ceremonies; they did not descend in their hearts and minds beneath the earth. No, Sefior, we still celebrate these rites before this World. Perhaps I am the one who watches over and transmits these rites before the World, that you may see and hear this ceremony... World, pardon my trespass. Perhaps this is my office, or perhaps this was not my destiny. However, I have been entrusted with this office before the World for all time. Perhaps I shall go about, up and down, on behalf of those who come to see and hear through me. Perhaps I shall acquire money; perhaps I shall receive a little food and drink. This prayer is for the purpose of giving thanks for this.... may they also come from one or two villages to search me out on account of this rite and ceremony which has been entrusted to me. It is I PROFESSIONS 77 who go up and down, from one village to another village, from one mountain to another mountain, to see and hear what is in this rite and ceremony. But may no sickness or pain touch me. Perhaps there are great people, little people, people with white hair, whose hearts hurt (with envy) because of this rite and ceremony which has been entrusted to me. But that which I have has been entrusted to me for the cure of sickness and pain, not for the extortion of money. These words are taken from the prayer of a chuchgajau, for this is the most highly formalized of the professions, but the same sentiment, somewhat less articulate, pervades all professional occupations.59 One of the requirements in the exercise of any profession is that a portion of all material rewards must be turned back to the gods in the form of offerings of candles, incense, etc. This is the "fine" or "interest" (multa percente) mentioned in the texts, and is conceived of as interest paid to the ancestors for their vested rights in professional knowledge and supernatural powers.60 Each time a chuchqajau performs a ceremony on behalf of someone else and is paid for his work, he must perform his own ceremony of thanks in his own name. This is in addition to the periodic offerings to San Juan, and the ancestors made by all professional practitioners, to thank them for the right to exercise their profession. In Chichicastenango I worked for a long time with one man on the calendar and other occult matters concerning the profession chuchqajau. I paid this man, of course. As time wore on the man developed typical symptoms of anxiety - nightmares, unreasonable forebodings of evil, neurasthenia, disturbances of sexual function. When he consulted the oracle in connection with the ceremony that was to conclude this work, he got a negative response, which he interpreted as anger of "the World" because he had failed to make the required payments as the work progressed. The real source of guilt feelings lay much deeper but it was rationalized in cultural terms as a breach of professional ethics. An expiatory offering was made, and later on the payment, "the fine" to the World, for the money which he had received in this irregular exercise of his profession.l But the complete discussion of its implications must be deferred to another place, for it concerns the whole question of force of conscience and the sense of guilt. 69 See the prayers for the day 8 'e, p. 306. 60 I am not sure whether the "percentage" in this precise form applies to all the professions or only to those of chuchqajau and midwife. 61 The full ceremony, with Manuel's comments on the divination, will be found on pp. 397ff. 78 CHICHICASTENANGO The professional in any field has definite obligations towards his public. If called upon, he may not refuse his services for any cause except inauspicious omens. He may not demand any fee for his servvices, but must accept whatever compensation is offered. The scale of fees for the more usual services, such as consulting the oracle, performing a simple ceremony "of thanks," etc., is clearly understood by both practitioner and client; if the client does not know the proper fee for any service that has been performed, he asks. In important cases involving the performance of many ceremonies the fee is agreed upon in advance, as well as the contingent expenses, just as surgeon's fees are agreed upon in our own civilization.... He takes the drink and gives thanks. Then he instructs them again what offerings they must prepare for the following day. "Yes, sir. Be sure to have ready the offerings, as I have told you." "Yes, Sir. We have already bought them. And also, Sir, I want to ask one more word of your holy person: what is the cost of your work today? Pardon our trespass, Sir." "Well, it is this way, Sir. It is up to you whether you wish to pay each ceremony separately, or pay for all together when we finish." "No, Sir. Let us pay each one, as I have said, for perhaps you need the money for your own payments, Sir." "That is true, Sir, but it is a delicate matter, and sometimes the people are annoyed with me for this." "That is so, Sir. If it is better for you to pay each ceremony as it comes, only be good enough to tell me how much it is each time. Do not be of two hearts with us, Sir. Pardon our trespass." "Well, then, this is what I say. If you can pay for each ceremony, good; if not, it is not necessary. For the powers and use of the sacred office with which I am entrusted, it will cost 15 pesos each time, including the communications. (The preliminary ceremony)." "Yes, Sir, but see whether this is all." "No, Sir, this is not all. In addition you will give me food; this is only the money." "That is so, Sir. Pardon our trespass. And now I shall give you this for the first ceremony." "Yes, many thanks to you, Sir." " Yes, Sir. We shall expect you tomorrow....62 But although it is understood that the Quich6 chuchqajau is entitled to compensation, he cannot send a bill and try to collect. For the professions are sanctioned by the ancestors and any violation of their ethical code will be severely punished. Failure to make the required payments to the ancestors for the gift of ceremonies and for personal gain that may come through their exploitation may be punished by sickness or loss of money as a warning of worse to come if the offender 62 From the initiation of a chuchqajau. For full text see pp. 320ff. PROFESSIONS 79 does not mend his ways.63 The nature of the transgression will be made clear in divinations, and restitution must then be made. Extortion will be still more severely punished and, in addition, the victim of extortion always has the possibility of direct action through sorcery. The ritual of sorcery on pp. 372 ff. deals with a case of suspected extortion on the part of one who held the title of Secretary. The chuchqajau is the most important professional man in Chichicastenango, but there are three other major professions, and two minor ones, and several occupations of a semi-professional character. The important professions are those of the "Secretary" (Sp. Secretario; Q. axtsip), the kalpul and the midwife. The padrino, the tcinimtal and the licenciado are secretaries, kalpuls or, perhaps, chuchqajaus acting in special capacities. Of all the professions that of chucchqajau is the most important and the most highly formalized. The chuchqajau has supernatural powers; he is a diviner, sorcerer and mediator before the gods and the ancestors in all the crises of life. He is not, strictly speaking, a priest, for his relation to the supernatural is not such as to make his services in any ceremony indispensable. His position is that of an expert in occultj science who performs ceremonies for others for pay. If a laymanthinks he knows how to perform ceremonies, he does without a chuchqajau, but only an initiated chuchqajau can perform divinations. The position of the layman in approaching the supernatural is very much like that of an average American citizen in a court of law. When an average citizen comes in conflict with the majesty of the law, he may defend himself if he wishes, but the wise man hires a lawyer. The only estimate of the number of chuchqajau in Chichicastenango was "many." There are chuchqajau in all the cantones. The profession of chuchqajau is not restricted to men, but men far outnumber the women. To become a chuchqajau one must have a call which is manifested in dreams, through sickness and by divination. The initiation is to "save his life."64 The initiation ceremonies extend over a period of 180 days,65 during which time there are many rituals and sacrifices, and instructions of the novice by the older man who initiates him, in the fundamentals of his calling. This instruction covers the arts of divination, the symbolism of the calendar, and the essentials of ritual. 63 Among the alarming events Manuel spoke of during his work with me, was the theft of some 600 pesos. This he later interpreted as both punishment and warning by the ancestors for his bad behavior. 64 This is a widespread idea. It is the pattern for initiations into medicine societies among the Pueblo Indians. 66 Schultze-Jena says 260, the number told me, but not that in the complete Quiche text written by Manuel. 80 CHICHICASTENANGO The profession of chwchqajau in its religious and philosophical aspects will be discussed later. The role of the midwife is restricted to women, and transmitted, in most cases, from mother to daughter. But the midwife, like the chuchqajau, must have a call. The patron of midwives is Santa Ana (Santana Porpeta in the rituals), and midwives make offerings to her in connection with their cases. Although the profession is less formalized than that of chuchqajau, "they have their ceremonies." Perhaps it only seems less formalized, because no man is let into their secrets. The position of the midwife is indicated in the description of childbirth on pp. 93ff. She is more than an expert in obstetrics. Her relation to the mother and child is like that of the chuchqajau to his clients. Not every man who can read and write is a "secretary," for the title of secretary is an honorific title. The secretary is a public servant, he is the recorder of all information, and the repository of tradition. For instance, each cofradia has a secretary. Although the personnel of the mayordomos changes each year, and although each year the image about which the cult revolves is housed in a different place, the secretary is a permanent officer. He holds office for life. It is he who instructs the new officers in their duties, keeps the accounts and supervises the finances and maintains the integrity of the ritual.6 But it must not be understood that the title of Secretary is the name of a particular office. For men may be "secretaries" and yet not be secretary of anything. One of my informants was a "secretary." He was secretary of the cofradia of San Sebastian, and he had served as secretary in the courthouse. In addition he had served as witness and recorder in innumerable cases of land sale, division of property, contracts and other matters. His cupboard was a regular archive for old records of all sorts which he kept on behalf of those who could not read and write. It is a position of influence and power, which must not be abused. This profession, like all others, is under the supervision of the ancestors, and San Juan, "guardian of our light and destiny." In all prayers for the protection of his personality Manuel never neglected to mention his duties as secretary. The secretary is the one person in the community who is distinguished by special dress. On formal occasions he is entitled to wear a special type of long fringed black robe, which is folded and draped around the body and over the left shoulder. Members of cofradias wear special costume during their ceremonies, but the robe of the secretary is a personal, distinguishing mark. 66 For details of the role of the secretary in the cofradia, see pp. 226/f. PROFESSIONS 81 The secretary is no new profession among the Quiche. All early writers mention the importance of scribes among natives of Middle America peoples, and the honor in which they were held. The kalpul is a judge. There is a great confusion as to just what a kalpul is and how one becomes a kalpul, because he appears under many different titles, according to the capacity in which he acts. The regidores, the justices in the municipal court, are called kalpul. The principales are all said to be kalpul. The spokesman at marriage is called chinimtal, but he is also called kalpul; so is the referee of divorces, and the witness at divisions of land and land sales. The real function of the kalpul seems to be as mediator or arbitrator of any dispute. He is not an officer like the principal of a cant6n with authority over a large or small group, although certain offices like that of principal and regidor are regularly filled from among those who would qualify as kalpul. I could not discover that there was any formal course of training for the kalpul similar to that of the chuchqajau, nor did I find any suggestion that the title was hereditary, although I did not ask specifically. "The kalpul are the spokesmen. The regidores are kalpul, and the men who ask for women in marriage. They are men of fifty years of age or older, who know the ways of our ancestors. They must know something of ritual also. There are many, here and in the cantones." I suspect that there is more to the office of kalpul than appears on the surface. It is intimately bound up with the political structure, the point at which the Indians are most reticent. The padrino officiates at the baptisms of children. He may be, and \ usually is, a kalpul, a secretary, or a chuchqajau. The Quiches do not call upon members of their own families to stand as sponsor for a child at baptism, but call upon a professional padrino, for, before the child is taken to Church, there is a long civil ceremony which symbolizes the acceptance of the child into the social body and the placing upon him the obligations of citizenship.67 The padrino is always rewarded with food for his services, and he, in turn, gives gifts to his godchild and retains some responsibility for his welfare. Both men and women function in this capacity. The licenciado is either a secretary or kalpul, and his special work is representing citizens of the township in the courts at Santa Cruz. To this list might be added another: the musician. There are two types of musicians, the marimberos, who, as their name indicates, play the marimba, and the tamboreros. The marimba is not a native Guatemalan instrument, the contention of Guatemalans to the con 67 The ceremony is given in detail on pp. 154ff. 82 CHICHICASTENANGO trary notwithstanding, but was brought in from Africa, probably by way of the Islands. Stoll has disposed of that problem.68 At Chichicastenango there are two types. The homemade marimba with gourds for resonators (marimba de tecomate), which is played by one man, is used for zarabandas and family fiestas. It has a plaintive note that accords but ill with the festive spirit. Most of the marimberos live in the mountains. They play a great deal at night, and the sound carries far. Its melancholy tune belongs to the night and the lonely farms, and the little ocote torches thrown against the blackness of the hills. For masked dances they usually get something more festive, and engage marimberos from neighboring towns, who play on large factory made marimbas requiring anywheres from two to six players. The music for processions and for ceremonies in the cofradias is provided by the tamboreros. Tamboreros come in pairs. The first, usually the older man, plays the flute or flageolet and carries the drum on his back. The second man beats the drum. Although both sides of the drum are covered with hide, it is struck on one side only. When the musicians are seated the drummer holds the instrument between his legs, and plays it something like a kettledrum. There are three sizes of drums, each with its special accompanying instrument. There is a large flute to go with the large drum, a small flute to go with the small drum (which is always carried and played by a little boy) and a chirimia (flageolet) for the medium sized drum - the one most often used. There is special music for each stage in ceremonies, for processions, for the moloj, for playing at night in the cofradias, for the service of atole, and for the service of chocolate. Certain fiestas have special music, as for instance, the dancing of Tsijolaj at All Saints, and in the cofradia of Jesus Nazarenos during Lent and Holy Week. The tamboreros also play in the hills during planting festivals and there is special music for that also. The tamboreros are always treated with great respect; in the cofradias they are always served first, immediately after the alcaldes. They are always included in the formal greetings. Like all professionals, "they have their ceremonies." There were five sets of musicians at the feast of All Saints, and that, probably was the full roster for the town. The tamboreros are engaged by the third mayordomo (rox) of the cofradia. They are paid in money and food. They are given a great deal 68 Stoll: Guatemala. Indians call marimba-players marimberos, although the correct designation is marimbi8tas. Likewise tamboreros is used for those who play the chirimia accompanying the drum as well as for the drummer. ECONOMICS OF RELIGION 83 to drink during fiestas, and they sleep practically not at all. "It is their work."69 There is a town band, but, although Indians play in it, it is a Ladino institution and functions only at affairs in which Ladinos have a hand, as in the feast of Concepci6n, which is admittedly a Ladino fiesta. Another semi-professional group is the coheteros, the men who fire rockets at fiestas. Rockets are important in all fiestas and they are always fired by specialists. The coheteros have an organization (the Sargentos), and a series of ceremonies. They have their special patron, Tsijolaj, whose fiesta comes during the feast of All Saints.70 Economics of Religion Important turning points in the life of the individual - birth, baptism, marriage, initiation, and death - are marked by ceremonies, and all of these ceremonies have their economic aspect. There is always an offering which must be paid for, a practitioner must be engaged to perform the necessary rituals, and he must be compensated for his services with gifts of food or money. Any of these events may be made an occasion for festive display, as extensive as the means of the family permit. There may be large feasts for friends and relatives, with many special delicacies in the way of food, and drinks according to the tastes of the guests. There may be fireworks and music and dancing. At funerals there is no dancing but there may be large feasts and fireworks in honor of the dead, and always a great deal of drinking to dispel loneliness. Initiations are the occasions of the most lavish entertainment in addition to the necessary expense of the ceremonies which is considerable. Now if the people are rich and can afford to make a happy feast of this occasion, then they will buy many rockets and pinwheels and other fireworks; and they will have a marimba in the house at the end of the ceremonies, and will make chicha and buy a large cask of aguardiente, for the visitors who will come in these days of joy, and they will butcher two lambs and many chickens, and make sweet bread and cakes. But if they cannot afford this, then the ceremony will be performed quietly and sadly.... 71 69 Tamboreros exactly like these still appear at folk festivals in Spain. In Majorca they go about to collect money to finance the fiesta of the patron. But drums and flutes are pre-Columbian; probably the semi-sacred character of the musician and the deference paid him are Indian. In this simple institution we can see the process of convergence in acculturation. 70 See pp. 200 f/. 71 From an account of the initiation of a chuchqajau. See pp. 333//. 84 CHICHICASTENANGO Less important events which concern, not the personal development, but the practical affairs of life, also have their ceremonious aspect. Planting and harvest, the sale of land, the building of a house, or the partition of an inheritance, each is marked by some ceremony with a feast for the person who officiates, and usually some offerings to the supernaturals. In addition, there is the vast system of payments for everything that one possesses and everything that one wishes to do, and for one's troubled conscience, and for defense against enemies, all of which is time consuming and costly. The cost of incense and candles, roses and aguardiente that are sacrificed on the quemadores in the course of a year in the life of an average family head, runs into large sums, just how large it is impossible to estimate. In times of bad luck it will be greater. If a man loses money, if his crop fails, if business is bad or children sick, he redoubles his efforts. He consults diviners to learn the source of his ill fortune; he performs extra rituals with more costly offerings, he offers responses to his ancestors, even has Masses in an effort to defend himself from further, misfortunes. The expenses of public ceremonies, that is, Church fiestas, are variously apportioned. The cost of Masses and processions for certain important fiestas, such as All Souls, Corpus Christi, Holy Week, and Santo Tomas are borne by the Indian municipality. At meetings of the alcaldes and mayordomos the expenses of the fiesta are estimated and apportioned among the different cantones. The chief of each canton is responsible for collecting his share from the heads of households within his jurisdiction. The expenses of other fiestas are borne by the cofradias. The expenses include the fee for the Mass, candles for the church and the house, a gift of some article of clothing for the treasury of the saint, the vases, candlesticks, and mats that are used in the ceremonies and which must be renewed each year. Then there is the cost of food and drinks consumed in the course of the rituals, the gifts of food for the secretary and the alcaldes, the fireworks, the wages of the musicians and the coheteros, the boys hired to carry the image, and the assistants in the kitchen (these are paid in food) and the young men who bring firewood for the kitchen. A small fiesta costs about $ 50, a large one at least $ 250.72 The following is a native account of the way in which the cofradia of Santo Tomas is financed: In addition to ordinary expenses of Masses, etc. the cofradia of Santo Tomas has an extra expense for candles, for they keep candles burning constantly before the image of the saint. The cost for candles is about 7,200 pesos ($120) a year, and they have many other expenses that the 72 Large fiestas involve more than one cofradia. ECONOMICS OF RELIGION 85 others do not have. Each month the cofradia of San Sebastian goes to visit Santo Tomas to felicitate him. Here they are given to eat and drink and each one is given a present of cacao to take home. The cofradia of Santo Tomas returns the visit. The cofradias of San Jose, Sacramento, and Rosario do the same. This costs about 1,500 pesos ($ 25) each time. In order to meet these expenses the cofradia maintains a butcher business, so they must always appoint someone who knows about these things. They buy steers on the Coast, at the railroad. They send someone down there and he buys them, and brings them up, about five or six at a time. They kill two each week at each market day, and then they kill others when they have zarabandas and when they have their feasts, for they have many feasts in the cofradia of Santo Tomas. They kill about 200-250 each year. They have a stall in the market place where they sell the meat and they sell the hides to a tanner. Then they use the tallow from the steers that they kill to make their candles. But the manufacture of candles requires a great deal of firewood. The alcalde of Santo Tomas asks his friends for this, and when they bring it they get food and cigars and drinks. The other cofradias do this at the time of their fiestas, but Santo Tomas has to do it all the time for their candles. When they have zarabandas they hire a marimba and they sell drinks, chicha and aguardiente for the expenses of the cofradia. They start on Sunday after the market starts to break up and it goes on all Sunday night and Monday until evening. The people dance and drink. The women also sell drinks in their kitchen for the cofradia, but they do not make as much money as the men. Then when the fiesta begins, at the moloj, they have another meeting to decide how to arrange their fiesta. They decide when to have Mass, and at what hour to take the Saint out in procession, and whether to have Mass with Jubileo or without. And they decide on the expenses; how many rockets to buy and what kind, and how much incense. They decide whether to buy a steer or lambs for the feast, and how much corn will be required for the atole and the tamales and the tortillas, and how much cacao and sapuyul for the atole, and how much aguardiente and how much bread and chocolate, because the Alcaldes and many people will come there to eat. And they decide how many women will be needed to grind the corn, and if they need help in the kitchen besides the wives of the mayordomos they are paid in food, meat, atole, cigars, etc. Then they see how much money they have in the treasury, and then they apportion the expenses among them all, men and women, and decide how much will fall to the lot of each one. The sacristans of the church form a privileged class. There are about thirty of them. They are placed in this service by their fathers when they are still children, and they grow up in it. In recognition of their service their families are exempt from all taxes and work levies. Like all other public servants they work in shifts, a week at a time, and return to service every fourth week. While on duty they sleep in the doorway of the convent, and on the other side of the door they have a small room where they cook their meals. They bring their own 86 CHICHICASTENANGO food and cook for themselves, although the cook sometimes makes something for them. They learn to assist at Mass and to make the Responses in Latin. They also have charge of the church building and the cemetery. They receive 1 peso out of the fee for each baptism, and part of the money that is collected for Responses. There are about 125 baptisms a month, and, as I have said, thirty sacristans. Their income from Responses is entirely at the discretion of the priest. There is another set of sacristans for the chapel of Calvario. There are only twelve of these, and two are on duty each week. They receive nothing at all, and like the regular sacristans, their office is lifelong. They form a close cult group which has secret ceremonies during Holy Week.73 The church and convent are run on a system of manorial fees and services. The title to the church is held by the Indian municipality, and they hold themselves responsible for its maintainance. The principales conscript labor among the citizenry for necessary repairs, and for incidental work in connection with the official program of fiestas, such as the decoration of the church and the gathering of the palm fronds and the thousands of pounds of pine that are strewn in the church and the streets during Holy Week. Although the Dominicans were expelled with the other religious orders in 1871, the convent is still maintained in grand style as the residence of the parish priest.74 There is a large sitio which is cultivated by boys assigned by the principales to service in the convent. The character of their service has already been described. In addition each canton contributes annually to the maintenance of the convent 2 quintals of maize, 2 quintals of firewood and 2 quintals of green fodder for the animals. These contributions fall to the lot of different families in different years. The Padre personally does nothing about the collection of this tribute. The fiscal (Q: pixcar), the official in charge of the boys, is the person responsible for it; he keeps the accounts and sees that sometime in the course of the year the tribute is paid. The feudal system is breaking down in many places. The social sentiments upon which feudalism is predicated are still alive in Chichicastenango, but pressure is being exerted from Rome requiring that Church revenues be collected in more negotiable form and derived 73 See pp. 413ff. 74 For this reason it is regarded as the most desirable parish in the Highlands. ECONOMICS OF RELIGION 87 from a system of fees for the ministrations of the priest. At Chichicastenango the more important of these fees are:75 High Mass 165 pesos (40 pesos of this amount for the organist) Low Mass 60 pesos Baptism 51 pesos (1 peso for the sacristans) Marriage Bans 50 pesos Marriage Ceremony 50 pesos (more if the Nuptial Mass is performed) Responses 1 peso for each Response The fees for the sacraments, baptisms, marriages, and Masses, are divided, and portions are allocated to the priest for his living, to the diocese, and to the Society for the Propagation of the Faith at Rome. The priests get no salary from the diocese and the parish owns no income-producing property. Money received from Responses belongs to the priest and is never entered in the parish accounts. The Response is a prayer for the dead that is not part of formal Catholic ritual. In the Guatemala Highlands it is associated with ancestor worship and native sorcery, therefore it is regarded by the Church as a sort of illegitimate child of whose legal status she is not quite sure, and of whom she is not proud. But as a potential source of revenue, it is not neglected. There are practically no marriages performed. The Ladinos rarely marry in church, the Indians almost never. The struggle over Christian marriage has been going on since the Conquest. The Indians claim, sometimes, that they are prevented by the exorbitant fees; the Church claims that the Indians used to be married before civil marriage was made compulsory as a preliminary to the Church ceremony, and that now, since they cannot afford two fees, they do not have any ceremony. This is all specious, on both sides. I have looked through parochial archives which go back to the 17th century and I could find no indication that church marriage was any more common formerly than now. With no marriages, no funerals, and paid Masses only for fiestas, it leaves baptisms as the chief source of church revenue. The income from baptisms averages $105 per month. The 75 This information was furnished by Father Carlos Knittel, who was parish priest when I first arrived in Chichicastenango, during Father Rossbach's absence. It was later verified and amplified by Father Rossbach, who added that Rome regarded Guatemala as a country already won for the Church, which must therefore contribute to the work among the heathen in other parts. 88 CHICHICASTENANGO revenue from Responses on "fortunate days" is not to be despised, but I could make no estimate of it. There are no burials with Christian rites because of a long-standing feud over the title to the cemetery. The Ladinos do not support the Church, and it has practically no endowment left from a more prosperous age. But despite these pecuniary embarrassments, the priest at Chichicastenango lives better and more lavishly and has greater economic security than any other person in town, with the exception of the family of Don Naches, the dueno. Economic Attitudes The Central American plateau is one of the favored regions of the earth. Its soil produces, with moderate labor, a variety of food crops in abundant quantity. Although game is no longer plentiful, the region is favorable for husbandry of smaller animals. Different localities within the area produce all the raw materials necessary for maintaining life at a relatively high level of material comfort - materials for building, household utensils, clothing and fuel. The only important raw material not produced within the highlands is cotton. The other things regularly imported from the tropical regions, beef, coffee, sugar, chocolate, tropical fruits and spices are admittedly luxury articles. I was told no stories of famine, and there is no native folklore that deals with the theme of famine. The calamities that are mentioned are epidemics, especially smallpox, and earthquakes. Both of these have been of frequent occurrence within the recent past. The Indians keep no records of their crops and have no remembrance or anticipation of crop failure. There appear to be no special anxieties connected with food. It is stated over and over again that one need have no worries about getting food, economic pressure is felt about land, houses, clothing, expenses of marriage and sickness, never about subsistence. The theft of food is not regarded as a serious crime if it is merely a matter of taking a few ears of corn or fruit to eat on the road. It is serious only if one goes in and harvests another man's crops, taking large quantities. On the other hand, to steal money or land, and to tamper with boundaries is regarded as a great sin. There is no general open-handed hospitality, but that seems to be motivated less by stinginess with food than by a wish to maintain social distance. Relatives come and go freely in one anothers' houses and are offered food; the children of neighbors are fed. Groups ECONOMIC ATTITUDES 89 meeting on the roadside or at shrines share their food; persons coming to the house on ceremonial errands are offered food, and food and drink are dispensed freely to all comers at family fiestas and the celebrations of the cofradias. The service is always in a manner to honor the guest. No one is afraid or ashamed to accept food (it is part of the payment for the most honorable services) and no records are kept or any attempt made to maintain reciprocity.76 At the feasts of the cofradias large quantities of food are given away, and the bills are footed by the mayordomos as part of their responsibility to the community. I have heard no accusations of stinginess in connection with any feasts, although it is often said that fiestas are triste if people are poor. In spite of the fact that there is great fear of malice and sorcery, this is never associated with food. There are no accusations of poisoning or of working evil magic with food. All of these facts indicate that the Quiches feel relatively secure in regard to subsistence. The great source of economic anxiety is the land problem. This is not just another way of saying the same thing. Land is more than an instrument of production; it is also the necessary instrument of prestige and power. Everyone by being born and having a father has access to the means of subsistence; he has an inalienable right to land. A young man living in his father's house will be fed; he has no anxieties on that score. His parents will finance his marriage and provide for his children. But he has no status in the community. Only heads of households, landowners in their own right, count as citizens. A man withhout land has no control over his acts, his father is entitled to the fruits of his labor, he cannot, literally, call his soul his own. To secure and hold on to land is, therefore, the ambition of everyone, and the fertile source of hostility and anxiety. Certain institutional factors contribute to this rivalry - the rules for dividing the inheritance, the supernatural sanctions against selling land and alienating it from the lineage, the recent diversion of the common lands into private control, and the general lack of mobility in Indian populations throughout the area. No one factor alone would have produced the intense anxiety that pervades the culture, but the combination of all four has created great pressure which is felt most keenly in large families. Such amelioration as might be secured through some adequate system of usufruct, or rental on a share or cash basis is lacking. The present system of land tenure, if it continues unchecked, will result automatically in greater and greater disparity in the 78 This is quite different from the attitude at, for instance, Mitla, where Parsons reports that written records are kept of how many rolls each individual eats at a feast. 90 CHICHICASTENANGO distribution of land, with a corresponding increase in anxiety and hostility. The abrogation of inheritance rules in favor of a joint family economy does not work, since joint families do not function harmoniously. The Indians are afraid also of getting into debt. Debt indenture, imprisonment for debt, the imposition of heavy fines, frequently without adequate legal process, which can be paid only by borrowing from "slave catchers," have been the means, in the past, by which the Indian was exploited and have given them a wholesome fear of debt. The Maxefios are a trading people, many of them live primarily by trade, and their capital is precious to them. Many of them have outstanding debts with Ladino or German traders. This may be the basis of their great anxiety about money. In contrast with stealing food, the theft of even a small amount of money is a great sin. The loss of money is always interpreted as an evil portent. The attitude toward the acquisition of wealth is one of desire mixed with fear. Wealth is respected; only rich men can rise in the political hierarchy. A man of a poor family who has no trade finds it hard to obtain a wife, and a woman will divorce a man who does not provide well for her and her children. But although the ownership of land and a house gives a man status as head of a family, it is not by this means that one becomes rich. The "rich" men of Chichicastenango all have other sources of income - some profession or special skill. One of the great sources of income is trade, and anyone with small capital or no capital at all can engage profitably in trade, if only to sell ocote, and buy fruit for resale. This gives to the population a certain amount of vertical mobility, in spite of the strict rules of inheritance. However, until a man has his own house, and ranks as a family head, he has no control over his own earnings. To become rich, one must first be independent. Although wealth is respected, there is no display of wealth. Between the richest and poorest in Chichicastenango there is little difference in mode of living. The rich man may have a more varied diet, he may eat meat oftener, and drink coffee every day, his house may be a little larger and better built, his clothing of better quality and newer, but his garments are of the same pattern, and his house similar in plan to that of his poorer neighbor. Like him he works in his sitio, and his wife weaves his kerchiefs and his children tend the sheep. Chichicastenango supports no leisure class among the Indians. The influence of a man's wealth shows chiefly in the extent and variety of his activities and the weight of his authority. The poor man works for others, the rich man works for himself; he is exempt from the more ECONOMIC ATTITUDES 91 unpleasant kinds of labor, he has his fingers in many pies; he has his stall in the marketplace; he has business in other towns, his advice is sought by his neighbors and his voice carries weight. But influence carries responsibilities. The man who is known to be rich is chosen to head the cofradias, and on him falls the chief financial burden of the fiestas. These feasts, which are the most lavish distributions in Chichicastenango, and which might be a channel for seeking prestige, here are obligations which are thrust upon a man, whether he will or no. The obligation is accepted, for only by this means does one rise in prestige and authority. This is expensive, for although public office goes to the wealthy, it is not in itself the road to wealth. It is believed in Chichicastenango that the rich man has many worries, that it is only the poor man who is free from care. (This was the view of a man who himself was rich - a poor man might have expressed a different opinion.) But there is one worry that the poor man is spared, from which the rich suffer constantly - fear of the malicious envy of others. Envy leads men to avenge slight grudges, or to perform sorcery quite wantonly because the pride of a neighbor has "made his heart hurt." This is a very real anxiety, and probably accounts in large measure for the modest and self-effacing attitude assumed by rich men. They may avoid office because it is expensive, or because the appearance of wealth and ambition exposes them to envy. Therefore, when a man is vouchsafed an evil portent (such as seeing an owl on the housetop) he thinks at once that the malice of the envious is at work and goes before his ancestors with prayers for protection. Likewise, when a man gives thanks for his land, he apologizes for any appearance of pride:... It is not for the power of my money or to make myself great before the great people, the little people, the rich and the poor, but only because I was hungry and thirsty and my wife and children, that I was forced to buy this little bit more, World (i. e. more than his inheritance)... Perhaps there may be some complaint and anger before the World and before myhouse and place. And in the ceremony for housebuilding:... Perhaps the great people, the little people will look kindly upon it (the house). Or else perhaps they will not find it good, but evil. Perhaps you are planning suffering for me, World. As for me, I only wish to provide for my children, a place where they may live. For if I should die they would have no house. It is for this, World, that I intrude on you with my annoyances in order to build this, my house. Or before starting on a business journey "one asks pardon:" It is I who have come before you, who would talk and discuss (matters of business) with the people of the village and the authorities and people 92 CHICHICASTENANGO of neighboring villages. May there be no evil expression in what I say and in what I think concerning my possessions.... Perhaps there is one who will come to judge, to boast, to devise lies before your face and person, but take no account of his words... And so, too, whenManuel wished aMass said for the cure of sickness, he had it said in another town, (San Bartholo a tiny secluded hamlet near Solola) and the priest from Chichicastenango went there to perform it, for, said Manuel, "If I had it said here the people would all think I was very rich, and making a show of my wealth before the great and the small." This Mass was performed with great secrecy. I was not permitted to go - was not informed of it until afterwards - and, so far as I know, no one from Chichicastenango accompanied them. And for the same reason a family from Chich6 had mass for their crops said at Chichicastenango rather than in their home town. The rich man in Chichicastenango does not enjoy his wealth with an easy mind and a clear conscience. There is no ostentation, no conspicuous waste, no wish to appear richer than his neighbor. The only spending sprees are when a man is drunk and goes on spending all his capital for more liquor, because the process of sobering up is so excessively painful. Between the persons who have business dealings any feeling of cupidity is masked under the most restrained formality of behavior. This is equally clear in the manner of trading in the plaza, and in business conferences that I witnessed in the homes of acquaintances. The same consideration prevails between classes; employer and employee invariably treat each other with the greatest courtesy.77 However much tension this suppression of aggression may create within the individual, socially it serves to eliminate all gross forms of rivalry and exploitation. 77 The low wages that are recorded for work within the group were at about the same level as in the plantations, and work much easier and pleasanter and freer. CHAPTER TWO FAMILY LIFE Pregnancy and Childbirth Youl have asked about our customs when a child is born. The beginning is that the girl talks with her mother and the mother of her husband. The mothers ask her and she tells them how many times she has noticedthe effect of the moon, and for how many months she has not noticed it. Then between them they decide to advise the girl that she must by all means report this to her husband so that her husband may report it to his father so that he may perform his ceremony. Let us suppose, for instance, that my wife has reported to me how many months she has not noticed the effect of the moon. I, her husband, report this at once to my father. I approach him in his bedroom so that no one may hear. I say, "Good day, Father. Pardon me, Father, for troubling you." I kneel before him. "I come to report to you, since you are my father, that my lady feels badly, and also that for five months now she has not seen the effect of the moon. Excuse me, Father." "Very well, and now you see that all this is costly; for that is what it means to have a wife. And nowwe must defendinherlight and fortune. We must do this so that nothing may happen to the woman in her sickness." "Yes, Father. Pardon us. You know what you must do." He seeks a suitable day for this ceremony of the woman. Then they prepare the offerings of the woman, which are one package of copal for the World, five wax candles, incense, flowers and cguardiente for the World, and twenty tallow candles for the saints in the church. Now comes the day when they place the offerings on the head of the girl. Our father calls us both, and we go over to him and kneel before him. Then he says to us, "Now, my boy, today we are going to place the offering of your wife on her head. And now it is necessary that you be industrious in your work and that you rise early, for just as today this offering has cost money, so it will be still worse when the time comes for your wife to be confined. So it is necessary that you think well of these things. For this is what it means to marry and to receive children from the hands of God. Now you have heard." "Yes, Father, we have heard. Many thanks." He puts down on the table all the materials of the ceremony, those which go to the World and to the church. "Hail, gum and wax,2 and also you, branches of flowers! You bear your significance, and you shall hear that which is yours. It is your mission to plead before the holy World, and before the saints in the church, and especially before the presence of our Lord, San Juan, Padrino, and Our Lord Jesus Christ who is in Calvario, on behalf of the girl Juana P6rez who is 1 Text in Spanish and Quiche. 2 The copal incense and the candles. 93 94 CHICHICASTENANGO about to receive in her hands her blossoming branch. Today it is five months since she conceived, and if God is merciful to watch over her, probably within four months she will receive her blossoming branch from the hands of God. And this is what we beseech: that death may not overtake this poor Juana Perez. Now you have heard, gum and wax. If they ask you in the World and before all the saints, you shall declare your true significance, which is the defence of Juana P6rez in her life and fortune. Hail, Father Christ, and Sefior San Juan Bautista! Thou art our star and moon of our destiny. And thou also, Sefiora Maria Santana! May your presence come hither and give us your blessing upon our heads." He recites the doctrina,3 and makes the sign of the cross four times over the candles and places them four times on the head of the girl. Then we both kiss the hand of our father, and go back to our work. Our father will know at what time to perform the ceremony of the girl. He will say the same thing he has already said, in the World, and before all the saints in the church, and in addition he will take one large candle to burn before the patron of midwives, who is Santa Ana Maria Porpet, who stands with San Pedro in the church, and also before San Juan, the guardian of our light and fortune, and before Our Lord in Calvario. Then our father will think of whom to bring as midwife. When it lacks two months of the confinement of the woman he goes to talk to the midwife. Then he goes to the house of the midwife whom he has chosen. When the father arrives he says: "Pardon me that I have come here to trouble you. But these are not troubles. These that we call troubles are the customs of Our Lady, Maria Santana Porpet, who has left these customs in this world. Our Lady Santana Porpet saw the persons of the first ancestors, and saw them free themselves and be delivered and receive offspring beneath the hands and feet of our mothers who were her patients. We still have the customs which she left in this world, and we see that you are carrying them on. Excuse me, madam." He kneels before her. "Give me your hand." She gives him her hand and he kisses it. "Lady Midwife, I have in my house a married son and his wife, and she has now a heaviness in her body and in her hands and feet, and according to what she tells me, it is already seven months that she has been enduring and suffering from this sickness of her body. Lady Midwife, be good enough to give us a part of your labor according to the rites with which you have been charged. Please have the kindness to see and to care for this woman, my daughter. I have nothing to give you save this poor trifle. This poor ten pesos is for giving you the information, and to request that you begin as soon as possible to look after your patient. Lady Midwife, excuse me." Then the midwife will say whether she has time or not. "I have many patients and am not able to undertake the care and cure of this one." "Do not say that, madam. For immediately we thought of you."He kneels once more before her. Then she says, "Well then, let us see if God gives us life and time to look after this poor girl." 3 The Ave Maria, Paternoster, the Credo and In Nomine Dei in native tongue. Usually only the Ave Maria (called the jun kalamlc') and the In Nomine Dei are used. They are not translatable, being either in archaic language or a foreign dialect. PREGNANCY AND CHILDBIRTH 95 She receives the ten pesos and makes the benediction over the money, calling upon her ancestors, Then the father thanks her, and she questions him further. "Very well, sir. And what arrangements do you wish to make for my care? Will you give me my meals, or shall I prepare my own?" "It is for you to decide, Madam, what you wish." "Well then, if you take care of me and give me my meals during the days that I am looking after the girl, it will be 60 pesos ($1.00), and if I provide my meals, then it will be 200 pesos ($3.33)." If there is someone in the house to prepare her meals they pay her 60 pesos, or if this is not the case, they pay her 200 and she prepares her own meals. "Very well, sir. Now we are agreed. And my work will begin the day after tomorrow. Then will you please wait for me to come and see the girl and examine her to see how her sickness is going. Then I shall let you know how soon I shall come again." Then the father thanks her again and takes his leave and returns home. On the appointed day at four o'clock in the afternoon the midwife arrives in the house of the patient. She greets the parents, and they give her a seat inside. If they know how, they exchange the full formal greetings,4 the father with the midwife. After the greetings they give her coffee and bread, and while she is eating this they send to prepare an unoccupied room where she can go with her patient, and after she has taken her coffee she goes there. She examines the woman, but what she does I do not know; it is between the woman and the midwife. After she has finished her work she returns and sits down again in the same place and reports to the parents whether she has found the condition of the girl good or bad. And if it is bad she says to the father: "You must defend your daughter, for the bad condition of her sickness must have some meaning." "Very well, madam. Many thanks. We shall do it." Then the midwife tells them what she should do, and that she should not eat this or that. This will depend on the condition of the woman. And she tells the parents also that they should relieve the girl of much of her work, and that she should not grind, and she tells them that they must ask the girl if she wishes anything special to eat, and they tell her to ask without any hesitation for any kind of food that she may desire so that nothing may happen to her. Then the midwife tells them that when they are ready to perform the ceremony for her defense they must ask her if she has any sins to confess, so thatin the day and hour of her confinement God may not wish anything to befall her. They thank her and promise to follow her instructions, and then they serve her with food. It will be chicken, and when she comes the next time it will be eggs, and the third time it will be chicken again. The midwife comes two or three times, according to the condition of the girl. And now the hour comes. If, for instance, the woman begins to feel the pains at night, she tells her husband, and he at once tells his mother and father. Then the father sends the husband for the midwife, even though it be midnight. He goes at once, taking a bottle of aguardiente for the midwife, that she may not feel cold going out at night to see her patient. 4 Las saludas include inquiries for all members of the family, living and dead. These greetings are returned in full, with roles reversed. It takes about half an hour, sometimes longer. 96 CHICHICASTENANGO They prepare a separate room for the woman and the midwife and they go in there alone. Different midwives have different customs in caring for their patients. It may be a night or a day, or perhaps two days until the woman is delivered. If the labor is long and the woman is not able to bear her child, they call a chuchqajau to divine the cause of this misfortune, for perhaps it is because of the sins of the woman that she is being punished. And if the chuchqajau sees in his divinations that this is the case, they call the husband to whip his wife to free her. When my last child was born, my wife was in labor for more than a day and the child did not come, and then they told me that I must punish her for her sins in order to save her life. So I took the rope of her loom with which it is tied to the housepost, and with this I whipped her, but hard. And then after this the child was born quickly. As soon as the woman is delivered, they ask her and her husband what name they want to give to the child, telling them whether it is a girl or a boy. They do this before they bathe the baby, and the parents tell her what name they will give the child, and when she bathes the baby she gives it its name. Then the boy goes to call his parents and the parents of his wife, telling them what the child is and what name they have given it. The first child, if a boy, is named after the paternal grandfather, or, if a girl, after the paternal grandmother. The second after maternal grandfather or grandmother. If it is in the daytime, the boy goes to buy 10 pesos of aguardiente to give to his parents and the midwife, that they may forgive him for the trouble that they have had in the care of the woman. Then the parents say: "Now from this day you are no longer children. Now you are fully grown persons, and your eyes have been opened and you understand what marriage is. To go forward costs money. And not only money; for a while death has stood before the woman. Now do not speak evil words, and do not return to the evil deeds that you have committed before. But think how you will earn your living, for now you have received children. It is costly. And also you must care for the child by night that they may not come to carry her off to the spirits of the dead. And also you know that as soon as possible we must go to arrange her fortune with San Juan Bautista and with the saint of her name, for the light and destiny of this child." The offering of the child is two packages of copal, 9 large wax tapers for the World, and 20 small tallow candles for the church, and two large wax tapers for the two images of San Juan Bautista and the name saint of the child. These two tapers are placed beside the child for one night and on the following day they are burned before the two images. Before this they put the offerings on a little table and say: "Divine World, it is always your spirit which grants us to pause for a space here in this world and in the presence of the cold and the wind where we may go about. I shall call upon Our King, Lord Jesus Christ. For this also is the only way he left for us, to beget and live and grow, just as today my wife has been granted this fair flower. She has received her blossoming branch beneath His hands and feet on the day Thursday, and on the mystic day 12 tsikiV.5 And so it is, World, and Our Father, Christ, and those who go 5 This was the birthday, according to the occult calendar, of the informant's child. "It is a good day, the day of good fortune in money. It is a good portent for the child that she was born on this good day." In ancient times PREGNANCY AND CHILDBIRTH 97 about watching our comings and goings; here lies the destiny of one of us on this altar, over this altar. Here I place the first defense of thelight and fortune of this woman child called Manuela. For there is no way to defend her for the first time save with this little cake of copal, this little candle, this incense, these roses. This is what I leave before Our Lord Jesus Christ and our ancestors and also before our two holy images. Come hither, all. Our Lord, San Juan, at your side we place this token of the destiny of this infant. And also come hither San Manuel (the name of the saint who is the "namesake" of the child)6 May it be your pleasure to receive this innocent and protect her light and fortune. Do not let her fall; do not let her give way to the temptations of the evil spirits, or the demons of the night. Grant us this favor, and I shall again molest you in adding this other name by your side and before your presence. "You, gum and wax, incense and roses, hearken to your significance. It is that this infant has taken her position behind her mother in the white light of day, on the day Thursday and the day 12 tsiki. May nothing befall her; may she not be touched by evil fortune; may she be granted that which is hers. Perhaps it is her destiny to have wealth and good possessions; or else it is her destiny to have corn and wheat; to be a weaver or merchant. This we must accept, together with our blossoming branch, our little innocent. Should they ask you, gum and wax, in the World and before all the saints, explain your significance well. "Hail, Lord Christ, give us your hand in blessing over this offering, the first defense of this innocent." Now he pronounces the benediction over the offerings, and places the two tapers for the saints beside the child, and the other things he wraps up and leaves on the table. On the following day he gets these two candles and takes them, along with the other offerings, to a mountain, and then goes to the church, with the ancestors and before the two images, with the same prayer as that given above. That is all for the first defense of the child. And if the child should fall ill within fifteen or twenty days, the belief is that they are withdrawing the light and fortune from behind her mother and father to leave it beneath the hands and feet of the image whose name she bears. For between us, her mother and father, there may be quarrels, or, on the other hand, we may have enemies. There is nothing for us to do but to pay our fine. The fine for the sickness of the child is the same as we have already given. This is the ceremony of the child. Now begin the days of the mother. The midwife comes day after day, and we give her to eat, chicken, meat, eggs, etc. For ten days the mother is in bed, and after ten days she gets up and goes about her work, and the midwife has completed the work for which she contracted. There are some who use the sweatbath during these days, others not. This depends on the midwife. Someuse the sweatbath every day, others onthe last day only, others not at all. On the last day the midwife notifies the parents of the young people that she has finished her work, and asks them to be seated for a moment. Then they send for the father and mother of the infant, and they kneel to hear the instructions for the future. children received the name of the day of their birth, which was a symbol of their destiny. See p. 275ff. 6 See terms of relationship, p. 410. 98 CHICmHICASTENANGO "Parents, and you, young ones who have received your blossoming branch, pardon this request which I make. With the grace of God I have finished my work, this office which I have received from our ancestors, but I do not say that today is the end. No, gentlemen. You will be so good as to see that this child receives his baptism as soon as possible, so that nothing may befall him, and that he may live as a Christian in this world. You will think and name who shall be the receiver and bearer of my little daughter, that she may go to the church to receive her holy baptism. "And you, my son and daughter, my little daughter is in good health. I have finished my work. Take care of her. Speak with kind words to one another and speak with kind words to your parents, for you should have no quarrels. Now that you have a child you must respect one another and respect your mothers and fathers. You must procure work that you may earn and repay the money which your parents have spent for you, so that as time passes you may set a good example to your children. For if you do not comply fully with your important obligations you will have no right to judge your own children with the passage of time. Now you have heard, boy and girl." "Yes, madam, many thanks." We kiss the hand of the midwife, giving her our thanks, and our father and mother also. Then the parents thank the midwife for her good instructions. There are a few other words exchanged, and now the ten days of the mother are finished. But when the time comes for the child to be baptised, the midwife comes again to bathe her little daughter. Within two or three months we tell our parents that now we are ready to baptise the child, and we decide, my father and my father-in-law and I, who shall be the godfather or godmother of the child, and we appoint the day for the baptism. Then the father of the boy goes to ask this service of the father of the girl, namely that he should go within eight days to inform the godfather, and ask his good offices. The father of the boy gives five pesos to the father of the girl for him to give to the godfather when he goes to him. Parents and Children The birth of a child is an occasion for rejoicing, especially if it is a first-born child. For the birth of the first child alters the status of the parents. It cements the marriage and establishes the young people as fully mature individuals. Not only may a woman be divorced for barrenness, but a marriage that has not yet borne fruit is subject to easy disruption, and the childless youth is himself regarded as a child by his parents. The birth of later children does not have the same importance in the lives of the parents. The ideal family described in the rituals of marriage consists of six s6ns and six daughters, but let no one think that this corresponds to any real desire on the part of parents. Tomas described his father-in PARENTS AND CHILDREN 99 law's house with its procession of children of all ages and sizes disdainfully as "just like a marimba." For, although everyone wants - children, a large family is a trouble and a vexation and an expense.7 ( Furthermore one is laying up trouble for the future. A first-born son / iLA will stay with his parents to care for them in their old age, but in \ younger sons the parents are raising up rivals who will quarrel among themselves and ultimately deprive their parents of their powerand possessions. For how is a man with many sons and little land to pro- ( i ~ vide for his children? There is no expressed preference for either boy / or girl children, but although the society is patrilineal, in describing / ceremonies for birth and baptism men always invented a girl child for the central role.8 I found no corresponding preference on the part of women, but then I was usually looking at life through the eyes of men. Men say that women prefer girls. Whatever their private wishes may be, parents always accept children - their "blossoming branch" - as the gift of God, and care for them tenderly and reproach themselves if the child falls ill. There is no infanticide; that would be a violation of all their moral ideas. They do not practise contraception because they have no contraceptives, but the idea is not repugnant to the more sophisticated. I am in no position to know the attitudes of others. One informant, who knew of the existence of contraceptives among the Ladinos begged me to procure for him contraceptive drugs and offered to pay me for my trouble. He assured me there were no native contraceptives. He was obviously not concealing anything, and was in a position to know. He also told me that they knew of no abortifacients, but seemed somewhat less sure of that, suggesting that although men knew nothing of this, it was barely possible that women might. To the best of my knowledge there are no sexual taboos during the pregnancy and lactation. Marital relations are resumed at the close of the ten day period of confinement. 7 The priest performs about 125 baptisms a month, 1,500 in a population of about 25,000. This does not represent the total number of births since children are sometimes not baptised until the sixth month. The birth is registered only at the time of baptism, so that there would be no record of children who die unbaptised. 8 Perhaps it is also significant that in describing sickness and death it is invariably a son who is sick. 100 CHICHICASTENANGO Children9 It is midafternoon of a day in January, clear, still and hot. In the house Sebastian and I are working - it is some ceremony of the cofradicas that he is describing. We are called from the patio. "The woman is going to start the design in your huipil. Do you want to see how it is done?" I do want to see so we go out into the brilliant, sundrenched patio. I watch the weaving for a while, and decide that I, too, will weave. That pleases and amuses everyone. I sit down and Sebastian's wife, Tomasa, and Manuela, a girl of nine, fuss over me, showing me what to do. When I pull the wrong stick Manuela laughs and says, "No, this one." I have been visiting the house almost daily for months, so the children are no longer shy of me, but I never cease to be a strange and wonderful creature. All too soon I discover that there are very definite limits to the time I can sit on my heels, and decide to give up weaving forever. So I yield my place at the loom to Tomasa, and turn to Sebastian. "It is pleasant here in the patio. Let us continue our work here." "But, Sefiorita, the children! They will bother you. They are noisy, perhaps." "No, I like children, and it is nice to be outdoors." "Very well, Sefiorita. It will be as you wish." But he shakes his head. Obviously the patio is no place in which to discuss serious matters with a guest. Manuela is sent to bring a chair from the sala. There is a general tidying up in one corner of the portico, and finally we are settled there, and return, ostensibly, to ritual. I only pretend to listen, for I am watching the children; Sebastian would much prefer the quiet formality of the sala. Sebastian is a secretary. (He is also a chuchqajau, so his is no Ladinized household.) He hopes to make a secretary of his eldest son, now six years old, so he sends him to the Government school to learn reading and writing and Spanish. He is one of the three Indian children who regularly attend the school in this country of compulsory 9 These pages do not pretend to give an adequate picture of childslife. Based entirely on entries in my journal, they deal with the treatment of children in public places and in houses that I visited regularly over a long period. It is therefore impressionistic, not analytical. The interpretation of family structure is based on legal institutions, the unsolicited comments of informants concerning them, and the contents of rituals, especially those of sorcery. The inadequacy of the developmental picture will, I hope, be corrected by further studies. CHILDREN 101 education.'0 So only the little girl and the two babies are with their mother. The baby, an infant of a few months, is lying on a blanket in a shady corner of the patio. One of Manuela's jobs is to chase away the pig when he comes too close. He is a huge pig, but a friendly one, like all pigs that run loose. The baby is dressed like all Quiche babies in a long shirt of native cotton cloth. His legs are wrapped in various old cloths which are changed as they become soiled. The legs are then bundled up in a small thick woolen blanket, something like a saddle blanket, which is tied around the waist. He also wears a cap of native cotton which can be pulled down over the face as a protection from the sun and the evil eye. The Quich6 baby, in his tropical environment is always so well clothed that the good Padre used to complain to me that he never knew which end of the bundle to undo when it was presented to him to receive the holy oil. Presently the baby wakes up and cries. Immediately her father calls Manuela, and she takes the baby to her mother to be nursed. Tomasa nurses him without laying aside her loom, holding him on her lap, with the folds of her voluminous huipil pulled over his head. After he has finished she holds him in her arms, whacking his little rear until he falls asleep. Then he is returned to his shady corner. But he has decided he doesn't want the corner any more, and protests. He is promptly picked up, put on his mother's back and tied securely in two large square cloths. This is satisfactory and he goes to sleep at once, while his mother goes on with her work. As she bends and pulls at the loom the little head on her back bobs around, but he sleeps on untroubled. The Quich6 woman is a gentle and solicitous mother, but she never takes time off from serious occupations like weaving to play with her children, or to talk to them. There are no lullabies, no children's tales, no little games which adults play with children. Men pay no attention whatever to small babies except to call their wives when they cry. But after the children start to lead independent lives it is their fathers more than their mothers who are interested in their development. Diek (diminutive of Diego) comes in for my attentoin next. He is a sturdy youngster, always laughing and inclined to be mischievous. I was surprised when I visited the house one evening to find that Diek, although he was nearly four years old, and ate watermelon rind with relish, was not yet fully weaned. He still took the breast, especially when he was tired, and his mother, although she was nursing 10 I understand that school attendance has increased since the date of this observation. 102 CHICICASTENANGO another baby, gave him the breast at night, when he wanted to go to sleep. She nursed the other baby first. Children are never weaned suddenly. Infants are never left alone. If a child is too young to walk on long trips, he is carried on the mother's back. If there is a younger infant, the older child is carried by the father. Or if there is a young female in the house, an older child, a sister of either the husband or wife, she helps out with the babies. A child learns slowly to take care of himself, and there are no drastic methods of training for physical independence. There is little pressure on young children to control their excretions. Diekmicturatedin the middle of the patio without censure. Adults are extremely modest in regard to exposure and elimination, and, when sober, prudish in regard to sex. All references to sex are subsumed under the category malas palabres (bad words). Diek during all this time has been very busy indeed trying to wrap the kitten up in one of his mother's cloths. He doesn't seem to be getting anywhere with it, and it seems definitely indicated that the kitten is going to win in the end. Finally the kitten does win and escapes. Suddenly there is a howl of anger. Diek, in search of new adventures, had discovered his mother's loom which she had left for a moment to shell the corn for the chickens (Manuela is helping). Diek has pulled one of the sticks out of the loom and his mother jumps up and scolds him. She doesn't slap him, she isn't even angry, but his feelings are hurt and he screams. His father smiles indulgently. "His mother scolded him and he is angry." I notice that his mother doesn't get angry in turn. She goes back to her work, and presently he stops and goes to look for the kitten. It is a general rule that children are never slapped and rarely scolded, and then never in anger. When a girl is sent to a stranger to learn to spin and weave she is sent to some old woman, but the reason given for this is not that old women know better, but that they are more patient. Manuela has taken the corn and gone to feed the chickens, Diek has gone to look for the kitten, the baby is asleep, and Tomasa has gone in to start her fire for the evening meal. So Sebastian and I return to the sala and our rituals. Early Childhood When children are small, they are always with their mothers. The babies she carries on her back as she goes about her work. Older children play in the patio and accompany their mother when she goes down EARLY CHILDHOOD 103 to the creek to wash the clothes, or when she goes on her infrequent visits to neighbors. On Sundays when the family goes to town the small children sit with their mothers in patios and corridors, waiting quietly and watching the world out of their solemn black eyes. But the older children are sometimes permitted to go with their father. In the marketplace little boys and girls, the sons and daughters of the merchants, stand beside their stalls, picking up anything that is dropped, runing errands, making change and basking in their sense of importance. Whenever the Padre and myself went on a trip to another town, Santa Cruz or Solala, there was always an Indian begging a ride - they always have business in other towns - and invariably he had a child with him. On these trips the children were always quiet and unobtrusive, they made no demands and gave no signs of restlessness, even on long trips. Their fathers treated them with tender indulgence, and carried them about when they went to sleep. Manuel always took his eldest boy, a child of eight; Miguel had a favorite grandchild, a little girl of twelve. Sebastian Martin always had with him his youngest child, a boy of six, even when he went to ceremonies in the cofradias; two of the alcaldes always had their little boys with them in the courthouse. But it is not always a little boy who is favored. When I took Manuel to Solala, he took Juana, his eldest child, with him, the next time he took his little boy. When I went with Manuel to the mountains for a ceremony, Juana went with us "to help carry the things." Considering the capacity of the Indians for carrying burdens, it seemed probable that Manuel could have managed the candles and incense, and even the soda pop by himself. The little boy cried to go along, but it was decided that it was too far for him; he was only six and it was a pretty stiff climb. Juana on this occasion knew exactly how to conduct herself at the shrine; she knew when to kneel and when to rise and when to cross herself, and when it was permissible to walk around. When I offered her bread and butter from my lunch basket, she accepted it graciously, and hid it in the pine at the shrine when she thought I was not looking. (Quiche children cannot bear the taste of butter.) Her father noticed it, laughed indulgently and apologized for her. Quich6 standards of politeness do not permit even an eight-year-old child to show food preferences in the presence of a guest. 11 I suspect that eight-year-old Juana was her father's official chaperon, and that her presence was an earnest of the innocent nature of our expedition. When Miguel took me one morning at dawn to see the shrine at Poqojil, his daughter Tomasa went with us. Men always brought children with them on the rare occasions when they came to work with me at the convent. 104 CHICHICASTENANGO At home, children are present when their fathers receive guests, and they observe the ceremonious formality and elaborate courtesy of social intercourse. They hear their fathers addressed by title, listen to the long formal salutations in which the guest inquires after the health of each member of the family in elaborate figures of speech. They watch the unhurried pace of etiquette towards the request, which the guest makes on his knees, with an offering of aguardiente, and hear the gracious response. Rarely the child is taken by his father to the cofradfa, where, in an aura of candles and incense, pine needles and flowers and music, and the warm satisfying taste of the spiced atole, he sees the same forms enacted, but extended and rarified until they become a veritable apotheosis of courtesy, in which his father is a participant. At home, discipline is reduced to a minimum, and, furthermore, it is not the father who scolds. If a young child becomes annoying, the mother is called to take him in hand. A man would no more think of disciplining a young child than he would think of cooking or weaving. The stern reproof of the father is reserved for the serious affairs of later life, when it stands out with telling effect against this background of early indulgence. The children grow up remarkably docile and obedient, always eager to please their indulgent parents, or any friendly adult. They show great affection for both parents, but always prefer to go with their fathers who never scold, and who lead a varied and glamorous existence which they long to share. The indulgence towards children is so general that it is taken for granted. I never saw a child abused or roughly treated even when the parents were drunk. All white inhabitants and Ladinos agree that Indians never punish their children. This attitude of indulgence is familiar to anyone acquainted with North American Indians. The child's life is passed in his own patio, with little contact with other children. Children have few toys. I saw dolls, but the children paid very little attention to them. But they all had pets, kittens and puppies and lambs. In the plaza or in other places where large groups come together, children cling to their parents rather than seek out their own age mates. The world outside of their home is alien. Once outside of their own patio they are in an adult world, not a child's world. During early childhood sisters and brothers play together regardless of sex. A little boy plays with his sister, if he plays with anyone, rather than with a boy next door. There are no organized games, children rarely play together, and there are practically no quarrels. There are no competitive games. I saw no outward evidence of intense EDUCATION 105 sibling hostility in young children. However, when parents speak of their sons of six and three as rivals and look forward with anxiety to the inevitable struggle between them for property and power, these attitudes cannot fail to have repercussions in the relations of brothers, especially since children have no companions of their own age and share the social lives of their parents. Brothers do, as a matter of fact, become bitter rivals in later life, so bitter that they may ) practise sorcery against one another. But this rivalry does not appear ( to arise directly out of childish situations. Education The formal education of the child starts at about the age of eight. Sebastian was exceptional in sending his six-year-old son to school. The government maintains a school in the village with two branches in the cantones. "We have a Government school here. I am a secretary. I send the boy to school to learn to read and write in Castilian; but if I do not wish to send my children to school I pay a fine. For, naturally, people do not always want to send their children to school, either because they live far away or because they need the children at home to look after the sheep or to help their mothers." Universal education is the law of the country. At the time of my first visit to Guatemala, the school teachers in the town, like all other civil employees, had received no salaries for about eleven months. Every once in a while there was a formal protest, but the school teachers seemed content, and not in acute want. Their duties were not arduous. Families that did not wish to send their children to school paid a "fine." I never discovered how assiduous the authorities were in the collection of "fines." As a matter of fact I did not hear about these fines until my second visit. It was not a point about which anyone had strong feelings such as they had about work on the roads, so it is probable that the school authorities did not make their extortion too painful. The amount of the "fine" was said to be 15 pesos (25 cents) per month per family; it was not figured per child and I do not think that it was collected with any regularity. Altogether the system worked admirably. The Liberal Government pointed with pride to its advanced educational policy. A school for Indian children in every village! When I was in Guatemala City I was assured that the educational policy was fully as advanced as that of revolutionary Mexico. Moreover this wonderful system was no great drain on the country's finances. The more literate sons and daughters of provin 106 CHICHICASTENANGO cial Ladino families have honorable employment; the Indians, accustomed to coming to terms sensibly with authority, regarded these small fines as little enough to pay for the privilege of keeping their children at home to mind the sheep and help their mothers. But the school was there for those who wished professional training. So everyone was happy. In 1932, three Indian children regularly attended the school in town. Possibly more were enrolled. Two of these were the sons of secretaries. The third one I did not know. "Education" in the abstract means nothing to the Indian. For him the school is a professional school for secretaries. Literacy is and always has been treated with respect; they were a literate people before the conquest, but it is not a part of every man's education. This applies to Spanish also. Tomas Gonzales spoke and wrote fluent and colorful Spanish. A number of others were thoroughly at home in the language, and all merchants and those who had worked in fincas knew some. But the majority of the men and all of the women knew no Spanish whatsoever. Knowledge of Spanish is not a prerequisite for public office. Probably the point is rather not to know Spanish. "No hablo Castellano" may be a very useful sentence. At any rate neither the first principal nor the First Alcalde in 1931 or 1932 spoke one word of Spanish - except adios. The Secretary is the linguist of the municipality, but officially he is only an employee with no authority to represent the community in dealings with outsiders.12 But the fact that a child is not sent to school does not mean that his formal education is neglected. It is considered desirable for every man to have a trade, and careful parents accordingly see that a child learns one. If a boy has a special wish or aptitude, or if his parents want him to learn a trade, he goes to learn from brothers or friends, if they practise that trade, or else he goes to learn from strangers, and his parents pay for his instruction. And they send girls, too, to older women who are good weavers to learn to weave. If the people are good and like to teach, they will take the child for nothing; otherwise the parents pay. They do not give money, but food, bread, chocolate, etc. The parents come the first time, bringing food. They say, "Esteemed sir, we want you to teach our son to make shirts." "Very well, let him come." Then the boy comes. While he is learning his parents send food - bread, chocolate, etc. When he is finished they ask the man, "How much is it for 12 In the municipios of Chiapas, it is a recognized principle to choose as Presidente a man who knows no Spanish. Here, too, the secretaries had the real power. GROWING UP 107 your work in teaching the boy?" He will say, "Nothing," or else, "Whatever you want to give." Then they will send food again. It is the same for women. The girls go to good weavers to learn to weave. My wife weaves, but there are better weavers and I will send the little girl to one of them to learn. And I will send her to her grandmother to learn to spin, because the old women have more patience in teaching. She couldn't learn anything here, because of the interruptions of the babies. I, for instance, am a merchant and a secretary. If my son does not like my work, we talk it over and then I talk to someone who goes to the Coast or to Rabinal on business journeys, and arrange to send the boy on a trip with him. Then he will take along whatever they sell there, and bring back a carga for this man. In this way he will learn something and see what the country is like. Growing Up The transition from childhood to maturity is slow and gradual. Young children engage in certain adult activities, but full independence does not come until many years after marriage. From about the age of eight, children, boys and girls, are sent out with the sheep - almost every household in the mountains has a few sheep, and their care is entirely in the hands of children. There is a chief shepherd who may be of either sex but is usually a girl, and she has her assistants. At the fiesta of San Juan, patron of domestic animals, each family has a feast in honor of its little shepherd, who on this day rests from her labors and receives a gift of new clothing from her father. Sometimes the children go in groups of two or three, but often one child alone is responsible for the care of the animals. Children who are shy and cling to their mothers in the marketplace or the fiesta are independent and unafraid in the mountains with their sheep. In refusing his daughter to suitors it is usual for a father to say: "She is a mere child; she takes care of the sheep." There is no feeling that little girls need protection. Juana at the age of eight used to come to town alone from their home a mile away with messages from her father, and his little boy of six was sometimes sent with money to buy bread or incense in the Ladino shops. It is at about eight years of age that girls begin to learn to weave and to assume some responsibility in the household. Juana had a loom and was beginning to weave and she helped in the care of small animals. Tomasa (Miguel's daughter) at fourteen still went out with the sheep, but she could weave, and while I was there she finished a cloth with animal figures in the design, which her father asked me to buy. He said that he knew it was not very good, but Tomasa would be so pleased if I bought it since it was her first piece. I bought it and 108 CHICHICASTENANGO her father bought her some article of clothing with the money. When I returned the second year, Tomasa had begun to menstruate and was considered marriageable. She had not yet been asked in marriage, but her grandfather would tease her about marriage, and Tomasa would blush and giggle. She still herded the sheep with the younger children. Boys of the same age are going to school, if they are to be secretaries, or are learning some trade or profession. The sacristans enter the service of the church at the age of six or seven, and from then on, year after year, they spend one week in four in that service. Of course, the sacristans and the secretaries form a small minority of the youth of the town. The rest, like their sisters, spend the years of childhood and adolescence in their homes, or tending the sheep on the hills. For most boys the beginning of manhood and life outside the home is marked by conscription for public service. This is when they are fifteen years old. Each year the auxiliar or the principal del cant6n prepares a list of boys who are liable for public service, and from this list the 200 alguaciles and the 30 servants of the convent are chosen. A boy is not automatically drafted into service at the age of fifteen, because it is not the individual boy who is considered, but the household, and no household will be liable for the same service in succeeding years and each family will avoid it if it can. If the father has a cofradia or other service, his sons will not be conscripted. But assuming that he must accept this service, his life during that year of service undergoes a great change. For one week out of every four the boy associates with a large group of boys of his own age under the surveillance of an older man. They lead a sort of school dormitory existence; the conditions of life are uncomfortable, the work required of them may be exciting and adventursome or just menial and unpleasant. They may be put to cleaning latrines, or, on the other hand, they may be sent on long journeys. The boys at the convent used to be sent each week on three or four days journeys to Momostenango and the Coast, with mail, money and other things. Not one of them ever betrayed the trust. They are expected to be obedient, honest and resourceful, and they are all that. However, these positions have no dignity or prestige; they are services that only a boy is asked to perform, and for which no one is liable more than once. Even the boys will get out of them if they can. "If they do not wish to accept this 13 I have no figures on the average age of first menstruation but it is not very early. Schultze-Jena reports that on this occasion the midwife who delivered the mother is sent for, and she and the girl go into the sweatbath together. There are no other ceremonies. BETROTHAL 109 service, they pay a fine of 50 pesos," or their father pays it for them, since boys have no money. However, even the payment of a fine is not always sufficient to relieve them. The first manly service for which a youth is liable is religious service in one of the fraternities devoted to the cults of saints. This is when he is about twenty years of age, and generally he is already married. He is appointed to the lowest rank in one of the less important cofradias. He cannot buy his way out of these positions, nor does he want to, for now he is started on the path towards dignity and honor. The first appointment in the cofradias marks the boy's entrance into the ceremonial system. Here at last he has status; he is addressed by title; he has his allotted duties in the public rituals. At last he has entered as an active participant that glamorous world of ceremonious formality and elaborate etiquette and sensuous satisfactions to which, as a little boy, he was first introduced by his father. Although at home he is still a child in his father's house, in the world he has reached man's estate. Betrothal When a boy reaches the age of puberty, sometimes before, his parents begin to think of the problem of finding him a wife. SchultzeJena reports that a young man after his first nocturnal emission goes to his father to ask him to find a wife for him.l4 This is probably the ideal behavior in case the parents have not forestalled the issue by providing their son with a wife before the sexual problem arises. In actual life, however, young men show inclinations towards the casual liaisons of the market place and the estanco, and only parental pressure and the fear of the ancestors induce a boy to undertake the heavy economic and spiritual responsibilities of marriage. For there are prostitutes in the town, to be found in the estancos and at zarabandas. These women are widows, women who have repudiated former marriages, or those who have left their fathers' houses in rebellion. Contact with prostitutes is a violation of sexual morals, and is under the strictest ban of the ancestors. Years later, in case of sickness, a man will confess his youthful indiscretions, in the belief that it is for these that he is now being punished. In spite of the prostitutes, pre-nuptial chastity is the ideal for boys as well as girls. It is a rule that cannot be broken with impunity. All early writers are explicit 14 Schultze-Jena, p. 94. 110 CHICHICASTENANGO and emphatic in their statements concerning the chastity of young men, so it is possible that the prostitute is one of the blessings conferred by white civilization. The general rule in negotiating a marriage is that the father of the young man (or an elder brother or uncle, if the father is dead) goes to the father of a girl to ask for a wife for his son. Usually the initiative comes from the parents, sometimes without even consulting the boy. Sometimes the parents go to ask for a girl for their son when the boy is still small, about fourteen or fifteen years old. When they are so little the parents say, "Now we are going to look for your woman. Your mother has much work, and the woman will help her. She will wash your clothing and prepare the food and make your shirts and kerchiefs. And when she comes you must not beat her or quarrel with her and you will sleep together in the same room." But if the boy is grown up they will talk it over with him. "Now it is time for you to marry. Look around and see what woman pleases you." "No, I don't want a wife." -"But it is necessary. Your mother is getting old and needs someone to help her." - "I don't want to marry, and if you ask for a wife for me I shall go away somewhere." So they let the matter rest for a while. After some months or a year or two years they ask him again. If the boy is a man he says, "Well, all right. I like such and such a girl." And then the parents look into it and if everything is all right the father goes to ask for her. They will look first among their near neighbors, or those further off; it does not matter. If the boy has some preference for one of the girls of the neighborhood, they will look into it - whether the girl knows how to weave and grind; whether she has returned from the house of some other man - for the belief is that if a girl once fails to fulfill her marriage with a man, she will never come to terms with any other man. They look into all this, and if it is all right and there is nothing against the girl, they ask for her for him. And if she refuses they will look somewhere else. And if the boy has no preference, they will think who would make a good wife for him, and if he doesn't know her, they will point her out to him some day in the road or in the plaza before going to ask for her. But sometimes the initiative comes from the young man: If a boy wants a certain girl, he tells his father to ask for her for him. Then the father finds out about the girl, and he will consult his divining seeds to see if it is his son's fortune to marry this girl. He asks the question in the name of the girl's father, and if it does not come out positively four times he goes to a chuchqajau to make the divination for him. And if it does not come out this time, he will say to his son, "My son, it is not your fortune to marry this girl. This I have seen in the sacred bundle." "But I want her." "Well then, let us go to another chuchqajau." And if the trials come out this time, he will say, "Well, let us try." Then he performs ceremonies for his son against the parents of the girl, so that they will be induced to give up their daughter. Finally they get the marriage spokesman and go to ask for the girl. BETROTHAL 111 If a man desires a certain woman very much, he performs rites in the mountains and before the dead to call her. There are many rituals for this. And they go also to Jesus Christ, and to the two married saints who are in a certain house.15 They go there and name the name of the woman. In choosing a wife for their son the parents are governed primarily by the preference of the boy, for they know that nothing but trouble of the most serious kind will come of a loveless marriage. Usually the young people have "talked together" before any formal action is taken. Sometimes the girl's mother arranges these meetings, or the two mothers together. Or, if the young people are neighbors, they have had many opportunities to meet, for the young girls go out with the sheep and pigs up to the time they are asked for in marriage. Usually the young man has some assurance that he will not be refused before the formal negotiations are opened. But the formal refusals are gone through in any case. Economic considerations hold second place in determining the choice of a bride. The parents want a good worker, and must consider whether they are in a position to finance the full marriage ceremonies. Concerning the character of the girl the most important point seems to be whether or not she has repudiated another marriage. Residence also is considered, although on this point opinion is divided. Some believe that it is better to marry a neighbor "because then one knows about the girl, what kind of a girl she is, and if she is a good worker, and, on their side, the parents of the girl know what the man has and how things are in his house." Moreover, attachments are likely to spring up between close neighbors. But in spite of this the general opinion is that it is much better to choose a wife from far away because if her home is far away she will not go home all the time to visit, and make comparisons between her home and her husband's, and carry gossip back and forth. Above all, she will not be so likely to run away to her family at the first unpleasantness. The incest rules do not seem to be very clearly defined, compared, for instance, to the inheritance rules. One may not marry "relatives" (parientes). This rather vague category includes parents, siblings, half-siblings, uncles and aunts on both sides, first cousins. One may marry more distant relatives "if they come from far away." This probably applies to first cousins also if they do not have the same name, for one may not marry anyone with the same name. The ancient 15 These saints, called by the name Santa Esper, are the guardians of marriage and the domestic arts, especially weaving. They are two female figures who come out only once a year, on Good Friday, for the afternoon procession. 112 CHICHICASTENANGO marriage system was strict clan exogamy; the patrilineal clan was the incest group, and, except for the mother, anyone belonging to another clan was permitted, even the stepmother and the half sister by a different father. Under no circumstances did they marry with any member of their own tribe, or family, or lineage as they reckoned it, for they did not recognize as members of their family or blood those born in any other tribe or lineage, even though the woman (mother) was of their own tribe or lineage. The reason was that blood relationship was attributed only to men, so that, if a lord gave his daughter as wife to another lord, or a person of another village, even though he had no other heirs than the children of this daughter, they would have no share in this inheritance by reason of being children of another village. If a lord or son of a lord was about to marry, commonly he looked for a wife in another village, and so they contracted relationships among villages, and lived peaceably together.... In this way they married within all degrees of consanguinity, for they counted as their sisters all women of their own lineage, however remote, and even when they no longer remembered the manner in which they were related, but not so the daughters of their own mother by a different husband. And through this error they married also the sisters of their mothers, but not of their fathers. They married their sistersin-law regardless of whether they had children. And, under certain circumstances they also married their stepmothers, without suffering any punishment or uneasiness. although such cases occurred rarely.16 The present rules of marriage seem to show the ancient clan system in disintegration. The preference for a mate from another canton, the prohibition on marrying anyone of the same name17 (names descend in paternal lineage), the acceptance of blood relatives "if they come from far away," and, the strong emphasis on patrilineal inheritance if the daughter has left her father's house and his local group, all hark back to a time of unilateral descent with patrilocal residence, which, in a sedentary people means patrilineal exogamous groups. The disintegration of the clan system is further evidenced in the decay of the kinship terminology, in which the terms for all collateral relatives, except siblings, have been lost.18 After all of these things have been taken into consideration, the father and son are now agreed about the girl. The father is satisfied that there is nothing against the marriage; the son perhaps has reached some understanding with the girl, or at least is satisfied with her looks. They have performed ceremonies to ensure the success 16 Las Casas, Apologtica Historia, pp. 624-5. 17 In Chiapas the prohibition against marrying an individual with the same surname (Spanish and Indian surnames are used together) is general. 18 See table of kinship terms, p. 410. CEREMONIES OF MARRIAGE 113 of their quest; these ceremonies are all directed towards overcoming the resistance of the father of the girl, for he now is the crucial factor. Frequently, before going on to the formal request, the father of the girl is approached informally and an agreement is reached. The first offer is always refused; this gives the girl's father a chance to make his investigations of the economic, emotional and occult possibilities of the match. The girl also goes through the forms of refusal, knowing, even if she has decided to accept the man, that this will be a talking point later on. It is probably at this point that the girl's mother drops some hint to the father of the girl's feelings in the matter. And now the parents of the girl, on their part will look into it when someone comes to ask for their daughter, to see whether the boy has something, whether he is a good worker, or has some trade or profession; and they will assure themselves that he has no debts and that he has not rejected any other woman and that he does not carry on with women in the streets, and that he does not drink. And if everything is all right, then they accept him. The father of the girl always refuses the first time. Then right away he finds out about the boy, who he is and if he will make a good husband for his daughter. And he asks the girl what she thinks. Then he goes to a diviner to make the divination to see whether it is her destiny to marry this man. And the girls too, when their fathers say that they have been asked for, they will say, "No, I don't want any man. I would rather go away with a Ladino. He will give me my clothing and everything. I don't want a husband." Obviously the girl does not expect to be any better off as a prostitute among the Ladinos, but it is a threat against the prestige of the parents that is effectual. Contact with Ladinos is considered a great disgrace. The threat of children to run away works in other societies, too.19 Ceremonies of Marriage And now our marriage customs.20 They come to ask for a girl on a Thursday - or else on a Monday, but better on Thursday. The father of the boy comes with the marriage spokesman (chinimtal)21 very early in the morning, about two or three o'clock. They enter the patio, and stop to salute the four cardinal points, in remembrance of the ancestors of the house, and to ask their pardon in coming into their house to ask for their daughter. 19 The economic aspects of marriage have been discussed, pp. 25ff. 20 This somewhat idealized account is translated from a Quiche text. 21 See p. 79 for the explanation of the position of the chinimtal. 114 CHICHICASTENANGO The chinimtal: "My Father Christ, and you also, mothers and fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers of the mother and father of this house. We are about to enter this house wherein we have seen a woman's skirt, a woman's blouse belonging to you, her mothers and fathers. Give us this girl child of yours, mothers, fathers." (This is repeated to the east, west, north, south.) Then they enter the house and the chinimtal speaks again. "Pardon us, madam, pardon us, sir. Please lend me a little table and a bench." If they do not want to give them the girl, for they know that is why they have come, they say, "We have no table," but if they are willing to listen they bring a table and the chinimtal puts the cacao on it, and speaks again. "Pardon our intrusion in entering this house. As for me, I am a chinimtal. It is my profession to bespeak the seven favors, the seven blessings when it is said: 'May you have six daughters, six sons,' for these are the seven blessings. We have seen behind you your girl child. As for us, we have a son who already understands how to copulate with a woman. On account of this we have come, our mother, our father. Forgive our intrusion. We are well fixed in our house; we have all that is necessary for our food - we have our chile, our salt, our tamales, our soap. Look on us with pity! Pardon our trespass, but the joining together in wedlock was established by Our Father Jesus Christ, who gave His Body to suffer torment and agony. He it was who gave us the sacrament of our marriage; He gave Himself to be hung upon the Cross, supported by three nails, through the treachery of Judas. He is Our Father, who on Holy Thursday and Good Friday ascended the Cross over the monument before the sacred veil of the temple;22 on Good Friday He, Our Father, Jesus Christ, descended from the Cross of His Passion. He it was who won for us sons and daughters leave to carry on our race. This is what we ask: 'Give us the girl child of this house. Pardon our faults! Take us and hold us in your hearts.' The father of the girl: "Pardon our faults, mother, father! I'll not give her to you. Our child is too small; she is not strong enough to hold up a man. No, go to some other house. As for me, I'll not give her to you, even if you go down on your knees, mother, father. There is no need to discuss or argue this further." The chinimtal: "Pardon our faults! We will win her yet, even if we have to come four, five times, and endure whips and lashes. We shall return next Thursday. Do not shut the door of your house to us." The father of the girl: "As for you, if you wish you may come to me on your knees like a penitent, but I will not give you our child. We have only this one daughter." The chinimtal: "We have already told you the day. Now we are going. God be with you." The father: "Go in peace. Do not fall in the road." Now the parents consult the girl, and ask her if she wants to marry this man and she says no. The following Thursday the chinimtal returns. The greetings are the same, and again he asks for a table for the cacao. "Pardon our intrusion, our mother, father, that we have returned again 22 The allusion is to the ceremonies of Holy Week, in particular, the exposure of the Sacrament during the night between Thursday and Friday. The Indians do not recognize any other "Sacrament." CEREMONIES OF MARRIAGE 115 to your house and the sacred place of your fathers and mothers. You will recall that we left with you certain words last Monday, the holy day of the spirits. Today is Thursday, the holy day of our Father Sacramento, and our Mother Ascencion. What have you decided concerning the girl child in your house and sacred place? What have you decided?" The father: "Yes, chinimtal, kalpul, this is how it is. Today I asked the word of our child, 'Will you go, little one? What shall we say to these suitors?' And today our child said, 'Pardon my faults, father. I won't go. But if you give me to them by force, then I shall run away along the highways and footpaths.' " There are a few more words, and then they leave. The departure is the same. Now if the suitors wish, they return four or five times. Now let us suppose that they decide finally to give them the girl. The entrance is the same; they have come back for the third time. Then the chinimtal speaks: "We have come back again, even though we did not expect to come, mother, father. Yet today is the day. What have you decided concerning us?" The father of the girl: "Well, it is like this. Today I thought, I am her father. I have thought in my heart that she might go. We shall see. I shall watch and listen whether you treat our daughter well. But if there are any complaints or quarrels, there are the courts of law. But first you will go, chinimtal, for you are a mediator by profession. But if there are no quarrels between them, then thanks be to God." The chinimtal: "Pardon our faults, mother, father. As for us, we have placed here on this table, beneath this table a bit of the shade of Our Father, Christ, this taboo cacao. We leave it here in this house as a remembrance for our girl child whom you have given to us. As for us, we shall be the ones to take care of her since you have given us our desire. Let us now give thanks to God and to your mothers and fathers. Only let us go and present ourselves to them, since now we have been received into this house." This is the ceremony of the cacao. Now the chinimtal speaks again: "Now the next thing which I, the chinimtal, must do: within two months we shall return again, if God grants us good health, and to you also, mother, father. May there be no sickness or misfortune. On the holy day Monday we shall return. But we shall let you know in case there be any sickness." Now they ask permission to leave and they go. Now after two months they come again. The first time the father and the mother of the boy come, and the chinimtal comes with them, for perhaps they will not know what to say. When they enter, the greetings are the same. Then the father of the boy or the chinimtal speaks: "Pardon our faults, mother, father, that we have intruded in your sacred house and place. Indeed I am not a messenger or a representative of the authorities (even though I have come unbidden). No, it is only that today is the day, the hour which we appointed for this word or two of our traditions. And, indeed, do you think that in coming here we have brought you nothing? No indeed, we have brought our food and drink, our yellow corn, our white corn, prepared with condiments and spiced sauces, bread and chocolate, a few trifles to be divided in this housewhere lives our girl child, and as a remembrance for our girl child. It is a poor, unworthy offering, but they were poor also, our mothers and fathers, when they went about in this white light of day. Now they have passed on, and we have fallen into the trap 116 CHICHICASTENANGO which they have set for us.23 For thus indeed we have come to see her, the watcher and listener, the woman's skirt, the woman's blouse within this house. And if there is no sickness we shall continue to do as we do now, for it is our lot to pay and suffer. There is nothing for us to do but give you this poor bit, this scrap of food and drink." The father of the girl: "Many thanks to you, mother, father, and thanks also to God for this food and drink. Four times, five times thanks. And now pardon us, and wait for us a moment, mother, father, and let us give you something to eat." So they wait for lunch, and they eat together, and after they have eaten they talk a while about other things. Then the father of the boy asks permission to leave, and tells them that they will return again in two months. And so they give thanks and leave. They do this five or six times, at intervals of two months. After the first time the chinimtal does not come, only the parents, or perhaps only the mother of the boy. Then the father comes again to tell the girl's parents that now they are ready to take the girl. And if they are rich people, then they make a big feast of this; they bring four or five large jars of atole and many other things to eat, and they make of this a happy fiesta. When they come, the entrance and the greetings are the same. Then the father of the boy speaks: "Pardon our intrusion, mother, father. This is the day, this is the hour which we have appointed according to the words of the traditions which we carry in our minds and hearts. For now we are going to take and carry off our daughter. Have you talked this over with your helpmeet and companion? And with your daughter?" "Very well, I have heard the words of our traditions, mother, father. It is that now we must hand over to you our girl child. Pardon our faults, mother, father. Give us another month, for perhaps she has not yet finished weaving her clothing. This is what we have thought, I and my children." "Very well, we shall come as soon as we can, if there is no sickness." And now after a month they come for the girl. This time the boy himself comes with them for the first time. He carries a load of firewood for the sweatbath, and bunches of various aromatic leaves to be used in the sweatbath for the parents of the girl. His father carries a basket of food and his mother carries a jar of puliq, and other relatives and friends carry jars of atole. There are the usual greetings, and then the father of the boy speaks: "Pardon me, mother, father, that I have intruded in your house, together with my companion and my child. This is the day, this is the hour which we have appointed. Today we come bringing food, only this poor bit of food and drink, this bit of spiced sauce for the carrying away of our daughter who is in this house and sacred place of the ancestors. And also our son has come bringing these branches of trees and these potent leaves.24 Thus we have come, mother, father." "Yes, mother, father, we have heard your words of this ceremony which we obtained from God, who left it before this heaven and earth." Then they eat, and after they have eaten they give thanks in the usual way. Then the father of the boy speaks: 23 The girl is the "trap" by which they have been caught. 24 The leaves are medicinal, cosd occulta, to cleanse the bereaved parents of their sadness. HUSBANDS AND WIVES 117 "Pardon our faults, mother, father. Now we are going; leaving this behind us to take away your sorrow. But we are not carrying her away to death but to marriage, to the seven favors, the seven blessings, and to bear daughters and sons, as has been decreed by God. Pardon us, but perhaps she has some cloths or other things which she is taking out and carrying along. Her husband will carry them for her." They call the girl and she comes and kneels in front of them. Then her father speaks to her: "Listen to me! Be diligent in all things. Be prompt in getting up and prompt in sitting down at the grindstone and the loom. Look after your man and wash his clothing, and wash his kerchiefs and his sashes. And also listen to the words of your mother and father, and do as they bid you." The girl answers, "Yes, father." The mother of the girl speaks to the mother of the boy: "Take good care of our child, and if anything is amiss, send for us." "Yes, mother. We shall look after her. Do not be sad, we shall take care of her." This ends it, and so they go, taking the girl with them. Husbands and Wives "And so they go, taking the girl with them." The girl theoretically has left her father's home forever, severing her obligations and forfeiting her rights to inheritance, to enter a strange house as the wife of a man whom she has never seen and does not want. Conventionally, she goes unwillingly, her heart full of resentment towards hqr husband and her parents, ready to accuse them all of having conspired together to sell her into this unwelcome relationship. This conventional behavior does not necessarily represent the true state of her feelings. But the readiness of the bride to take offence is what, in the minds of men, dominates the early days of marriage. When the reluctant bride arrives in the house of her husband, to which she will henceforth ove all her allegiance, his fanlJy is confronted with the problem of how to keep her there and make her perform all the duties of a wife and daughter in that house. This they try to do by a combination of kindness and vigilance. If they are good people, when the girl first comes to stay in her husband's house they do not put her to work right away. They let her stay in the patio looking on. For two days they do not put her to grind and they do not give her anything to weave, and they do not order her to prepare the meals. She only watches the way things are done in the house; at what hour they have breakfast, and what they havq for breakfast and for dinner, and at what hour they have dinner. Then oH the third day they give her her work. And another thing: When the girl once goes to the house of her husband they do not let her go back to her own house to visit. She goes back, of 118 CHICHICASTENANGO course, but only very little, and only when she has some errand there; and then they always tell her to come right back. Because if she goes back there just to visit every day, she will gossip and tell her people about what goes on in her husband's house, and about the clothing they have, and the quarrels and complaints. And if the man is really a man he will not allow this. And when one has one's wife, if the girl does not wish to have sexual relations with her husband, the father of the man goes to perform a ceremony for his son before those two married saints that I told you of.25 In early times the bride was met at her husband's house by old women (midwives, perhaps?) who instructed her in the duties of marriage, especially the physical obligations.26 I found no survival of this part of the marriage rites at the present time. Schultze-Jena reports that at a girl's first menstruation the midwife who officiated at her birth is summoned to go with the girl into the sweatbath, and presumably to instruct her in matters pertaining to sex and marriage.27 There is no concealment of the facts of life, and a girl, though reared in chastity, goes to her marriage knowing what is expected of her. The speeches at the marriage ceremonies are exceedingly explicit concerning the sexual aspect of marriage. However, if a girl has been forced into a marriage that she does not want, she withholds conjugal rights. That such resitance on the part of the bride is not unusual, is indicated by the fact that my informant volunteered the information unasked, along with information on how her work is planned for her. The woman is not forced, but she may be divorced. In former days the husband of an unresponsive wife, like the husband who had been betrayed, took a slave as concubine: "And in this same way they punished women who would not live with their husbands, in spite of having been reproved many times. "28 It is impressed upon the young people that procreation is the purpose of marriage, and an ideal of fertility is held up to them which they do not have the least desire to emulate. But although the average young man's picture of the ideal family is scarcely that of the rituals, children in moderation are desired, and the barrenness or unwillingness of the woman is legitimate grounds for divorce. The economic obligations of a married woman to her husband's household have been described. The bride is not only the wife of her husband, but she is also the daughter of his parents, and to them she 25 It is characteristic of Quiche family life that it is the father who deals with this delicate situation. 26 Las Casas, p. 625. 27 Schultze-Jena, p. 92. 28 Xim6nez, p. 98. HUSBANDS AND WIVES 119 owes the same filial obedience and unquestioned loyalty that she was wont to give her own parents. She calls them by the same terms as she calls her mother and father, and the last instruction which she receives when leaving her own home is to be submissive to her new parents' will. At the first signs of pregnancy the young wife turns not to her own mother, but to her husband's mother, and it is the husband's father who arranges for her care and performs the ceremonies for her protection. Within the household the mother wields the same absolute authority over the work of the women as the father does over his sons. She plans the meals and assigns the work to her daughters. And just as the young man must render deference to his elder brother who will one day take his father's place, so the young wife must yield priority to the wives of elder brothers. The husband has less to say concerning the duties and privileges of his bride than has his brother's wife. Nor is all peace among the women any more than among the men. If the young wife is well dressed, her sisters are envious and feel that they have been slighted, or accuse her of immoral conduct; if she is poorly dressed she is reproached for her bad weaving. If she is talkative, she is called a gossip; if she is silent, she is accused of pride. If she neglects her husband, she is a bad wife; if she is obviously attached to him, she shows an indecent interest in sex. For the newly married couple there is no privacy, no delicacy, no consideration. Their most intimate relationships are made a subject for jealous and malicious comment. The people who live together in one house are continually getting in each other's way and on each other's nerves. This difficult domestic picture is well described in the public confessions that form part of the ceremonies accompanying the division of the inheritance.29 Nor is friction the result of the physical arrangements of housing. As a matter of fact the Quiche house is more spacious and affords more privacy than is usual among primitive peoples. One need only compare this picture with that presented by any New Mexican pueblo where extended families live in perfect harmony under one roof. Years of residence in a large family in Zuni - there were ten adults and thirteen children in this family and they all lived together - failed to reveal to me a single instance of quarrelling within the family group. The women shared the work of the house without anyone to direct them, as the men shared the outside work; and all the thirteen children were equally loved by all. Often I went to sleep in a room which I shared with some eight or ten people of both sexes, with a sense of inviolate privacy, and with the conviction that the conjugal 29 See pp. 133ff. 120 CHICHICASTENANGO life of the four married couples who customarily shared the same sleeping apartment was equally inviolable. But then Zuni family life is predicated on the assumption that all blood relatives love each other, and only wish to work together for their common good and be happy together. They reserve opprobrium for their neighbors. It is not to be understood that the average Guatemalan household presents a picture of open warfare, nor does one have to dodge flying dishes in coming in and out of doors or listen to voices raised in abuse and anger. For the ancestors and "the idols" stand ready to punish the blows or harsh words that violate the sanctity of the house. The injured "weep before the idols" demanding revenge, and the ever present fear of sorcery stays the free expression of antagonism. Within the house quiet and dignity prevail. All intercourse is marked by elaborate etiquette. There is a clear distinction in manner between those privileged to command and those whose duty it is to obey. The father commands his children, and they reply respectfully. If the occasion is one of formality or ritual, children kneel when addressing their parents, and in speaking Spanish or in rendering into Spanish the texts of their speeches they use the formal address (Usted and Ustedes) in speaking to the parents. Proper names are never used as terms of address, except to young children. Between husband and wife behavior is only slightly less formal. Here the husband issues commands, and the wife acquiesces respectfully. They also never use proper names in speaking to one another. The husband always addresses his wife as ali (girl, hence "daughter"), the woman addresses her husband as ald (boy, hence "son"). Although I visited almost daily a household where antagonism was so intense that it twice flared into open violence, I witnessed no quarrels and heard no disputes. All was outwardly quiet and formal. This superficial calm prevails in all households, although family life is invariably described as bitter and discordant. Only the sullen and unsmiling formality, the grudging acquiescence to requests, the complete lack of all enthusiasm, spontaneity and hospitality betray the tension that lies beneath the smooth surface of respectful courtesy. In this atmosphere of jealousy, antagonism and spite, the bride and groom, scarcely more than children, inexperienced in sex, make their first marital adjustments. With the birth of the first child, marriage enters upon its second phase and assumes a new dignity, for it is believed that only with the birth of a child is the marriage fully consummated, and only then do the young people cease to be children and become fully responsible and mature persons. This attitude is expressed in the words of the father of the house when he hears that HUSBANDS AND WIVES 121 his daughter-in-law has been safely delivered of a child: "Now from this day you are no longer children. Now you are fully grown persons, and your eyes have been opened and you understand what marriage is. To go forward costs money. And not only money; for a while death has stood before the woman. Now do not speak evil words, and do not return to the evil deeds that you have committed before. But think how you will earn your living, for now you have received children from the hand of God." A new crisis is precipitated in marriage when a young man decides that the time has come to demand from his father his share of the inheritance, since he is competent to set up a separate house for his wife and children, and need no longer submit to the indignities of life in his father's house. This move must be discussed first with the wife, or she may shame him before his parents by refusing to go and by questioning his ability to make a home. "And then he will go away to a finca or to some other town, for he will have no stomach to remain longer in that house." But the wife who is loyal to her husband and who understands the responsibilities of marriage will support him in his struggle for independence. The wife has her own reasons for wishing to leave the parentalroof. "'It is for him to decide, father. If he is able to provide our necessities, I shall do my share, for he is my husband, and I shall follow him wherever he goes...' This is the word of the woman if she is intelligent." It is only after the young people are established in their own home that the marriage relationship reaches its full flower. Their union has survived the trials and pitfalls of early years, the difficulty of the first adjustment, the disrupting influence of parental and fraternal jealousy and criticism, and the painful struggle for independence. From these struggles the married couple emerge as partners in all the material and spiritual concerns of life. Husband and wife are mutually dependent and mutually respectful. There is a strict division of labor and a scrupulous regard for individual rights in property. When a man praying for the restoration of lost money says "My poor wife! They belonged to us both alike, these dimes and quarters which I have lost!" he does not mean that the wife has any control over his money, but rather that they are partners in all things. The con- \ ventional behavior is for the man to command and the woman to > obey; he may even beat her occasionally when he is drunk, although this may have serious consequences. But the woman shares all her / husband's responsibilities and honors. The wife accompanies her l husband on all formal visits; she is frequently present when he receives guests and discusses business or political affairs. She is 122 CEHCHICASTENANGO always treated with deference by her husband's guests; her opinion is considered even in such occult matters as the kind of ceremony which should be performed for a sick child, and the relative merits of different practitioners. Altogether the status of a married woman among the Indians is much more dignified and honorable than among the Ladinos. Marriage Ideals Although marriages are arranged by parents ostensibly against the will of the principals, marriage is regarded as a sacrament in the true meaning of the word, "the outward and visible form of an inward and spiritual grace." In ritual the designation for the wife is nu sanu sacramentu or nu mij (my blessing). The Quiches conceive marriage ideally not as a voluntary contract between individuals or families but as a mystic union between a man and a woman so complete that, so long as the marriage endures, the two partners act with one body, think with one mind and feel with one heart. This is the ideal of marriage that they keep before their eyes, and which is reflected in their rituals. When a girl child is baptised, they lay upon her all the obligations of the public services in the courthouse and the cofradias: "My little girl, my daughter, Manuela, may your light and fortune be revealed. Listen to what I tell you. The first labor of our departed mothers and fathers was that of alguacil,3 first, alguacil, second alguacil. This service will touch you through marriage with a man who for twelve months is liable for this service. And also the service of the four or five mayoress1 of the cofradias...' and so he goes on to name all the services in the fourteen cofradias and also all the services of the municipality, for all of these things touch a woman when she marries." Only a married man is regarded as a complete person. On all strictly formal occasions, such as the rituals in the cofradias a man is invariably accompanied by his wife, even when the woman has no part in the ceremonies. When the mayordomo summons the secretary to a meeting of the cofradia he goes accompanied by his wife, and the wife of the secretary goes with him to the meeting. The same applies to the wife of the chuchqajau at the public ceremonies that conclude 30 The lowest grade in the municipal services. See p. 177 31 The lowest rank in the cofradias. See pp. 164ff. MARRIAGE IDEALS 123 the initiation of a novice. The women take no active part in these ceremonies, even as assistants, but their presence is considered necessary. When the chuchqajau gives the novice instructions for the final ceremonies he tells him to get "two married couples" as his assistants. The actual wording of the formal greeting that is exchanged between participants in any ceremony whenever they enter or leave a room, at every corner of a procession and at the completion of every stage in a ceremony is, literally, "There, married one." (child jukla, Sp. all casado.) An extreme expression of this sentiment of unity between husband and wife is found in the initiation ceremonies of a chuchqajau. The profession of chuchqajau is a sacred profession; the practitioner must have a vocation which has been manifested in dreams and in sickness, he is believed to have personal occult power in divination. But at the concluding ceremonies in which the sacred bundle is finally delivered and the final sacrifices are performed, his wife participates in all the ceremonies, not as an assistant, but as an initiate. Throughout the ceremonies they are referred to as "the young couple who are to receive the vara."32 The woman drinks of the consecrated liquor in which the seeds used in divination have been washed: "... he divides the aguardiente in two equal parts and gives them to those who are to receive the vara, the husband and the wife, and they drink." At the shrine in the mountains when the fowl are sacrificed: "those who are to receive the vara kneel down, each holding two fowl, but the man holds the two hens and the woman holds the two cocks." Finally, at the close of the ceremonies: "the chuchqajau requests those who have received the sacred bundle to kneel in front of him, and he gives them instructions in the care of the sacred bundle, how often and on what days they should burn their candles and burn incense, and tells them that now that they have received the sacred bundle they must not quarrel together, the man and his wife, and the young people with their parents, for if evil words and complaints lie between them, then they will seek their ancestors through the medium of their ceremonies."33 Whenever a man performs a rite of sorcery he warns his wife, for she is in danger from this ceremony as much as he. "But before doing anything I call in a diviner to confess to him my sins, if I have any, or to confess to him if I have engaged in any quarrels with any 32 Vara, insignia of office, used for the canes of the alcaldes, the silver standards of the mayordomos, and the divining kit of the chuchqajau. 33 That is, the offended one will weep before the vara. The vara is a dangerous blessing that can be turned against its owner. 124 CHICHICASTENANGO persons, especially with my wife or relatives, and, above all, my parents, and my wife also does this. If the woman does not wish to cleanse herself of all her sins it is not so serious for her, but for me it is essential." And after the ceremony has been performed, "I call my wife and say to her: 'Come child, sit down a moment and listen... That which I have done today take into your head, together with that which I shall tell you of the undertaking which I have begun with reference to the man who had me imprisoned in Santa Cruz. You have seen, you have heard what he did, and how much suffering he caused me. The fine which I paid for my release on account of this man drove me into debt. And also on account of him I may have to be remiss in your allowance, and in buying your clothing, child.' - 'That is true. It is necessary, of course, that you repay your debts; as for my clothing, no one is going to die on account of that, if only there is no lack of food for the children.' 'That is all right. As for our food, I shall take care of that. I only say to you about your clothing and your expenses I may be a little remiss in that. But there is no need to worry or sulk about that. Furthermore there should be no conversation about what has happened or what is wrong in our house. And do not intrude into my ceremonies - for I have performed ceremonies against that man, that he may realize the words and thoughts which he entertained against me, and also not repeat the wrong which he did to me. Have you heard, child? And perhaps I may scold you about our things, or reprove you for not getting up early, but you must not be angry with me on account of this, nor must you hold it against me in your heart.34 Do not inject yourself into this dangerous ceremony. Have you heard, child? " And, on the same presumption of spiritual unity between husband and wife, in cases of sickness of misfortune the man hopes that the supernaturals may communicate with him through his wife. "Now I have made arrangements with the World, child. Perhaps there will be some sign to me through you (in your dreams). Tell me, that I may know what evil it is that has touched me." This complete spiritual union is what marriage should be, but rarely is. The sense of sin that hangs like a dark cloud over all their comings and goings arises in part from the feeling of having fallen from grace, in having violated by some act or word or secret thought, the sanctity of marriage. Adultery, harsh words and sexual repulsion are all violations of marriage. The overt act is no more serious in its social and spiritual repercussions than the secret longing. The idea 34 For if one's heart is not pure in all things when one performs an act of sorcery, one will fall oneself into the trap which was set for another. MARRIAGE IDEALS 125 is not wholly unfamiliar to us - "He who looketh upon a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." But although the concept is the same, the conclusions which are drawn from it are different. If a man is sick for a long time and does not get well, the belief is that until he has confessed his sins to his wife he will not get well. The sick man, remembering his sins, speaks to his parents and his wife:35 "Indeed it is true that I have my sins, committed in the streets; and from thence this sickness, I tell you, my beloved wife and also my mother, my father. Pardon me. Or else give me the whip to rid me of these discomforts. For it is true that I have sinned; I have spoken foolish words, evil words and have behaved badly. Perhaps for this I have been touched by this sickness and pain. But pardon my sins. This I say to you, also. And I ask favor beneath the feet of Our Father Christ that He also may pardon me. Come hither, my father, my mother, my beloved wife. Give me your hands; pardon me, I kneel before your presence. I will not commit these sins again. Only do me the favor to give me the whip." They answer him, whether they will whip him or not. The father or the mother speaks: "Son, what is it that you have done? Do I hear that you have been foolish?... Perhaps we pardon your sins, but your beloved wife, ask her whether she will pardon you." The wife speaks: "I shall not say anything to you. Perhaps you desire those with whom you have spoken. That would not be good. You see that. I am here with you; you see that. Or, if you wish me to leave. I shall go." "No, my beloved wife, I will not do this again. Forgive my sin. I did this long ago and I no longer have any memory of that. Pardon my faults, I shall not do this again. As a sign I ask that you give me the whip, and you also, my mother, my father. Grant me pardon, do this for me, for I was foolish. Give me your hand." "You must know if you act well now merely because you are sick, or if you have really become calm. As for me, I shall preserve my good will, here in my heart and soul." "Indeed I will not do it again..." The parents: "Very well, we shall pardon you. But if you do it again and if I hear of it, I will have you called before the court and have you put in jail for fifteen days, and every day they will take you out and put you to work for the alcalde. Hear what I say! The woman has already pardoned you. Now if you are able you must go to leave your offering with Our Father in Calvario..." When the young man goes to make his offering, he goes into his sins in detail, naming the woman with whom he has had intercourse. "It would not do to name them to his wife, for that would only make further trouble between them. It is enough if he tells her that he has sinned." 35 From a Quiche text. "Sins committed in the streets" is the conventional euphemism for visiting prostitutes. 126 CHICHICASTENANGO It is not only adultery that is punished by sickness. If I am ill and do not get well in spite of taking many remedies, perhaps it is because of failure to give thanks to the idols one has in one's house, or it may be because of some secret or hidden thing that has been done in one's house before one's sacred things. Let us suppose this to be the case; that I have gone to a diviner, and the divinations have revealed this... Then I return to my house and say to my wife, "Child, this is what the diviner said to me: 'We have made complaints and vexations here', he says. Perhaps it is true that we have done this. I have beaten you and quarreled with you, but you will pardon my sin." I kneel before the woman, in front of the sacred bundle on the table. "Tell me, was your mind troubled when I beat you? Do me the favor to give me your hand." I kiss the right hand of the woman. She says, "Indeed it is true; what the diviner told you was true. It is true that I have wept within this house and before your sacred bundle saying what you said when you drank cguardiente and also what you did to me. Only tell me whether there is another woman to whom you have gone. That I ask you." "No, do not think that. Only pardon my transgression. It is as you have said, but I do not have any other woman. It is only that I am crazy when I drink aguardiente. Pardon me; I will not do it again." Even disloyal thoughts may bring their punishment of sickness. The following quotation is taken from the ritual of initiation of a chuchqajau. The account is autobiographical. After the divinations have revealed the man's sickness is a manifestation of his vocation for the sacred office, before the ceremonies can precede he must make a full confession before his parents, his wife, and the chuchqajau who will initiate him. After confessing minor thefts, and quarrels with his father, he continues: "And is that all you can think of? For you do not want to die, boy." "That is so, sir. Only this one other thing: in regard to my wife, there are times when she no longer pleases me. Every day I am disgusted by her body, and I only wish that she should return so that I could look for another, sir." "Aha! Now this is not good, that you wish to separate. Now today I put this before your mind. As for women, they are all the same." He speaks to the boy's father. "And, sir, was not this woman pleasing to him when you chose her?" "Yes, sir, when we chose her he said: 'It is all right.' So he said to us." "Aha! So now if you want to separate from your wife, boy, it will be no sin before God. For on account of this this sickness will never leave this house, because none of the things we do will be of any avail."36 Now the father speaks, "That is right, sir. Pardon our faults. And now what do you say, boy? Will you take this to heart, or will you go down to your death?" The boy kneels down before the diviner and says, "Dear sir, par'don my faults. I am crazy to act this way." 36 Divorce is permissible, but disharmony is an offense to the ancestors. MARRIAGE IDEALS 127 "Very well. And what do you say to this, sir? Do you pardon the sins of your son?" "I do, sir, if only he does not repeat them and remains as he is, sir. No, he shall not die because of this." "Very well. And you, daughter, what do you say to your husband? Do you pardon his sins?" "Why yes, sir. Only let him say whether he wishes to remain as he is, or wishes to find himself someone else. He must not remain sick because of this. As for me, I shall go somewhere else, sir." "Oh no, do not say that, daughter. Well, what do you say to your wife, boy? You have heard what she says?" "Yes indeed, sir. It is I who am crazy, but I shall not do it again." "Very well. Now kneel down before your parents and also before your wife." Now is he is able he kneels down, or if he cannot, then he just kisses the hands of his parents and his wife, and asks their pardon. Now the diviner consults the seeds to see whether it would be good to punish the boy with the whip or not, since he has openly declared all that is in his heart. All of these pictures of the erring husband and the forgiving wife reveal the quality of feeling and the delicacy of adjustment that is ultimately achieved in Quiche marriage. For the wife must forgive and forget if the marriage is to continue. And the wife generally does forgive, because it is on the sin of the flesh and not on the violation of rights that the whole situation hinges. The husband has been judged by his ancestors, and is being punished for the secret sin which he harbors. It is the duty of the wife and his parents to confess him and free him from this punishment. It is not they who judge him. These incidents are remarkable for the complete absence of jealousy as a motive. The mildness of the woman is not simply an idealized picture. In all the rituals for sorcery which I collected, in all the divinations which reveal the malice of an enemy, there is not a single reference to sexual jealousy as a cause of ill will. Envy, greed, resentment of physical injury, quarrels over boundaries and titles, rivalry between brothers occur over and over, but sexual jealousy never. The absence of jealousy in conjugal relations was remarked by Ximenez, Las Casas and other early writers: In regard to this they had another custom. Husbands, if they believed their wives had betrayed them, and if they knew who was the adulterer, would not denounce them, but they would take a bird of the kind they used for sacrifices, and give it to the woman and her lover and tell them that they should sacrifice it at a certain temple and there confess according to their style of confession. And thus the injured one was satisfied, and they regarded as a holy person one who was content with such vengeance.37 37 Las Casas, Apologitica Histori4. 128 CHICHICASTENANGO Why, in this mild and forbearing conjugal relationship do men beat their wives? For they do beat their wives, all of them, even the cultivated and urbane Manuel admitted that he, on occasions, had beaten his wife. I, myself, have never seen an Indian abusing a woman, but it is mentioned too frequently to be a rare occurrence. Ladinos describe it as a regular part of Indian marital relations. It is not as if violence towards women were regarded as a male prerogative. It is not, as the foregoing quotations prove. It is a sin, and a sin which may have serious consequences. A man may lose his wife that way, or much worse may happen. Brutality in domestic relations is a violation of the sacredness of the house, and the woman may "weep before the idols." From these things come sickness and misfortune for oneself and one's children. No man can give a reasonable answer to the question, "Why do you beat your wife?" It is significant that in the confessions the man never gives any reason or offers any justification, except one: "I was drunk. I didn't know what I was doing. I will never do it again..." He never says, "I was jealous," or "I was provoked," but always, "I didn't know what I was doing." There is something compulsive in these acts of violence; like quarrels with the father, they always take place under the influence of alcohol. I am not sure that I can answer this question. There are several possible explanations. It may be rebellion against the chastity of marriage which restricts a man who leads a complex and stimulating life in the plaza and the estanco, to relations with a wife who was not selected for her sexual charms. This seems far too simple an explanation for an act which carries with it such painful affect. Moreover, not all the wife-beaters are chaste. Manuel was not, by his own admission, nor Miguel who had two wives. Or it may be the sense of guilt which is turned against the wife because she is not desirable. The incident of the neurotic sickness caused by feelings of guilt because the patient could no longer bear the sight of the wife's body points to this. The incident was told by Manuel; it was autobiographical; at a later date Manuel developed more neurotic symptomsanxiety, hallucinations and impotence. There is still another possible explanation for the abuse of women. It goes back to the early days of marriage which are darkened by the resistance of the bride and the insecurity of the husband; the fear of the callow youth that he will not be able to possess his wife sexually and hold her; his desire to assert himself in a familysituationwhich permits no self-assertion; his ambiguous position as a married man who is still a child before his father, and must even have his father DIVORCE 129 perform love magic for him if his bride refuses conjugal relations. He never quite gets over this sense of insecurity in his marriage, this ever present fear that his wife will not respect him as a man. This is shown also in the resentment of the wife's owning property, the refusal to use the products of the woman's land for the support of the household, and the statement that "the woman will not respect the man" unless she is completely dependent on him economically. Divorce Most of the broken marriages are never really marriages at all. For, whenever I asked about divorce or broken marriage, whatwasdescribed to me was the marriage which was never consummated because the bride refused to remain in her husband's house. Schultze-Jenareports38 that a husband sends his wife back to her father if he finds that she is not a virgin, but this was never mentioned to me as grounds for divorce. It may very well be that it is so and that my informants failed to mention it because their attention was focussed on what seemed to them the much more serious problem of marriage in its early stages, namely how to hold on to the reluctant bride. This is no new problem. It seems that it was a serious problem in pre-conquest days as well. Cuando quiera la mujer se hufa y se iba con otro 6 por rencillas se volvia en casa de los padres, requieriala el marido que volvese, y si no queria, el se podia casar luego con otra, porque en este caso las mujeres eran poderosas y eran libros. Algunos sufrian un aflo aguardandolas; pero lo comun era casarse luego porque no podian vivir sin mujeres, a causa de tener quien les guisase de comer, porque era muy embarazoso el usar el moler y hacer el pan y otras cosas de que ellos se mantenian.39 So in modern Chichicastenango, it is the women who leave. First the woman returns to her parents.40 Then the man's father comes to 38 Schultze-Jena, p. 2. 39 "When a woman wished to run away to live with another, or if, because of irritations she returned to the house of her parents, her husband would ask her to return, and if she refused he could marry again at once, because in these matters women were powerful and free. But some would suffer a year waiting for them, but it was usual to marry at once, because they could not live without women; they had to have someone to prepare their meals because their techniques for grinding and making bread and other things on which they lived were exceedingly troublesome." Las Casas: Apologgtic4 Historia. 40 From a Quich6 text. 130 CHICHICASTENANGO ask if she has come, and why. The man's father comes to the girl's house. The two fathers exchange greetings and then he says why he has come. "Excuse me for trespassing in your house. I have come to ask if our daughter has come. I understand that she ran away and came here." "Yes, she has come. I was not here when she came. I was away at my work and when I came back she was here. Her mother said, 'Our daughter has come back; she has had some quarrel with her husband. She says that no one paid any attention to her all the time she was there. No one said anything to her except to quarrel. Only her mother came to ask for food and her sisters asked for drink, but none talked pleasantly to her. She was alone all the time. And so she came back'. And then the girl said to me: 'Pardon me, father, pardon me, mother. Will they come to take me back? Perhaps they will come, but I won't go with them. For I have seen how things are there; they are not good They have nothing to eat there; all they gave me was two little tamales, which they counted out. I am hungry, that is why I came, and I won't go back, I tell you." Now the father of the man speaks: "Excuse me, sir. How did she come here? I did not see her. I was working, and when I came back I asked her mother, 'Where is our daughter?' and she said, 'She has gone. I saw her; she gathered together her clothes and other things and took them. She said, 'Excuse me, mother, I am going. Look at me, I have not stolen anything, I have taken only what belongs to me.' Excuse me, sir, that I have come. I am the father of the husband. I want to hear what has happened. So I thought. And so I have come to your house and place. This is what I say: the girl should come back and try again, and if there is any further trouble, we shall take the matter to court, and we shall both produce witnesses. But first we must call the marriage spokesman." Now the father of the girl answers him: "Sir, as for me I am her father, and I will not give her back to you. I don't want her to go back. Things are not good in your house, she says. There is nothing to eat, she says. Is that a good report? 'All I had to eat were two tamales,' she says, 'It is not like that in our house. I am not used to it. We do not count our food,' she says. That is what my daughter says. 'I will not go back, father. And if you resort to force to make me go back I will give myself to the Ladinos.' That is what our daughter says, and you will be guilty if the child goes to the Ladinos." Now the father of the boy goes back and talks the matter over with his son. If the boy does not want her back, he lets her go, and merely says: "It is good that she has gone back. I thought that perhaps she had fallen in a barranco, but since she has come back to her house it is good." But if the husband wants her back they call the marriage spokesmanto settle it. And if the girl does not want to go back her father will not force her, and then he returns to the father of the man half of what they spent. And if they say they have spent 500 pesos, he gives them back 250. "I will give it to you; I would not eat my own child." Another informant recommends different treatment for the recalcitrant wife: If a man is really a man, good and strong and one who knows something about life, if the woman goes back to her home, God goes with her. He does not go to see her or to bring her back. After a while the man goes to ask the parents of his wife if their daughter has returned. Then they will say, "Yes, DIVORCE 131 she is well." Then he knows that the woman is not sick. He will leave 500 pesos or 10 quetzales for the care of the woman when she is confined. And so that is the end of it, and there is nothing more said. But naturally, if the man goes once to bring the woman back and if she gets accustomed to this, then she will go back again, and each time the man running after her. If he once goes to get her, then they will always quarrel over trifles, and the woman will go off. She will say: "Well, why did you come to get me again? I was with my parents and you came to get me." So they will live, always quarreling. But there are men so enamored of their wives that if the woman goes, they will go after her. They will stay three or four days in the woman's house, and then return, and before long the woman will go back again and the man at her heels. After the marriage is once established it still may be dissolved at any time on the grounds of infidelity of either husband or wife, laziness or incompetence of either husband or wife, barrenness of the woman, drunkenness or brutality on the part of the man. For it is believed that it is better to dissolve the marriage than to live together in discord. Divorce is no sin to be punished by the ancestors, but quarreling is. If the wife is dissatisfied with her marriage for any reason she returns home, leaving her children in her husband's house. It is not consistent with Quiche ideas of personal dignity for a woman to bear ill treatment meekly, and patiently wait for the ancestors to get around to punishing. She may be ready to forgive a contrite sinner, but that is another story. For although women are loyal and magnanimous, they are not docile. If a woman finds that her husband has another woman, or if be beats her, she complains to her father, and he in turn complains to the man's father, and if the man wishes to keep his daughter-in-law he has his son punished. He hands him over to the civil authorities to be imprisoned, or he calls a chuchqajau to confess him and whip him for his sins. But, on the other hand, if the woman does not wish to remain any longer with her husband, she returns to her father's house and that is the end of it. She cannot take her children with her, but must leave them in her husband's house to inherit there. Although the woman is legally free, the position of the divorced woman is not enviable. Since she has made a failure of her first marriage she is no longer desirable as a wife. "For the belief is that if a girl once fails to fulfill her marriage with a man she will never come to terms with any other man." Though she may marry again, she cannot count on a good marriage, with the dignity of ceremonies and a husband who will thoroughly respect her. So a woman thinks twice before availing herself of her freedom to desert her husband. For a man divorce must be secured by indirect methods. The woman is free; she cannot very easily be wrapped up and shipped 132 CHICHICASTENANGO home to her father, or summarily dismissed from her husband's house, especially if she has borne him children. Nor, on the other hand, can a man desert his wife, except to go to the plantations, since he is bound by the strongest of all ties to his house and his ancestral land. If a woman commits adultery, he turns her and her lover over to the civil authorities to be fined, and "the man usually pays the fine for the woman." But in order to get rid of her he must make her position in the house untenable. In this he frequently has the cooperation of most of his family - they may not realize they are cooperating; they are just following the usual course of intolerance. The father, however, customarily tries to keep the peace and keep the marriage going. He, of course, has an investment to protect. The undesired wife is nagged, insulted, and starved; her husband scolds and abuses her; he is openly unfaithful. He may marry another woman or even outrage his wife's dignity by introducing a prostitute into the house. Schultze-Jena41 has an interesting account of an attempt to break up a marriage by this means. However, all of these acts on the part of the husband in the interest of his freedom are in themselves sinful and likely to have serious consequences for himself and his children. And so, as elsewhere, the marriages limp along in relative stability, with their quarrels and reconciliations, and with all their dissatisfactions and compensations. The Breakup of the Family And now the customs when one wishes to leave his father.42 The son who wishes to leave comes to his father and kneels before him. "My father, please forgive me, perhaps this will trouble your heart, perhaps not. But it is always thus that one must move into a house apart from his parents. Father, forgive me, but I desire to separate from you. I wish to work alone, and my wife also. It is not that we wish to abandon you, or because we find things bad here. No, it is that we need good health and that we may not cause you only suffering; for where there are anger and envy there is always sickness. My father, I do not wish you to become angry, nor my mother either. Perhaps we have been dutiful children, perhaps not. But it is always thus that sons speak together, and one speaks well, another badly. No, my father, we do not wish to offend you. I only beg and beseech you and my mother to show me the part of the inheritance which belongs to me." I give43 him a drink. Naturally this makes him angry and he will not 41 Schultze-Jena, pp. 120ff. 42 From a Quiche text. 43 The informant visualizes himself in the role of the rebellious son. THE BREAKUP OF THE FAMILY 133 receive the drink. Then he says, "Boy, who has told you that you should depart from my side? Has anyone counselled you to leave? Tell me frankly." "No, my father, I myself have thought that perhaps in the course of time you will die, and that it would not be bad for me to learn to work for myself in my own house. And also, when you die we shall be left with trouble and quarrels, because before we have always earned our living under your direction. Father, forgive me, and drink." Then he drinks. "Well, I shall see and think over what you have said, and shall tell you if I find your words good." "Very well, father. But I should like to decide soon, for you are in good health now, and I also, and we do not know what the morrow will bring." "Yes, but I have told you that I have to think about it." Then he will talk it over with his wife, what he shall do, and with my elder brother, also. After some two or three days he will call me and my wife. Then he will question us. "Now, boy, is it true, what you have told me?" "Yes, father." "And you, girl, is it true, and do you agree with your husband that you want to leave this house?" "Yes," the girl says, or if she says no that is the end of it and we do not leave. Perhaps she will say, "No. Perhaps he will beat me, and if he should get drunk,44 who will take care of me? And perhaps he is not able to care for us, to provide us with food and clothing." For it is always the clothing that is most difficult. She kneels before her parents. "No, father, if he wishes to leave, then I shall return to my father, or I shall look for some place to go." Then the boy will go to a plantation or to some other town for he will have no stomach to remain there longer. But if the girl is intelligent, she will say, "It is for him to decide, father. If he is able to provide our necessities, I shall do my share, forhe is my husband, and I shall follow him wherever he goes." Then the parents know that they agree. "Son, I cannot deflect your thoughts, or change them. No matter whether you have thought of this in your hearts, or someone advised you. You know that, and God knows it. Enough of this. I have heard that you are agreed to leave. And now I have to find two witnesses, and your father also, daughter, to see in what manner we shall settle this." "Very well, father." We kiss his hand, and the hand of our mother also. Then my father reports this to my father-in-law. He comes to him in his house and says: "My dear brother, pardon me for intruding on your premises." "Come in, sir, sit down." They exchange the formal greetings, and then he states his errand. "Excuse me, sir. I have come here with the object of notifying you that our children are agreed to leave me to live in a separate house. The first time he told me I did not believe him, but I asked them both the second time, and they have said that together they have decided to leave. My dear sir, I have come to notify you that I would like you to question them and see if they 44 When an Indian of Chichicastenango gets drunk, it is not a simple matter of putting him to bed to sleep it off. He is more likely to stay drunk for days, or as long as his money lasts. Sometimes it lasts a week or more. 134 CHICHICASTE3NANGO really stick to their decision to go to earn their own living in another place, and to ask them for what reason they wish to leave my side, and what I have done to annoy them. Excuse me, sir." "So that is how it is, dear brother. Perhaps someone else has counselled them in their errors. On what day will you expect me in your house to question them and arrange how things should be left?" Then they arrange to meet the following day. Before the father leaves they offer him food, for when one father visits the other in his house the host must serve him something, coffee or chocolate if it is not the hour for meals. He offers him a drink, saying, "My dear sir, so it is when people come together on the roads or in the mountains or beneath a tree. But no, you have come here to me in my house. Please help yourself." "I am very grateful, sir." He takes the drink, thanks him and comesback to his house. So the day comes when the father-in-law arrives in the house. They send for us and we kneel before the father-in-law, and he asks us whether it is true that we are desirous of leaving, and what our motives may be. Then the boy will explain his motives for leaving. "Dear fathers, dear mothers. Indeed I am making no scandal. It is solely that now while you are still alive, my father, I wish to separate; for perhaps in the course of time you will die, and then what shall I do? We know that the eldest son must never be disturbed in the house, and that it is always the younger son that has to leave. Eventually I shall have to leave your side, either sooner or later. This is my thought, father. Excuse me, sir." (He will not say that he has quarrels with his brothers.) "And you daughter, what do you say?" "Well, my fathers, it is for the man to decide, and I as a woman have only to follow at his side. It is not for me to say anything against it. All my care is for the children which we have, and in case that my husband should fail to care for us, and to provide the things we need, I shall inform you. Forgive me." She kisses the hands of her parents. This is the word of the woman if she is intelligent. And now the two fathers speak together. "Now you have heard, brother." "Yes indeed." He asks another question. "Is it the truth before God, my son-in-law and my daughter, that you wish to leave the house of your parents?" "Yes, father." "And have you made calculations to see whether you are able to earn your living?" "Why, of course, father." Now the two fathers talk together. "And now, dear sir, what shall we do with our children?" "My dear sir, what we shall do is to give them their desire since they have decided of their own free will to leave. We cannot turn them from it." "That is so. And now, my children, for my part I have been thinking about your departure. Now ask it of God, that it may not be your death, that which you are talking of doing now. And also, in case you leave, when people ask you, you will tell them that it was of your own free will, that you might earn your own living. Only you must not speak against your mothers and fathers and of what they do in their houses." THE BREAKTUP OF THE FAMILY 135 "Very well, father, we have heard. Many thanks." And now between the parents: "Dear brother, now we have heard what they have to declare. They know what they must do. They are of age." "That is so, sir." Then they give him lunch. After he has eaten he says to the father of the man that he would suggest that if they do not wish to be suspected of unfair discharge of their obligations, it would be better to have a witness so that no one should demur afterwards. Then he would not have to come again. "That is right, dear brother. Then the witness will decide whether you ought to come, and if he says yes, then I shall have to bother you again." "Very well. Now I am going." "May you go in peace." So they greet each other and he goes. Then the father decides on what day to arrange this matter, after everything is ready. Then within fifteen days or so we can leave. Eight days before our father informs us who is the witness whom he will call and at the same time he tells us to what place we shall go. If there is no house at this place we have to erect a brush shelter. If there is a house there already it is much better, naturally. Then the father goes to talk to the witness in his house. When he enters there is first the exchange of the long formal greetings, and after the greetings he begins to explain his errand and says: "Sir, excuse me, that I have come to you here in your house. I have heard and seen you going about among our neighbors in the division of inheritances, and in the division of property among relatives. Now it is thus. I have a son who has already been married for some time. Now some days ago he told me that of his own free will he wished to withdraw from my house and go to another house to earn his living. Would you have the kindness to come to see us in my house next Thursday to confess us and to purify our persons, I and my son and his wife, inasmuch as I know that they have been at fault before me, and I too, perhaps, before them. And at the same time I wish to advise you, that we have to divide all our possessions, chiefly the land, and whatever wealth we may possess. All this we shall divide. Excuse me, sir." "Very well, I shall go with pleasure, if God grant us life and good health." He thanks him and leaves fifteen pesos for him. He puts it on the table. "Then we shall expect you early on that day at our house. Excuse me, sir." So he comes back. The day before the witness comes, the boy who is going to leave goes again to the house of the witness to remind him, and to ask him whether or not the father of the woman must come. Then he tells him, "Yes, it would be better if he came, if you will have the goodness to tell him." Then he takes his leave and goes to his father-in-law to remind him and then returns and reports all this to his father, kneeling before him. At dawn the next day everyone gets up early, for they have to cook for the witness and the parents-in-law. If the father-in-law comes first they invite him into the kitchen and give him breakfast, coffee and bread and tortillas. Then the witness comes. "Good day, sir." (So to all of them.) "Good day, sir. Come in, sit down." Then the greetings. The witness gives the greeting in full and afterwards the father returns them. Then they give him coffee and bread. He takes this and then he thanks them and explains what his errand is with them, in accordance with their request. 136 CHICHICASTENANGO "Many thanks that you have come." Then they send for the parent-in-law to come into the room where the witness is, and as many of the brothers of the man as there are. We all sit down inside, the women and the men also. Then the father of the man speaks to the witness. "Pardon us, sir. Now you have come. Now my son, Sebastian, desires and has already arranged to separate from me, and he should now tell the reason for his leaving so that he may have nothing on his conscience. Or is it wrong to ask him, sir witness?" "It is well. Then come here, daughter and son. Is it in good faith and of your own free will that you are going out?" "Yes, sir." "And you, daughter?" "I also, sir." "All right. Now tell me the truth: why is it that you are leaving your parents?" "Well, sir, my brothers are not satisfied with my work. My brothers say that I do not earn anything at all. My brothers say that we eat too much, and that all our work is for nothing. My brothers say that I am in no hurry to fetch firewood, and that they chop wood for my wife. And when my father is drunk he also scolds me and abuses me and beats me. He hits me with firewood, sometimes when it is night. Because of all this it is not fair that I should endure these things. And my mother, whenever I come to the kitchen to speak with my wife, or to ask for something to eat or drink, gets angry right away and scolds me. And they do the same to my wife as they do to me." (They do not tell these quarrels to their father when they first ask to leave, for he would be very angry and perhaps would not let them go.) "Aha! And you, daughter, why do you want to leave? Or have you nothing to add to these complaints? Tell me the truth." "As for me, sir, my father scolds me, but he is right. Only the boy's mother abuses me if I do not hurry about my work. And they abuse me when I put on my clothes, and whenever I begin to eat. They say I am a loiterer over my work, but that when it comes to eating I am in enough of a hurry. And they scold me also if I do not get up early. They say right away that I am like a bitch, and do not want to leave my man in his bed. And my husband's sisters are always angry with me, and we quarrel over our work, and over our clothing. And whenever his sisters speak about me it is to say that I waylaid their brother in the road when I first slept with my husband. And because of all this, we cannot go on quarrelling like this, sir. Excuse me, sir." And now he asks the father, "Permit me, sir. And is it true what your son has said?" "Perhaps; perhaps not. But when I drink too much I do not know what I say. As for me, I know of certain things which he has done, and perhaps I remember them when I am drunk. And furthermore, he does not render me honest accounts, now that they have decided to leave and they no longer depend on our money. As for the woman, I can only say that she is not very industrious about her work, and perhaps she doesn't like me personally, because I always have to shout at them because they are so behind with their work. Well let them see after a while if what I say is not so. Excuse me, sir." "It is very true, what you say. We parents always have to shout at our THE BREAKUP OF THE FAMILY 137 children and scold them. I also must do the same, as you have told me. And you, madam, is it true what your son has said? Excuse the question." "Perhaps it is true in part, but the rest of his words are lies. But it is just as you have said, sir. We fathers and mothers have many pressing concerns, and for this reason we scold them. Well let them try for themselves. Excuse me, sir." "Yes, and as for your daughter-in-law, is it true what she has said?" "Yes, it is true, sir. For she is always behind with her weaving and grinding. And so I always tell them that theyshould get up early. For often thesun is already large when they get up, while I, their mother, am already up and at my grinding. And so I scold them. As for me, let them go, for there are many other things that might be said. Excuse me, sir." "That is true, madam. I cannot say anything. All of us fathers and mothers have to scold our children. And you, boys, is it true what your brother has said about you?" "Yes, sir. We all have our faults, and we have talked to him about his neglected work. But it is true, sir, that he does not get about his work, and he already married! And when we explain his tasks to him, he answers back right away, and so we have great fights. Excuse me, sir." "And you, girls, is it true what Sebastian's wife says, that you are always interfering with her work in the kitchen?" "Yes, sir, it is true, but she is a gossip and she abuses us. And she scolds us about our work, and about our clothing, that it is so plain, while she always wears fine clothing, but it is our brother who gives them to her. And so we are always quarrelling. Excuse me, sir." And so they go on quarrelling, until the witness makes an end of it. "Very well, then. Come boy, and you, girl. Kneel down before your father and ask him to forgive your faults which he has told us." We kneel before our father: "It is always we who are guilty and indisgrace before you, Father. But, Father, we are your children, and you must pardon our faults. Give us your hand." The woman speaks, "Father, forgive me. Perhaps I have not obeyed your word or worked properly. But forgive me for now and for always. If it were only I, you would not forgive me, but your grandchildren will have to suffer and to pay through us. No, Father, may your heart forget all our faults and forgive us. Give us your hand."45... Now we kneel before the witness, and kiss his hand. "Worthy sir, and madam, and you, our fathers and mothers, say that you forgive us, or let us make penance to refresh your hearts for the false words that have been spoken before you. Judge as witness according to what you have heard. Forgive this question, sir." Then the father-in-law of the man comes. "Listen, sir, and you, sir Witness. Forgive me for bothering you with my words. I think it would be better if you as witness would give your approval with your own hands, so that these gentlemen should have no doubt in their hearts. I have none, and I have no anger against these my children. No, but perhaps afterwards with the passage of time these words will not vanish nor the mistakes which they have made before their parents. And in that case, alas for their poor children. No, they should be punished for this. Gentlemen, excuse these words." 45 The text continues with similar apologies to the man's mother and elder brother. 138 CHICHICASTENANGO The mother-in-law speaks: "I also am not angry, because it is my daughter and I have no fault to find with her. But it is too bad for their little ones. Perhaps they will pay for the sins of their parents. No, gentlemen, I pray that you will give them their just punishment. Excuse these words." If the parents say yes, then the witness goes to bring the switches. There are three switches. When he comes back with the switches, he calls us to kneel before him. Then he says: "Now, Son, and you, Daughter, I must comply since they have called me here as witness, and since they have asked me to find the truth, that there may be neither sickness nor death among your children, and so that you and all of us may be happy. Your punishment is but a moment. Now take off your shirt." I take off my tunic and my shirt. "Dear sir, give me the blessing of your hands. Serve me with this ceremony, and lend me your hands." He begins with the man. One, two three... to twelve. Then the girl comes. She lays aside her huipil, and he strikes her on her bare back. One, two, three... to twelve, but very hard! Now we are both crying, and we go again to kiss the hand of our mother and father. "Forgive me, father. Forgive me, mother. Give me your hand." Then the witness says, "Excuse me, sir. Give me a little incense to burn before your sacred bundle and before the spirit of this house, for it has heard all the words that have been said here. We must ask pardon from it." "Very well." He brings the incense and a brand from the fire. The witness kneels in the house in front of the sacred bundle of the father. Then he goes out into the patio and later goes to the World and leaves the switches with a bottle of water. He says: "Hail, holy bundle, and you, holy house and place. I have been called as witness in the separation of this man and his son. But the children have declared the faults of their parents and why they no longer care to live together in this house. They are faults of work, and the faults of their father when he drinks, perhaps justly, perhaps by mistake, and of the mother and brothers of this boy who has decided to leave your presence. And his parents and brothers have declared that this man and his wife do not attend to their work, and do not trouble themselves about the things that are necessary. So I, as witness, have heard the truth, and furthermore that they pardon one another. These complaints have been made before me as witness; and according to the words that I have heard I have judged the truth to be with the father and mother, and that it is the children who are in error. And I, as witness, instructed them to ask pardon of the parents, and to cleanse their hearts and persons. Then the father and mother of the woman asked me to do them the favor to pass my hands over their children so that in the future their grandchildren might not be punished. And I, for my part, answered that I agreed with their parents, and that I would cleanse them at once. All this was said, holy World, and holy house and place, before your blessed presence, and before you, holy bundle. And the father of this man must pardon this boy and his wife. They have been punished and their persons are clean. I have nothing with which to ask pardon, only this bit of incense, as was used by our ancestors. With this I take out everything, all the evil deeds which have been done by the parents and children in your presence. I shall withdraw them into the cold and wind from before your presence, holy bundle, sacred house an d place. And as I pray before your presence, so shall FATHER AND SON 139 I pray before the World to remove all the evil words which have been spoken here by these parents and children. I only ask your grace and favor, sacred bundle, serve yourself with this, and you also, sacred house and place." He asks for a little aguardiente and sprinkles it in the corners of all the rooms and a little in the patio. Then he comes back to the room. The witness sits down, and the boy pours him a drink, and for his wife, and then he he pours drinks for his parents and for the parents of the woman, and for his brothers. Then if the witness is kindly disposed he says to the young people whom he has punished that they also should drink to lessen their pain. After they have all drunk they bring water to the witness that he may wash his hands before eating, and then they bring him food. He eats together with the parents of the boy and the parents of the girl, all at one table, and while they are eating, they talk over what has been said. After they have eaten they all give thanks, and the dishes are removed. Then they proceed to the partition of the property,46 the land and the money and the things in the kitchen. After we have finished with the division of the property we pour out more drinks for the witness and our parents. After we have all drunk again we ask the witness what is the payment that he must take to the World when he goes to leave the switches, and he tells us it will be four ounces of incense and a bottle of water to wash out the evil words which we have spoken. Then we give him this, and ask him also what we should pay him for his work, and he says that it will be 1 quezal, because he has to work in the World also. So we give him this and he gets ready to leave. Then the father, if he is good and kind, asks the witness to go to the place where his children will live, to purify the place of any evil which may have been committed by former owners and to offer to the World and the ancestors the first payment of the boy for his lodging in this world.47 Father and Son The idyllic days of childhood have closed with father and son attacking each other with sticks of firewood, brothers at odds with each other over the work of the house, jealous of status andinheritance rights. If it seems that this account of family quarrels is exaggerated, exceptional and misleading, one should read the texts of religious rituals carefully for the many references which they contain to family discord. The enmity of a relative is what one suspects first when one has an evil portent. The man on whose roof an owl has perched fears at once that some relative has maligned him before his ancestors. My mothers, my fathers, my grandmothers, my grandfathers, perhaps they have unfolded plots before you, my enemies and slanderers among my relatives and companions.... Perhaps among brothers, my mothers, my 46 The division of the property and the ceremony for installing the boy in the new house have already been given. 47 See pp. 21, 22. for this ceremony. 140 C HICHICASTENANGO fathers, some have seized what belongs to others. But we do not know what it is about. Let them go free, my mothers, my fathers, Lords of justice among the spirits. Agree with me because I am your son. Do not send sickness to me or to my wife or to any of my children...48 Or else he remembers an ancient quarrel and the evil deed which he himself has committed against his brother: There is only one word more. In time past we had a quarrel, I and my brothers. Now it is they who have gone, they have died. But it was of no significance, the quarrel which we had; only that we had land in common amongst us, held as a heritage from our mothers and fathers of time past. Then it happened that when they divided the land, it was not equal what they did with it. World, I have committed sins against them. I reproached them, I upbraided them, and also when I was drunk I beat them, so they say. But I did not know it. Perhaps in that I caused pain to my brothers. Poor souls! Already their light and substance have passed.49 Perhaps there with our mothers, our fathers, they have been talking about me. Perhaps from there they have sent this grievous sickness to me, World... if it is from them these souls, I shall give them their responses in the Holy Church, where dwell their light and substance. There let me pay my fine for my liberation... And when a diviner sees evidence of sorcery in his divinations, he at once suspects that it is a family quarrel: Let us suppose a young man Manuel Buchan comes to me and tells me that he is very sick and asks me to divine for him the meaning of his sickness. I make my divinations with my sacred bundle and they come out in qawaq. This is a bad day, and it means that his death has been decreed because his opponent is already in the other world, and is urgent in his demands for Manuel Buchan. So I say: "Son, what does this mean? The word is spoken before me through my sacred bundle, and it seems that you have had some quarrel with your family or relatives. But what I see is bad, for the other one is already with God among the spirits."... "It must be as you see, father..." In this case the quarrel was with a neighbor, not a relative, over a piece of land, and the patient had killed this man by magic. However, the diviner guessed a relative first.50 The drunken quarrel between father and son also is standardized behavior. Such quarrels are also mentioned in the confessions preceding the initiation of a chuchqajau, and while I was in Chichicastenango two such quarrels occurred in a family which I knew well - 48 See texts, p. 344. 49 The implication of these sentences, nowhere openly expressed, is that the victim caused the death of his brothers by sorcery, but hopes to escape by pleading guilty to the lesser crime of beating them when drunk. The emphasis that runs throught this long prayer is that the brothers have died. 50 It is significant that all of the sorcery rituals and most of the details of the rivalry between brothers were furnished by a man who had no brothers. The relationship between brothers which he describes represents a cultural norm and was therefore not a generalization of personal experience. FATHER AND SON 141 even to the detail of fighting with firewood. Although I did not actually witness either quarrel, I saw the bleeding heads the next day. No one could give any explanation of how these quarrels started, or who started them. One of these quarrels took place in public, at a zarabanda, and the many witnesses did not know any better than the participants how it started. "They were drunk and didn't know what they were doing." Stealing from the father, which is mentioned in the account of family life already quoted, is another motif that occurs over and over again. Against a brother toward whom one entertains hostile feelings one can use sorcery or that "weeping before the idols" which is a legalized form of sorcery, and the affect of these ceremonies is one of fear and anger rather than guilt. But I have no records or suggestions that sorcery in any form, or any kind of conscious act of hostility, is ever directed against the father. To kill the father by sorcery or by "asking for justice" is the unspeakable act, for filial love is the cornerstone on which the whole social system rests. Hostility between father and son breaks out only when men are drunk and irresponsible. These quarrels, like the quarrels with the wife, carry their intolerable burden of guilt, which is revealed in the confessions. There is no fear in the attitude towards the father, only shame and self-reproach. These sins are readily confessed and readily forgiven, for both father and son can take refuge in the plea that they were irresponsible.51 In always phrasing together in the same sentence the rebellion against the father's rule and the jealousy of brothers, although the informant seems superficially to be confusing two separate issues, he is in reality giving voice to the deeper psychological truth. For it is true that the quarrels between brothers, their rivalries and jealousies are but an aspect of the primary conflict which is between father and son. We have seen how as children brothers and sisters play together in peace. Even, if they do not play very much there is no quarrelling. Brothers do not become open rivals until they are grown, and then it is on one thing that their rivalry is focussed - land. We have 2 already seen what land represents to the Indian. It is his "resting place" in the world, his bond with his "mothers and fathers of past time." The seeds of rivalry are sown in the minds of the children by 51 A similar attitude has been reported among the Chamulas, a Highland Maya tribe of Chiapas, where a man was described as "really bad" because "he beats his wife when he is sober:" R. Bunzel, ms. 142 CHICHICASTENANGO their father, who views his infant children anxiously as rivals for his property. But the unspoken thought in the father's mind is that it is he himself who will be displaced by these same children. The anxiety that the children will become enemies may be merely a screen for the father's fear of his sons. The children, on their part, readily transfer to their brothers the antagonism that is really meant for the father. When the final upheaval occurs, although throughout it is phrased as a conflict between brothers, it is actually, both in purpose and outcome, the ousting of the father from his position of power. It is significant that when the property is divided, it is divided in as many parts as there are children. The father continues to live with the eldest son, where he still has authority but over a much reduced household. Everything in individual life and social institutions paves the way for this conflict - the exalted position assigned to the father, his absolute authority over his children, and his secret fear of them; the strong identifications which children of both sexes make with their fathers, the ambiguous position of the young married man in the parental household, the stern morality and the rebelliousness against it expressed in small thefts of money to spend on drink and prostitutes; the desire, when a young man has children of his own, to be a father to them with all that that word has come to mean, coupled with the realization that with property institutions being what they are the only way he can become a father to his children is to oust his own father from his sacred heritage. It is small wonder they are always guilty before their ancestors! The struggle between father and son comes to a head over land, the symbol of power and life. I could find no hint of any overt sexual conflict. The Quiches are and, if we can trust reports, always have been, relatively free of the usual manifestations of sexual jealousy or possessive attitudes towards women. In the conflict between father and son the mother stands with the husband against the children, and the son is as much against his mother as against his father. The divinations and confessions which are supposed to uncover secret sins and conflicts reveal nothing that points to incest.52 There is further symbolism in this conflict. In wresting the land 52 The Quiches do not have the idea of the Earth Mother which is found in so many Indian tribes. In so far as they conceive the procreative power of the earth anthropomorphically it is male. They have given the earth a masculine name and identified it with a male saint. Even the corn, which all over North America is conceived of as female, is among the Quiches not so specified as regards sex. The ears of corn cohabit together. SICKNESS AND ITS CURE 143 from their father the sons reduce him to the position of the former owners of the land, the dead ancestors who in religious beliefs are \ so intimately associated with the land and the house, and who continue to enforce their stern discipline from the domain of the dead. It is for this act of violence against the father that the son makes / expiatory payments to the ancestors, which, of course, include the father, so long as he lives, that "fine" for his lodging in the world which we have already described. The informant recognized the / psychic connection between these two facts when he included this ceremony in his description of the break-up of a household. After-, wards, whenever he offers responses to the dead ancestors, his parents, although still living, are included. Sickness and its Cure The high altitude of Chichicastenango has protected the village from the ravages of tropical disease. I saw no cases of leprosy and practically none of the tropical skin diseases, no deformities and no blindness, except among the very old. There is a great deal of malaria among those who have been to the coast but the village itself is high enough to be free of it. There is no typhus or other filth diseases; the Indians have high standards of personal cleanliness and bathe frequently. Smallpox is the great scourge at all times and there are periodic epidemics. Dysentery in various forms takes a heavy toll, and also measles, and all the respiratory diseases. There seems to be a relatively high mortality from cancer, the symptoms of which were often described. It is believed to be of supernatural origin. Other constitutional diseases were described too vaguely to even guess at a diagnosis. There is no syphilis among the Indian population.5 The Indians know syphilis and recognize it as a disease of the Ladinos which they do not get. They seem to be free of gonorrhea. Ulcers of the legs, resembling yaws, have been observed, especially among those who have lived in the plantations. All sickness "has its meaning." It may be natural, "from God," 53 This fact was noted a long time ago by Stoll and more recently by Termer (p. 337). Dr. Shattuck who in 1932 tested many hundreds of Indians from different villages in Guatemala found almost no cases of syphilis among pure blooded Indians. The few cases he found all showed strong genealogical or anthropological evidence of mixed blood, and even among these the reaction was very mild. I do not know what conclusions he has drawn from these striking facts. 144 CHICHICASTENANGO it may be a punishment for sin or a reminder of some neglected ceremony, or it may be sent by an enemy. The epidemic diseases like smallpox, influenza, dysentery and measles are usually believed to be "from God," since, like the rain, they fall on the just and the unjust alike. When sickness is believed to be from God it is treated by medication, purges, emetics, the use of the sweatbath, and by various semi-magical techniques. The general theory of natural disease is very simple. Some evil substance has been introduced into the body and must be drawn out through the usual bodily eliminations, including sweating, or through the eruptions of the eruptive diseases like smallpox. They use some blood letting, but, strangely enough, do not use the widespread Indian technique of sucking. This is always a technique used by the professional medicine man, so perhaps that is why it is not found here, since there are no professional medicine men, only priests who cure diseases by dealing with the supernatural causes. Some of the treatments for the more common diseases are reported as follows: Smallpox (loq'bal): we do not take medicines. When the eruption appears, if the spots are bright red it is a good sign,but if they are somewhat black, it is a sign that the patient will die. When one sees a black eruption one goes at once to prepare the sweatbath. If the person is grown he goes into the sweatbath to warm himself; if it is a child they put him in little by little, to warm his body so that the eruption will come out strong. For he has this evil within his body, and if it does not come out quickly he will die. There is always some of it here and many epidemics.54 Measles we treat the same as smallpox. Many die of it here, children and adults. There was a bad epidemic in 1928. For bloody dysentery (kiq) one boils various herbs (perejil and others) and drinks the infusion. For fevers (q'aq') we take purges. There are many. We also use an infusion of eucalyptus leaves for fevers. For cramps (qamats, "serpent", for cramps may be caused by serpents,) one takes spirits of camphor and water of garlic. If these do not cure one, one gets nettles and puts them over the seat of the pain, rubbing them. With two applications one will be cured; this is a great remedy. When children have stomach trouble, they rub them with ashes5 or with a stick of pitchpine, saying: "Go to our neighbor - -" (naming some neighbor), and throw the stick into the middle of the road. For a common cold (q'oxom jolom) one takes a purge. A good purge is made by taking a little chocolate, taking out the butter and cooking it in water. For cough there are many remedies. We drink infusions of oxalis, and we make a poultice of crushed leaves warmed in ashes and put it around the 54 Smallpox is considered a disease of childhood. 55 Rubbing with ashes is a common rite of purification and exorcism among the Pueblos and other North American tribes. SICKNESS AND ITS CURE 145 throat. If one is grown one goes to the mountains where there is lots of pine, because the odor of the pine kills the cough. For children one boils twigs of green pine in water with cinnamon and gives it to them to drink. If none of these things cure them, then one sends for a chuchqajau for perhaps it has its meaning. The belief about malaria (chiqij teu, cold sweat) is that if one has some unconfessed sin one will be punished with this sickness; and also if one has been frightened, this sickness will fall on one. Perhaps the sickness does not show itself plainly at first. Only one does not want to eat or to work. One is pale and has no energy. Then one takes a soup of beans without salt, because this is a hot food. This calls the sickness out and it comes out and shows itself. Then one takes a sulphate solution (quinine) to relieve it. These therapeutic measures are general knowledge - shared by men and women alike. In addition to the household remedies there is a large sale of patent medicines in the shops. Midwifery is a sacred profession. All sickness, trivial or serious, is sent by the Lord of Sickness, a very powerful gentleman. If there is sickness in the house, no matter what, one burns incense each day for the Lord of Sickness, at seven o'clock in the morning and at seven o'clock in the evening, until the patient recovers. One says, "God our watcher and protector, and Lord of this Sickness, here in our house you will find nothing, only this odor of incense. Please accept this little bit, and do not be of two hearts in watching over us, but be happy here in this house." This is in order that we may respect and love him, and not make an enemy of the Lord of Sickness. If the patient does badly, if thedayt'oj6 comesaround one sweeps out one room and covers the floor with pine and adorns the rooms with flowers. Then at midday one sets out a little table in this room, and one sets food out and drink. The meal is a whole chicken; only the head and feet are removed. This is for the commemoration of the day t'o andfor the Lord of Sickness. The Lord of Sickness is sometimes prayed to in less loving fashion: And also Lord of Sickness and Pain, of death and destruction in the roads and trails, of death and destruction through agudrdiente, of death and destruction through food poisoning, of death and destruction from vomiting, of death and destruction from strain and exertion. Come hither, be seated before this World of the graveyard! And also master of pain and misfortune, of wounds from pistols and knives and cutlasses; of Remingtons and Mausers, come hither, be seated before this World of the graveyard. And also the lord of vomiting and indigestion, the lord of fever and dysentery, and also the lord of cold sweat (malaria) and green chill (tuberculosis), of swellings of the abdomen, and of cough and bronchitis, and also lord of all the minor illnesses; and also lord of smallpox, come hither before this mountain shrine of the graveyard. Be seated, however many your manifestations... I seize his left hand, his right hand, lords. I shall catch him in his own trap and snare. Send sickness and pain to him quickly. Come hither, Lord 56 The symbolism of the name t'oj is sickness and suffering. 146 CHICHICASTENANGO of Sickness and Pain! Send him cramps and swellings of the limbs (rheumatism?), sudden burning fever (smallpox), nausea and dysentery, spasms of the heart. And also send him death and destruction from chicha and aguardiente, or from accident in the canyons and ravines. You, souls of the dead, can carry off the light and fortune of Manuel Pol. Moreover there are slayers, madmen in the streets and trails. Deliver over to them his light and destiny. And there are slayers who appear as thieves in the darkness of the night. Let him be killed by them, lords... These bits are taken from the prayer of an upright man asking for justice. Decidedly it is not wise to make an enemy of the Lord of Sickness! If the symptoms of a disease are obscure, or if it fails to yield to treatment, then "it has its meaning." Now one is in the realm of the occult anda diviner must be consulted to find out whether the sickness has been caused by some fault of the patient or is the work of an enemy.57 Any ritualistic omission, any neglect of duty, any violation of filial or conjugal obligations, may carry its toll of sickness. Moreover, one may be punished for other peoples' sins. Wives may be punished for the sins of their husbands and children for those of their parents. Especially quarrels between husband and wife will be visited on the children. The system for divination is complex; and it reveals both cause and prognosis. Divination is used for other problems besides sickness, and a full discussion of the technique must be postponed. The basic principle of divination, is the chance juxtaposition of occult words and numbers. In these juxtapositions the diviner can read the cause and predict the outcome. But for the true interpretation he must depend on his "presentiments," his intuition, his ability to guess, with the aid of key words what is in the mind and on the conscience of his patient. If the onslaught of the sickness has been sudden, the diviner takes as his starting point the occult name of the day on which the patient fell sick. Or if the sickness has developed gradually he takes as the starting point the name of the day that is sacred to the personality, or, as it is phrased by them, "he asks the question in the name of the personality of the patient." The following divinations, with the interpretations and the discussions, have been taken from along account of sickness and death. It has been necessary to abridge the account, omitting all the purely formal conversation and all the rituals.58 57 If the man is himself a diviner, he may make the divinations in his own name. 58 Full rituals for the cure of disease will be found on p. For analysisof divinations see pp. 286 ff. Schultze-Jena gives examples of divinations on pp. 44ff. SICKNESS AND ITS CURE 147 The father has consulted the chuchqajau in behalf of his son who is sick with pains "in his hands and feet." The chuchqajau has opened his sacred bundle which contains 100 red seeds, and has pronounced the invocation over the seeds, which contain the answer to his question, "Whence comes this sickness of Jos6 Morales?" One makes four trials, and if the four trials give the same result, the seeds have answered, and one interprets to the interested party that which the seeds have shown. In this case the divinations indicate "an enemy or slanders before idols." And what is that which I see? I believe it is some evil word, some evil act. Perhaps there is one whom he has beaten, with whom he has quarrelled. I believe there is one who is his enemy. Tell this which I have said to your son. I see you should take counsel with him as to what he thinks may be in what I say. The patient admits that he has quarrelled with two men, and the father returns to the diviner to find out which of them has caused the sickness of his son. So he begins the divination with the seeds, counting them out four times, four by four, first in the name of Manuel Mejifa; then in the name of Diego Ambrosio, and, according to the result he says, "It is not the one whom he beat in the street, Manuel Mejia. There is more that points to the name and fortune of the one whom he had locked up in prison for not paying his debts, Diego Ambrosio. This I have seen in my sacred bundle." The prognosis is unfavorable, since the divination has come out in bad days and high numbers, so it is decided to go ahead with "strong ceremonies" for the defense of the boy against his enemy. But in spite of all this, the boy does not get well, so they begin all over again with new divinations. Now they use a new technique. This time the divination is to be performed in the presence of the patient. The seeds have a different message: So I tell his parents what the seeds have revealed. "Mother, father, come here. This is what I see: 'That only here in this house he has done that, and perpetrated that for which this sickness and misfortune have touched him. I have seen this in this bundle. Have you not asked him, or have you not seen this?' " "We ourselves have not seen it, sir." "Well then, let us ask him. Son, can it be that you have robbed your father, or else can it be that you have taken corn out of the house?" If he can speak he answers whether or not it is so. "Yes, it is true, my father, my mother. Forgive me. It was nbt very much. Some people asked me for corn and I sold it to them. And then I took some of my father's money from his chest. Forgive me." The father answers: "Aha! And where did you leave the money? Tell us everything. If that is all you did, I will not do anything to you. Tell us everything, son, that you may not die." 148 CHICHICASTENANGO "That is all. Only the money which I took and the corn which I sold to these people, father. Forgive me, and you also pardon me, sir. That is all that I have done. What will you do to me? Will you turn me over to be whipped? Pardon me, sir."..."It is not good for us to punish him. Perhaps it is not what we have said, and we would only cause suffering to this poor one. It is better that we wait and see; and if we make his declaration at once it will be enough. If it is that which we have said, then he will improve, and afterwards we shall decide whether we shall punish him. If only you tell him that you forgive him now." "Yes, sir, we forgive him his sins. Our child shall not die for this, father. Pardon us." "Very well, now bring me some firebrands and a little incense to burn at once in this house, and before the Lord of Sickness and Misfortune. Perhaps he is seated here to see and hear us within this house...' The chuchqajau makes the declaration of the boy's sins to the spirit of the house and the Lord of Sickness. Next day the father comes to tell him that the patient has improved a little. "Thank God he is better! It is that which we did, as I said, there in his house and place. This is what I say: We must at once ask for the deliverance of this patient and of his name and fortune, before the Divine World, and before the Lord of Sickness and Misfortune, that they may pardon the sins of this poor one. Let us go with his payment before the World, for this I promised in the declaration, sir..." They prepare another offering and take it to the mountain shrine. It is the same as the first one. If the patient recovers, after fifteen or twenty days we repeat the same ceremony in the World, with the same offerings, and also for Our Lord in Calvary, and for Sefior Sacramento in the church and for Santo Tomas two wax tapers of two pesos each, and four pesos of candles of two reales each for the spirits of the dead in the church. And one pays the chuchqajau 300 pesos for the two ceremonies in the hills, because it is far. But if he does not recover, after five days one makes the tests again to see by what faults the patient is bound. If he dies they go at once to tell the chuchqajau. A number of things stand out in this account: the readiness of the chuchqajau to shift his ground or to admit that the seeds have not spoken, and his reliance on other than the purely mechanical technique of divination for his interpretation of events. Diviners are called "masters of the blood," and the explanation they give of this phrase is that the blood is the seat of occult power, and that it is through the blood of the diviner that the seeds speak. Manuel reported that he and other diviners have indescribable sensations in the veins of their arms when the seeds answer. All of the sample divinations which he gave to me he characterized as "easy" since the message was SICKNESS AND ITS CURE 149 patent in the juxtaposition of the mystic words. But often it is not so easy, and then the diviner must depend on these "presentiments of the body" for the interpretation. When I watched divinations I noticed that when the seeds had once been laid out they were often rearranged so as to bring other words into positions of prominence, until the diviner has forced them to yield up their message. But there is no chicanery in divinations; often the seeds do not yield up their message, the blood does not speak, and the diviner must confess himself baffled. This happened when Manuel tried to divine on what day to perform the ceremony for my journey. He tried over and over, rephrasing the question in several different ways, but the seeds refused to answer. (He did not like to see me leave.) It is obvious also that there is a great deal of suggestion back and forth between the diviner and his client. That this is recognized is evident from the fact that in the foregoing text after the first divinations have failed the father requests the diviner to ask his questions in the presence of the patient. The process of divination is less a matter of consulting an impersonal oracle than exploring the mind of the patient for hidden guilt and hate and fear. There is nothing extraordinary in the nature of the revelations. It is always the patient who supplies the details. But the diviners insist on the reality of the physiological reactions; their definite sense of what constitutes authenticity in a divination. They believe that they are clairvoyant. Possibly they are. It is still a problem for investigation by someone who is interested in psychic phenomena. There is yet another question which I can only ask but cannot pretend to answer. How much of the sickness that is "cured" by divination, confession and "defense" - for there must be a certain number of cures by mental suggestion - is, actually, neurotic? How many people are so overwhelmed by their sense of guilt that they do really become sick with apprehension? Manuel certainly did. The American doctors59 who examined him reported that they found no organic basis for his ill health. There may be other neurotics. The compulsive wife beating, the excessive and violent drunkenness point in that direction. If it is true that much of the sickness "in the hands and feet" is neurotic, they have devised an excellent technique for handling it. Las Casas reports, as follows the practices of the ancient Quiches in regard to sickness: 59 Dr. Shattuck and other members of the Harvard School of Tropical Medicine. 150 CHICHICASTENANGO If anyone became ill, the first thing he did was to make sacrifices and send quail or other birds of such a color appropriate to the sickness, according to their errors, to the priest in order that he might offer them for him. If he was a lord he always had a medical practitioner in his household, otherwise not. But then the woman, if her husband became sick, immediately took a robe or other article of value and went with it to a medicine man, saying, Lord, your son is ill, we pray that you visit him, and without waiting for him to reply put down what she had in front of him. And if the medicine man was free he would go at once with the messenger to visit the patient. And if the illness were slight he would give him herbs and other things that they used for medicine. But if the sickness were acute and dangerous he would say, 'As for you, you have committed some sin.' and they would urge and implore him to confess what he had done years before. And this they considered the most important medicine - to draw the sin out of his soul for the health of his body. And for that reason it followed that after they were converted they presented marvelous evidence of devotion and faith in the Holy Sacraments, and especially in confession, and it is unbelievable to one who has not seen it, with what importunity they begged for it until their diligence and perseverance (by the priests) scarcely sufficed. After the patient had confessed his sins, the medicine man made trials of fortune to see what sacrifice should be offered, and the sick were so obedient to the demands of the medicine man, that they refused nothing which he ordered them to do or to sacrifice, even if it were their whole wordly goods.60 Death When the father of the house dies all the men of the family meet in the house, without the women. These are the ones who must make contributions to cover the costs. They go out and buy rockets and the coffin. They also buy meat for the funeral feast. The family and friends of the dead man come and stay all night with him in his house. As soon as he dies his children call his relatives, one by one. To all who come they give food, and during the night they give them all coffee and aguardiente. They all get drunk to take away their sorrow. Then they look for some great man, an important man, and one who knows what must be done in the house of death. It is not necessary that he should be a chuchqajau, but he must know something of ritual - like a kalpul. If they want him to make Responses in the house, in front of the house, in the kitchen, it will cost 4 pesos for each Response. And if a chuchqajau has been making defenses for the sick man, and they have been of no use, they call him to come and burn incense in the house, and he will only ask them for the incense and the candles for the church. Now when the chuchqajau arrives in the house of the dead, he asks for a little incense to burn in the rooms where the patient died, calling upon the spirits of the dead. "Hail, Divine World, and also this house and place. Perhaps Sickness and Misfortune are seated here, watching and waiting for this poor Jos6 Morales, 60 Las Casas, Apologgtica Historia, p. 470. Cap. CLXXIV DEATH 151 and perhaps his spirit also is here, before or beneath his body, or else in the bed or beneath the bed of the deceased. Come hither, and come hither also you, his grandmothers, you his grandfathers that you may receive him and embrace him, the spirit of your child, so that he may not wander in the roads and paths; but that you may bear him yonder to where you are gathered together in your comings and goings, clear before his presence. Why is it that he has died, this poor one? By this he has entered yonder with you. May his spirit not remain here, and may it not be seen by his mother and father, nor by his brothers. "Hail, Divine World. You watch our comings and goings, our death. And so do us this favor on behalf of this poor one. Did we not give his payment? But that was not what was needed. But he is before your presence in the World. In what consisted the sin which ended his fate we do not know. Only the jun kalamld... "I raise this poor one, Holy World, Holy Gods, Watchers and Listeners, Lord of Sickness and Misfortune! May the spirit of this poor soul arise within this house. May his spirit ascend yonder to God." First they wash the head of the corpse. Then they place it in the center of the patio and clothe it with new clothing. If the deceased did not have. good clothing, they go out and buy new clothes for him. When he is dressed they put him in the coffin, and they put in with him all the things which he had, his sandals, hat, his cups from which he drank his coffee, his knives and shears, and all his old clothing - all that he possessed. When this is all ready the man tells them to take him out, and he goes beating the floor in all the rooms; he goes beating in the corners, in the kitchen, in the patio, and finally in the street in front of the house, in order that the soul may not linger in the house. On the way to the cemetery they stop for responses at each corner, and at the gate, and inside the gate. In front of the church they turn the coffin around many times so that the soul may lose its way. In the cemetery each person among those who accompany the coffin throws in a handful of earth on the coffin, and everyone drinks on the way to the cemetery, and in the cemetery, so as not to be sad. They take rockets with them when they leave the house, and they fire one in front of the church, and the rest they burn in the cemetery. If the dead man has been through the cofradias, they send for three or four mayordomos to chant the doctrina for him - - the Creed, the Ave Maria, etc., and to make Responses for him. In the cemetery they send for a chuchqajau. They bring 5 pesos of candles which the chuchqajau burns in the church to the ancestors of the dead man, informing them that their child is coming from this world, and asking them to receive him. All the relatives of the deceased kneel at the door of the church. Then they enter, as far as the middle of the church, no further. Here they kneel again. "Hail, Divine Blessed Spirits of our mothers and fathers of past time. You are here within his Holy Church. It is I who bring you the name and fortune of the soul of your son, Jose Morales. It seems that he has encountered death and destruction, and knows its meaning. We do not know. And indeed we have given him payment before the World. This is what his mother and father wished, that he might not be cast off, this poor one, their son. But grace was not granted to them. 152 CHICHICASTENANGO "Perhaps there is some meaning to this, or perhaps it was only what was designed for him before God. We do not know; only God, who carried off this poor one, and also the Divine Blessed Spirits in Purgatory, the Lords of Justice know it. "You are here for the entrance of this poor one before his mothers and fathers. May he not lose his road this poor spirit, Jose Morales. And wherever his grandmothers and grandfathers, there may his light and fortune remain. Hail, Divine Spirits, you have heard our one word, two words, only the jun kalamid..." Only this. Then we go out. After this as we return from the church: "Now we have finished the introduction of the name and fortune of this dead one, father. Let us go." "Yes, father, pardon us." "May you go in peace, and make your peace with God. Only do not say, Now we have done that which we should have done. We only helped a little, but it was not that which was needed. It lies before God, what is the meaning of this." "Just so, father. We cannot understand what is the meaning of his death." "So it is. Do not grieve more; you have already grieved enough, and have parted with much property." "Yes, father. Thank you. Let us go. We two have spoken together." "Yes. May you go in peace." And after we return from the cemetery all the family go to a tavern and get very drunk. Then they count nine days. During this time they do not do anything, but on the ninth day they spread out his mat and the blanket on which he died, because they believe that on this night he will come back to his house to sleep. They are not afraid of him, and they have everything ready for him. It was fortunate for me, I suppose, that there were no deaths in any of the families I knew well during my stay at Chichicastenango. I saw funerals, but always as an outsider, and only the public part. In that sprawling township a death outside the circle of one's intimates passed with as little notice as in New York or Boston. We passed funerals on the roads. If I asked, "Who died?" often my informant did not know. He might ask the bearers of the corpse and then tell me, "A man from Macsul," or "A woman from Xeabaj." It was no concern of his. It is not only the size and dispersion of the population that makes a death pass unnoticed; it is the calmness with which the bereaved accept their loss. There are primitive communities in which it is impossible not to be aware of a death anywhere in the community because of the terrific uproar and dislocation in the general life which such an event produces. Not so the Quiche. Death involves the grief of separation; the funeral celebrations are designed to minimize the painful affect. There is no horror in the presence of death, no dread of touching dead bodies, no great haste to dispose of them, no fear DEATH 153 of objects which have belonged to the dead. Incense is burned in a house after death, just as it is burned after a baptism in the course of which the ancestors are involved. It is an offering to them. If the deceased was an important personage many people foregather, especially the leading mayordomnos, to pay their respects and make merry at the grave. There is no ritualistic wailing, no tearing of garments or mutilating of the body. In a religion that abounds in penitential rites, there are none at funerals. On the contrary, the family strive to provide the best fiesta they can; there is a meal with meat, and plenty of aguardiente to dispel sorrow. The spirit is speeded on his way with rockets; the "mourners" linger at the grave to drink in order to dispel their grief, and at the conclusion of the ceremonies repair to estancos to continue this. In the funerals that I witnessed there was great jocularity at the grave. The relics of earlier burials thrown up by the gravediggers were examined with interest and passed from hand to hand, and opinions expressed regarding the sex and antiquity of the remains.61 The chuchqajau who appeared later at the church to introduce the soul of the departed to his ancestors, and the sorrowing relatives were all reeling drunk; after the brief ceremony they staggered off to continue their festivities in an estanco, whence their maudlin laughter resounded for several hours. They say they drink to forget their grief; one wonders whether this great show of merriment is not really the mark of a real release of tensions. But it is never safe to guess at the real sentiments of individuals at the death of relatives. But whatever their feelings may be, respect for the dead does not demand a great show of grief. They show respect for the dead rather by strict adherence to the moral code, and the faithful observance of commemorative ceremonies. In this connection it should be recalled that throughout Mexico and the Guatemala Highlands the day of the dead (All Souls Day, November 2) is a happy fiesta, when the dead are believed to return to visit their relatives by whom they are received with joyous welcome (See p. 421). 61 On these occasions I was struck by the contrast between my own squeamishness, and the apparent lack of any such reactions on the part of the natives. CHAPTER THREE GOVERNMENT El Brujo Habla: Quisas me hagare algun favor Ya mis sigilos ya no sirven Mejor me voy al bautismo Pues solo copal y porn Come el volcan grande. Gracias a Cristo, crucificade Por quien recibi el bautismo Tambien por Don Pedro de Alvarado Por quien voy, hacer Cristiano. Que viva Maria Santissima Y Jesus Sacramentado! Que viva la Reyna de los Indios Y muera todo vil malvado (Se van al Bautismo, Espafoles e Indios, bailando.)l Baptism Each Sunday at noon, when the midday Angelus is rung, and the social life of Chichicastenango has reached its weekly climax, the priest puts on his cassock and alb and enters the church to perform the baptisms.2 Earlier in the day the godfather has registered the child in the town records and received the birth certificate which is turned over to the 1 From an old text of the "Dance of the Conquest" in the possession of a master of the dance in Santa Cruz Quich6. 2 Priests in Guatemala are forbidden by law to appear in clerical robes outside of the Church. Whether or not the priest considers it necessary to put on his cassock is a measure of the official recognition accorded to a ceremony. The priest never donned a cassock when called for Responses. This is not a part of recognized Church ritual, but a "favor which he does for these poor people" (the quotation is from Father Rossbach). 154 BAPTISM 155 priest with the fee of 51 pesos for the baptism. Now at noon, after waiting patiently in the shady restreats of the convent patio, the parents, godparents and babies repair to the church. The godfathers line up before the baptistry holding their children. The mothers kneel in the center of the church. Sometimes a padrino will stand sponsor for more than one child. He takes his place at the head of the line. After the priest has passed with the holy oils he slips out, returns the child to its mother and reappears at the foot of the line with the second child. He returns to the head of the line with the first to receive the cross of salt. Each godparent holds in his hand a slip of paper on which the priest has written the name chosen for the child, so that it is not necessary to interrupt the service to ask the sponsor what name to give the child. The slip of paper serves also as a receipt, and a guarantee that no child receives the blessed oils whose parents have not paid the fee. Later the record of the baptism is entered in the parish archives. The information is taken from the birth certificate. There are about twenty-five baptisms each Sunday when the priest is in residence. With those performed on Thursdays, baptisms average about 125 a month. One Saturday morning, shortly after my arrival in Chichicastenango, the women in Miguel's house were busy baking bread. His daughter and granddaughter, both girls of about twelve, were kneading the dough. It was the sweet bread that is used only at family fiestas, and it was for Miguel's nina, for on the following day he was to stand as sponsor for a child at her baptism. But the ceremony at which the godparent instructs his child was to take place that afternoon. The child was a grandchild of Sebastian Martin, mayordomo of San Sebastian, and the ceremony was to be held at his house. So here we went that afternoon. The ceremony was not held in the sala, because that room was reserved for the cult of San Sebastian, but in the kitchen. Only the residents of the house - old Sebastian and his two sons, and the infant's maternal grandparents, and the godfather and his wife, were present. But what took place at this ceremony is best described in the words of the godfather:3 In the beginning, the parents of the child, remembering the words of the midwife when she left the child, think about her baptism. Then the father of the man, and the father of the girl, the parents of the child, talk it over together and decide whom they shall call to serve as compadre for the baptism of their grandchild. It may be anyone, but they will think to choose someone who knows the office of padrino, and who burns candles to San Juan, the 3 This account is abbreviated from a Quiche text. A fuller text of the formal speeches is given by Schultze-Jena, pp. 78 ff. ~W* 156 CHICHICASTENANGO protector of our name and fortune. When they have decided, and have decided on the date, then the father of the woman goes to notify the man, and ask him to serve as compadre for his grandchild. He goes to his house on a Sunday or Monday morning, very early, at about three or four o'clock... After they have exchanged greetings he states his errand. Then they begin to converse together: "Yes, Compadre, greetings. Now we have exchanged the words of God..." So they go on to arrange at what time on Saturday they shall have the blessing of the child, whether in the morning or in the afternoon, or on Sunday morning. They do not do this in the middle of the day, that would be a sin. Now we come to Saturday of the folllwing week. In the morning the father of the infant comes to the godfather with a gourd of atole. He says "Compadre,"4 and gives him the gourd. He empties it. If the young man is bashful he does not give the salutation, but proceeds at once to his errand. "Your compadre has sent me with this little bit to drink." "Thank you, sit down." - "Compadre, we are waiting for you over there." - "All right, I shall go at once." - "Thank you, Compadre." So they go. Soon they arrive at the house of the young man. The godfather carries his tunic (or if it is a woman, her overblouse) in his hand. When they are near the house, he puts it on. They come to the corridor. The compadre grande is standing in the door. They say, "Compadre, greetings." Then he turns to the kitchen and says, "Comadre, greetings." The woman answers. The compadre grande says, "Come in." They go into the kitchen, or if they have a separate room, in there. The compadre grande offers him a seat. If there is a saint in the room where they enter he kneels before the saint asking pardon and saying what is his errand in this house, and ends with the doctrina and the sign of the cross. Then he greets the compadre again, and sits down. Now begins the salutation in full, and the compadre grande gives the reply. Then he asks them to bring alittle something to drink from the kitchen. It is brought by the young woman. She kneels and says, "Compadre, accept this bit of hot water." - "Yes, Comadre." Now compadre grande speaks, "Compadre, excuse this bit of drink. Perhaps your comadre has made mistakes, but forgive her. She stripped the corn and mixed it with the taboo cacao, and added a little warm water. Perhaps it tastes good, perhaps not. But please excuse it. And I pray you to give the blessing over our drink, which is that of Our Father, Jesus Christ. Compadre, excuse us." - "Many thanks, Compadre." He repeats what has been said, and makes the sign of the cross twice over the drink. Then he takes it. When he has finished they offer him another if he wishes it. After this he explains his errand. "Compadre, excuse me. I would not have intruded in your house were it not for the word which was spoken to me a week ago..." So he goes on to repeat what had been said when first they came to his house. Then he continues: "Now, this is the day, this is the hour when our ancestors, the sainted comadres, compadres performed their ceremonies. But they did not take their rites and customs with them when they departed. They remain here in this world, and I am repeating what they once did, Compadre.... This, then, is why I have come, Compadre: to ask and beg 4 The term compadre ( Q: Kompale) is used reciprocally between a man and his godfather, and the godfather of his children or grandchildren; the cornpadre grande is the paternal grandfather of the infant. The wives of these men use comadre as a reciprocal. BAPTISM 157 and implore light and fortune for my child, and the fulfilment of his fourteen rites and customs. That is why I have come at this time. Excuse me, Compadre." The compadre repeats this. Then he says: "Many thanks, Campodre, that you have come, Indeed, this is why we called your person, Compadre. Daughter, bring the child." - So the mother comes, with her child. She has the braids of her hair over her shoulders.6 She kneels before the godfather holding the child. "Here is our child, Compadre." He receives the child and holds it with the head on his left arm. The woman returns to the kitchen. The padrino says: "Compadre, excuse the question. What is my child, a girl or a boy? And what is his name?" Then the father of the child answers that it is a girl, and that her name is Manuela. And now begins his speech over the child: "Yes, Our Father, Christ in Calvario, and Our Father Christ in Heaven, come hither. This is the day, this is the hour appointed last week; this is the day, this is the hour in which I make my interruptions and annoyances. But Thou, Father Christ, shalt not be forgotten by us; always we shall call upon Thee through these Thy rites and customs which Thou has left to us in this world. And also you, Lords and Rulers, our first ancestors, comadres and compadres in this world. You did not take your rites and customs with you. You left them here in this world. And I am only repeating what you laid down. And today I pray that thus your rites and customs may be served..." (Now he begins to explain the duties of the child, according to whether it is a boy or a girl)... "My little girl, my daughter Manuela, may your destiny be revealed. Listen to what I tell you. The first labor of our departed mothers and fathers was that of alguacil, first alguacil, second alguacil. You will share these labors through marriage with a man, who for twelve months is liable to this service. And also the service of the four or five mayores of the cofradias... (So he goes through all the services in the fourteen cofradias, and also all the services in the municipality. Then he continues:) "And also perhaps it will be your destiny to serve as holy comadre, holy compadre, holder and bearer of infants before the presence of our priest in the Holy Church. "And perhaps you will be called to serve through the rites of divination. The First People went about above and below to watch over and to deliver the seekers after knowledge from the ills and misfortunes which beset them. Perhaps this is your destiny, perhaps not, but I pray for it, if such should be your light and fortune. My daughter, Manuela, listen to what I tell you: Should the seekers of knowledge come to you at dawn or at midday, or in the evening, or at midnight, you must attend them. You have heard, my daughter, Manuela. "And perhaps you will be called upon to serve in the rites and customs which our Mother Santa Ana Porpeta6 left in this world. They will call upon you to rise by day and by night. Perhaps you will pass one corner, two corners, one league, two leagues in going to look after your patients. And perhaps you will sleep there one night, two nights, according to the progress of 5 Women usually have their hair combed back. No one could give any reason for this change of headdress, but it was always mentioned. 6 The patron of midwives. 158 CHICHICASTENANGO your patients. My daughter, be faithful in this work. I beseech this, should such be your light and fortune. "And you will have care of your weavings, and of the little animals in the cloth (he names all the animals used as designs)... And you will have charge of coppers and nickels, and of the sowing of corn and wheat and beans,7 and of many other things in the course of time in this world, according to your own destiny. May you have good fortune in all kinds of sales and purchases, and in all your labors and business. And may you be industrious and exacting in all your work. You have heard, my daughter, Manuela. "I do not say today that this is the end. No, my daughter, Manuela. May your soul be instructed and your destiny fulfilled. Tomorrow I shall come to receive you beneath the feet and hands of my comadre, to bear you before the door of the Holy Church. And when the hour of twelve strikes, that is the time when they shall watch for us, our ancestors. We shall gather in the house of the Holy Church, beneath the parochial convent. This is what we shall do, my daughter, Manuela. May you be instructed. In this hour Our Father, San Juan Bautista will give us his blessing through the hands of our priest, when he marks your person with the Holy Oil. Then we shall return and I shall leave you here in this very place beneath the feet and hands of my comadre. As I receive you, so shall I bring you back again. Be advised, my daughter, Manuela. "Yes, Father Christ, and you also, First People, Lords of this rite and custom. Again I make my intrusions, and pray that my daughter may serve faithfully according to her light and fortune, in the fourteen, fifteen cofradias, and in all other rites and labors which Our Father Christ left in this world, and which the First People believed and followed. So I have prayed on behalf of my daughter. "Father Christ, I do not say that today I have finished my work. No Lord. Perhaps tomorrow at twelve o'clock I shall go to the Holy Church with my daughter that she may be received in baptism, praying, Father Christ, that you may grant the light of your face to my daughter in this hour. And you, also, Lords and Masters of this rite, I pray that you may be with us in this hour, that nothing may befall us in the streets or in the church; especially for my little daughter. Yes, Lord Christ, I pray that you may grant us your blessing. There is nothing more save to ask your blessing with one line, two lines of our doctrina..." Then he calls the parents of the child and they kneel before him. He makes the sign of the cross four times, saying, "In the name of God the Father and God the Son and the Holy Ghost." Then he says, "Comadre, here is our daughter." The mother receives the child and takes her to the other room. Now the padrino speaks: "Yes, compadre. Pardon these long prayers and supplications for my daughter. But we must always pray for the fourteen, fifteen cofradic s and the other rites and customs which our Father Christ left marked out for us, and in which our ancestors served faithfully. "However, God will pardon us, compadre. And also, I do not say that today is the end of my service. No, compadre. Tomorrow when twelve strikes I shall come again to this house and place, and then indeed I shall be the holy compadre, holy comadre, to receive and bear my daughter. Again I shall 7 Women do no agricultural work, and rarely trade in the plaza. BAPTISM 159 make my intrusions, to take my daughter from beneath the feet and hands of my comadre, and then we shall take our way. Perhaps we shall pass one corner, two corners, one block, two blocks, and so shall reach the door of the Holy Church. There we shall kneel, as did our ancestors, according to their beliefs. When the bells struck twelve, they gathered in the door of the church. They believed and respected the rites of the holy godfathers, holy godmothers. They knelt in the door of the church praying and askingpardon, and they turned, facing Calvario, asking the blessing of Christ, and they turned again facing the third quarter of the world, and again facing the fourth quarter of the world, asking pardon of the mountain Poqojil, the highest of our hills,8 and of the guardians who go about in the cold wind. And then we shall pass within, between the pillars, and there kneel to ask blessing of the ancestors, who are there in their divine aspect, the holy comadres, holy compadres, that they may give their blessing of Christianity to our daughter. Then we shall go to kneel before the cross with the same prayer, and then, we shall kneel in front of San Juan Bautista with the same prayer, and then in the place of the Lords of Justice to ask pardon, and that they may give their blessing and Christianity to our daughter, and we shall ask the same of our Lord Sacramento in the altar. Then we shall repeat the doctrina and the sign of the cross. "Then we go in to the priest to give him the ticket.9 (We believe that it is the child herself that brings the ticket.) Then we shall go into the corridor to wait. If, when we arrive in the corridor there are others before us, we ask them whether they have already been to the padre, and if not we wait until he is finished. And if one of the important men comes into the corridor we all get up out of respect for him. And now when it is the hour we enter the church, and kneel once again before Seiior Sacramento and before the dead saying, 'Lords and Masters of Justice, and also our Lord, Sefor Sacramento, see us and be with us in this moment.' "Then we proceed to the bapistry to receive the sacrament at the hands of the priest. When this is over we kneel again between the pillars, and say: "Yes, Lords and Rulers, Holy Comadres, Holy Compadres, you have given us grace and favor to receive on behalf of my daughter, the blessing and the holy oils from the hands of our priest. Now give us leave to depart from you even as we came in, with these few words of our doctrina.' (Doctrina and the sign of the cross). Then we greet one another, and again in the door of the church the same, and again at the foot of the steps. "Now the priest will have given his blessing to our daughter, and the holy oil and the cross of salt and the cross of water. From these my daughter will have the scent and perfume, compadre. If God grants us life and grace, and good health to our daughter, we shall fulfill these customs tomorrow at twelve, compadre." Now the padrino has finished the explanations to the father of the child, and the father repeats all that has been said. After all this the corpadre grande says: "Please excuse us. Wait a moment." They place a little table in front of the compadre, covered with a napkin, and bring him a basin of water with another napkin. His comadre brings them, and says: "Compadre, will you wash your hands?" After he has finished she goes and kneels in 8 The most important shrine for occult worship. 9 The birth certificate from the town hall. 160 CHICHICASTENANGO front of her father. Then she goes to bring the puliq and puts it on the table, and she brings tamales and puts them on the table. She also brings a little dish of puliq, "to warm the other," and cacao on a plate, covered with a napkin. Only this. The compadre grande speaks: "Yes, compadre, excuse us, for making these annoyances. We just place on this table this poor bit of food, this bit of puliq. Perhaps your comadre has made mistakes. She stripped the corn (for the tamales) and added to it this bit of sauce to offer to you as a sign that our daughter has received the blessing, and also as a sign to you, compadre, that you have been charged with this rite and custom which our first ancestors left in this world. Conpadre, do us the honor to accept this poor bit. And also, compadre, this other annoyance which lies with it on the table, the poor grain or two of cacao, the sign that our daughter has received the blessing, and the sign that you, compadre, have been charged with this rite and custom of our ancestors, compadre; this forbidden cacao, the forbidden tree. Our Father, Jesus Christ, has set it apart throughout the years since the time when the world was first created, compadre, God has revived it, compadre."'~ Before blessing the food he takes a pinch of salt and sprinkles it in the dishes, as a sign to the ancestors. Then the woman takes the dishes back to the kitchen and each member of the family eats a little of the blessed food, and they place other dishes for the padrino. A little boy comes with incense and goes around the room burning the incense, for the dead who have been called and invited to eat. Then the padrino says: "And you also, compadre, please eat." The host thanks him and they begin to eat. They have brought him two dishes, a large and a small dish, and something to drink. He does not eat the large dish of puliq; that is for Our Lord. He only eats the little one. After eating he thanks his host, and there are a few words; then he invokes Christ again. "Yes, Father Christ, excuse us. You have done us the great honor to receive the scent of the love of my compadre; and you also, first ancestors, you have received and smelled of that which was placed upon this table by my compadre, which came of his love. Father Christ, and you, Rulers, I have committed my sins and annoyances in serving my body with this food, and for this I have to thank you, Father Christ, and you, Rulers; and to beseech you that my compadre and his sons may be repaid in their house and possessions. Permit me to thank you, but I have no way in which to thank you, save these few words of our doctrina.. Give us your hand in blessing upon our face and heads." He makes the sign of the cross twice over the dishes of food, and the little boy comes again to burn incense in the room. Then the compadre grande calls the women to come and remove the dishes and to bring his compadre water with which to wash his hands. Then they come again with a small gourd of atole. The padrino takes this and they sit there a while talking. This is when the padrino gives the present of clothing for the baby. "Yes, compadre. I must make my urgent requests, for we cannot buy the road of Our Lord, the burning sun. Therefore we must be brief. Compadre, the first ancestors rejoiced and celebrated and embraced within their families. 10 Here follow the blessing of the cacao and the "Resuscitation of Christ" in substantially the same form as in the rituals of the cofradias. For the complete text see p. 232. BAPTISM 161 The first ancestors called in godfathers for their children, and served them, with prayers and blessings, according to the rites which they held. And now you have done me the honor and kindness to receive mewell asyour compadre, and for this I give you thanks." "Do not say that, comnpadre. It is very little which you have received." "Compadre, I have come as godfather of this infant; the first ancestors did not only come and look and talk according to their rites. No, they brought their great gifts of new clothing for their children. But whereas they lived in riches, we now, compadre, are suffering from poverty so that it is all we can do to earn our living. Therefore, compadre, please deign to receive this poor gift which I am making for my daughter. Compadre, excuse me." The compadre makes the formal repetition of this, and then says: "Yes, Our King, Jesus Christ, and you also, first ancestors. It is you who left these customs in this world, and for this I thank you. And also may it be your will to repay compadre in his house and his possessions for this gift which he has made our child." He makes the sign of the cross twice over the clothing, and kisses it, looking at God. "Do not say that, compadre. It appears unduly modest, that poor gift which I have given you, compadre." "Many thanks, compadre." He calls the parents of the baby. "Come and give thanks to my compadre for this beautiful present which he has given to his daughter." The parents of the child come and kneel before the corpadre and thank him, "Many thanks, compadre. May God reward you." The comnpadre blesses them, and they go back to their places. The present is usually a little sweater or a colored handkerchief, but if the family is one of the important people the compadres make the garments at home by hand. And the parents make a correspondingly large offering of food. Some people give money, about 5 pesos, instead of clothing. Usually they call the same man for compadre of all the children in a family, and in this case he only gives a present to the first child. Sometimes they have one compadre for all the boys and one for all the girls. After this we sit for a while, talking. The godfather asks the father if he has the birth certificate from the town hall, and money for the priest, and all the things that are necessary. I tell them how much they need, and they say, "Ay Dids! it is a lot!" Then, after a while the compadre prepares to go... When he arrives the following day at twelve they are waiting for him. There is no time for the formal greetings, so he only says, "I am here," and they hand him the child. They give him a little atole to drink, and while he is drinking it they bring the child. They go at once to the church. The compadre goes with them and at each corner they stop and exchange greetings. They arrive at the door of the church. Here they kneel again. Now they take the child to be baptised as already described, and after it is over return to the house, stopping at each corner to greet one another as they did going. They stop in the door of the patio, at the door of the room, and then they enter and sit down. They come and take the child. "Now through the grace of God, my daughter has availed herself of Holy Baptism, and has received the perfume of the holy oils." They bring the godfather another drink of atole, which they give with the usual speeches, 162 CHICHICASTENANGO and now their work is over. After he has drunk, he gives thanks. Then he says to the compadre: "Yes, compadre. Now we have availed ourselves of this blessing and our daughter has received her baptism. I leave my daughter in good health. Compadre, you are the head of the family and take precedence over my compadre and comadre. Will you have the kindness to tell my comadre that she should take good care of my daughter; that she should not let her cry; that she should care for her by night in order that nothing may happen to bring the spirit of death, for often this happens, Compadre." "Very well, compadre. We thank you for this good advice which you give us." "Yes, compadre. Now please take your rest. Now I shall trouble you to let me depart from your presence." "May you go in peace, compadre." So he greets his compadre, and his comadre. And now the matter of baptism is finished. Afterwards if there is any sickness, they come to the compadre to ask for medicines. And sometimes the compadre sends gifts to his godchild on the day of his saint and for fiestas. Church and State So, in the presence of God, the idols, the ancestors, and the Mountain Poqojil, little Manuela has been accepted into the Church and the civic body of Chichicastenango. The brief ritual in which the infant receives the sacrament and blessing of the Church is only the culmination of a long series of ceremonies which involves many things besides the religious mystery. An infant is not baptised immediately after birth. He is named at birth, by the midwife, and other ceremonies are performed for his "light and fortune," but not baptism. Should an infant die unbaptised, no anxiety is felt for his soul. It is felt that he has been called by his ancestors, that his soul was not strong enough for life. They wait to see if he is going to live; baptism is expensive. Often it is put off for six months and many infants die unbaptised. The Quiches, for all their strong sense of sin, never speak of original sin. The idea that everyone is born sinful, and that this sin must be washed away seems quite foreign to them. The sacrament of baptism has, therefore, lost for them the primary significance that it has in the Catholic Church, but has taken on completely new meaning. It is the "mark of Christianity" upon the child - his tribal initiation. When Manuela reaches the years of discretion there will be no confirmation in which she will take upon her own shoulders thepromises made in her behalf by her sponsor. Confirmation is not one of the Sacraments accepted by the Indians. From that fact alone CHURCH AND STATE 163 many things follow concerning the nature of Quiche Catholicism. It is baptism, with its Church ceremony and its equally important civic ceremony conducted by an official patron of children, that establishes the child's position as a member of the community. This ceremony is curiously lacking in personal implications; all the prayers and exhortations concern public life - the child's life as a citizen, her responsibilities to her fellow men in any special office which she may be called upon to exercise. Prayers for personal blessings, for health and prosperity and peace of mind are performed privately by the father or grandfather or a chuchqajau on the day of birth, as part of the system of occult worship that has no place in Catholic ritual, and uses its own distinct esoteric calendar. All the details, form and intent of the ceremony in which the godfather, on behalf of the community, accepts the child, belong to the ritual complex of the cofradias, those half-religious, half-political societies about which the public life of Chichicastenango revolves. Catholic ritual is fixed and immutable in form and content. The services for the various days of the year and hours of the day, the office of the priests, and the sacramental system may not be tampered with; they are the same in all countries and all places. They are the substance of the Universal Church. Upon this rigid core have grown many accretions - those local cults and customs and celebrations that have given to Catholicism its characteristic colors in different places. The Church is a chameleon, but it is always the Church. From/ the point of view of the priest the rite of baptism as performed at Chichicastenango is part of this immutable body of ritual. But even stripped of its non-ecclesiastical accretions it is questionable whether this is really a Christian baptism. One important ritual requirement has not been met in the relationship between godparent and child. The Quiche godparent is not a sponsor in the ritualistic sense; he assumes no responsibility for the child's soul until he is relieved of that responsibility at the child's confirmation. He is merely the spokesman of the community. The reinterpretation of baptism, which is the only part of Catholic ritual which has been fully accepted1 epitomizes the role of the Church in Indian life. It is highly incorrect to say that the Indians are professing Catholics, that they give lip service to Catholicism or 11 The Indians do not really accept the Eucharist although they attend Mass and even pay to have Masses said on Saints' days; they do not meet the Church requirements regarding weekly attendance, and never take 'Communion. It should be understood that the word ritual is used here in its narrow ecclesiastical definition. 164 CHICHICASTENANGO that they have accepted a thin veneer of Christianity. They are not hypocrites and they are not ambivalent. In fact, they are not Catholics at all. The Church is one of their most venerated institutions; it plays I an important role in the social structure of the community and in the lives of individuals. It is not quite the role that Rome would have it play - but it is a dignified role nevertheless. It is the temporal power, not the spiritual power of the Church that is enthroned in the splendid building set upon its high platform. It should be recalled that the church buildings and land belong to the municipality and are maintained by public service. In Chichicastenango, Church and State are one. The problems of the individual soul, of life and death, sin and salvation, the relationship of man to the supernatural and to his own conscience are worked out through other institutions. The Church is primarily political - a state temple in which the rulers and their surrogates discharge their religious obligations to the commonwealth. This can be understood only against its historic background. The Quiches were first baptised on the field of battle. They accepted Christ and the King of Spain at the same time. In Spain the separation of Church and State was not completed until 1931. The conquest of the New World took place in that brief period between the expulsion of the Moors and the Catholic Reformation, when Charles V was King of Spain and Emperor of Rome. This was the period of the greatest extension of the Holy Roman Empire, before the temporal power of the Church had been menaced by the Protestant Revolution and the rise of nationalism. Throughout Europe and especially in Spain, Church and State were united. Maria Santissima was the battle cry of the Conquistadores. Christianity is not the first State religion these people knew. Are not the stones of ancient temples built into the town hall of Santa Cruz? Christianity bestowed in battle at the point of the sword never became a spiritual force in the lives of this people, but has remained the ecclesiastical arm of government. The Cofradias The union of Church and State which is a fundamental principle of Quiche government is achieved through the cofradia system. To one who is familiar with Spanish background, and has seen the cofradias of Seville parading during Holy Week, the term cofradia is misleading. The Spanish cofradia is a fraternal organization, devoted to the cult of some Saint. Membership is permanent, voluntary and unre THE COFRADIAS 165 stricted and the organizations are only indirectly political. The only things that the Quiche cofradia shares with its Spanish prototype are the name and the connection with a Saint. The Quiche name for the cofradias is chaq patdn, literally "work-service."2 Membership is strictly limited; the positions are public posts filled by appointment and graded in rank. To hold one of these posts for a year at a time is an inescapable obligation of citizenship, which, in theory, falls three or four or more times in a lifetime upon each adult male. These periods of service alternate with similar periods of compulsory service in the civil branch of government, and only those who "have been through the cofradias," are eligible for the highest civil offices and places in the permanent council. On the other hand, the civil officers supervise the affairs of the cofradias, especially finances, make all appointments, and remove for malfeasence. There are fourteen cofradias at Chichicastenango. Each one has six members, except San Miguel, Sacramento, and Maria Rosario which have eight members each. Each one owns the image of a saint which is kept on an altar in the house of the First Mayordomo,l3 and taken to the church only for fiestas. After the termination of the fiesta the saint is ceremoniously installed in his new house. The patio is open, separated from the street by a low gate; the low whitewashed houses with their tile roofs are grouped comfortably without crowding around a spacious court. Everything is bare and clean and unpretentious. The sala has been swept and the floor strewn with fresh pine needles. Two pine branches stand on either side of the gate; two more flanking the door to the sala. These are indicators of the ceremonial status of the house. The ceiling is hung with hundreds of little rustling banners of cut-out tissue paper. A new mat is spread on a table at one end of the room away from the door and on this the saint is placed. Before the image are placed the silver standards of the cofradia. There are pottery candlesticks with tall candles, and vases with tuberoses or other fragrant flowers. Most of the cofradias have other sacred objects besides the image of the saint - the infant disciple of Santo Tomas, the creche figures belonging to the Virgin 12 The term cofradia is used by the natives when speaking Spanish. Similar organizations in Mexico are called Mayordomias; the members mayordomos. The title mayordoro (Q. martdm) is used at Chichicastenango in preference to cofrade for a member of a cofradia. 13 TheFirst and Second Mayordomos are knownby the titles First and Second Alcalde, the titles which are given to the highest civil officers, the other mayordomos are known just by number: third, fourth, etc. To avoid confusion, First and Second Mayordomo will be used where the native uses First and Second Alcalde. For the complete list of the cofradias see p. 167. 166 CHICHICASTENANGO of the Nativity, the sorrowing angels that accompany Maria Dolores and the cock that rebuked Saint Peter. These also stand on the altar. To one side stands the chest containing the wardrobe of the saint. On Sunday and feast days there are candles burning in the candlesticks and fresh flowers in the vases. In the cofradia of Santo Tomas large tallow candles burn constantly, day and night. They say he is hungry for candles, and abuses his mayordomos if they do not give them; and knocks on the door of the room to rouse the mayordomos if the candles fall down during the night. The room will remain thus for the year, open daily as a place of worship for the people, where they may come to burn candles and to ask favors. The houses of the three "patrons," Santo Tomas, San Sebastian, San Jose are visited a great deal in connection with personal ceremonies of all kinds. At the house of the cofradias two mayordomos are in constant attendance. They take turns, serving one week each. In the cofradias of six members, each member serves one week in three, in the cofradias of eight one week of each four. They watch the candles to prevent fire, keep the house in order, and, if the priest is in residence, attend Mass. During their weeks on duty they sleep in the house, but in another room. On Sundays and holidays all the mayordomos are expected to be in attendance. The mayordomos have a special costume for formal appearances, - a plain open-sleeved black tunic worn over the everyday embroidered one. The wives, too, have special huipiles for formal occasions, plain white with narrow bands of embroidery on the shoulders - plain in comparison with the sumptuously embroidered and beribboned huipiles for ordinary use. The ceremonial huipil is always worn over the skirt, and unbelted. Each of the mayordomos has special responsibilities. The First and Second Mayordomos know the ritual and recite the prayers. They are the responsible ritualists. The Third Mayordomo (Rox) is the master of ceremonies and executive official. He delivers the messages of invitation, escorts the alcaldes when their presence is necessary, buys the candles and other articles essential to the ceremonies, looks after the Saint's wardrobe and the finances of the organization. Four (Ukaj) is responsible for the food for the sacramental meals. Five (Ro') takes care of the house, brings the pine, sweeps the floor, takes care of candles and flowers. Six (Uqaq) has charge of the sale of drinks at the zarabandas, the drinking and dancing parties by means of which the cofradia is financed. The wives of each have their work also. The wife of the First Mayordomo does no work; she is the mistress of the house. The wife THE COFRADiAS 167 of the Second Mayordomo sits in the doorway of the kitchen and directs the work of preparing and serving food. The wife of Three makes the atole which is the principal ritualistic drink; the wife of Four carves the meat and prepares the stew; the wives of Five and Six do the cleaning in the kitchen, wash the dishes, look after the cooking pots and tend the fire. The food is served by the fourth, fifth and sixth mayordomos. The cult of each saint has its round of ceremonies, culminating in the feast of the titular saint, at which time the election and installation of officers for the following year takes place. The more important cofradias have minor ceremonies also. The following is a list of the fourteen cofradias of Chichicastenango with the number of mayordomos belonging to each and the dates of their principal fiestas. Cofradias in Chichicastenango:14 Padre Eterno (6) Santo Tomas (6) San Jose (6) San Sebastian (6) El Sacramento (8) Virgin del Rosario (8) San Miguel (8) La Santa Cruz (6) Jesus Nazarenos (6) Maria Dolor (6) Virgin de la Concepcion (6) Virgin de la Coronacion (6) San Pedro Martyr (6) San Jeronimo Doctor (6) January 1 December 21 March 19 January Corpus Christi First Sunday in October September 29, and Todos Santos (Nov. 1) May 3 and September 14 Fridays in Lent Fridays in Lent Second Sunday in October August 18 April 29, June 29 September 30 The First and Second Mayordomos of Santo Tomas, San Jose, San Sebastian, Sacramento, Rosario, San Miguel possess silver standards as their insignia of office, making twelve standards in all. The standards are called in Spanish vara (in Quich6 bara), the same word that is also used for the canes of office of the alcaldes, and the divining kit of the sorcerers. The primary application seems to be to the canes of the alcaldes, which are, actually, varas. From these it was applied 14 Schultze-Jena's list differs from mine. He omits La Cruz and lists Virgin del Octavo Rosario, which is another image in the cofradia of La Concepci6n. 168 CHICHICASTENANGO to all symbols of power, authority and responsibility. These standards are transferred at the time of the change of office in each cofradia. These twelve rmayordomos form the council that administers all ecclesiastical affairs. Their functions are many and varied; along with the higher officials of the municipality they appoint new mayordomos in all the cofradias, and officiate at their installation, (the First Alcalde makes the speeches of installation). They supervise the finances of the cofradias, and the correct carrying out of the ritual. They are expected to attend Mass regularly. AfterMass they meet in the corridor of the convent to discuss ecclessiastical affairs - the arrangements for forthcoming fiestas: how many Masses to order, and how to raise the money to pay for them and similar administrative problems. They meet with the alcaldes and the principales when questions of public policy are discussed, and when any protest is made to the authorities outside. They attend the fiestas of the cofradias and walk at the head of all processions. They attend the fiesta dances where special places are reserved for them, and they are respectfully plied with aguardiente by their hosts. Some of them attend the funerals of important men as representatives of the community. On all their official appearances they carry their silver standards in the right hand, and these standards are treated with the greatest veneration. They touch them to the heads of all who greet them,15 as a mark of blessing. Whenever they come together they greet each other ceremoniously - touching each other with their sacred standards. The standards are about two feet tall. The central oval has embossed representations of saints (not necessarily the saint of the cofradia for which it serves as insignia), surrounded by the characteristic Mexican-Spanish sun-ray ornamentation. The lower handle has a socket for the insertion of a tall staff, and they are usually so mounted when carried abroad. When not in use, the shield tops are removed from their stems and placed on the altar of the cofradia. When the mayordomos of one cofradia visit another they place their standards on the altar of their hosts; in church they are leaned against the sides of the high altar.16 15 The standard does not actually touch the head. The layman bows his head (women kneel) and the mayordomo brings his shield-like part of the standard close to his forehead. A twill cloth, such as is used for serving ritual meals is always wrapped about the handle of the standard so that the hand does not come in direct contact with it. Cloths are used in this way in handling the images of the saints and other sacred objects. 16 The handling of these sacred objects shows much in common with the handling of the sacred corn fetishes of the Pueblo Indians, even to such details as visitors placing their own sacred insignia on the altars of their hosts. THE COFRADiAS 169 The cofradias are not all equal in importance, nor do they have exactly similar ceremonies. Certain things are common to all-notably the ceremonies of the retreat (Sp: el muraci6n, literally the "walling up") This begins with preliminary conferences of the mayordomos to lay plans, and opens officially with the gathering of the food to be consumed at the coming fiesta (the moloj). There is a check-up of the affairs of the outgoing officials by the municipality and the council of mayordomos, the "election" - the actual choice of new incumbents is made quietly by the council, and announced at the formal meeting in the house of the cofradia - the Mass and procession of the saint, the investiture of the new mayordomos at a later date, the transfer of the saint and his belongings to the new house. All these things will be described in detail at another place. This forms the essential core of the cofradia ritual. According to the importance of the cofradia, these essentials may be accompanied by parallel ceremonies in other cofradias, visits back and forth, multiple processions, dancing, drinking and general festivity. The fiesta of Santo Tomas, the patron saint of the village, with its huge market, influx of foreigners, great processions, masked dances, palo de volador and other entertainments, is "muy alegre." That of San Pedro Martyr, in which only the one saint comes out for his Mass and a solitary procession around the plaza, is "triste." Between these extremes are many grades of importance and ritualistic elaboration. 1. Padre Eterno (Q: Termo). Although from the standpoint of general festivity this cofradia is of minor importance, and although its mayordomos do not possess silver standards, and sit on the official council, it is considered, on purely theological grounds, the head ranking cofradia. The saint always comes last, the position of greatest honor, in processions. This cofradia is associated with the municipal government. The alcaldes have as their sacred possession a painting of the Trinity which is also called Padre Eterno, and which is brought out for the change of officers. The cofradia celebrates its retreat and election on the same date (January 1st). It has a second ceremony at Pentecost (Espiritu Santo).l? 2. Santo Tomds. This is the most important of the cofradias. The mayordomos have silver standards, and a voice in the council. Santo Tomas is the patron saint of the town. His fiesta - December 17 - 22 - is the most important. It lasts for six days; all the cofradias come out; there is the largest market of the year, perhaps the largest in the Highlands. There are masked dances, an animal fair, concessions for gambling, a great deal of drinking, and the gathering of huge crowds from all over the Highlands. The post of mayordomo of Santo Tomas is one of great responsibility. The cofradia maintains a meat stall in the plaza to help defray the expenses of its fiestas, and holds many zarabandas. The cult of the saint is important; the house is 17 The fiestas of the cofradias will be described in the next chapter. 170 CHICHICASTENANGO visited by many penitents and suppliants making offerings in connection with personal requests. The image of Santo Tomas is that of a man with a child in his arm - the usual Catholic representation of the Apostle. The child figure, which can be removed, is called Assuncion (Ascenci6n). Therefore the feast of the Ascension (forty days after Easter) is celebrated in this cofradia. 3. San Jose and 4. San Sebastian (generally called San Sebastian Martin, a corruption of San Sebastian Martyr). These rank next to Santo Tomas in importance. The mayordomos have silver standards and vote in the council. San Jose and San Sebastian are considered, along with Santo Tomas, the "dueios" of the town. Their fiestas on March 19th and January 29 (?) are of minor importance, although all the cofradias come out, but they have many minor ceremonies. As patrons of the village these Saints are visited as frequently as Santo Tomas by individual suppliants. 5. Senor Sacramento. This is the cofradia of the Blessed Sacrament, (the Sacrament is another saint in the blessed hierarchy. It is called Santo Sacramento). It is of great importance ritualistically and politically. The alcaldes have silver standards, and are the ranking members in the council, for they are the "treasurers." They supervise the conduct of affairs in the other cofradias, and have the deciding voice in the ordering of Masses, apportionment of expenses, etc. for joint fiestas like Todos Santos, and Holy Week. Their fiesta, with retreat and change of office is at the feast of Corpus Christi. They have an important part in the celebration of Holy Week. Maria Dolor (La Virgin de los Dolores), although belonging to another cofradia is in the same house with Sacramento, making this one of the key houses during Holy Week. I could get no further explanation of this association. Sefior Sacramento generally receives offerings at the high altar in the church, but the house of the cofradia is sometimes visited. 6. Rosario (La Virgen del Rosario). Always linked with Sacramento. The mayordomos have silver standards; they share with the mayordomos of Sefior Sacramento the executive functions of the hierarchy. This fiesta with retreat and election is at the Feast of the Holy Angels, the first Sunday in October. There is no special cult of the saint. The Virgin of the Nativity and the figures used in the Christmas creche are kept in this cofradia. 7. San Miguel. The least important of the six cofradias with silver standards. The mayordomos of San Miguel have a voice in the council but no special function. The cofradia holds a small fiesta on the "birthday" of San Miguel (September 29), but the procession, Mass, retreat and election take place during the feast of All Saints, when they are apt to be swallowed up in the more spectacular celebrations. There is no other cult of the saint. 8. La Cruz. This cofradia is of ritualistic rather than political importance. The mayordomos do not have places in the council. There are two important fiestas, May 3 and September 14. The Cross is symbolic of the earth, and these fiestas are agricultural festivals, of planting and harvest. They are celebrated in mountain shrines, which contain crosses. The retreat, procession and election are at the September fiesta. The Cross is worshipped in the mountain shrines; the cofradia is not ordinarily visited by suppliants. 9. Jesus Nazarenos and 10. Maria Dolor (La Virgen de los Dolores, sometimes called merely El Dolor). These are the saints of the Passion. Their cere THE CIVIL HIERARCHY 171 monies are held on the Fridays of Lent, on alternate Fridays in the two houses, and during Holy Week. The retreat and election of new mayordomos do not take place at this time. The retreat of Jesus Nazarenos is held jointly with that of La Cruz in September.18 In the same house with Maria Dolor are kept two veiled figures (ajbis, the sorrowing ones) that come out only on Good Friday. Maria Dolor is in the house of Sefior Sacramento, but is given as a separate cofradia. 11. Concepcion (Virgen de la Concepcion). Sometimes called Octavo Rosario, because the retreat and election are held on the octave of the fiesta of Rosario, that is, the second Sunday in October. In the same house is La Virgin de la Soledad. 12. La Coronacion (Virgen de la Coronacidn). Retreat and change of mayordomos on August 18th. An unimportant cofradia. 13. San Pedro Martyr. As patron of sorcerers and diviners, and holder of the key to heaven, San Pedro is an important cult saint. But the cofradia has no political importance. The election and retreat are held onApril29th. On June 29th, the day of the martyrdom of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, there is a second celebration in the cofradia. 14. San Jeronimo Doctor. A cult saint. The cofradia holds its retreat and Mass on September 30th. This is a small fiesta and the cofradia has no political importance. This does not exhaust the list of saints with cults in Chichicastenango. Many important saints do not have mayordomos, notably San Juan Bautista, (the "protector of our name and fortune," and an important cult saint); Santiago,the destroyer of cornfields and protector of domestic animals; San Antonio, San Lazaro, protectors of business and money; San Augustin, San Jacinto, "Santa Esper," two "married saints," protectors of marriage and domestic arts. These images are "privately owned," and transmitted in family lines. Worshippers come to their houses with offerings, and the saints may be taken to the church for Masses, but they have no mayordomos, no formal ceremonies, no one is officially elected to their service, and their guardians have no place in the political hierarchy. Although they are the centers of important cults, they are not part of the State religion. The Civil Hierarchy The ranking officer in Chichicastenango is the Ladino Alcalde.19 He is assisted by a secretary. There is also an Indian who reads and 18 The Cross is with Jesfis Nazarenos, but they are listed as two cofradias. 19 The political setup is described as of 1932. Far-reaching changes have taken place since that date. 172 CHICHICASTENANGO writes Spanish, and who is the official interpreter. He receives a small salary. There is also a treasurer and a Mayor de Plaza, who collects the fees from the market, which constitute the principal income of the town. The other Ladino officer of the town was the commandante, who with a force of three or four ragged, barefoot soldiers, policed the town. Each morning the bugle was sounded and the three ragged soldiers in their motley of blue overalls and military jackets, lined up with a flag in front of the jail, made a few turns, and then reentered the guardroom. Then they vanished and were not seen again until the following day. They were very busy however, during the week of the presidential election in 1931. They rode out to round up the countrydwelling Indians and drive them into the town to exercise their right of franchise by registering their approval of the single slate. The Alcalde is both executive and magistrate. He is a lower court for adjudication of minor disputes between Ladinos, or in which Ladinos are involved. These concern largely collection of debts, property damage, minor theft, and the like, and public misdemeanors like intoxication, disorderly conduct, violation of market regulations. He receives from the higher authorities executive orders, such as demands for labor, military service, taxes, and laws affecting the general population. Insofar as these concern the Indian population he passes the demand on to the Indian Alcalde for enforcement. The Alcalde performs civil marriages, if there are any to perform, and the secretary registers births and deaths. The Alcalde keeps an eye on the clergy to see that they respect the laws, especially those concerning marriage and baptism, the prohibition against teaching by clergymen, and similar restrictions. He has the right to demand from the Indian Alcalde alguaciles for personal service, and to work in his milpa, if he has one. The office of alcalde has many opportunities for profit. There is the sale of contraband liquor. The manufacture of distilled liquors is theoretically under rigid governmental control, and heavily taxed. There is a government agent stationed at every distillery to collect this tax, and release the output. But a great deal of the liquor actually sold is contraband, either manufactured in unlicensed distilleries or smuggled out of the licensed distilleries with the connivance of the government agent, and it is sold without license. The alcalde, if he so chooses, can turn this state of affairs to profit. But the great opportunity of the alcalde is in his ability to use the old laws requiring work from the Indians. As part ofthe ancient feudal setup public service is required of every citizen of Chichicastenango. Recruiting for public works inside or outside the village is apportioned THE CIVIL HIERARCHY 173 among all the families of the jurisdiction, 'and the shifts are changed frequently. No salaries are paid to workers drafted in this manner, the work requirement is one of the obligations of citizenship, which the citizens accept "voluntarily"20 in lieu of military service. From the native point of view there is a distinction between work done within the jurisdiction which is regarded as cooperative activity for a common end and which is done willingly, and work done outside, which is tribute rendered to the authorities, and which is paid only after much grumbling because they fear worse forms of oppression if they refuse. Under the old encomienda system this work tax was due the patron; now the work requirement is theoretically for public improvements - roads, aqueducts, public buildings. Actually the right to work tribute has in the past been greatly abused by private interests. Railroads, light and power plants and other "public utilities" owned by foreign capital and operated for private profit have been built by the unpaid labor of Indians. The "services" which these enterprises offer are quite beyond the means of the people who built them, and of the masses of the population. Not only that, but local authorities have sometimes connived at recruiting plantation labor in this fashion. One step removed from this direct "slave catching" by the local Ladino authorities was the Alcalde's abuse of his position as magistrate. It used to be customary during times of labor shortage, to imprison large numbers of Indians for small offences, especially for drunkenness, and to impose heavy fines. Obligadores from some plantation would pay the fine, with a bonus for the alcalde, and the Indian was turned over to the plantation to work off the debt. The alcalde is theoretically elected by general suffrage at an election which takes place during the fiesta of Concepcion (first week of December). Actually, before this date the retiring alcalde has submitted to the Jefe Politico at Quiche the proposed list of candidates for the coming year, and this list with his approval is submitted to the electors. The real political power in the provinces is the Jefe Politico of the Department. This man is equivalent to the governor of a State. He is a military man, and has strong support in Guatemala. In a country where the spoils system still prevails, there is no point in a local officer not being friends with the Jefe Politico. 20 Voluntario as used by the Indians is as ambiguous as our word "free," when applied to labor. It is "free" labor, in that it is not paid. But the Indian is not "free" to choose whether he will, or will not work. The head tax recently imposed is supposed to supplant this ancient system of forced labor, and will, presumably, end this abuse. 174 CHICHICASTENANGO Within this framework the Indians maintain a considerable amount of self-government, and in affairs which concern only Indians are relatively free from interference. They further minimize the danger of interference by regularly choosing as alcalde a man who speaks no Spanish. Among all the municipal officers it is hard to find a single one who can really use Spanish effectively. They have their own official interpreter, the secretary, but he is only an empleado, and not a responsible "elected" official. There are two Indian alcaldes (alcalde primero, alcalde segundo),21 eight regidores (the First Regidor occupies a special position, and is called Sindico, Q. antiguo), five mayores (the fifth is called sues in Quiche), two fiscales and numerous alguaciles and chajales. All responsible public officers of the municipio have their varas, their insignia of office. The alcaldes have silver topped canes of ebony or some other dark wood, with tasselled cords drawn through the tops. The Sindico and Second Regidor have canes similar in form to those of the alcaldes, but shorter and simpler in design. The other regidores, the mayores and the fiscales have long staves of wood, different in design.22 These objects are believed to be very ancient, and are treated with great veneration, especially the silver-topped canes of the alcaldes. Officers always carry their varas when going about on public business. They are offered to citizens in blessing, like the varas of the mayordomos. When the alcaldes and other officers are on duty in the courthouse their varas lie side by side on the table at the end of the room, behind which the alcalde sits to dispense justice. When the alcaldes visit the cofradias on official business, their varas are laid on the altar with the silver shields of the mayordomnos of the Council. The varas are kept at night in the house of the First Alcalde. Each morning before the courthouse opens the officials on duty for that day assemble at the house of the First Alcalde. Here they say brief prayers kneeling before the altar on which lie their varas. On this altar stands also a large oil painting of the Trinity. (Sp. El Padre Eterno; Q. Termo), and the chains and stocks used in colonial times for the punishment of prisoners. After taking the varas they march to the courthouse, stopping at each corner to exchange greetings. They pause for a moment before the doors of the Juzgado to say a 21 The nomenclature is greatly confused by the existence of another alcalde primero - the Ladino alcalde. The Indian alcalde is called alcalde primero de naturales, shortened by the Indians, to alcalde primero or alcalde natural. By Ladinos he is called alcalde segundo. 22 The secretary has no vara, but on state occasions he is entitled to wear a long fringed robe. THE CIVIL HIERARCHY 175 brief prayer to the four directions. The alcalde opens the door. Inside, they place their varas on the table, and pause for a moment to pray before the seat of judgment. In the evening when their duties are over, this ritual is repeated. During Holy Week when the Juzgado is closed, the varas of the alcaldes are left on the altar of the church. The canes are transferred to the new office holders at their investiture by the chief Principal. For this ceremony the painting and other venerated objects on the alcaldes' altar are brought to the Juzgado, just as the image of a saint is brought to the church for his fiesta, and when the ceremony is over, they are taken and deposited in the house of the newly installed alcalde. The alcaldes regard themselves as the representatives of the Lords of Justice, the first ancestors to dispense justice, and their varas are the symbol of their holy mission, and the ancestral sanction. The Indian municipality has its own quarters in the porticoed building on the east of the plaza, right across a narrow alley from the church. In the long narrow room shadowed in front by the deep portico, perpetual twilight reigns. At the end farthest from the door is a table, behind which the justices sit; there is another table in front of the window for the secretary, and benches along the two long walls. There is a framed map of the jurisdiction hanging on one wall. There is little else in the room. The Juzgado is open daily, including Sunday, from nine until six, with a recess of two hours at noon. The only days on which it is officially closed are January 1st, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Feasts of the Ascension, Corpus Christi, San Pedro, Todos Santos, and the Fiesta Nacional, September 15. The two alcaldes are on duty continuously, each of the regidores and mayores every fourth week, and the fiscales on alternate weeks. In addition all the regidores and mayores and the fiscales are on duty on all Sundays and on feast days. Some member of the municipality attends Mass on behalf ofthe community each day when the priest is in residence. The whole municipality attends on Sundays and on feast days takes part in processions and attends religious ceremonies as part of their civic duty. The functions of the two alcaldes are largely ritualistic and judicial. Their role in ecclesiastical affairs, especially in the conduct of affairs in the cofradias, has already been stressed. For the rest they are judges of first appeal in all internal disputes between Indians, disputes over land and other property, regulation of domestic affairs, small criminal offences that do not involve Ladinos. They are responsible for carrying out executive orders relating to Indian affairs. No action is taken in cases of misdemeanor unless complaint is brought. Young 176 CHICCHICASTENANGO people are frequently punished by imprisonment on the complaint of their parents, for theft, sexual offences, drunkenness, disobedience, and filial neglect. Complaints of adultery or desertion may be brought by the injured spouse or his or her parents. Relations with prostitutes are punished if parents complain; it is said that young men are whipped by the alcaldes if they have sexual affairs with Ladinos. Cases of homicide, if they occurred, would be tried in the Ladino courts in Santa Cruz Quiche. But most of the affairs with which the alcaldes have to deal are property settlements, arrangements in divorce, inheritance, boundary disputes, collection of debts, and the like. Sunday is a favorite day for hearing disputes, since at this time all parties are in town, or likely to come to town. The plaintiff appears with his witnesses. Messengers are sent for the defendant who comes with his witnesses. The testimony of all is heard by the assembled alcaldes, regidores and secretary. Although it is the First Alcalde who hands down the verdict all present, including the secretary, are given an opportunity to express their opinions. After all have been heard, the Alcalde announces the decision. These hearings are held in the Juzgado, and are public. The regidores summon the defendants in all complaints, and their witnesses. They go to the cantones to find individuals whose presence is required. They also take evidence in the cantones from local inhabitants, visit disputed lands with the principal of that place or others who know the circumstances. Frequently the Regidor settles such disputes on the spot, or else reports his findings back to the alcalde. The Regidor is responsible for the execution of decisions of the Alcalde; he seeks out in the cantones the man who has failed to pay his fine or turn over the property awarded to another. These men are then imprisoned for a day. Generally before the day is over they have changed their minds and are willing to meet the judgment against them. There is much litigation over property; but there are remarkably few cases of violence or open theft. The Maxefio is an essentially law abiding citizen, respectful of authority. The authority of the alcaldes is backed up by strong supernatural sanctions. The regidores in cooperation with the auxiliares of the cantones (see below) prepare the lists of youths eligible for service as alguaciles, and the lists of heads of families responsible for levies. They help to round the men up, and enforce the work requirement by arresting defaulters. At the election of new officers, the regidores are sent to notify the new candidates and conduct them to the Juzgado for their THE CIVIL HIERARCHY 177 investiture. Whenever a man is required for any purpose by the Indian or Ladino authorities, in Chichicastenango or Quiche, the regidor is sent to fetch him. The number of the mayores is usually given as four, sometimes as five. The fifth is called sues (from Spanish juez). The sies however is not a judge, he is the town crier. On Sundays he goes about preceded by a little boy with a drum, to read public proclamations. The other four mayores are the older men who have charge of the alguaciles. They check up on their attendance for public duty, assign their tasks and keep them in order. The fiscales perform similar function for the chajales of the convent. They also keep track of the manorial revenues of the convent, the loads of corn, fodder and firewood that are required from each cant6n. The fiscales serve alternate weeks; they are on duty constantly at the convent, and sleep there in a room behind the kitchen. Their wives come to cook for them. They assign the work each Sunday to the boys reporting for that week; they keep them at their tasks and supervise their general behavior. Any complaint or request concerning the service of the chajales is submitted to them. Each year about two hundred boys of about fourteen years of age are appointed as alguaciles. They work aboift one week in six and there are about thirty-five on duty at all times. For the three important fiestas, Todos Santos, Santo Tomas, and Semana Santa., all two hundred are on duty. These boys sweep the streets, - there is a general clean-up every Monday and Friday, after the markets. Some of them work for the Ladino alcalde as house servants, and even in his sitio, and the rest are available for all kinds of odd jobs. Their tasks include carrying messages or baggage to other towns, providing travellers with wood, fodder, and water, caring for the animals, transporting their baggage and generally tending their wants, and serving as guides. Any traveller carrying credentials from Guatemala, requesting that "facilities of travel" be extended to him is entitled to demand these services of the alcalde or secretary, and he must furnish them. These services, like road labor, are "voluntario," but the custom of the country is to pay for them, at the rate of about 25 cents per day23 and to pay current market rates for materials provided. The alguaciles run errands and carry bundles for anyone for small tips. The relays change on Sundays, so for the market day there are always two sets of boys available for small services. The boys, a ragged lot, sleep, 23 This in 1932 was considerably more than the current wages in the fincas, or the average wage of day labor in Chichicastenango. 178 CHICHICASTENANGO wrapped in rags of blankets, in the portico of the Juzgado. They must provide their own food, which they bring from their homes in the form of tortillas and tamales. With the pennies they pick up, they can replenish their bags from the meager offerings of the market women. There are always two or three; the Sunday market, of course, is another matter. The corresponding service in the convent is that of the chajales. There are about thirty of them, and there are always six on duty, the same group returning every fourth week. The extra six serve as substitutes in cases of sickness or other excused absence. The services of the chajales are more manorial than the alguaciles. They are definitely attached to the household of the priest. They work his sitio, tend the gardens and the house, care for the horses and other livestock. They help in the kitchen, carry messages to other towns, and bring the Padre's butter and fish from the Coast. They sleep in a shed behind the kitchen. They bring their own food, but they get frequent handouts from the Padre's cook, and the wife of the fiscal who has her own kitchen, and receives a ration of corn from the household. They receive small sums of money from the Padre on Sundays and feast days, and occasional tips from his guests. They are not overworked; the boys enjoy their year in town, it is only their families who suffer. The election of the new alcaldes takes place during the fiesta of the Concepci6n (December 8). The principales name at this time the two alcaldes, the sindico, regidores, mayores, and fiscales of the convent. The Alcalde has to name the auxiliares, (heads of cantones) and the regidores go out into the cantones to find the alguaciles. The Indians have taken a term current in Latin republics, elecci6n, and applied it to a procedure of their own which provides for succession of authority as they see it practised. The Indians have not read the democratic philosophers. They see among the Ladinos authority transmitted from hand to hand by a ritual which is known as an election, and apply the same term to their own similar rituals. As the end of the year approaches, the principales "who rule the people," decide who shall be appointed to office for the coming year. Their choice is restricted by many factors, as we shall see. Once the choice is made by those in authority, the "election" is held to validate the candidacy, just as the Ladinos hold their "election" after the Jefe Politico has put the stamp of his approval upon the list of candidates. The ceremony of election is that the secretary reads off the list of chosen candidates in the presence of the principales, the alcaldes, and the mayordomos and rockets are fired to announce the THE CIVIL HIERARCHY 179 event to the people who voice their approval. The official notification of the candidates, and their acceptance takes place two weeks later, during the feast of Santo Tomas, when practically the whole population of the municipio, except the little shepherds who cannot leave their sheep, is in town celebrating the gayest feast of the year. On December 2124 each retiring officer gives a lunch of meat and bread and chocolate to the man who is going to take his place, and to the principales. The first principal goes to the first alcalde, the second principal to the second alcalde, the third principal to the sindico, etc. On the following day, at the end of the feast of Santo Tomas, each retiring officer goes to fetch his successor. He goes to his house for him, and brings him to the Juzgado, holding him firmly by the hand so that he shall not run away. The women also come, the wives of the old and new officers. When the retiring officers arrive in the Juzgado with the new officers the first principal speaks: "Excuse us, my mother, my father, that we make these interruptions and disturbances. We have called you here this day. This is the day on which we must give notice to you that you shall be antiguo, master of the Juzgado for the coming year. It has its masters, the Juzgado, but it also has its appointed days, its twelve moons and twelve stars. This is the day on which we make you its master." The sindico answers: "Yes, former alcalde, I have heard. It is this, that I shall be master of the Juzgado, that I shall be antiguo. But I do not wish to receive this office. Pardon me, look for another master. For perhaps I cannot fulfill the requirements; perhaps the people will ridicule me. And there is no way for me to eat; I have no children to care for me. So it is better that I should pay my fine, and that you should look for some other master." The principal answers: "This is the day, antiguo. You have heard. There was an election, and you have to receive this office. Who else will care for the Juzgado? You have to receive this office. It is only for one year. Go, take him to his house." So he goes to his house, carrying thirty seeds of cacao as a sign of his appointment. One man takes him by one arm, and the other by the other arm, and they drag him off to his house. And if he still refuses to receive the cacao they put him in prison for a day. So they do with the other regidores, the mayores, and thefiscales. But they do not bring the new alcaldes to the Juzgado. The First Principal goes to him at night in his house. He brings rockets with him, and when the new alcalde has been persuaded to accept, they fire the rockets as a sign to the people. The installation of the new officers takes place at the New Year, precisely at midnight. Earlier in the evening, at about ten o'clock, the retiring officers and the five principales, assemble in the courthouse. 24 From a Quich6 text. In the multiplicity of events in the plaza, the church, the fourteen cofradias and the houses of the duenos of the dances, and in the general confusion attendant on a fiesta of the first magnitude, I missed all but a fragment of this important ceremony. See Schultze-Jena, pp. 148-159 for more complete description. 180 CHICHICASTENANGO Long before the hour for the ceremony the courthouse is jammed with waiting throngs - mostly men and boys. Each retiring regidor, mayor and fiscal goes to fetch his successor and bring him to the courthouse. From the house of the First Alcalde they bring the sacred objects of the alcaldes, the painting (Termo), the stocks and chains, and the old chest. The painting is hung behind the table, and the other objects are placed on it, with the varas of the officers. When all are assembled they go in a body to fetch the new alcaldes. Many of the spectators accompany them. They go first to the house of the incoming Second Alcalde. Here the First Principal exchanges full formal greetings with the new officer, and announces his errand in the usual unhurried oratory of formal intercourse. No food is served, and as soon as the message has been given, they leave and proceed to the house of the First Alcalde, where this ritual is repeated. Rockets are fired on entering and leaving. As usual, all kneel on entering the courthouse. After they have arrived the Second Principal5 presents the varas to the new officers. The speeches are short, for very little time remains. "Pardon us, Alcalde Justicia. You have come. We have sent for you for today is the day for you to enter into the house of the vara. On this day you receive your vara, the vara of the Juzgado. But see to it that you do not do evil things, for you are the master of the vara. You have heard, Alcalde Justicia." The alcalde replies: "Yes, former alcalde, I have heard. We are the masters of the Juzgado. Perhaps we shall be able to fulfill well our duties, perhaps we shall fail. Only God knows." "You have heard. Come over to this side, and sit down.' So he receives the vara, and sits down on the other side of the room. The principal says the same thing to all of the new officers as he hands them their varas. The speeches are timed to end at midnight precisely. Just as the bell in the church begins to ring in the New Year the ceremony in the Juzgado is ended. The old and new alcaldes and the principales go out into the clear winter night. In front of the Juzgado all kneel to pray in turn to the four directions. They repeat this again in front of the church. Prayers are usually murmured, but in this case, they are declaimed in a loud voice, for the world to hear. The ceremony of installation ends impressively in the presence of the 25 Although it is always said that the First Principal officiates at this important ceremony, it was Sebastian Saqiq, the Second Principal who officiated in the year 1930, as he did at all other public events. The First Principal, Manuel Ajanel never appears in public. See below for a fuller discussion of this point. LOCAL ORGANIZATION 181 ancestors. The ceremony is conducted throughout with the greatest solemnity. It is the one occasion upon which the principales, who actually hold the political authority, appear officially in public. It is the only ceremony that takes place at night; it has none of the usual festive accompaniments, but crowds of people come into town to witness it. The conventional behavior for candidates for all offices is to refuse to serve, and to have the office thrust upon them. Sometimes physical force is used in forcing the insignia of office upon unwilling candidates. At the feast of Santo Tomas I saw the candidates for office for the coming year being dragged forcibly through the streets, kicking and struggling. I saw one of the newly chosen regidores bolt for the door, after he had been brought in, like a prisoner, for the notification. All the regidores and mayores were on hand, armed with sticks to prevent the escape of the candidates. It took over an hour to persuade the candidate for First Alcalde to accept the nomination. This is more than a convention. There is a real reluctance to serve, partly because of the heavy obligations incurred and partly because of the general unwillingness to call attention to one's affluence and power. Not infrequently men will pay fines in preference to assuming service in the cofradias and the municipality. Where ambition and fear of reprisal are so closely interwoven, it is hard to estimate in any individual case, just what are the private sentiments of a person as he goes through the formula of refusal and unwilling acquiesence under pressure. Local Organization The jurisdiction of Chichicastenango is divided into the town (pueblo) and 64 rural districts, the cantones. The cantones vary in size, the smallest, Chuquexa, containing nine households; the largest, Chipaca, fifty-eight.26 The cant6n itself is a political unit, the unit of actual day by day 26 The figures are from the tax lists in the Indian town hall, and refer to heads of households. Among the sixty-four cantones are many duplications of names. There are, in the western section of the jurisdiction, six cantones by the name of Maczul, comprising in all 212 households. Although these at present are administered separately, they may represent an older unit - a town within a town. The whole question of the relationship of the cantones to each other and to the town was one to which I did not give sufficient attention, but which will, I hope, be clarified by further researches. 182 CHICHICASTENANGO living being the single household. This may be the small family that has separated from its patrilineal lineage, or the undivided extended family of three generations, a single family head and his grown sons with their wives and children. Brothers who have separated are completely independent economically and socially although living on adjacent lands. The houses are scattered over the mountains; there are clusters of houses, perhaps three of four within hailing distance of each other but no more compact rural nucleus. Political authority in the canton is in the hands of the principal de canton (Q.: urijil canton, chief of the canton). He is appointed by "all the inhabitants" - that is the heads of households, - and serves for life unless he is removed for some fault, such as, for examplej if he fails consistently in the adjustment of disputes, or if he accepts a bribe or is guilty of double dealing. Therefore forprincipal they select a man who is rich and respected, (on the theory that the rich are not easily corrupted), and preferably someone who knows something of ritual. The office is,4hJeieditary or restricted to any lineage. There is no fixed procedure for selecting principales, or, for that matter, for selecting any public official. There is a great deal of ritual and formal behavior surrounding investiture with office, but the actual selection of an official is quite informal. "The people come together and decide who will be a good man." The "good man" is one who is sober and discreet, who is not swayed by passion or interest from the honorable fulfilment of a trust, the temperate man, who, in all fields of life is the Quiche ideal. In such an unformalized procedure the choice will actually be made by certain individuals of great personal prestige whose voices carry weight. These influential individuals are the older men, the passados, those who have held high office, and who approximate the Quich6 ideal of citizenship. The duties of the Principal de canton are twofold; he is the administrator and judicial officer within his group and their representative and sponsor in the municipality. As local headman his duties relate principally to property and marriage. He is called upon to witness the division of estates, inspect boundaries, witness sales and record titles.27 Formerly his testimony was considered final in all matters relating to land tenure. At present the Guatemalan provincial courts recognize only titles registered in the land office in Santa Cruz Quiche. Secretaries also witness and record land transactions, either together with the principal or as an independent consultant. Since the principal is the impartial witness of important property transactions, it is 27 For procedure in transfer of land see p. 23 LOCAL ORGANIZATION 183 he who is called upon to serve as referee in the adjustment of disputes ( arising out of these transactions. The Quiche concept of legal procedure is that the person who knows what took place is the logical person to decide between the conflicting claims. The principal serves in the same dual capacity of witness and referee in contracts of marriage. Because of his great personal prestige he is called upon to serve as marriage spokesman when a man is seeking a wife for his son. Therefore, if the marriage is dissolved for any reason it is he who is called upon to adjust the division of property, allocation of children, and compensation to the husband for the loss of his wife - that is, the return of all or part of the marriage payments. In his capacity as marriage spokesman he bears the title chinimtal. Others besides principales may be chinimtal, just as others may witness contracts (the official witness of contracts is called kalpul). It is rather that these tasks which require knowledge and probity gravitate toward the principal and that men are chosen as principal who already have proved themselves competent magistrates. Cases that are not settled to general satisfaction by the local judge may be brought before the alcaldes, or even taken to the Ladino courts in Santa Cruz Quiche. These, usually, are land cases. Domestic cases generally are settled within the jurisdiction. The administrative duties of the Principales de canton concern levies of money and labor against the inhabitants and the appointment of minor officials. The only levies of money are those to defray the expenses of fiestas that are paid for by the pueblo - the Masses, candles, music for Holy Week, Corpus, and All Souls.28 The principal makes all the calculations concerning money, how much will fall to each person for any work required by the authorities and for ceremonies and Masses. For example, the Mass of Corpus: There are two Masses paid for by the pueblo, and the materials like the candles and the band and other things, so all together it comes to about a thousand pesos. The alcaldes and the four principales29 talk it over and make the arrangements and decide how much will fall to the lot of each canton. And for this there is the principal of the canton. He and the auxiliar30 decide how much will fall to the lot of each house, whether it will be two pesos or perhaps five pesos for each head of a family. And their other duty is the apportionment of labor among the families, according to the number of laborers that the Ladino alcalde or the Jefe Politico of the Department demands of the Indian alcalde for labor on the roads or other public works. When the Indian alcalde 28 Since this material was recorded the government has imposed a head tax. I do not know who is responsible for collecting it. 29 The Principales del pueblo, whose power and duties will be discussed below. 30 See below. 184 CHICHICASTENANGO gets the order, he calls the four principales of the town, and the principales of each canton and the auxiliares, to let them know. Then they decide whether they can do this work or not, and if they can, and if they consent to this work, then they figure how many laborers a week are assigned to each cant6n, and for this there are the principales of cantones, and the auxiliares. They name the individuals who must serve, and which ones shall go first, and which ones second. And so each week they change the laborers, and it will fall to each house every fourth week, or every sixth week, according to the number of laborers that are required. I, for instance, have my house. The principal of the cantdn tells me that I must work on the road. Well, perhaps I go. Or, if I have a son, I send him. Or else I look for a hired man, and I pay him and give him his food. These are poor men who do not have any land. Then I work one week, and after that I am free for three or four weeks, and then it comes around to me again, and so on, until the whole work is finished. But, on the other hand, if the principales and auxiliares of the majority of the cantones decide that they are not able to carry out the work demanded by the authorities, then all go to the Indian alcalde to tell him that they do not accept this demand, because of the lack of people. Perhaps many have gone to the plantations, or have their harvests to look after, or for some reason cannot. And he tells them that since it was an order of the authorities, they should go with him. Then they all go to the office of the Ladino alcalde and report to him why it is impossible for them to do this work. Then, perhaps, the Ladino alcalde will reduce the number of laborers, and then the alcaldes return to their posts, with the majority of the principales, and they see whether they can manage the work on this basis. And if not, they go again to the authority to ask them to wait fifteen or twenty days before beginning the work. And then the auxiliares and as many of the people as wish, go to the house of the four principales of the town to ask them to be so good as to go with them to the Jefe Politico to protest against this order of his received through the Ladino alcalde. Then each of the auxiliares gives a present to each principal, and the principales of the pueblo and some thirty or forty citizens go to protest to the Jefe. And if they cannot carry their point with the Jefe they go to the President or the Minister of Agriculture in Guatemala City to convince him that this work is not possible, and to ask him for an order that will exempt them from this work. When they return they report to the auxiliares concerning the expenses of the journey and any present which the principales have made to the Jefe or the President. Then the auxiliares talk it over with the principales of the cantones, and the costs are apportioned among the cantones according to the number of households that each canton contains, and according to this the principales decide how much each individual shall pay. Then within a week or two weeks the principales of the cantones go to the house of the four principales to reimburse them for the money which they have spent. And if the principales have gained their point and have had the work suspended, the people pay them for their trouble, some 800 pesos. But if they have not succeeded they are not paid anything, only the expenses of the journey. The other office in the cantones is that of auxiliar. They are appointed each year by the alcaldes as their representatives in the cantones. They assist the principal, especially in the collection of THE PRINCIPALES 185 taxes and apportionment of labor, the preparation of the tax lists, and the lists of those eligible for public office. He receives his orders from the alcaldes and is "like an alcalde in the cant6n." He has no judicial functions. The Principales The cantones are grouped into five districts, each under the jurisdiction of a principal de pueblo whose functions are similar to those of the principal de canton, on a larger scale. Although there are five such principales controlling unequal districts, native theory is that there are four (they are always referred to as the "four principales") and that their districts are associated with the four cardinal points. This would correspond to the four great divisions of the city of Mexico and the barrio organization of a number of Guatemalan towns, notably Santiago Chimaltenango.31 It is these five men who hold the real political authority of the town. Like the principales de canton their office is not hereditary, but they are selected for personal qualities from among those experienced in judical and administrative roles. The selection is made by the principales and auxiliares of the cantones over which the principal has control. In this, as in all other important decisions, the voice of the passados carries weight. The five principales are not of equal rank. The First Principal controls twenty-seven cantones to the west and north of the pueblo, about one thousand households. The incumbent, Manuel Ajanel, was called - but not by the Quich6 - King of the Quiches, and claimed to be descended from the former royal line. The Second Principal controlled eight cantones toward the south of the town, about two hundred and fifty families. The Second Principal in 1932 was Sebastian Saqiq - a very old and learned man who had held office for many years and whose word had great weight. He was frequently referred to as "the" Principal. The other three were of less importance. The third principal, Manuel Pol, controlled one hundred and fifty households in seven cantones to the south; the fourth, Jose Cumez, had four hundred households in fourteen cantones to the east, and the fifth, Tomas Lanos Pol, had seven cantones to the east, with a total of about two hundred households. 31 C. Wagley, in personal communication. 186 CHICHICASTENANGO When one of the five principales dies, his cantones meet to decide whom to name in his place. The principales of cantones and the auxiliares name him. And when they have decided they go to the town hall to advise the alcaldes, Ladino and Indian. First they go to the Indian alcalde, and then to the Ladino alcalde to get his certificate. Then they go to deliver the certificate to the new principal in his house, and at the same time they deliver to him the title and map, if there are any, and other documents relating to his office. After that the new principal goes to the town hall to make a report of the things which he has received and of which he has charge. Then they make an inventory so that nothing shall be lost. The inventory contains, besides the title and map, documents relating to ownership of land, boundaries, permits from the authorities to cut forest for planting the land, and sometimes money collected for Masses, etc. If there is any money in the treasury they have a Mass for the deceased principal. Only one Mass. After the new principal has reported to the alcalde he goes to all the cantones in his jurisdiction, and then to the Jefe Politico in Quiche to have his appointment ratified, and then, if he wishes, to the President. Or he may leave this until they have some occasion to go to the President. Then he has him also ratify his appointment. After all this, the principal begins to manage the affairs of his cantones. None of the five principales spoke Spanish, unless Sebastian Saqiq's few words might be called speaking Spanish. All lived customarily on their farms in the mountains, and kept themselves practically inaccessible to outsiders. Manuel Ajanel, although acknowledged as the ranking man in Chichicastenango never appeared publicly in any role during the many months of my stay at Chichicastenango, neither at the fiesta of the patron saint, nor at the change of municipal officers at the New Year. No one could - or would - tell me where he lived, not even in which canton, or point him out to me in the plaza. It was reported to me by Ladinos that one week day when the town was deserted, he appeared in the middle of the morning in a costume embroidered in silver, to burn incense on the steps of the church. I could not verify this report. Saqiq, perhaps because of his venerable age and wisdom (he was a chuchqajau also), perhaps because he knew a few words of Spanish, perhaps because he was not ranking chief, served as the official spokesman of the principales. It was he who announced the choice of candidates for the coming year, who conferred on them their canes of office, and officiated at all the ceremonies of this installation. It was Saqiq, also, who transacted all the business of the principales with outsiders; who came to the convent to arrange the fiestas of the town with the Padre, and to pay for the Masses, and who voiced the protests of the Indians against new administrative rules. He went to Quiche and to Guatemala on business of the pueblo. He appeared almost every Sunday as sponsor for children at baptism, and was often to be seen performing ceremonies in the church. Saqiq was a shrunken little THE PRINCIPALES 187 man of great age; he claimed to be one hundred years old, and was probably over eighty. His Spanish was very limited; he required an interpreter for all but the most stereotyped communications. He had a town house to which he came nearly every Saturday, for the Sunday market, but most of the time he lived on his farm in one of the cantones near the Solola border. He had a large family who shared his house.32 The town is further divided into the "cantones of the East," and the "cantones of the West." These are political factions as much as geographical divisions, and there is a tradition of hostility between them. I could not discover any issues on which they were divided. But as the time for the change of alcaldes approached there was discussion as to whether the new incumbent would belong to the "East" or the "West." It all seemed very mysterious, and I never got to the bottom of it. It seemed very much like the "Protestant" and "Catholic" factions of the New Mexican pueblos, which are not religious factions at all, but an alignment of families on the basis of personal hostility.33 The East and the West, though, is a traditional division, the principal of the East and the principal of the West each has his separate possessions and responsibilities, treasury, maps, titles, etc. going back to the ancient land disputes. When there is need to transfer the title in case of death, all of the auxiliares and principales go to get the map from the house of the deceased and take it to the house of the new incumbent, where it is guarded with the greatest care. When it is necessary to produce it in some dispute, the principales and auxiliares go to get it. It is the principales who rule the people, and name the alcaldes, and, if the employees are not good, it is they who remove them and name others. The principales are in charge of all kinds of work, as, for example, the repair of the church and Calvario and the upkeep of the cemetery. And it is they who are called by the authorities for all necessary communications. The 32 Saqiq always treated me with great affability, but also always found excuses for not serving as an informant. He had to go to his farm, or he had assuntos in other places; or thought that a younger man with more Spanish would be better for my purposes, and recommended several. But his cordiality to me one morning in the plaza soon after I arrived was noticed and commented upon, and was one of the bases for my acceptance in the village. He always called me nina (daughter), a form of address used only by very old Indians. Niina is still generally used among Ladinos; among Indians it reflects the early feudal period of race relations, before German and American business men had introduced the idea of impersonal relationships between people. 33 Alfonso Villa, in a survey of Tzeltal towns of Chiapas reports moiety organization in many of them. 188 CHICHICASTENANGO principales keep the title and the map of the jurisdiction. There are two titles and two maps of the two sides of the jurisdiction. When the titles were executed, they called together the whole town and they said it would be better to entrust them to two principales, one for the west side of the town, and the other for the east side of the town, so that in case there should be any recurrence of the dispute with neighboring towns about overstepping the boundaries, they would have the title and the plan ready at hand in the mountains. There is a title and map in the town hall here, but it is different. This was the decision of the ancients, and for this reason the real title and map are kept in the mountains by the principales. And if the principal dies, the whole town comes together to see to whom they shall entrust the title and map. And when the person is named, and has received the office, after eight days the auxiliares and most of the principales go to get the title in the house of the deceased, and transfer it to the house of the new incumbent. The Theory and Practice of Government Apart from the menial labor requirements imposed from without, each citizen is expected to serve at some time as a responsible officer of government. The ideal of citizenship described in the ceremony that precedes baptism describes the man passing, with advancing years, through all the grades of public service, from the lowest to the highest - alguacil, mayordono, regidor, alcalde. This is the ideal, held out for every infant at the moment of his acceptance in public life. Not all come, with the age of maturity, to wield authority in the highest officers, because the higher brackets are not open to all. Each fall the regidores go out to the cantones and get from the auxiliares, the representatives of the municipality in each cant6n, the list of those eligible for public service. Especially they will get the names of all boys who have completed their fourteenth year, who have not yet performed any public service. It is estimated on the basis of the normal age distribution in populations, and on the age distribution in sample families in Chichicastenango, that there are each year slightly less than three hundred boys fourteen years of age. From this group the two hundred alguaciles and the thirty chajales (servants in the convent) are drawn. Some families are exempted because they are rendering some other public service, either in the municipality or the cofradias, or because they have furnished an alguacil within two or three years, and some families prefer to pay a fine rather than lose the boy's services. The fine will not always be accepted, if the ranks of the alguaciles are hard to recruit - that is, in the days when there is work in the plantations, when everyone has money or can earn it to buy his way out of the more disagreeable tasks. But although there are two hundred alguaciles appointed each THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF GOVERNMENT 189 year, there are only two alcaldes, and they are chosen from a very restricted group. How is their narrowing down of the potential sources of political authority effected? Chiefly through the cofradia system. For, before a boy can advance to the more responsible roles in municipal affairs, he must serve in the cofradias. About four years after his service as alguacil he is eligible for appointment as fourth, fifth or sixth mayordomo in one of the cofradias. There are only forty-eight such posts to be filled each year, so only about one-fifth of the youths of suitable age can pass on to the next stage of civic life. The next step is third mayordomo and there are only fourteen such positions. Membership in the cofradias is expensive. There is the requirement of service, one week out of every three or four must be spent in town, and every Sunday and all the more important fiestas, the four-day ( retreat, and the zarabandas and other minor celebrations of the cofradia. Actually it takes a great deal of time. By the time a young man is eligible for this service he is married, and has children. The mayordomos must therefore be chosen from strong families, whose economic life will not be seriously handicapped by the withdrawal of an active male. Then the mayordomos must meet the costs of the fiesta: the masses, candles, incense, the food and drink, the payments to the musicians, porters, wood cutters, and cooks, the gifts to the alcaldes and to the Saint. Some of these costs are met from the profits of the zarabandas, but the greater portion must be borne directly by the mayordomos, and at a time when their productivity is greatly reduced by obligatory service. Only the well-to-do can afford to go through the cofradias. Actually it is none too easy to find suitable a candidates. There is a further narrowing down when it comes to selecting candidates for Regidores, which is the next step upwards on the political ladder. The Regidor is a semi-judicial office, and the men chosen to fill it must have experience with such matters in the cantones. They must be kalpules, that is, experts in matters of contracts, domestic relations and legal procedure. After serving as Regidor, a man may be appointed first mayordomo (alcalde) in one of the less important cofradias. Although there are twenty-eight alcaldes (first and second mayordomos) in the cofradias (two in each cofradia), most of these are men who have served in this capacity before, some of them as many as three or four times. It is from this fairly small group of ritualistic leaders that the municipal alcaldes are chosen. In choosing the First Mayordomos of the cofradias, there is the problem of a town house. The image of the Saint is kept in the house of the First Mayordomo, which serves as headquarters for the cult. Therefore, 190 CHCHICASTENANGO the First Mayordomo must own or have access through relatives to a town house. When Miguel Ignacio was appointed First Mayordomo of San Sebastian, he used the town house of his son-in-law, Tomas Gonzales. Tomas was Secretary of the cofradia, and the two relatives had agreed about this arrangement ahead of time. It was Miguel's third term as First Mayordomo, although not all had been in the same cofradia. He was compadre with the retiring mayordomo, and was Secretary of the cofradia of San Miguel. Tomas was a young man, and had never yet held a mayordomia. His father had just finished a year as First Mayordomo of Santo Tomas; it was his fourth mayordomia. Santo Tomas is the most important of all the cofradias. All these men were conspicuous in other ways; Tomas Gonzales, Jr., was a secretary and Padrino. His father was a noted chuchqajau; Miguel was a secretary and a Padrino, he was also a marriage spokesman, Sebastian Martin was a Padrino and a chuchqajau. The cofradias, consequently, gravitate towards a relatively small group of wealthy and aristocratic families, among whom are many intertwining ties of relationship, consanguineal, affinal and ceremonial, and whose members are influential as individuals. It is from among this group that the alcaldes of the town are chosen each year, and from which the office of Principal is filled. The relationship of the town to the cantones is by no means clear. The following analysis is offered with considerable hesitancy and merely as a working hypothesis for future investigations. It can be clarified only by a careful census, genealogies, and a survey of house ownership. I trust that someone will some day do this. It is obvious that the whole political authority is centered in the town. All the cofradias are housed in town houses. The chief mayordomos must be chosen from wealthy families that own or have access to town houses. Many of the mayordomos own land near the town but others have their lands far away, and, in addition own houses in town. The town is not large and houses are inherited in the male line. Although it is never explicitly so stated these town families form an hereditary aristocracy from which the rulers are drawn. One of the points which I regret I did not investigate is whether the mayordomos are always eldest sons. The principales, the supreme governing body all belong to this "aristocracy" (they have all previously "been through the cofradias"). However they all have their lands away from town in different parts of the jurisdiction and the foundation of their power is in local support. They are placed in power and kept there by the principales de cantones withintheir jurisdiction. The office of Principal THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF GOVERNMENT 191 de canton is lifelong but not hereditary and there is no indication that the individuals holding this office belong to what I have termed the aristocracy. It is not said of the Principal de cant6n that he has "been through the cofradias" but simply that he must know something of ritual, and possess other purely personal qualifications. They elect to serve as Principal de pueblo one of their member, who is, furthermore, a member of an "aristocratic" family. It is these five principales de pueblo who determine policy and who choose the alcaldes of the cofradias and the municipality from among the responsible members of their own class. It is a balance between authority based on rank and personal prestige, with rank a definitely secondary factor. The ancient social organization is very inadequately described. There were the exogamous patrilineal, local clans. There were also classes - "senores," common men, and slaves are mentioned. It is impossible to say whether individuals within the classes were ranked, but the probability is that they were. However the strong emphasis on primogeniture would lead to differentials in status within the class. Aside from the class differentiation implicit in the social structure, there are other straws that point to the survival of the old class distinctions into modern times. There are two cantones on the Totonicapan border where women wear huipiles without any ornamentation. "It is their custom; even if they are rich they dress like mozos." In Totonicapan, Indian informants told me, the ancient class distinctions regarding dress are still adhered to, regardless of wealth. There is a persistent rumor among Ladinos that among the men only principales wear the sunburst embroidery on the front of their tunics. I could not get this rumor verified. The use of the design is certainly not confined to principales, but all of my informants who used the design belonged to aristocratic families. They would not admit that it was a mark of rank - but then the whole principle of rank is denied although it obviously exists. The denial of rank is probably part of the screen created to protect the political structure from complete destruction by the conquerors. CHAPTER FOUR FIESTAS The calendar at Chichicastenango1 is full of fiestas which on the surface appear to be like all other Latin-American fiestas; they have all the usual earmarks -Masses, processions, fireworks, drinking, and dancing, sometimes large markets, and sometimes masked dances. Like all Latin-American fiestas they are prolonged and noisy and exciting. During important fiestas the normal rhythm of town and country is broken, all normal habits of life are suspended. There is market every day, sleep is outlawed, there is an incredible amount of noise, the usual quiet family meal is replaced by all sorts of irregular eating, there is a great deal of steady drinking - there are foreign visitors and a great concentration of the native population - all of which tend to build up an almost hysterical excitement.2 All these are common to all Latin-American and Spanish fiestas. But there are many features of Chichicastenango fiestas that are special to this village - the preliminary ceremonies, the ways of building climaxes, the peculiar social and political implications of the ferial system. A Quiche fiesta is a very complex phenomenon, both historically and functionally. It has many facets, and focuses many aspects of a complex social life. To one individual one aspect will seem most important, another will find its significance in very different episodes. The o& server from overseas will see one thing, a participant another; not all individuals participate to the same degree, nor in the same manner. The merchant comes for business, the ritualist to fulfil a civic trust, the young man to look for a wife, the capitdn to look out for likely laborers. Many come merely for pleasure, and some stay away because they have no money to spend, or are afraid of being trapped for work in the fincas. In the following pages fiestas are described from different points 1 The complete ferial calendar is given in Appendix III. 2 No ethnologist can hope to improve on the superb description of the effects of a Latin fiesta on the nerves and emotions which Hemingway gives in The Sun Also Rises. 192 FIESTA OF MARIA DEL ROSARIO 193 of view, from the outside and the inside, from the point of view of the ethnologist trying to understand the whole thing with some comprehension gradually emerging out of an original bewilderment; from the point of view of the ritualist telling what he thought the fiesta was all about. Together they form a truer picture than either one alone. The three descriptions which follow have been taken from my diary. Except for a little rearranging in the interest of coherence, I have made no changes from the original entries, which stand with all their errors and misapprehensions, and their "unscientific" comments. I have corrected some of these in the footnotes. I looked at fiestas and I saw certain things - obviously not the things that the insider concerned himself with exclusively. Each night I wrote what I saw during the day, and these entries form a record of a sort; I have therefore avoided destroying the immediacy by corrections, even where I know I was mistaken. The first record is of a small fiesta, that of Maria del Rosario, October 2-5, 1930, a few days after my arrival in Chichicastenango. This is a small fiesta, not very gay. It is held during the rainy season and does not draw a big crowd. Fiesta of Maria del Rosario (October 2-5, 1930) October 2, 1930:3 Shortly after midnight the festival of La Virgen del Rosario began. During the night I heard rockets at intervals. At six o'clock in the morning they began with drums, flutes, and, a little later, rockets in the house of the cofradia. The bells rang for Mass at seven, and shortly afterwards a procession carrying four images entered the church. Right after Mass I had to go to Quich6, to present my credentials to the Jefe Politico, so I did not see what happened next. In the afternoon I visited three cofradias with Don F.4 The houses are distinguished by branches of pine at the door of the street. In the first house the patio was deserted, but we entered the 8ala, which was carpeted with pine needles. The ceiling was hung with colored cut-out papers. There were candles burning in front of the saint on the altar. The saint was San Sebastian. In the second house there were musicians (drum and flageolet) playing in the corridor. There was no other activity. One of the mayordomos directed us to a third house. Here there was a great crowd. The First Mayordomo re3 This was my third day in Chichicastenango. 4 Flavio Rodas, a Quiche scholar, a native of Chichicastenango, who served me as interpreter during the first days. 194 CHICHICASTENANGO ceived us pleasantly and invited us to come in. We entered the sala; like the other, it was carpeted with pine, and decorated with colored paper. There was an altar, with two saints who were identified as San Jos6 and Candelaria, and there were places for two others, El Rosario and La Natividad who, the mayordomo explained, were in church. On the altar was an ancient silver crucifix and two little dolls wrapped in a shawl lying on a pillow. These were identified by the mayordomo after some discussion as Santa Lucia and Santa Catarina. There were small papier-machd figures of the Three Kings and "las bestias." The mayordomos were coming and going, all, including the First, in various stages of intoxication. The First Mayordomo was kind, very friendly, and very drunk. There was no music, but there will be tomorrow. October 3, 1930: There were drums and rockets at intervals throughout the night, starting at about 7:30 in the evening. I heard them at nine, eleven, two and four. Also at 5:30 and 7:30 in the morning, and at intervals throughout the morning. The sounds came from different quarters of the town, and each time a group of men and women, with musicians, crossed the plaza to or from the house of the cofradia which we visited yesterday. This was the moloj, the collection of food for the fiesta. The musicians go to the house of the mayordomos to get the food offering. Each time the food leaves the house or enters the house of the cofradia a rocket is fired. At eleven o'clock in the morning the four saints who had been taken into the church yesterday left, with their respective mayordomos. There are two cofradias involved in this fiesta, those of Sacramento and Rosario. The four saints are Sacramento, Ascenci6n (belonging to Sacramento), Rosario and Nativadad. They are all taken to the house of Rosario. Here the four saints are set down on a mat in the patio facing their ceremonial room. The musicians sit in the portico, facing the saints. On leaving the church and on entering the patio rockets are fired. Now the mayordomos of Rosario begin to serve atole. One of the mayordomos brings it from the kitchen, and kneeling hands the cup to another, who hands it to the individual for whom it is intended. The cup (a gourd shell) is always offered on a folded cloth. The musicians are served first, then the bearers of the images, who are hired for the occasion, then the guests. The wives of the men come and sit at their feet as they are served, and they too are served. Throughout the serving of the atole the musicians play characteristic music. After everyone has been served twice the mayordomos enter their ceremonial room and they are served (with chocolate?). There is different music for this, softer and slower. After the serving of the mayordomos the music changes again, and the mayordomos come out and prepare to take the saints into their house. The strips of cloth with which they are bound to their pedestals are loosened, the head dresses are removed, and the bodies are wrapped in cloths, so that the hands of the bearers do not touch them. As they are taken into the room, rockets are fired. The other two saints are still standing in the patio, and the mayordomos of these saints prepare to take them home. The saints go first, then the mayordomos, the Alcaldes going last. The Alcalde of Rosario stands at the door of the street with his standard and blesses them as they go out. As they go out, rockets. When they reach their own house, another rocket. The saints are left standing FIESTA OF MARA DEL ROSARIO 195 on a mat in the patio, and everyone, mayordomos, bearers and guests crowd into the ceremonial room. Here everyone is served with drinks again. There are two rounds of atole. Then the guests leave and the mayordomos prepare to take the saints into their house. They will come out again tomorrow, to go to church. In the afternoon was the election of the new cofradia of Rosario. At about three o'clock as I returned from the cemetery where I had gone to observe a funeral, I met a procession of men carrying silver standards, so I followed them. They were the representatives of the municipality and the mayordomos who have silver standards going to the election. As they passed the church (I believe they started fromr the courthouse), a rocket was fired, and at once at this signal the music started in the house of the cofradia. At the street door they were met by the First Mayordomo. Then all went into the ceremonial room, and all knelt before the altar and prayers were offered. Then they were seated in the following order: nearest the altar, the First Mayordomo of the Cofradia, next to him the First Alcalde of the Municipality, the Fiscal, the Second Alcalde, the Sindico, four regidores, two mayordomos.5 How the rest were seated I don't know. The room was dark and crowded. Then the Municipal Alcalde and the Alcalde of the cofradia began to exchange long rhythmical speeches. The "saludas" and "instrucciones", I was told. These speeches were in Quich6, and were like chants. When they had finished, the music began, and the mayordomos brought in atole, serving everyone in order. During the drinking of the atole there was some desultory conversation. Then the mayordomos brought chocolate in small cups and sweet bread. Then they brought from the altar five bundles wrapped in red cloth and laid them in front of the first five officers. (I later found out that the bundles contained cacao.) The two alcaldes had another long chant, and at the end of it they put their bread into the bundles, and themayordomos removed them and replaced them on the altar. The other men put their bread into their bags. Then the Alcalde stood up to announce the election. Then all in the room rose and raised their hand, to signify their assent. A bundle of rockets was taken from the altar, and handed to the Alcalde who blessed them. Then the group again expressed their assent to something, and the rocketp were taken outside and fired with a great commotion as a signal of the conclusion of the election. Then the official visitors prepared to leave. The canes were taken from the altar, the silver standards replaced on their holders. The silver standards were presented all around to be kissed, and they left. On their way out the Municipality posed for a photograph but it was already late. There is no sun, anyway; the sky is gray and it rains intermittently. It is cold, too. Everyone seems very friendly and cooperative. October 4, 1930: Considering that a fiesta is in progress, the night was marvelously peaceful. Not a sound until 2 a.m. Then they started with rockets and drums. The music continued in several different places. This was the gathering of the mayordomos "in the morning." Two o'clock, is "morning" here. This is not interesting, I am told. Simply the gathering of the members, the drinking 5 The seating arrangement differs from that described by the informant: my version, verified on other occasions, is correct. 196 CHICRICASTENANGO of atole with long prayers, such as I have already seen several times. So I did not go out. All morning they were busy bringing the saints into the church for tomorrow's fiesta. There are a lot of them, but I haven't counted them yet. They are housed in different parts of town. There are several sets of musicians. They escort one saint with his mayordomos, the wives of the mayordomos to the church, there are brief prayers there, lighting candles, etc. and then they leave, the mayordomos for their house, the musicians to call for another saint. There are rockets all the time, whenever an image leaves its house and whenever one enters the church. They will all stay in the church over night, and go out in procession tomorrow. In the afternoon Sacramento and Ascencion are taken to visit Rosario. There are very short ceremonies there, the saints standing in the patio. But there are millions of rockets to signalize this event. After a few minutes, they all leave together for the church, with the two sets of mayordomos and the wives in their official huipiles. These are the last of the saints to go into the church. Late in the afternoon there is music again in the house of Rosario. There are no ceremonies, but they are serving atole - and other things. It is over by six o'clock. October 5, 1930 (Sunday): Everything quieted down at about six o'clock in the evening and stayed quiet until morning - 2 A. M. to be exact. Then they started in again with rockets and drums in different places. After a while I dressed and went out. I went first to the house of Rosario, but everything was quiet there, and dark, so I went on to where the music was, the house of San Sebastian. These houses are close together and near the convent. The musicians were sitting in the portico in front of the sala. They had a small fire in front of them. They were playing, but nothing else seemed to be happening. Every once in a while someone crossed the patio. No one paid any attention to me. I looked into the sala. Nothing happening there. I looked into the kitchen, where the women seemed to be busy, and asked if I might come in. They shook their heads. I hung around a while longer, and then went to Rosario again. There it is still dark and quiet. So I came back to San Sebastian. Now two young men are sweeping the patio. They invite me in and give me a seat beside the musicians. I wait for something to happen. A man comes out of the kitchen, speaks to the men who are sweeping the yard and goes back. The music continues. Now I begin to think that maybe Don F. was right when he said nothing happens at night. But they are very noisy about it. To judge from the character of the music one would expect almost anything in the way of bloody or orgiastic rites. The music goes on. Presently it stops. The musicians sit for a while chatting with the two young men who have finished sweeping the patio. Then suddenly they pick up their instruments and leave. I follow them, but they have been swallowed up by the night. If nothing has been happening in the cofradias, plenty has been going on in the plaza. There are great fires of incense on both altars in front of the churches, and candles in the church door, and many people busy with their sacrifices. It is not quite five o'clock, and a "good day."6 6 6 'e, a day to pray for "one's personality." FIESTA OF MARIA DEL ROSARIO 197 At seven o'clock the bell is rung for Mass. The drums have been going continously in different places, with occasional rockets here and there. Now the mayordomos begin to arrive for Mass. They arrive noisily with their musicians. The musicians bring them to the door, and linger in the doorway playing for them as they proceed up the aisle to take their place in the presbytery. Yes, Mass is going on, but it doesn't seem to have any effect on the pomp of their arrival. Each time the priest rings the altar bell, all the drummers beat their drums, and the flutists blow their flutes, and the rocketeers set off their rockets. The uproar is terrific. After Mass all the members of the cofradias withdraw to the patio of the church where they sit on the benches in the corner - the customary place for their meetings. They spend quite a while circulating in front of one another on their knees. Before it is over everyone has knelt to everyone else and received his blessing. It takes quite a while. At about nine o'clock the procession leaves the church. At its head are the sacristans in red robes with the tall crucifix, incense, candles. Then musicians, and the saints, each surrounded by its mayordomos and their wives. I didn't note the number and order of the saints - as a matter of fact I wouldn't know them, - they are all disguised in the same kind of red and purple silk wrappings, like dominoes that conceal even their sex. The Padre Eterno, distinguished by an impressive white beard, came last. The procession went around the square and reentered the church. There were lots of earsplitting rockets, of a kind I hadn't heard before. Presently the saints started to leave the church for their houses. As each one came out of the church the mayordomos grouped themselves in a semi-circle around the steps, each presenting his standard to the others. They left with little ceremony. Shortly after the last of the saints had disappeared there is a new development. In the eastern quarter of town is new music of a different character. Soon a now procession appeared. At the head are the little sacristans with the crucifix, incense and candles. Then the nayordomos with silver standards. (They have drum and chirimia.) Then a large group of men. They have their own musicians, a man playing a small flute and a little boy beating a small drLun. A man is dancing a curious weaving step in and out among this group. He carries in one hand a small wooden figure of a horse, with sleigh-bells attached. This is Tsijolaj, the patron of a group whose chief preoccupation seems to be carrying around rockets to be set off at his ceremony. They are the sargentos, who are, they say "coheteros."7 This procession crossed the plaza from east to west and went to the house of Sacramento. The saint had not yet been taken into the house so the second procession waited in the street. After the saint had been taken in the procession of Tsijolaj entered, and Tsijolaj danced in the patio. Later he went back to his own house in the east of town. Meanwhile the market had been filling up - it gets into full swing at about twelve o'clock. The sorcerers were coming and going about their ceremonies at the door of the church and in the church. There are Responses in the church, and the patio of the convent is filling up with mothers and babies waiting for baptisms. A typical Chichicastenango Sunday. In the afternoon I went with Don F. to see the installation of the new 7 I learned later that these men fire all the rockets at all ceremonies of the cofradias. They are a semi-professional group. 198 C:IICHICASTENANGO mayordomos of Rosario. When we arrived there was quite a crush of people. Presently the alcaldes and the new mayordomos, and the mayordomos of the other cofradias arrived. Rockets. They entered the ceremonial room, with the usual formalities. I tried to get in, but the room was so jammed that I could only squeeze into the doorway. The music played outside. Inside the old mayordomos sat on one side, the municipal officers on the other, the new mayordomos were outside. There were long prayers, then the serving of atole, followed by the serving of chocolate, with more long prayers. Then the new mayordomos were called in for the ceremony of installation. They stood facing the alcaldes, with their backs to the door. There were very brief prayers, and then all left. The alcaldes left first, with the usual greetings, then the new mayordomos. There were the usual ceremonies of presenting the standards as a blessing to all who were standing around and to the women kneeling in the patio. Meanwhile the music of Tsijolaj had been going on on the other side of town. The market had thinned out, and most of the people were gone from the church. The music of Tsijolaj continued, but I am told nothing happens, and I am inclined to agree this time. I shall have a chance to see this again in a few weeks. The music continued all night and all the following day. Also there was a marimba going some place - a plaintive marimba playing its monotonous tune all night and all day - a zarabanda. At about four o'clock Monday afternoon the music of Tsijolaj stopped, and the fiesta was over. Todos los Santos The second record is the fiesta of All Saints' and All Souls' (Todos los Santos y Los Fieles Diffuntos or Las Animas). This is a large and very happy fiesta, with dances, drinking, and plenty of noise. I have chosen it in preference to Santo Tomas, the fiesta of the patron for several reasons. In the first place, it is more complex, and more interesting in its inner structure. The second reason was a practical one - the fiesta of Santo Tomas was so big, so noisy, so rowdy, so exhausting, and made so many demands of so many different kinds that literary efforts, along with sleep, were impossible. Nothing happened that had not happened at All Saints - only there was much more of it. The only new elements were extraneous - a marimba band to play in an empty house for social dancing, a carrousel with a calliope, innumerable gambling concessions in the plaza, an animal fair, some seventy visitors from Sacapoulas with their molasses candy, etc., the convent overrun with guests from Guatemala, and all informants rendered useless by aguardiente. October 28, 1930: There were rockets at intervals throughout the morning. "Something in the cofradias," says Juan. If one tried to investigate every rocket in this town TODOS LOS SANTOS 199 there wouldn't be any time left for anything else. This should be the convening of the cofradias for the feast of All Saints. At Miguel's where they have been making the costumes and masks for the dance which is to be given during the feast, they have finished. The costumes have been delivered, and everything is put away. Miguel has a "factory" for costumes and masks. The designs come from Totonicapan. The masks are wonderful, nice florid blond gentlemen with long golden curls of sisal curled over little sticks. Some are dyed red. There is one black-faced gentleman, and one who is all gold. These belong to the dance of the Conquista. Miguel also has the text of the dance of the Toros, the one which is to be given this time. It is a great favorite. The costumes are velvet and satin in garish colors with lots of gold braid, like a barnstorming opera company's Carmen in a small town. In the afternoon in the cofradia of Santo Tomas they are erecting the tronos for the three principal saints, Santo Tomas, San Jose and San Sebastian. As patrons of the village they are entitled to special pomp. The tronos are the usual wooden pedestals on which the images are carried, swathed with red cotton cloth. Over these are arches, also covered with red cotton cloth, and decorated with feathers, ribbon streamers, bits of colored glass and mirrors - especially mirrors. They glitter and tinkle. They are working on these structures now, in the patio. There are many people there. Those who are working are the mayordomos of the different cofradias, and their young friends and relatives. The mayordomos of Santo Tomas circulate with atole and aguardiente. There are lots of women too. It is all very merry. At three-thirty the afternoon meal is served to the official guests, the mayordomos of the three cofradias, secretaries, etc. At about five o'clock they take the empty tronos to the church. They will have a Mass for them (the tronos) tomorrow. The procession forms in the usual way. The mayordomos of the three cofradias take their silver standards from the altar of Santo Tomas where they have been standing during the day. There are rockets as they leave the patio and again when they reach the church. The empty tronos were left on the left-hand side of the altar for their Mass. In the evening I heard a marimba in the house of Tsijolaj and went to investigate. There was an imported marimba there and Diego and a few other young men were practising their dance steps. They will take part in the dance. This was not official. Just practising. And drinking, of course. October 29, 1930: The marimba continued all night, but I was told it was nothing. At 4 A. AM., the fiesta began officially. Rockets and drums. This is the moloj, the collecting of all the mayordomos of all the cofradias with their wives and their contributions of food. It will keep up all day and all night, and probably tomorrow also. The dancing was supposed to start at 8 A. M. When I arrived at the house of the master of the dance8 at 8:30 the dancers were beginning to assemble and to go into the room where they were to dress. They finally got started at about 11:30. It was the Baile de los Toritos. The dancers were very elegant, jackets and breeches of bright velveteen in various brilliant com 8 The man who finances the dance, and entertains during the fiesta. See p. 424. 200 CHICHICASTENANGO binations, such as buttercup yellow and emerald green, and lavishly trimmed with silver and gilt fringe and braid. The masks are of nice pink- and whitefaced gents with blue eyes, and gold mustachios (gilt paint). They are much smaller than the human face and are just plastered on in front, and the head is covered with cloths, to which are pinned their beautiful golden (or red) curls. This is topped off with tricorn hats with plumes. The finishing touch is the footgear, long white cotton stockings and shoes! The long pointed shoes favored by the Ladino haute monde in the provinces. It is strange to see them on those sturdy Chichicastenango feet, which have never known anything more confining than sandals, and not always those. They suffer, but bravely, in a good cause. The solo dancers are the Patron in a very elegant costume, with a brimmed hat. In one hand he holds a silk handkerchief, in the other an umbrella - open.9 There is also a Negro, in a black mask and some sort of military outfit. HIe is the servant. There is another solo dancer. They stand at the back, and in front of them the Matadores in two lines. About ten altogether. They are facing each other, and the solo dancers go up and down between the lines. Some of the steps are very complicated. After about three movements, enter the bull. This is a child of five wearing a bull mask. Very terrifying. They chase him around a little and then he runs off. Then another bull comes - - an adult this time. Then both bulls. Then the solo dancers declaim the text - -quite unintelligible owing to the masks and method of declamation. It is to the effect that the Patron is going to put on a bull fight. Then some more of the bulls. The music is one of those tremendous marimbas played by four players. Imported, I think, from Chimaltenango. While waiting for the dance to begin I went over to the house of Tsijolaj. Here it was very festive. All the assistants, friends and relatives of the sargentos were bringing firewood for the feast. They brought it on burros, dropped their loads in the patio, and then went to sit down in the portico where they were fed puliq, tamales, atole, bread, soup, chocolate. And, of course, plenty of aguardiente. One of the patios was just covered over and heaped up with firewood. No one was bothering to stack it. Everyone was having a good time. There was no dancing or music here, but in the sala was an altar, and on it the little horse, with all his accoutrements, and his money. He has chains of coins around him, and some treasure besides. In the afternoon they were still dancing in the house of the Toros. The rmoloj was still going on. This started in in real earnest at about eight o'clock in the evening. Every few minutes a group would pass across the plaza. The musicians and some eight or ten people (men and women in ceremonial costume) with baskets and bundles and bright flares of ocote. I followed one group to the house of the cofradia, and the ceremonies here seemed to be just the same as every other cofradia ceremony. But the music is distinctive and by far the most interesting I have yet heard. October 30, 1930: The moloj continued all night with great vigor. There arefourteen cofradics and each has six or eight members: each member has his own individual 9 Brinton (Annals of the Cakchiquels, p. 20) mentions a canopy as a prerogative of royalty. TODOS LOS SANTOS 201 procession with music, rockets and all the fixings. Plenty of rockets, drums, flutes and marimbas all night long to keep one from feeling lonesome. All roads, it seems, lead past the church - from anywhere to anywhere. At about 9:30 A.M. the Bail de e lo Toritos left their house to visit Santo Tomas, where they will dance all day. They dance all the way across the town. First come the dancers, dancing. Behind them the marimba, carried by three young men and played by four. Yes, they play as they go along. Behind them a nondescript collection of young men and women. At the cofradia the Toritos were dancing in the patio, their marimba standing in the portico. The drummers were in their usual places. On benches facing them were important visitors, mayordomos from other cofradOas, etc. I recognized several prominent old men. The mayordomos were running around serving atole in the usual fashion. The crowd was unceremonious in appearance and behavior. No official costumes, such as extra huipiles, no display of festive attire, and a general lack of formality. I took away the impression that the thing wasn't really in full swing yet. After about an hour a group of mayordomo8 took their standards from the altar and went out to get Tsijolaj. They were gone a long time, and the crowd thinned out, and the dancing became more and more routine and boring. At twelve o'clock there is still no sign of Tsijolaj. It is Thursday and there is a market, larger than usual on account of the fiesta. That takes up some time, what with people trying to sell me things I want to buy, and having to go through the usual prolonged ritual of bargaining. At three o'clock a rocket announced the departure of the alcaldes for the election of Santo Tomas. The new mayordomos who will take office after the fiesta in December are elected ahead of time, probably because the fiesta is on such a tremendous scale - or perhaps because during the fiesta no one will be sober enough to carry through an election. When I arrive at the house of Santo Tomas I am held up by the departing Torito8. They are dancing before the door of the street, and I can't get through. They are just leaving -for the house of SanMiguel as I discovered later. When Iget through, the alcaldes have already entered the ceremonial room. The patio is crowded and very festive. Along the portico on my left as I enter are a group of about thirty of forty young men, all in festive dress, each carrying several bundles of rockets, their long poles making a forest of cane. These, presumably, are the sargentos and their aides. Across the patio from the sargentos, sitting on benches, are the mayordomos with their silver standards, and other old men. There is plenty of evidence of much aguardiente having been there, but none visible at the moment. In the patio Tsijolaj is dancing with his characteristic diagonal step. The usual music, the small drum played by a little boy, and the flute. The musicians are seated among the alcaldes. The dancing goes on for a while, then the dancers change, and the one who has been relieved stretches his cramped and weary arms. Suddenly a detail of the scene, hitherto unnoticed, becomes apparent. There are three sets of musicians sitting in the portico outside the ceremonial room. There are two very large drums, with flutes, and a smaller drum with chirimia. There is probably no noisier instrument than the chirimia - it is unbelievably loud and shrill. All three start up at once. Tsijolaj continues to dance unperturbed to the music of his own little drum and flute. The atole starts going around. There are six mayordomo8 serving. I don't know who they 202 CHICHICASTENANGO are, because there are only four mayordomos in the cofradia of Santo Tomas. They serve the musicians, the principales and the sargentos, but not the unofficial guests. The music is for the service of atole. Finally I screw up sufficient courage to walk past those six earsplitting musicians and enter the ceremonial room. The municipal officers are sitting on one side of the altar, the two mayordomos of Santo Tomas on the other side. Nothing seems to be happening, but of course one couldn't tell if they were talking or not with all that uproar. At this point an old woman, much too drunk to stand, gets up and starts to dance, first in the patio, and then in the ceremonial room. No one pays any attention to her. She is, apparently, invisible. No one looks at her, or looks away. I am standing in the doorway, completely surrounded by drums. Inside the Municipality rises. A mayordomo brings several bunches of rockets from the altar, and the alcalde holds them and blesses them. He is holding in his hand as he does so a paper, probably the list of the new mayordomos. A bunch of mayordomos come in with bread and chocolate but they are sent back. Too soon for that. The alcalde finishes his speech. The rockets are taken outside. The female drunk is still dancing, with maudlin shrieks. In the patio they start firing the rockets. There are two dozen of them, the big loud ones. There are four men to fire them. Meanwhile Tsijolaj goes on dancing, undisturbed with his little drum, and the other three drums are going too. Then comes a new device. Someone hands Tsijolaj a spherical arrangement made of hoops of cane with rockets attached. He holds it in his hand as he dances and the contraption goes off like mad. Tsijolaj is the patron of fireworks. Is that, perhaps, a reflection of the relation between the horse and firearms? The uproar is practically unbearable. The only thing missing is a marimba. Presently the alcaldes come out and prepare to leave. There are the usual greetings in the doorway and the patio. Tsijolaj, the sargentos and the mayordomos take them to the street. They all return, the 8argentos and the mayordomos take the places they occupied before, and Tsijolaj starts to dance again. The municipal officers are going to the house of San Miguel for the election there, and I follow them. They stop at every corner to exchange greetings. The house of San Miguel is a poor house on the very edge of town, on the hill to the southwest. The municipality is met at the street door by the mayordomos. There are the usual exchanges of greetings at the door, in the patio, at the door of the ceremonial room. They go in. In the patio are the Toritos. They are not dancing when we arrive, but as soon as the Municipality enters the patio they start. The crowd here is very ragged and dishevelled. There are a number of Ladinos, especially little boys. They seem to follow the dances. One of the mayordomos has a bottle of aguardiente and glasses and goes around pouring drinks for the dancers, the marimberos and honored guests. The only "honored guest" seems to be my friend Miguel, who is already decidedly the worse for wear. He is there with his wife and some three or four of his innumerable progeny. They all drink. Miguel is secretary of this cofradia, and is also the manager of the dance. The dance is about to leave. They were just waiting, it seems, for the alcaldes to arrive so that they could dance for them. There is a shower and everyone takes refuge indoors. In the room of the cofradia the election follows the usual course. After the shower passes the dancers leave. There are no& TODOS LOS SANTOS 203 ceremonies at their departure. They should go all the way dancing, but the street is too steep and muddy, so they walk down the hill and then take their places and go on dancing. Their progress is slow, so I slip down a side street to see what is happening at the house of Santo Tomas. (I should be three people.) While I was up at San Miguel's there were rockets somewhere or other. These probably signalized the departure of Tsijolaj and his arrival at his own house, because when I arrive at Santo Tomas everything is quiet —relatively. Tsijolaj, the sargentos, the alcaldes and the women are all gone. Even the mayordomos of Santo Tomas seem to have disappeared. Only the overworked musicians are there, still working. But there is only one set there now, playing to an empty patio. So now I go on to the house of Tsijolaj. Now everyone is here. There is a large, expectant crowd. The nice young men (the sargentos), the sumptuous women, the mayordomos with their silver standards. They are waiting for the dancers. Tsijolaj is not in evidence. A bunch of rockets goes off. That is the end of the election at San Miguel. Presently the dancers arrive, having danced all the way across town. They are met at the door, and go in at once to their room and disrobe. Nothing more until tomorrow. I don't believe it, of course, but devoutly hope it's so. October 31, 1930 (Todos o108Santos, third day): Everything was quiet all night. Promptly at 4 A. M., the first rockets announcing that the mayordomos are assembling. All of them come to Mass. Quite a gathering, and afterwards there is the usual meeting in the patio at the door of the sacristy. I try to get in a little work on language with my interpreter, but it's quite hopeless. The saints are coming into church for tomorrow's Mass. They come one by one, accompanied by their mayordomos and tamboreros. There are plenty of rockets, on leaving their house, on entering the church, etc. This keeps up all morning, but I don't bother to watch it, knowing what it is like and having other fish to fry. But they don't fry very well with all this distraction. At 10:30 the Baile leaves its house,10 crosses the plaza and goes to the house of Don Nachez Am6squita, the richest and m6st prominent Ladino. It is a courtesy, because he has invited them. I suppose they are fed, and surely drink there. He contributes something to the fiesta, too. I lose track of the Baile until afternoon, and am not sure just how it has spent the day. At about the same time as the dance comes out, the mayordomos of San Jose and San Sebastian and Santo Tomas come out of the house of Santo Tomas where they have been meeting, and cross the plaza. They are going for Tsijolaj, who, apparently, always goes about well escorted. After about an hour they come out and come towards the church. Tsijolaj is dancing, of course. He is accompanied by the sargentos, musicians and many mayordomos. I recognize those of Santo Tomas, San Sebastian and San Jose. There are others. "The new ones," says F. but I don't believe that, since the new ones have not been installed yet. However, whoever they may be, there are a lot. The sargentos form two long lines on the outside of the group, with their tall bundles of rockets. Between them walk the mayordomos and the mu 10 Dances are financed by any rich individual, with assistance from friends, relatives, and the public. 204 CHICHICASTENANGO sicians. There are the drummers for the cofradicas, two large drums with flute, and a smaller one with chirimia, as well as Tsijolaj', played, as usual, by a little boy (when does he get his rest?) and his shrill flute. A large group of women walk around the edges and in the rear. They are all young and pretty and in festive dress, with their hair smooth and glossy and their best huipiles and those terrific necklaces. They are the wives of the sargentos who all are young. Tsijolaj with his little horse dances in and out among the sargentos. The sargentos take their places in the portico on the south (really southeast) side of the plaza, with their wives behind them. The rest of the group enter the church. The three empty tronos are still standing to the left of the altar, and Tsijolaj dances in front of them. They have come to get the tronos to take them back to their houses to call for the saints. This will take several hours. The mayordomos take the tronos outside and set them down in front of the church on the highest step, and Tsijolaj dances for them on the steps. There are rockets and more rockets. They hav been holding out on me and now they bring out a new contraption for making noise which I haven't seen before (I thought I knew all of them) - the bomba. This is a heavy block of wood with a piece of pipe sticking up out of it. Into this pipe they drop something that looks like a hand grenade, with a fuse. They retire, and nothing happens. Then it goes off, with a terrific explosion. A great cloud of smoke rises out of the pipe, and clouds everything for a moment. When the smoke clears I look around to see just what buildings have been blown up, but they are all still standing. Built to resists earthquakes. Then they notice me and decide that I may be fun. Obviously I'm not yet inured to their favorite form of amusement. They start to shoot off rockets right under my nose or behind my ear. All very good natured. Finally I retire from the steps of the church and take refuge among the sargentos. Everyone is very amused. But there is no escape. Suddenly a whole dozen rockets go off at once right behind my ear. That, however, is an accident. Someone's cigarette. That startles everyone, and they all run. The crowd groups itself once more as before and the dancing goes on. Tsijolaj has his own special brand of fireworks now. Looking around the crowd now I notice for the first time that everyone is quite drunk. Old Manuel Sen, the Alcalde of the sargentos, who claims to be 110 years old, has to be assisted down the steps. His infirmity is not due to his age. Others are in the same state. Everyone comments on the poor display of rockets among the sargentos. There should be twice as many. "El Crisis" (the depression). The procession is forming. It goes first to the house of San Jose. The trono of Santo Tomas is too large to go through the door, so they set it down on a mat in the street. They take the other two into the patio and set them down facing the ceremonial room. The alcaldes go into the room, also Tsijolaj and his musicians. The sargentos and the other musicians remain outside in the patio. When they come in they kneel before the saint. Tsijolaj's ropes are placed on the altar. Wherever Tsijolaj goes two sargentos carry his ropes - - the ropes that will be used in his ceremonies tomorrow. Something terrible would happen if one of them should break. Tsijolaj offers acandleto San Jose. Then there are the usual sort of prayers, and finally atole is brought. Then Tsijolaj starts to dance in the room. His musicians are playing for him inside and the other musicians blowing and thumping away outside. Everyone is very drunk indeed, and very good natured. The sargentos seem to be the most TODOS LOS SANTOS 205 sober members of the party, and they stand quietly in the portico by the entrance. The musicians are very drunk. Old Manuel Sen stretches out on one of the benches and goes peacefully to sleep. Some woman puts a bundle of clothing under his head. They bring out the saint and place him in his trono in the patio. Tsijolaj dances for him outside, and then goes inside again and dances. The mayordomos go in to kneel before the altar, and the procession forms to leave. The order of the procession is as follows: First the music, then San Jose, then the two empty tronos, then the sargentos, the mayordomos, and the women. Tsijolaj is the last person to leave. On leaving the house there are the usual sounds of departure, rockets, the bomba and Tsijolaj's fireworks. At each street corner the procession halts. They set down the tronos, Tsijolaj dances, and there are rockets and bombas. They are going now to get to San Sebastian. Here they will go through the same ceremonies, and then they will go for Santo Tomas. It is now about 12:30, so I leave the procession to its own devices and go to eat. At about two o'clock the procession leaves the house of San Sebastian, and at about the same time the Toritos come from wherever they have been all day and go to the house of Santo Tomas, dancing across the town. They stay there, dancing in the patio until four o'clock, while Tsijolaj, San Jose and San Sebastian with all their attendants come to call for Santo Tomas. This is the first time that all the participating groups have come together. Meanwhile the other two pairs of musicians have been bringing the other saints into the church. (This has been going on all day.) At four o'clock the procession leaves the house of Santo Tomas. First comes the Baile of the Toritos, with their marimba. As usual they dance all the way. Two men carry the marimba while four men play on it. Then come the three saints, San Jose, San Sebastian, Santo Tomas, with all their mayordomos, wives of mayordomos, etc. Finally Tsijolaj, dancing, and the sargentos. The whole procession stops at each corner, there are rockets, bombas, and Tsijolaj and the Toritos dance. This procession has been cumulative all day, and has reached its peak. When they reach the church the three saints are set down on the highest step, facing the plaza, and Tsijolaj dances for them. The Toritos go on to their own house. They are through for the day. There are plenty of rockets. Then the saints are taken in, and the whole procession follows. The mayordomos kneel in front of each one in turn. Candles are lighted. Tsijolaj dances in front of the saints (in the presbytery), again on the steps, in the center of the church, on the threshold. Once outside the church, there are the formal leave-takings, and the group splits up, each cofradia going to its own house. Inside the church there are evidences of many private rituals, especially great quantities of little marigolds, the flower especially associated here and elsewhere with the dead. There are no roses, although these are offered to the dead also. After the procession leaves the church, at about six o'clock, everything is quiet. Late at night I hear a marimba some place. November 1, 1930 (Todos Los Santos, last day): It begins at 3 A. M. with rockets and drums - the assembling of the cofradias. At about six a group passes the church on the way to the house of 206 CHICHICASTENANGO Santo Tomas. At a little before seven the cofradias begin to arrive for Mass. All are in full ceremonial dress, and the women are with them, also in ceremonial dress. Some are accompanied by musicians, others not. Those who have musicians make the usual noisy entry into the church, regardless of what is going on inside, the musicians standing in the doorway and playing until the mayordomos have taken their places. The women kneel throughout the Mass, the men stand inside the presbytery, and they also kneel more than is usual in Catholic churches. The drummers stand inside the door and play whenever the altar bell is rung. The Elevation is the signal for the biggest din of all. The church is crowded, but there are no Ladinos. There are many people busy with private ritual throughout the ceremony. Again I notice the yellow flowers of the dead. When Mass is nearly over the cofradia of Santo Tomas arrives with a great uproar. The alcaldes kneel in the door of the church, but they do not come in. The mayordomos of San Jos6 and San Sebastian leave and join them, and together they go to get Tsijolaj. At about eight o'clock they arrive - - the three cofradias, Tsijolaj, and the sargentos and the Baile of the Toritos. Mass is now over, and the other mayordomos are sitting in the patio of the convent. Tsijolaj dances in the church for a few minutes. This is how they come "to hear Mass." The procession leaves the church at 8:30. First comes the Baile, then the saints, each with its mayordomos and women. The least important ones come first. The three "patrons" come last — except for Padre Eterno who comes last of all. After him come Tsijolaj and the sargentos. The procession turns to the north after leaving the church, and circles the two squares north of the plaza. It pauses at each corner for fireworks and dancing. While waiting for the procession to return I give my attention to the church. There are now more people busy with costumbres, and the steps are jammed with men and women burning incense. There are candles in the doorway, and heaps of yellow flowers, and flowers and pine on the steps. Clouds of incense drifting over everything, and giving that unforgettable Sunday-in-Chichicastenango smell. The procession takes fully an hour to get around. When it returns all the saints are taken in - - except San Jose. San Sebastian and Santo Tomas who are set down on the top step facing the plaza where Tsijolaj and the Toritos will dance for them. Of course there are rockets fired from the church steps as each saint goes in, and as the mayordomos come out. That makes lots of rockets. The drummers sit down on the two ledges at either side of the door. There are five sets - - now I know how many there are. They contrive to keep the uproar pretty continuous. The alcaldes, the mayordomos with silver standards, the alcalde of the sargentos and a number of other old men (principales?) are seated on benches in front of the south portico. Beyond them stand the sargentos with their forest of rockets. The Toritos dance in front of the church. Between the church and the dance is an open space where Tsijolaj dances. He comes and goes with his characteristic diagonal tacking between the alcaldes and the door of the courthouse (on the east side, beyond the church). He always has his own musicians - - the same little boy, who is looking pretty tired by now. Everyone is more or less drunk, the old men most of all. A group of men have a large olla of chicha which they are selling. Aguardiente appears from nowhere, and is offered, particularly to the alcaldes. It is always offered by some mayordomo, kneeling, and always with a folded cloth. There are formal speeches, and the alcaldes give their TODOS LOS SANTOS 207 blessing over the glass. The musicians are not forgotten either. They show more than any others the ravages of the fiesta. They are listless and worn from alcohol and sleeplessness. At about 10:30 three men mount into the belfry with the ropes. They will not let me go up to see how the ropes are fastened: because, they say, there is very little room and it is dangerous. It takes nearly an hour to adjust the ropes; there are prayers up there, they say. At about 11:30 they finally let down the ropes, the ends of which are fastened to a post about five feet high set up in the plaza. The little figure of the horse is fastened to the rope, and, dangling from his feet, the spherical frame to which the fireworks had been attached. That is his "symbol." Now Tsijolaj begins to "dance" on the rope. The ropes are double, with some crude sort of pulley above and below, and they are operated from above. The operators in the belfry crawl out on the ledges. It's pretty harrowing. The gallery is seventy feet above the plaza. The figure is pulled up and down with a characteristic jerky motion. The little drummer plays for him. This is Taijolaj's dance. The other dancing was just supplementary, but this is considered the core and climax of the ceremony. What it all means, I haven't the least idea. This goes on for several hours. At 2:30 the rope is down, and the little figure is being carried in a dance as before. Pretty soon the procession re-forms, the three saints, the Municipality, the mayordomos, Tsijolaj and the sargentos. (None of them have left the plaza since morning.) They proceed noisily and slowly to the house of Santo Tomas for the installation of the new alcaldes. I go around by a back street, and get there some time ahead of them. In the house of Santo Tomas a zarabanda is in progress. Everyone is very, very drunk, especially the women. In one corner of the room is a native marimba, and it plays constantly the same four notes. In the other corner is a table where the chicha is being dispensed. This is supposed to be sold, and the man is supposed to keep some sort of accounts. They write up their accounts on the white-washed wall. But there seem to be many drinks and very little money changing hands. People also go around with bottles of aguardiente pouring it out offering it to anyone who cares to drink. Two men, far too drunk to stand, lean against each other and the wall and swallow chicha as fast as the bartender can pour it for them. There is no idea of refusing a drink to a man who is already numb. Some of the women also are very drunk. There is one young woman dancing. She is very well dressed, and has a young baby on her back. The baby flops around in the carrying cloth. She pauses every few moments to engage a young man in passionate and alcoholic embraces. He has another woman, somewhat older. He is too drunk to be discriminating. He embraces them successively and simultaneously, with maudlin shrieks. There is no hard feeling between the women, and no evidence of jealousy. Everyone watches this scene with great amusement. The three principals are enjoying themselves immensely. The younger woman finally falls down and is helped outside. There are a number of people praying, one old man in particular is shrieking in front of the altar. Everyone is very good natured and there is no fighting or aggressiveness. Presently the procession arrives, with the usual noise. All the mayordomos come in —or as many of them as there is room for. They kneel briefly before the altar. Those who have been unable to get into the room kneel in the patio. Then the alcaldes and mayordomos are seated, in the usual order, the 208 CHICHICASTENANGO mayordomos of Santo Tomas beside the altar, with the alcaldes opposite, and the other mayordomos at the end of the room. The marimba has not stopped during this, nor does it, and the drinking and revelry, far from stopping only increase during the following ceremony. Outside in the patio are the three saints in their tronos, and Tsijolaj dancing in front of them. The altar is decorated with candles and flowers, and designs of flower petals. After brief prayers atole is brought, and Tsijolaj comes in and dances for the alcaldes, while they drink. Then bread and chocolate, with the usual long prayers. After this one of the mayordomos brings the Alcalde a bundle of candles, an incense burner and a new mat rolled up. He hands them, with long prayers, to one of the new mayordomos. In the uproar and confusion it is hard to know just what is going on. But I notice that the alcaldes who have been imbibing all day in the plaza without restraint go through their rituals with all the accustomed ceremoniousness and dignity. Their official personalities are unaffected. A young Indian is standing beside me and I ask him occasionallyto explain what is going on. He tells me, then goes onto explain, "You see, this is the fiesta of the Indians. Now they have finished in the church, and they are going on to celebrate the saint according to their own customs. They are happy in their own fashion." After the installation of the new mayordomos (the handing over of the mat, etc. to Rox symbolized that), they bring in the saint. First they bring in the small figure in Santo Tomas' arms - - they call it "Sunci6n" and offer it to everyone in the room, Indians and Ladinos alike, to bekissed. Then the Saint himself is brought in and set in his place on the altar. There are brief prayers and the officials prepare to leave. The Municipality leaves first. Tsijolaj escorts them, dancing, to the street door. They are going to the house of San Miguel for the installation of the new mayordomos there. This is considered the feast of San Miguel; the Mass this morning was for him, and was paid for by that cofradia. At the house of Santo Tomas the procession re-forms, Tsijolaj, the two saints, the empty trono of Santo Tomas. They are going to take the other two saints home. The third group to leave is the newly elected cofradia of Santo Tomas. Since I know what is going to happen in the other places I wait and leave with this group. After brief prayers, they leave. The six mayordomos are wearing their ceremonial costumes. The First Mayordomo carries the silver standard, Box has the petate, candles and incense burner. These are his symbols, which he always carries on strictly full-dress occasions. After we have gone a few blocks one of the mayordomos from the old cofradia catches up with us and gives the new Second Mayordomo his silver standard which he had forgotten to take from the altar. The new house of Santo Tomas is near the convent. It has not been lived in, since the new mayordomo lives customarily at his "monte." At the street door the mayordomos pause a moment for the customary greetings. The First Mayordomo crosses the patio and unlocks the sala. It is a large, bare room, elegantly furnished with a large table on which reposes a coffin. The coffin has nothing to do with the ceremony. It is M's investment. He had bought it because the man who made it wanted to sell it (there are always coffins on sale in the plaza), and, one day he will surely need a coffin. The mayordomos kneel for a moment facing the end of the room where the altar will be when it is fixed up, and deposit their silver standards and other things on the table in front of the coffin. The mayordomos leave. The First Mayordomo shows me around the place, unlocking TODOS LOS SANTOS 209 all the doors. He is very proud of the large patio, and the two kitchens. He explains why this is important. On my way home I notice that the procession is at the house of San Jose. They are taking him home. At about seven o'clock they bring the three trono8 back to the church and take Tsijolaj home. I go to bed, thinking about the little boy who drums for Tsijolaj. Will his mother give him a hot bath and tuck him in? November 2, 1930: Today is Sunday, so the day of the dead will not be celebrated until tomorrow. According to Catholic ritual there can be no Masses for the dead on Sunday. So today passed in tying up the loose ends of yesterday's fiesta. There is a market, but not large, not so large as is usual on Sunday. There are rockets every once in a while, for no apparent reason. In the house of Tsijolaj there is dancing. They have ropes strung between the roof of the house and a post in the patio. One man sits on the roof and another on the post and they pull rhythmically. The alcaldes are there and everyone is slightly tipsy as usual. There are two zarabandas, one at the cofradia of San Jos6 and the one at the house of Santo Tomas, which is now in its second day. I visited both houses in the afternoon, after the market had begun to break up. At the house of Santo Tomas the marimba is still in the corner, playing the same four notes. The native marimbas are mournful instruments. They have a plaintive tone, which has a surprising carrying quality. I often hear them played at night far off in the hills. The same notes, over and over, very sad and wistful, like the shepherd's pipes in Tristan. About the last kind of music which one would associate with ribald merry-making. Well, this sad music is still going on at the house of Santo Tomas. In fact, the whole scene there is un poco triste. The flowers on the altar are drooping, the pine is no longer a fragrant carpet, but has been tangled and matted by trampling, and is full of scraps of this and that. There are not many people there. A few mayordomos wandering about listlessly. One old man, very drunk, is kneeling in front of the altar praying in loud, maudlin tones. A few people sit propped up against the walls. Outside in the patio are the women of the house and the wives of the mayordomos, all sober and weary, and a few visitors. No pretty clothes, no laughter, no excitement. It is all likethe day after Christmas. I expect to see the dismantled tree, the straggly tinsel and the torn wrappings - - and the cold plum pudding. It is all very different at the house of San Jos6. Here everything is in full swing. The house is near the plaza, and catches all the people on their way home from market. The house and the patio are jammed with men, women, and children. Everyone hilariously drunk. There is a lot of liquor being served. There are a number of people, men and women, dancing in front of the altar, with the characteristic shuffling step. The dancing is quite informal, anyone who feels like dancing gets up and dances. There are people praying here, too. Everyone is very happy and pleasant, very noisy but not aggressive. I am invited many times to drink and be happy. I am asked if I don't think it is all muy alegre. I agree that it is muy alegre, but beg off the drink. On the whole, it is pretty disgusting, the noise, the stuffy, overcrowded rooms, the nauseating fumes of the liquor, the drunken young men falling 210 CHICHICASTENANGO against one all the time and the uncomfortable feeling that any one of them may be sick at any moment. Then there is that sense of insecurity in being a stranger among people who are no longer responsible. No, I don't like zarabandas. The impression that I carry away from all this is that the zarabanda is unquestionably a form of worship - - as much a part of ritual as the atole and the chocolate or the procession in the church. It is not the only time that the Indians get drunk, although the sobriety during the first few weeks of my stay here led me to think so. (They were probably broke.) However, they certainly do go out and get drunk en masse in a way that they do not at other times. I am also struck by the conspicuous part played by women, respectable wives and mothers. They don't get this from the Ladinos. Father R. talks of unspeakable scenes in the zarabandas at night. I have been to them at night and haven't seen anything different. However, one is always aware of the erotic aspect. Father R. says that they are completely promiscuous on these occasions, which is, of course, extremely doubtful. But the numerous scenes of one man with two women, or one woman with two men (less usual) certainly would indicate that the usual bars are down, and that men take women who don't belong to them. Sometimes there are quarrels, sometimes not. I stop in at Calvary Chapel on my way back to see what is going on there. There are a number of people praying and offering candles and flowers. The chapel is small and dirty. Over in one corner are two men, the older one obviously a sorcerer, engaged in divinations with seeds. He is soon joined by another old man with his clients, a young woman and a little boy. Calvary apparently is the hangout on market days, although practising divination in the church has been strictly forbidden by the priests. They seem to think that here they are safe from watchful eyes, and so they are much disturbed when they notice that I am watching -- from a distance. Finally one of them comes over to me where I am kneeling. He shakes hands, pats my back, turns my head to the altar, and tells me something in Quiche about Jesus, which I interpret as meaning that that's where I'm to look. He then returns and they go on with their affairs. In the church they are already getting ready for the Feast of the Dead. At noon they brought in the tomba. This is a coffin resting on a trestle. This is placed in the presbytery. It stands on a large petate. The coffin is covered with a black pall with a large red cross. On the coffin rest a small silver crucifix and a skull and many yellow flowers. At the head stands the green crucifix which is carried in funerals, and two tall candles, and at the feet is a small table covered with a black cloth, with more candles on it. There are many candles glowing at different places in the church, and many people performing ceremonies. I sit down to watch this for a while. Near me is a couple consisting of an old man and a young man, slightly fuzzy from aguardiente. They are kneeling in the center of the church below the tomba, laying out their candles. They open a cloth, lay the candles on it in pairs, and with each pair of candles a peso. Then the older man goes to call the priest. Father F. comes to make the Responses. He is accompanied by a sacristan with a silver plate. The priest wears a stole but no cassock. He speaks to the old man in Quiche, "What name?" He turns to the youth, who tells him. "Juan Sakakik." The priest pronounces the words of absolution, mentioning the name "Juan," sprinkles holy water from his asperser. The young man TODOS LOS SANTOS 211 picks up the peso between the first pair of candles and drops it clinking on the silver plate. They go on to the next pair of candles. This time it is a woman's name. And so they proceed. Over the last pair of candles there is some hesitation. The young man has forgotten the name. He consults the older men. "Is it Max (TomAs)?" - - "Is it Box (Sebastian)?" The priest is impatient; he is in a hurry. "Never mind the name. God knows what you mean, and you will think of it later." But that won't do. The name must be spoken in the prayer. They go into consultation again. Finally they decide on the name. The priest finishes and leaves. He is recalled soon for someone else. Now they start setting up the candles. The young man lights the first pair of candles, the old man says a long prayer, in which the name is mentioned again. So they go through all of them, with the same prayer repeated over each set. Then there are some candles left which they light at one of the side altars, I forget which one. When they are finished there they return, kneel in front of the altar, at the steps of the altar, in the middle of the church, at the doorway, outside the door, each time with a short prayer. It is more than an hour that I have been watching them, and I don't know how long they had been at it before I came. Meanwhile I have been observing others, although in the dark church it is hard to follow their movements. One couple, a man and a woman, started in front of the high altar, and work backwards, stopping every few feet to light two candles, with prayers, and to sprinkle flowers. When I leave they have reached the middle of the nave. They have placed flowers, but no candles on the side altars. Another couple are apparently working on the principle of four cardinal points. There are many others, coming and going quietly, each according to his own pattern. There seem to be many small variations in the actual placing of the candles. Night has fallen and the church is now quite dark, except for the glow of the candles, - - the large ones around the tomba, the constellations of little ones scattered through the great dark building. The candlelight shines on the dark faces, the sleek hair, the rich and sombre clothing. The air is heavy with murmured prayers, incense, and the pungent odor of the thousands of little yellow flowers. At sundown they start tolling the bell. After supper Father F. and I go for a walk. We go down to the cemetery, but everything is absolutely quiet there, and the gates are locked. It seems they do not follow the Mexican custom of visiting with the dead in the cemetery on this night. Father F. tells me something of the history of the responsos. He also tells me something of the feud between the Church and the municipality over the title to the cemetery. Formerly the priests went out to bless the graves on this night, but they do not go any more since the cemetery has been "spoiled." Now it is no longer a sacred place. Just how it was "spoiled" he couldn't or wouldn't say. But I suspect that it has merely been secularized. I know that the title is no longer in the hands of the Church but of the municipality. So the Church boycotts it. They will never go to the grave with funerals, and will perform no ceremonies of any kind in the cemetery. So, there are no Christian burials, even for Ladinos. Recently a little chapel was built in the cemetery and consecrated, and the priests will go there. They will hold three Masses there tomorrow. When we return the church is still open and crowded, but most of the people now are Ladinos. The Indians have gone home. At ten o'clock there are still many people, but by 10:30 everyone has gone. The church is deserted. 212 CHICHICASTENANGO The tall candles are still burning before the tomba, and a few little ones are guttering here and there. Down the middle of the church runs a high ridge of yellow flowers, with peaks here and there where they have been pushed aside to make room for more. All the altars are heaped high, also the altar steps, the threshold, the steps outside. They have a strong, pungent odor. They will be swept out tomorrow morning. About this time they stop tolling the bell. At 10:30 the zarabanda is still in progress in the house of San Jose. All night I hear the plaintive marimba, the laughter, and the maudlin shouting. It will continue all day tomorrow, in spite of the calendar. November 3, 1930: There were rockets at 3 A. M., and at four they started to toll the bell. There were three Masses in the cemetery, two Low Masses and one High Mass. During the morning the mayordomos came to take the saints to their houses, but without much ceremony. Soon after they started to dismantle the tomba, and to sweep out the church. "It is all over in the morning with the Mass." I am reminded of pueblo custom of counting nights, and ending ceremonies at dawn. At Manuel's house I notice a path of pine needles across the patio from the street door to the door of the sala. The sala is carpeted with fresh pine (it is the first time I have seen pine here), and there are bunches of yellow flowers tied to all the posts of the portico. I asked why, and was told they were "for the saints." They were not there yesterday, but I do not press him with questions to which I already know the answer. The confirmation will come in due course. Inside, there is fresh pine on the floor. The altar has been tidied up - that is, tidied up for Manuel, which means that the children's soiled clothing, shreds of costume, scraps of half-eaten food have been removed, and things have been rearranged. There are candles burning, and in front the altar stands a low table spread with a clean cloth, and beside it a low chair, and one of the square mats that women use to sit on. I ask no questions about this. We get to work on the calendar, and the ritual of candles. At the convent Liandra has cooked for us atole elote, a special viand for this day, and a sweet corn mush that reminds me of Hopi pikami, which is reserved for Katcina dances. Manuel has fallen foul of the fiesta. While we were working he bursts in on us. Juan saw him far off, staggering across the fields, his patient and harrassed wife and daughter behind him. He finally arrived, roaring drunk, dirty, dishevelled, with his face all bloody and swollen. He wanted to borrow money from me (no one here borrows or begs when he is sober) - "para quitar la goma" (to remove the bad taste). He finally left, followed by his wife and daughter. A wife's job is to follow her husband when he is drunk, and pick him up and bring him home when he passes out. There are no remonstrances or arguments, just this patient waiting for the malady to run its course. Juan was distressed about it. He doesn't touch liquor himself and is, altogether, something of a prig. (He didn't remonstrate, either.) But this, apparently, was really bad. Manuel got into a fight with his son last night. They were at the house of Tsijolaj. No one seems to know how it started —who knows, anyway, how drunken brawls start? But anyway, they both were drunk and they got to fighting, and D. hit his father over the HOLY WEEK 213 head with a piece of firewood. I saw D. later in the day, and he was banged up too, but Manuel seems to have gotten the worse of it. Now, of course, Manuel is mad, with a vast impersonal rage, which he must quench in drink. Juan surmised that it will last for several days at least. I always thought D. a sullen andresentful young man, but then Manuel is an old fox - or perhaps an old goat. In the course of the afternoon we get around to the day kiej in the Quiche calendar, the day of the dead, and a good day, the best day of all. Onthis day they say prayers, and "give" Responses to the ancestors. Then Juan offers the explanation of the pine, the flowers, the little table. On the day of "las animas" the dead come back, each to his ancestral place. They come during the night. Therefore the doors are left unlocked so that they may come in, and food is set out for them, puliq, atole elote -- whatever they have, but surely bread and chocolate. The house is decorated, and the table laid, with a chair for the men and a mat for the women. The food is removed in the morning and eaten. The ancestors have already feasted on its savor. To the Indians this is a happy day, one of the happiest in the calendar. There is none of the content which the day has for Catholics. I recall how shocked Father F. was yesterday in describing how the Indians make a fiesta of this day. He is a Dutchman, and, at heart, a Calvinist. In northern countries this is a day of mourning. Everyone of all ages wears black, all the vestments used are black; the Dies Irae is sung at all Masses on this day. The purpose of the rituals of the day is to shorten the period of the dead in Purgatory, and all eyes are fixed upon the Day of Judgment. But to the Indian it is a day of rejoicing and festivity, a day when their beloved dead" are with them. The candles are not offered in behalf of the dead for the remission of sins, but to the dead as a gift of love, or a gesture of welcome. They do not make Responses but give Responses. I was struck too by the feasting and the offerings of food —it reminded me so much of Zuni "Grandmothers' Day," when large feasts are prepared from that year's crop, and offerings are made to the ancestors in the river and the fire. The whole attitude toward the dead seems so thoroughly Indian, and the candle seems much closer ideologically to the Pueblo prayerstick than to the candle of Catholic countries. It seems a perfect example of the adaptation of a foreign ritual to an ancient and unchanging ideology. Incense, of course, is ancient. We make some progress with the business of unscrambling the egg. Holy Week The third account is the description of Holy Week, which although it is called "a fiesta" by the Indians is obviously of a different order, but not a bit less exciting. March 20, 1932 (Palm Sunday): All day yesterday people were coming in to town from the hills. Many of them will stay in town now until the end of Holy Week. The morning Mass 11 I had still to learn just how "beloved" the dead are. 214 CHICHICASTENANGO was well attended, but not nearly so many attended as for the Mass of San Jose last week. The mayordomos were there, but not their wives. After the blessing of the palms everyone left the church and the door was closed. The mayordomos took with them the image of "Santo Ramos", a figure of Christ on his ass, (or Santiago as Father R. believes) representing the entrance into Jerusalem. This figure was set down on the step of the church, facing the door. Then there was the knocking on the gate and the conversation between those outside and the priest inside. Then the door was opened and we all went in. (This is the same as the ceremony in Seville. I suppose it is general Catholic ritual.) The Mass was very long. The procession of Santo Ramos in the middle of the morning was very triste. There was no music but the little drum. Only the one image came out. No rockets. They didn't even ring the bells. There were almost no Responses in church - it is a bad day (q'at), and practically no baptisms, although the town is full. However, there was a huge market, the largest I have seen except for the feast of Santo Tomas. There were almost no visitors from other villages. The novelty in the market was honey - great quantities in gasoline tins. There was a large sale for it. It is used in the sweetened bread (xekd) which is baked for the feast on Thursday. There was also a lot of this bread on sale. There were also quantities of decorated gourds sold. This, also, probably related to the fiesta. There will be no market on Thursday or on next Sunday. The market was crowded, and it was frightfully hot. This is the hot season. March 21, 1932 (Monday): The town was absolutely quiet all day, in spite of the great number of people who are staying in. There was a small market, mostly bread, honey, candles, and one or two stalls with drygoods. And the same three or four women with their eggs and vegetables who sit there every day to see what is going on. In the afternoon all the sacristans are on hand in the church, and start moving things around, in preparation for the ceremonies of the end of the week. The boys start bringing pine, both branches and bags of needles. The Ladinos seem to be directing this. March 22, 1932 (Tuesday): At six o'clock there was a rocket in the cofradia of Jesus Nazarenos, and then the little drum. This drum seems to be connected with all the ceremonies of Lent and Holy Week. It is the same one that is used for Tsijolaj. After Mass I went to look over things in the church. All along the walls were great piles of pine, and the alguaciles continued all day to come with more. They are working on some kind of structure in front of the altar.This is under the direction of Ladinos. They have taken the large cross down from its place near the door, and it is lying on the floor, on a mat, with the head and arms supported by stones. The ajyiktem (sacristans of Calvary) have done this. All the alcaldes with insignia and many mayordomos are present. They all kneel down near the door. Now they start to advance on their knees. The ajyiktem come first. They approach the cross, kiss it, first the foot, several times along the upright, and both arms. They are followed HOLY WEEK 215 by the alcaldes. Then they prepare to take the cross out in procession. The ajyiktem carry it on their shoulders. There are eight of them. I notice that they place a red cloth on their shoulders where the cross rests, and that they always cover their hands with a cloth when handling it. The small drum goes at the head of theprocession, then the alcaldes, then the cross. They go around the north side of the plaza, very slowly. The cross is hard tohandle. They enter Calvario, the cross is laid on a mat again, and once more all go through the ritual of veneration. Then the alcaldes leave for a house on the east side of town, and the ajyiktem wait until everyone has left, and then close the doors of Calvario and lock them. They remain closed all day, and no one comes out or goes in. There was a small market, like yesterday, and everything is very quiets In the evening the Ladinos had a procession of the saints of their cofradias, with the band. Father R. was very angry because they rang the bells. March 23, 1932 (Wednesday): At two o'clock I heard the little drum go by. I could not find out anything about this, it is not on my Holy Week program. All morning they continue to work at the decoration of the church. There is more pine, and the boys continue to come with still more. It is piled in mountains along the walls. The business in front of the altar begins to look like something. They are using a lot of blue and white cotton cloth for this. Meanwhile they have been rearranging the baptistry. They have covered the fount and the floor with mats. In front of the baptistry they have put up a canopy, and under this they have set up a cross from one of the cofradias. There is a red silk hanging on the wall behind the cross. In the afternoon they begin to scatter the pine needles over the floor. It takes quite a few needles to cover that floor, and the carpet is thick. They also start decorating the pillars with eq' (Sp. pie de gallina). This is a plant with shiny spear-shaped leaves, with a waxy surface, which look for all the world like the ribbons of sugar candy we used to have at parties. They arrange these leaves in loops around the pillars. I help with this. The boys are still coming in with pine. Calvario is still locked, but they are taking down the ranchito that has been there since the first Friday of Lent. At about three o'clock in the afternoon there was a terrific uproar in the patio of the convent and I rushed out. It was Judas. He was wearing thecostume of a Solola alcalde and a white mask. He was followed by a crowd of shrieking little boys. The Padre came out, shook him, dealt him a few cuffs on the ear, and gave him 15 pesos. There was a lot of noisy joking. He left followed by his escort of hooting boys. He goes around very fast. He visited only Ladino houses, and he got bread, cigars, and money - mostly bread. This doesn't last long, there aren't many houses and he is in a hurry. He will spend this night in prison in the courthouse. When I return to the church the alcaldes are gathering in the doorway. After kneeling briefly in the doorway, they stand around talking. I go out to the plaza to speak to Tomas about getting a man from Santa Cruz to, come over to work with us, and while I am gone the alcaldes leave the church. They march across the plaza to Calvario. Here a bunch of little boys (Ladinos) are standing with the matracas (wooden clappers). I rush up the steps just as the door of Calvario opens. The alcaldes enter, followed by a largecrowd. 216 CICHICASTENANGO On a table in the nave rested the urna. This is the glass coffin that customarily rests under the altar in Calvario. In it was the figure of Christ in a blue shroud. (The usual one is white.) There were many flowers on the urna. The chapel was full of a curious sweetish odor - perhaps some sort of incense. I recall that I had noticed this odor on the several occasions that I came exploring around the closed doors during the time that the church was locked. Behind the urna stands the image of Maria Dolor which had been brought from the cofradia sometime since yesterday. Perhaps that is the meaning of the unexplained drumming at two o'clock this morning. After very short prayers the procession forms in the usual order. The little drum, the mayordomos, the urna carried by the young men from leading Ladino families (Don Adan Amezquita is among them), then Maria Dolor, and, last of all, the cross. Outside the procession is joined by the band. The procession advances very slowly, and stops frequently. As it leaves, a number of little boys leave the church, with bundles of pine. They are stationed at various points along the route, and walk ahead of the procession, in relays, scattering pine. The people in the houses along the route of the procession have scattered pine and flowers in the street before their doors. The procession entered the church from the north. Under the canopy near the door was a table covered with a petate, and strewn with pine and flowers. On this the urna was placed, and Maria Dolor behind it. The cross was placed on mats farther up in the church, the head and arms supported by stones as usual. Candles were placed in stands around the urna, and in little green cups around the cross. There was much veneration and kissing of the cross by Indians and later by Ladinos. The church remained open until midnight, and there were many people coming and going. It is very beautiful on this night. The whole floor is covered with a thick carpet of fresh pine needles. On the altar is a great display of fruit arranged by the Ladinos. Pineapples, bananas, oranges, papaya, mangos, gourds in profusion, piled before the altar on their fragrant green carpet. Around the cross and the urna candles are burning and the ajyiktem are keeping their all-night vigil. A sweet and tranquil sadness lies on everything. Tonight the ajyiktem sleep beside the umna; the sacristans behind the high altar, instead of in their usual place in the doorway. In the evening the Ladinos had a procession, the so-called Procession de Silencio, which was, therefore, especially noisy. There was no band, and no bells, but hundreds of matracas (wooden clappers) and similar noise-making machines, operated with much gusto by the little boys. The image was that of Christ with the cross (Jesis Nazarenos), from the Ladino cofradia. He was surrounded by a group of men in short red tunics with helmets and spears, which I took to be the Roman centurions. The procession just went around the plaza and entered Calvario, where they left the image. The chapel was locked at once. March 24, 1932 (Thursday): At six o'clock in the morning Judas is already sitting in front of the church. This is a straw figure dressed in the costume of Solola. He has a cigar in his mouth, and in front of him stands a soapbox on which are a number of little carved stones, imitations of the figurines which are used by the sorcerers in their divinations. Calvario is open, and there Christ is in prison. The image HOLY WEEK 217 is the one that was brought in last night by the Ladinos. The prison is a small ranchito of cypress branches; the front is open but barred. In front of the prison are piles of fruit as on the altar of the church, and candles. The whole floor is strewn with pine needles. On the broad step in front of the chapel, is a sort of portal, two tall uprights with a crossbar, all covered with leaves and palms. From the crossbar hang strings of oranges and other fruit. All this has been put up since late last night. The Mass is very long; it includes the blessing of the salt and the water, and the consecration of the Host for Friday, which is then placed in the monument. This is the structure that they were so busy over all day yesterday and the day before. After it is placed, many candles are lit, and the key on a gold chain is hung around the neck of the Indian Alcalde. Throughout the Mass there was a great deal of noise with clappers both inside the church and outside. It corresponded to the ringing of the bells and beating the drum on other days. But in addition there were lots of little boys just making a noise because they liked their new wooden toys. I noticed that they rang the bells, too. During the morning they brought in Jesus Nazarenos from the cofradia (the Indian one). The only music was the little drum, played with the characteristic slow beat that they have used all through Lent. A little later the Ladinos had a procession with a cross. It is like Sunday in a New England town. Everything is closed - the one day in the year that this happens.12 All the little shops, the estanco8 even the courthouse. There is no market, of course. Everyone stands around idly, with nothing whatever to do. Some little boys are gambling on the steps of the church. I paid a few visits. In the homes also everyone is idle. There is no cooking, no washing of clothes, no weaving. They cooked yesterday, and sent the gifts of food to relatives early in the morning. I missed that. I always forget that when the Maxefios say "early," they mean the middle of the night - about 3 A.M. The women get up at midnight to get the things ready. Incidentally, today they drink no coffee, just sweetened water or chocolate. There have been no private rituals in the church or the hills, although these are the most important good days in the calendar (8 kiei and 9 qanil). Nevertheless, not a candle or a rose petal anywhere. The day wore on somehow. In the afternoon we had visitors from Guatemala and Father R. asked me if I would entertain them for a few minutes. He was gone a few minutes, and then I realized that this was the time for the washing of the feet in the church. I rushed in, but they were just finishing. There were two benches with mats between them right in front of the high altar. This was where it had taken place. The crowd was just breaking up. They were getting ready for another procession. They are taking Jesus Nazarenos and Maria Dolor to Calvario. The only novelty about this procession is that Maria Dolor is carried by men in long white robes and masks, the cucuruchas, no doubt. They enter Calvario at about six o'clock. In the evening the church was open, and the band was there playing slow waltzes and foxtrots and other appropriate tunes. Their repertoire is limited, to say the least; the same pieces must serve for concerts in the park and funerals and church obligatos. Many people come during the evening 12 It is reported that there is no work on Ascensi6n and on the feast of San Pedro and San Pablo. 218 CHIOHICASTENANGO for the Adoration of the Sacrament in the monument. They were Ladinos, men and women. As in Spain, the church remained open all night, but everyone left when the band stopped at ten o'clock. March 25, 1932 (Good Friday): When I came out early in the morning Judas was already hanging in the door of the church. In Calvario, Christ was still in prison. Maria Dolor is back in the church, but I can't remember how she got there. The altar is covered with a purple veil; otherwise everything in the church is unchanged. Although Mass has not yet begun the church is crowded. There are many women. This, in itself, is unusual, since Indian women rarely go to church, unless they go officially, that is, as the wives of alcaldes of mayordomos. But today they are all there unofficially - that is apparent since they are not wearing their extra huipiles. Many are carrying unlighted candles. The candles on the altar are not lighted, and the table for the Mass has been set below the steps. The service begins with the Veneration of the Cross (after the Gospel). The priest took from somewheres a large wooden crucifix covered with a black cloth, and, facing the people began to unveil it, bit by bit. There were three stages, first the feet, then one arm, then the whole. At each stage there were Responses and he mounted the steps of a small platform. When it was completely exposed he descended, laid the crucifix on a mat on the floor in front of the altar, and descending several paces into the church came forward on his knees to kiss it, bowing to the ground at three points. Then the people started coming forward. The church was packed solid with kneeling people, and as they started forward it was as if the floor had suddenly turned liquid and was moving forward in waves of black and red. After the first flood of Indians the Ladinos came forward, but only a few. During this part of the ceremony I slipped out to see what was going on in other places. The Ladinos were bringing four saints into the church, Saint Peter, the Virgin, Mary Magdalene, and Saint John. They came separately, and very quietly, without music, drums or any ceremony. They will come out in procession in the afternoon. The Mass was very short, being the Mass of the Pre-Sanctified. Pretty soon the alcaldes came out, went through their customary leave-takings on the steps and went off. Then came the little drum, accompanying the cross - the one from the cofradia of the Cross. This was carried off to its house by its mayordomos. Meanwhile Ladinos were coming out of the church with the fruit which had been lying on the altar since day before yesterday. They took it off to their houses. I went back to the church, and noticed immediately that the urna, Maria Dolor and the large cross were gone. While I was outside I had missed the entrance into the sacristy. Both doors of the sacristy were already locked, through the crack I could see that the room was in total darkness except for many large candles. That meant that the eastern windows were shuttered. I went all around the building to see if I could find a peephole, but it was no use, every crack and knothole had been plugged. Meanwhile in the church they were starting work at once on the structures for the dramatization of the Crucifixion this afternoon. They were bringing in heavy logs and small poles, and were busy hauling and hammering. There HOLY WEEK 219 were four heavy uprights set into holes in the floor of the presbytery. These had holes near the top into which fitted the four cross pieces. Three sides of this and the top are filled in with an interlacing of lighter poles. The side towards the door is open. The interior is lined with mats, the outside covered with pine branches and ferns. All morning boys have been coming in with pine and ferns. The ferns are brought from far away; they are large tropical ferns from the hot countries. The upright poles are covered with the waxy leaves of eq'. They had removed several paving stones from the floor of the church, and had dug a hole more than a foot deep in which to set the foot of the cross. There were many people working at this. I don't know who they were; the sacristans probably, and the ajtunka and the ajq'am. Thealguaciles help. They all work like ants - the one occasion on which I have seen anyone bestirring himself to get something done. (It took them three days to put up the monument.) By two o'clock everything is ready. Throughout this time the sacristy remained locked; no one came or went; through the cracks in the door one could see the candles burning. At about 1:15 they started sounding the clappers to call the people, and a few minutes later the first procession went out with the band. This is a Ladino procession. (They must have dismantled the prison and brought the image over to the church while I was elsewhere.) Jesus Nazarenos went with the band, taking the usual route to the north. The four saints who had come in in the morning start out towards the west, going down the little street behind Calvario. They are looking for Jesus, and when they meet Him in the street they will kiss Him and bring Him back to the church. So says Tomas. I don't watch this, since I have decided not to stir from the church and the sacristy. Ever since noon the church has been filling up, and crowds are waiting on the steps, in the patio, under the colonnades of the plaza. After Mass everyone went home to dress, and now they are coming back all dressed in their best clothes. Tomas is in the patio of the convent with his whole family including all the children. By two o'clock the church is packed solid, but still they come. In all the near-by streets the crowds are sitting quietly, waiting. The sense of anticipation increases, and the tension which has been noticeable since early morning is becoming more and more poignant. There is no siesta today; the tropical noon is charged with the suppressed excitement of impending events. I walk back and forth restlessly between the church and the patio, wondering where the explosion is going to occur. At two o'clock I see Father R. mixing something in a little bowl. It is a thick oil or gum which he will use in the washing of the Saviour. I am determined to see this, so from now on I stick to him like his shadow. I ask permission to go with him. "Well, I'll try, but I can't promise. They never let anyone see this, - least of all a woman." A few minutes later he appeared in his cassock, and started towards the sacristy. I am at his heels. In the narrow passage to the sacristy is a crowd of men, including the alcaldes with silver standards. We push through the crowd, but the door is still locked. Weslip through the narrow passage into the church and go around to the other door of the sacristy, the door leading directly to the presbytery. Here no one sees us. Father R. knocks at this door but Matteo, the chief sacristan comes to tell him that they are not yet ready. Father R. tells me to wait where I am, so I sit down behind the altar where I am hidden from the crowd, and wait. This whole part of the church is behind the veil which hides the altar. Soon 220 CHICHICASTENANGO several little sacristans come and sit down by the door, peeking through the cracks. Presently the curtain is raised by unseen hands, and there is a whole row of heads on the altar rail; each head has two eyes, and they all see me. I become very uncomfortable; A half hour passes and nothing happens. I am sure that Father R. has double-crossed me. Presently the procession which has been out in the streets comes back into the church, with a terrific racket, the band, matracas, etc. (How the church reverberates!) I look out into the church. It is jammed - packed solid. The excitement of the procession subsides. Now there are two rows of faces peering at me over the altar rail. (I only learned later that they were not interested in me, but in something quite different.) The little sacristans go to the door again and peek in. So do I. Directly in front of me I can see a shrouded image; beyond it a glow of candlelight, and beyond that darkness. The room seems to be empty, and there is no sound. I feel reassured. Nothing has happened. I go back to my corner, and wait. Presently the sacristans call me, "Niia i" I jump up. The door opens a few inches, and I am pulled in, very quickly, and it shuts again at once. "Stand there, and don't say a word!" Dear old Father R. has crashed through. It has all happened very quickly. I get down on my knees, and gradually begin to look around me and take in the scene. I am in a dark corner behind the shrouded figure. There are two like this, facing each other on the two sides of the door. They are female figures in white robes. I have never seen them before. Beyond in the corner to the left are the candles. They are standing around the urna, empty now. I count them rapidly during the following scene; there are about fifty - tall candles in silver holders. The rest of the room is dark (it is a large room). I take another look. Directly in front of me, lying on mats on the floor with its head raised a little, lies the great cross, with a life sized figure of Christ already nailed to it. The realism is overwhelming. In a semi-circle behind the head are kneeling twelve men, silent and motionless. The candlelight touches the bronze of their sturdy legs; all the rest is black. Black clothing, black heads, faces in shadow. Father R. is at the wardrobe slipping into a white gown. There are two robed sacristans. He comes over quickly and kneels down at the head of the image. One of the sacristans holds the little bowl of aromatic gum which I had seen him prepare, another holds an empty basket. Two men detach themselves from the group. From somewheres they produce a basin of water and several large balls of cotton. The Padre begins washing the image. He pulls wads of cotton from the balls, swabs the image once, and drops the used cotton into the basket. First the water, then the oil. IHe begins with the face, then the left arm, the left side of the body. Then he crosses to the right side and does the right arm and the right side of the body. Then the left leg and finally the right leg. He rubs the legs dry with great balls of cotton, and before dropping them into the basket tears them up into little pieces. Not a word is spoken. Something reminds me of a surgeon and his assistants at an operation - the heat, the unbearable tension. Only all is black instead of white. The atmosphere of the room, sealed since morning, with all those candles burning is stifling. Again I am conscious of that faintly sickening sweetish odor, like the breath of decay. I am crouching in my corner behind the veiled image. Time hangs suspended, and vanishes in that hot, dark, silent room. I have no idea how long it lasts, but it seems forever. Some explosion is imminent in that surcharged atmosphere. Presently it is over. The Padre comes towards t}he door where I am kneel HOLY WEEK 221 ing. The door opens, and he goes out into the presbytery followed by a sacristan with the basket of cotton touched with the aromatic and sanctified liquid. The kneeling men have not moved. At the altar rail the Padre is besieged by a howling, struggling mob holding out hands, hats, anything in which they receive the precious cotton which he distributes in bits to them. No one receives it in his naked hands; each has a handkerchief, a cloth or at least a hat in which to receive it. I am caught between this mob and the sacristy. I want to go back into the sacristy, but I am turned away. The silent men are still kneeling behind the cross, but now they are bent over, their lips pressed against the outstretched arms, a long silent embrace, quite different from the smacking kisses usually bestowed on images. One of the men gets up and motions me back. The door is closed. The cotton is all distributed now, and the crowd at the altar rail has thinned out a little. With the aid of the sacristans I am able to fight my way out of the dark stifling church into the sun-drenched patio. The narrow passage from the patio to the sacristy - it was in a cell off this passage that the Popol Buj was found - is crowded. At this moment the door of the sacristy opens and the crowd surges in. There are both men and women. All are bareheaded and as soon as they cross the threshold they fall on their knees and on their knees approach the cross. The Padre makes his way through the crowd, very stern, commanding everyone to fall on his knees and speak no word. The crowd is moving forward to kiss the image of the Saviour - a sea of moving black heads. Many are carrying lighted candles. The crowd is unbelievable, but there is no pushing, no confusion. Each one as he kisses the image rises without a word and leaves, picking hisway carefully among the kneeling figures. In spite of the great numbers of people, the room is absolutely silent. The patio is crowded with those who are waiting to watch the entrance into the church. Soon the procession leaves the sacristy through the narrow passage into the patio, and enters the church by the side door. First come the sacristans with the silver cross, incense and candles. Then the two whiteclad saints, the crucifix borne aloft by the same twelve men, and finally Maria Dolor and the empty urna. The crowd in the patio crowds into the church after the procession, although the church is already so packed that one doesn't see how it will hold any more. All the way from the altar steps to the door they are kneeling, in a solid mass. I go on with Father R. and we find places on the doorstep, where we can see well. Directly in front of us is the empty urna on a table. The saints have already been set down in their places on the left of the altar, the crucifix is lying on the floor at the foot of the framework, with its head to the altar. At this moment the bearers start mounting the ladders holding ropes. As they rise, the head of the crucifix rises, until when they reach the platform, the cross is standing upright. A group of men at the base support the foot. As they start to pull on the ropes the band blares out, and the clappers sound with a deafening clatter, breaking the overwhelming spell of silence. As soon as the cross reaches an upright position, a red curtain is let down in front of it. The band stops, and the sacristans start to clear the church. I am told it is only for a few minutes; nevertheless I remain as long as I dare. As I reach the front door I see a long rope trailing like a snake over the threshold, and realize that the Penitentes have gone out. They have been getting ready in the rear of the church, and left as soon as the cross was erected. There is only one. There has been a 222 CHICHICASTENANGO tussle on the steps of the church, and he has just escaped from his tormentors and is starting off down the hill, his long rope trailing behind him. In the crowd I cannot see just what is happening, so I go down a back street to head him off. He is already a block away, and the end of the rope is still trailing down the steps, where some boys step on it. I head him off at a hill, but I cannot get an unobstructed view, because of the crowd that surrounds him, making him miserable. The Penitente is wearing a hood that conceals his face. The upper part of his body is nude, but he is wearing white cotton trousers. His hands are bound behind him, and on his back is bound a small wooden cross covered with bushy white flowers. Behind him walks a man in a bright calico costume, carrying a pike with which he urges him on. The rope trails along behind, a hundred feet or more. The crowd is pretty rough. I returned to the church now, but the door is still closed, with thousands of people waiting on the steps, in the plaza, the colonnades. Presently the doors opens and the crowd starts to pour in. In a few moments the church is packed. The crucifix is still covered with a red curtain, which is soon withdrawn. I have been standing in the front door with Father R., but I decide to go nearer, so I slip through the patio to the side door. "They of the ladders", dressed in hooded costumes of red and black calico, start mounting the ladders to the platform. There are one on each ladder, two on the platform, one below, at the foot of the cross. They remove the crown of thorns, the nails from the hands and feet. Those above pass a purple band under the arms, and they begin to lower the body. The band blares away again. The arms and legs are jointed and the body slides down easily, while those on the ladders hold the extended arms. The body sinks into the crowd at the foot of the cross, where a hundred eager hands are stretched out to receive it. There is some confusion in the rear of the church, and I see that the saints are going out into a forest of waving ferns. Soon the image reappears. It is brought over and laid tenderly in the urna, covered with the shroud, flowers, etc. The Mother bends over to kiss her Son. Now the procession begins to form. I rush around to the font. On the steps stand two rows of boys waving giant ferns. They face towards the center, and move sidewise as the procession proceeds. This way they accompany the procession along the whole route. Other boys run ahead with bags of pine needles, scattering them before the procession. Now they start to come out of the church. It is as if they were expelled by some terrific explosion within. In the crush and excitement the procession retains no order. The first four saints and the band are already half way down the hill. There are sacristans with incense and candles, the alcaldes, the two white saints, Maria Dolor and the urna, but in no order, and I cannot see who carries what. Behind and among them come the populace, streaming out of the door flowing down the steps, out into the streets, to find vantage places along the route of the procession. I am jostled and shoved and buffeted, so that I cannot see what is happening. They rest the urna for a moment in the little chapel at the door of the convent, everyone kneels for a moment and then the procession forms in more orderly fashion. Saint Peter and Saint John are carried by Ladino men; the female saints by Ladino girls. Men in long red robes with hoods (the cucuruchas) are carrying the urna. The band goes at the head of the procession, and there is the little drum. I think that this is how it went, but in the confusion I cannot be sure of anything. I slip down a side street to intercept the procession as it comes up the hill behind the convent. The crowd is excited and very ill tempered. No one HOLY WEEK 223 makes way for me or answers my greetings. As the procession approaches, the people waiting in the streets kneel; after it has passed they leave either to intercept if further along, or to go home. The procession moves very slowly with many rests. Always before it go boys strewing pine needles, and the waving of palms. Several houses along the route are decorated with little ranchitos of palms, in which stand a crucifix or the household saint. After watching the procession pass I return to the plaza. I go first to Calvario hoping to catch the return of the Penitente, but it is too late. He has already come back and left. It is six o'clock and growing dark. At sunset they take Judas down from the door of the church where he has been hanging since dawn, and hang him in the door of Calvario. I find a good place on the steps of Calvario and wait for the return of the procession. One can locate it on its route by the vast numbers of people streaming away. At about 6:30 it returns to the plaza. It has been out about two hours. It is quite dark, and many people are carrying lighted candles. It is a candle procession that enters Calvario. There are no ceremonies on entering Calvario, The urna is put down in front of the altar, the saints against the walls. A few candles are lit, and everyone leaves almost immediately. Everyone is tired, the bearers of the images are rubbing their hands which are numb and blue. I am the last person to leave. As I come out they are taking down Judas. A group of boys and young men seize the effigy, start stripping off the clothing, and tearing it apart. It is all done viciously and roughly. A crowd of Ladino youngsters is running around the terrace, shouting and watching, excited. An 'alguacil goes after them with a long horsewhip. He is an Indian lad about seventeen years old. He stands there with his eyes blazing, his teeth bared, laying on right and left with that terrific whip. The boys go rushing down the steps, and then he picks up rocks and throws them after them. Finally they have Judas completely undressed, and this same violent youth grabs the straw figure and with a loud cry hurls it down the steps to the street. Then he dashes down after it, and picks it up again and again and throws it down, kicking it and shouting. By this time the rest of the crowd has come down and someone sets a match to the figure and it blazes up at once, amid loud shouting. With the flaring up of the fire, the excitement of the crowd subsides somewhat. I am standing on the steps watching this scene when I feel something like a small pebble strike my arm. It is a little pellet of wax, such as the women chew up from drippings from candles which they collect in church. Someone standing near me gasps, but I take no notice of it. Presently there is another. This time I turn around looking very angry. Two women whom I noticed before, slink away. An older man comes and pushes them off the steps and they disappear. I stay around a while longer, but there are no further insults. This burning of Judas is not a pretty business. Part of it is the reaction to the emotions of the day -of the whole week. All week the tension has been drawn tighter and tighter, until, in the procession it snapped, and this is the aftermath. But there is more to it than that. Judas is, possibly, the symbol of Ladino treachery. In this they are venting the pent-up resentment of centuries of misrule. No Indian would dare lay hands on a Ladino at any other time. But this is a lynching. Father R. reports that the Judas business in Momostenango was so "sadistic" that it had to be stopped. To me it seems that there has been a sadistic undertone to all the ceremonies of the day. The emotional tension at the bathing of the image, the mob fighting over the 224 CHICHICASTENANGO bits of cotton, the all too realistic enactment of the Crucifixion, with the band blaring at each poignant moment, the howling mob at the heels of the Penitente, the frenzied procession. How long is it since human sacrifice was stopped in these villages? Judas is burnt. The fire has died down and the plaza is dark. Everyone is going home, and I go home too, to the peace of the convent. The most trying day I can remember is over. After dinner I talk over the events of the day with Father R. He has his answers ready. He, too, has been troubled by these things, but he has made up his mind - or at least the Church has made up his mind. March 26, 1932 (Saturday): When I went out at 6: 30 all the saints from the cofradias were standing on the highest step of the church, facing the door. I had not heard them come; they must have brought them very quietly before daylight. Their respective mayordomos are idling on the steps waiting for the entrance into the church. The service started at seven o'clock with the blessing of the paschal candle, and lasted way over two hours. At about 9 o'clock at the Gloria, they rang all the bells, beat all the drums, and the saints went into the church. Santo Tomas, San Sebastian, San Jose and the Padre Eterno, who were standing in the center, went in last. They say that at this moment the women whip their children to make them grow, but I didn't see anything like that. But then I was looking the other way. The plaza had been swept since last night, and there were two rows of pine branches stuck into the ground forming an aisle from the steps of the church to the fountain. Already at 8:30 there was a large crowd of men, women and children, both Indian and Ladino, gathered around the fountain, and more kept coming until there must have been several hundred. At about 9:30 Father R. came out of the church in full vestments, with sacristans holding a canopy over him, and came towards the fountain. He splashed the water around a little, read some prayers, and then splashed the water again, throwing some over those standing near him. He left quickly, and at once everyone hurried to plunge their vessels into the water. They splash water over everything. Everyone has some sort of vessel - little jugs, bottles, gasoline tins, large tinajas (only a few of these), basins, anything. Some fill bottles and cork them at once. After the first scramble there arelittle groups scattered around. I see our house boy pouring water out of his large gasoline tin into a little jug and offering it to people standing around to drink. He drinks himself, and then offers a drink to someone whom I don't identify. There is a group of women and small children pouring the water from a basin over their heads. There are some boys splashing each other. Everyone is laughing. It reminds me of Zunis throwing water over each other at the summer solstice. (We are approaching the beginning of the rainy season.) After the blessing of the fountain, I went back to the church. Already there are a few candles burning at the steps to the altar and in front of the image of Santa Ana. The first since Sunday. There was someone praying at the door, and pretty soon there was incense on the altar at the steps. Soon the candles are blossoming in the pine on the floor. Holy Week is over, and Chichicastenango is going back to its normal way of life. Holy Week is over. In Spain they tell you that the Resurrection really took HOLY WEEK 225 place on Saturday, so this is always a fiesta. Here the Ladinos got up an impromptu concert for visitors in the theater in the morning, and in the afternoon there was a marimba band in the park. But in spite of all this festivity there is little gaiety. Everyone feels let down and irritable. The excitement of the week has been too exhausting, physically and emotionally. In the afternoon I visited Calvario. Here, too, everything begins to look normal. The bower on the terrace has been down since morning. Christ is back in the tomb under the altar, in the white shroud. The saints are still there, except Maria Dolor, who is gone. There are smoking ashes on the altar outside, and inside many candles. There are several sorcerers waiting for trade. Ceremonies for defense, says Tomas, since these are bad days (11 tsi'). March 27, 1932 (Easter Sunday): At 11:30, just after I had put out my light it started with rockets bombas and drums. The drums seemed nearby, so I dressed and went outside to investigate. There were two sets of musicians sitting on the ledge in front of Calvario, playing away for all they were worth. No one around, but coming back at about 1 o'clock I met two Indian families crossing the plaza. It is an event to see an Indian on the streets after eight o'clock, but I suppose these were starting their day. I went back to bed at about one o'clock, and the music stopped a half hour later. Later on I heard them farther off, in one of the cofradias, probably, but I didn't get up again. Meanwhile there were rockets, bombas going off all over, some in front of the church - it seemed as if they were in the patio. At 2:30 the marimba band started playing in front of Calvario. But in spite of everything I went to sleep soon after this and slept until nearly four when they started ringing the bells for Mass. Then I decided to call it a night and get up. When I came outside, the square was just getting light. Everything was cold grey, deserted, and, strange to say, quiet. At about 5:30 the procession came out of the church. It was not yet light. The procession went towards the north, all the saints who had been in the church since yesterday, four sets of musicians, the Risen Christ from the high altar of the church, and the priest with the Sacrament in a golden monstrance. Meanwhile the saints who were in Calvario went out in the opposite direction. The angel went first, going quickly, and looking for Christ. He met Him in the street, paid his respects, and joined the first procession. There was some trouble along the way - the Evangelical missionary refused to uncover, or something of the sort. The mayordomos took off his hat for him. So the others came in one by one, and the procession went on, and all entered the church. After brief services, the Mass was over. During the forenoon there were ceremonies in all the cofradias - the usual thing, atole, chocolate, etc. There was a small market, not as large as the usual Sunday market, and there were the usual number of baptisms. However all day there were many people in church with candles and incense. Ceremonies of "defense," since this is an "end day" (number 12) and therefore not a day to ask for anything. In the evening I went to visit the nearest of the mountain shrines, the one on the Tecpan trail. It had been visited recently; there were pine needles and many rose petals, but not fresh. I judged that they had been there two days or more. As I was leaving an old man came with his incense burner. We 226 CHICHICASTENANGO talked together for a moment, and then he started to work, and I sat down a little ways off to watch. Candles, incense, rose petals - the usual thing. This is my favorite shrine. Poqojil and Turqa' are more impressive set-ups, but none can compare with this for natural magnificence of location. The shrine is on a little spur with deep barrancos on three sides. Not a sign of human habitation visible - only the wild barrancos with their thick forest of pine, and the solitary man with his little candles on the brink of the abyss. The sun has gone down, and the man stands silhouetted against the flaming sky. At the top of the barranco I turn for a last look. The sky has deepened quickly from flame to magenta to purple. Where the shrine stands is a brilliant orange glow. That is the copal, with its swirling black smoke. It has swallowed up the twinkling candles, as the deepening dusk has swallowed up the dark figure of the man. There is just the glowing sky, the dark line of the mountains and the bright fire on the altar. Easter Sunday is over, and Chichicastenango is back to its normal pagan routine. Ritual in the Cofradica of San Sebastian What follows is the inside account of a fiesta. This is how it looks to the Secretary of the cofradia. It happens to be the cofradia of San Sebastian, but it might be any cofradia - they are all alike. I witnessed these ceremonies, in part, of course, in the cofradias of Rosario, San Jose, San Miguel, Santo Tomas and others. They are all the same, so far as the internal formal structure of the fiesta is concerned. The Secretary, as we have pointed out, is the custodian of ritual, the permanent officer who instructs and supervises the yearly appointees. Since the Secretary is a ritualist, he is concerned with the inner form of a fiesta rather than its external features. Readers who find ritual boring are advised to skip the following pages, because Quiche rituals are excessively protracted and singularly lacking in dramatic events. While the market hums and bells ring and masked dancers parade the streets, and drunks stagger against the walls, the responsible members of the community, the heads of the government and the official aristocracy, those who are "handing on the traditions of the ancestors," are seated quietly in dark rooms, fresh with the scent of pine and glowing with soft candlelight, partaking of sacramental meals, intoning long prayers, behaving to one another with deferential courtesy. A cup of chocolate is brought. Before it can be drunk, it must be blessed and explained. It is the tree beloved of the Saviour. And the atole, the other ritual drink, must be similarly explained. First the host makes the speeches, then the honored guest, holding his cup, repeats what has been told him, blesses the drink and gives thanks. Only then may he drink. It takes more than half an hour. Arrivals and departures are equally pro RITUAL IN COFRADIA OF SAN SEBASTIAN 227 tracted and ceremonious: greetings at the gate, in the patio, at the door. But of all the incidents the most extraordinary are the formal greetings (saludas). In this the guest asks in the most unctuous and hyperbolic terms after each individual member of his host's family. After he has finished, the host returns the compliment. It goes on - First Mayordomo, Second Mayordomo, Third Mayordomo, musicians: it is all gone through with the utmost seriousness, while a reverential audience waits to eat. Such a hold do these rituals of the ancestors have upon the participants that although a mayordomo may be so drunk when summoned to a cofradia, that he has to be assisted to his place, the responsibility to fulfil a prescribed role adequately has a sobering influence, and the elaborate ceremonies go on without a hitch, with no word missed although the performers are scarcely conscious. The setting for these ceremonies is a house such as we have described: it is about 25 feet long and half as wide - dark except for the light that comes through the door. The whole ceiling hung with rustling cutouts of colored tissue paper, floor thickly carpeted with fresh pine needles, - the most charming of all Guatamelan customs is that of strewing the floor with fresh and fragrant pine needles. There is the holy image on the altar and the silver standards of the mayordomos, there are candles, and incense, the men in their ceremonial costume - a plain black open-sleeved tunic over the embroidered one. To the stranger attending his first cofradia ceremony it seems the most boring ceremony he has ever sat through, the second one is worse because by this time the exotic features are familiar. With the whole world calling it seems a criminal waste of irretrievable hours to sit in that dark room while a few old men intone speeches that one cannot understand. But it is one of the firm rules of the field ethnologist never to dismiss as dull or insignificant ceremonies enacted with love and fidelity. But after one has seen ten they have ceased to be boring. For now one has learned to value their form, and to comprehend their meaning. The formal elaboration that runs to long speeches, ceremonious and artificial behavior, and extended tempo has a quality of its own. Like all things that have character and "significant form" these ceremonies are beautiful and moving when once one has grasped that form. Quiche culture is not simple; if there is such a thing as Quiche personality, that is not simple either. The ritual of the cofradias is not merely a form of worship; it is, as we have seen, a mechanism of government as well. It is in the light of this that its peculiar form must be considered. The sanctimonious courtesy of the cofradia, the 228 CHICHICASTENANGO restrained and deferential behavior give perspective to the violence of the estanco and the hymns of hate that rise like clouds of black smoke from the quemadores. But, for all that, they make boring reading. I. THE CEREMONY OF THE SURRENDER OF OFFICE.13 The Alcalde sends Roxfor the Secretary and Alcaldes: The fiesta of San Sebastian comes the end of January. Sometime before January 1st, Rox14 must go to the secretary of the cofradia to find out the date for notifying the alcaldes that they are going to be present themselves in the church preparatory to their fiesta. Now on that date Rox comes to the house of the cofradia early in the morning, before six o'clock, and the first mayordomo, knowing why he has come, sends him to notify the alcaldes. In a little while he arrives at the house of the alcalde. The invitation and the greetings between Rox and the Alcalde: "Alcalde! Greetings!" "Yes, Sir Rox, greetings." To the wife of the Alcalde: "First mother, greetings!" "Yes, greetings." The Fourth Mayordomo has come with him, and he says the same words. Then Rox speaks: "Alcalde, pardon our trespass. We have an errand with your sacred person which has brought us within your sacred house and place.' "Yes, Rox, come in." They go into the front room and sit down. Now the greetings begin: "Sir Rox!' "Yes, Alcalde, pardon our trespass that we have come within your sacred house and place." "It is nothing." "Alcalde, God has granted life to your spirit, Alcalde ' "Sir Rox, thank you. I am untroubled at this moment, Sir Rox." "Yes, that is a great happiness. And also your companion, with whom you speak, your beloved wife, the first lady, has God been gracious to her also?' "Yes, Sir Rox, she likewise is well before your presence. Four times, five times thanks for your kindness." "Yes, Alcalde, it is a great happiness that you both are well at this moment." "Thank you for your inquiry, Sir Rox." "And now once more we must repeat our annoyances, Alcalde, concerning those who have preceded and gone before, the nine moons and stars behind 13 Translated from a Quiche Text. The ceremonies of the cofradias form an endless cycle. There is no beginning and no end. The election and installation of new officers form part of the culminating celebrations. The informant has chosen to begin with the active preparations for the fiesta. 14 Literally, "third", the third in rank in the cofradia. See p. 165. RITUAL IN COFRADIA OF SAN SEBASTIAN 229 your sacred presence,l1 Alcalde; Perhaps they have already passed on, the mothers and fathers. Only say the word and tears will bedew our faces before the white light of our moment's rest in this world, Alcalde." "Say what it is you wish, Sir Box." "Or perhaps they still go about in this world. Only we do not know the number of their persons, Alcalde." "Yes, Sir Rox, it seems that they have already passed on, my mothers and fathers, Sir Box." "Dios! Only God, our King, and the Virgin Mary hold in their keeping the bodies and hearts of your mothers and fathers, the nine moons and stars that went before your divine presence, Alcalde." "May our Lord Jesus receive them before God, Sir Rox." "May it be a reminder of my own mother and father, Alcalde. And now also let me ask further concerning those cherished ones before whom you kneel and bow down, your esteemed parents-in-law. Perhaps they still walk in the white light of day, or perhaps they also have gone on, Alcalde?" "Yes, Sir Rox, it is so indeed. They have gone, my mother and father, they have passed on in their comings and goings. Sir Rox." "Dios! Only Our Lord and the Virgin Mary hold in their keeping the bodies and hearts of our mothers and fathers, and the disposal of their comings and goings, Sir Alcalde." "Thanks, Sir Rox. Four times five times thanks for your recollection of my mothers and fathers, Sir Rox." "We must only give voice to our thanks in the matter of their comings and goings. Perhaps (our words) will reach them, perhaps they will not reach them, Alcalde." "We can only pray so, Sir Rox." "And now also, Alcalde, perhaps there have been one or two married couples, your brothers and companions; perhaps their persons have served as former alguaciles, mayordomos, mayores, regidores. What may God have granted them?" "Thanks, Rox, it is thus with them, that their persons are well in this moment. Four times, five times thanks for your reminders of my relatives and companions, Sir Rox." "It is a great joy that they also are thus at this moment. And now also, Alcalde, perhaps it is that one or two daughters and sons stand before your divine presence, Alcalde. And now also, what has God granted them?" "Yes, Sir Rox, they also are blessed of God in this moment, Sir Rox, four times, five times thanks." "Yes, Alcalde, it is a great joy that they are thus. And now, perhaps, there are one or two flowers and buds upon your stem, grandchildren before God and before your divine presence, Alcalde. Are they also well and in good health, Alcalde?" "Yes, Sir Rox, they also are well and in good health, four times, five times thanks for your remembrance of them, Sir Rox." "It is a great joy, Alcalde, that they also are thus." "Many thanks for your kindness, Sir Rox." "It is a great joy that all are thus, Alcalde, at this moment. For our misfortunes are judgments upon us that we may hear and see, Alcalde." 15 He asks for the parents of the alcalde, whether they are living or not. 230 CHICHICASTENANGO "It is as you say, Sir Rox." "It is only a sign that we may see and hear; it is only to manifest the word and reveal the truth that one may see in the divinations and revelations. For perhaps there is some sin before one's name and fortune for which one must say one word, two words, Alcalde." "It is as you say, Sir Rox." "And also to repeat the second time and the third time the sacred words, and to care and provide (the gods) with what they need for their food and drink, for that is the meaning of our few words, Alcalde." "So they say, Sir Rox." "Yes, Alcalde. I rejoice that you all enjoy good fortune." "So it is with us at this moment, Sir Rox." "Yes, I rejoice, Alcalde. And now pardon me before God, Alcalde, that I have molested you with my words." Here ends the greeting of Rox, and now follows the greeting of the alcalde, which is the same in substance only now the alcalde asks the questions and Rox answers. After this is finished the fourth mayordomo exchanges greetings with the alcalde in the same fashion16 Now the greeting is finished. Some few words have been left out, because the greetings in the house are never long. Now Rox proceeds with his errand. Rox states his errand: "Yes, Alcalde, pardon the intrusion and grant us a word." "Don't speak of it, Sir Rox." "It is that I and the Fourth Mayordomo have been sent on behalf of the two mayordomos, first and second, to confer with the alcaldes." "Say what you wish to say, Sir Rox." "It seems that we have been appointed the watchers and guardians of our father, Sefor San Sebastian, Martyr. It is not forus to abandon him, but rather to fulfill the rites and customs which have been laid down and marked out for us by the first ancestors, Alcalde.17 It seems that now the time has come for us to come out before the great mountain, the great plain, before the twelve moons and stars. That is what we must do, Alcalde of Justice." Now they both kneel down in front of the alcalde. "Now it seems that we have received and humbly accepted the second coat, the garment of the service of the cofradias, and we have received the sanctified staff of the first ancestors within the cold house, the icy house, Alcalde of Justice. And now, it seems, the time has come for us to go, within eight days and nights, to kneel down and incline our heads within the cold house, the icy house, as we did when we received this second coat and the sanctified staff. This is to leave it and return it again to the first ancestors, Alcalde of Justice. It is for this that we have come before your sacred presence. Do not be of two hearts towards us, but look kindly upon us, Alcalde of Justice." They ask for his hand to kiss, and he gives it to them. "I have heard your word, Sir Rox." They rise and sit down and the alcalde gives the confirmations of what has been said.18 16 This greeting has been omitted from the translation. 17 At the end of every sentence the alcalde interrupts with words of agreement or encourgement, such as "Yes that is so, mayordomo," or "Go on with what you wish to say." These formal comments have been omitted. 18 The confirmation, included in the original text has been omitted. RITUAL IN COFRADIA OF SAN SEBASTIAN 231 Then Rox speaks again: "Yes, Sir Rox, I have heard and understood. And indeed we shall not fail to see and to hear this rite and custom, if only we are given good health until then. Yes, Sir Rox, this word you shall take back to the heart and soul of the two Alcaldes, Sir Rox." "Yes, Alcalde. That only was our errand with your sacred person within this house and place, Alcalde. Perhaps on holy Saturday we shall give thanks before your presence, Alcalde of Justice, and implore the justice of God before your sacred person, Alcalde of Justice. Now let us arise from before your sacred person, Alcalde of Justice." They kneel again. "May we find favor, Sir Rox." "May you go in peace." They go out, and if the woman is in the patio, they greet her. From here they go to the Second Alcalde, with the same words, and then to the Sindico, and the Fiscal, with the same words. Then they go to the secretary (of the municipality). Then they go to report to the secretary of the cofradia that they have notified the municipality. On Saturday they return to remind them that they will go into the church the following day. This time there are no formal greetings, they just enter with a few words, and begin at once with their errand.19 Next morning at about four or five o'clock the musicians arrive at the house of the cofradia and begin to play in the patio. The members assemble: very early, perhaps at three o'clock. They bring the things needed for making the drink which is to be taken to the alcaldes and the secretaries. At about six o'clock the Fourth Mayordomo goes with his wife to summon the secretary of the cofradia. They take with them a gourd of atole. Now the Fourth Mayordomo arrives with his wife at the house of the secretary. The Fourth Mayordomo goes for the Secretary:20 They go inside, and the Fourth Mayordomo speaks: "Secretary, pardon our words. We have intruded upon your house and property. It is that we have been sent on an errand by the two mayordomos and Rox. Drink of our beverage, Secretary. Pardon our intrusion." "Yes, thank you." They kneel, the Mayordomo in front of the Secretary, and his wife in front of the wife of the Secretary. "Madam Secretary, drink of our beverage:" so say the two alcaldes and Rox. They accept the gourds of drink with thanks, pour out the beverage, and return the vessels. The Fourth Mayordomo rises and speaks: "As for me, Secretary, I have come in the role of leader and protector, of your sacred person, for these were the orders of the two alcaldes and Rox, who at this moment are awaiting you in the house of our ceremonies, where dwells our father, Sefor San Sebastian, Martyr. Secretary, pardon our intrusion." "Yes. I beg you to wait for me a moment, Sir Mayordomo." 19 Omitted. 20 The brief greetings in the patio have been omitted. 232 CHICHICASTENANGO Arrival of the Secretary: The Secretary and his wife get ready, and then they leave. As theycome near the house of the cofradia, the Secretary puts on his surcoat, and the woman her second huipil. At the door of the street, the First Mayordomo is waiting. They exchange greetings in the doorway, and then enter the patio. The wives of the two alcaldes come out of the kitchen, and they exchange greetings in the patio. In the porch they stop to exchange greetings with the musicians. Then they enter the room where the saint is, and as they go in they fire a rocket. The First Alcalde goes to his place and the Second and the Fourth Mayordomo and the Secretary and their wives kneel before the image. The Secretary speaks: "Hail Sefior San Sebastian Martin, turn hither thy face! Perhaps your manifestations are a hundred thousand; we cannot see, we cannot hear manifestations. And now this rite and custom belongs to the first people, our mothers and fathers. Perhaps they stand before your presence, Sefor San Sebastian Martin. As for me I only advance humbly before your name and fortune in this day and hour, holy Sunday, the great day, the day of rest, the day appointed and set apart by Our Eternal Father who is in heaven. Come hither, my father! It is I who am charged with the care of the seeds sown by our first ancestors in this world. Perhaps it is my light and destiny to carry on these traditions, my father, Sefor San Sebastian Martin. Only the jun kalamld..."21 The Secretary and the mayordomos make the sign of the cross, then they exchange greetings among themselves. They get up, and the First Mayordomos invites the Secretary to be seated. He sits down in his place. Then follows the formal greeting on the part of the First Mayordomo to the Secretary, including the usual questions about his wife, parents, children, relatives and even the musicians. Then the greetings are returned, and after this the Secretary speaks. (This is the "Resuscitation of Our Lord.") The Resuscitation of Our Lord:22 "Let us think also, Mayordomo, always of Our Father, Our Lord. For it seems that He lived and went about in this world; and it seems that Our Lord was always harrassed and persecuted by his enemies and oppressors, First Mayordomo. But it is not only that He was harrassed and persecuted by His enemies and oppressors, Sir Mayordomo. It is about Our Lord. It seems that He has gone on to the world above, with the fourteen, fifteen Holy Virgins, Sefor Sacramento and the holy comadres and compadres, the beloved brethren23 of Our Lord and Father, Mayordomo." "Dios! God has made manifest His word, Secretary." "I have spoken the word; I have spoken the word of Our Lord. 'I shall be in the hearts and souls of my daughters and my sons in that day and hour 21 This purports to be the Ave Maria in Quiche although not one word is recognizable, which with the jun nu qau chi'qaj (Our Father) and the Credo in Dios, constitute the "doctrina." 22 The greetings are omitted and, in the following section, the comments of the mayordomo. 23 atcilip, "brethren", term of relationship used between the parents of a married couple. RITUAL IN COFRADiA OF SAN SEBASTIAN 233 when they shall assemble to face one another in the perpetuation of their sacred rituals.' So Our Lord decreed, First Mayordomo. 'Therefore whenever they meet face to face in the roads and paths,. in the mountains and valleys, and under the trees, I shall be present; they shall remember me; I shall be in the hearts and minds of my daughters and sons.' So God decreed, First Mayordomo. "But no! We are within the safe boundaries of our land, within the safe gates of our city and the boundaries of the realm of our lords and rulers, Santo Tomas, San Sebastian, San Jose, the lords and rulers of our resting place where we pause awhile. We are within our own house and place, and it is over this table that we speak our word or two, First Mayordomo. - Yes, Mayordomo. God has granted us great happiness in this moment, First Mayordomo. We only ask that our word may find favor with God." This ends the greeting and the Resuscitation of Our Lord on the part of the Secretary. Now the First Mayordomo returns the greeting and the Resuscitation of Christ. Now the musicians begin to play, and the mayordomos bring in the gourds of atole, and give them to the Secretary, the First and Second Mayordomos and the musicians. They receive the gourds, but they do not drink. The Blessirg of the Atole: The First Mayordomo speaks: "Yes, Secretary. Only pardon us before God. As for us, there is nothing with which we can hope with great hopes within this sacred rite and custom, within this house where stands illumined our father, Seiior San Sebastian Martin. There will be but one sip, two sips of this drink. Perhaps our mothers have committed their faults in shelling the yellow ear, the white ear and grinding it upon the stbne within this house and place of our sacred rite and custom, where stands illumined our father, Sefior San Sebastian Martin." "So God has decreed, First Mayordomo." "Secretary, perhaps it is too hot or too cold, but, in the name of God may you lay your hand in blessing upon the head of our drink, our water. Accept it, and do not be of two hearts towards us. Please accept it. "Yes, Mayordomo. Four times, five times thanks." Now the Secretary repeats what has been said to him, and then he says: "Now, Our father, Sefior San Sebastian Martin, come hither before this table, above this table. And come hither also mothers and fathers, lords and masters of this sacred rite and custom. Be pleased to come hither before this table, above this table. These are the body, the heart of your custom, your servants. It sems that they have assembled in person before your presence, Sefor San Sebastian Martin. Alas, there is nothing to set before you but this drop or two of our nourishing drink. Be pleased to smell of it, lords, and also thou, Sefor San Sebastian Martin. As for me, doubtless I have committed my sins and failings which lie upon my mind and heart. Only lend me your hand in blessing, my father, Sefior San Sebastian Martin. And also you, lords and masters of this ceremony. Only one line, two lines of our doctrine; only the jun kalamld.....In the name of God the Father above, the Son, and the Holy Ghost." He makes the sign of the cross twice over the drink and then they drink. 234 CHICHICASTENANGO They all drink twice, and then the mayordomos bring the drink of chocolate, giving it to the Secretary, the First Mayordomo and the musicians. The Service of Chocolate: The First Mayordomo speaks: "Yes, Secretary. Once again we must trouble you with our intrusions, that you may take one sip, two sips at this table, before this table of the water of cacao, chocolate, which Our Father, Our Lord gave to this world. It is not for us to be the ones to drop this custom. No indeed! It is for us to perpetuate in our persons this rite and custom, Secretary. Perhaps what we shall give you will be too hot or too cold; perhaps it will be good or not good, that which the ladies have prepared. Secretary, be pleased to accept it." "Yes, First Mayordomo, I shall accept it in the name of God, as you have said." Now the Secretary repeats what has been said, and takes a sip of the chocolate to try it: "Yes, Alcalde, it is good, our drink. Four times, five times thanks." "Yes." If it is not good, the Secretary criticises it, because the officers of the municipality will be coming later to drink it. After drinking the chocolate the Secretary calls Rox to bring the offerings for the church. The Blessing of the Candles: "Yes, Sir Rox, be so good as to bring our offering, and with it six small cloths, and a basket and a large cloth." Rox brings the offerings: eight pesos of small candles at two reales each, 32 candles. He places a cloth on the table and lays the candles on the cloth. Now begins the blessing of the candles. "Mayordomo, pardon me; I wish to examine our offering." All: "Yes." The Secretary looks to see that they are all right. "Yes, Our Father, Christ who is in Heaven, and Our Father Christ who is in Calvario, turn hither your face and visage upon this great day, this day of hope, this day set aside and appointed by Our Eternal Father who is in heaven. This is the day of Our Father Christ, which He left for the perpetuation of His rites before heaven and earth. It seems our first ancestors were made the watchers and listeners, guardians of all these rites. But these men and women have passed on among the first gods, the first spirits. But these rites did not descend with their hearts and minds beneath the earth and sand. No, Our Father, Christ, this rite and ceremony is still celebrated in this world. As for us, only our names and fortunes change. We are the body of this ceremony, its servants, First Alcalde, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth. We have been appointed the masters, guardians, supporters of our father, Sefior San Sebastian Martin. Here lies gathered the exact amount, this incense, these candles. Do not expect us to relinquish this ceremony. No, Our Father, Christ, and also you, our first ancestors, the masters of this rite and custom. This rite and custom is only defined and marked out for us. It is only for them to follow, your workers and servants. Perhaps grace and mercy will be accorded them before the twelve moons and stars (the months of their service). For it is they who have received the coat of office and the RITUAL IN COFRADIA OF SAN. SEBASTIAN 235 sacred staff before God and the spirits in the cold house, the icy house. Now the time has come for them to relinquish their office before the saints and the first ancestors in the cold house, the icy house. "Yes, yellow candle, white candle, turn hither your face and visage. Now I shall give you your orders. You are the body of the workers and servants. May grace and mercy be accorded them in their names and fortunes, before the twelve moons and stars, during which they have served, our father Sefor San Sebastian Martin. Here has been gathered the exact amount of incense and candles as defined and marked out for this rite and custom by the first ancestors. For these are the ones who have been charged with the coat of office and sacred staff. And now it is for them to relinquish it before the Holy Virgins, Our Eternal Father, Sefior Sacramento..." He names all the saints in the church and the spirits. "Yes, Our Father Christ, and also our masters, the first ancestors, and also our father Sefor San Sebastian Martin, come hither. It is I who ask that you give me your hand in benediction, and you also, lords and masters of this rite and custom. lend me your left hand, your right hand. Only one line, two lines of our doctrine, only the jun kalamlid... Come hither, Mayordomo." "Yes." He makes the sign of the cross four times over the offerings. "In the name of God, the Father, God, the Son and the Holy Ghost. Amen." He lifts the cloth from the basket and places it on the table. Now he divides the thirty-two candles among the six mayordomos, as follows: The Distribution of the Candles and Instructions: "Come hither, First Mayordomo, these are for you: three before Sefior Sacramento, one for Rosario, one for the Cross, one for San Sebastian, one for San Miguel, one for the first ancestors, one for the deceased alcaldes." He gives him nine candles. "And now you, Second Mayordomo, come hither. One for San Jose, one for San Augustin, one for the Bleeding Heart, one for Maria Concepcion,24 one for the common souls, one between the legs of the house (the two pillars), one for San Juan, one for Calvario." He gives him eight candles. "Now you, Rox, one for Santo Tomas, one for San Sebastian, one for San Jos6 (in the cofradias), one for San Pedro Martyr." He gives him four. "Now you, Fourth. One for San Miguel, one for Our Father God, one for Rosario, one in the house of the staff of the Alcaldes of the municipality. "Now you, Fifth. One for Sacramento, (in the cofradia), one for Jesis Nazareno, one for San Jeronimo, one with the sacred Cross, (in the cofradia). "Now you, Sixth, one with Maria Asencion, one for Concepcion (in the cofradia), one for Octavo Rosario. "Rox, mark the candles, and wrap them." "Yes." He wraps the candles in the six small cloths. "Send for the ladies. Tell them to get ready, for we are going to leave." Rox goes to tell them, and returns at once. "Come here, Rox, fourth, fifth, sixth mayordomos." They kneel in front of the secretary. "This is the day, Sir Rox. Is everything for our ceremony ready and in good shape, and are the accounts just and in order, for the Alcaldes will ask if all the property is intact as you received it, and if you are 24 These are the altars in the church. 236 CHICHICASTEMANGO leaving it thus to your successors, Sir Rox, and mayordomos. For this is the errand for the Alcaldes when they come today. May they have no cause to complain or to imprison you." "Yes, we have already given you (the accounts) Sir Secretary, and we have also been asked by the First Alcalde. His words to us were the same, Secretary." The Departure for the Church: He goes and kneels in front of the musicians, to tell them that they are about to leave for the church. "Yes, musicians, drummers, it is now time for us to arise. Pardon us before God, and accompany our persons to the cold house, the icy house, musicians, drummers." Now he goes to call the women, and they come, wearing their second huipiles. They come in, and all kneel in front of the saint. "Yes, our father, San Sebastian Martin, it seems we have finished the word or two which we had to say beneath your feet and hands. Now we shall depart from your presence. We are going to kneel and bow our persons within the cold house, the icy house, the holy Church. For it is we who are the embodiment of this rite and custom. Only grant us grace and mercy for the twelve moons and stars (which we have served). It seems that we have received and cherished the second coat, the second blouse. Now the time has come to relinquish them before the first ancestors. Please lead us and go before our faces. Perhaps we shall pass one corner, two corners, and then we shall come into the presence of our mothers and fathers within the house and place. And even as we went, may we return again, our father, Sefor San Sebastian Martin. Only let us go out from beneath your feet and hands. Only the jun kalamld...." They greet one another, the men and the women. Then they arise to go to the church. In the door of the room, they stop and exchange greetings, and in the door of the street, and at each corner on the way. On leaving the house a rocket is fired. The musicians go ahead. Arriving at the door of the church, all kneel. The Entrance into the Church: They stop before the door, and kneel. The Secretary speaks: "Yes, Masters and Guardians before the door, however many may be your manifestations, come hither! It is I with the body of the ancient rites and customs. We have come to kneel and bow down before the Lords of Justice to tender thanks and gratitude and to ask grace and mercy now that we have completed the twelve moons and stars. This is what we would ask before the presence of the Lords of Justice. Now you have heard, Watchers and Guardians before the door. Come hither! Only the jun kalamld..." They exchange greetings, and then turn, facing the west, and kneel again. Again the Secretary speaks: "Yes, Our Father, Christ in Calvario, turn hither your face and visage..." (repeating the prayer above). They turn and kneel again, facing the north. "Come hither, third quarter of the world..." Facing the south: "Yes, fourth quarter of the world, come hither. And also Poqojil,25 mountain-plain, turn hither your face and visage..." 25 The highest mountain in the jurisdiction on the top of which are several shrines, the most important in occult worship. RITUAL IN COFRADIA OF SAN SEBASTIAN 237 They exchange greetings once more, and enter the church. As they go in a rocket is fired. The musicians remain at the door of the church, the mayordomos proceed to the place of the deceased alcaldes. It is now about seven o'clock, the hour of Mass.26 "Hail, Lords of Justice. This is the appointed and recorded day. Turn hither your countenance and visage! It is I who come to kneel and bow down before you to see and hear the Holy Mass. And also the body of the ancient rite and custom, the First Alcalde, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth. They are married persons and come before your presence with their companions with whom they converse, the First Lady, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth. They are the masters of incense and candle, the guardians and supporters of our father Seior San Sebastian Martin. But you are the masters, you have marked out and defined this rite and custom before the World. It is for you to grant them grace and mercy on the completion of the twelve moons and stars required of their name and destiny in the service of this rite and custom. It seems that they have accepted and cherished the coat of office, and the sanctified staff beneath the feet and hands of the Lords of Justice. It is now time for them to relinquish it to you, Lords of Justice. But it is not for you to abandon their persons. No, Lords of Justice, only give them grace and mercy in their names and fortunes, in their kneelings and devotions to see and hear the Holy Mass. Lords of Justice, pardon our trespass. Only the jun kalamla..." They exchange greetings, and if there are any people present, they exchange greetings with them, with the alcaldes, or any others. Only Ladinos they do not greet. Then they arise, enter the chancel and place the basket with the candles before the altar of San Sebastian. The Secretary speaks: "Yes, Alcalde, and Rox, Fourth, go quickly and complete your errands, and hurry, for we must speak to the masters of the staves and perhaps we shall not find them still in the church." "Yes, I have heard, Secretary." They go to perform their ceremonies each at the altars assigned to him. The Secretary remains kneeling throughout the Mass, praying and recalling his parents and relatives who have gone on. When the others have finished, they rejoin him. Then he sends Rox and the Fourth to see if the mayordomos with the standards are still in the corridor of the convent where they always assemble, and if they are still there they all go to speak to the Mayordomo of Sacramento. They enter the corridor and greet all the alcaldes, kneeling before them. Then the First Alcalde kneels before the First Mayordomo of Sacramento, for the cofradia of Sacramento is the treasury. The Summoning of the Mayordomo of Sacramento (the treasurer): The mayordomo of San Sebastian speaks: Mayordomo Sacramento, pardon our trespass. Do not think that it is in our minds to abandon the customs of our fathers, Mayordomo Sacramento. For indeed this rite and custom has been marked out and defined for us by our first ancestors. It is only that grace and mercy haven been given us to complete the twelve moons and stars of our service in this custom, Mayordomo Sacramento." "Dios! So your words prove, Mayordomo of San Sebastian." 26 The rituals proceed, regardless of whether Mass is being sung. 238 CHICHICASTENANGO "As for us, perhaps within fourteen days and nights we shall deliver our father, Sefor San Sebastian Martin into this house and place, and we shall also relinquish the sanctified standard before the Lords of Justice. Perhaps on that day and hour you will see and hear the Holy Mass and the procession of our father, Sefior San Sebastian Martin, Mayordomo Sacramento." "Dios! You have spoken the truth, Mayordomo of San Sebastian." "Mayordomo Sacramento, may you also be there to see and hear that nothing is omitted by us in caring for and cherishing Our father at His Holy Mass and procession. Mayordomo Sacramento, pardon our trespass." "May God look graciously on your supplications, Mayordomo. Arise." He places his hand on his head, and then repeats what has been said. After the repetition, the alcaldes arise, kneel again to all the alcaldes with standards greeting them. Then they return to the church where the Secretary has been waiting for them. When they arrive, the Secretary sends word to the musicians that they are about to leave. Then they all kneel, the men and women alike, in front of the altar of the Sacrament. Departure from Church: The Secretary speaks: "Yes, Our Father, Seior Sacramento, Our King Asencion, come hither, however many may be your persons. It is we who advance one step, two steps before you, the body of the ancient rites and customs. It seems that God has given us grace and mercy to complete the twelve moons and stars of our office of looking after and cherishing our father Sefior San Sebastian Martin. All within this rite and custom was marked out and defined by the first ancestors. This belongs to them; we are the embodiment of their rites and ceremonies. It seems that we have received and cherished the coat of office and the sanctified standard. It has now come to pass that we shall relinquish them, our father, Senor Sacramento. Even as we have come beneath your hands and feet, Holy Virgins, even so let us depart from your presence within this cold house, icy house. Only the jun kalamld..." They descend to the place of the deceased alcaldes, exchange greetings, and kneel again. "Yes, Lords of Justice, as for us, it seems that God has granted grace and mercy to these who embody the rites and customs of the first ancestors, the First Alcalde, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth. They are married persons, and with them are their beloved wives. It seems that they have accepted and cherished the coat of office and the sanctified standard: and they have looked and listened for twelve moons and stars. This they have done for their father, Sefior San Sebastian. It has now come to pass that they are about to relinquish these obligations beneath the hands and feet of the Lords of Justice and the sainted Secretaries. They are not abandoning their obligations. No, Lords, for all has been marked out and defined within this rite and custom before the world. It has now come to pass, that these who embody the ancient rites and customs have been granted grace and mercy in their name and fortune to relinquish now their second coat and second blouse and also the sanctified standard before your presence, Lords. But do not for that reason say that today will be the end and blotting out of their name. No, Lords of Justice, for within fourteen days and nights we must deliver our father into the cold house, the icy house. And also we shall see and hear his Holy Mass and procession on the day of our father, Sefior RITUAL IN COFRADIA OF SAN SEBASTIAN 239 9 San Sebastian Martfn. May you also be here to see and hear, Lords, and may your presence go before us and before the person of our father, Sefor San Sebastian Martin in the Holy Mass and the holy procession. Perhaps we shall make one round, two rounds of the great plaza, Lords of Justice. May there be no sickness or misfortune; may no trouble touch those who embody the rites and customs of our ancestors. May all come in good health into your presence within fourteen days, fourteen nights; and may it be so also with me. Perhaps I shall go before, perhaps behind the body of this rite and custom, Lords of Justice. Lords, pardon our trespass. Only the jun kalamld..." They exchange greetings again, all of them, and then proceed to the door. There they kneel once more in the doorway. "Yes, Lords, Guardians before the door, before the threshold! However many may be your manifestations, turn hither your countenances. It seems that God has given us grace and mercy to make our obeisances and supplications, and he has granted grace and mercy to them, the embodiment of the ancient rites and customs to relinquish the coat of office and the sanctified standard before the Alcaldes of Justice, and also beneath the feet and hands of our father, Sefor Sacramento, who stands in the nine altars. As we have entered, even so let us depart from before your presence, Lords, Guardians before the door of the cold house, the icy house. Pardon our trespass. Only the jun kalamli..." They exchange greetings once more. A rocket is fired. Then they leave, the musicians going first, playing. When they arrive in the cofradia they kneel in front of San Sebastian. Arrival at the Cofradia: All say: "Our father, Sefior San Sebastian Martin, pardon our trespass. You have turned your countenance with favor upon us, your presence went before us when we took one step, two steps into the presence of the Lords of Justice, and one step, two steps beneath the feet and hands of our father Sefior Sacramento who stands illumined before the nine altars within the cold house, the icy house, where we went to relinquish the coat of office and the sanctified standard. For all these rites and customs were marked out and defined by the first ancestors. Our father, Sefior San Sebastian Martin, it seems you have granted us grace and mercy; Sefior San Sebastian Martin, we have come back to you in good fortune, even as we went away. We have accomplished the surrender of our office beneath the hands and feet of our father, Sefior Sacramento. Only the jun kalamld..." They exchange greetings, and all take their seats in their places. Now the Secretary speaks again with the First Mayordomo.27 The drink of atole is brought. A few words are said,' and then the Secretary and the mayordomos drink. After this Rox brings three dishes of seeds of cacao, one for the First Mayordomo, one for the Second Mayordomo, one for the Secretary. These are set down on the table before them. Then Rox brings drinks of chocolate. All take their places. Blessing of the Cacao: Rox speaks, presenting the gourd of chocolate: "Yes, Our father and my esteemed First Mayordomo and Second Mayordomo. Pardon me, before God. 27 The conversation between the two officials is omitted. 240 CHICHICASTENANGO It is I who am the middle one in this cofradia established by the first ancestors, Mayordomo. It is they, the first ancestors who sowed the first seeds in this world, and now it has come that we are only carrying out their ideas and perpetuating their traditions. No, Mayordomo. As for me, perhaps I have commanded the third lady, the fourth lady, the fifth lady, the sixth lady to grind on their stones the yellow corn, the white corn, and with them this poor and negligible bit of the taboo seed of the taboo tree, Mayordomo." "Dios, these are the words of your voice, sir Rox." "First Mayordomo, let us remember always the sufferings of Our Lord in this world, First Mayordomo. So it was that Our Lord and Father was driven and harrassed and persecuted and punished by His enemies and tormentors. And so it happened that Our Lord took shelter from the sun and rested by the side of the taboo tree, the taboo plant, First Mayordomo. And so it happened that Our Lord said to the taboo tree, the taboo plant: 'Only let me rest a moment at your feet, by your side, and do not reveal me or betray me to my enemies and persecutors, taboo tree, taboo plant.' That was the word spoken by Christ, First Mayordomo." "Dios! You give voice to the word of God, Sir Rox." "And these were the words of the breath of the taboo tree, the taboo plant: 'My Father, Son of Maria, Son of God, perhaps I am not competent to do this for You and for Your Name, my Father. Perhaps I shall tremble, perhaps I shall be shaken by our lord Manuel Lorenzo,28 my Father, Son of Maria, Son of God.' The taboo tree, the taboo plant gave voice to these words, First Mayordomo." "Dios! You give voice to the word of God, Sir Rox." "Now these were the words of Our Father, Our Lord, which he spoke to the taboo tree, the taboo plant. 'Taboo tree, taboo plant, if you comply and agree, these words will be said in commemoration of you before the bright light of day, but if you do not comply with my request, this will be your fate; fire and destruction at the hands of my daughters and sons when the day and the hour of judgement come.' So said God, First Mayordomo. And then Our Lord, Our Father spoke again to the taboo tree, the taboo plant: 'If you comply and agree to do as I have said, taboo tree, taboo plant, you shall receive blessing in heaven.' 'No, my Father, for you see, my body is already sunk one yard, two yards in the earth.' 'No, taboo tree, taboo plant, it shall be that you shall ascend into the clouds and mists of heaven, and the clouds and mists of the sky will descend upon you in this world; and furthermore in the hot country, in the coast mountain and plain your presence shall grow and flourish.' 'Very well, my Father, come hither then, that the evil ones may not find you. Rest here, my Father, Son of Maria, Son of God.' Thus is made manifest the word of God, First Mayordomo." "Dios! You have spoken the true word, Sir Rox." "And so it was that Our Father, Our Lord took shelter from the sun beneath the taboo tree, the taboo plant. And so the tree received the blessing of Our Father, Our Lord. And this also He decreed: 'It shall be thus with you, taboo tree, that always my sons and my daughters shall bear you and carry you in the roads. And they shall spend one night, two nights on the road, and pass one town, two towns, in bringing you home. And also, with the passing of time you shall always be there to remind them of my sufferings 28 The Whirlwind. RITUAL IN COFRADIA OF SAN SEBASTIAN 241 in all the holy ceremonies (of the cofradias) and also in the holy rites of the sainted comadres and compadres. And also you shall be upon the altar when I am commemorated (in the Holy Mass); and also whenever my children's children take wives and husbands they will see you upon the table, before the table. This will be your meaning, taboo tree, taboo plant. Now you have heard your content and symbolism.' 'Yes, my Father, Son of Maria, Son of God.' This was the word of the Great Master, this was the word of God, First Mayordomo." "Dios! You have revealed the great truth, Sir Rox." "So it is, First Mayordomo, that we speak thus; for we but perpetuate the traditions as did the first ancestors. For they in truth spent one day, two days in bringing home the taboo plant, the taboo seeds. But we do not do thus. We, perhaps, only buy it or trade property and possessions of different kinds for the taboo plant, the taboo seeds, here in our own plaza, First Mayordomo." "So it is that perhaps it is but a poor bit that we set down here before the illumined table. Perhaps our first ancestors had a big pile, two big piles upon their table. Perhaps for them the land was well watered and overflowed, and harvests were abundant; perhaps their fields were a great greenness upon the face of the earth and sky. But as for us, we are but poor and must struggle against wood and stone to gain the necessities of life, First Mayordomo. As for us, First Mayordomo, Second Mayordomo, Secretary, we can only offer you this poor bit, this trifling bit of the taboo seed, the taboo plant. We do not say that it is already prepared and mixed. No, it is not so. We lay a task upon the first lady, the second lady, the lady of the secretary. These five grains, ten grains they must grind on their grinding stones in their houses. Then perhaps they will be able to make of it one drink for the rising of the sun, the pausing of the sun, for the setting of the sun, to drink it with their parents and their daughters and sons, First Mayordomo. Yes, Mayordomo. By the grace of God you are here, and you also, Second Mayordomo, and you also, our father Secretary. May you receive through this the right hand, the left hand in blessing upon your heads; through this poor bit of the taboo seed, the taboo plant. First Mayordomo, may you find favor with God. This is all that we ask, for we cannot buy the movements of our father, the sun, in this world. First Mayordomo, may this find favor with God." "Yes, Sir Rox. I have understood the word, the two words which you have spoken.." Here follows the repetition by the First Mayordomo of the words of Rox. After the repetition, the First Mayordomo says: "Yes our father, Secretary, and also Second Alcalde, come hither. Yes, Our Father Christ who is in Calvario, and Our Father Christ who is in Heaven, turn hither your glance and countenance. For indeed it is Thou who gave to this world the taboo tree, the taboo plant and blessed it with these words, 'Thou art the taboo tree, the taboo plant. My sons and daughters will commemorate thee at their altars, whatever may be the request or prayer in their minds, and also, as time passes, in all their sacred rites, and in thy person thou shalt recall and commemorate our Father Christ.' And so it is with us in this day and hour; Here in our sacred rites it has been made witness and surety before our father, Sefior San Sebastian. The first ancestors, the lords and rulers, perhaps did thus in carrying out their sacred rites. But they did not take these things with them in their comings and goings. No, Our Father, Christ, 242 CHICHICASTENANGO these ceremonies still remain in this world. It is our name and destiny to repeat and perpetuate these ceremonies before the world. Yes, Our Father, Christ, come hither; turn hither thy countenance to smell of this poor bit of the taboo tree, the taboo plant that lies upon our table, before our table. Come hither, Third Mayordomo, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and also you, lords and rulers, first ancestors. Come hither! This is your sacred rite and custom which we perpetuate in this world. Perhaps you are already seated in your places in the corners of this house and place where stands illumined our father, Sefnor San Sebastian. Only we cannot see or hear your presence. For your presence is in the strong wind, the cold wind in the clouds and mists, and also the mosquitos and the little bright flies.29 But come hither, masters, and smell of what lies upon your table. And you also, our father, Sefior San Sebastian Martin, smell of what lies before your table, of this poor bit of the taboo seed, the taboo plant whose likeness has been placed before your presence by Sir Rox, Fourth Mayordomo! As for us, we cannot say that we shall merely smell of this presence; no, Lords, for it will feed our bodies and our hearts, this taboo seed, this taboo plant. Yes, Our Father, Christ, and you also first ancestors, and also our father, Senior San Sebastian Martin. Only give us your right hand, your left hand in blessing. We have nothing to offer you but one line, two lines of our doctrine, for you, our Father, Christ, and you also, Masters. Turn hither your faces. Come hither, our father, Secretary, and also you, Second Mayordomo..." They kneel before him, and he says the jun kalamld... and the jun qaqau chiqaj four times, and then "In the name of God the Father," four times. Then all say Amen. Then they send the mayordomds to take the cacao to the homes of the Second Mayordomo and the Secretary. Then they bring in the drinks of chocolate, and all drink, including the musicians. Now the Secretary excuses himself to go to his house, and attend to his business in the plaza, promising to return three hours before sunset.30 The Secretary exchanges greetings with all the mayordomos in the room, and goes out. In the corridor he exchanges greetings with the musicians, and also with the women who have come out and are kneeling in the patio. He places his hand on the heads of the women and thanks them for the refreshments. Then he goes out. At this point the patience of the informant in the tedious task of dictating, broke down, and from here on the account continues in Spanish, the speeches and prayers paraphrased. The Arrival of the Secretary in the Afternoon: At one o'clock in the afternoon the Secretary arrives again at the cofradia. The Second Alcalde meets him at the door of the street and they exchange greetings there. The women come out and kneel in the patio to receive him, and he greets them also, asking pardon for intruding in the house of our father, San Sebastian. In the corridor he pauses to greet the musicians. At the door of the sala the First Mayordomo meets him, and he asks pardon of 29 The belief is widespread in Central America that the souls of the dead are incarnated in mosquitoes. 30 This conversation, induded in the original, is omitted. RITTTAL IN COFRADIA OF SAN SEBASTIAN 243 him also for intruding in his house. Then he enters the room, and kneels again before San Sebastian to ask pardon and to inform him that he has come back. The First and Second Mayordomos are kneeling with him. Then the mayordoro invites him to sit down. There are no formal greetings, nothing; they bring him something to drink at once, and all drink, including the musicians. The Secretary thanks them, and then proceeds to the business. He calls Rox and tells him to prepare the cacao for the alcaldes, three dishes, one for the First Alcalde, one for the Second Alcalde and one for the Treasurer. And he tells him to place five pieces of sweet bread, "sign of the word of God," on top of each dish of cacao.Then he tells him to light two candles in front of the saint. They hasten to prepare everything, and the Secretary looks over the altar to see that everything is right, and if anything is missing, he asks about it, and they explain. When everything is ready they sit down to wait for the municipal officers. Fourth and Fifth Mayordomos go to summon the Alcaldes: At three o'clock in the afternoon the Secretary calls the Fourth and Fifth Mayordomos, and tells them to go for the Alcaldes. "Fourth and Fifth, you will go to bring the Alcaldes. Take rockets with you. When you reach the courthouse, if anyone is there, wait until they are finished, and then kneel in front of the First Alcalde. Listen well, Fourth, to what you are to say. There is no greeting, for the time is short. You will state your errand at once. You will say, 'Pardon us, Alcaldes that we have intruded upon you in the court of justice. We have been sent by our Mayordomo and Secretary to invite you to come to the house of our father Sefor San Sebastian to receive the seeds of the blessed tree!"' The two mayordomos go on their errand. After they have delivered the message, they excuse themselves for a moment to go and ask permission of the Ladino Alcalde. Meanwhile the alcaldes make ready to go. They wait in the corridor of the courthouse until the mayordomos return. Then they go in again, and call the two mayordomos in by name. They kneel before the Alcalde, and he answers them saying that they are ready to go. The Alcalde tells the Secretary to take care of things during their absence. They take their canes and staves, put on their surcoats, and kneel before their tables to ask pardon of the ancestors. At each corner they exchange greetings. The Arrival of the Alcaldes: When they reach the cofradia the mayordomos of San Sebastian are waiting for them at the door of the street. They stop to greet the women who have come out and are kneeling in the patio. Inside they kneel before San Sebastian, to tell him that they have come, and to ask pardon. Then they sit down in their places, the alcaldes on one side of the room, the mayordomos of San Sebastian on the other side. Then begin the greetings. First the First Alcalde greets the First Mayordonmo of San Sebastian, together with the Secretary, the mayordomos, the women and the musicians. Then the Mayordomo of San Sebastian thanks him and returns the greetings, greeting the Alcalde, with all the municipal officers, and the Secretary. 244 CHICHICASTENANGO Blessing of the Atole and the Cacao: When the greetings are finished, the mayordomos bring the atole. The Alcalde blesses the atole,31 and the Mayordomo of San Sebastian replies to him. Then all drink. Then Rox brings the three plates of cacao and bread and the First Mayordomo proceeds with the explanation of the cacao, telling how it has been blessed by Our Lord Jesus Christ to be on the table at all ceremonies.32 After he has finished his explanations the Alcalde replies, repeating what has been said. Then follows the Resuscitation of Christ over the drink of chocolate. Then all drink twice of the chocolate. After thisthey rest for a while, and talk of other things, for five or ten minutes, - no more. The Auditing of the Accounts: Then the Alcalde begins with the business of the meeting. He says that he has been summoned twice, once a week before, and today was the second communication. This is the day and the hour and he has come. What do they want with him? They tell them that they are about to take out their father, San Sebastian. The First Mayordomo calls Rox, and Rox comes and kneels before the Alcalde. Then he asks him if he has bought all the things necessary for the ceremony of San Sebastian, the candles, incense, vases for flowers, etc. Rox says: "Yes, everything is ready." Then the Alcalde asks Rox if they have painted the image, or if they have bought new clothing or ornaments for their father. He answers "yes" or "no." And if they have not done anything for the saint they scold them. Then they look through the saint's trunks to see what they have bought, and they look at the image to see if it is well painted. And if they have not bought any new clothing, but have repainted the image, it is all right. Then they call the Secretary to write down in the book what they have bought and the value, and all the questions that were asked. Then if the Alcalde can write, he signs the report. He asks the First Mayordomo if he has any complaint of any kind against any of his mayordomos, and he answers. If he says: "No, all have been good," and have faithfully complied with their duties, they write this down in the book also. And if he says that any one of them has not fulfilled all his duties, the Alcalde tells the regidores to take him off to prison. He stays in prison for one night, and must pay a fine of 100 pesos.33 Now the alcaldes say that since it is Sunday and they have much to do in the courthouse, they must go. They kneel again in front of the saint, and, after exchanging greetings with everyone, they leave for their house, there to leave their canes and standards. This is the end of the ceremony of the surrender of office. II. THE RETREAT34 - CHANGE OF PERSONNEL It is still two weeks until the retreat and election. On the following Sunday (January 11) Rox and the Fourth Mayordomo go once again to the First 31 Seep. 233. 32 See p. 239. 33 The Ladino Alcalde takes no part in this. 34 Literally, "the walling in," el muracion. RITtAL IN COFRADIA OF SAN SEBASTIAN 245 Alcalde and Second Alcalde and to the Fiscal and his assistant, and to the secretary of the cofradia to advise them of the election and the change in the personnel of the members of the cofradia. The notifications are the same as already described. Preparations: The "election" takes place two days before the day of the saint. The day before the election the ceremonies begin in the cofradia. On that day they kill a steer and all the relatives and friends of the members bring firewood to be burned during the coming days. They bring the wood on burros and leave it in the patio, and the members put it away, and then everyone who comes gets food: puliq and bread, and plenty to drink. It is very gay. The moloj: During the night is the moloj. The musicians go to bring each of the members separately to the house of the cofradia, each one with his wife, and the materials for the drink and the feast.35 This goes on all night. The Election: The following day (Sunday the 18th) is the election. At dawn they send Rox and the Fourth Mayordomo to the alcaldes with gourds of atole, to advise them that that afternoon at three o'clock will be the election. The election takes place that afternoon. (For description of election. See p. 201.)36 Preparation for the Fiesta: Next morning the Secretary goes to the cofradia to tell them to prepare everything for the fiesta the following day, and to pay the priest for the Mass of San Sebastian. At ten o'clock in the morning they take San Sebastian out of his house into the patio, and stand him on a mat and prepare him for going into the church. They tie him firmly on his pedestal, arrange his clothing and decorate the ornamental arch over him. There are many people at the cofradia, the members and their wives and families, and visitors, and everyone eats and drinks. Late in the afternoon they take the saint to the church, and leave him there over night. The following day (the 20th) is the real day of the saint. The members come together early in the morning, and then they go to hear Mass. After Mass they take the image out in procession around the plaza. The Mayordomos retire from office: After the procession they take San Sebastian back into the church and all the mayordomos go to the courthouse to report that now they have finished the mass and procession and that they have left the image in the church with all his property and ornaments. All the mayordomos of cofradias that have standards, and especially Sacramento and Rosario are in the 35 See p. 46. 36 Schultze-Jena gives a series of texts dealing with the election (pp. 158-172). 246 CHICHICASTENANGO courthouse to hear the Mayordomos of San Sebastian report. After they have made their report, they exchange greetings with all the others, and return to their house. The rest remain there waiting for the Fiscal who has the list of the names of the new mayordomos, for they must go to get them. Then they all start out to look for the new First Mayordomo. If he lives in the mountains they send a regidor to his house with cacao. They have to bring them in. When the full number is complete, the First Alcalde gives the mayordomos all permission to retire until three o'clock in the afternoon, when they are to take the new mayordomos to the cofradia. The new mayordomos take possession: At three o'clock sharp they all meet in the courthouse, and if any are missing the Alcalde sends a regidor to fetch him. By half past three they are all there. Now they all go, the First and Second Alcaldes, the Fiscal and his assistant, the mayordomos with standards, and the new mayordomos of San Sebastian. When they reach the cofradia, the Second Mayordomo is waiting for them at the door of the street, and in the patio the two women, the wives of the First and Second Mayordomos, are waiting. They all greet the women and place their standards to their heads. They greet the musicians in the corridor, and the First Mayordomo at the door of the room, and then they go inside, and all kneel before San Sebastian. Then they are invited to sit. The Mayordomos of San Sebastian sit at the right of the altar, the Alcaldes of the Municipality at the left, and beside them, and further down in the room the mayordomos with standards. The new alcaldes and mayordomos sit facing the altar. Now begin the greetings. First the Alcalde of the Municipality greets the retiring mayordomo, and his associates, even to the musicians. The Mayordomo gives the reply and repetition of this, greeting the Alcalde, and the municipal officers. Then follows the greetings of the Mayordomos with standards. After the greetings, the retiring Mayordomo asks them to wait a moment. Then they bring the drink of atole. He offers it to the Alcalde, who accepts it for them all, and gives thanks. Then Rox brings the plates of cacao and sweet bread for the two Alcaldes, the Sindico and Fiscal, and they bring in the drink of chocolate for everyone. With this comes the ceremony of the cacao. First the retiring Mayordomo pronounces the Resuscitation of Christ, and the Alcalde gives the repetition of this. Then the Municipal Alcalde gives thanks before God and the sanctified dead. Then he pronounces the benediction over the cacao, and gives thanks to the Mayordomos. Then they drink and rest for a few minutes. Then they begin with the business of the meeting. The Alcaldes explain their mission, and ask about the supplies, whether they have bought candles, incense, a new mat, etc., so that the new Mayordomos can start in at once with their ceremonies until they should have time to buy them themselves. The First Mayordomo sends for Rox, and asks him to bring more candles, incense, a petate. He brings these things, and the retiring mayordomo answers the Alcalde. These things are for the new mayordomos, they have had their standards ever since they were appointed in the courthouse. The old mayordom~os had left them there when they surrendered office. They give the mat and the candles to the new First Mayordomo. After this the Alcaldes take RITUAL IN COFRADIA OF SAN SEBASTIAN 247 their leave of the retiring mayordomos. They kneel once more before the altar (the image is still in the church) and give thanks to the ancestors for the completion of the ceremonies. Then they all leave, after exchanging greetings. In the patio the women are kneeling, and they place their standards to their heads, and they thank the women for the food and drink that they have given them. At the door of the street they exchange greetings again, and then they separate. The municipal officers go with the First Alcalde to leave their canes at his house and the mayordomos go to their respective houses, and the new mayordomos, all go with the new First Mayordomo to leave their things at his house. Now in the cofradia all the members and all the visitors are given to eat and drink. And so it is over. Concluding Ceremonies: But there are still things to do. The following day the mayordomos come to wash the dishes and pots that have been used in the kitchen and to put the house in order. When everything is ready they call the First Mayordomo to come and look, and they bring a plate of cacao and a bottle of aguardiente and some cigars. They no longer wear the surcoat, because their official time is up. Then they dispatch the bottle of aguardiente, and smoke the cigars, and if there are any rockets left from their ceremonies they fire them, and they are all very gay. This they do if they have worked together well without any complaints or disputes. III. THE NEW ALCALDES BEGIN THEIR DUTIES Meanwhile the new alcaldes are entering upon their duties. The next day, or soon thereafter, Rox comes to the First Mayordomo with a plate of cacao which he places on the table, with some sweet bread. After the greetings he asks the Mayordomo for the key to his kitchen. Then he gives him another plate of cacao with bread, and asks for materials (candles, incense, etc.), and candlesticks, vases and vessels for the kitchen. The First Mayordomo thanks him, and gives him these things. Then Rox brings out a bottle of aguardiente and places that in front of the First Mayordomo and asks him to give him instructions, concerning everything that he must do, and the First Mayordomo tells him his duties. From now on the new Mayordomos go to hear Mass every day. Sometimes only the First Mayordomo goes alone with his standard, and with no one to accompany him. That is all right, and if the others come to accompanyhim, that is all right also. All come when they can. Very soon the First Mayordomo sends Rox and the Fourth Mayordomo to the Secretary of the cofradia with a plate of cacao. They present themselves to him at his house and after asking pardon, and exchanging greetings, they tell him that they have received this image, and that they have come to ask him to instruct them in the customs of this order. "Very well," he says, "first of all the First Mayordomo must give thanks, and procure all the necessary materials for receiving the image in his house. Then you must clean the room and decorate it suitably, with pine and paper, so as to receive the image. Then, when you are ready to take the image out of the church, you will take it to the house of the First Mayordomo, where it will remain always; 248 CHICHICASTENANGO and do this as soon as you can." "Many thanks," says Rox. "And during the days that the image is in the church, you must go every morning to place fresh candles before him, and incense." "Many thanks," says Rox. That is all, and then he returns to report to the First Alcalde what the Secretary has said. Now sometime within the next two weeks they take the image out of the church and bring it to the house. A week before they take him out, Rox goes again to the Secretary to inform him that in a week they will take the image out of the church, and he asks him to be so kind as to come on that day to the house of the cofradia. The Secretary replies that he will be glad to come if God gives him good health, and Rox says that the day before he will come to greet him and ask after his health, to remind him that the next day they will take San Sebastian to his new house, and to tell him that on that day the plate of cacao will be waiting for him there. So he comes to remind the Secretary, and again on the following day he comes to bring him to the cofradia. This is always on a Monday. When they arrive at the cofradia, there are greetings between the First Mayordomno and the Secretary. Then there are drinks of atole, and then the cacao, and with this the resuscitation of Christ, and the blessing of the cacao. At about eight or nine o'clock the Secretary and the new Mayordomos go to the church to bring back the image. They leave him in the place prepared to receive him. The Secretary returns to his house, and the members and the musicians remain there eating and drinking. A week later is their entrance into the church to receive their authority before the dead ancestors, and before the altar of San Sebastian. Once again they advise the Secretary when they are going to go into the church to take possession. This is always on a Sunday. Early in the morning the Fourth Mayordomo comes to the Secretary with a drink of atole, and brings him to the cofradia. Again there are the usual greetings, and the offerings of atole and chocolate and the plate of cacao. And again there is the Resuscitation of Christ over the cacao, and the blessing, all as described above. After this the Secretary calls Rox to bring the eight pesos of candles, which are distributed among the different altars as already described, and he tells them what is the meaning of these candles, namely, that they are a symbol that these people have received the standard and the surcoat of the first ancestors to carry on their traditions before this world. Then they send for the women and the musicians, and all go to hear Mass, and to leave their candles in the places appointed. After they are all finished in the church, they return to the cofradia, and they are again given something to drink. After they have finished drinking, the Secretary calls Rox and the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Mayordomos, and they come and kneel before him and he tells them what their duties will be. They must keep the premises of the cofradia clean and neat; they must sweep the patio and the rooms. They must buy plenty of flowers, and every few days they must change the flowers and wash the vases, and change the pine each Thursday and Sunday, and the papers on the ceiling as often as necessary; that they must plan to buy something new for the saint, some article of clothing, or repaint the image. That whoever is on duty for the week must come each morning to open the door, and place a candle on the altar, and incense. And he must come in frequently during the day to see that everything is as it should be in the room, and especially that nothing catches fire, for many people may come to burn candles and incense in the room. And each evening he must come to RITUAL PATTERNS 249 lock the door, and he must change the pine and flowers. And finally, among the members there must be no quarrels, and no bad words should be spoken in the cofradia, and furthermore their wives must speak no bad words. Ceremonies are ceremonies, and they are sacred. Whatever may be goingon in their homes, within the cofradia there must be nothing but respect and dignity, for they are carrying out sacred customs. He charges Rox especially to be an example to the younger members. (It is assumed that the First and Second Mayordomos know all this and act accordingly.) They thank him for his words, but he tells him it is not he to whom they have duties, but to the ancestors, for this is their ceremony. Then he places his hands in blessing on their heads, and blesses them. Then he takes his leave of the First Mayordomo, kneels before the saint, and goes out, greeting them all again, and greeting the women also. That is all until the time comes for their ceremonies. Ritual Patterns The Secretary of the cofradia is a trustee of tradition, holding his trust from the ancestors. As the permanent officer he is concerned with the handing on of traditions; the endless cycle of ceremonies in which the personnel changes and the ritual remains constant is for him a symbol of continuity with the past, and it is as such that he describes "the ceremonies of the cofradias." He spends little time on the external aspects of the fiesta - the Mass, procession and informal celebration; he just refers to these in passing, "next day is the Mass," or "after the procession,..." as a means of orienting the events in what to him is the core of the ritual - the acceptance and surrender of tribal responsibilities. The ceremonies in the cofradias are concerned less with the cult of the Saint than with the ancestors, and with Christ as the fountainhead of tradition. These ceremonies are all commemorative. The theme that runs through them all like a leitmotiv is stated in the very opening of the ceremonies, after the formal introduction, when the head mayordomo comes to notify the alcaldes of the coming fiesta: "It is not for us to abandon him (San Sebastian) but rather to fulfill the rites and customs which have been laid down and marked out for us by the first ancestors... We have received and humbly accepted the second coat, the garment of service in the cofradias, and we have received the sanctified staff of the first ancestors.... andnowthetime has come for us to kneel down and bow our heads within the cold house, as we did when we received the second coat and the sanctified staff, and to leave it and return it again to the ancestors." And the "Resuscitation of Our Lord" which is pronounced over the seeds of cacao that occupy an important place in all the ceremonies, embodies 250 CHICHICASTENANGO the same idea: "Let us think of Our Father, Our Lord. For it seems He lived and went about in this world and was always harrassed and persecuted by His enemies and oppressors... Now He has gone on to the World above, with the fourteen-fifteen Holy Virgins, with Sefior Sacramento and the comadres, compadres, the blood relatives of our Lord... I have spoken the word of Our Lord, 'I shall be in the hearts and souls of my daughters and my sons in that day and hour when they shall assemble to face one another in the perpetuation of the rites of the ancestors... Therefore whenever they meet face to face in the roads and paths, in the mountains, valleys and under the trees, they shall remember me. I shall be in the hearts and minds of my daughters and sons..' But no, we are within the safe boundaries of our land; within the safe gates of our city and the boundary of the realm of our lords and rulers, Santo Tomas, San Sebastian, San Jose, the lords and rulers of the resting place where we pause a while. We are within our own house and place and it is over this table that we speak our word or two..... God has granted us happiness in this moment. We only ask that our word may find favor with God..." And, when the secretary instructs the new mayorodomos in their duties he concludes: "There must be no quarrels within the cofradia, and no bad words must be spoken; and furthermore, the women, the wives of the mayordomos must speak no bad words. These ceremonies are the ceremonies of the ancestors; they are sacred. Whatever may be happening in their homes, within the co/radia all must be respect and dignity, for they are carrying out sacred customs... And then they thank him for his words, but he tells them it is not he to whom they have duties, but to the ancestors." One can speculate as to why the idea of continuity should be so persistently reiterated in the one aspect of life in which the break with the past has been most dramatic. The theme of continuity is developed in three great ceremonies which take place within a little over a month. These are the Surrender of Office, (la entregada), the Change of Personnel (el cambio), and the Entrance of the New Officers (la entrada). The first ceremony precedes the fiesta by about two weeks. In this the mayordomos, having served for a year, lay down their office; although actually they continue in office until the termination of the fiesta, this initial ceremony is the renunciation of responsibility, which is now in the hands of the alcaldes. The second ceremony is synchronous with the fiesta; this is the "election," actually the announcement and ratification of the choice of new mayordomos, and their investiture by the alcaldes. The third is the entrance of the new mayordomos to RITUTAL PATTERNS 251 present themselves to the ancestors and receive from them their authority.37 All the separate ceremonies, the notifications, rehearsals, the crucial ceremonies, are built up of named units. There are prescribed -ways of entering the house and leaving the house (la entrada, la despedida), there are the formal greetings (las saludas), the statement of the message (el mandado), the verification (la traducci6n), the Resuscitation of Christ, the serving of atole (el servicio de atol), etc. These are formal units that are combined into long ceremonies, which in turn are built up into the great ritual complexes. Although the ceremony of the investiture of new mayordomos takes several hours, every bit of it except one speech is familiar in other contexts. The very form of these ceremonies with their endless repetitions carry out the theme of continuity. The content is simple: the meeting together of responsible trustees of ritual, the offering of candles, the consecration and eating of ritual foods, music, fireworks, and the processions with the image. The Mass, which forms part of the fiesta is not the responsibility of the mayordomos. The ritual meals are the central feature of the formal ritual. The atole made for these fiestas is the festive atole with the butter of sapuyul and cacao floating like heavy whipped cream on the top of the gourd. It is a delicacy, richer and sweeter than the usual household atole and, since everyone who comes to the cofradia is served two cups, this always draws a great crowd. Everyone is later served with chocolate. The extreme ceremoniousness of the service of atole and chocolate to the offical guests of the cofradia - the municipality, leading mayordomos, and secretaries; and the long commemorative prayers pronounced over it; above all the curious designation "Resuscitation of Christ," that is given to the prayer of blessing over the plates of cacao, are all strongly reminiscent of the sacrament of the Eucharist. However, there are important differences of content. The Quich6 ceremony is purely commemorative, not sacramental. In this it resembles more closely the Protestant communion than the Catholic Eucharist. But there is a still more important difference: the drink of atole and the drink of chocolate are offered to the saint, just as the food consumed in houses on the feast of All Souls is first offered to the dead; not merely in commemoration of the dead. 37 The order is somewhat different in the cofradia of Santo Tomas. Here the election and investiture of the new mayordomos takes place during the feast of All Saints, and the new mayordomos enter on their duties before the fiesta. The saint is not transferred until after the fiesta and during this period two sets of mhayordomos are in office. 252 CHICHICASTENANGO "Our Father, Sefor San Sebastian Martin, come hither before this table, above this table. Come hither also mothers and fathers, masters of this sacred rite and custom. These are your servants, the body, the heart of your custom. They have assembled in person before your presence, Sefor San Sebastian Martin. Alas, we have nothing to set before you but this drop or two of our nourishing drink. Be pleased to smell of it, Sefor San Sebastian Martin..." The only part of this program that varies from one fiesta to another is the procession. In each fiesta the image of the saint is taken to the church the night before the Mass, and, the following day after the Mass is borne in procession around the plaza. For the more important ceremonies the images of other saints are brought to the church and join the procession, and the route of the procession is extended to include the streets to the north of the plaza. In large fiestas there are subsidiary processions: the saints go to visit one another in their houses; they call for Santo Tomas "to escort him to church." The litters in which they are carried are taken out - in the feast of All Saints' the litters of the three patr6ns are paraded around the town for three days; they are taken to church and Masses are said for them. This is all part of the external, variable accretions which have clustered around the central rites. It is just those incidents that the ritualist passes over with casual mention, or fails to mention at all, that form the body of my own accounts of fiestas. To me, an outsider seeing the fiesta as an expression of the social life of a great village, the unwonted concentration of people, the mounting excitement, the changing temper of the ceremonies and of the crowd, the dramatic contrasts, the abandoned drunkenness of Manuel and the austere sobriety of Juan, were the significant facts, and the prayers and explanations that Juan related to me with such meticulous care, were just "another long speech" in the cofradias. In the cumulative excitement of a big fiesta, the inner sacred core, what the prayers characterized as "the heart and soul" of the ceremony, gets drowned in an uproar of drums and bells and marimbas and fireworks. The fundamental pattern of the external fiesta is a period of preparation in which tension is built up, to be released, after the climax, in general and extreme drunkeness. The climax of a fiesta is the procession. This is worked up to gradually for days, the preliminary processions such as that of the empty litters during All Saints', or of the Cross during Holy Week are a foreshadowing of the climax, a rehearsal without the leading characters, like a rehearsal of a fashionable wedding that works up strong feelings of anticipation for the real thing. RITUAL PATTERNS 253 The moloj which opens every fiesta is a good example of the cumulative pattern. In the evening of the first day the musicians leave the house of the cofradia to collect the mayordomos. They go for them, one by one, starting with the sixth, the lowest in rank. Slowly, conspicuously, and with the greatest ceremony, the participating group is expanded to its full membership. Each member arrives ceremoniously, accompanied by his wife and assistants bearing food, and escorted by the musicians who use special music reserved for this ceremony alone. In the fiesta of All Saints' day the procession built up gradually. First the empty litters of the three patrdns are paraded through the streets and left in the church; the next day they are taken out, and taken in a group to the houses of the three saints where the images are placed in them. A dance group accompanies them. Later, accompanied by two dance groups the three are taken once again to the church. On the final day they come out for their procession, accompanied by the two dance groups, all the official hierarchy, and all the images from all the cofradias. The whole fiesta is built up the same way: the first groups to begin their celebrations are the various cofradias, the following day the processions begin, they are joined first by one dance group, then by another, which all these days has been pursuing its independent course, and finally all these elements come together for the great procession. It should be noted that because of this concentration of interest on the procession, and the way of building it up, by adding one group at a time, no one of any importance is present at the final Mass. The alcaldes, the chief mayordomos and the two dance groups arrive at the church "to hear Mass" after it is all over: Similarly, the concentration of population in the town increases by leaps and bounds as ever widening circles become involved. The first to arrive are the active participants: the whole municipality including the full complement of alguaciles, chajales, and sacristans, the mayordomos of all the cofradias, the dancers and musicians and their families. Then the business people come: the merchants, the vendors of chicha and aguardiente. And last of all the audience, the visitors from other pueblos, and buyers - for the commercial aspect of fiestas should not be ignored. All these, too, come together on the final day, which is not only the day of the great procession, but also the day of the great market. The procession takes place in the middle of the morning. This is the peak of excitement: all the while the sacristans ring the bells like mad, the marimbas and the drums play, myriads of rockets are fired. The plaza is jammed with the whole 254 CHICHICASTENANGO population of the municipio. The church, too, is thronged by those come to make personal offerings. The procession, on an extended route, with frequent pauses, takes more than an hour. After it returns there are a few hours of activity in the plaza before the fiesta dissolves once more into its component elements. The cofradias go off to their respective houses, where "they celebrate the fiesta according to their custom." That is, by drinking and dancing. The alcaldes wind up the official program of the fiesta (the installation of new mayordomos), the dance groups go to the houses of their "owners." The market breaks up as usual in the early afternoon, and everyone wanders off to get drunk in the houses of the cofradias or the cantinas. That evening each family performs its individual ceremonies in commemoration of their dead ancestors (All Souls night)38 emphasizing the rapid dissolution of the fiesta into the personal units that comprise it. The "fiesta" of Holy Week is different in incident and emotional tone. But despite this difference in content the essential form is the same. The emotional tone of Holy Week is penitential rather than festive; it also works up to a fervid procession. The emotional release is not through alcohol, but through frankly sadistic actions - the realistic crucifixion, the tormenting of the penitentes and, above all, the hanging and burning of Judas. But although the temper of the crowd is violent, this violence is drained off in purely symbolic acts. Alcoholism The alcoholic and intoxicating drinks are two, chicha and aguardiente. The Indians of this region do not make pulque although agave is a common shrub cultivated for fences and for its fiber. Chicha is a fermented drink made from the fermentation of various fruits and berries; aguardiente is distilled from brown sugar (panela) large quantities of which are sold each week in the plaza. Both are contraband. They are made by the Indians secretly in their homes; I never learned the details of their manufacture, not wishing to arouse antagonism by inquiring about a matter which is not, after all, of primary importance. But the use to which they are put is by no means unimportant. For among the Quiches as among many Central 38 In 1930, when I witnessed this fiesta Sunday intervened between All Saints' and All Souls' Day and this was spent by most of the population in the plaza and the cantinas, thus altering somewhat the usual pattern. ALCOHOLISM 255 American peoples drunkenness is institutionalized, and runs like a purple thread through all the patterns of ritual. In order to defray the expense of fiestas the cofradias put on zarabandas. For these they hire a marimbero to play, and they sell drinks and dance in the sala where the Saint is kept. The principal drink served on this occasion is chicha which is made by the women in the cofradia. They also buy or make aguardiente for sale on these occasions. The sala is cleared of all furniture except the altar and the benches along the walls. In one corner is the marimba, the small homemade instrument of the mountains. Near it is the counter where the drinks are sold - a table covered with a white cloth, with some glasses for aguardiente and a few shallow gourd cups for the chicha. One of the junior members of the cofradia has charge of the sale drinks and keeps a tally on the whitewashed wall beside him. Strictly speaking the zarabanda is illegal; but the municipio collects a fee for each day. The zarabanda starts on Sunday afternoon at about three o'clock, about the time that the market starts to break up, and continues throughout the night and all day Monday until evening. Sometimes it lasts through Monday night until dawn of Tuesday. The marimba plays a steady continuum of four notes, over and over, without ceasing. There is not much dancing, one or two people may get up and dance, mostly young men. Women also dance and the dance step is a sort of slow two step. It is entirely individualistic - there is no dance formation - men and women never dance together although they may be on the floor at the same time. The drinking is much more important than the dancing, often no one dances at all, but everyone drinks. Who goes to zarabandas There are always more men than women, especially young men. These are the ones who dance. But there are many women too, the loose women of the town, prostitutes, widows, and also respectable wives. Both men and women drink a great deal, and become very drunk. There is a great deal of laughing and shouting and erotic behavior.39 It is said by Whites that the zarabandas are occasions of the most extreme orgiastic behavior; the frequent references in the texts to the sins committed "in the streets" under the influence of chicha and aguardiente would indicate that these rumors may have some foundation. The fact that I never saw any overt sexual behavior at zarabandas does not mean anything - there is probably a great deal. The attitude of the Indians towards the sexual laxity of the zarabanda is that probably some men take women who do not belong to them 39 See p. 207 for description of zarabandas during fiestas. 256 CHICHICASTENANGO if they are both drunk. Nice people don't do it, of course, but some people are "just like dogs." It must be remembered however, that the zarabanda is run by the cofradia, a religious organization; that it is part of the general ferial system, and that the drunkenness and sexual laxity of the zarabandas receive the sanction of the highest authorities. Drinking enters into the ceremonial in yet another way, for drinking forms a part of many rituals. It characterizes all family celebrations, such as christenings and initiations; it forms an important part of all agricultural rituals40 and general drunkenness concludes all fiestas. At the fiesta of Santo Tomas particularly, everyone in town gets drunk and stays drunk for nearly a week. Throughout the duration of the fiesta there was no mail delivery for more than a week - the clerk was drunk - and other civil functions were similarly paralyzed. This sort of thing is characteristic of all Latin American fiestas. However, at Chichicastenango the drink not only accompanies the fiesta but is part of it. At the fiesta of Todos Santos when the alcaldes sit in the plaza watching the dancing of Tsijolaj they are continually plied with drinks by young men, members of the group that is presenting the dance. The drinks were presented with great reverence, the young man always kneeled as he offered it, and received a blessing in reply.4l When these old men left the plaza for the election in one of the cofradias they had to be assisted to their feet, and supported along the way by the comparatively sober younger men. But arrived at the ceremonial house, they were able to discharge their duties without faltering, and to repeat the long prayers without confusion. And in the houses of the cofradias after the procession returns, the members and their families and friends foregather to drink and be merry. As one informant volunteered, as I stood watching one of these scenes, "Now everyone is happy; they are finished in the church and they have begun to celebrate the saint in their own fashion." For the drinking in the cofradias is an act of worship, like dancing or singing in other places. The gods want to see people happy, the joy of drink is, therefore, pleasing to them.42 40 See pp. 55 ff. for description of planting ceremonies. 41 Among the Aztecs, indulgence in alcohol was the prerogative of the old. Drunkenness among young men was punished by death (see Codex Mendoza). 42 The feeling that joy must prevail at all ceremonies is found among Pueblo Indians who believe that a ceremony is vitiated if one of the participants is sad. Therefore they have clowns to provide amusement, and different groups that are participating visit back and forth to keep themselves from getting bored or irritable during the periods of sexual abstinence. ALCOHOLISM 257 For drunkenness itself the Indians have no feelings of censure or disgust. The drunk is always treated with kindness and consideration. When he experiences difficulties of locomotion some helpful bystander lends a hand. When he falls into drunken stupor someone puts a bundle of rags under his head. When a man is on the loose, his wife follows him around, waiting to pick him up and take him home when his violence has spent itself and yielded to exhaustion. (It sometimes takes several days.) But, on the other hand, drunkenness is feared for what it may lead to, for it leads to senseless waste, to carnal sin, and, worst of all, to quarrels. Manuel did not touch strong drink for he felt that sobriety was the best protection against the malice of others and one's own evil nature. Many others commended this policy, even if few followed it. As we read through the texts we find among the confessions of sins, the following sins committed when drunk: I, his father, know certain things which he has done and perhaps I remember them when I am drunk. When my father took aguardiente, sometimes he lost track of his money and I did not give it all back to him, but I spent it and ate bread which I bought. I also took aguardiente with my father and sometimes alone outside; and after I had taken aguardiente I would speak to women and give them aguardiente and then I would lie down with them in the fields or sometimes I went with them to prison. This I did with the money (of my father's) which I spent. (This goes on to say that he is no longer satisfied with his wife.) With my family and relatives, we held land in common amongst us. So it happened then that it was not equal what they gave to me to their own position. So it happened that I reproached them, I quarrelled with them. Perhaps I beat them when I drank...... There is a certain gentleman whom I beat in the streets a long time ago. We were drunk, and I did not know what I was doing, and afterwards when I was well they told me, those who had seen us. Yes, it is true, I beat him this gentleman, but I did not know anything, I was very very drunk... In all these cases, the misdeeds committed while under the influence of alcohol have not gone unpunished. The ancestors have punished the wrongdoer, or else the injured man himself has acted. For this reason a man chooses his drinking companions carefully. It is not customary to drink in the cantones or in private houses; except at family fiestas there is no conviviality within the family or among 258 CHICHICASTENANGO neighbors because of the dread of quarrels, and of activating old grudges between individuals who already have experienced a conflict of interest. All the drinking is in the town, on market days, in public places like the zarabandas and the estancos. Husbands and wives go together; sometimes fathers and sons, and the women appear to drink as much as the men. In addition to the sins committed "in the streets" under the influence of alcohol, alcohol has been the most potent instrument by which outsiders get power over Indians. This is true of all countries south of the Rio Grande. In the colossal sprees that follow when resistance to alcohol once breaks down, a man will spend his whole capital, or lose it through carelessness, and then try to borrow more to stave off, as long as possible, the painful process of sobering up and facing the havoc. Frequently they stay drunk for a week. On such protracted sprees, the craving for alcohol seems to increase, and there is a progressive loss of control; fits of undirected violence alternate with depression. I had little direct personal experience with men in this condition, although it was a common enough sight in the streets, the zarabandas and the cantinas during fiestas and on any Sunday.43 The only Indians who ever tried to borrow money from me were drunken Indians. Many of my special friends, all men of standing and authority in the community, and individuals of great personal dignity, who when sober would not dream of borrowing from me, would when drunk come to me at the convent or track me down in the houses of informants to try to extract money to continue the spree. On one occasion a friend to whom I had refused to lend money returned in a few minutes with a magnificent kerchief which he offered to me for a ridiculous price. I pointed out that the price was absurd, but that I couldn't afford to buy the article at its real value. With the infallible logic of the inebriate, he reasoned that if I was too scrupulous to buy it at two dollars, I certainly couldn't resist it at one dollar. He was right. But the price of the kerchief did not postpone the day of reckoning very long. Returning sobriety, along with other difficulties meant explaining to his wife. A very chastened and embarrassed Sebastian turned up at the convent. The lady who had woven it, was, to say the least, annoyed. Could I give him back the kerchief (many apologies). Why certainly I could, with pleasure; could he give me back the dollar? The dollar had long since run down the throats of Sebastian's thirsty companions. 43 See pp. 204ff. for the description of drinking at the fiesta of All Saints. The fiesta of Santo Tomas was even more unruly and alcoholic. ALCOHOLISM 259 There was no dollar. He understood my position? Oh yes, he understood. A thousand pardons for the question. A very disconsolate Sebastian took his leave, his dignity restored, if somewhat shaky, and wandered off to an evening of headache. Next week he was back trying to sell me a huipil under similar conditions.44 In this state it is easy to see what easy game they are for the plantation slave-catchers. In this way many debts are contracted. Also many fines are imposed. Fiestas are events of outstanding importance to the plantations. A loan to a mayordomo to finance a fiesta, to make it mas alegre, is the best investment a slave-catcher can make. Temperance campaigns meet no support in that quarter. Furthermore in many places alcohol is the chief expense which cannot be met from local industry and trade, and for which outside sources of income are necessary. (This is not true especially of Chichicastenango.) It is the desire for drink, more than any other need, that drives men to seek outside work. But although planters and local tradespeople take advantage of the excessive alcoholism of the natives, it is not a pattern which they have introduced. It was a well developed institution in preColumbian days. There was no aguardiente in these days; the intoxicating drinks were probably of the order of chicha and pulque, the fermented juice of the agave. They are less intoxicating than aguardiente, but they are easy to make and inexpensive. Las Casas reports as follows concerning the drinking at fiestas:... On the days (of the fiesta) they held great banquets in which they ate many birds and much game, and drank different wines; and those who did this were chiefly the chief lord and the high priest, and other great lords, one day in the house of one, and another day in the house of another. They danced and leapt before the idols, and gave them to drink of the best wine that they had, drenching their lips and faces with it. And those who held themselves most devout brought vessels and bladders of wine and drank copiously of it, and this they did for no other reason than religious zeal, believing this kind of sacrifice was more pleasing to their gods than any other commonact of devotion, and for this reason the chief one who became intoxicated was the lord or reigning king, and other important lords, and among them were some who did not drink enough to become intoxicated, so that they might rule the town and country while the monarch was drunk in his devotions...4 Drinking as a form of worship still persists, it is a part of the ritual, and the more venerable participants show their devotion by 44 The hero of this story was the First Mayordomo of Sacramento, the "treasurer" of the religious hierarchy, a man of great dignity and authority, with a commanding presence, and most cultivated manners. 45 Las Casas, p. 468. 260 CHICHICASTENANGO the quantities of aguardiente that they consume. There is drinking in the houses of the cofradias before the saints, and this is an essential part of the worship; it is the obligation of the mayordomos to provide aguardiente and serve it to all who come. In personal rituals libations of aguardiente are poured out on the altar, and the participants also drink - it would be an offence and insult to the gods not to partake after having invited them. Even in the church, when the priest is looking the other way, aguardiente is poured out among the candles and rose petals, and the bottle is passed around. All this is the honoring of an ancient tradition. But secular drinking has undoubtedly been encouraged under modern conditions. CHAPTER FIVE MAN'S FATE On my first afternoon in Chichicastenango the priest who, at the time, was substituting for Father R. took me for a walk. We left the village by the southwest trail. The street descended steeply from the plaza to a little rushing stream. Here was an estanco and beyond that lay a pleasant valley of farm land, between wooded hills. The path ran along the stream, between hedges of maguey. On the grassy banks beyond the hedge women were washing and bathing in the stream. On the other side were homesteads set high on slopes, with the characteristic steep fields of ripening corn and meadows where sheep grazed. About half a mile from town we left this trail, to scramble up a steep footpath to the top of a thickly wooded knoll. Here, in a small shady clearing on the summit of the knoll was our destination. The shrine Turqa' with its famous carved idol, its stone crosses, mysterious stone rings, and ancient mullers. The shrine itself is raised a few inches from the level of the ground and bordered with stones. At the back is a low wall of stones, against which the sacred objects stand. In front and lower down is a hearth for burning copal, and farther off, another hearth. The floor of the shrine is covered with fresh pine needles, the old ones have been swept aside. All around the knoll is a litter of dried cornhusks, the wrappers from the packages of copal sold in the markets. It was these cornhusks that led one ethnologist, familiar with New Mexican pueblo shrines, to infer that the Quich6s used prayersticks as offerings, and like the Pueblos, wrapped them in cornhusks. It was an hour before sunset and we were not the only visitors. A young man and woman, husband and wife, were kneeling before the shrine, and an old man was walking about, swinging an incense burner, and declaiming rapidly and loudly. There were tall wax tapers burning at the rear of the shrine; its floor had a carpet of fresh pine, thickly strewn with rose petals; on the hearth were the bright orange flame and thick black smoke of burning copal. The odor of incense mingled with the pungent fragrance of sun drenched pine. The ritualist was undisturbed by the intrusion of a Catholic priest 261 262 CHICHICASTENANGO and a strange white woman. He paused for a moment to greet us, and the declamation rolled on, the voice rising and falling, by turns scolding and beseeching. Each period starting with vigor and tapering off into an unintelligible mumble. Then quite suddenly he stopped, came to where his clients were kneeling. They sat talking together, drinking from the bottle of aguardiente standing on the altar. Then after kneeling for a moment and crossing themselves they left. "What was the old man saying?" I asked the priest. "I don't know, but he was asking for something. Maybe someone is sick, or for his crops, or perhaps he has lost a pig. They are always asking for something." The sun was setting, the damp purple chill of the tropical night was creeping through the valleys as we returned. On the trail we met another old man, with his smoking incense burner, going up the hill. I visited Turqa' many times after that; it was a favorite retreat, with its deep cool pine wood; between the branches I could look down on the white village lying dazzling in the sunlight at my feet. I was there at all hours of the day - before sunrise when hoarfrost whitened the fields, and the wisps of cloud hung on the mountains, at midday and at nightfall, and even once late at night I picked my way with a flashlight over the steep trail. No matter what day or hour I came, there was always someone there, or someone with an incense burner on the trail, or some evidence of recent visitors - guttering candles, smoking embers on the hearth, fresh rose petals in the pine, or the feathers of a fowl behind the altar. I found other shrines, too. One less frequented on the north side of the town, on a little spur that hangs precipitously over the barranco. It is but a few steps from the head of the trail, but so screened by trees that as one stands there one can see spread out at one's feet a vast panorama of mountain and ravine and forest, wild and rugged, with not one single sign of human habitation. There is an inconspicuous hearth in the middle of the cemetery. No crosses or stones to mark this place - only the ashes of many burnings. There is a shrine with stones carved with leaf scrolls on one of the hills behind the cemetery, and the great shrine of Poqojil, in the center of a cornfield on top of the long extinct volcano that dominates the southwestern range of hills. This one, a good two hours' climb from the town is much frequented, especially in the early morning. But it is not only to the mountains that the Indians repair when they want to "ask for something." There are the visitors at the church each market day - the hundreds of old men with their thousands of candles, their tens of thousands of rose petals, their tons of incense burned before the door. They used to burn their incense in the church MAN'S FATE 263 but the atmosphere became so suffocating that the authorities forbade it, and now incense must be burned outdoors. Each Sunday they come, the old men with their strange rituals. Between times, if one sits quietly in the silent church it seems to fill with the faint echoes of many prayers, as a shell is filled with the murmur of the sea. And not only on Sunday do they come. There was one day when from break of day until late at night - the church remained open until nine o'clock that night - the worshippers came with their candles and flowers. All day the priest stood in church in his stole and intoned responses for the souls of the dead. On this day there were no roses, only little yellow marigolds, and bunches of native everlasting. By noon there was a long mound of flowers the length of the church, and newcomers had to push them aside to make room for their own offerings. By night there were two long banks of flowers, from the high altar to the door, and between these banks ran the river of candlelight. The door was piled high with flowers and the platform before the door, and they spilled down the steps. This was the day of the "commemoration of the dead," and a "good day."' Often in the dark hours before dawn I would wake up suddenly with the sharp odor of incense in my nostrils. We associate incense with churches and processions, with public ritual and large gatherings of people. It is strange to smell it in a cold deserted plaza in the desolate hours of the night. And once when the priest was away in another village, as I was closing up for the night about midnight I heard someone in the church. It was one of our house boys, and an old sorcerer of the village - I had come to know the most famous ones by this time. They had candles and incense, and they were praying. Next day Julian brought me a present - an embroidered head cloth, and asked me not to tell the Padre what I had seen that night in the church. And returning late one night from an evening visit to an informant, I saw candles burning before the locked door of the church - two tiny candles set in the corner of the door. And the man standing before them was crying out angry imprecations to the powers of heaven. Like incense before dawn and chicken feathers behind the shrine at Turqa', those little candles before the locked door (I saw such candles many times) had something chilling and sinister, something furtive in the midst of vast public ritualism. 1 8 kiej in the 260-day occult calendar. The same ritual, including the marigolds, is repeated on All Souls Day (November 2) in the Catholic calendar. 264 CHICHICASTENANGO The Powers "Hail divine world, however many your manifestations in this earth.." In these words does the Quiche Indian invoke the sacred powers. The word which I have translated as "divine world" appears in the texts as the Spanish "mundo;" for what ancient appellation it is a substitute, we can only surmise. Mundo is, perhaps, "the Heart of the Skies," that appears as the first manifestation of divine power in the pages of the Popul Buj. Diego Martin who appears in the texts as the name of the procreative force in the universe, I have not been able to identify. But Manuel Lorenzo, "the strong wind," the complementary destructive principle is, unquestionably, Jurakan. The work of conquest embraced not only the baptism of the Indians: the great gods themselves got their baptismal names on the field of battle. The Quiche descriptive term juyu'-tiqaj (mountain-plain) which appears sometimes with, sometimes instead of, the more common mundo refers not merely to the varied surface of the earth which plays such an important role in Quiche ritual, but stands for the concept of the synthesis of opposites in totality which runs through Quiche pantheism. The term of address chuchtat (mother-father) and the word for magician and diviner (chuchqajau) (mother-father) refer to this concept, rather than to any ideas of specific bisexuality. Schultze-Jena has translated the term mundo as Erdgott, but this narrows the conception. Many things are called "mundo" that have no relation to the earth. Divine Justice is invoked under the name "Presidente Mundo, ministro mundo..." and so on through all the officers of the central and local governments. The language is naive, but the concept of the multiple manifestation of the universal essence is by no means crude. Of the rich mythology in which the systematic theology was embodied little remains today at Chichicastenango. Tales are rarely told here, not even the secular Spanish fairy and animal tales that are told wherever Spanish soldiers have housed. The only tale that is told with any frequency is the explanation of the ritual use of cacao and that is so meager as scarcely to merit the designation of myth. There was no likelihood that mythology was known and withheld. Schultze-Jena who went to Chichicastenango with the avowed purpose of collecting myths, got none. My own principal informant was a "Secretary," he gave me complete rituals for sorcery in spite of a very genuine feeling of danger. When I read him portions of the Popol Buj, it was obvious that this was entirely strange to him, \. THE POWERS 265 although he, of all persons, would have been in a position to know. This informant made an appointment for me to see a friend of his in Quiche, a man well known to archaeologists who was reported to know ancient traditions. This man informed me that he was a descendant of the Kings of the Quich6s (another!). He had a room full of carved stone idols - many of them obviously spurious, which he offered (much against his better feelings, of course) to sell me for my museum. When he learned I had no museum his next move was to offer me, for $1,000, sight unseen, a manuscript of mythology in the possession of an acquaintance in Nebaj, with whose help it had been compiled. He had read the Popul Buj; it was included in his manuscript along with other tales collected at Nebaj. Suspecting this collection would be something like the good man's antiques, I suggested that he get the manuscript and bring it to me, and said I might buy it if it contained interesting material not already in print. Needless to say, he never produced it. When I returned to Chichicastenango, native informants verified the fact that Nebaj was a center of ancient traditions, they "knew things" there, but they were "mean" and the matter "muy delicado." Since.I was making a village study of Chichicastenango, not looking for trouble, I did not go, so I never found out whether or not the reputation of Nebaj was well founded. This incident is related to show that my Chichicastenango informants, with the best will in the world, could not tell myths; because they had been forgotten. Why the mythology has been supressed, while the ancient calendar is still remembered and used, is one of those strange freaks of history for which there is yet no good explanation. With no mythology to guide us we are forced to rely on ritual, especially the long invocations that open prayers, for our knowledge of the gods. The most striking feature of these invocations is the inclusion of God, Christ and the saints among the diversified forces of nature, divine law, and the masters of human activities. Hail, World, Tsokom&,2 Mountain-plain! Marked with crosses thy face and aspect! Thou, my seat, my altar! With thee I speak, thee I beseech. This is the day, this is the hour when I kneel and bow down before thy divine manifestation. Come hither, where rises the sun, where sets the sun, third side of the world (north), fourth side of the world (south)! And also the Cold Wind, the Cloudy Firmament, and also the twelve-thirteen3 Angels and 2 Tsokoma is the personal shrine of the ritualist on his farm; Mukubalsip, mentioned below, is one of the "great mountains" at which the ceremonyto which this is but an introduction, will be performed. 3 The hyphenated numbers (sometimes thirteen-fourteen thousand) is the Quich6 method of expressing infinity, or any indefinite number. 266 CHICHICASTENANGO Apostles; and also the Watchers and Listeners in the cloudy firmament; and also the Watchmen making their rounds at dawn, at midday, at sunset; and also the Watchers and Listeners in the darkness of the night, and also the Lord of Sickness and Misfortune; and also our patron, Santo Tomas, San Sebastian, San Jose, Sefor Sacramento, Sefor San Miguel, Archangel, Weighers and Measurers of Souls, however many may be your divine manifestations! Here I call your names before this World, Tsokoma! And also our Father, Christ; we are your daughters, your sons. And also Sefior San Pedro, who holds the key of heaven, who holds the key of hell. He opens the gate to us, he releases us, according to our destiny in the world.4 Come hither! I shall make my intrusions and trespasses; I bid you be seated. And also WorldMukubalsip! And come also the Divine Ones, the Blessed Spirits; Lords of Justice, Governors, Masters of Ink and Pen who inscribe us in the book! And come also, spirits, my mothers, my fathers and also the mothers and fathers of this poor Jose Morales who has been touched by this sickness and pain... The brief invocation quoted belongs to the preliminary ceremony (the "communication") in a ritual for curing. The ritual itself begins with an invocation of some one hundred and fifty lines, including the names of one hundred and twenty-seven sacred mountains between Huehuetenango and Esquipulas. But even this enumeration does not exhaust the catalogue of the powers; it does not call upon the 260 sacred days of the calendar, or the various classes of stone idols; or the owners of special kinds of sicknesses or the patrons of all useful activities who are invoked on other occasions. The complete list is rather formidable. A classification of powers can be made according to the order in which they are usually invoked: 1. "The World." 2. Phenomena of nature. Our father, Sun, (rarely "our mother, Moon"); the cardinal points, the cloudy firmament, the cold wind (the destructive force of the world), the "green shoulder, yellow shoulder of the world" (the procreative powers of the earth), the watchers by day and the watchers by night; those who go about in the sky and on the earth and under the earth; the mountains and volcanoes and other local spirits. 3. The saints. The Eternal Father; Christ in glory (the image in the church), the source of tradition; Christ in Calvario (the image in Calvario), the saint of sinners; The "Patrons of the Village," Santo Tomas, San Jos6, San Sebastian in the cofradias; Santa Ana, patron of midwives; San Juan Bautista (nuestra luz y estrella), the guardian of personal destiny; San Pedro (qui tiene la lave), patron of divinens; La Santa Cruz, symbol of the Earth; all the saints in the altars of the church and in the cofradias; the "thirteenfourteen angels and apostles;" and the "angels who go about in the cloudy firmament." 4 Hence San Pedro is the patron of soothsayers and sorcerers. THE POWERS 267 4. The "idols." The carved stones of antiquity, whether in mountain altars, in the possessions of individuals or buried in the earth. 5. The forces of destiny. The "twelve-thirteen moons and stars" i. e. time and destiny; the 260 days of the sacred calendar (by name) and the life-token animals of individuals. 6. The death bringers. The "Lord of Sickness and Pain" and his cohorts, the gods of special sickneses, poisoning, alcoholism and all forms of violent death, and physical torture. 7. The masters of useful activities. The patron deities of agriculture, weaving, business, industry, writing, midwifery, medicine, divination and sorcery, etc. 8. The Lords of Justice. Deceased alcaldes, magistrates, etc. and their prototypes "in the World." 9. The souls of the dead. The "first people," the common souls, and one's own ancestors, remembered by name. Not all of these powers are ever invoked at any one time. The ritualist chooses those appropriate to his mission, and, to a certain extent, to the place of offering. The forces of nature, as such, are not usually invoked in the church, nor are the dead, as a rule summoned in the mountains. Each has his appropriate place of worship, but none of these rules are adhered to strictly. The powers are invoked in groups, according to their spheres of influence, and the invocation falls into sections that usually parallel the above classification. But there are more subtle interrelations between the powers. The Quiche powers are not "friendly" or "hostile" by nature. The Death Bringers are not pleasant individuals, but when they carry off one's enemies they are being "friendly" and helpful. In fact, there is a special ceremony for "making a friend of the Lord of Sickness."5 And even San Juan, one of the friendliest of the saints can be bribed to hostility by the sorcery of an enemy. The gods are, on the whole, neutral and lacking in convictions of their own, subject to bribery, cajolery and threats. Nothing could be more symptomatic of the lack of faith in the justice of the gods than the custom of the practitioner who, while treating patients stands as surety for their innocence of all wrongdoing, but, as soon as the patient has gone, revokes all responsibility and bribes the gods to guarantee his own safety.6 But although the gods are all neutral in regard to affection for man, they differ greatly as regards destructiveness. The only genuinely creative or protective powers are the saints and the masters of useful 6 See p. 145. 6 See p. 365. 268 HICCHICASTENANGO activities. The idols are great destructive powers; so, obviously, are the death bringers. The Lords of Justice and the Souls of the ancestors are the guardians of tradition and the terrible avengers of all kinds of wrongdoing. They give no gifts; the best one can hope from one's ancestors is to be let alone and to have one's enemies punished. The great destructive force in nature is the strong wind (sometimes "the cold wind"), "Don Manuel Lorenzo." The really great powers, the World, and the forces of destiny, are ambivalent, building up and tearing down quite beyond man's reach. Although the powers fall into these rough categories, there are certain subtle interrelations. The idols are identified with the tempest - the destructive force in reality with the destructive force in ritual.7 Santiago, the destroyer of cornfields and patron saint of the conquerors, is also identified with the destructive wind. The ancestors and the idols, relics of antiquity, fuse as the spirit of the house and hearth. But the function of the Quiche penates is that of policemen rather than good fairies. Their chief concern seems to be to protect the sacredness of the house from sinfulness of its inhabitants, rather than to protect the inhabitants from the waywardness of the world. San Martin is identified with the procreative powers of the world (Diego Martin). San Juan is called "our moon and star," and, as such is identified with the forces of destiny that rule men's lives. San Pedro, holder of the keys of heaven and hell, is identified with the masters of the medicine bundle, patron of diviners and sorcerers.8 The cross is regarded as the symbol of the World; the commemoration of the World is celebrated on the feast of the Cross (May 3) as well as on the day ix. It is not merely a substitution of a Christian saint for an ancient deity nor the adoption of an additional god that is expressed in these identifications; in line with the general pantheistic tendency, both concepts exist side by side, as two manifestations of the same power. So far as the esoteric religion goes, the effect of Christian theology has simply been to give the ancient powers another dimension, and 7 In the Tsutuhil dialect, spoken at Santiago Atitlan, and closely related to Quiche the word for the tempest is iq' - the Quiche term for the idols, and in both dialects a day name. The day iq' in all groups is a bad day, variously associated with tempest and the idols. Eecatl which occupies the corresponding position in the Aztec tonalamatl means "wind." 8 In San Pedro Sacapilas is an especially sacred and potent image of San Pedro. This town is, therefore, a great cult center for sorcery. It is much frequented by Chichicastenango chuchqajaus. THE ANCESTORS 269 greatly enrich the philosophical and ritualistic structure. The early missionaries were troubled about the translation of religious terms,10 - to render Christian ideas in native terms, to use, for instance, the Aztec teotl for God, would make the ideas more intelligible to the natives, but involved the great danger of heterodoxy. So great was this danger that missionaries were instructed to use only Latin terms; later translation of doctrine into native languages was forbidden altogether.9 The reasoning powers of the natives were not thereby paralysed; they continued to make their comparisons and identifications. The two sets of terms were joined together without benefit of clergy and have lived together in unlegitimized union for four hundred years. The Ancestors The powers whose influence on human affairs is continuous and unremitting are the ancestors, who represent the great moral force of the universe. The Quiches have never accepted Christian ideas of the after life although they invoke the "Blessed Spirits in Purgatory" among other Christian powers. Their adherence to ideas of purgatory, hell and heaven, and even to the concept of rewards and punishment in an after life is perfunctory and has none of the vitality of the aboriginal beliefs about the dead as the upholders of morallaw. There is no belief that the mental life of the spirits differs in any way from that of the living except in being more knowing and more powerful. The dead experience all the emotions of the living; they suffer from ambition, envy, greed, malice, and vengefulness which they take out on the living or on those of their fellow ghosts who were their enemies or enemies of their families during their lives. The enmities of this life do not end with the grave, they are carried on with increased vindictiveness in the other world; the first to die, suspecting sorcery, "summons" his enemy to appear before him and answer charges. Divine retribution is carried on with all the mechanisms of wordly justice - courts, prisons, fines. As former owners of the house and land, the ancestors, along with the "idols", enforce social order within the house. The living inhabitants believe that they merely have lodging (po8ada) in a place that 9 Father Rossbach is the authority for this interpretation. 10 Ricard, pp. 72ff. 270 CHICHICASTENANGO really belongs to the dead, and that they will be ousted from their lodgings if guilty of any misconduct. Quarrels within the family and the resulting vindictiveness are the chief source of offense to the ancestors. Adultery, theft, drunkenness, and neglect of ritual obligations are other "sins committed within the house" which the ancestors punish by sending sickness or death, or by loss of property.1 A man lives in constant fear of his ancestors, and a large part of his personal religion is concerned with imploring them to protect his house and all those who dwell with him within it, and to release him from his domestic sins. But although the ancestors enforce peace within the family, in interfamilial quarrels they are strongly partisan. A man who has a quarrel with a neighbor complains to his ancestors, ("weeps before" them), offering them candles or Responses. The ancestors then complain to the authorities in the world of the dead, and the case is tried there, the ancestors of the defendant appearing as sponsors of their earthly child. If the verdict is against the defendant, he is "summoned" to appear before his judges. This way of causing a man's death is not sorcery; it is the normal way of enforcing social order. Although there is no heaven and no hell the spirits have definite places of residence, or rather places where the living can meet them. These places are the house, the church and theoeemetery. The house is the everlasting, home of one's own ancestors, where they are invoked as private persons, as family men and women maintaining order in their homes. The church, the scene of public performance for the living, is the place where the ancestors, too, exercise their rights and perform their obligations as citizens and officials. The newborn child is presented to the spirits in the church, and the recently dead, after the commitment of his mortal remains to the cemetery, is introduced to those who have preceded him, to take his place as a citizen in the commonwealth of the dead. Both these ceremonies are performed in the church at the place of the "common" souls. In the church at Chichicastenango a man may invoke his own ancestors, but especially he goes there to invoke those who in their lives held offices or practised professions and who now hold authority in the world of the spirits. Various groups have their special places: the "first people," who established traditions and ordained the way of life and of ritual have their place just below the high altar; the souls of the dead municipal officers, the ghostly judges and avengers, at the steps of the chancel, the "common souls" (i. e. private persons in 11 See texts, pp. 289, 352 f. THE ANCESTORS 271 Santo Sacramento Sacristy Mlaria Rosario Maria Dolor door to Sacristy San Sebastian an iguel 1. "Here one prays for L ] every thing" 2. The "first people".3, 3. Alcaldes 4. Common souls 4i 5. Padrinos Pulpit door to cloister 6. Los de la vara 7. San Juan: "here one Coraz6n de Jesis San Jose prays for his destiny and name" 8. The miraculous Cross: La Cruz [j| Maria Concepci6n "here one prays for ~l ease in speaking" San Pedro i ~ Jesus Nazarenos 9. Santa Ana: "here the Santa Ana: l midwives leave their I 12 La Cruz Lar * door to cloister candles" i[.J "Santo Ramos" Baptistry San Juan Qa - t _ stairs to organ loft 15 steps to altar altar for copal 'IGuacE 2. Plan of Church at Chichicastenango eluding all individuals, men and women, in their roles as citizens) in the upper nave; the former godparents lower in the nave, and "those of the vara", the diviners and sorcerers, just within the door between the pillars that support the organ loft. At these points the suppliant leaves his candle offerings, according to his status and his need. Although the dead are feared because of the punishments they mete out to the sinful, there is no fear of ghosts. No one mentioned seeing ghosts, or fearing them, or being afraid of the dark, or of tra 272 CHICHICASTENANGO veiling at night or alone. They do fear entering the cemetery at night for rituals of sorcery; some of that fear comes from invoking the dead in so perilous a mission, and exposing themselves to castigation and reprisals. The living receive no ominous portents from the realm of the dead, except as warning for sins committed, or when the dead ancestors want candles and send their messenger owl to perch on the housetop. They do not believe that the dead, as such, envy the living their life, and are therefore hostile unless the living show a penitential spirit. The dead are stern; they punish the wicked, but they are not hostile. The absence of really hostile feelings towards the dead, which we have noted already in connection with funerals, is shown in the celebration of the feast of All Souls (November 2). On this day, or rather on the preceding evening, the floors of all the houses are strewn with fresh pine needles and marigolds, a path of pine needles crosses the patio from the door of the sala to the street entrance. Bunches of marigolds are tied to the houseposts, and set in vases on the altar. Tall wax tapers burn all night. All day before the holy night the women are busy preparing food. It is the middle of the harvest season; all the delicacies of the table are prepared; chicken in pzliq sauce; tortillas, tamales and a special tamale of sweet corn which is made at no other time. Tomas brought me some of this; it tasted like the festive sweet pudding of the New Mexican pueblos. In the evening the food is set out in the sala, in front of the altar on one of the low tables that are used for festive meals. Chairs are set for the men, and thick square mats for the women. Then the ancestors of the house are invited to enter and eat. So the room is left all night. The door of the house and the gate to the street are left open, and tall wax tapers are left burning on the altar. During the night the dead are believed to return, each to his ancestral house, to partake of the food, and to be with their descendants at this happy festival. The ceremony is considered the end of the fiesta of All Saints, one of the largest, gayest, fullest fiestas of the year. The dead "come for the fiesta". Next morning the food is removed and eaten by all the inmates of the house, and gifts of food are exchanged between related families. Later in the day everyone visits the church to offer candles and flowers to the ancestors. Some people also visit the graves of their parents in the cemetery. Never, except on Good Friday, did I see the church so crowded. There were mountains of flowers, spilling out of the door and down the steps, a burning stream of candle light ran down the nave, from the altar to the door.12 12 For the description of this fiesta, as witnessed in 1930, see pp. 210ff. THE ANCESTORS 273 The same ceremony - the pine, the flowers, the food and the candles, the open door - only somewhat less spectacular, is performed on the day 8 kiej in the occult calendar. This is the Commemoration of the Dead, a "good" day, and, like the Commemoration of the Earth (Life) a happy festival.l In the Catholic ritual, All Souls' Day is a day of grief and penance. As on Good Friday, black vestments are used; the only Masses are Requiem Masses, at all the Dies Irae is sung; it is the only day of the year on which Communion is not given; the celebration of the Eucharist is not in keeping with the sorrowful character of the day. The day is a reminder of the Day of Judgment; the dead are mourned anew, and the living do penance for their sins, and offer candles and prayers on behalf of the souls in purgatory, to shorten their sufferings. A coffin draped in black is set in the aisle of the church to remind all men of the vanity of the flesh. In Latin countries morbid imagination devises gruesome displays. Nothing could be more different from the happy family reunion of the Indians.l4 Another piece of Catholic ritual that has been incorporated into the native cult of the dead is the "Response." The Response is a part of the Catholic burial service in which the priest and the mourners in turn pray for the soul of the deceased, that his sins may be forgiven. In Spain, this portion of the ceremony is removed from its context and recited on the way to the interment, and over candles offered on behalf of the dead. Among the Indians, when a man has any special request to make of his ancestors - whether it is their help he wants for some undertaking, or special protection from his enemies, or when some ominous portent indicates that his ancestors wish attention, he offers Responses to them. He brings candles to the church, two for each ancestor whose name he can remember, and lays them out at the place of the "common souls", two by two, with rose petals sprinkled among them, and one peso for each pair of candles. Then he sends for the priest who comes and sprinkles holy water on the candles, saying in Latin: "Manuel Ventura, soul in Purgatory, may your sins be forgiven and your soul rest in peace. Amen."15 Then the suppliant lights his candles and makes his request, separately to each of his ancestors. These candles blessed by the priest at the rate of one peso per )lessing are especially desirable and efficacious. 13 See full text p. 310. 14 The joyfulness of the Mexican celebration of Los muertos has often been noted, - the feasts on the graves, and the sugar-candy funerals to delight the children. 15 Full text of the Responses in connection with the accompanyng requests is given on pp. 344ff. 274 CHICHICASTENANGO The special offering to the ancestors is the little tallow candle costing two reales each (four for one peso). This is their food. These candles are sometimes accompanied by aguardiente, and always by rose petals, to give pleasure to the recipient. It is always offered to the dead, in return for expected favors. The incense offered to the dead is always of the estoraque variety, the kind that is burned in censers. Wax or paraffin candles and copal are never offered to the dead. In Catholic ritual the candle symbolizes the light of faith as opposed to the darkness of error. Offered to a saint it is earnest of the faith of the suppliant. If given on behalf of some dead relative, it shortens his days in purgatory. In the ancestor cult, the Indian has adopted the form of Catholicism, but with changed meaning. The Nagual Of all the forces that influence man's fate the most inaccessible and arbitrary is man's own soul. "The form and substance of his personality" is incorporated in some animal or sacred objects - some snake, or bird or wild beast that wanders in the forest, or some stone idol that is buried in the earth. This creature is his destiny (Q. ik'lal, from ik', moon).16 Ordinarily a man never meets his destiny animal; he does not even know what it is, although his fate is bound up with it. He hopes and prays that he may meet it in his work or travels; such encounters are lucky. The animal gives some sign, so that he may not shoot it. Sometimes it talks to him, calling him by name or otherwise indicating its supernatural and semi-human character. If a man meets any animal that manifests similar behavior, he knows it is a nagual and does not harm it, and on his return offers candles to his destiny. It is believed that if a man's destiny animal is shot in the woods the man will die in the same moment. To this cause are attributed sudden deaths without warning and many accidental deaths. If the nagual is wounded, the man feels acute pain in the corresponding part of the body. Miguel told the following story of an encounter with a nagual: One day while I was out hunting in the mountains I met a mountain lion. It was standing in front of me in the trail. It did not act like a mountain lion, 16 To this conception Brinton has given the term nagualism from nagual, the Nahuatl term for the destiny animal. The word nagual is used in Quiche for any object possessing supernatural potency - especially for the old stone idols. Brinton, Nagualism: a Study in Native American Folklore. THE DAYS 275 it was not frightened; it did not charge or run away, it just stood there inthe trail, looking at me. I should have known then that it was supernatural, but I did not think. I took my gun and shot it. When I returned to my house they were crying; my son, a little boy had died. He had been sick, but not very sick, just some childish sickness, and he had died quite suddenly at the very moment that I shot the lion. It was the destiny of my child that I had met in the mountains.17 The idea of the nagal has something in common with the widespread North American concept of the guardian spirit. The nagual is essentially friendly. The day aj, sacred to the destiny animal, is, along with 'e, the day above all others for asking favors. But, although friendly, it represents an utterly arbitrary and capricious destiny. The Days "There's a special Providence in the fall of a sparrow." Man is born of woman, and his life ends in the grave. But between these two fixed points no two lives are the same, no two individuals draw the same prizes in the vast lottery of the universe. As man plods along his path, great forces of which he is, for the most part, unaware prepare his fate. The weight of all the past leans upon the present moment, and the gravitation of universes is seen in the falling of a leaf. Destiny is not a will but a vast concatenation of forces; in the organization of the cosmos nothing is without significance; each blade of grass has its place and meaning. In the ordered flux no one thing is precisely the same as another thing, and no event runs precisely the same course as another. This concept of an immutable but infinitely varied destiny the Babylonians embodied in their astrology. In the stars, infinite and eternal, yet always appearing in different relationships, they saw symbols of the forces of destiny that ruled men's varying lives. The ancient peoples of Central America, probably first the Mayas, and after them others, saw in the same facts of life the operation of a mathematical principle, the principle of permutation, the infinite variety of results that can eventuate from the combination and recombination of a few basic forces. This mathematical concept of man's 17 The Chamula belief concerning the nagual is that the naguals all live on a mountain top in the hot country. They are under the charge of Lightning. He is their patron and they are his mozos and he sends them out to hunt for him. If one does not give candles to Lightning he becomes angry and sends one's nagual out to hunt, and he is exposed to danger. So long as they stay on the mountain top with Lightning they are safe. 276 CHICHICASTENANGO fate they embodied in a permutation system by which they ordered their lives and which early writers referred to as their "astrology." This fateful permutation system is in the form of a ritualistic calendar, the tonalamatl,l8 a cycle of 260 days formed by the permutation of twenty names and the numbers one to thirteen. These twenty names are the names of forces of destiny and of the days in which they are believed to rule. These were the names of the days of the month in the ancient Maya calendar.19 Quiche Tonalamatl20 bats 'e aj ix tsikiy ajmaq noj tijax kawak ajpu imux *q' aq'bal q'at qan kame kiej qanil t'oj t'si' 1 8 2 9 3 2 9 3 10 4 3 10 4 11 5 4 11 5 12 6 5 12 6 13 7 6 13 7 1 8 7 1 8 2 9 8 2 9 3 10 9 3 10 4 11 10 4 11 5 12 11 5 12 6 13 12 6 13 7 1 13 7 1 8 2 1 8 2 9 3 2 9 310 4 3 10 4 11 5 4 11 5 12 6 5 12 6 13 7 6 13 7 1 8 7 1 8 2 9 10 4 11 11 5 12 12 6 13 13 7 1 1 8 2 2 9 3 3 10 4 4 11 5 5 12 6 6 13 7 7 121 8 8 2 9 9 3 10 10 4 11 11 5 12 12 6 13 13 7 1 1 8 2 2 9 3 3 10 4 5 12 6 6 13 7 7 1 8 8 2 9 9 3 10 10 4 11 11 5 12 12 6 13 13 7 1 1 8 2 2 9 3 3 10 4 4 11 5 5 12 6 6 13 7 7 1 8 8 2 9 9 3 10 10 4 11 11 5 12 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 6 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 6 13 7 1 8 2 9 3 10 4 11 5 12 6 13 18 The Aztec designation of this unit of time has become current in ethnological literature. This is often translated "the book of the days." The contemporary designation in Chichicastenango is "the row of days." 19 The twenty-day month is still the unit of time in paris of Chiapas. 20 "Good days" (for ceremonies of commemoration) are shown in italics (8); "bad days" (for ceremonies of defense) are shown in boldface italics. The Quiche year bearers (at Momostenango, Chiquimula and other villages) are: 'e, noj, ~q', kiej. 21 1 imux begins the Maya tonalamatl. THE DAYS 277 This permutation system works very much like our named days of the week and numbered days of the month. In our calendar, if January first falls on Sunday, then January second will be Monday, the third Tuesday and so on. January eighth will be Sunday again, and so will the fifteenth, twenty-second and twenty-ninth. But February will not begin on Sunday but Wednesday, since the days of the week run on in endless cycles, regardless of the passage of the months. Now if our months were all of equal length - say thirty-one days like January - then it would be exactly seven months or 217 days before Sunday would again occupy first position in the monthly count. The Quiche tonalamatl is exactly the same in principle, except that their units of thirteen days although recognized as units - the early writers called them "weeks" - are unnamed. Whereas in our calendar the days of the month are numbered and the days of the week are named, in the ancient Maya calendar it was the positions in the shorter unit that were numbered, and the longer named. The calendar starts with 1 bats, and exactly 260 days must pass before the day bats again appears as the first day of the "week." This "book of the days" is used as it was used in the days of the ancient Mayas and Aztecs, for divination and magic and for settling the time for the performance of all ceremonies of personal religion. Each of these 260 days has a special character, determined by its two elements - the symbolism of the name and the symbolism of the number. For each of the twenty day names has reference to some phase of life or some religious concept. In some cases the occult meaning is suggested by the common meaning: bats, thread, suggests the idea of continuity; and t'si', dog, the idea of sexual impurity. But most of the day names have no such close associations: aj, reed, is the day of destiny; and ix, the name of the day of the commemoration of life forces, is related to no word of common speech. In these twenty sacred words are expressed all the basic forces of creation and destruction, good and evil, yielding and immutable, operating in the world, in society and in the heart of man. Upon the concatenation of these forces in individual lives depends the course of life and the destiny of the soul. Quiche List of Days bats, ("hilo," thread).22 Symbolic of continuity with the past, as embodied in ritual. "A good day, the day of the perpetuation of the ceremonies and 22 Schultze-Jena gives "great ape" as the meaning of the word. This is the meaning given at Momostenango. 8 bats is the great day of obligation at Momostenango, corresponding to 8 kiej at Chichicastenango. The day oc 278 CHICHICASTENANGO customs of our ancestors. Therefore, on the day 8 bats, we give thanks for whatever ceremonies we possess, especially those of the calendar. The day 7 bats is the day for making the communication for the ceremony of 8'e, the commemoration of our life and fortune." (The ceremony of 8 bats has been omitted from the texts). Although the days run in endless cycles, all the ancient calendars begin on the day 1 imux (Aztec 1 cipactli). However Quiche diviners all began with 1 bats, and the manuscripts of calendars that were shown me began with this day. 'e (diente, tooth).23 Symbolic of destiny as embodied in the name, i. e. the day of birth. "This is a good day, the day of one's personality and fortune. The days 8 'e24 qaj are days for giving thanks for that which one has, for one's occupation, if one is a lawyer, merchant, carpenter; for the ceremonies with which one has been entrusted. And also one gives thanks for one's possessions, house, land, money, animals. "If the divinations come out in 'e it is a good sign. It concerns one's personality. Perhaps one has neglected to give thanks for what one has, or else one has had disputes over what one owns, or quarrels over the division of inheritance. But one has only to ask pardon. If divinations come out in 'e, many times, and always the same, it may mean that one is not fulfilling one's destiny, that one is called to the profession of chuchqajau24. "8 'e is the day for the commemoration of one's life and fortune, for all people. On 7 'e one makes the communication for the ceremony of 8 aj, the ceremony to call one's fate." aj (cana, reed; also senor 6 dueno, lord or master).25 Symbolic of destiny as embodied in tha nagual. "Aj is the name of the day of one's destiny. This is general for all people. 8 aj is the day on which to establish one's destiny, to call it, and recognize it. For it is our belief that the fortune of a person is incarnated in some animal, some serpent, large or small; some flying creature, large or small, or some quadruped of the mountains, like coyote, deer, etc. Such is one's fate. Perhaps one may encounter the animal of one's fate in the mountains, perhaps not. The rite of 8 aj is to call one's fate that one may meet supernatural beings or the animal of one's good fortune in the course of one's work; and also to give thanks for one's destiny.26 "If divinations come out in aj, it may mean that one is sick because one's fate is calling one. One may have done no harm, nor, on the other hand given thanks to one's fate. In that case one must call one's fate with strong ceremronies. This is the ceremony of the day 8 aj. 7 aj is the day forthe communication for the ceremony of 8 ix." cupying the corresponding position in the Nahuatl calendar is ocomatli, ape, dedicated to the god Xochipilli, god of flowers, (Sahagun, Book IV). 23 Schultze-Jena claims there is a difference in pronunciation; informants gave this folk etymology. The related day in Nahuatl calendar is malinalli, "twisted", dedicated to Patecatl, the pulque god. 24 Ceremony on 8 'e is given on pp. 306 If. 25 Schultze-Jena gives "unripe corn" as the derivation of the word. The day in same position in the Nahuatl calendar is acatl, reed, dedicated to Tezcatlipoca, God of Life and Destiny, one of the Nahuatl year bearers. 26 For ceremonies for the invocation of the destiny animal see pp. 317ff. THE DAYS 279 ix (no etymology given).27 Symbolic of the creative forces of theuniverse as embodied in the concept of the earth (mundo). "Ix is the name of the commemoration of the world. The days 8 ix, 9 tsiEiv are days in which all people give thanks for their lodging in this world, for land which one has acquired either by inheritance or by purchase, and to give thanks to the former owners of the land. "If divinations come out in ix and tsikiV it is a good sign; it is a question of land; perhaps one has not given thanks for one's lodging, or perhaps the land has not been paid for, or there has been quarrelling over land, or an unfair division of inheritance between brothers."28 tsikip (pdjaro, bird).29 Symbolic of good luck in material affairs. (Perhaps the use of feathers in early days symbolized this?) "Tsikiv is the name of good luck in money. The word also means bird, a good day. The days 8 ix, 9 tsikip are days to give thanks for one's lodging in the world, and the days 7 ix, 8 tikio are days to give thanks and to ask for good fortune in money.30 "If divinations come out in tsikiV it is a good sign. It is a matter of land and money." ajmaq (perd6n, pardon).31 A day without clearly defined character, but essentially symbolic of moral forces as embodied in penitential rituals. "Ajmaq is not a bad day, or only partly bad. It is a day to ask for forgiveness of sins. The days 7 tsikip, 8 axmaq, 9 noj are the days in which to pray for protection, for from these days evil may come to one for his sins or his evil thoughts. When one loses money one prays on these days that it may not happen again, for the loss has some meaning. This is the meaning of these days."32 noj (modo 6 pensimiento de uno, one's thoughts or habits).33 Symbolic of ambivalent moral forces in the human mind. "This is the name of our thoughts or manner or customary mode of behavior. The day 8 noj is the day to ask for good thoughts. Noj is a day on which to ask protection against evil thoughts, for one may have evil thoughts about someone, and, on the other hand, others may have evil thoughts, envious thoughts about one. This is the meaning of the day noj."34 27 Schultze-Jena: "Sacred designation for the God of the Earth." The corresponding day in the Aztec calendar is oceotl, jaguar, dedicated to the Tlacateotl, the Earth God. 28 The ceremony of thanks for the land has been omitted. 29 Schultze-Jena: "bird." The Aztec correlate is Quauhtli, eagle, dedicated to Xipe Totec, god of fertility. 30 The ceremony for good fortune in money has been omitted since it is of little interest. 31 Schultze-Jena: "a flying insect," associated with the souls of the dead. The Aztec correlate is cozcaquanhtlia, vulture, dedicated to Itzapapolotl, the Obsidian butterfly. 32 For the ceremony of 7 tsikiV, 8 axmaq, see p. 311. 33 Schultze-Jena: no derivation given. "A bad day... connected with sorcery." The Aztec correlate is olin, motion, dedicated to Xolotl, god of twins. 34 See pp. 315 /. for the ceremonies of the day noj. 280 CHICHICASTENANGO tijax.35 "The day of quarrels and evil words. The day 8 tijax is a good day to confess sins, especially quarrels with one's wife or relatives, and, above all, with one's parents." (The day tijax has no special character, and is rarely the occasion for performance of ceremonies.) kawaq.36 Symbolic of evil embodied in the malice of the dead."This is a bad day. It is no day for giving thanks or for requests or defenses. It is an unfavorable day, a violent day. If divinations come out in 8 kawaq in the case of sickness, then it means that one will pass a bad life, or else it means that some relative or enemy with whom one has quarrelled and who since has died is punishing the victim from the other life because of the quarrel which they have had. In that case one must ask those who have already passed into the other life to adjust this quarrel."37 ajpu.38 Symbolic of the punitive power of the ancestors, embodied in their ownership of house and hearth. "Name of the day of commemoration of houses. If, for example, I wish to erect a house it is necessary before beginning the work to make offerings to the World, and for this one waits for the day ajpu, and also to give thanks. It is also a day to work evil against an enemy in his house. One calls evil in his house, according to the wrong he has done. "If divinations come out in ajpu it indicates something wrong within the house, unpleasantness with the woman, or quarrels between brothers over inheritance, or perhaps failure to give thanks to the deceased owners of the house. Or it may mean that some enemy has sent evil into the house."39 imux (cosa occulta, something mysterious).40 Symbolic of the hidden forces in the universe made manifest in insanity. "Imux is the name of all secret or hidden things. In general it is a bad day, a dangerous day. But if one does not have evil thoughts, and if one's personality is open and candid, then it is not a bad day but a day for hope. "If divinations come out in 7 ajpu, 8 imux, 9 iq', it is a question of failure or confusion in regard to the idols on one's house. One may not have given thanks, or one may have quarrelled or fought in the presence of the idols." iq' (idolo, idol).41 Symbolic of the destructive forces of the universe embodied in the stone idols. "This is a bad day, a dangerous day. This is the day 35 Schultze-Jena: "Possibly related to root meaning 'to bite.' A bad day." The Aztec correlats is the year Bearer Tecpatl, flint, dedicated to Chalchiutotolin, turkey. 36 Schultze-Jena gives no derivation. He lists it as a good day for journeys. The Aztec correlate is Quiautl (rain), dedicated to Tonatiuh (the sun). 37 For ceremonies relating to the day 8 kawaq see pp. 352ff. 38 Schultze-Jena points to the derivation from Xun Ajpu, god of the underworld and hero of the Popol Buj. In Momostenango it is associated directly with death and the dead. In the same position in the Aztec calendar is Xochitl, flower, dedicated to Xochiquetzal, god of flowers. 39 See p. 37 for ceremonies of housebuilding in the day ajpu. 40 The Aztec correlate, the beginning of the calendar cycle, is Cipactli, crocodile, dedicated to Tonatecutli, god of life. 41 In all neighboring dialects 'q' is the word for the strong wind. InChimaltenango years in which iq' is year bearer are bad crop years: "because of the wind." It is common folk belief that sickness, too, may be caused by wind. THE DAYS 281 that is sacred to the idols. I, for example, have idols in my house. When this day comes I honor them by performing a rite in my house. This is done in the evening, with a little incense, aguardiente, roses and pine needles and two candles of five pesos each which will burn all night. "If divinations come out in fq' it is a sign of sin before idols. Divinations in fq' and aq'bal signify slanders, perhaps on the part of an enemy, before idols. Painful swellings, and cancer are attributed to this day." aq'bal (oscuridad, darkness, night).42 Symbolic of the evil in the hearts of men. "Aq'bal is a bad day, the day of slanderers. 8 aq'bal is a day to ask protection against slanderers, if one wishes no evil. But the 'strong' day, 12 or 13 aq'bal are days for working evil against others; for asking justice before the Lords of Justice that enemies may be punished for their slanders and calumnies. "If divinations come out in aq'bal it is bad; it means that some enemy is working sorcery against one. Then one must defend one'sself with strong ceremonies." qat (no derivation given).43 Symbolic of evil in general."This is a bad day. The days 7 aq'bal, 8 qat,4 are bad days, cruel days, days of slanderers. On these days one can pray for protection against the envy of others, and ask forgiveness of our Lord Christ.44 "If divinations come out in the days aq'bal and qat it is bad." qan (qamats, culebra, serpent).4 Symbolizes the arbitrary cruelty of the universe. "This is a cruel day, the day that brings sickness. If divinations come out in the day qan it is a bad sign." kame (muerto, death).46 Symbolic of the ultimate dissolution of all things, good and evil, in death. "The day above all others for forgiveness, for asking pardon for all kinds of things. If one has stolen one asks pardon; if onewishes to sell something, one asks pardon; if one wishes to plant one asks pardon, if Schultze-Jena: "Stone idol." He describes it as a "good" day. Corresponding position in the Nahuatl calendar is Zecatl, wind, dedicated to Quetzalcoatl. For the ceremony of 8 iq', see p. 341. 42 Schultze-Jena gives no derivation. In the same position in the Aztec calendar is calli, house, dedicated to Tepeyolatl, "the Heart of the Earth" and Tlacolteatl, the Earth Goddess. Ceremonies relating to sickness and death, when divinations are in Aq' and aq'bal, are given on pp. 347ff. For ceremonies for 8 aq'bal, see p. 346. For sorcery of 13 aq'bal, see p. 376. 43 Schultze-Jena: from katik, to burn, a bad day. The day occupying this place in the Nahuatl calendar is cuetzpalin, lizard, dedicated to Huehuecoyotl, the dance god. 44 The ceremony for 7 aq'bal, 8 qat is ommitted from the texts. 45 Schultze-Jena: Poisonous snake. The day occupying this position in the Nahuatl calendar is coatli, serpent, dedicated to Chalchuhtlique, goddess of flowing water. No ceremonies for the day qan were given me. 46 Schultze-Jena: from ckam, to die. Good day except in sickness. The corresponding day in the Nahuatl calendar is mizcuintZi, death, dedicated to Teciztecatl, the moon. See pp. 342, 343 for the two ceremonies for the day 8 kame. kame is the day for performing the invocation for the ceremony of the day kiej, the commemoration of the dead. 282 CHICHICASTENANGO one has killed, one asks pardon. It is the day to ask pardon for all the evil deeds which one has committed. "If divinations come out in kame it is another thing. This is a good day; a pardonable day. Therefore it is a good sign, not a bad one, for it means that one's evil deeds will be forgiven and the sickness will pass. Then one performs the ceremony of 8 kamd to ask general pardon. It does not cost much. "There is another custom for the day kame. If an owl perches on the roof of the house we believe that it has been sent by our dead fathers and grandfathers. It is an evil omen, and so one gives Responses or a Mass for the dead. For the Responses for the dead to avert this evil, we seek the day kame', for the communication, and a second ceremony in the day kiej." kiej (venado, deer).47 Symbolizes the transfiguration and fulfillment in death, as embodied in the ancestral cult. "This is a good day, the day above all others for asking favors. The day 8 kiej is the great day, the day of the commemoration of the dead.48 It is the day for giving thanks to the ancestors for all that one has from them, for one's possessions, and especially for ceremonies which come from ancient time. I, for example, have my sacred bundle. On the day, 8 kiej I give thanks for this, and ask that I may have many clients. kiej is the day for performing all the ceremonies of initiation into the arts of divination and magic. 7 kiej is the day for performing the invocation for the ceremony of the day 8 qanil, the commemoration of the fertility of the earth." qanil (milpa, cornfield).49 Symbolic of the regeneration of the earth, of rebirth after, death, as exemplified in the growth of corn. "Qanil is the day of the milpa, a good day. It is a day to give thanks for one's siembres, for harvest and planting. After the harvest one waits for the day qanil, either 2 or 3 qanil, to give thanks. And likewise after planting. This is optional. But it is obligatory for all people to give thanks for their food and their land on the day 8 qanil. And each year one does this, until one dies." t'oj (enfermedad, sickness).50 Symbolizes the suffering which is caused by sin. "This is a bad day, a day of sickness. On the day t'oj one burs incense in the house for the Lord of Sickness. T'oj is also a day for calling sickness to punish an enemy. If divination comes out in 7 qanil, 8 toj, 9 ts'i' it is bad These are bad days. The content of qanil is corn, or the milpa, toj' is sickness, ts'i', 'dog,' some shameless act. When one has a sickness of the body that is like a worm eating the flesh, we call this xu jut qanil, which is a worm that is found sometimes in the milpa. When this worm gets into the body and eats 47 Schultze-Jena: "deer, horse", good day. The corresponding day in the Nahuatl calendar is mazatl, deer, dedicated to Tlaloc, god of rain. In the pueblos of New Mexico, the deer is sometimes associated with the souls of the dead, the masked gods, and rain. 48 For the ceremony of the commemoration of the dead, see p. 310. 49 Schultze-Jena: corn, from kan, yellow. The corresponding day in the Aztec calendar is tochtli, rabbit, dedicated to Mayewel, god of the Maguey. The ceremony for the day 8 q'anil is given in the section on agriculture, p. 55. 60 Schultze-Jena: "suffering, punishment." Corresponding day in Nahuatl calendar, atl, water dedicated to Ciuchtecutli, god of fire. Ceremony for sorcery performed in the day t'oj given on pp. 366 ff. THE DAYS 283 at the flesh then it is because of these days. For this sickness comes from stealing corn, or else it may be due to sorcery, for they are days of sorcery also. For instance, if a man finds that his milpa has been robbed he goes to his milpa at midnight, breaks off an ear of corn and places a candle between the two halves, and asks San Jacinto and San Augustin, the patrons of the milpa, to punish the robber, and he calls the days 7 qanil, 8 t'oj, 9 ts'i' to punish him. Then after a time the man who has stolen the corn will suffer from this disease, which is like cancer and ulcers. This is the meaning of these days." t'si' (chucho, dog). 51 This symbolizes sin, especially sexual impurity. "t'si', 'dog,' a bad day, the worst of all. The day of shameless and beastly actions (especially sexual). This is the meaning of t'si' in the divinations. There are no ceremonies for this day, because it is evil. But if one wishes to ask forgiveness for one's evil acts, one asks it on the next day (9 bats). "If divinations in sickness come out in t'si, it is a question of one's evil deeds. For if one is sick for a long time and does not get well, the belief is that until one has confessed to his wife his sins he will not get well. This is the meaning of the days 8 t'oj, 9 t'si'." The days derive further meaning from the sequence in which they occur in the calendar. There is special significance, for instance, in the fact that the day imux, the day that symbolizes hidden forces in the universe, is preceded by ajpu, the day of the household deities, and followed by iq' the day of idols. This is especially evident in divination for it is always two consecutive days that occupy key positions. Therefore it is crucial whether these key days are ajpu-imux or imux-iq', and the meaning of imux itself is colored by its position in this sequence. Moreover, numbers have meaning. The low numbers 1, 2, and 3 are "gentle." These are days for giving thanks, asking favors. The high numbers 11, 12, and 13 are "violent." These are days for "strong ceremonies," of defense, vengeance and evil sorcery. The middle days, 7, 8, and 9 are "indifferent," neither gentle nor violent, the days of measured strength. It is on these middle days that the regularly recurring ceremonies to ensure tranquil life are performed, the ceremonies which the natives designate ceremonies of "commemoration" to distinguish them from ceremonies relating to personal crisis. The cycle of 260 days is divided into twenty periods of thirteen days, each beginning with the numeral one and a day of a different name. This was the arrangement in the calendar records shown by diviners in Chichicastenango. This is the most common arrangement 51 Schultze-Jena, "dog," a bad day. The corresponding day in the Aztec calendar is Itzciuntli, dog, dedicated to Mictlantecutli, god of death and the underworld. 284 CHICHICASTENANGO of the tonalamatl in the Aztec and Mixtec codices, and the division followed by Sahagun in his discussion of Aztec "necromancy."52 In each of these periods the number eight recurs, each time with a different name. These are the important days in the Quiche system. Why eight, no one could say. Except that it is a "middle" number. The seventh day is the middle day of each period, the day on which ordinarily the communication for the ceremony of the following day is performed, and the character of this day contributes to the total character of the ceremony. Ceremonial Days in the Quiche Calendar 7 noj, 8 tijax [1 bats]53 8 bats, 9 "e [1 q'at ] 7 aq'bal, 8 q'at, 9 qan [1 noj] 7 ajmaq, 8 noj [1 tsi'] 7 t'oj, 8 tsi' [1 aq'bal] 7 iq', 8 aq'bal, 9 q'atS [1 ajmaq] 7 tsikiq, 8 ajmaq [1 t'oj] 7 qanil, 8 t'oj, 9 t'si' [1 q')] 7 imux, 8 iq', 9 aq'bal [1 tsikig] 6 aj, 7 ix, 8 tsikiy [1 qanil] 7 kiej, 8 qanil [1 imux] 7 ajpu, 8 imux, 9 iq' [1 ix] 7 aj, 8 ix [1 kiej] 7 kame, 8 kiej [1 ajpu] 7 qawaq, 9 imux [1 aj] General pardon. Good days. "Commemoration of the calendar." Bad days. Days of sorcery. Bad days. Pardon for evil thoughts. Bad days. No ceremonies. Bad days. Defense against sorcery. Bad days. Pardon for covetousness. Bad days. Pardon for sexual sins. Bad days. Defense against destruction. Good days. Thanksgiving for wealth. Good days. Thanksgiving for crops, "Celebration of the milpa." Bad days. Defense against occult powers. Good days. General thanksgiving, "Commemoration of the earth." Good days. "Commemoration of the dead." Bad days. General pardon. 52 Sahagun, Historia de Ias cosas de nueva Espana, Book 4. 53 First day of the period in which this day occurs. There is a striking correspondence between the character of the great days that dominate these periods and the fortune attributed to the "houses" occupying the corresponding position in the Aztec tonalamatl, as expounded by Sahagun. THE DAYS 285 7 'e, 8 aj, 9 ix [1 kame] Good days. "Invocation of Destiny." 7 qan, 8 kame, 9 kiej [1 qawaq] Good days. General pardon. 8 qawaq, 9 ajpu [1 'e] Bad days. Pardon of ancestors. 7 bats, 8 'e, 9 aj [1 qan] Good days. "Celebration of life." 7 qat, 8 qan, 9 kame [1 tijax] Bad days. Defense from sorcery. Not everyone performs all of these ceremonies each year; according to the events and fortunes in his life he will, on appropriate days give thanks for his possessions, ask for good fortune in money, confess his sins, defend himself from sorcery. But certain "good days" are days of obligation for all people, regardless of individual circumstances. The important days of obligation are: 8 kiej The commemoration of the dead. 8 ix The commemoration of the earth. 8 'e The commemoration of personal life. 8 qanil The celebration of the milpa. 8 aj The invocation of the destiny animal. 8 bats, (for diviners) The commemoration of the calendar. On these days of obligation each person, by which is meant each J head of a family, makes suitable offerings of candles, incense, etc., at some mountain shrine and at the church. If, for any reason, he cannot make his offering on the appointed day, he will make it on the following Thursday or Sunday, or twenty days later, when the same day name recurs in the occult calendar, specifying that the offering is for the day 8 kiej, or 8 ix. The more important of these days are equated with certain days - in the Catholic calendar, to which are attributed the same character, and which are celebrated with similar rites. The Christian equivalent of 8 ix, the Commemoration of the Earth, is May 3, the Exaltation of the Cross; the feast of All Souls, November 2, is equivalent to 8 kiej; Corpus Christi to 8 q'anil; the feast of San Juan Bautista (June 24, Midsummer night) to 8 'e, (San Juan is the patron of person's name and fortune); the feast of San Pedro, patron of divination, is equivalent to 8 bats. To understand the precise meaning of the days it is necessary to clarify certain identifications in the language and thought of the Quich6s. The word k'ix means, "sun light, day." It also means "name." In ancient times, individuals received as personal names the 286 CHICHICASTENANGO names of the days of their birth.5 When Tomas says, "Tsikiy is the name of good fortune in money," he is saying also "Tsikiv is the day of good fortune in money." A child born on the day tsikiy would receive that sacred word as his name, this would be his "light (name) and destiny," and the forces dominating this day, of which the word tsikiv was the name, would dominate his life. Such a child born on the day of good fortune in money, would presumably be lucky in affairs relating to money. All this would be expressed in his name. On the other hand, a child born on a day of ill omen, such as tsi', will, presumably have a bad life. To counteract, in some measure, the evil influences dominant at his birth, his father will wait for some more auspicious day to perform the ceremony in which he introduces his son to his ancestors, and establishes his continuity with the past. In the same way a man about to build a house, or start on a journey, waits to begin for a day favorable to such an enterprise, or if this is impractical, performs the init'atory ceremonies on suitable days. But because the day names are less names of periods of time than names of occult forces that dominate certain time periods, a magician can invoke the days, or, to speak more accurately, the names of the forces of destiny, exactly as he invokes the forces of nature, the spirits of the mountains or the saints. He can call upon them to be present, to accept his offering, and to lend aid to his undertaking. It is especially in ceremonies of sorcery that the names of the forces of destiny are invoked. Divination Since the names of the days are also the names of the forces of destiny, in these twenty words are contained all the answers to all the questions which man can ask concerning his fate. As the ancient astrologers could read the future in the conjunction of planets, so the Quiche diviner can explain the present and foretell the future in the 54 "But as to the time - the day and hour (of their sacrifices) they did not dare to choose except by consultation with those who were delegated by them to determine these things. For this they had their years and months and days, and two types of years, a short and a long year. The short year was of 13 times 20 days, and each twenty days made a month; and the long year contained eighteen twenties, and this was their manner of counting and dividing time. Every twenty days had its name, as our months are named, and each day had its name, and was dedicated to the idol which they believed ruled over that day, and ordinarily they gave their sons the name of the day on which they were born," (Las Casas, Apolog4tica Historia, p. 465). DIVINATION 287 juxtaposition of forces operative at any moment of time, and these combining forces can be no other than those that rule the days. The technique of divination is learned by the chuchqajau at the time of his initiation. Although the art of divination requires occult powers, the actual technique is simple. It consists in remembering the days of the calendar with their occult meanings, and being able to call them off in order and read from their juxtaposition the meaning of events. The diviner's kit is called in Spanish la vara65 and in Quich6 vara-punta ("pointed stick"). It is also called pilei t'sitei "seeds of pito", and chaqpatdn, "work-custom." It consists of one hundred red seeds of the maguey, with one or more small antique carved stones, (iq') of the type commonly found by the hundreds in the highland ruins, or a quartz crystal, wrapped together in a small red cloth. If at any time a man finds such a stone, he adds it to his bundle. The diviner receives this article as a gift from his sponsor at his initiation. It is kept on the household altar, and handled with great care. Candles are offered to the bundle on suitable days, and the contents are washed periodically with aguardiente.56 When the diviner wishes to consult the oracle, either for his own enlightenment, or on behalf of a client, he opens the bundle, lays out the stones which it contains, takes in his right hand a handful of seeds, and, still holding them, pronounces a short invocation: "Hail, Our Father, Christ, who is in heaven, and also Our Father, Christ, who is in Calvario, and also our first mothers and fathers who came before the altars, the masters of the pointed stick, the masters of the seeds of the pito, the masters of divination by corn and by blood,57 come hither! Perhaps it is one or two hours since our father paused above to look at us upon this world. Come hither also the day inscribed and dedicated to our father, San Sebastian Martin (i. e. Martes, Tuesday). Let me make my intrusions and annoyances; let me invoke their names and faces, lords. It is I who ask leave to speak one word, two words before my sacred bundle. Let not my face be veiled. I ask the clear truth that I can understand. Yes, My Father Christ, come hither, and also you, lords, come hither. Only lend me the blessing of your right and left hands. But there is nothing I can give you, only the jun kalamld... and the jun quqau tciqax..." 55 See pp. 167, 168 for discussion of this word in other uses. 56 See p. 335. It is said that the varas of the alcaldes are washed in aguardiente each year. In Chamula, Chiapas, this ceremony is performed on Christmas Eve. "7 Divination by throwing the corn is a common Mexican technique. I have never seen it used in Chichicastenango, but it may be used by those who are not accredited diviners by the calendar. "Divination by blood" refers to the belief that the message is communicated through the blood of the diviner. See below. 288 CHICHICASTENANGO The diviner then asks his question. If it is a question that requires simply a "yes" or "no" answer, he lays out the seeds in his hand in groups of four, (the remaining seeds have been set to one side). If they come out even, the answer is affirmative, if two remain over it is doubtful, if one or three remain, it is negative. He reunites all the seeds, again takes a handful, repeats the question and lays them out. He repeats this four times. If the answers are doubtful, he rephrases the question, until some definite answer is obtained. The kind of questions that can be answered by this means are: "Who is it?" (If a previous divination has revealed the presence of an enemy.) The question is asked in the name of the person; "Is it-? Seep. 352.). "Is this day favorable for starting an undertaking, a ceremony, etc.?" Question asked in the name of the day, "Will you receive us on the day- -?" (See p. 397.) "Where shall I make my offering?" Question asked in the name of a mountain. "Am I the person to do this?" "Is it my child's destiny to marry this man?" Question asked in the name of the man. The more complex divinations are the kind that involve the use of the day names as destiny words, the question being "What is the meaning of this sickness, loss, omen?"58 The diviner again takes a handful of seeds and lays them out in groups of four, but in a regular pattern. The first row always contains six groups, laid down from left to right. Below the sixth is placed a seventh group, and then the balance laid out in a row from right to left, and, if necessary on a third row in the center. As the diviner lays out the seeds, or after they are all laid out, he calls off the names of the days of the calendar in sequence, starting at some fixed point chosen for its relevance to the particular situation. Sometimes the counting starts with the first, sometimes with the last, but I could get no explanation of when the one way of counting is used or when the other. I suspect the diviner tries one first and if nothing is revealed tries the other. The crucial points are, the first, sixth, seventh and last places. It is irrelevant how many occur between. The following sample divinations taken from the texts or performed in my presence show more clearly than any explanation, the method used. 1. Question: "What is the meaning of this sickness?" Asked in the name of the day 6 noj, the day the patient became sick. Interpretation: "The key 58 Complete expositions of both types of divination are contained in the text of the ceremony which Manuel performed at the termination of our work, to ensure my safe homecoming. See pp. 397ff. DIVINATION 289., e. t3 a.1 t> t: Iru 00 0 r- 1 words are iq, aq'bal, qan, all bad days. In connection with noj ("thought," "act") it indicates some evil act, and also an enemy, a quarrel. The patient has had a quarrel, and his enemy is working against him." 2. Question: "What is wrong with our patient that he has become worse in spite of all our efforts?" Question asked in the day 10 qanil, the day on which he became worse. Interpretation: "It comes out in 9 ajpu, 10 imux, that is not so bad. Moreover the middle days (2 aj, 3 ix) are good days. Comparing these with 10 qanil, 11 t'oj, there is nothing in any of these words to indicate an enemy. Rather the fault is in the patient. It indicates that in his house (ajpu) he has done something secretly (imux) concerning corn (qanil), and this sickness (t'oj) is a punishment from God. Perhaps he has sold corn that belonged to his father." -9 - r.'.. M t 0 1-1 ~0 ~cc - r^.teC *4 PO.3 o r s.I I. P4 Ileh ~, PY 0. I 4 V O, 9.,t o.0 Q 1k 1. 3. Question: "World, why will you not receive our offering?" Question asked in the day ix, the name of the earth, and in 9, the neutral number. In this case the count was from the last (remainder of 1) to the first and back again to the last. Interpretation: "It ends in t'si', a bad day, a day of sin. Since there is no question of sickness we do not consider toj. The other important days are zq an aq'bal and qat, the days of quarrels and intrigues, and of the idols. This is simple: it means we have carried out our intrigues (aq'bal) before the idols, like dogs, without payment or gratitude."59 59 In our work on the calendar, Manuel had not made the customary offerings to the World, as the work progressed. - 0 0 -. 0 -o - 0 - -- 10 A rr tt 290 CHICHICASTENANGO 01 -) I M C14 1 - *s.. 4. Question: "What is the meaning of r this sickness?" Question asked in the name of the day aj, "because that is the form and substance of our personality" and in the number 9 because that is a neutral number. In this case the count began with the last seeds, possibly because that was an h$. odd number (3). Interpretation: "The cruci- o al points are the last (2 'e) and the middle ' ones (9 kame, 10 kiej). It is a matter of his::. personality. There is nothing to indicate an - enemy or quarrels, merely that he has not fulfilled his destiny. The interpretation is, he has refused to receive some sacred office from the ancestors." — i ".. '4 ~ N E I (Z t 11 4. ~14 9 ~. - C, 2 P., I c1 a It is evident that the technique of divination is no rule of thumb method, but is susceptible of considerable manipulation in the hands of the operator. The question must be asked four times, and yield the same result. Naturally the seeds will never lie in exactly the same formation; but the first and sixth places will be the same, and the final place will vary within a fairly narrow range, and the grouping of the days of the calendar is such that related ideas occupy contiguous places. Then there is the question of whether to consider the last two days or the last day only, and whether to begin the count with the first group of seeds laid down or the last. The diviner feels his way about among these various possibilities, watching the response of the patient, and taking up any clues he may give. The belief is that when he gets the right answer this is announced by a tingling sensation in the forearms, which is said to be located in the veins, and to be the voice of the blood - the divination by blood, which is spoken of in the rituals.60 60 In Chiapas, "divination by blood" is practised without the bridge of the destiny words. Here the practitioner holds both wrists of the patient, his fingers on the pulse and in silence listens for the declaration of the blood. DIVINATION 291 Diviners said that it was "easy" to lay out the seeds and call off the names of the days, and suggest possible interpretations, but that it was "hard" to know which of these possible interpretations was the right one. For this one needs special gifts of a supernatural character. "Divination by blood" is not learned along with the use of the calendar, at the time of initiation. It is a direct gift from the ancestors or, rather, a charge laid upon one by the ancestors.61 Therefore, although everyone knows the calendar, and can use it for the performance of simple ceremonies, only initiated chuchqajaus can practise divination. The distinction between the technique, which is learned, and the power, which is given, is very similar to the distinction between the possession and effective use of knowledge in the New Mexican pueblos. There, although everyone "knows" only initiates "know how". If the first trials yield no result, or no result that appears to the diviner to be valid, the question is rephrased and asked in the name of another day, and the whole layout of the destiny words will be different. If repeated attempts give no result, the diviner admits that he is baffled, "It is not my fate to take this case," and sends the patient to another diviner. Also, the patient will consult another diviner if the answer is not to his liking, or involves him in great expense, just as in our own culture a patient will get another opinion before submitting to surgery. When the diviner feels that the seeds have spoken, he questions the patient. "I see in the vara an enemy. Have you ever had a quarrel?" or, "I see sin committed in the house. Have you ever done anything wrong in the house, perhaps stolen corn?" Everyone has at one time or another had a quarrel with someone. It need not be a serious quarrel or a recent one. If the antagonist has died meanwhile, it is that much worse. He has better opportunity to take drastic revenge. And everyone has some pecadillo "committed in the house" or "in the streets" or "before the idols." Everyone has some relative, a parent or wife or brother, who at one time or another has felt badly When this was practised on me the answer of the blood was, "This sickness comes from the sadness of the heart (perhaps you are homesick?) But you will come safely to your home and your people." On another occasion (when I was not sick) "You have a great deal of money. Your blood says you are planning to give some of it to your friends in Chamula who are poor." When the same practitioner divined the cause of sickness of one of her children the blood said, "There is an enemy. This sickness does not come from far off, but from one who is near by." This she interpreted as being sorcery by her brother with whom she had a quarrel of long standing. 61 See Initiation of a Diviner, pp. 320/f. 292 CHICHICASTENANGO treated. The diviner inquires into all the possible sources of guilt or anxiety or misfortune. These are the causes of sickness, and it is these things that he treats, rather than symptoms.62 For the feeling is that unless these causes are removed the symptoms will not disappear, despite medication. The findings determine the kind of ceremony that is recommended - commemorative ceremonies for negligence, confession and penance for sin, defenses against envy and sorcery. There are "strong ceremonies" of defense if the prognosis is bad. The prognosis will depend on whether "good" or "bad" days occupy key positions, and on whether they have high or low numbers. If all or most of the key positions are occupied by bad days, and if moreover the final day carries a high number, the prognosis is bad. If, on the other hand, the final word is a "good" day like 'e, aj, ix, and carries a low number, the prognosis is good, and a simple ceremony will set things right. The prognosis is read chiefly from the final word. If one good day with a low number appears in any key position the case, although serious, is not considered hopeless. Sin and Penance "If a man is sick for a long time and does not get well, in spite of taking many remedies, the belief is that until he has confessed all his sins, he will not get well." In such a case divinations will indicate sin, and the kind of sin, whether "in the streets," i. e., sexual (tsi'); "in the house," against the parents and ancestors (ajpu); "before the idols," i. e., sins of violence (iq); or "in the mind," usually envy or pride (noj). For each of these sins there are penitential rites that will avert punishment. Some misfortunes, especially certain kinds of sickness, like cancer, arthritis and influenza, may come "from the idols;" (divinations reveal the word iq' in some key position). But most sickness comes from the ancestors, acting either on their own initiative or at the behest of someone who is asking "justice" against an opponent who he believes has wronged him. Sinfulness leaves an individual completely exposed to the vindictiveness of any enemy. For this reason the religion of the Quiches abounds in penitential rites. Some are general, some are specific, and include auricular confession and corporal punishment. Some of them are to avert possible difficulty, some to cure sickness that is already upon one, some are to 62 Symptoms are treated, but not by diviners. See pp. 143 ff. on sickness and its treatment. SIN AND PENANCE 293 pave the way for "strong ceremonies" that are fraught with danger. General penance requires no occasion, and involves no specific confessions. A man goes, accompanied by his wife, for in Quich6 ideology punishment may fall upon either. Either spouse may be under the shadow of the other's sin. The offerings are simple, candles, incense, flowers. These are taken to Christ in Calvario, and to other Saints, especially San Juan ("our name and fortune") and "Santa Esper" the "married Saints."63 For although it is the ancestors who send punishment, it is Christ who intercedes for sinners. The content of the prayers is for the forgiveness of past sins, and deliverance from future ones. Pride and greed, (which cause envy and reprisals), and violence (which is punished) are especially stressed. Friday and Saturday are the favorite days for penitential rites. The existence of confession and penance in similar form in preColumbian days is well documented. This is not simply a Christian ceremony that has been taken over bodily and incorporated into a different system of thought. When a man is sick, and divinations reveal sin, the ritual for release is more complex. It is in such cases that auricular confession is required. If the patient has consulted a chuchqajau, he confesses to him, but not in the diviner's house, where the divinations are performed, but in his own, in the presence of his wife and parents, since it is assumed that it is they whom he has wronged, and he asks them to forgive him. The chuchqajau urges that he be forgiven, "You will not let him die for this..." The attitude of relatives to a penitent have been discussed above. If the practitioner feels in a disciplinary mood, orifthe injured parents ask it, the patient is whipped, and the switches are left with candles and incense in some mountain shrine. The chuchqajau makes this offering, repeating the patient's confession. Later, the patient may perform his own ceremony in Calvario, making more explicit confessions. Although externally auricular confession and absolution look Catholic, they are predicated upon quite different premises. Penance in the Catholic church serves in the main two functions; in the first place, by ridding the soul of its burden of sin one achieves a state of grace, in which it is possible to partake of the benefits of the Sacraments; and, in the second place, by doing penance in this world one is assured of redemption in the next world. The Quich6 rite is oriented definitely in the here and now - to cure a present tangible misfortune. They do not really believe in a future life of rewards and punishments 83 Seep. 171. 64 Pp. 125ff. 294 CHICHICASTENANGO - their future life is a continuation of the present. When a Maxefio under the spur of sickness confesses, he does not make a clean breast of all his sins, but he confesses specific acts, in answer to leading questions, and only so much as he thinks relevant and not too complicating. For sickness is not the punishment of sinfulness as such but of some specific evil deed. Therefore in a protracted illness different confessions of the most varied kinds succeed one another. But the most fundamental difference is that sin is not punished because it is sin, but because someone who thinks he has been wronged has complained. The ancestors do not act until they are petitioned within the house. It is not necessary to lodge a formal complaint, with candles and incense, as described in the formal rituals of "asking for justice." Every house contains some sacred object; the very walls have ears. If a man beats his wife until she cries, the guardians of the house know it. If a father scolds his son, the ancestors know that he feels aggrieved. Therefore quarrels in the house assume major importance in the chronicle of sin. It is quite different when a man performs penance before embarking on "strong" ceremonies. There are ceremonies of defense, such as summoning the Destiny Animal, changing the personality, accepting the call of the ancestors to become a chuchqajau (also a change of personality). These are ceremonies performed only in extremity. The theory is that the patient's "light and fortune" have been withdrawn and he is in imminent danger of death. It is necessary therefore to invoke strong powers for his defense. There is a series of nine invocations before the final ceremony. The man performing these ceremonies is in a peculiarly vulnerable position, both because of the weakness of his own personality due to the withdrawal of protective forces, and from the powerful forces which he has invoked. If, therefore, he has any unexpiated sin, he will succumb to the very forces which he has called up. The same is true to an even greater degree of rituals of sorcery. He asks "justice" and destruction for the guilty; if he has any guilt, he will fall into the trap prepared for another. Confessions performed under these circumstances are relatively complete. Sorcery and Protection There are two ways of taking revenge for an injury, by "asking justice" of the ancestors (pedir justicia) and by sorcery (brujeria). The two ideas are clearly differentiated by the Indians. The end of SORCERY AND PROTECTION 295 both is the same, to encompass the death of the victim. But one is an execution according to due process of law, in which the victim has an opportunity to defend himself before presumably impartial judges, the second is secret murder by direct action. A man asks justice openly in the church, by day, where all who come may hear. But sorcery is performed secretly at night in the cemetery or a field, on a river bank or rocky precipice, naked and fasting. It is dangerous. A man who has once performed a ceremony of sorcery must defend himself as long as he lives from the evil powers which he has let loose in the world, as well as from the reprisals of his victim.65 The legality of "asking for justice" is explicit in the form of the ceremonies. It is predicated on the assumption that the after life is a continuation of this one; that in it each man continues his earthly profession, and carries over his earthly loyalties and responsibilities. A person's ancestors and relatives will be his associates among the spirits; but they will also be the disciplinarians if any complaints are made against him. The "common souls" are partisan, but the alcaldes (alcaldes justicias) are the impartial judges in the spirit world. A man with a grievance against a neighbor appeals to the alcaldes. In the same spirit, if his case is not settled to his satisfaction in the courts of this world, he appeals to the Lords of Justice (the dead alcaldes). They in turn demand of the ancestors of the accused that they deliver up their son to answer these charges. If on his arrival in the land of the spirits he can establish his innocence, the Lords of Justice next summon his accuser, through the medium of his ancestors, to answer for his false testimony against an innocent man. Sickness is the warning; divinations reveal the cause. The man who is being summoned by the ancestors has an opportunity, through confession, penance, responses to establish his innocence. He lays his case before the Lords of Justice, and they judge between the two. If the accused does not heed the summons or can make no adequate defense, he must answer the charges in the world of the spirits. This is the theory of "asking for justice;" it is an effective means of social 66 In a long ceremony for sorcery against an enemy considerably less than one-tenth was the actual sorcery. The rest was all protection. The original text was sixty-four typewritten pages: of this the first thirty-three were preparatory, "asking justice," because it is necessary to ask justice first. The last twenty-seven pages dealt with the protective ritual; the sorcery itself occupied only four pages. This complete series of ceremonies is given below, pp. 372-97, with only verbatim repetitions omitted. The distinction between "justice" and sorcery was made by the informant, when, at the close of the ceremony of asking justice, he said: "and now we are ready to begin the sorcery." 296 CHICHICASTENANGO control, but not one to be used lightly for working off grudges. The Quiches believe that they live in a moral universe in which guilt never goes unpunished for long. Every violent word spoken in haste is repented at leisure. It sets in motion great forces of doom. The wholesome respect for the efficacy of their system of justice is indicated by the ceremony in which a chuchqajau who has defended a patient from the wrath of the ancestors, disclaims all responsibility and pays his "fine" to protect himself, in case the patient should not have a good case. There are many methods of defense against punishment sent from the land of the dead, and which one is chosen will depend on the prognosis. If the prognosis is favorable, a simple ceremony, confession, penance, candles and Responses may be thought sufficient.66 But an unfavorable prognosis, divinations ending in bad days and revealing sin and an enemy require "strong ceremonies." One such ceremony is the "change of personality." The theory underlying this ceremony is that the victim can make no adequate defense against the charges of a man with whom he quarrelled in the past, and whose death he brought about. After a series of nine invocations of all the powers, he offers to them a fowl, the symbol of his personality, and of the change in his personality. This is a substitute for himself.67 This ceremony has much in common with ceremonies of sorcery. It is an attempt to fool the spirits. It is performed secretly at night, in the cemetery. It is full of danger for both the patient and the chuchqajau who performs it; the danger comes from the strength of the powers that have been invoked, and what may not be satisfied with the substitute that is offered them. It differs from ceremonies of sorcery in not being directed against anyone. The techniques of sorcery include many details familiar in the annals of European witchcraft. Portions of the Black Mass, the familiar prayers recited backwards, the use of the left hand, the inverted candle, digging up bones and burying them near the house of the victim,68 the use of crosses incribed with the victim's name. All these techniques belong to the category of sympathetic magic: "As I am doing to this symbol of my victim, so may you treat my 66 See especially pp. 343f/. 67 The term is kaxel, "repuesto." It is the reciprocal used between grandparent and grandchild of the same name. The chicken is identified with the cock that shamed San Pedro because San Pedro is the patron of sorcerers! In Chiapas, the offering of a chicken is a regular part of all curingceremonies. The idea is the same: the chicken is the substitute for the individual who is being summoned. 68 Manuel: "It is against this sorcery that one protects oneself in paying for one's lodging on moving into a new house." SORCERY AND PROTECTION 297 enemy." It is the only use of strictly magical techniques in Quich6 religion.69 The sacrifice of the chicken in the defense ceremony just described, has a bit of magic in it; that may be the reason for the aura of the sinister that surrounds this relatively harmless ceremony. In view of these facts it may well be that this type of sorcery is all postHispanic. However that may be, and I do not believe that that question can be answered from internal evidence, there is no doubt that sorcery and even more, the fear of sorcery, is a potent force in Quiche life. It is impossible to estimate how much sorcery is actually used, no one will admit to having used it except under the stress of sickness, when he must confess all his evil deeds. Manuel, who gave me rituals for sorcery, said he had never used them either for himself or, as a chuchqajau, for others, and would refuse to do so. Still, he knew the ceremonies, and told them. Moreover, he told them with great gusto, rolling on his tongue the descriptions of the hideous punishments to be called down on Manuel Buchan. Although Manuel Buchan existed nowhere but in our minds, I felt very sorry for him. Manuel said he knew people, "many people," who had used sorcery, and had even confessed it to him. He believed that I was learning these rituals in order to use them. No assurances on my part were ever completely convincing. Before I left, he demanded from me a written declaration that I would not use these rituals against anyone, in Chichicastenango or elsewhere, and that, if I did, it was at my own risk. In the final ceremony, he washed his hands of the whole business. The written statement lay on the altar during all the ceremonies he performed; he took it with him to the church, and kept it for the subsequent ceremonies, and probably still has it.70 But he was never quite happy about the matter. He suffered much anxiety both before I left, and after I had gone. He performed the second ceremony for forgiveness of our sin in violating professional ethics, and reported his experience at that time in a letter:.. And also I wish to advise you concerning our last ceremony which I made on your behalf; on the mountain Poqojil, there came out a snake of ordinary size such as we call 'coralito,' and about two minutes after coming out, it went among the candles, and since the candles were already burning undoubtedly the fire killed it. I attempted to pull it out, but was not able, the poor snake died so quickly. Therefore please pray to God on behalf of this work, and please send me two quetzales for the little offering which I made in a ceremony which I performed here in my shrine because of the bad sign which I saw on the mountain Poqojil... 69 Unless we include also the feast of plenty after the harvest. 70 This statement, and his use of it are included in the ritual for the completion of the calendar, pp. 397ff. 298 CHICHICASTENANGO When he fell ill some time later, he suspected me of working sorcery against him. I don't know whether my assurances convinced him. In this I was assisted by Dr. Shattuck who gave him medicine which was to show, by its physiological effect, whether I was innocent of guilty. It had the desired effect, and I was cleared of suspicion. Whether Manuel was convinced, I don't know. He showed no reluctance to work with me on my second visit. In fact, he was more eager than ever. So, presumably, if he believed it at all, it was only with half of his mind. Although sorcery is evil, it is largely in the hands of recognized leaders. The chuchqajau wields both good and evil power, or rather, controls forces of protection and destruction. The same divinities are invoked in sorcery as in thanksgiving, the World, the Idols, the Dead, San Pedro, San Juan, San Augustin, San Jacinto and others, and, perhaps most important of all, the two hundred and sixty names ofthe forces of destiny. All these powers are turned against the victim. A man who knows sorcery may perform it himself, secretly, or may hire a chuchqajau to do it for him, if the chuchqajau is willing to take the risk. Or he may look for a sorcerer in another village. This is a common practise, it is safer and more effectual. The victim is less likely to be able to defend himself against sorcery from an unknown place, using unfamiliar techniques. Atitlan was said to be an important center of sorcery, as were also Nebaj and Retalhuleu. The victim of sorcery, as soon as he falls sick will consult a diviner to find out the cause of his sickness and the name of his ill wisher. If the divinations reveal the true source of his sickness when he learns these things he will defend himself with "strong ceremonies" like that already described, and even engage in countersorcery. To forestall such countersorcery there is a special ceremony of protection at the end of the sorcery directed to the powers of divination and the two hundred and sixty days of the calendar, in order that they may not come when invoked to give up their secrets. The offering for this ceremony is twenty large candles for the twenty names of the forces of destiny and 540 cakes of copal for the two hundred and sixty days. If this is done, then although the victim may consult many diviners, all the answers will lead him down blind alleys. But this protection will not last forever, and the man who has performed a ceremony of sorcery must defend himself from its ill effects for the rest of his life. Sorcery, like an appeal to the ancestors, is hedged round by dangers. It is no toy for children. Since it can be used with impunity only in a just cause, it provides the strongest of all sanctions for the moral code. As such it might, perhaps, be called an integrating force RITtUAL PATTERNS 299 in society. But while supporting the formal structure, it divides man from man in an unwholesome atmosphere of suspicion, anxiety and restraint. Ritual Patterns The chuchqajau is not a priest. Except for divination he has no special gifts, and no special relationship to the supernatural, that make him a necessary link between the individual and God. His prayers are no more efficacious, except in so far as he is better informed and more versatile. If the meaning of an illness is not patent, and if it does not disappear under ordinary therapy or after simple ceremonies, or if the patient is too ill to act for himself, the diviner is consulted. If the prognosis is favorable, and the ceremony he recommends a simple one he is not always asked to perform it and his services terminate with the divination. The first divination is performed in the house of the chuchqajau. The patient goes there, usually in the morning. The fee for a single divination is five pesos, and it is placed on the table either when the request is made or when the patient takes his leave. The behavior between the two men is extremely formal. Titles are used, never personal names. If the men are of approximately the same age, they call each other compadre, or by title. If the patient is considerably younger, he calls the chuchqajau "father," or "sir" (tat) and he calls the patient "son." The patient is humble and apologetic, the chuchqajau, gracious and deprecating. These are stereotyped attitudes, that carry through the relationship, no matter how long continued or how often repeated. Each ceremony is paid for separately, always with apologies for "this poor bit." If the chuchqajau comes to the house of the patient he is given food and drink. If the ceremonies are long and complicated the chuchqajau is given meals in addition to his fee, and usually some additional gift - a chicken, aguardiente or money. The chuchqajau is a venerable person; in his presence there are no complaints or recriminations; before him all faults are forgiven and peace maintained. Even very simple ceremonies are generally performed in more than one place. The only ceremony that calls for only one place is the general confession, which is performed in Calvario. The greatest number of places visited in any one ceremony was twelve, and the ceremony is the ceremony of restitution after performing sorcery. In this instance, the places visited are the cemetery, the church, Calvario, eight cofradias, and the house of the performer, where he keeps his 300 CHICHICASTENANGO sacred objects. The average number of places visited in any single ceremony is three, and the most usual ones are the personal shrine of the performer on his land, the church, and Calvario. The Great Mountains (Turqa' orPoqojil) may be visited instead of, or in addition to, the personal shrine. The saints most often visited in private homes are Santo Tomas, San Jose, San Sebastian, "the owners of the town;" Santa Esper, "the married saints;" San Gaspar, "the owner of the money chest;" San Pedro, "the patron of diviners;" San Jacinto and San Augustin, "owners of the granary;" and Santiago, "destroyer of the milpa." Rituals of sorcery are performed in the cemetery or any suitable (and dangerous) place. In the church, special places are visited, sometimes six or seven in a single ceremony. These places are, usually in this order, the door, the high altar (Senor Sacramento), the presbytery ("place of the first ancestors"), the steps of the presbytery ("place of the Lords of Justice"), the nave ("place of the common souls"), the baptistry (San Juan), the entry ("place of those of the vara"); and the various altars of the saints according to the content of the ceremony (see floor plan of church, Fig. 2, p. 271). In thirty-seven ceremonies recorded, a total of 108 places were visited as follows: Tsokoma (the shrine of the chuchqajau), 15 times; Mountains: Poqojil: 3 times; Turqa', twice; other mountains, twice; The Church: Place of the dead, 12 times; Saints in altars, 4 times; San Juan, 7 times; San Miguel, 3 times; the door of the church, 6 times; Calvario, 14 Times; Cofradias: Santo Tomas, 4 times; San Jose, 4 times; San Sebastian, 4 times; Santa Esper, San Gaspar, and eight other cofradias, once each; The House, 8 times; The Cemetery, 5 times; Other places, 5 times. Morning is the preferred time for performing all ceremonies, except ceremonies of sorcery and "strong" ceremonies of protection which are performed at night. Sunrise is the best time for visiting the "World." Important ceremonies are timed so that the sun rises at the close of the invocation. The two all-night ceremonies are timed so that the final ceremonies in the mountains are performed at dawn. The Church is most frequented during the morning hours. The most usual arrangement is to visit the "World" at sunrise, the church after breakfast (about 10 o'clock), and later Calvario. But since most RITUAL PATTERNS 301 ceremonies are performed on market days, it is usual to put off the ceremonies in the church until after one has finished one's business in the market place. The market starts to break up at about 1 o'clock. If a person has not had time to perform his ceremony at dawn, on a market day, then he visits Turqa' on his return from market in the evening. For this reason Turqa' is much frequented on Sunday afternoons. Although the day for performing ceremonies is theoretically set by the symbolism of the days in the Quiche calendar, actually the Christian week is the most important means of timing ceremonies. Since the names of the days are destiny words, names of forces, and only secondarily names of time periods, any ceremony may be performed at any time, provided the names of destiny are invoked. It is better, more efficacious to have the right day, the day on which the power to be invoked is dominant, but if this is impossible or inconvenient another day will do. There are certain exceptions to the rule that any ceremony may be performed at any time by invoking the right day. One does not ask for anything on bad days, when forces of evil are abroad. No ceremonies of commemoration, of asking pardon, or of praying for good luck are performed on these days. Nor are ceremonies of sorcery performed on days like kiej and ix whose gentle character would negate evil. Furthermore, the days of the week have different meanings and are suitable for different kinds of ceremonies. Monday is the day of the dead; Tuesday the day of San Sebastian and the Earth;71 Wednesday is the day of San Miguel; Thursday the Commemoration of the Sacrament (Corpus Christ falls on this day); Friday, "a good day", is the day of Jesus Nazareno, and a day of pardon; Saturday is the day of Maria Concepcion and Maria Rosario (a good day for asking pardon; Friday is better); and Sunday is the day of Padre Eterno (a neutral day). Almost no ceremonies are performed during Lent, especially ceremonies of defense. None whatever are performed on the fourth and seventh Fridays, "the feasts of the Jews," and none during Holy Week. Actually, the day on which a man is planning to come to market will determine the choice of a day. Almost all ceremonies are preceded on the evening before by an announcement (Spanish: communicaci6n; Quiche: kumpisi6n) to the powers who are to be invoked the following day. This is generally in the form of an invitation to the powers, asking them to be present the 71 San Sebastian Martin, corrupted from San Sebastian Martyr. San Martin is the dueno of the Earth, and Tuesday (Martes) is his day. 302 CHICHICASTENANGO next day to receive their offering. This is performed by the chuchqajat in his house before his household altar, or in the patio, and the only offering is a little incense. In "strong" ceremonies there are nine invocations, performed on suitable days and terminating with the final sacrifice at which special offerings are made. The sacrifice is conceived as a meal offered to the gods. Candles form the basis of the offering. Among the thirty-seven ceremonies analysed for their ritual patterns, only one did not include candles in the offering, and although the informant made a special point of the fact that no candles are used, he later said, "then I light two candles." They are of all sizes, the little tallow candles (candelitas) that costs 2 reales, for the dead, and the paraffin tapers of 1 or 2 pesos (ceras) for the saints and the "World." Candles are offered to the saints either singly or in pairs; to the "World" in groups 2, 5, 9, 10 or 13. I do not know the meaning of these numbers. The little candles for the dead are offered in groups of 10 or 20; or if Responses are offered, 2 for each name invoked. There are tall tapers costing 10 or 15 pesos, that burn all night, that are used in household rituals. The candle is almost always accompanied by some other offering, incense, copal, rose petals, branches of flowers, sugar and aguardiente. Incense in censers (estoraque) used to be used in all ceremonies; now the use of incense in the church is forbidden - it had become too great a nuisance - and incense is burned on the platform before the door. There are two kinds of incense, one kind made by the Indians, and another that is bought from Ladinos. In addition to these there is the ancient type of incense, p'om, which is burned, not in censers, but on the altar. This is made from copal; it is in the form of little round discs, about one and onehalf inches in diameter; it burns with a bright orange-yellow flame and forms heavy clouds of black smoke. It is less aromatic than estoraque. This is the characteristic offering to the "World," and the forces of destiny. It is never offered in the church, but is burnt on the altar at the foot of the steps. The flat cakes are compared to tamales. They are the food of the gods. (It is not offered in ceremonies of defense; in these only estoraque is burned.) These offerings are accompanied by aguardiente, "to refresh yourselves," sugar, "to sweeten the food," and rose petals, to make the meal more attractive. These things are set out on the altar, "the table" (mesa); the candles are lit, the rose petals scattered among them, the aguardiente poured out, the copal ignited at the place set apart for it, and the gods are invited to sit down and eat. Every ceremony opens with a brief introduction (la entrada) in which the suppliant announces his arrival, and recites the doctrina, RITUAL PATTERNS 303 with the sign of the cross.72 In the mountains he announces himself immediately on arrival, before putting down his burdens; in the church, before crossing the threshold. The prayer itself opens with a long introduction; this tends to be most elaborate in the mountains, when all the forces of nature, as well as the saints are invoked. This is followed by a statement of the occasion and the request (el mandado). This may be no more than "I have come to pay my fine for my lodging in the world," or it may be a long recital of Manuel Buchan's grievances against his neighbors and the courts in Quiche and the universe in general. Then the aguardiente that has been standing in glasses on the altar is poured out, the fire in the copal is stirred up,73 and the supernaturals are invited to sit down and "partake of this poor bit of candle and incense." The prayer closes with the doctrina. After a short rest, perhaps a drink or a smoke or an elaborate picnic lunch, the chuchqajau and his companions gather together their belongings and prepare to leave. Just before starting, there is the farewell (despedida), usually with a promise to return on a certain date, and again the doctrina and the sign of the cross. If the prayer is outdoors the ritualist moves about a great deal, swinging his censer, especially during the invocation in which the powers of the four directions are called in turn. If he is a chuchqajau performing the ceremony for another, the client is not always present. If he is, he may be accompanied by his wife and children and other relatives. They wait quietly at one side. At certain points in the prayer the man and his wife are called to come and kneel at the altar, perhaps to share in the bottle of aguardiente, but mostly they have no part in the proceedings. The occasion is not excessively solemn. The children come and go, chattering, and are not chidden; women suckle their babies or wander off to look for firewood. Behavior in the church is more formal and restrained, probably because of the presence of other people and the generally gloomy aspect of the church - "the cold house, the icy house." The "World" is less forbidding. The suppliant at the altar is unintimidated in the presence of the supernatural, and his behavior is remarkably uninhibited and expressive of emotion. Although his introductory words are apologetic and humble, there is little restraint in the content of prayers, especially complaints and curses. The mode of delivery is equally unrestrained. The ritualist stands on the steps of the church and shouts his demands, unmindful 72 The Indians use the Spanish method of crossing themselves: three small crosses on the forehead, the lips, and the chest, concluded by kissing their thumb. 73 If a bird is sacrificed, it is killed at this point. 304 CHICHICASTENANGO of his audience. He exhorts, cajoles and whines. He swings his censer, enveloping himself in a shifting cloud of incense; his gestures and facial expression reveal his emotion; from these alone one can read the message when the rapid declamation becomes unintelligible. They find no virtue in brevity; the gods are constrained to hear them through to the end. CHAPTER SIX RITUALS IN TEXT TRANSLATIONS Introduction The following texts of rituals are offered as further documentation of the points made in the preceding pages, and as examples of Quich6 ritual style. They are selected from a much larger body of material, and cover all aspects of the sacramental system, as embodied in the occult calendar. The material that is not published here is either interspersed in the body of the book, or has been weeded out since it adds nothing new. For such readers as wish to hit only the high spots, the following suggestions are made: No. 1, General Thanksgiving, showing man's relation to the universe; No. 2, Commemoration of the Dead, an obligatory act of faith for all Quiches; No. 7, The Initiation of a chuchqajau, for interesting autobiographical material, confessions, and for the clear description of the professional ethics of the chuchqajau; No. 13, "Change of Personality," a "strong ceremony" which shows most clearly the operation of "divine justice", and contains a blood sacrifice; Nos. 14 and 15, the two ceremonies of sorcery; and No. 16, Completion of Work, for its clear exposition, and examples of divination, and for the important material on the relationship between the informant and the ethnologist in a difficult situation. Four ceremonies contain divinations: No. 3, Restoration of Lost Money; No. 7, the Initiation of a chuchqajau; No. 13, a Cure of Sickness; and No. 16, Completion of Work. Two cures of sickness (Nos. 12 and 13) contain confessions and No. 10, Protection after an Evil Portent, contains responses. The material was collected in Quiche and Spanish. The Quiche version was recorded first, and later translated by the informant who had complete control of Spanish. This was a literal word-for-word translation, with explanatory notes. One ritual, the initiation of the chuchqajau, was written out by the informant in Quiche with Spanish interlinear translation. The English translations are not English translations of Spanish translations of Quiche texts, but were made directly from the original Quiche, with the aid of the Spanish translation and explanations. Since I did not make an exhaustive study 305 306 CHICHICASTENANGO of the language, and since a large body of Quiche ritual text has already been published, the publication of more texts in a different orthography would add nothing but confusion. Therefore, only English translations are given. Repetitions that add nothing new are omitted where they occur in succeeding ceremonies of the same sequence. Such omissions are indicated in every case. There have been many difficulties of translation. I have adopted certain conventional phrases for Quiche concepts: "sacred bundle" for barapunta, the kit of the diviners, because that is exactly what it is and it brings the idea into relation with the general American Indian medicine bundle complex with which it is undoubtedly related; "rites and customs" for chaqpatan (work-service); and "name and fortune", or simply "destiny," for kij ralxic. On the other hand, I have retained the literal translations of mundo, "World," because I could find no English word that expressed the idea; Earth-God, (Schultze-Jena's translation) is too narrow and specific, "demiurge of creative power," or "Lifeforce" is too stilted. The Quiches represent this abstraction under a concrete symbol. It seemed best to retain this symbol rather than substitute another. The double words that are characteristic of Quiche are difficult in English: "work-service," "sickness-pain," "Watchers-listeners," "mountain-plain," are not only awkward, but they do not represent the meaning of the original. (The informant never translated these terms this way; he always rendered them by a single Spanish equivalent.) The whole is more than the sum of its parts. They follow three patterns of composition: apposition of synonyms (work-service); summation of independent qualities: "watchers-listeners" or "heartbreast"; or conjunctions of opposites: "mountain-plain." All are mechanisms for expressing abstract ideas in a language whose radical elements are essentially concrete. English and Spanish do not suffer from these disadvantages, so that many of these ideas, such as that of destiny, can be expressed more easily in English than in Quich6. No. 1. General Ceremony of Thanksgiving (Ceremony for the day 8 'e, 9 aj) On this day of good fortune one gives thanks for all that one has: for one's occupation and trade, for all one's ceremonies and rituals, and for one's houses, land, money and animals. On the preceding day in the evening (7 bats), we go to the shrine on our land, with incense, to advise all the holy ones that we shall appear before them on the following day to make our offering. GENERAL THANKSGIVING 307 This same evening, I prepare my things for the morning and leave them over night on the table where I keep my sacred bundle. At six in the morning we eat a good breakfast so that we may be able to speak with force, andthen I tell my wife to get ready. She carries the materials for the rite and my sacred bundle. I carry the incense burner and live coals. The materials are: For the World: 14 ounces of incense, 50 cakes of copal, 9 candles at Ipeso, 4 ounces of sugar, 10 pesos of aguardiente and a basket of roses. For Calvario: 2 wax candles at 1 peso for Christ, and 2 little candles at 4 reales in the center of the church. For the Church: 10 pesos of candles at 4 reales (20 candles) for the saints in the altars and for San Juan Bautista, and for the dead, and 10 pesos aguardiente for the dead, with roses and bread. One candle at 1 peso is for each of the three saints in the cofradias, Santo Tomas, San Sebastian, San Jose, and for the saints who are patrons of weaving. We go first to the World, and kneel. I take off my hat, but we do not put our things down yet. "Hail World: Perhaps your presence has already been invoked and seated here. I have already trespassed here to invoke your divine spirit, however many may be its manifestations. World, wait for us a moment, to receive this offering. Only the jun kalamla..."1 Now we get up and put down our things. I sweep the altar and take out my offerings. I set fire to the copal and light the candles. We scatter the roses on the altar and on both sides. I pour out the aguardiente and set the glass on the altar. "Hail, World, my seat, my altar. Come hither for this one day and hour, the master day, 8 'e, 9 aj. I have already invoked you. Be seated, World. Come hither, place of sunrise, where are the watchers and listeners in the sky and the cloudy firmament, and also the alcalde of the clouds and the alcalde of the mountains and plains. Also place of sunset, where are watchers and listeners in the sky and the cloudy firmament, and also the alcalde of the cold tempest and the alcalde of the mountains and plains. And then also the third part of the world, the watchers and listeners in the sky and the cloudy firmament, the alcalde of the cold tempest, the alcalde of the mountain and plains. And also the fourth part of the world, come hither; watchers and listeners in the sky and the cloudy firmament, and the alcalde of the cold tempest and of the mountain and plain; come hither! Also the saints who dwell in the cloudy firmament and who dwell in the earth. Also the President of the World, the President of Heaven, the Minister, Jesus Christ, come hither before this altar! And may they come also, the fourteen, fifteen holy virgins who live in our town and who dwell in heaven: and the twelve, thirteen angelic apostles, come hither however many may be your manifestations: green shoulder, yellow shoulder, however many may be your manifestations, come hither before this World. And also the blessed spirits who 1 The opening words of the doctrina. The jun kalamld (Ave Maria) is usually followed by the jun quqau chiqaj (Our Father) and sometimes the Creo en Dios, in Spanish. 308 CHICHICASTENANSGO are in the holy church, the alcalde judges,2 the secretaries, the common souls,3 and also the grandmothers, the grandfathers, however many their manifestations. And also the masters of the staff, the masters of the seeds,4 the masters of the pito tree; the masters of property and wealth, the masters of corn, the masters of wheat, the masters of dimes and quarters; and also the divine godfathers and godmothers, those who carry and embrace the children; and also the masters of business and trade in the plaza, and also the masters of travel, those who go about among this village and that. Come hither! And also the masters of donkeys and mules; and also masters of spindles and looms; masters of testimony and surety, masters of spokesmen;5 masters of altar boys, masters of the sacristans, masters of the five guardians of the church;6 and also masters of the six who hold the staves,7 and also masters of the eight who wear the surcoat8 in order to look after our rites and ceremonies. "World, pardon my trespass. It is I who offer you something to eat. May you all be equal with the divine spirit of the World. And may you all equally grant me favor, to me and to my wedded wife,9 SebastianaVentura. And in her name I invoke you, however many may be your manifestations, by the grace of God, mistresses of weaving and embroidery, mistresses of the loom, mistresses of the needle; and also perhaps mistresses of property and wealth; mistresses of dimes and quarters; and also mistresses of the pointed stick, defenders and protectors on behalf of those who come to see and hear; perhaps you are godmothers in your incarnations and persons; and also perhaps those who follow the ways of our mother, Santa Ana Porpet,l1 grandmother of infants, those who watch over and care for and deliver infants for the women of our village and valleys. Even so says my wedded wife. Perhaps this is her light and fortune. But may all be seated before this world. "It is I; I am master of the pointed stick. It is I; I write. Perhaps I execute documents for the people of our town and valleys, and also I look over and listen to their documents. And also I work to gain food and drink; I travel, am master of trade, and also I serve as witness for the people of our town and valleys in their purchases (of land) and in the execution of their deeds; and also I sew garments. And also I stand here before your presence, World, in behalf of this, my resting place, given to me by my father. This is all, World. Perhaps I shall travel up and down in looking after and attending to my affairs; this, perhaps is my light and destiny. But here is my fine. Perhaps this is the light and destiny of my wedded wife, but this here is her fine. "Good, World. On this master day 8 'e, 9 aj, I give thanks for myself and for my wedded wife for my lot before your presence, World, and also before 2 Quiche and Spanish, alcalde justicia, the deceased officers of the municipality, who mete out divine justice. 3 Animas komurn, the dead as private citizens. 4 The diviners. 5 Go-betweens of marriages, divorces, contracts. See page p. 81. 6 Sacristans of Calvary chapel. 7 The six leading cofradias, the ones who have insignia. 8 The lesser cofradias. 9 Quiche: nU sanu s8aramento. 10 Patron of midwives. GENERAL THANKSGIVING 309 Our Father, Christ, and also before the miraculous saints, and before the holy spirits, and also before the alcaldes in Heaven and the alcaldes in the World, the alcalde of the cold tempest. Perhaps within an hour I shall stand before Our Father Christ, and also in the cold house, the icy house1 before the saints, before the spirits, and also before the three apostles, and before the saints, the masters of weaving and sewing.12 May they alike receive thanks before your presence from me and from my wedded wife. "Yes, World, lords and rulers, lord of the male idols, lord of the female idols, lords of inscriptions and writing, who have inscribed us in the book for the thanks which we offer! May watchers and listeners come to me for my services as master of the sacred bundle, or as scribe, or as godfather and godmother. Furthermore may you give me my food and drink; may you give me dimes and quarters; may you give me property and wealth, and also work as witness for land disputes; and also to execute papers for the village. May I be in their minds when they wish to execute a paper, when they wish to buy land. And also my wedded wife, whatever may be her light and fortune, may it be remembered, and may she be in the hearts and minds of the people of the village, for her good offices in her work and rituals, whatever, by grace of God, they may be. "World, pardon my trespass. And you, people of our town and valleys from the side where the sun rises; and you from where the sun sets, may you come to me. And also you from the third part of the world, may you also come, and from the fourth part of our town and valleys. I give my spirit to them. I give my spirit to aid them, at dawn or at midday or at sunset or at midnight. At all times I watch over them and listen to them. World, pardon my tres pass. Call them before me and also before my wedded wife. For to both of us alike have been given our rites and ceremonies. So to both of us alike send watchers and listeners so that we both may be of service to them. "World, pardon our trespass. Peacefully accept our fine and portion for you, World." I pour out the aguardiente on the altar and on the copal. We take some also. "We shall follow you."'3 We rest a little, and gather together our things. When we are ready to go, we kneel again. "Yes, World, may peace be with you. This is your offering of food and drink which we leave before you, the token of this great day and hour. But do not be of two hearts and minds towards us in all that which we have asked. We shall return again on the appointed day. Pardon our trespass. Only the iun kalamld..." Now we go with the same prayer to Calvario, to the Church, to the dead, to San Juan Bautista, and Sefor Sacramento. We do not repeat the whole prayer in each place, but say a different part each time. Then we go to the three apostles in the cofradias (Santo Tomas, San Sebastian, San Jos6) with the same prayer, and the three saints, patrons of weaving and sewing, to ask for fortune in weaving and embroidery. And again after nine months (260 days) this ceremony is repeated. 11 The Church, a massive, thick, walled building that is always cold and damp. 12 Santa Esper, Santa Lucia, and Santa Catarina, three saints kept in a private house, patrons of marriage and domestic arts. 13 The powers which have been invoked precede the supplicant to the church for the invocation of the ancestors. 310 CHICHICASTENANGO No. 2. Commemoration of the Dead (Ceremony for the days 7 kame, 8 kiej) These are the days for giving thanks to the ancestors for all that one has received from them, for one's land and possessions, and especially for the ceremonies which have come from ancient times, and for the sacred bundle. The communication is on the day 7 kame in the evening. I go to my shrine in my field with a little incense, to call the holy ones, that they may expect me the following day with my offerings. I come back to my house and prepare everything for the ceremony. For the World: 25 cakes of copal, 5 candles at 4 reales, 5 pesos aguardiente (no roses or incense). For Calvario: 2 wax tapers at 1 peso, 2 candles at 2 reales (in the center of the chapel). For the Church: 2 candles (2 reales) in front of the altar of the Sacrament, 2 for the altar of Rosario, 1 for Maria Dolor, 1 for San Sebastian, 1 for San Miguel, 2 for the First People, 2 for the dead alcaldes, 2 for the common souls, 1 for San Jos6, 1 for Maria Concepci6n, 1 for San Augustin, 1 for Jesus Nazarenos, 1 for San Martin, 1 for San Pedro, San Antonio, San Lazaro, San Francisco, and Maria Santa Ana and Santo Ramos, 2 for the dead chuchqajau (at the foot of the Cross), and 1 for the Cross. When morning comes I take all these things with me to my shrine; all the candles for the World, for the dead and for the saints, and my sacred bundle. I do not take this to the church. When I arrive I say: "Hail, World! Come hither and be seated that you may see and hear my thanks and gratitude offered before your presence, World! Pardon this trespass. It is I who have been entrusted with this ceremony of the holy spirits who were our mothers and fathers. It is I, perhaps, who am the one to see and hear their ceremonies. This is what I shall give you in this moment before your presence, World. Wait for me a moment. Only the jun kalamld.." I get up, light the candles and the copal, pour out the aguardiente into a glass and put it on the altar. "Yes, World, this is the day, this is the hour of the master day, 8 kiej, symbol of the light and fortune of the spirits, masters of the pointed staff, defenders, protectors and helpers of those who come to see and hear. They were the mothers, they were the fathers, they were the masters of incense, the masters of candles, liberators, protectors and supporters in their incarnations before this World. Perhaps they have gone, the holy blessed spirits. It is I who stand before this World. It seems they have entrusted me with their rites and ceremonies. Perhaps I shall see them, those who come to see and hear; perhaps I shall go down, perhaps I shall go up in order to look after them. Perhaps thus I may earn my food and drink, and also one or two pesos through looking after the unfortunate, my relatives and companions. A little of it is for you, World. Of whatever I earn, a little is for the spirits, a little for Father Christ, for it is He who left this to the world. And also Senor San Pedro, the patron and master of rites and ceremonies. "May they come to see and hear from the place where the sun rises; may they come to see and hear from the place where the sun sets; may they come CEREMONY FOR MONEY 311 to see and hear from the third quarter of the world, and may they come from the fourth quarter of the world; and may they also come from one or two villages to search me out, on account of this rite and ceremony. It is I who go up and down, from one village to another village, from one mountain to another mountain, to see and hear what is in this rite and ceremony. But may no sickness or pain touch me. Perhaps there are great people, little people, people with white hair whose hearts hurt because of this rite and ceremony which has been entrusted to me. But that which I have has been entrusted to me for the cure of sickness and pain, not for the extortion of money. "World, Seior Cristo, Sefior San Pedro, and the miraculous saints; and also the common souls and the former alcaldes; and also the masters of the mystic days of the calendar, this is your rite and ceremony. Let me not fall into the madness of strong drink when I look and listen to this rite and ceremony. World, pardon my trespass. And also rulers and leaders, come hither to receive this fine which I offer you. It is but a poor bit, World. Pardon me. May peace be upon this altar, World. Only the jun kcaamld..." I sprinkle the aguardiente on the shrine and in the copal. "Yes, peace be on us, World. Let this be a token that I am here on the inscribed day. Let not death and destruction fall upon me nor upon my wedded wife nor upon any of my children, nor any of those who are in our house, World. Only the jun kalaml..." Now I rest a little. Then I say: "Yes, World, peace be on this altar, token that on the master day 8 kiej I shall return to give thanks for my light and fortune, my sacred office with which I am entrusted. Await me then. And now, World, let me arise from before your divine presence. Even as I came, so let me return, and in a little while I shall be there to give my offering before the saints and the common souls, owners of this rite and ceremony. Only the jun kalamld..." I return to my house and then go to the church. I kneel in the door and recite the jun kalamla and jun q'au chiqax. Then I go to Christ in Calvario, with the same prayers as in the World. After this I go to the door of the church. I kneel, recite the doctrina. Then I kneel in the center of the church and recite the doctrina. Then in front of the altar of the Sacramento, and light two candles with the same prayers as in the World, and so in front of each of the saints previously mentioned, and the spirits of the dead. No. 3. Ceremony for Restoration of Lost Money (Divinations in 7 tsikip, 8 aimaq) When one loses money one goes first to a diviner to learn the meaning of this loss, if one has been robbed or if it is because of one's sins, or if it is a portent. Suppose I have lost money; then first I ask my wife: "Wife, what have I done? I no longer have some pieces of money that were in my pocket. What can have happened? They were here when I went on my errand. I have only spoken with the men Juan Ignacio and Manuel Gonzales. But they are good people. It could not be they who took it from my pocket." "Husband, why has this happened? The people you speak of are good people; we have not heard any ill of them. It is not they. Look in your 312 CHICHICASTENANGO cupboard, perhaps it is there. And also look carefully in your clothing. Perhaps it is there." "No, it is not there. I have looked everywhere.'' "Husband! Did you not make any purchases in the stores? Or else in the market-place? Go and ask there; perhaps when you took out your money, you dropped these pieces. Perhaps when you pulled out your handkerchief they fell out. You had better go and see about it. Go and ask there where you bought." "I only bought two parafin candles in the store of Rafael Lopez." "Well go and ask there; perhaps they have seen it." "All right, I'll go and see." So I go, but find no trace of the money. When I come back, I report this and then say: "Wouldn't it be good if I went to ask my compadre14 about this? Perhaps it is a sign of sickness for me, or else for you or the children." "Very well, go and see what he says to you." "Yes, I shall come right back, if I find my compadre, or if he has gone somewheres, as soon as I find out I shall come back." "All right." Now I arrive in the house of my compadre. Let us suppose that I find him at home. After exchanging the usual greetings with him, I tell him my business. "For my part, compadre, I am in trouble." "And what trouble has befallen you?" "Nothing save that I have lost six hundred pesos of my money. I had it in my pocket on Monday. I had a debt to Dofia Soledad for wire which I had purchased. I had said that I would pay her, and I put it in my pocket and went to town. But the door at the Ladino's was closed, so I came right back to my house, and after two days they came to ask for the money, and I looked for it and it was not there, and I asked your comadre, but she says she knew nothing about it, compadre. So then I asked the two men, for I had spoken only with them. Perhaps they saw it, I said, but they said that they had not seen it. Now this has some meaning, I think, compadre. Pardon me." "Ay Dios! What is this that you have done? Perhaps it is there? Have you looked well in your house?" "That is what your comadre said, compadre. But I have looked well in the house and also in my clothing, but it is not there." "Oh dear! What a thing!" "And so I say, compadre, will you ask one question, two questions before your sacred bundle as to what this may mean. For I say, perhaps some sickness is coming upon me." "Let us see what it may be. Wait a moment and we shall see." "Yes, compadre. Pardon me." He lays out his bundle on the table. "Hail, sacred bundle! Come hither in your light and substance; and also the first ancestors; masters of divination by blood and by signs (in the body), come hither! And also Our Father Christ, who left us this rite and custom, come hither! Only the jun kalamld.. On what day did this evil befall you, compadre?" "On Monday." "So. Then it was on the master day 5 ajmaq. Come hither, sacred bundle! 14 In this case the man who had initiated him as a chuchqajau. CEREMONY FOR MONEY 313 Do not mislead me with lies and deceptions, but give me a clear sign in my body. This poor one, my compadre, has sustained a loss, he tells me. He has lost his money in the streets or paths or in his house, he tells me, this poor one, my compadre. We shall see and ask, sacred bundle." So he puts the questions in the day 5 ajmaq. He takes a handful of the seeds and puts them aside on the table and begins to count them out, four, by four, until the end, until it comes out. With the first four seeds he says: "Come hither, Lord 5 ajmaq, 6 noj, 7 tijax, 8 kawaq..." And so on until he finishes with the seeds, add whatever day it may come out on he places in conjunction with the day 5 aimaq in order to see what may be indicated in the juxtaposition of these two days and numbers. But he must do this four times, with the same result. Then, according to the result, he says: "Compadre, this is what I see in this sacred bundle: Only that you have lost this; it does not portend anything further on your part. This I see: since you have lost it on the day 5 ajmaq, it seems you have sinned; but it speaks also of the day 13 bats. So perhaps you have only made some mistake in your payments in connection with your sacred office." "Is that what you see, compadre? It was just for this that I asked you. You say that I have done something in regard to the payments for sacred office?" "Yes. But this is not a sign of sickness. This I see, conmpadre. Perhaps it is only necessary that you defend yourself. Perhaps you will repeat this error, and it will not help you." "It is well, compadre. Pardon my transgression. This only was my business with you. Perhaps something will happen to me. Then I shall come to you." "If it be so, it is only God who sends it." "Pardon me, compadre, I have only wasted your time." "Do not say that, compadre." "Yes, compadre, I have been here." "Very well, compadre, go in peace." "Comadre, I have been here." "Very well, go in peace, compadre." The man returns to his house and reports to his wife what his compadre has told him. Now on the days 7 tsikin, 8 ajmaq, I perform the ceremony for the loss of my money, and to ask pardon for the fault which caused this. "Hail World, Tsokoma15 mountain-plain! Your face is marked with crosses. However many may be your manifestations, crucified world, crucified mountains, come hither all! Here am I, come before your divine presence. And may they also come, the watchers and listeners in the cold atmosphere, in the clouds and mists, and the twelve, thirteen angels and apostles, those who watch over us and listen to us by day and by night! And also the supernaturall6 President, the supernatural Governor, the supernatural Chief of Plaza, the supernatural Ladino Alcalde, the supernatural Indian Alcalde, the supernatural Councilmen, the supernatural Civil Servants, the supernatural Sergeant of Police! You are the ones who go about in the cold atmosphere by day and by night. Come hither also Lord of the roads and streets, Lord of the plaza and of the twelve, thirteen temples and churches, of Calvary chapel 15 The name of the place where the informant lived. 16 Literally, "world" (mundo). 314 CHICHICASTENANGO and the cemetery! Come hither also, blessed spirits of the departed who go about by night and by day! It is I who stand here before your seat and table, World Tsokoma! I call upon your name. Come hither you our patron, Santo Tomas, San Sebastian, San Jos6, Christ, Lord of Calvary, and also our Father who is in Heaven, and also our Father, Seior Sacramento, our Mother, Maria Rosario, and our Father the angel San Miguel, the mediator. Come hither all! Be seated here one hour, two hours before this World, Tsokoma! "It is I who stand here sorrowful in my house and my possessions because of what has befallen me, the loss of my dimes and quarters, World. I go about the lowlands and the highlands to earn a living and now I have lost six hundred (pesos). Holy World, in what have I failed, I or my wedded wife, for they belong alike to us both, these dimes and quarters? Holy World, I stand weeping because of my money, Come hither, World! Here, before your presence, for whatever may be the cause of my losing my money, I ask your pardon. What is it that I have done that one day I lost my money? May this be the replacement, World. Come hither, Masters of silver and of gold, of dimes and quarters, and of good possessions! Out of this let come the restoration of my money. Moreover, beneath the feet and hands of our Lord Saint Gaspar, who holds the chest, I shall ask before his presence that he may look favorably upon me in my house and goods. I only give this, my fine, here on this altar to ask favor that I may not lose more of my possessions. "And now, also, my mothers and fathers, my grandmothers and grandfathers already departed from this world, may you look with favor upon me and upon my presence. I am your son in this world. Come hither, spirits, to what is here upon this table. Yes, World, however many may be your names and your manifestations, and also the saints and the rulers and authorities in the World. I place here half a hundred cakes of copal, half a pound of sugar, half a pound of incense that these may accompany the holy light of the nine candles. And also that with which you may refresh and cool yourself, World. Come hither and receive the affection of my heart so that loss may not again come upon me. Peacefully may the restoration of my money come to me. "Miraculous World, may you give me your hand in benediction upon my head and upon the head of my wedded wife. Perhaps within an hour I shall be there beneath the feet and hands of Christ, Lord of Calvary. I shall give Him an offering, and then pass beneath the feet and hands of our patron Santo Tomas, Apostle, that he may give me his benediction upon my head. Then I shall go also beneath the feet and hands of our lord San Gaspar. May it be that this miraculous saint may give me his blessing on my head on account of my money. "Hail World! Accept peacefully that which lies upon your table that you may not be of two hearts concerning this, my fine and portion. Only the jun kalamld..." At the end one goes at once to Calvario with two branches of flowers and two wax tapers of two pesos each. Also two branches of flowers and two wax tapers for Santo Tomas, and the same for San Gaspar. The same prayers as one said in the World are said. After one week one takes the same offering again to the World and the images, repeating the same prayers. (San Gaspar is a privately owned image, kept in a house on the hill.) RELEASE FROM EVIL THOUGHTS 315 No. 4. For Release from One's Own Evil Thoughts (Ceremony for 7 noj) On the day 7 noj we may go to ask that God may take from us the evil thoughts which we may be thinking; that no evil may befall either my wife or my children because of what I may be thinking. For perhaps I am thinking evil or good; perhaps I am criticising my wife for some little thing that has gone wrong in the house. Or, on the other hand, perhaps someone will judge us before God and you, Holy World. But may it notabe thus. For I wish for health for myself and for my family, and for good thoughts throughout my life. We pray to the angels and to our patron, Santo Tomas, that they may guard us, and to our Lord, Jesus Christ "in glory" and in Calvario.l7 The materials of the offering are: 5 candles of 1 peso each for the Church, 1 candle of 1 peso for Calvario, and 4 ounces of incense for the World. I go to Calvario in the morning, always with my wife. Now I arrive at Calvario: "Christ, Lord, pardon my transgression. I come before your presence and beneath your hands and your feet. Pardon my transgression. Thou hearest and shalt hear these, my words. "Lord Jesus Christ, may I not be distressed in this my person, nor with my wife and my daughters and sons, nor in my house and possessions, nor in this which we eat. May we have no sickness. Perhaps some sickness or suffering may come to us. But this we do not wish, Lord Jesus Christ. Arrange things well for us. Perhaps there is one who is our enemy, and hostile to our light and fortune. But thou seest us and hearest us by night and by day. May it not stand first, the evil word and evil expression against me and against this my wife and all my children. For this I have come to kneel down before your presence, with one row, two rows of candles. It is but a little, a poor trifle, Lord Christ. But I cannot go out without one line of the doctrina, coming out from my mouth and my thoughts: Only the jun kalaml..." The same words I say in the church and in the Holy World in the evening, about six o'clock. Only the words "Santo Mundo" are substituted for "Sefior Christo." No. 5. To Ask Pardon at Beginning Some Undertaking (Ceremony for the day 8 noj) Let us suppose that I wish to erect a house, or start on a journey or undertake some business, as, for example, a trip to Guatemala to negotiate a sale. In this there should be no evil thoughts concerning money. One asks pardon for this of Jesus Christ, in Calvario. After that I go to the church to ask pardon before my dead mothers and fathers that there may come to me no twisting of my thoughts, and to beseech that through their aid I may be upright in my dealings and my thoughts. For this we go to three places, Calvario, the World, the church, all in the same day. This is on the day noj. The materials of the ceremony are: 17 The two images of Christ in the church and in the chapel of Calvario. 316 CHICHICASTENANGO For Calvario: - 1 peso of candles at 2 reales each (4 candles), 1 wax taper of 1 peso, branches of roses, and a little incense. For the World: 50 cakes of copal, 5 pesos of candles of 2 reales, 10 pesos aguardiente, 4 ounces of sugar, and 2 ounces of incense. For the church: 5 pesos of candles at 2 reales and roses. The words in all places are the same, except for two or three words. This is for the dead in the church. First, at the door of the church: "Hail, Divine Guardians and Watchers before the door of the Holy Church, and also Alcalde Judges, governors and spokesmen. I come with my interruptions and annoyances: I enter with you into the divine presence of the ancient rulers. But there is nothing but to repeat the jun kalaml....." I pass on and go into the church. In the center, I repeat these words and cross myself, but I do not say the doctrina again. I pass to the steps at the foot of the high altar, I kneel and cross myself. Now follow the words for Seior Sacramento: "Hail, Sefor Sacramento, our king of the Assumption, and also Eternal Father of Glory, and the Eternal Father of this holy Church, and also our patron, Santo Tomas, Apostle. I make my interruptions and trespasses. I come to make my requests before your faces and persons, and also before them, the Alcalde Judges, and before the blessed spirits, my mothers and fathers. Pardon and grace I beg, that I may not be disturbed in my thoughts and behavior, in that which I speak and discuss. And also to inform you of that which I desire in my fortune, however much may be that which I do before this light of day. My father, Sefor Sacramento, Jesus Christ, only the jun kalamld..." I come to the center of the church, where are all the spirits. Here takes place the invocation of the dead fathers and mothers. Now I kneel and say: "You, my mothers, my fathers, my grandfathers, perhaps you are gathered together in this Holy Church. But may you come hither that I may give thanks to you, though it is nothing more than just one row, two rows of candles, and also my roses at your altar, upon your altar, for you, my mothers, you, my fathers, as sign that I am your child, that I am here in this world in the white light of day. This it is, what I ask of you: grace and pardon and release: that nothing may befall me in my house with my wedded wife and also all my children. It is I, perhaps, who will talk and discuss with the people of the village, and also with the authorities, and also with the neighboring villages. But may there be no evil word, no evil suggestion in what I say, in what I discuss, and also in that which I think concerning my possessions. Perhaps I worry about what I should do, am troubled to know from where shall come our money, that which we shall eat and drink, as you did also, our mothers, our fathers. Good were the actions, good the words which you saw and heard. This, then, is what I ask, what I pray for, before your faces and persons. But it is not for me to ask more now. This it is which I give you now before your altar. Perhaps there is one who will come to judge, to boast, to devise lies before your face and person. But take no account of these words. It is for this that I always come before your face and person, for this that I come in to sustain and serve you before your divine manifestations. You, my mothers, you, my fathers, however many may be your faces and persons, be equal in seeing and hearing what is before your altar. I am your daughter, I am your son before this World. Come, accept this in peace! May you not be of two hearts and spirits in accepting that INVOCATION OF THE DESTINY ANIMAL 317 which I give to you. And also the one line, two lines of the doctrina, of my sight and aspect." And now the departure: "Hail, blessed spirits in Purgatory, Alcalde Judges, and also our king, Sefor Sacramento, Assumption! May you give me your benediction upon my face and head. Jesus, Romal, Retal, The Holy Cross. Amen, Jesds. In the name of God, the Father, God, the Son. Jesus, Amen." No. 6. The Invocation of the Destiny Animal (Divinations in 8 aj) If a man is sick it may be that his destiny is claiming him. He may have done no harm, but, on the other hand, he may have failed to give thanks. If I make divinations on behalf of a sick man and it falls out in 8 aj, then I say to him that perhaps he has not given thanks to the day of his destiny, and if he agrees, then we begin at once to perform the ceremony of his destiny. For aj is the name of the day of one's life and name and fortune, of all that one has or needs. This is general for all people. 8 aj is the day on which to establish one's fortune, to call it, and recognize it. For it is our belief that the fortune of a person is incarnated in some animal, some serpent, large or small; some flying creature, large or small, or some quadruped of the mountains. Such is one's fate. Perhaps one may encounter one's destiny animal in the mountains, perhaps not. The rite of 8 aj is to call one's fate that one may meet supernatural beings or the animal of one's good fortune in one's work, and also to give thanks for one's destiny. The invocation of the destiny animal is performed in nine ceremonies, eight communications, and then the offering. The final ceremony is on the day aj, the other ceremonies on other days, as the days may come. Let us say that we begin in the day 3 ajpu. For each communication the diviner burns two ounces of incense in his house before his idols. "Hail, World, light of day, come hither: It is I, master of incense, master of candles, master of the pointed stick; it is my light and fortune to serve as defender and protector before your presence, World. It is I who have been entrusted with this rite and ceremony for curing sickness and pain which may touch us. And in this I have been entrusted with the rites and ceremonies which belonged to our first mothers and fathers. These things did not descend with their spirits into the earth. No, World, we still celebrate these rites and ceremonies before the world. It seems that here I stand to see and hear these rites and ceremonies. And also to me have come those who wish to see and hear something concerning the sickness and pain which have touched them. And it is my duty to aid in their light and fortune those who wish to see and hear; it is not for me to deceive them. No, this is my duty, the sacred office with which I have been entrusted. "It seems that this poor man, Miguel Gonzales, is not well. 'I amhere,' he said, and I consulted my sacred bundle for him and I saw in it the fate of this poor one. He has been guilty of neglect before the spirit of his destiny. He has not given thanks to him, World. So now we shall accomplish this. What is his light and fortune? Only let us sustain him that he may not die, this unfortunate one. World, pardon my trespass. Tell us and let us know what is the light and fortune of this poor Miguel Gonzales. Come 318 CHICHICASTENANGO hither, World. Come hither Our Father, Christ! Come hither guardian of our fate and destiny, Sefior San Juan Bautista, San Juan Padrino, and be seated. What is the destiny of this unfortunate? Is it a snake, a lizard, a small lizard, the mother of snakes, the green snake, masacuate, coral snake, frog? Or is it a fox, rabbit, armadillo, or a wildcat? Or coyote or jaguar or puma; or is it one of those who live in the sky the destiny of this unfortunate? Come hither sacred creatures, hawk, owl, buzzard, raven! Or is it the wild dove? What is it, World? Or is it an idol, a large idol, a small idol, a serpent idol, an animal idol, a jaguar idol; a female idol, a male idol? Or is it one of the saints, the lord of dimes and quarters, the lord of corn, the lord of wheat, the lord of business, the lord of industry? What is his light and fortune, World? Is it the lord of trade, the lord of masons, the lord of builders, lord of weavers? What may it be, World? Here we invoke him, we invite him once, twice, three times, four times, five times, six times, seven times, eight times, and on the ninth time we shall pay our fine to free this unfortunate. "What is the error of this unfortunate before his light and fortune? Because I have seen it in my sacred bundle, in the named corn, in the seeds of the pito, World. We see and arrange to look after this unfortunate, to invoke your divine spirit, World; to invoke the lord of sickness and pain who has touched this unfortunate; to invoke the name of our destiny, Sefior San Juan Bautista, San Juan Padrino, and also Our Father Christ on this master day, 3 ajpu, 3 aj. It seems he has neglected his light and destiny before the master day 6 ajmaq. It seems he has been at fault in invoking his light and destiny before your presence. World, and also in the invocation of the master day 10 ajpu. Perhaps he has been at fault within his house, and has merely consumed his food and drink without remembering his light and fortune, World. Pardon my trespass. I also wish to invoke his light and fortune before the master day 12 iq'. Perhaps the destiny stones are claiming him. This is also for the invocation of his light and fortune before your presence, World; and also the invocation for the master day 3 karme, before your presence, World. Only forgiveness we ask. Perhaps he has been at fault before your presence, World. Pardon my trespass. This is also to invoke his light and fortune before the master day 6 tro]. What is the meaning of the sickness and pain which have touched this unfortunate Miguel Gonzales? But only let us invoke his name and fortune; let not sickness and pain touch him because of this error, World. Pardon my trespass. And this also is to invoke his light and fortune before the master day 9 'e. What is it that they have given him before God? Only let us pay our fine and portion. Only let us prepare and pay for the light and fortune of this unfortunate Miguel Gonzales. So that on a certain day, a certain hour, the inscribed day, 10 aj we may invoke the light and fortune of this unfortunate, that he may not be given punishment and suffering, World, nor vet this sickness which has touched him. And furthermore, Sefior San Juan Padrino, San Juan Bautista, may you grant to us whatever may be our good fortune before God. And also Our Father, Christ, we are your sons before this world. Give us your heart and spirit, and your benediction on the head of this unfortunate Miguel Gonzales. "This is all, World, this incense to follow you and call you for the master days 3 ajpu, 3 aj, 6 ajmaq, 10 ajpu, 12 'iq', 3 kanm, 6 t'oj, 9 'e.18 when we shall 18 These days follow at intervals of a few days. All nine ceremonies are completed within 33 days of the beginning. INVOCATION OF THE DESTINY ANIMAL 319 finish giving him his fine and portion for the invocation and payment for the light and fortune of this unfortunate Miguel Gonzales, World. These are the days on which you may await me, World. Pardon my trespass. Only the jun kalamld..." This is the first communication in 3 ajpu. The same prayers are repeated on the eight days mentioned, ending on 9 'e with the final communication before the ceremony of 10 aj. The communications are made in the house of the diviner, before his idols. Now one prepares the materials for the final ceremony, the ceremony of the 10 aj. These are: For the World: 25 cakes of copal, 9 wax candles at 1 peso, 2 ounces of incense, 10 pesos aguardiente, and sugar. For the church: 25 cakes of copal to burn in front of the church, 2 wax tapers at 1 peso for San Juan, aguardiente, 25 cakes of copal to burn in front of Calvario, and 2 wax tapers at 1 peso. For the house: 2 candles at 1 peso in front of the idols or the saints, with aguardiente poured over the idols or in front of the saint, plenty of incense, and pine of the floor. In all these places the prayers are the same as already given, except in front of the church. The beginning is the same, but the end is different. After one has finished the prayer as given above, one says: "What will you do for this unfortunate, helpers and intercessors, the nine, ten sacristans, the six cofradias with standards, the eight cofradias without standards, the five groups of councillors? What will you do for this unfortunate, all you who are in charge here, the masters and rulers of the nine altars? Come hither, mother, father. Accept this and be not of two hearts concerning the offering of this unfortunate Miguel Gonzales. Only the jun kalamld..." And at the end of the prayer for burning incense in front of Calvario it is as follows: "And also the sacristans and custodians of Calvario, the tunqa'19, we are in your presence. Perhaps it is the first, perhaps the second, perhaps the third, among you, our mothers and fathers, lords of the sacristy of Calvario, for you each have your weeks, sacristans and tunqa'. Perhaps it is the light and fortune of this unfortunate that you say to the masters, enough of this sickness and pain in the hands and feet of this unfortunate Miguel Gonzales. Yes, Father Christ, and the lords and rulers before the door. Only the jun kalamld..." And now the ceremony in the house of the patient. When we arrive the people of the house may, if they choose, give me something to drink. Then we arrange the room, spread pine, wash the idols, if there are any, or the saints, if there are any. Then we light the candles, and ask for live coals to light the incense. "Hail, divine aspect of this house and hearth. Hail, divine aspect of stones and destiny. Hail, Saint (Tomas, Rosario, etc.)20 Come hither, lords and rulers, and be seated for one moment, two moments. It is I who am entrusted with this sacred office to serve, it seems, as defender and liberator 19 The tunqa" hold office for life, and form a cult group with important secret ceremonies during Holy Week. 20 They call upon the saint whose image is in the house. 320 CHICHICASTENANGO and helper to the inhabitants of this village and these fields. So here is this unfortunate Miguel Gonzales who has been touched by sickness and pain. I have seen, I have heard through my sacred bundle that he has failed to give thanks for his light and fortune. It seems he has invoked his light and fortune eight times. What is in store for him before God? This is the day, this is the hour to pay our fine before the World, and also within the house and place of the holy church before San Juan Padrino, San Juan Bautista, and also with our Father in Calvario. And now here we complete our payment for the invocation of his fortune and destiny. What it is we do not know. It is for God and also for San Juan Bautista to grant whatever may be the fortune and destiny of this unfortunate Miguel Gonzales, invoked here before your presence, house and place." Here we go around the room with incense. "May his light and fortune be invoked before your presence, destiny stones, summoned here before you." Here we kneel before the idols. "May not the sickness which is upon this poor one become worse, but may it peacefully subside in his feet and hands. Hail, house and hearth, hail destiny stones, hail also our mothers, our fathers, our grandmothers, our grandfathers! Perhaps you are here within this house and place. May you alike see and hear what lies upon your altar (we sprinkle the aguardiente on the idols). May you alike arrange for this, your son, who has been touched with sickness and pain. Yes, accept this, lords and rulers. Peace be with you. Only the jun kalamld..." Then the diviner says to the patient: "Now our mission is ended, son." "Yes, father. Pardon us. Please be seated." "Don't trouble yourself." Then the woman places something to eat on the table: "Here, father, pardon us. Please eat this poor bit of food. Perhaps we have caused you hunger and thirst, and perhaps you are tired because of us. Pardon us. Take this." "Don't say that. This is our office." "Take this. Please do not be of two hearts and minds about our ceremony, father. Pardon us." "Don't say that. Many thanks. Many thanks, mother." Then he eats. After eating: "Yes, many thanks, son. Many thanks, mother." "Yes, father. Don't thank us for this poor bit." He gathers his things together. "Yes. Be observant here and watch how things come out, and if you have any sign in your body, or if you improve a little, let me know, and I also perhaps may have a sign in my body and if so I shall tell you what it may mean." "Yes, father, I will tell you how I get along, and if, as you say, there is any sign, we shall note it and I shall come to you." No. 7. The Initiation of a Chuchqajau21 In the beginning one says in his heart: "Ah, little father, what shall Ido? I suffer greatly in my head, and also in my hands and feet." Then, after a few days, when he feels no better, in spite of having taken 21 Translated and abridged from a text written in Quiche and Spanish by a literate Quich6 chuchqajau. INITIATION OF CHUCHQAJAU 321 many medicines, he tells his wife, if he is married, or else his parents or brothers, and says: "What shall I do, my mothers, my fathers? For a long time I have been touched by sickness." "Well, what chuchqajau shall we consult, boy?" "It is up to you which chuchqajau to consult on my behalf, my father." "Very well, let us go to this gentleman, Boc (Sebastian) Siwar." "Very well, father. Pardon my trespass." Now when the time comes the father of the patient goes to the house of the chuchqajau and says: "Excuse me, Father; excuse me, Mother." "Yes, Father, come in." "Yes, thank you." "There is a chair; sit down." "Yes, Father, many thanks. It is good, Father, that you are here. As for me, I have come to you because you have been entrusted with the sacred office of watching over us. I have come to ask one or two words of your sacred bundle, sir. Pardon my trespass." "Tell me what you have to say, sir." "As for me, sir, it is that my son has been suffering from headaches and pains in his legs and arms; so he has said to me. And now I wish to ask you what is the meaning of this. Pardon my trespass, Sir." "Do not say that, sir. Now let us see what this may mean." "Yes, sir. Pardon my trespass." Now the chuchqajau begins to spread out his seeds on the table, meanwhile calling on the ancestors and on Our Father, Jesus Christ. "Hail, Our Father Christ, who is in heaven, and Our Father Christ, who is in Calvario, turn hither your light and fortune! And also our first mothers and fathers who looked after the rites and customs of the pointed stick, the masters of incense and candles, the defenders and liberators of those who came to them to be cared for, masters of divination by blood, come hither, however many may be your manifestations! I wish to ask one word, two words before your presence, lords. Turn hither your faces, however many you may be. It is on behalf of this unfortunate... " He turns to the father of the patient, if it is someone whom he does not know, and asks him his name, and he answers; "My name is Manuel, pardon my trespass." "Yes, my Father Christ, and also the first mothers and fathers, come hither! And also the magic seeds of the pita, come hither. Only the jun kalaml..." Now begins the rite of divination. "Yes, my sacred bundle, pardon my trespass. Perhaps it is one hour, two hours since our father came out to look down upon us in this world. As for us, we wish to ask one word, two words, of you. What is the fault in the hands and feet of this unfortunate Manuel that has been touched by sickness and pain? What is the meaning for this unfortunate..." He asks the father, "What is the name of your son?" and he answers: "It is Miguel, sir." "Yes, sacred bundle, speak out and tell me what it means for this unfortunate Miguel Gonzales, that his head aches, and also his legs and arms. So this unfortunate says, Lords. I ask the clear truth before your face, sacred bundle. Do not lie to me." Now he takes a handful of seeds and puts them aside, and begins to count them out, four by four, so that they lie like this. 322 CHICHICASTENANGO (Begin):::::::::::::* (End) Now he begins with the last pile that is laid down, the one containing three seeds, and asks the question in the name of the day 9 aj, for that is the name of the form and substance of our personality. And now it will be in the middle piles, and in the first and the last that one will read the meaning and the cause of the sickness of the patient. But one must do this four times with the same result to have an answer. And if the four trials do not yield any clear answer, then it means that the patient is about to pass into the other life, and that the chuchqajau can do nothing for him. Of course, the father may consult another diviner. But if the trials yield a consistent answer, then one can defend the patient with ceremonies. Let us suppose in this case that the trials come out consistently in 'e and kiej. (As the seeds lie above, the final group, the first laid down, would be 2 'e, the upper right hand corner, a crucial point, 10 kiej.) The interpretation of this would be that the patient has refused to receive some sacred office from the ancestors. Then the diviner says to the father of the patient: "Ah, sir, what can this mean, do you think? That which I see is the light and destiny of your son. Has he fulfilled his destiny?" "That is true, sir. Whatever was his destiny in the past, that he has done." "It may be true what you say about his destiny, but that which I see here seems to concern his personality." "It must be so, since you see it, sir.' "That is so, as it is for me also. It is with this office that your son is to be entrusted. This is what is necessary; think it over with your son." "Yes, sir. If this is true, then I shall advise you what he says, sir. Pardon my trespass. And now will you ask one more question, sir. If my son gets well, should he receive the sacred office? Sir, pardon my trespass." "Yes. We shall see in a moment." "Yes, sir. Pardon my trespass." Now after invoking the sacred bundle he asks the questions again. As in the first instance, he takes a handful of seeds, and counts them out, four by four, and if they come out paired four times, then it means that the patient will get well. But if they do not come out even, then one makes nine communications to invoke the light and fortune of the patient.22 First, he says to the father: "Ah, sir, but your son has committed some fault. Or, perhaps, it was not a good day when your son was born?" "Dios! That is so, if you see it, sir." "So be it. Then I say to you also, sir, it would be better to go another chuchqajau and see if he also says what I have said, or not. Perhaps it will come out that he is the one to free your son, sir." "That is true, sir. Pardon my trespass. I shall talk this over with my son, and come back to you. Pardon my trespass, sir. This is the fee for the questions asked of your sacred office." He puts five pesos on the table for the diviner, and the diviner says: "Many thanks, sir." "Do not say that, sir. It is a poor trifle. Yes, sir. This is the business I had with you. I am going now." 22 See pp. 317ff. INITIATION OF CHtTCHQAJAU 323 "Yes, go in peace." Now the chuchqajau says to his sacred bundle: "Yes, sacred bundle, pardon my trespass. And you also, Our Father Christ, come hither! And also the first fathers and mothers, come hither. Perhaps I intruded on you in order to see the light and destiny of this unfortunate, and you have shown us what is the mistake of this poor one. But I have nothing more to ask of you, only the jun kalamld..." Now he wraps up his sacred bundle and returns it to its place, and the father of the boy returns to his house, and says.to his son and his wife: "The chuchqajau said he could do nothing. This is what he said, son: that it is a matter of your light and destiny. Think it over. What will you do about this?" "My father, it is for you to say what I shall do, and what you will do for me, father." "That is right, boy. I must think it over, whether to do this, or whether just to perform ceremonies for you." "Yes, father. Pardon my trespass." Now the father will think this thing over with his wife and discuss what they can do about the statements of the diviner. And the first thing that they do is to go to three or four other diviners with the same question, what is the meaning of the sickness of their son, and they in turn make the same trials with their sacred bundles, and if the results are the same as the first divinations, then they believe that this is the true meaning of this sickness. And if other things come out, then they do not believe this, and merely make strong ceremonies of defense on behalf of their son, saying that this is to rescue his life from the sacred office. But let us suppose that all say the same thing. Then when the father returns to his house he says to his wife and his son: "Well, their words are the same. Now, son, what will you do about this?" "So is it the same, father?" "It is the same, I tell you. And they also asked, son, whether you have not had signs in your dreams, that it is true what the diviners say? Think and try to remember, boy." "It is true, my father. It happened some time ago that I dreamed that I was making divinations before a woman, and another time that I was burning incense in the door of the church. But it was long ago, father. Pardon my trespass." "Because of this thing which happened long ago, because of this, this sickness has come upon you now, boy. We must think about this, boy." "Yes, my father. Pardon my trespass." Then the father thinks it over with his wife, wondering what they can do for their sick son, and finally they decide that they will make the communications on behalf of the light and destiny of their child. But first they consider the qualifications of the different chuchqajau: who is the most competent and respected, and honorable in his divinations, and they go to him to advise him that they wish to begin the communications. First the father talks this over with his wife, and reaches an agreement with her, and then he speaks to the son, some three or four days after the first divinations. "Mother, what shall I do in regard to the ceremonies for your son. Is it good for him to receive the holy things (alixik)?" "It is you who will decide, if you know from where you will get the money." "It is not the money that I think about. One can always manage that. The boy must not die because of that." 324 CHICHICASTENANGO "'It is true, one always manages." Now the father goes to the boy: "Boy, what are you going to do about your ceremonies?" "Are not you my father? Where will the money come from?" "We can manage that, boy. You must not die for this." "Many thanks, my father." "And now also, boy, to whom among the chuchqajau shall we go in order to have him make the communications?" "It is up to you, father, to choose whom you will. As for me, I have nothing to say, only that you do me this favor, father. Pardon my trespass." "This is what I say, boy. Perhaps Boc (Sebastian) Xalwa would be a good person, for he has great patience, as I have seen, and furthermore he does not take aguardiente. Because if one takes aguardiente one does not perform one's business promptly, but gets drunk and neglects one's affairs. But this man of whom I speak does not take much aguardiente." "That is true, father. And since you are still alive, do me the favor to look after this for me. As for me, if I live, I shall look after you whenever you may need me afterwards." "Very well. And this also, boy. What we must do now is to make this man our compadre, and you also." "Yes, perhaps that is the way, father. I do not know anything about these things; I only know how to eat." "Yes, I shall go tomorrow." "Very well, father. Pardon my trespass." Early the following day, at about seven o'clock, the father of the patient makes ready. If he can, he takes with him ten pesos of aguardiente, either from his house, or else he stops on the way for it. This aguardiente he will give to the chuchqajau instead of cacao. Now he goes, and presently he arrives at the house of the chuchqajau, Boc Xalwa, and he greets him according to his rank in the cofradias. If he is a former mayordomo, he greets him by that title, and, after he has sat down, proceeds at once with his errand. "Yes, former mayordomo, pardon my trespass, that I have intruded thus upon your privacy." "Ah, it is nothing." "As for us, it is only by the will of God that we still live and remain at peace before the faces of the first mothers and fathers. But it is not for us to buy the movements of our father, Sun. Nevertheless let us trespass upon his time and intrude upon his presence with our requests before his divine presence, former mayordomo." "Speak out your request, sir." "As for me, you will recall that I came to you to ask for divinations." "That is so, sir. And what does your son say about it '" "He is just the same, former mayordomo." "A Dios! I see great trouble." "Just so, former mayordomo. Shall I come back again to you? We have come back once more, and do not hide your face from us, sir. There are still many things more which we wish to ask, sir. Is the light and fortune of our son what you have said, sir?" "A Dies! It is just as I told you when you first asked me, sir." "That is so, former mayordomo. As for us, we have been thinking over in INITIATION OF CHOUCHQAJAU 325 our hearts what you have said, and today we have decided, sir, that we shall lay upon our son this sacred office, former mayordomo. Not for this shall he die. This is clear, and we shall bear the expense, former mayordomo. This is that you may pardon our trespass, sir." The father of the patient kneels in front of the chuchqajau and pours out the aguardiente into glasses, and offers a glass to the chuchqajau, and one to his wife. "This is what we have decided in our talks and conversations with my son, former mayordomo. Would you do my son the honor to become his holy godmother- godfather? May you be the one to fulfill for him the needs of his light and destiny, former mayordomo. I have nothing to offer but my devotions and my prayers before your holy presence, and this drink of cold water, freezing water, former mayordomo. Pray, accept it." "Dear sir, do not do this. This aguardiente is needed to make things clear, sir." "It is only a poor trifle, former mayordomo, for your great kindness, because one always does this. Pray accept it, former mayordomo. Now the diviner speaks the blessing over the glass of aguardiente, saying: "Yes, Sefior Cristo, and you also, Lords, turn hither your faces and smell of this cold water, this freezing water, for it was you who gave it in the world of heaven, and you also, My Father Christ. Come hither! It is I who ask your hand in blessing upon this cup, my father, and you also, Lords. Only the jun Icalamld..." He makes the sign of the cross over the glass and drinks it and gives thanks to the father of the patient, who then gives the wife of the chuchqajau to drink, and if there is still some left the chuchqajau tells the father of the patient to drink also. And after they have finished drinking, the father of the patient kneels again before the diviner and says: "Former mayordomo, pardon my trespass. Wherever we may go in the course of this matter, we shall follow your light and fortune, wherever it may bring us out. What we wish at once is to make the communication to the World, and also before the first ancestors, for that, perhaps, may result in some improvement in the condition of our son. Former mayordomo, pardon my trespass." "That is true, sir. Let us see to it. I shall make trials to see if it is good to do this, and also to learn what day will be good to make the first communication." The chuohqajau clears his table and unwraps his bundle of seeds on the table. Now he begins to see if it is true that the person of the patient is indeed in urgent need of receiving the sacred office. After the divinations, he says to the father of the patient: "What is the name of your son," and he answers that his son's name is Miguel Gonzales. Then he makes his divinations again to see in what day he should perform the first communication, and he says: "Dear sir, it is indeed true what we have said concerning the light and destiny of your son. I asked, and it has answered. And now this I must ask you, sir. Is it truly his wish that we go ahead and prepare for your son to receive this sacred office as his light and destiny?" "Yes, sir, let us do it. My son must not die because of this, former mayordomo." "Very well. Please God that he may live. But today it is necessary that I go there to his house to ask the patient what he has in his heart. It is 326 CCHICICASTENANGO necessary that he tell everything, whether it is god or bad, so that when we begin to make the communications all may go well. If we do not do this the boy may die." "Yes, former mayordomo. When will you come to see to this? I shall go and let them know to expect you at our house, former mayordomo." "We must not delay, for it is necessary. It would be good to do this tomorrow at sunrise. And do this: sweep the inside of the house and the patio also, and have ready two ounces of incense and two pieces of candle for me to leave when I offer the confession of the boy." "Yes, sir. Pardon my trespass. We shall do this, and we shall expect you, former mayordomo." "Yes, and also let him recall all that is within his heart, that all may go well. For if he does not confess then suddenly we shall have to whip the boy." Now the meaning of these words is that the chuchqajau has to go to the house of the patient to receive his confession of all the sins which he has committed, and if he says that his sins are too bad to confess, the chuchqajau must whip him with whips so that he may throw these sins off from his person. There are four switches, and with these he gives him some twelve lashes, in accordance with the number of his sins. And after he has declared all his sins before his parents and his wife, then the chuchqajau takes these switches and leaves them in some mountain shrine. But first he burns incense in the house, and later at the shrine, and makes the confession to the World on behalf of the boy. The following morning the chuchqajau arrives at the house of the patient, and says: "Excuse me, sir." "Yes, former mayordomo. Come into the house." "Yes. Excuse me, madam." "Yes. There is a chair, former mayordomo." "Yes, sir. Pardon my words. As for me, I wish only to ask truth in one or two words before God. But we cannot buy the movements of the sun, and so, if you will pardon the intrusion, I shall at once declare my business before your holy presence, sir."23 "Yes, former mayordomo." "As for me, this is the day, this is the hour when I have come to see the patient and how we shall help him, sir." "Yes, indeed, former mayordomo. Many thanks that you have come. We have been worried. 'Perhaps he will not come,' we were saying, former mayordomo." "No, I have come. The sun rose early." "Yes, former mayordomo, pardon our trespass. Perhaps we have caused you fatigue." "No, do not say that, sir." "As for us. we have nothing to offer you here within our house, only this poor drink of warm water. Former mayordomo, pardon our words." They bring him coffee to drink. "Yes, sir. Many thanks." He takes the coffee and thanks them, and then tells them all to assemble, the parents of the patient, and his wife, if he has one, and tells the patient to sit up in his bed, and he sets his sacred bundle on a table in front of the bed. 23 Without taking time to go through the formal greetings. INITIATION OF CHTUCHQAJAU 327 "This is the day, boy, for you to make your confession, and perhaps to unburden your mind of all that is in your heart, boy. Tell everything, and do not be afraid or ashamed to tell it, for we all have our faults before God, boy." "Yes, sir, pardon my trespass. As for me, I shall do as you say, for I do not want to die for this. This is what I did when my father sent me on a journey. There was a certain portion which I withheld and did not turn over to him. This is what I did, sir. And also when my father took aguardiente somtimes he lost track of his money and I did not give it all back to him, but I spent it and ate bread which I bought." "Aha! Now tell all, boy." "And this also, sir. I also took aguardiente with my father andsometimes alone outside, and after I had taken aguardiente I would speak to women, and give them aguardiente, and then I would lie down with them in the fields, and sometimes I went with them to prison. This is what I did with the money which I spent, sir. Pardon my trespass." "Ah! Good! But you were not yet married when you did this, boy?" "I did this before I was married, and also when I was already married, sir." "Ah, is it true, boy, what you have said?" "It is all true, sir. I have told you this, and now beat me for it." "Aha! But have you knelt down before your father and mother and also before your wife, boy?" "I shall do it, sir."24 Now if he is able he kneels down, or if he cannot, then he just kisses the hands of his parents and his wife, and asks their pardon. Now again he consults his bundle to see whether it would be good to punish the boy or not because he has openly declared all that is in his heart. And if the seeds come out paired, then they do not punish him, but only pay his fine of fifty cakes of copal in the mountain. Then he says: "This is what I see, sir. Only let us pay his fine in the mountain. Because if we give him thewhip, perhaps it would not be good." "Yes, sir." "Boy, kneel down before your mother and father, and also before your wife." "Yes, sir." Then the boy kneels again, and says: "Pardon my trespass, my father. Perhaps I have been crazy, but I will not do it again. Only pardon my trespass. Give me your hand. And you also, mother, pardon my trespass. Give me your hand. And you also, daughter, pardon my trespass. I shall not do it again. Give me your hand. And you also, sir, pardon my trespass. Give me your hand." They all answer the same way: "Yes, boy. Do not do it again." And after this is finished, the patient lies down again, and the hchqucajau asks for live coals to light his incense, and he goes into all the rooms and the patio with incense. And if there are saints or idols in the house, he places before them two candles and says: "Hail, my house and place, and also you, holy World, and you, lord of sickness, who have touched this poor Miguel Gonzales, come hither and be seated. And also you who watch over us in this world. 24 The balance of the boy's cofession, which is of lack of love for his wife is given on pp. 126, 127. 328 CHICHICASTENANGO "It has happened that this unfortunate has been touched by sickness and pain. But he has declared and confessed his sins before his mother and father and also before his wife. He says: I am guilty, I have sinned, I have taken money that belonged to my father! So he declared, lords. But he humbled himself and bowed his head before his mother and father and also before his wife. Now you, you who watch and listen in the white light of day and in the dark shadows of night, and also you, Sefior San Pedro, liberate this unfortunate from his bondage. Enough of this sickness and pain! "And he also declared one or two words more. It is his light and destiny to follow out and complete all that is necessary. Sefior San Pedro, pardon my trespass. I am the witness; I am the guarantor for this unfortunate, that he will not repeat his faults. Holy watchers, holy listeners, I have only these bits of candle, this trifle of incense to efface the sins of this unfortunate. Perhaps when I leave here I shall go to the mountain Turqa'...25 to set aside the word or two which this unfortunate has spoken. Holy house and place, pardon my trespass, and also you, female idol, male idol, pardon my trespass. Only the jun kalamld... "Yes, sir, now I have finished my task." "Yes, former mayordomo. Wait for us a moment." They offer him something to drink, and after he has taken it he gives thanks. Then the father asks him how much they owe him for his work, and then he says: "Yes, sir. You should bring two ounces of incense and five candles of four reales each, and a bottle of water to wash off the words which the boy has spoken before the World." "Yes, sir, I shall bring this to you in the mountain.' "That is good in case you are free. Or if you have other business, I shall do it alone." "No, it is customary to go, sir." So they get ready to leave for the mountain. Then the chuchqajau says to the patient: "Boy, believe in the grace of God, and in the recovery of your light and destiny. And tomorrow we shall make the communication on behalf of your destiny." "Yes, sir. Many thanks to you." "Yes. And also we shall give notice that on the master day 6 kiej we shall perform the first ceremony for the boy, sir. And we must figure out how much it will be for all the ceremonies. You will hear from me at my house the day after tomorrow." "Yes, sir. I want to know." "Let us go now, sir." When they reach the shrine they remove their hats, kneel, and say: "Hail, World, pardon our trespass, that we advance before your divine presence. Only the jun kalamrld..." Now they light the incense, and they leave the bottle of water uncorked on the altar. At the end of the prayer they sprinkle the water on all sides of the altar. The prayers and statements are the same as those in the house. At the end the father of the boy gives the chuchqajau a drink of aguardiente, and then asks him how much he owes him for his work, and pays him right away. Then they separate, and each one returns to his house. 25 He must consult the seeds to see in what shrine to leave the boy's offering. INITIATION OF OHUOHQAJAU 329 On the third day the father of the patient goes to the house of the chuchqajau to ask concerning the ceremonies which they must perform, and the materials necessary for the first ceremony for initiating the boy into the sacred office. On this day the father of the patient tells his wife and his son that he must go to the house of the chuchqaau to ask concerning the boy's ceremony. Then he leaves and comes to the house of the chuchqajau. "Pardon my trespass, sir, I have come to find out about our affairs, as you intructed me." "And this also, sir. Have you had no sign regarding this matter?" "No. There was nothing. What does the patient say?" "Only this, sir, that he is no worse." "Yes, it is slow." "Yes, that is what we have said, sir." "Very well. I shall consult my bundle to see if they will receive us on the day 6 kiej, as I told you." So he makes divinations in the day 6 kiej to see whether they will accept the fine on that day, and if the seeds lie paired, then they will do it on this day. At the end of the divination, he says to the father of the patient: "It is good for this day, sir." "Yes, sir. And how much is this ceremony?" "Well, this one is very small. Only 25 cakes of copal, 2 pesos of candles at 2 reales each, and 4 reales of roses, and then 5 pesos of candles of 2 reales each which we shall leave in the house of the house of the saints (the church)." "Yes, sir." "And also I must tell you at what shrine we shall worship, for wherever we begin, there we shall end, and also, when we have completed the nine ceremonies, for the last ceremony we shall place the cross of the boy on his altar, sir." " That is right, sir. And I ask you, would it not be good to do this before my own shrine. When we place his cross let us place it there, and when we place it, the cross of the boy will be there, together with mine, and when I die it will be there. Shall we go there, sir? Pardon my trespass." "All right. Let us see; and if it is good, let us go and look at your shrine." The diviner consults the seeds to see whether it is good to perform the ceremonies of the boy in the shrine of his father, and if the seeds do not lie paired, they look for another place. If they come out paired on half of the trials the interpretation is that they can perform the ceremonies of the son in this place, but only if at the end they erect a cross for the son beside that of his father. And if the father does not have an altar on his own land, (or if he has no father), then they will make a shrine for him, four yards square. Then on the day preceding the first ceremony, the chuchqajau comes to the house of the patient, and goes out with the father of the patient, or his brother if he has no father, and they look for a suitable place to make the altar, and leave it cleared and levelled, and they sprinkle a bottle of water over this place, with a few words of explanation spoken by the diviner. Assuming that they can use the father's shrine, then he says: "Well, it is good, sir, if we use your shrine." "Yes, that is good. You have seen this, sir." "Then for today, I need only tell you that the first ceremony will be to invoke the powers there before your altar. On the day 5 kamg, in the morning, we shall perform this ceremony, sir." 330 CHICHICASTENANGO "Yes, sir, pardon my trespass. And what materials shall I buy, sir? Pardon my trespass." "Nothing except 5 pesos of aguardiente and 2 ounces of incense for the invocation of the world, and the holy spirits in the church." "Yes, sir. Will it be in the morning or the afternoon, I should like to know?" "At sunrise, sir, I shall come to you." "Very well, sir. Pardon my trespass. This was my business with you. We shall await you there, sir. Now I shall go." On the day 5 kame (April 17) the chuchqajau comes early in the morning to the house of the patient, and says: "Excuse me, sir." "Yes, sir, come in." "Excuse me, mother." "Yes, sir." "How is the patient?" "He is about the same, sir." "Yes, it will be slow. I have come to see about our affair." "Yes, sir, pardon our trespass. Here are our offerings, and also 5 pesos of aguardiente. Sir, excuse our trespass." "Yes. Let us go." We go to the shrine, and when we arrive there say: "Hail, World, pardon our trespass. It is we who come before your divine presence, World, and also before the god of the cloudy firmament, and the place where the sun rises, and the place where the sun sets, and the third side of the world and the fourth side of the world. Turn hither your faces! And also the everlasting Jesu Cristo in heaven, come hither. Only the jun kalamla..." Then they light the candles, if there are any (this is not interesting or important), only they place the aguardiente in the place or in the altar if there is one, and burn the incense, and say: "Hail, World, it is we who come before your divine presence and before the sacred office with which I have been entrusted. It is not slanders that we shall speak here. No, World, this is the unfortunate Manuel Gonzales whose son, Miguel Gonzales, has been touched by sickness and pain, and he consulted the bundle to find out what was the meaning of the sickness that had touched this unfortunate one. But I also looked and I saw the masters of the pointed stick. What is the meaning of this sickness and pain which had touched him? But that was not his light and destiny, that which it said, World. Then his mother and father said, Let us do it; our son must not die for this. So they said, World. Perhaps they will undertake and fulfill the payment of his fine and portion for the day 9 ix, World. "Then where shall we go, World? To begin, you are here, you, the seat and altar of his mothers and fathers, so here we shall place the payment of this unfortunate one, and when we have completed his payments, then here also we shall place the cross of the light and destiny of this poor Miguel Gonzales. World, pardon our trespass. I only ask grace to begin these offerings before your presence, World. Perhaps it will be tomorrow, the appointed day and hour when we shall give the first payment and portion above this altar, beneath this altar, on the master day 6 kiej. But accept us, do not turn us away, World. Pardon our trespass. Enough of this sickness and pain on this unfortunate. World, pardon our trespass. This is no more than the invocation of his light and destiny, World, on this master day, 5 kamIe. I ask pardon, INITIATION OF COHtTHQAJAXU 331 World. Pardon our trespass and await us tomorrow, World. Only the jun kalamld..." "Yes, sir, now we have finished our task." "Yes, sir. Pardon our trespass. Now let us go to my house." When we arrive at the house; they bring him something to drink. He takes it, and then gives thanks. Then he instructs them again what offerings they must prepare for the following day. Then the father of the boy arranges with the chuchqajau concerning payment.26 On the following day, 6 kiej (April 18), the chuchqajau comes again to the house of the patient. They bring him something to drink. After he has taken, it he gives thanks. Then he asks for the offerings. They take the things and go to the shrine. When they arrive there, they kneel down at once. After a few words, they take out the offerings, light the candles and set fire to the incense. "Hail, World, be seated here where you can look upon us, and also, holy watchers and listeners in the cloudy firmament, and lord of sickness of pain, come hither where you can look upon us; and also Our Father Christ who is in heaven, and also he who is in Calvario; and also our Eternal Father, and also Sefior San Pedro, master of the arts of divination, come hither; and also our patron, Santo Tomns Apostle, San Sebastian, San Jose, Sefior Sacramento, Maria Rosario, Sefora Maria Dolor, Sefor San Miguel, San Augustin, Maria Concepcion, San Nazareno, Sefor San Antonio, Sefor San Juan Bautista; and also the first mothers and fathers, come hither; and also the alcalde lords of justice, the magistrates and the five councilmen and the secretaries, come hither; and also the souls of our common mothers and fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers, ancestors of this poor Miguel Gonzales, come hither. And also the lords of divination, the lords of the seeds of pita, come hither. And also the watchers and listeners before the door of the house of the saints, come hither; and also the twelve, thirteen thousand revealed days of time; and also the masters of divination by blood and intuition, come hither to watch over and listen to this poor Miguel Gonzales who has been touched by sickness and pain. "But I, lords, have become his compadre-comadre; I shall undertake and fulfill the light and destiny of this unfortunate. He will watch over and listen to those of our village and valley; he will become master of incense and candles; perhaps he will climb up, perhaps go down on behalf of those whom he watches over and cares for; perhaps he will go about in this village and that, as did our first ancestors, World. So this is for the invocation of what pertains to this unfortunate one, for he must not die because of this, World, seat and altar! "Liberate this unfortunate one. He will make offerings before you, World, and also before the first mothers and fathers, and also before our head and crown, our seat of power, Poqojil, mountain-plain. Turn hither your face, World. Only for this, World. Smell this, and accept it, World. And do not be of two hearts, World, however many may be your manifestations. Peace be with us. Only the jun kalamld..." "Yes, sir, now we have finished our task." ' If they have anything to drink, they take it, and after they have finished, they prepare to leave. When they are ready, they kneel to take leave of the shrine. 26 Quoted in full on p. 78. 332 CHICHICASTENANGO "Yes, World, pardon our trespass and give us your blessing. Even as we came, so let us depart from before your face, World. Perhaps in one hour, two hours (this depends on the distance from the village) we shall stand before our mothers and fathers in the cold house, the icy house, World. But go you before us and behind us that nothing may happen to us on the roads and trails, World. Only the jun kalamld... Then we go back to the house and they give him to eat and drink, and he gives thanks. After this they go to the church before the saints and the dead, all those who are named in the prayer in the mountains. The offerings are: 1 candle for each saint, and in the places of the various classes of spirits, and at Calvario. The prayer and explanation are the same as written above, and as given in the mountain. After this, if the chuchqajau drinks, they take him to a cantina and buy drinks for him, and after that they return again to the house of the patient. Here they give him dinner. After he has finished, the father goes with him to take him to his house, or else he sends a boy with him. But before he leaves he will tell them on what day they will perform the next ceremony. Now since these ceremonies are all on the day kiej, the next one will come on the 7 kiej, which will be May 28.27 The communication will be the preceding day, in 6 kamg. The offering will be the same, one adds nothing, nor does one omit anything. Also the explanations and requests will be the same. They visit the mountain, the church and Calvario, only they will say that this is the second or third invocation. Only the fourth ceremony is different, for then they prepare the cross to place in the shrine in the name of the young man, so that it will be there for the fifth ceremony, for this is the middle point of the whole rite. For the fifth ceremony the parents of the young man go, and they send one day before for the parents of the wife also. The dates of the ceremonies will be as follows: The first ceremony, 6 kiej (April 18), communication in 5 kame; second ceremony in 7 kiej (May 28), communication in 6 kame; third ceremony in 1 kiej (June 16), communication in 13 kame; and fourth ceremony in 8 kiej (July 6), communication in 7 kame. At the end of this ceremony the chuchqajau gives instructions to have the cross prepared for the next, the fifth and middle ceremony. And for the fifth ceremony they increase the quantity of roses, and also the aguardiente, for they give to drink to the parents of the married couple who are to receive the sacred bundle: fifth ceremony in 2 kiej (July 26), communication in 1 kame; sixth, ceremony in 9 kiej (August 16), communication in 8 kam4; seventh ceremony in 3 kiej (September 5), communication in 2 kame; and eighth ceremony in 10 kiej (September 25), communication in 9 kame. Now at the end of the eighth ceremony, the chuchqajau gives his instructions concerning the final (ninth) ceremony, for this ceremony it is necessary to increase the offerings. The offerings at the final ceremony will be:28 At the shrine of the young man: 50 cakes of copal, 13 wax candles at 1 27 There are forty days between the first and second ceremonies. There is no ceremony on May 8, 13 kiej, which is a "strong day." The number 13 is used in sorcery. See p. 283. The dates are for the year 1931. 28 The text is inconsistent with other information, which gives 9 months (260 days) as the duration of the initiation period, the ceremony being performed in thirteen stages. INITIATION OF CHUCHQAJAU 333 peso, 9 tallow candles at 1 peso, 15 pesos aguardiente, 1/, pound of incense, 4 ounces of sugar, many roses, and 2 branches of flowers, the symbols of the two young people who are to receive this ceremony. Rockets at 10 pesos each, at least two, and as many more as one can afford. For the mountain Poqojil: 50 cakes of copal, 13 wax candles, 9 tallow candles, 15 pesos aguardiente, 1/2 pound of incense, 4 ounces of sugar, many roses, 2 branches of flowers, and at least two rockets. For the church: 15 candles at 4 reales each, many roses, 2 branches of flowers for the place of the deceased chuchqajau, and two more for the place of the deceased ancestors of Miguel Gonzales. For the house: 2 rockets. Now if people are rich and can afford to make a happy feast of this occasion, then they will buy many rockets and pinwheels and other fireworks; and they will have a marimba in the house at the end of the ceremonies, and will make chicha, and buy a large jar of aguardiente, for the visitors who will come in these days of joy, and they will butcher two lambs and many chickens and make sweet bread. But if they cannot afford this, then the ceremony will be performed quietly and very sadly like the earlier ones, the only difference being the increase in the offerings. The final ceremony will fall on the day 4 kiej (October 15), and the communication will be in the day 3 kame. One week before the final ceremony the young man, if he is well, or otherwise his father, will go to the house of the chuchqajau to ask for instructions, and to find out at what time the chuchqajau will come to the house of the recipient of the sacred bundle. He will take with him a bottle of aguardiente to give to the chuchqajau. Let us suppose that it is the boy who goes. "Pardon my trespass, sir. It is I. My father has sent me to ask about our affair, for in eight days it will take place, sir." He begins to pour out the aguardiente and offers it to the chuchqajau and his wife. After both have drunk, he answers: "Well, boy, listen to how it is to be. Early on the day Wednesday (3 kame) decorate your house. Put pine on the floor and also pine branches in the door, and when it is finished go out to the shrine to adorn that also, if you are free, or otherwise let your assistants do it." "Yes, sir." "Good. Then today advise your parents-in-law, and also your father, and ask favor of him, that he may not be of two hearts concerning the expenses of these ceremonies, boy." "Yes, sir." "Tell your father-in-law that he should surely come on Tuesday evening, and the married couple who will help you should come early Tuesday, boy." "Yes, sir." "Now this is for me, what I tell you. You will have ready four fowl, two cocks and two hens, and when we go to the mountain we shall take them with us, and when we return to the house from the mountain we shall kill two, a cock and a hen, and cook them when we finish the ceremony and are served with food. For this we shall put them in a dish, after they are cooked, and only remove the feet and the head. And then you will put cacao in three saucers, fifty beans of cacao in each saucer, one for me, one for your father and one for your father-in-law, boy." "Yes, sir." 334 CHICHICASTENANGO "And with mine you will place one quetzal for my work, boy.." 29 "Yes. sir, pardon my trespass." "And this also, when you leave me you will go at once to your father-inlaw and to your father, and also to your assistants. It is necessary to look for them at once, for the time of the sun is limited." "Yes, that is so, sir." "But it is necessary to find those who already know the significance of this task, in order that it may not be necessary to teach them, boy." "Yes, sir. Pardon my trespass, sir. That was the only business I had with you, sir. Now I shall go to look for them, sir. Pardon my trespass, sir. I have heard your instructions, sir. I am going." "Yes, boy." "I am going, mother." "Yes." All of these instructions he repeats to his father, and his father-in-law, and from now on until the final date they are busy with the preparations and the expenses of the ceremonies. They look for two married couples, two men and two women, to serve as assistants, the men to assist at the ceremonies, the women to help with the preparation of the food. The communication for the last ceremony is in the day 3 kame. The day before the four assistants assemble to help with all the things that are necessary, especially with the decoration of the house, and to collect all the materials necessary for the ceremony and all the things to eat. On this day also the parents-in-law arrive. At three o'clock in the afternoon of the day 3 kamer the boy says to his father that he is going for his cormpadre the chuchqajau, and asks him to be waiting for them with aguardiente. Now we go to fetch the compadre, taking with us a bottle of aguardiente, and say: "Excuse me, sir." "Come in." "Excuse me, mother." "Yes." "Pardon our trespass, sir. This is the day, this is the hour of our work, sir. Pardon my trespass, we have come to fetch you, sir. Pardon our trespass." He gives him the aguardiente, giving to drink to all his relatives. Then they get ready to leave. In the middle of the road, we are met by the assistants with the gourd of atole. The boy says: "Yes, sir, let us rest a little." "Yes." "Mother, let us rest a little." They stop a moment, and those who have met them give the chuchqajau and his wife the gourd of atole, and they give thanks. Then they go on. When they are near the house they send those who came to meet them ahead to advise those in the house that they are coming. When they reach the street door, they stop and the chuchqajau puts on his surcoat, and his wife ler outer blouse. They stop in the door, and say to each other, the boy to the chuchqajau, and his wife to the wife of the chuchqajau. "Child jukld, compalle (Hail, married one)." "Child jukld, comalle." They go into the patio, and at the door of the house they stop again and exchange greetings, and go inside, where those within are standing waiting for them. Then they place seats for the chuchqajau to sit down, and at this moment, they set off the rocket in the patio. Then the chuchqajau gives the formal greetings first...30 29 He gives the boy instructions for calling for him, and returning, as hereafter described. 30 The formal greetings are given on pp. 228 ff. in extenso. INITIATION OF CHUCHQAJAU 335 The chuchqajau greets the father of the boy, and his father-in-law and the assistants also, and the marimba players also, if there are any. After he has finished his greetings it is the turn of the father of the boy who is to receive the sacred bundle to return the greeting in full. And if the father of the boy is not living, then his father-in-law acts in this capacity, and if the father-in law is not living either, then an older brother, and if he has no older brother, then they get some uncle or older cousin. After the salutation, they tell the chuchqajau please to wait a moment, and then the assistants place coffee or chocolate on the table so that they may all drink together, the comadres, the compadres, and the boy who is to receive the sacred bundle and his wife. Before drinking they give the blessing over the coffee, and afterwards they exchange thanks, then the chuchqajau explains his errand in this house and what he is going to do. "As for us, it seems this is the day, this is the hour appointed for the completion of the rite and ceremony of my daughter, my son, my comadre, my compadre, if only God grant us grace and life, compadre." "That is true, compadre. Thanks that you have come to us." "And now, compadre, bring here all our offerings, and the four fowl. Ask the assistants for them." Now they place all the offerings on a table, and under the table they tie the four fowl. Then the chuchqajau takes out of his bag his sacred bundle, and the one which he is leaving for his compadre. His own he places on the table wrapped in a cloth, and that which he will give his compadre he unwraps. He asks for a glass of aguardiente, and he puts the seeds in this aguardiente and washes them well, and then he asks for a napkin which we call subal chij and lays the seeds in this in the middle of the table, in the midst of the offerings. Now he divides the aguardiente in which the seeds have been washed in two equal parts and gives them to those who are to receive the sacred bundle, the husband and wife, and they drink. After this the chuchqajau lights two candles on the table where are the two bundles and all the offerings, and he asks for live coals for his incense burner, and he begins to pray over the offerings. The words are the same as those spoken at the first ceremonies, only that he says that this now is the conclusion of the ceremonies. As he begins his prayers over the offerings he requests all to sit down and listen attentively, and at the end of his declarations says the doctrina, and after that: "In the name of God, our Father, God, His Son, Amen." Then all say: "Amen, Jesus," even the women. Then they exchange greetings between them. At this point they set fire to rockets, as many as they wish, and pinwheels. Then they begin to drink; for those who wish aguardiente they pour from a large jug, and they drink or not, as they choose. And for those who prefer, there will be beer or atole, or fine wines. And now neighbors begin to come to visit, and they are asked to sit down, and the assistants ask them what they will drink, and it is given to them according to their wishes, aguardiente or atole or fine liquors. After this they prepare the evening meal and the assistants arrange the tables for those who will be served at the tables. Then when everything is ready, the chuchqajau sits down with the fathers of the boy, and they ask him to perform the benediction over the food, and he does not only bless it, but he calls upon Christ and the spirits of deceased owners of the sacred 336 CHICICASTENANGO bundle to witness their rites, and to join them. Then they eat, and they give thanks between them. By this time it is about seven or eight o'clock in the evening. Now the chuchqajau tells them to get ready to go to the World, all the compadres and comadres, and the couple who will receive the sacred bundle, and one couple of the assistants. They wrap all the offerings in a basket, along with the bundle of the young man. Then they untie the four fowl, and those who must carry the fowl are the young people who will receive the sacred bundle. As they leave for the mountain they fire some more rockets and pinwheels. When they reach the shrine all kneel. The shrine has been swept and adorned with pine needles and branches. "Hail, World, our seat and altar! Perhaps the persons of the lords of power stand ready for us. As for me and my holy compadre, and these married persons, and the various watchers and listeners our assistants, we only come to where you stand, World. This is the day, this is the hour to bring to a close the fulfillment of this rite and ceremony for this married couple, my compadre, comadre, World. Pardon our trespass. Only the jun kalaml..." They all cross themselves and get up. They begin to unpack the offerings and separate them, those which are to be left in the shrine, those which are to go to the mountain Poqojil, those which are to go to the church. The chuchqajau sets fire to those for the World, and tells the owners of the ceremony, or those who are to receive the sacred bundle, to kneel down, each holding two fowl, one in each hand, but the man holds the two hens and the woman the two cocks. Then the chuchqajau begins his invocation and prayers, the explanations being the same as for the first ceremonies. "Hail, World, and also the cloudy firmament, and the watchers and listeners in the sky, and also you, lords, rulers and leaders of the pointed stick, and also you, Sefior San Pedro, and also our Father Cristo, come hither! This is the day, this is the hour, to bring to a close the fulfillment of the light and destiny of my compadre and my comadre, World. But may he see those who come to be watched over and cared for. As a sign of this we have the yellow rocket, the white rocket so that they may hear, those who live in the village and valleys where the sun rises, where the sun sets, in the third quarter of the world, in the fourth quarter of the world. "World, pardon our trespass! Whence will come the replacement of the expenses and debts of this poor man? But this is not for us to say, World. It is for you alone to call to him those who wish to be watched over and cared for through the medium of his sacred office. World, and also you, lords, and also you, Sefor San Pedro! Yes, World, may peace be with you. Only the jun kalamld..." Now the young man and woman get up and put the fowl aside, and the chuchqajau fires a rocket, and they drink aguardiente. After this they all get ready and kneel again in the shrine, and he says: "Yes, World, may we be given life and grace, World. Perhaps in two hours, three hours, we shall be before the shrine of Poqojil, mountain-plain, World. But go thou before us and behind us. World. Word, pardon our trespass. Only the jun kalamld..." They all cross themselves and return to the house. When they reach the house, they fire more rockets. Then the assistants prepare coffee, and place it on the table and they all drink together. After this they rest a while, a quarter of an hour or so. INITIATION OF CHUCHQAJAU 337 Then the chuchqajau begins to instruct the novice in the ways of divination with the seeds. He gives him four or five demonstrations with the seeds, explaining to him the meanings and the symbolism of the days as they appear in the divinations. By this time it is about one o'clock in the morning, so they prepare food, and they all eat well. After this the chuchqajau tells the young people who are to receive the sacred bundle to get ready to go to the mountain Poqojil. Only the couple who are to receive the bundle go, and one couple of the assistants. The man carries the offerings and the woman carries what they take along to eat and to drink on the mountain. The parents of the man and the woman remain in the house and the other assistants, in order to prepare breakfast of the two fowl, so that it will be ready when they return from Poqojil and the church. Now at about half past three in the morning they start out for Poqojil. Half way they stop and take something to drink, and start out again soas to reach the mountain at about five-thirty or six o'clock in the morning. When they arrive, they greet one another, and the chuchqajau kneels with the man who is to receive the bundle. The words are the same as those spoken in the World, only now one changes the name of the shrine to Poqojil. After this the doctrina again, and the sign of the cross. Then they all turn facing the west, and repeat this, and thus to all four sides. Then they put down their things, unpack the offerings and separate those that are to be left here from those for the church. Now when all is ready, when all the candles are lighted and the incense, the chuchqajau begins his explanations and prayers, which are the same as those of the earlier ceremonies, except for the end, when he says: "Yes, World, accept what lies upon your table as a sign that my sacred comadre-compadre has completed and fulfilled the ceremonies of his light and destiny, World. But grant, World, that those who wish to be watched over and cared for may come to this poor one. For this we have here one rocket, two rockets. World, Poqojil, pardon our trespass. Only the jun kalamld.." "Now we have finished our task, compadre." "Yes, compadre, many thanks to you. Sit down, compadre." Now they fire the two rockets, and after this they give to the chuchqajau something to eat and drink, which they have brought with them. After they have eaten the chuchqajau tells them to wrap up again the offerings for the church, and then they all kneel once more for their leave taking. Now they all arise, greet one another, the men and the women, and return to the town. Now at about half-past seven they arrive in front of the church. The chuchqajau goes alone with those who receive the sacred bundle, because now the offerings are light, and they are no trouble to carry. The assistants return directly to the house to tell those who have remained that the others are already at the church, and to help to prepare the breakfast. Now they arrive in front of the church. After the entrance into the church they go first to the altar of Sefor Sacramento. But first they stop at the foot of the steps at the altar there to burn copal, with the same prayers as have already been spoken. One starts at the altar of the Sacrament, and at the place of the ancestors, with the same words. And at the place of the deceased masters of the sacred bundle is where one leaves the two branches of flowers, and in front of Sefior San Juan, and at the foot of the cross one burns candles with the same prayers, and in the doorway also, and in front of the door one burns incense. 338 CHICHICASTENANGO After this they go to Calvario also, and here they burn candles in front of Our Lord, and at the foot of the cross, and in the door and in front of the door, and on the steps we burn incense also. After this is all finished the chuchqajau takes them to a tavern where they all drink strong drinks, as a mark that now their promise has been fulfilled. Then they return to the house, and now it is about ten o'clock in the morning of the day Thursday, 4 kiej. At the door of the patio, and again at the door of the house they stop to greet one another before passing inside. After they reach the house there is a short greeting, between the chuchqajau and the compadre, in which they say that God has given them grace to finish the ceremonies of the boy, and that what they have done is nothing new, but the ceremonies which we have from our ancestors. If there is a marimba it begins to play now, and the celebration of the completion of the ceremonies begins. The assistants bring coffee and place it on the table and all drink together, after they have drunk the chuchqajau requests those who have received the sacred bundle to kneel and he gives them instructions in the care of the sacred bundle, how often and on what days the seeds should be washed, and on what days they should burn their candles and burn incense, and tells them that now they must not quarrel together, the man and his wife, and the young people with their parents, for if evil words and complaints lie between them, then they will seek their ancestors through the medium of their ceremonies. Furthermore, he tells the boy that he should perform no evil ceremonies against any person; first, he must always consult his sacred bundle and advise it what he proposes to do, and it will let him see whether to do this, and what form the ceremonies should take in case he has some enemy. And if a man wishes to perform some ceremony of revenge against some person, then he must always first ask favor of his sacred bundle, and show wherein lies the injustice. But it is necessary to know well, for should the contrary be the case it will go badly for him. This is the explanation of the chuchqajau. After this he gives the sacred bundle to the boy, and he looks for a table which will be suitable as a place to keep the bundle so that it will not always be changing its place. Then he places the bundle in the place where it will remain, and then at this moment the boy lights a candle in front of his bundle, with two or three words. After this the young people who have received the sacred bundle kneel in front of the chuchqajau and his wife, their compadre and comadre, and later, in front of the parents of the boy and also the parents of the girl. Then the boy as a sign that he has received the sacred bundle orders the assistants to fire many rockets and pinwheels, as many as they can afford. Then many people begin to arrive, friends and neighbors who come to congratulate the young people on having received the great religious rites of the destiny calendar (cholom k'ij alixik), and for their courtesy they are all served with fine liquors, according to their choice. After this the assistants lay the tables and serve a large breakfast to all, including the visitors. This is when they bring the two fowl, now already cooked, and the three plates of cacao which have been mentioned, and the bill of one quetzal for the chzthqajau. These things are all placed on the tables, and then, when all are seated, the father of the boy offers some words of appreciation to the chuchqajau, such as: "Yes, my cornmpadre, pardon our trespass. As for us, it is of no great weight INITIATION OF CHUCHQAJAU 339 what we offer you in your house and possessions, compadre. It is only a small return for your exercise of the office with which you have been entrusted, compadre, and that of our son, compadre. It is only a poor trifle, this food and drink which we offer you, compadre." "Jesis! Four, five times thanks, compadre." "And also to accompany it is this poor bit of spiced meat, for this is always the offering for the holy spirits, compadre. So let it be, and so let it be done for us in case we should depart from before your presence, compadre." "So let it be, compadre." "And also let us give this symbol31 of the fulfillment of the sacred office which you have delivered to my son, compadre. And also permit us to send the two live ones to your house as a reward for your sacred office, compadre." "Dio8 / Many thanks to you, compadre." "And also let us continue with our interruptions and annoyances, and offer you this poor bit of the tree of penance, the seeds of penance for this is the sacrament of Our Father, Our Lord, which he left in this world, compadre..."'32 "Perhaps the holy first people placed a handful, two handfuls on their tables, but as for us, it is but a poor bit that we offer, compadre." "Jesus! Many thanks, compadre." "And so, perhaps, we accompany this poor bit with this scrap of paper for sixty pesos, compadre. This is the light of God, compadre, a reward for one part of your rite and ceremony, compadre." "Dios Many thanks, compadre." "And perhaps it will please your holy person to give your hand in blessing over the head of this poor bit of food and drink, compadre, and on this poor bit of the fruit of the blessed tree, compadre. Pardon our request." "Yes, compadre. I have heard, compadre. It has come before heaven and earth, compadre. And I accept it in the name of God, compadre. Yes, compadre..." Now the compadre begins to give the translation of the explanation of the cacao, repeating all that has been said. Then: "Yes, my Father who is in Heaven, and also my Father Christ who is in Calvario, come hither; and also the lords, our first masters and workers with the pointed stick; and also the first mothers and fathers of my comadres and cornpadres. As for us, spirits, we see your faces! You who go about in the cold tempest, lords, and also my mothers and fathers, come hither! We invoke you, lords, before this table, beneath this table. May you savor this food, lords, and also Our Father Christ! It is not for us to say that we merely smell this food; no, Father Christ, and you also, lords. Perhaps our hearts shall feed on it, lords, But do not withhold your hand of blessing. Only the jun kalamld..." He makes the sign of the cross four times over the food and says: "In the name of God, Our Father, God, His Son, and the Holy Spirits." And all answer: "Amen." Now they all eat, and after they have finished, they give thanks among them, with many words. Then they put away the plates of cacao; each of the men passes his plate over to his wife who puts it away. After this they ask the chuchqajau whether he wishes to remain longer in the house, or go at once to his own house, since now his promise has been fulfilled. If there is a 31 The two fowl. 32 Here follows the blessing of the cacao, "the Resuscitation of Our Lord," as given elsewhere. 340 CHICHICASTENANGO marimba, the chuchqajau will remain a while to dance, and they will all take many drinks. And the most interesting part is when they dance, for then the young man who has received the sacred bundle will dance with his comadre, the wife of the chuchqajau, and the chuchqajau will dance with his comadre, the wife of the man who has received the sacred bundle. And after this they will drink again. Now whenever the chuchqajau is ready to leave for his house, he will tell the young people to get ready. Then the young couple who have received the sacred bundle and one of the assistants and his wife will go with them to take them to their house, and to carry their things. And they will take the two cooked fowl in a dish, well covered, and the two live fowl. Then the chuchcqajau says to his novice: "Yes, compadres, however many may be your persons, and you, my pupil, come hither." "Yes, compadre." "Now God has given us grace to complete our rites and ceremonies, and has let nothing happen to us in our task. It is as I told you, compadre. Thanks to God, my compadre (your son) is alive and stands before us. This part of our task is now completed. But as you have fulfilled the nine rituals, so you must perform the other nine rituals, compadre, for this is what the divine spirits did, compadre." "Yes, compadre, I have heard." "And if there is anything missing, or if you forget any of the sequences, then ask me, compadre." "Yes, compadre, many thanks.' "And also if you have any dreams, come and ask me about it right away and we shall make the trials in the sacred bundle to see what it may mean, compadre." "Yes." "Yes, compadre. I am not abandoning your holy presence. I am only departing from your holy presence, compadre." They kneel before the new sacred bundle, and say: "Yes, sacred bundle, and also you, lords and rulers. Perhaps you have shown us your faces. As for us, perhaps we shall commit our sins in speaking idle words before your presence, sacred bundle. But pardon my sins, and those of my wedded wife. But we cannot depart from you save with the jun kalamld..." Now they get up quickly and go out. At the door they stop to exchange greetings, and go out as far as the door of the street, where they pause again. Now they start out. Behind the chuchqajau goes the young man who has received the sacred bundle, carrying two bottles of aguardiente. One they drink in the middle of the road, if they wish; the other is to leave the chuchqajau in his house, and there they drink it if they choose. But whether they wish to drink or not, they always take it, for that is the custom. When they pour out the aguardiente in the house, they say: "Yes, compadre, now God has granted us leave to bring you here in safety, and thus to leave you within your house and place, compadre." "Do not say this, compadre." Then they begin to give the aguardiente first to the chuchqajau and all his relatives. After they have drunk, the boy takes leave of his compadre, saying: "Yes, compadre, pardon once more my trespasses. Now I shall depart from before your holy presence, compadre." "Yes, compadre, rest yourself." So they greet one another again, and the boy and his wife return to their house to report to their father that they have fulfilled the customs in taking their compadre to his house. TO PLACATE THE IDOLS 341 Now this is the day 4 kiej, and if they have a marimba, they play all night for the completion of the ceremonies and the fulfillment of the vows. And they drink or not, as they choose, only so that everyone is happy. On the following day, starting at dawn of the day 5 qanil, is the celebration of the fiesta for the assistants. They give them a good breakfast of many good things, and strong drinks. In the afternoon the assistants go to their houses, but first they must take the parents-in-law of the young man to their house. After that they help clean the house, and they return the borrowed dishes, and sweep the rooms and the patio. When all this is over, they return to their houses, and the fiesta is ended, and also all the ceremonies of delivering the sacred bundle to the young man. Now the boy begins to perform the ceremonies of his office. The first ceremony he performs will be the twenty-fourth of November, 1931. The offerings will be the same as the first ceremony. The communication will be one day before. The second ceremony will be the third of January, 1932, (Sunday), the communication the day before, and for this also the offerings and the words will be the same as those of the chuchqajau at the earlier ceremonies; only one or two words are changed. And so the boy must carry on his ceremonies, and from now on he must perform his ceremonies in the days kiej; not to drop them is important, for now the dead know that the boy has received the sacred bundle. Now if the chuchqajau is of good heart, and has accepted this pupil in good faith, he will send to advise the boy of further instructions, and tell him to come to him for additional studies in the methods of divination. And he will give him explanations and demonstrations of how to perform various kinds of ceremonies in the hills, and also he will do something else. When he sees that his pupil is now competent to make divinations by himself, his master will send some of his own clients to his pupil so that he may make the divinations for them according to their questions. And this he will do soon, so that the pupil will become experienced in making divinations, and so that he, in his turn, will pass on the sacred bundle to others. So the personnel of the sacred office changes in the world. Now we have completed our promised work.88 No. 8. Prayer to Placate the Idols (Ceremony for the day 8 'iq) If one is sick and the divinations come out in the days fq' and a'qbal it indicates slanders in the presence of idols. Then one waits for the day iq' to go to one of the hills where there are idols to ask pardon and to pray for recovery. For perhaps someone has spoken against him before idols. One takes to the hill a bottle of clear water and one burns much incense. No candles or copal. The prayer is the same in the house or the shrine. "Hail Sun, destiny stones, female idols, male idols, however many may be your manifestations here in my house! Behold me, listen to me, with my wife and children, and pardon us our sins. Perhaps we have been boisterous and disorderly before your presence; perhaps we have quarreled, I and my wife and children within our house. But you must pardon us. 33 Dated: Chichicastenango, April 2, 1931. 342 CHICHICASTENANGO "And also I ask you one word, two words more. You watch over us. Perhaps some wicked person suffers because of us, because of our possessions. And perhaps it has happened that we have had words with him in the roads and perhaps we have quarrelled together. And perhaps he has symbols of his light and fortune in his house and also destiny stones on the altars on the mountains and plains. For the love of God, my light and fortune, do not turn me loose to the evil doings of wicked people, or to quarrels with my wife and children. Perhaps there are those who call our names.34 But you, female idol, male idol, will grant me power to see and to hear, that it may not mean death and destruction, nor yet debt and obligation, for me and my wedded wife. "Come hither, accept this one or two little pieces of wax and these roses which I place here before you in your presence, destiny stone. "Yes, destiny stone, you have heard that which I ask and beg before your presence. Perhaps I have some enemy or adversary. Perhaps he will make divinations against me at midday or midnight, but may he only trouble his mind. You stand before my house. Perhaps I shall be asleep with my wife and children, but do not let us fall into the hands of the evil one. "Yes, may peace be with us." He sprinkles a little aguardiente over the idols, and lights two candles.36 No. 9. For Protection After Committing a Minor Theft (Ceremony for 8 kame) Let us suppose that I, Pedro Calel, steal a few ears of corn or some fruit from a neighbor. I pass the land of a man where he has fruit trees planted, and I steal some fruit. But neighbors see me. Naturally, the man has lost much fruit, because others also have done the same thing. And so, when he hears that I have taken fruit from his trees, he may lay upon me the blame for all that he has lost. But it is not much that I have taken. Now this is not serious because it is merely a matter of food, and this is not bad. Now if it were a horse, or money, that would be bad, and that would not be forgiven one, but to steal fruit or corn or any other thing to eat, that is not serious. However, if I wish to be sure of protection against the anger of the man whom I have robbed I seek the day kame to ask pardon. But before that I can ask pardon anywhere. "Hail, World, pardon my trespass. Day of forgiveness, come hither. Here I stand before your presence, and you also are here to see us before this World. Perhaps you have seen my craving before your presence for this yellow corn, this white corn of Ger6nimo Dominguez. Perhaps some great person or small person saw me; perhaps they have told the owner of the field what I took from him. Ai, holy World, holy tempest, and also thou, lord of the yellow corn, the white corn, grant me pardon. I will not do it again. Perhaps I shall kneel to give thanks before your presence. World, because in your presence we have received our rulers, our food and drink, World. Whenever the master day, 8 karne, comes, I shall give thanks before your presence, World, to God and to the lord of the yellow corn, the white corn, 34 Euphemism for acts of sorcery. 35 The introductory comment says no candles. PROTECTION AFTER AN EVIL PORTENT 343 and also to the name and destiny of Ger6nimo Dominguez to whom belonged the yellow corn, the white corn. May he not work harm through his name and destiny against me. Perhaps he has already presented my name before sacred things in his house, this Ger6nimo Dominguez. But I shall not do this again, World. Pardon my trespass. Only the jun kalamd..." This may be said on any day. One merely invokes the day kame. Now when the day 8 kamn arrives, one burns two candles at one peso in one's house, before the idols, and says: "Hail, light and fortune, pardon my trespass. You look about in this world; you look about before this light of day. Light and fortune, be seated, however many your manifestations. Only the jun kalamd... "Yes, light and fortune, pardon my sin. It is I who have committed my sins, perhaps within the last seven days. I have committed my great sins. I liked the looks of the yellow corn, the white corn which, it seems, belonged to Geronimo Dominguez (or, if one does not know the name of the owner, "the great man, the little man"). It seems he lost more of his corn, and I took some. Perhaps someone heard me or saw me when I took part. Perhaps he went immediately to complain before the lord of the yellow corn, the white corn. Or perhaps he has symbols of his light and fortune within his house. Perhaps he did me harm before their presence there. But you, my light and fortune, will pardon my sin. I will not do it again. You will take my part before the light and fortune of the owner of the yellow corn, the white corn. Only the jun kalamld..." No. 10. For Protection After an Evil Portent (Ceremony for the day 8 kame) It is our belief that if an owl perches on the top of the house it has been sent by the dead fathers and grandfathers. Then one gives Responses or a Mass for the dead. If one is going to give responses one looks for the day kame,8 if it comes soon, for the communication, either in the house or in the World. "Yes, God, what is it that the owl says on behalf of the spirits? Is it the father of sickness whose coming for us he foretells? What may it be? Perhaps our mothers and fathers are in need. What is it that they need? We shall give them responses." This is at dawn, after the visit of the owl. Then, if I have time, I go at once, or else I wait until evening, with two ounces of incense to burn in the door of the church, saying: "Hail, rulers of the door and portico of the icy house, the cold house, and also the guardians and watchers at this place. I only ask forgiveness before your presence. Only the jun kalamld..." I kneel and begin to burn the incense. "Hail, lords and rulers of this house and place, pardon my trespass. And also former alcaldes who hold the rod and staff within your hands; and also 36 The word kame means death; in Momontenango and other places, it is the day of the dead. In Chichicastenango, it is the day of preparation for the commemoration of the dead (kiej). 344 CHCHICOASTENANGO the lord secretaries - the first secretary, the second secretary, the third secretary - come hither. And also the eight magistrates, the spokesmen, and also the sheriffs, the treasurers, the civil servants, come hither. Alcaldes, I come before your presence to ask forgiveness beneath your feet and hands. What does it mean that the magistrate arrived within my house? For the holy owl has revealed his presence. What can his presence portend? You must have sent him to announce something in my house. Or has some accusation or complaint come before you? For it is only envy which they can feel against us before you. World. For whoever has good land, he has enemies; whoever has good business, he has enemies; whoever has good possessions, he has enemies. And then it is of no avail what we have done before the World, before the lords of justice, the secretaries, the magistrates, the sheriffs, the civil servants. But do not believe their words if they bring accusations or come to betray me here, be they great people, little people, those with white hair and heads, those who are lords of the pointed staff, or any of my neighbors. I do not know who they are, but it is clear to you whether any have come or not. You will pardon my trespass. I know that I have not committed murder or theft. I have not entertained evil words or evil thoughts, masters. Pardon me. My mothers, my fathers, my grandmothers, my grandfathers, perhaps they have unfolded plots before you, my slanderers and enemies among my relatives and companions. Or if it is only that they are suffering hunger and thirst, these unfortunates, my mothers, my fathers, then I only give thanks and responses before the master day 7, 8 kame; to those who first served as alcaldes, however many may be their persons. And after that to my mothers, my fathers, my father, Tomas Calel, my grandfather Sebastian Calel, my mother Manuela Xirfn, my grandmother Maria Xirfn, and also to my beloved parents-in-law, Diego Ventura and his dear wife Sebastiana Ord6fez. Wait on the appointed day and hour for me to give my thanks.37 And also one word more, lords of justice. Perhaps among brothers, my mothers, my fathers, some have seized what belongs to others. But we do not know what it is about. Let them go free in their hands and feet, lords of justice, our mothers, our fathers, whose aspects are spirits. Perhaps you agree with me. Agree with me because I am your son; I stand here before this World. Do not send sickness to me nor to my wedded wife, nor to any of my children. Yes, alcaldes and judges, and also my mothers, my fathers, wait for me on the appointed day for the thanks and Responses which I shall give. Only the jun kalamld..." The Response. The materials for the Response: 4 pesos of little candles for the alcaldes, 4 for the deceased parents, 2 pesos for the door of the church, with two ounces of incense. I come on the day 8 kame at any hour of the day. I arrive at the door of the church: "Hail lords of the door of the icy house, the cold house, come hither. Only the fun klaccmld.. "I shall only pause one moment before the alcaldes judges, and also before my mothers, my fathers. This is the day and hour which I have already invoked for giving thanks to the lords and rulers. Pardon my trespass." I enter the church and go to the place of the alcaldes. "Hail, Lords of Justice, first, second; chief magistrate, second magistrate, 37 Not all of the individuals named were dead. PROTECTION AFTER AN EVIL PORTENT 345 third magistrate, fourth magistrate, fifth magistrate, sixth magistrate; seventh magistrate, eighth magistrate; and also the secretaries, the first secretary, the second secretary, the third secretary. Be seated, however many may be your persons. And also the sheriffs, the treasurers, thecivil servants, be seated. And also the ancient ones with white hair upontheir heads, be seated. This is the hour in which I have invoked your presence. It is not falsehood which I shall speak before you when I give you thanks. Only this one candle, two candles for you, lords, and also the holy water. Wait for me a moment, and also wait for the priest." I light the four candles for the alcaldes, one for the secretaries, one for the magistrates, one for the sheriffs, one for the civil servants, one for the treasurers, one for the old men. Then I go to the place of the common souls, and say: "Hail, my mothers, my fathers, my grandmothers, my grandfathers, come hither where your presence should be. This is the day, this is the hour which I have invoked to give you my thanks and the Responses. Perhaps there are those who suffer hunger and thirst in the other life; perhaps there are those who suffer in the fires and furnaces and prisons of hell. This we do not know. It is for me only to give thanks to you, my mothers, my fathers, with this scrap or two of candles. And now wait for me a moment, and for the holy water, the mark of the priest." Now I go to call the Padre to make the Responses for the alcaldes and for my dead parents, and for each Response I tell him the names and pay one peso. After the Responses I return to the place of the alcaldes: "Yes, masters, accept this as the thanks which I offer. It is I, Tomas Calel, who stands before you. May no sickness or pain come upon me. Perhaps someone has come before you to judge me and deliver me over. But no, masters, do not believe their words. It is I who shall return once more to give thanks before your presence. I shall ask grace and favor before you, rulers, and also at the place of my mothers, my fathers, my grandmothers, my grandfathers. Call them for me, for perhaps they are in prison. Pardon me, and grant them their liberty to receive the thanks and responses which I shall give to them also before your presence and theirs, my mothers, my fathers, my grandmothers, my grandfathers. May peace be with you, masters. Pardon me. Only the jun kalamld..." Now I go again to the place of the common souls. "Yes, my mother, Manuela Xirfn, my father, TomAs Calel, my grandmother Maria Xirdn, my grandfather, Sebastian Gonzales, my father-in-law Diego Ventura, my mother-in-law Sebastiana Ord6fez. Come hither before this altar where I have given thanks and responses with holy water, mark of the priest. Accept this. And also I have asked grace and favor before the lords of justice, that if you are in prison they may set you free to see and hear the thanks which I offer as a sign that I am your son and still alive in this world. But may there be no sickness upon me or upon my wedded wife or any of my children. Perhaps there are those who have made complaints and accusations and plots against me here before you. But do not believe their words, my mothers, my fathers. Pardon my trespass. I shall return to you again. May peace be with you before this your altar, and may you not be of two hearts to see and hear me. Only the jun kalamld..." As I leave, I kneel in the door of the church, and say: "Hail, masters of this house and place, and also the guardians before the a 346 CHICHICASTENANGO door. Come hither! It is only this one, two scraps of candle which I give you, masters, as a sign that I have already given thanks to them, the lords of justice, and also to my mothers, my father and likewise also to yourselves. It is but a poor bit that I leave before you. Accept it, masters, and do not be of two hearts and minds towards me. Even as I came in before your light and fortune, even so let me depart. Only the jun kalamld..." So now I return to my house to eat. And that is all until I return for the second commemoration of the dead. This may be whenever I wish. on the day kiej. No. 11. For Protection Against Envy (For the days 7'iq' 8 aq'bal) One does not desire evil on one's own part, and desires also that no one be permitted to slander him. On the day 8 aq'bal, the day of slanderers, one asks for protection against slander, and for good thoughts and words on one's own part. One talks of this first to one's wife. This is not very interesting, and then one goes to the World, with five candles of four reales each, four ounces of incense, a bottle of water. Only this. There is no copal, for one is not asking for anything, it is against evil. "Hail, World Tsokoma, come hither; reveal your face and aspect. Thou, my seat, thou, my shrine, thou seest me, thou hearest me before this World and the white light of day. It is I who kneel and bow me down before the world of Heaven. Perhaps it is my mission, perhaps it is my sacred office that makes it necessary that I go about before the face and person of the World. Perhaps I pray for wealth from my business and from my land; out of my house and out of my corn and out of my wheat and out of my food and drink. It seems I am in this world. It is not my fault, and also there is no fault in my wealth. Divine World, come hither! If we do well, somewhere people feel pain because of it; and also if we are poor, people mistreat us. Always there are slanders and calumnies, fires and flames of envy in the world. But for my part, Divine World, I know that God sees us in the cold wind, at dawn, at midday and at sunset. The Lord of the Clear Light sees us. Perhaps there are those who ask me to cure them, those who have debts and obligations to me, or else those who have asked chicha and aguardiente of me, Lord, which I did not wish to give them. And also my beloved wife, may she not fall into error; and may there be no slanders or calumnies concerning her. And perhaps we, too, have slandered and maligned in our folly. Do we not judge and speak before great people and small people? But we do not wish this. We wish only good words before God. And also that good fortune be granted us, to go about as did the people of past time. "Those who look after silver and gold, those who look after good names and fortunes, come hither. Time, day, unfolded day, supernatural day, 8 'e, 9 'e, what is the destiny allotted to us? And also, before the Divine Blessed Spirits, Masters of Corn, Masters of Wheat, come hither! Come hither day, unfolded day, the supernatural day 8 qanil, 9 qanil! And also Masters of Halves and Quarters, come hither, Mothers and Fathers. You have seen, you have heard. Come hither supernatural 8 tsikiy, 9 tsikip. And also those who once went about to see and hear, who rejoiced to see and hear the ancient rites and customs, come hither, supernatural 8 kiej, 9 kiej. CURING CEREMONY 347 "This is what we see and hear, World, Ruler in the World, and also our Mother, Maria, Sant' Ana Midwife who was present when I was born into this world. Perhaps it is good, my light and fortune. But grant good light and fortune. I do not desire evil words. But perhaps there is one who works evil against me. But thou, God of my place, Tsokoma, my seat, my altar, behold me, hear me! Perhaps there is one who spreads slanderous words against my beloved wife. But do not desert us, my seat, my shrine. I only ask pardon and favor with one stick, two sticks of candles. It is in case there should rise against me slanders, calumnies, lies. For this, then I spread this incense. "Holy World, perhaps one word has been spoken! Where rises the sun, where sets the sun, third part of the world, fourth part of the world! And also the Eternal Father, and Jesus Christ in Glory, give us your good hand in benediction on our faces and heads, to me and my beloved wife. And also Lord Christ, come hither, reveal your aspect. Perhaps within one hour, two hours I shall be beneath your feet and hands. My Father, pardon me. Grant me good words in my heart and soul, and also to my beloved wife. Letnot the evil words of evil people prevail. Hail, World! Come hither! and also the angels who hold my life and fortune, and also that of my beloved wife. May we not stray into canyons and ravines, into the hands of evil people. Come hither, World. Let me ask grace and favor! Only the jun kalamld..." I return, and then go to Calvary with a handful of flowers, repeating the same prayer that was said in the World. That is all. No. 12. For the Cure of Sickness Sent by Dead Adversaries (Divinations in 7 'fq', 8 aq'bal) When one has swellings over his whole body, or boils, then one seeks the day named 'iq (idol) because this sickness comes from the idols. Let us suppose it is thus, that I have swellings on my body because of some sin commit. ted before an idol. Then I say to my wife: "What shall I do that I may cure myself, daughter? What does this mean? Why do you not kneel down on some mountain before the idols. For there are mountains where there are idols. So I have said to myself. Perhaps I should go there to Turqa'; there is an idol. I shall go ask grace and favor before its face. If I become worse, it is that I had a quarrel with my brothers in time past, over land. Perhaps they have done something against me before the mountains and the plains." "It is well that you perform your ceremony that you may not die." "So I said to myself. I shall arrange for it today." In the evening I let the World know. I burn incense in the patio, saying: "Hail, World! My sacred place, Tsokoma, come hither! Let me make offerings to you, before your presence at the shrine Turqa', mountain-plain. There stands the female idol, the male idol, the manifestations of the gods. However many may be their likenesses, their personalities in the world, they are all there. This, then, let me arrange in your presence. Tomorrow at the appointed day and hour, perhaps at daybreak, World, wait for me and my fine. Divine World, come hither! Only the jun kalaml..." To east, west, north, south, and to the sky also. Then: "Hail, World. This is what in time past, in past thoughts we did: With my family my relatives 348 0HICHICASTENANGO we held land in common amongst us. So it happened, then, that what they gave to me was not equal to their own portion. So it happened that I reproached them, I quarreled with them. Perhaps I beat them when I was drunk. "Divine World, come hither! Perhaps in this I caused them pain. Perhaps they wept before this shrine. Perhaps they did something to me. Perhaps an idol was with them in their house. Maybe there they gave something against me, World! But thou art here. Before thy presence thou seest me, thouhearest me. What is this which has touched me? This is what I said. But if it is not this, always thou wilt guide it whence it may come forth. "Come hither World! I give my fine for what they have done to me, my family, my relatives. Poor souls! They have returned; already they are in the earth. Divine World, thou seest us, thou hearest us in this grievous sickness which has touched me in my feet and hands. "World, come hither! Female idol, male idol, before Turqa' mountainplain, if there they made their declarations, my brothers, Manuel and Sebastian Ventura. But I shall cancel them before your face and presence. "World, come hither, I shall arrive tomorrow (at the appointed) day and hour for this my payment. From this may come my recovery. Divine World, extend your mercy to me. Remove this painful sickness which is in my body, my person. Holy God, Light of Day, I shall be in your presence. What is the meaning of this which has touched me? "Divine World, come hither. 1 ' iq', 2 'i q', 3 i.q'.. 13 ' iq, be seated. Ishall make offerings to you on the altar beneath the altar, for my defense. I do not wish to die. "Holy World, if there is meaning to this, only give me a sign in my person, or in the person of my blessed one, my wedded wife. So that thus it may go forth, for my protection, from my light and substance. "Come hither, World, Tsokoma, mountain-plain, Turqa', mountain-plain, female idol, male idol, come hither! And also Lord of the Sickness and pain which have touched me, come hither! And also watchers and listeners in the heavens and on the earth, Warriors, Captors, Slayers; also the Lord and Keeper of the Roads, the cold tempest. Perhaps this is what has entered into my feet and hands. So then they will give me a sign in my person, what medicine shall I take for this grievous sickness which has touched me? This is what I ask. Perhaps I need only a medicine now, World. For some time past this has touched me. Only may it go out from my feet and hands! "Hail, Divine World! come hither, Tsokoma, mountain-plain, Turqa' mountain-plain. Cure me forever of this grievous sickness which has touched me, God. Shall I now leave my children, World? Poor ones, who will look after them then? Who then will give them their food and drink? Ask your heart, 0, Spirit of the World, Watchers, Listeners, Lord of this sickness and pain which have touched me! Also come hither, Angels and Apostles, may you act to withdraw this from my light and substance, that I may not return to the spirits before the presence of the evil spirits in the darkness of the night. "World, come hither. Wait for me tomorrow, at the appointed day and hour. If God gives this grace upon my body and my head, just at daybreak I shall make my payment before your presence and person, World. Hail, come hither! This is only to implore your mercy, and to please you in your light and substance, World, Female Idol, Male Idol. Only this little incense for CURING CEREMONY 349 you, Divine Spirit. Come hither, only the jun kalamld..." To the four directions of the world and to the sky. Then once more. That night when I go to bed, I say: "Now I have made my arrangements with this World, daughter. Perhaps there will be some sign through you. Tell me that I may know what it is that has touched me, whence it has come." "Very well. I have heard." At dawn of the following day I arrive at the shrine Turqa', with 9 candles costing 1 peso each, 60 discs of copal, 1/2 pound of incense, 4 ounces of sugar, 1 bottle of pure water and 5 pesos of roses. I say: "Hail, World! This is the day, this is the hour. May I have pleased your light and substance. Turn hither your face and aspect. Only for the jun kalamld... "Now it is I, World. Let me come forward towards your divine spirit. It is only for this grievous sickness which has touched me. Be seated, World; and also female idol, male idol, be seated! It is you, World, who know how many are your manifestations. Perhaps a thousand, two thousand. How many are they? We do not know. Only let them come, World. And also the idols, the Cold Wind, the Watchers and Listeners in the heavens, and also the Lord of Sickness and Pain. They go about to watch over the world. Let them come! place of sunrise, place of sunset, third quarter of the world, fourth quarter of the world, come hither! Come and be seated before this shrine, Turqa', mountain-plain. Come hither! It is I, gods of the heavens, who call your light and substance. Father Christ, Our Mother in Glory, and also Angels and Apostles; also our patron, Santo Tomas, come, San Sebastian, San Jose, San Miguel, Sefior Sacramento, Sefora Maria Rosario; and also Sefor San Pedro, who is in heaven, see us, hear us! And also the souls in Purgatory, my grandmothers, my grandfathers, come hither. Be seated before this altar, mountain Turqa', miraculous in light and substance. And also this sacred idol, come hither, to see and hear this payment which we shall leave before this altar, upon this altar. It is a poor thing that I shall leave. But may you not be of two hearts and minds. Come hither, take this payment, this portion. "Hail, Divine World, come hither. Perhaps it is possible or perhaps it is not possible for me to call them. But thou, World, however many may be the manifestations of thy light and substance, come and be seated. Oh, Divine Spirit, it is I, World. This grievous sickness has touched me, perhaps the past two or three months. What may be my sins before thee, World? Come hither! It is I who already have made my arrangements for my fortune for my light and substance to go before thy presence, World. "There is only one word more. In time past we had a quarrel, I and my brothers. Now it is they who have gone, they have died. But it was of no significance, the quarrel which we had; only that we had land in common amongst us, held as a heritage from our mothers and fathers of time past. Then it happened that when they divided the land, it was not equal, what they did with it. "World, come hither. I have committed sins against them. I reproached them, I upbraided them, and also when I was drunk I beat them, so they say. But I did not know it. Perhaps in that I caused pain to my brothers. Poor souls! Already their light and substance have passed. Perhaps there with them, our mothers, our fathers, they have been talking about me. Perhaps 350 CHICHICASTENANGO it is that they have gone with their desires to them. Perhaps from there they have sent this grievous sickness to me, World. "But thou, Divine World, however many may be thy manifestations, thou alone wilt free me from that which has descended upon my light and substance. If it is from them, these souls, I shall only render them their responses before their presence and persons in the Holy Church. There are their light and substance. So there let me give my portion before the presence of the spirits, that in the heavens they may be unanimous for my liberation. World, I shall only give my payment. "Hail, come hither, World. Thou hast heard my declaration which I have made here. But cure me forever of this grievous sickness which has touched me. Gently accept what is before your altar, under your altar. There is nothing more that I can give you, only the jun kalamld..." Then I gather together my belongings, pick them up, and, holding them, kneel once more, saying: "Hail, World. I have finished, by the grace of God, placing my payment before your presence, your person. So you shall see within seven days, seven nights I shall come once more before your presence and person. From there I shall give my responses in the presence of my mothers and fathers. Thou, World, mayest take my part before the holy spirits. Only let them wait for me a little. And also let them give me a sign in my person. "Hail, World. Even so I shall go, and even so may it be that I may return. Come hither, World. Only the jun kalamld..." So I return home. On the seventh day, I go again to Turqa' with the same prayer. After this, I go to the dead in the church, taking 20 candles of two reales each. First I kneel at the door of the church, saying: "Hail, Guardians of the Holy Church, and also Lords and Keepers. Perhaps you are here, although we cannot see your persons. It is I, Miguel Ventura, from the place Tsokomai. This is the appointed day, and hour. Perhaps they are pleased with me, the persons of the spirits, my fathers, my mothers before God. Hail! Come hither! only the jun kalamld... I enter the church, as far as the middle, no further. Here I kneel down and get my things. There are two small candles for each name of my ancestors. I lay the candles in pairs, with one peso in money for each pair. "Hail, mother, father, people of past time. Come hither! Alcalde judges, masters of writing, masters of ink; and also the eight magistrates, the intermediaries, may your manifestations come hither. I beg favor before your presence, your persons. Lords of Justice, here I call you, my mothers, my fathers, people of past time. may your persons sit down here a while, here may you see and hear what I shall place upon your table. I am your son before the world. Come hither, Sebastian Ventura, Maria Xirdn, and also your mothers and fathers. May you all be equals in seeing and hearing what I offer you. It is only a poor thing my response, the sign that I am your child, as is also my blessed one, my wedded wife. May your persons be one in accepting what I place upon your altar. Be seated, alcalde judges, and also our mothers, our fathers. Wait for us a moment, for me and for the father, the parish priest, for his presence. He will be the one to drop the holy water on that which I have placed upon your table. Let him bring it.' I go to call the priest to say the responses. He comes and asks the names of the responses. I tell him the names and he sprinkles the holy water. CURING CEREMONY 351 The sacristan who comes with him takes the money. After they have gone, I light the candles, saying: "Hail. alcalde judges, accept this. Be one with my mothers and my fathers. Come hither. Be seated, Maria Xirfn, Sebastian Ventura, and also their mothers and fathers. Be one in taking what I have placed upon your table. Accept it. Only the jun kalamld..." Then I wait a moment before calling them again. "Hail, alcalde judges, come hither. I have served you at your table. It is only a trifle that I have left here before your presence. Indeed it is I. Let me say what I have to say, one word, two words. I beg your blessing, pardon, grace, before your presence. And before your presence also, my mothers, my fathers. Come hither! It is I, This grievous sickness has touched me, this wasting sickness, this cancer which is in my feet and hands. Divine spirits, make known the meaning of what is upon me, before your presence, your persons, and also before the presence of my mothers, my fathers. I have done nothing to you, only with my brothers, Manuel and Sebastian Ventura, poor souls, when they also were here. I only beat them over a field which was left to us in common, to me and my brothers. And when they divided it what they gave to me was not equal to their own field. It is not large, the part which they gave to me. For this, perhaps, I reproached them, I upbraided them in time past. But I was drunk. Perhaps they have done something to me before the World, or perhaps in their ceremonies they have passed judgment on me. But, alcalde judges, this is what I say to you today: - Perhaps it is they who have proposed to give me and have called down upon me this grievous sickness in my feet and hands. Only I lay aside the strife which I had with my brothers, that they may likewise leave me in peace before the cold tempest. I only make my payment, my obeisances and genuflections before your presence and persons. "Alcalde judges, masters of writing, perhaps it is written in your books before your presence and persons, and also my mothers and my fathers, my brothers! Enough of this sickness, this suffering which has touched me! So I shall give thanks on your altar before your presence, your persons. I do not desire this grievous sickness, no, nor to die, to end. Only I give you my payment. I shall come here yet once more, alcalde judges, my mothers, my fathers, and also my brothers. In the presence of the master day 7 kiej, 8 kiej, 9 kiej, then again on these days I shall come. "Mothers, fathers, come hither. Gently may you look and listen to this trifle which I have placed before your presence. Hail, come hither. As I have come in, even so let me depart from your presence. Only the jun kalamld... Going out I kneel again in the door of the church, saying: "Hail, guardians, rulers before the door of the Holy Church. God has granted me grace and power to take one step, two steps before the people of past time, the alcalde judges, my mothers, my fathers. Only I give thanks to God before their presence. It is I; even so let me depart as I entered before your presence. Only with the jun kalamld..." I return home and tell my wife that I have made my responses for my dead parents. Then when the day 7, 8 or 9 kiej comes around, whichever one comes first, I go again with the same prayer. 352 CHIOHICASTENANGO No. 13. Ceremony for the Cure of Sickness Caused By a Dead Enemy (Divinations in 8 kawaq) Let us suppose that a young man, Manuel Buchan, comes to me and tells me that he is very sick and asks me to divine for him the meaning of his sickness. I make my divinations in my sacred bundle and they come out in kam4 and in 8 kawaq. Now this is a bad day, and it would mean that his death has been decreed because his opponent is already in the other world, and is urgent in his demands for Manuel Buchan. So I say: "Son, what does this mean? The word is spoken before me through my sacred bundle, and it seems that you have had some quarrel with your family or relatives. But what I see is bad, for the other one is already with God among the spirits." "It is true, father. I do not remember anything except that there was a certain gentleman, Francisco Mendes. We had some quarrel with him, but now he is dead." "Ah! So you yourself recall this; I do not tell you.' "That is so, father." "And what may have been your quarrel with him '" "It was none other, father, than trouble over my land. I had a large piece, and he took some from me." "Is that so? And why did he take it away?" "Well, I did not have any letter of title, and he had his letter of title and knew that I had none. He had no good intentions. I spoke to him in good faith, and with complaints, and we went to call witnesses. We on our side only wanted to arrange things with this man, but he only quarreled with us and went at once to the authorities and got the chief magistrate and went to see the mountain, and they asked me for my paper. I had one but it was no good. So they said about it, 'It does not have the seal of the authorities, this paper of yours, ' the chief magistrate said to me. 'Now this man has a paper which was executed by the authorities,' the chief magistrate said to me. And I did'nt like that, father." "O Lord, that is bad, if you don't have your paper." "That is so, father. But my dead father long ago showed me the boundaries, and it was not so with that man." "Is that so? And is it long ago that this happened?" "Yes, it was long ago. Perhaps eight years." "And is he already dead, the man who did this to you?' "Yes, father, he is dead. He died about three years ago." "Aha! Well, let us see whether it is the face of this man." I make the divinations again asking the question in the name of Francisco Mendes, to see if the sickness which has touched Manuel Buchan is due to him. I count the seeds out four by four, and if they come out in even fours four times, then it is he. "Well, it is he whom I see, son. Perhaps he is in need in the other world." "And what should I do for him, father? Pardon me." "Nothing. Only to defend yourself and your lands if it is true that he took your land from you, and if it is certain that it was not his." "Indeed it is true, father. I am crazy if these are only empty words that I have told you." CURING CEREMONY: CHANGE OF PERSONALITY 353 "Yes. And now I ask you also, did you not do anything to this man? For you suffered pain when he did this to you." "Yes, father. I suffered pain. Yes, I wept before the mountains and plains, and then I went to weep before my dead, mothers and fathers among the spirits." "Now look, it is necessary that you speak frankly." "It was like this, father. I went to leave offerings in the mountains and also I left offerings before the judges in the other world that they might take into custody the mother and father of this man. And this they must have done before this world because of what their son did in this world. This is what I said to the powers among the spirits, father. Pardon me." "Aha! And is this what you did?" Yes. I did this, and the sorcerer did likewise for me." "Well, they have reason to cry out among the gods and the spirits." "I suppose so, father. What shall I do about this?" "Nothing, except to clear yourself before the world and before the gods and spirits. The guilt is his, from what I hear." "It is true, father. It is not false, what I have said before you." "Well, are you going to do this yourself, or have you someone to whom to go?" "No, father, will you do this favor for me?" "But it will be expensive to do this, boy. I do not know if we can do it for you." "Go ahead with it, father, only do me this favor." Then again I put the questions to my bundle to see if I am the diviner to defend this patient. And if the answer is unfavorable I tell him to try somewhere else, for I cannot do it. Or if the answer is favorable I tell him to buy four ounces of incense for the first communication to the World. When he comes back with the incense, I tell him what he must pay for this ceremony. "And now I shall tell you, son. We must sacrifice nine times in communication, in order that the ceremony may have force. That means we shall need a pound and a half of incense for the communication." "All right. I shall give it, father. Pardon me." "And, furthermore, I must tell you that it will cost twenty-five (pesos) each time for the communication." "All right, I shall give it to you, father. Don't worry about it." "And you must give it to me at once because it is necessary that I make my own offering." "All right, I shall give it to you when I bring the incense." "Very well. We shall see. I shall offer the first communication here before my altar today." "All right, father. Pardon me. I shall come back to give you the incense. I am going now." At eight o'clock in the evening I make the first communication. I go to my own shrine. As my own offering, I leave 9 wax candles at one peso each, 25 cakes of copal, 2 ounces of incense, 2 ounces of sugar, and 5 pesos of aguardiente. I say: "Hail, World, my seat, my shrine, grant me your presence. And also place of sunrise, place of sunset, third quarter of the world, fourth quarter of the world, come hither! And also light of day behold us! And also ruler of the cold wind, come hither. And also lord of this sacred office with which I am 354 CHIOHICASTENANGO entrusted, lords of the pointed stick, defenders and intercessors, come hither! And also Our Father Christ, and our head and crown, our patron Santo Tomas, Apostle, ruler of our town, come hither! It is only for these my poor candles, incense, copal, sugar, cold water, freezing water, which I offer you here upon this altar. This is my fine, World, mine on behalf of those who come to be cared for. Perhaps they present themselves on account of sickness and pain which have come upon them. May they give me no cause for shame; may they not be hurled to death and destruction, World. My seat, my shrine, you see me, you hear me on behalf of those who come to be cared for. Moreover, may no evil fall upon me. This is all, World, accept this." I pour out the aguardiente. This is the explanation of the "fine." Now I go on concerning the affair of the young man. "Hail, World. This is only the first time that I invoke your presence. It is in behalf of this unfortunate Manuel Buchan of the place White Earth, where he has his resting place. He has been touched by sickness and pain, by chills and fever in his body. He has asked one word, two words, of me, and of my sacred bundle. But it was not he whom I saw, World. There has been no strife in the family or with relatives, he said, only with a certain man Francisco Mendes a long time ago, he said, "over a matter of land which this Francisco Mendes took away from me. It was a large piece and he overstepped the boundaries. I wanted to adjust it with this man but his intentions were not good," so he said, World. And this Francisco Mendes went before the feet and hands of the authorities to fetch the chief magistrate. He turned it over to the hands of this Francisco Mendes. "This made me grieve for my mountain," this unfortunate Manuel Buchan says. I made my complaints before my mountain and also I made them before chosen persons, and before the gods and spirits. This I did, and also I called chosen persons on account of the suffering in my heart, said this unfortunate one. Perhaps it is because of this that Francisco Mendes died, or is there not any significance to his death? Only God knows. So he said, World. And perhaps this mother, this father is now among the gods and the spirits. Perhaps he has demanded his going, or perhaps he is in distress on account of the theft which he committed against this unfortunate Manuel Buchan. Perhaps, also, the mothers and fathers of this Francisco Mendes are in distress and perhaps they have called this unfortunate Manuel Buchan that he may go there to adjust this matter with their child. Perhaps this is what the dead mothers and fathers of this Francisco Mendes said. Or else perhaps the mothers and fathers of this Manuel Buchan have taken up his complaint with them there among the gods and spirits. "But no, World, it is true that the blame is on this Francisco Mendes because he took away this piece of land. Yes, he desired this land. Why did he not ask in good faith or buy it from the hands of this Manuel Buchan? But no, he just stole it. This is what he did, and now he is in need, now he is in pain and sickness there because of his comings and goings in this world. But make him repent there, World, for this unfortunate one. Only let us liberate his hands and feet from this sickness and pain which has touched him. We look upon you once, twice, before the divine powers, World! And also we invoke once, twice the judges who hold the staff in their hands and feet. Perhaps it has been decreed in their presence to destroy this poor Manuel Buchan and send him this sickness and pain in his hands and feet. And we shall look after him and cure him and produce a change in the body of this CURING CEREMONY: CHANGE OF PERSONALITY 355 Manuel Buchan. And also we shall set him free and preserve him from the feet and hand of the spirits in the cemetery. "World, pardon us. We invoke your divine spirit before the master day 5 iq'. The cold wind stands before your presence. What is the meaning of this sickness and pain which have come upon this unfortunate? And we invoke you also before the master day 9 kame to ask forgiveness for this unfortunate. And also before the master day 10 kiej for perhaps this has come from the first mothers and fathers. And also before the master day 12 t'oj to investigate the sickness and pain which have come upon this unfortunate. Let there be an end to this sickness and pain! And also before the master day, 3 aj to assist and rescue the light and destiny of this unfortunate. And also before the master day 4 ix, because it is certainly your fault, World, that they made their complaint against this unfortunate. But we only wish to set him free. And also before the master day 7 noj, for perhaps thewords and thoughts of Francisco Mendes have come against this unfortunate. And also before the master day 8 tijax, for it is certain that they made their accusations before your presence, World. But we only wish to set this unfortunate free before your presence, World. And also before the master day 10 ajpu, for perhaps it was in his house and home that this sickness and pain came upon this unfortunate Manuel Buchan. These are the days which we shall invoke before the divine World, before the divine spirits in the house of the saints. And among the common spirits in the cemetery. "Yes, World, pardon me. I have only this incense as a pledge that I shall return before you on the inscribed days. I offer this before your presence. And may you grant me some sign that it is good what we have done, or at once to give our sacrifice to defend this unfortunate. Yes, World, my seat and shrine! You have already received this, my fine. May you not be of two hearts towards me. This is a pledge that I shall return again tomorrow at this time. This is the hour when I shall be before your presence. Pardon my trespass. Let no evil befall me, World. Pardon me. Only the jun kalamld..." On the day 6 aq'bal, the day following the first communication, the young man arrives to leave the pound and a half of incense. "I have come to leave this, my incense, father. Pardon me." "All right, child. It is good to see you." "And also this, father, for the work at your shrine. Pardon me." "Yes, many thanks. I performed the invocation yesterday." "Yes, father. It is already done, many thanks." "But I want to tell you this, boy. Now you must make preparations for the change of your personality. Perhaps thus you will be cured a little. So I have seen, son, but we shall not do that if what you hear is good, as I told you the first time." "Let it be so, father. Pardon me. I shall do this only if I improve a little." "This is what God desires of you. Only let us do this, and let us say tomorrow, Tuesday afternoon. In two weeks, if you do not improve, bring that which will change your personality. Select a fat fowl that it may have force, and that the body of the fowl may leap and turn over when we kill it." "Yes, father. I have heard, father." "And also the materials for the ceremony, as I have told you already. That shall be for the master day 11 imux. This is the day on which we shall try to gain favor in this." "Yes, father. I shall bring them, father." 356 CHICHICASTENANGO "And I must tell you also to look for a married couple to serve as your helpers, and to see this ceremony with us. And your wife also shall come with us and hear the meaning of what we shall do. At sunset we shall place the first offering in the church, and when the hour of the spirits soundswe shall go elsewhere to finish our ceremony there. We shall go before the mountains, to my shrine. And perhaps when dawn spreads over the face of the earth we shall finish. Child, you must see to it." "Yes, so it shall be, father. I have heard." Now for eight times more the diviner goes to the church with two ounces of incense, and with the same prayer as given above. He goes at night when no one is about to see and hear, and on the days mentioned in the prayer. On the day 10 ajpu is the ninth and last invocation. This is said in the World, and in front of the church, and the words are the same, except the end, when I tell them to expect us tomorrow at six o'clock in the evening in front of the church, at 9 at night in the cemetery, and at dawn in the World. On the following day, 11 imux, the young man comes to me, bringing all the materials for the ceremony. For the church: 4 pesos candles at 2 reales for the alcaldes, 4 pesos candles at 2 reales for the parents of the patient, 2 wax tapers at 1 peso for San Juan Bautista, and incense. For the cemetery: 4 pesos candles at 2 reales for the spirits, plenty of aguardiente, and incense, and a fowl, to change the personality of the patient. For the World: 9 candles at 1 peso, 50 cakes of copal, 1/2 pound of incense, sugar, and plenty of aguardiente. The shrine is decorated with pine branches. The boy comes to my house in the afternoon, and we go to the church, taking everything with us, at about 5 or 5:30 in the afternoon. In the door of the church we kneel: "Hail, lords of the door of the holy church, come hither! Only the jun kalamld..." "Yes, mothers, fathers, guardians of the holy church, I have invoked before your presence the light and fortune of the lords of justice, and also the common souls. This is the day, this is the hour when I shall make my offerings, and stand one step before your face. Grant me grace, and grant grace also to those who come to me to be cared for. Now we shall advance before the masters. Pardon us..." We enter and proceed to the place of the alcaldes. "Hail, alcalde judges, however many may be your persons here. You, lords of the staff, lords of the rod, the first justice, the second justice, the chief magistrate, second magistrate, third magistrate, fourth magistrate, fifth magistrate, sixth magistrate, seventh magistrate, eighth magistrate, spokesmen, and also the secretaries, first secretary, second secretary, third secretary, the sheriffs, the treasurer, the civil servants, however many may be your persons, come hither, be seated a moment. And also people of an ancient day, come hither. This is the day, this is the hour for which we have invoked your presence. Eight times over I have made my prayers and supplications before your divine presence. Lords, come hither. Divine souls redeemed in purgatory, it is I who am entrusted with this rite and ceremony of the pointed staff which belonged to you, lords, when you lived in this world. Perhaps I have been entrusted with this that I may look after those also who come in sickness and pain to be cared for. "So it is with this unfortunate Manuel Buchan who has been touched by CURING CEREMONY: CHANGE OF PERSONALITY 357 sickness and pain in his feet and hands, by chills and fever, so he says. He consulted the pointed staff in my hands and feet concerning his light and fortune, and I looked for him. But quarrels and strife appeared there upon his light and fortune. I said to him: 'Perhaps you have engaged in quarrels with your family or relatives. For this is what I see, I tell you, before this sacred bundle.' I said this, and this unfortunate Manuel Buchan said to me: 'No, father. I have not engaged in quarrels with my family and relatives, only with a certain man, Las Cum, but that was long ago,' he said to me. I asked him; 'What was the quarrel about?' and he told me it was on account of a piece of land that this man Las Cum took from him, poor soul. Perhaps he is here now, this Las Cum. 'We entered the boundaries, but they were not as they had been laid out by my dead mothers and fathers. No, for he had wanted this great mountain.' I questioned this poor Manuel Buchan and told him to tell me the shining truth: 'Do not lie before me, and before this, my sacred bundle.' This is what he said: 'Father, excuse me. I am not crazy; I do not invent lies before you. It was this man, Las Cum. I spoke to him in good faith, but he did not wish me well. No, right away he went to the authorities and brought the chief magistrate and they went to see the land, and the chief magistrate said to me, "Let me see your paper, if it is in good order," so the chief magistrate said to me, and I gave him my paper and he looked at it and said, "It is no good, it does not have the seal of the court. But that of this man is good, and furthermore there is the boundary mark here." So the chief magistrate spoke and said to me, and he said also, "And if you quarrel any more about it you will not gain anything." So the chief magistrate said to me. And so my land remained, but this is not the boundary that was marked by my dead fathers. He did not wish me well, this man. And so my heart ached for my mountain, and I cried out before the World and also among the spirits and before my dead mothers and fathers. This is all I did,' said this poor Manuel Buchan. "Lords of Justice, perhaps he is here, this Las Cum, to endure his pain and suffering here, because it is true that he took away the land as this unfortunate Manuel Buchan says. This is it, Lords of Justice. Perhaps he is calling, perhaps he is struggling for the soul of this unfortunate. And perhaps the mothers and fathers of this Las Cum have learned that their son did this. But, Lords of Justice, may you put an end to the complaint of this Las Cum in his going and disappearance, if it is good what he sees and what he has done in this holy light. "Lords of Justice, it is not that we say we ask for justice for this Las Cum. No, lords, only the liberation of this poor Manuel Buchan, in his hands and feet. Lords of Justice, perhaps Las Cum has made accusations before you. No, lords, do not believe the statements that this Las Cum makes, and his mothers and fathers. Make an end of them here. And perhaps there are those also who suggested to this Las Cum that he take this land. Then he has seen them there. May they not see. And may they not call this unfortunate one, because they have already given him his desire. It is enough that the mountain passed into the hands of this Las Cum. "Lords of Justice, magistrates, councilmen, treasurers, servants, and secretaries, people of past time, you do not demand anything of us. But the heart and mind of this unfortunate one offer this, just these poor candles and this cold, icy water before your altar. Accept them. Do not be of two hearts and minds. And perhaps we shall also leave offerings on the table of the 358 CHICHICASTENANGO common souls, the former mothers and fathers, now departed. And also among the common souls, the masters and powers of the cemetery. And we shall also go before the mountain, to my shrine and seat, and there we shall call them. There they shall see and hear what this poor Manuel Buchan offers them. May all alike join in the liberation of this unfortunate. Lords, pardon our trespass. Accept this, and do not be of two hearts and minds. May peace be with you. Only the jun kalamld..." Then I go to the place of common souls with the same prayer.38 "Yes, our common mothers, common fathers, divine manifestations, and also the mothers and fathers of Manuel BuchAn and the mothers and fathers of Las Cum, come hither. Be seated here, however many may be your manifestations. Here are only one pieces, two pieces of candles and cold water, freezing water for you, lords. Accept it. Perhaps when the hour of the spirits sounds we shall call upon you there, before the altar of the common souls in the cemetery, and also before the mountain-plain, my seat and altar. These places shall be equal, however much may be my fine which I shall pay in behalf of this unfortunate Manuel BuchAn. And, also, may they be equal in liberating this unfortunate from the sickness and pain which have touched him. Yes, accept this, mothers, fathers. Only the jun kalamld..." Now we come to San Juan Bautista with the same prayer, except that we call upon "San Juan Bautista, San Juan Padrino, the fate and destiny of this unfortunate." Here we burn two candles. Then we proceed to the door of the church: "Hail, mothers, fathers, and also guardians and masters of the door of this house and place, the holy church. Come hither! Give us your grace and blessing. We have taken one step, two steps before the lords of justice, the powers of our common mothers and fathers among the spirits, and also beneath the hands and feet of our fate and destiny, San Juan Bautista, San Juan Padrino. Grant us, lords, that even as we entered, even so may we depart, masters. Pardon us. Only the jun kalamld... We come back to my house and rest two hours before going to the cemetery. After the bell rings at eight o'clock we prepare to go. "Come, son, let us go. Sir, let us go. Carry the paraphernalia." "Yes, father." "We are going, child. Do not sleep, but be sure to have hot water ready for us when we return here from the World." "Yes." So we go. Now we come to the cemetery. We cover the sides of the shrine where we burn the incense so that no one may see the fire from afar. "Hail, World, holy Campo Santo, rulers of the holy church, and also Lords of Justice, and also the Lords of the Departed Souls, you have paused here to see the holy souls who are here. Here we are. We have not merely come to visit here, it is for this rite that we have invoked this World, and also you, spirits, however many may be your persons. Come hither. Only the jun kalanld..." Then I turn to the patient and say: "Let us recite our doctrine, and you also say it with me." We recite the doctrine six times, and six times we cross ourselves. We are facing the west, for it is in this position that we shall burn the copal. Then we turn and face the east, with the same prayer, and again the doctrine six times, and six times the sign of the cross. Then we put down our things. 38 This prayer, included in the original text, has been omitted. CURING CEREMONY: CHANGE OF PERSONALITY 359 We light the candles, and the copal, and we bind the fowl, a male for a man, a female for a woman, behind the stone where we burn the copal. We pour out the aguardiente into glasses. "Hail, World, the Campo Santo is one of your manifestations here where are the guardians and watchers before you, where are the wardens of souls. May no evil befall us while giving this our fine. Hear our prayer. And also, lords of justice, hear us." I pour out the aguardiente in this place, and then I take a bracer, and tell the others to drink a few glasses that they may not be frightened in the cemetery, and that they may not sleep, but be happy there. Then I tell them to smoke, that they may not be startled by the dead in this place. There are four or five of us, the diviner, the patient and his wife or his parents, and his assistants, man and woman. "Holy, divine World, perhaps you received the holy blessing of the priest when he set your face here in this cemetery, and also holy Christ who is in the house and place of the chapel, and also the lord alcaldes, the Ladino alcaldes, the magistrates, the civil servants, the police. Here also, perhaps, are the chiefs of cantones, and the district heads. You are now spirits. Come hither, seat yourselves here one moment to look upon us and upon that for which we have invoked your presence. Lords, pardon our trespass. Here I shall offer my obeisances before your presence on this master day 11 imux. But these are not slanders or lies or accusations which I speak. No, lords. It only concerns this ritual of the pointed staff with which I have been entrusted by you, lords. This is what it is, World. Perhaps I shall stand before you only to be taken care of. It is only for the relief of sickness and pain that I have received this ritual. It is not for the purpose of power of food and drink, nor is it for power over money. No, lords, it is only for relief of sickness and pain, this which I have. Pardon my trespass, lords. It seems this is the day, this is the hour in which I have invoked the holy World, the Campo Santo, the holy lords, the spirits. It is I, even as you yourselves were in the light of day, lords of incense and candles, servants and defenders of our town and valleys against sickness and pain. Even so am I. "Lords, come hither. It seems that I have been consulted by this unfortunate Manuel BuchAn who has been touched by sickness and pain, by chills and fever, lords. And could I say to him. 'No, I will not defend you, I will not help you?' No, lords, for that is a sin before God, and also before this my office with which I have been entrusted, this ritual before the light of day. Be seated, lords, hear that which we shall beg of you beneath your hands andfeet. "Here is this poor Manuel Buchan who has been touched by chills and fever and cold sweat. He asked the grace of the sacred bundle in my hands and feet and I made my intrusions and trespasses and tested the person of this unfortunate, and this is what I saw and heard in my sacred ritual: he has engaged in quarrels and disputes a long time ago. And I told him this and said: 'What is this that you have done? For I see that my sacred bundle says that you have engaged in quarrels long ago.' So I asked him, lords. 'Remember, my boy,' I said to him, lords. And this is what he said, lords. 'Yes, it is true, father. Yes I once had a quarrel on account of a piece of land,' said this unfortunate, lords. And I asked him who was the man who had quarrelled with him, and he said: 'Well, it was Las Cum. I took a large piece of mountain land. He did not wish to adjust it amicably. Right away he went to the authorities and he brought the chief magistrate and took the chief 360 CHICHIOASTENANGO magistrate there to the mountain. He asked for my papers, and he asked Las Cum for his, and he said to me...' so says this poor Manuel Buchan... "Now this of yours does not have the seal of the authorities and that of Las Cum is good; his paper was executed in the court. And also there is the boundary mark within your boundaries which speaks for him." So the chief magistrate said: 'And if you continue to quarrel, about it, it will not gain you anything,' so the chief magistrate said to me, says this poor Manuel BuchAn, lords. 'And after that I wept for my mountain which had fallen into the hands of Las Cum,' so says this unfortunate one, lords. "But lords, it has come about that Las Cum is now here. Perhaps a year or two years after this happened he was here. Perhaps the first people, our mothers and fathers heard this and did this to Las Cum. Perhaps now he is undergoing pain and suffering for the robbery which he committed. Or perhaps it is not so; perhaps it is the work of God. Lords, spirits, heisin your presence. Perhaps his going is the result of this poor Manuel Buchan having named Las Cum in his prayers. Or perhaps the mothers and fathers of Las Cum became confused and sent for him, or else perhaps they quarrelled and fought with the mothers and fathers of Manuel Buchan. Perhaps the quarrel in which they had engaged came before the ancestors. Indeed, it would come before them because this unfortunate one cried for his mountain. "Lords, and masters of the Campo Santo, alcaldes, perhaps some share has already been given to you on the part of the alcaldes who are in the holy church in sending sickness and pain to this unfortunate one. Perhaps they have already decreed death and destruction for this unfortunate. Or else perhaps it has some other meaning for this unfortunate. But I, lords, I am his witness and guarantor that he will not repeat these sins if he is granted freedom in his hands and feet. I, I, his witness and guarantor, leave here his substitute to effect the change of his name and destiny. I remove it. This is my rite, my ceremony which I carry on, to free his person, his name, his destiny. Perhaps he has already been sentenced to the earth and sod. But this is his substitute, World, Campo Santo, judges, magistrates, civil servants, police. May he spring up again. "Come and kneel down. I shall offer your substitute." He kneels down beside the cock. "Lords of the middle of the night, lords of the cold tempest, with these prayers and incantations draw out the name and destiny of this unfortunate Manuel Buchan. In one moment you will see and hear the transformation of this unfortunate one, lords." Now I draw out a knife which I keep always prepared and use only for this purpose, and I say to the boy: "Look, boy, take only the head. When I cut it, take the head at once and leave it behind the altar." We stand in front of where the copal is burning. "Saints of heaven, pardon our trespass, grant me grace. Sefor San Pedro, master of the cock, grant me grace. This is only what is in the rite and ceremony with which I have been entrusted. Moreover this unfortunate one does not desire death and destruction. This is his substitute. Here it is. This is to ask grace and favor. Jun kalamld..." On the last words of the doctrine I cut the neck of the animal, throw down the body violently so that it bounces on the place of the sacrifice. Immediately the boy takes the head and lays it down behind the altar. CURING CEREMONY: CHANGE OF PERSONALITY 361 "Child, pour out the aguardiente." The assistants pour out the aguardiente on the shrine. "Hail, holy World of the Campo Santo, Lords of Justice, magistrates, civil servants, Ladino alcaldes, sergeants of police, now set free this unfortunate one. This is his fine here to transform his name and destiny and to raise it once more. Here am I with my sacred office standing as witness and guarantor for this unfortunate one, that if he repeats his sins and trespasses, on me will fall the penalty. Accept it, lords and rulers. And also I shall bury and leave interred here in this shrine the substitute for this poor Manuel Buchln." Now I bury behind the altar the head of the fowl. I make the hole small and cover it over carefully so that no one may see it. Then I and the patient go off some six feet and advance four times on our knees, each time taking a drink of aguardiente and saying: "Yes, World, holy Campo Santo, and rulers, however many may be your manifestations, do not be of two hearts. This is the cold water, the freezing water left by our father in this world. Is not this what we have placed upon your altar? Accept it, and do not be of two hearts towards us. Do not be of two hearts and minds toward this unfortunate one, but free his hands and feet. This is all, World, holy Campo Santo, and also Our Father Christ in the chapel, and also lords of justice, however many may be your manifestations. Accept this." After we have said this four times, the doctrine and the sign of the cross. After the third repetition, I tell the assistants to gather the things together, and my sacred bundle also, and to be ready to lead away the patient. After the fourth repetition and the doctrine, the sign of the cross, and then we leave quickly, as quickly as possible, the two assistants guarding the patient on both sides, and the chuchqajau going behind. We run, and all the way I call out: 'Ho, Manuel! Ho, Manuel!' When we have gone half the distance we stop for a moment to rest. We do not sit down. Then I turn to the patient and ask him suddenly: 'What is your name?' If he answers quickly, it is a sign that his health will improve, but if he hesitates and does not know his name right away, it is a sign that our ceremony has only served to introduce him to the cemetery, and that he will probably become worse. But I do not tell him this, or the meaning of the question. We stop to drink at the place where I ask the question. I drink first and pour out a glass behind the patient, for his spirit which is tired. Then I give the patient a drink, and to the assistants also. When we reach the house we stop at the patio. "Don't be alarmed, daughter, it is we. Light your ocote and open for us." She opens for us and we all come in, and I go at once to the place where I keep my sacred bundle, and burn a candle before the bundle, saying: "Yes, my sacred office, pardon our intrusion. Give us grace and favor. This much of our business is finished, but something yet remains to be done. Perhaps within an hour we shall once more raise your body that we may go before my altar. There we shall stand in your presence and you will see in the presence of the cold tempest whether or not you will set free the name and destiny of this unfortunate Manuel Buch&n. You, my sacred bundle, call his name and destiny; for perhaps it is wanderong on the roads. Sacred bundle, pardon me." Now we eat. We eat well and after we have finished the wife of the assistant remains in the kitchen with my wife to cook the fowl, and the patient stays 362 CHICHICASTENANGO in the house to rest, for he is sick and tired. I go with the assistant to my shrine. When we arrive we kneel and say: "Hail, World, and also ruler of the darkness of the night, and ruler of the cold tempest. Come hither! Only the jun kaalamld..." We put down our things, light the candles and the incense, and pour out the aguardiente and set it on the altar. "Hail, World, come hither, reveal your face and presence, World. Place of sunrise, place of sunset, third part of the world, fourth part of the world, lord of the darkness of the night, lord of the cold tempest, come hither! Perhaps it is the middle of the night, perhaps the end of the night. And also Our Eternal Father, Our Mother, Maria, Our Father Christ, Our Father Sefior San Pedro who holds the key of heaven and the key of hell! Pardon our intrusion. Be seated a moment to look upon us, World. This is the day, this is the hour in which we have invoked your divine essence. These are no lies which we shall speak before you, World. It is I who have been entrusted with the sacred office of the divine spirits, the first people. Even as they have acted, shall I act.39 "As for us, we are not equal to the gods, or else in this very thing lies the fault of this unfortunate one and for this, before this day and hour, the liberation of the light and fortune of this Manuel Buchan. Let him not sin again before your presence, World, and also in the movements of the wind and before the lord of the light of day and the lord of the darkness of the night, before the guards who inscribe him in the book and folio. And, World, great authorities who hold the laws of the world within their hands and feet, who have arms and trucks and piles of ammunition in your hands; World President, World Chief, World Chief of Plaza, World Minister, World Judges, World Justice of the Peace, World Councilmen, World Commisars, World Magistrates, World Police, Patrolmen and also the great defenders of the plantations, the doctors of prayers and incantations! Good, World, be seated here a moment. And also the twelve, thirteen thousand shrines, defenders and benefactors. And also the twelve, thirteen thousand female idols, male idols who lie buried within the earth or stand in the light of day, and also the twelve, thirteen miraculous saints, our defenders, come hither before this altar. And also our head and crown, Apostle Santo Tomas, however many may be your manifestations, and also the lords of justice among the common souls; and also Senor San Juan Padrino, San Juan Bautista, and also the world of the cemetery, the lords of justice, magistrates, civil servants, the Ladino alcaldes, the Ladino sergeants, the Ladino police and the heads of the cantones among the spirits. And also the elders among the spirits, come hither before this altar. Be seated and rest yourselves. We call you to liberate this unfortunate one, to untie him where he is bound, this unfortunate one. You who lurk in canyons and within the hills, beneath rocks and beneath the trunks of trees, or within the prison which contains his light and destiny, come hither! Sefior Apostle San Jose, you hold your full hills in your hands and feet. Pardon us; we ask pardon of you. You will cut the chains which bind this unfortunate one. Also Sefior San Pedro, you hold the key to the prison where this unfortunate Manuel Buchan is confined. I am his witness, I am his surety in asking favor from the hands and feet of Seior San Pedro, for the liberation of the light and destiny of 39 The text goes on to repeat the whole story of the unfortunate Manuel Buch6n's legal difficulties. CURING CEREMONY: CHANGE OF PERSONALITY 363 this unfortunate one before this master day 11 imux. And also at dawn of the master day 12 'iq' perhaps we shall be before your presence, female idols, male idols with the offerings of this unfortunate one. But I, I am a chosen person, I am the witness and surety of this unfortunate one that he will not repeat his sin, San Pedro. Pardon us. Be seated. Here is his fine, this copal, candles, incense, sugar, roses, and also this cold water, frozen water offered to you, World, to you lord of the darkness of the night, to you, cold tempest, to you lord of the sickness and pain which have touched this poor Manuel Buchan, to you high authorities. Come hither, only this we offer." I sprinkle the aguardiente on the altar. "Yes, World, accept this. Do not be of two hearts and minds towards us, World. Accept it. Only the jun kalamld..." The assistant pours out another glass of aguardiente and I sprinkle this in the burning copal. If there is still some left, we drink. "Now our business is finished, father. Let us go." We gather up our things, and stand holding them. "Yes, World, may peace be upon this altar, and as for us, give us your grace and blessing, lords. As we came into your presence, even so let us return to our house, World. Do not let any evil befall us. And also give me some sign in my body on behalf of this unfortunate Manuel Buchan. Perhaps we have made some mistake at your altar. If so, tell me, World. Pardon our trespass. Now let us repeat our doctrine, father. Let us kneel." We kneel and repeat the doctrine and cross ourselves. On the way back we smoke, because it is very cold. When we reach, the house my wife lets us in and we sit down. The young man has now awakened, and we speak to him if he is able to speak, or if not, we leave him alone. Then the wife of the assistant brings me a glass of aguardiente, and one for my wife, and then for the wife or the parents of the patient also. Then we eat the body of the fowl. But the patient does not eat of it, nor his wife or parents, because it is his substitute for the restoration of his health. After we have eaten, we have a few more drinks if we feel like it. At dawn I say to the patient: "Now we have finished our business, my boy, and we shall go to our houses." "Yes, father." "And send someone tomorrow or the next day to let me know how you are getting along, also if you have any sign, whether it is good or not, let me know." "Yes, father, I have heard. Pardon me, father, how much is your fee, and also the cost of the ceremony? Pardon me, father, for asking this of you." "That is right, boy, see to it, and also remember that I have used mypower in your behalf, and that I have said that I would stand as witness and surety for you. For that I shall have to pay my fine. It was well done, but perhaps something will happen to me because of it, or to my property." "That is true, father. Only tell me how much is the fee of your altar?" "That will be 150 pesos, boy." "Very well, father. You have done this favor for me. I shall leave it for you. Pardon me." "Yes, many thanks. And may God restore it to your possession, boy." "Yes. Now we shall go. Pardon us." And so we finish at dawn of the second day. Now we look for signs in our bodies and in our dreams. Good signs are dreams of drinking sweet drinks, 364 CHICHICASTENANGO or eating any sweet fruit; bad signs, dreams of drinking aguardiente, smoking or eating raw meat, or dreams of being summoned by the authorities, or going to appeal to them. Now I as chuchqajau must perform my ceremony of defense that the deceased owners of the land may not be angry with me, for they have seen and heard me making this ceremony on behalf of Manuel Buchan. I perform the communication in 3 kame, in order to make my offering on 4 kiej. For the communication, 2 ounces of incense burned in my shrine at six o'clock in the evening.40 That evening after the communication I prepare the things for the ceremony: 25 cakes of copal, 4 ounces of incense, 2 ounces of sugar, 6 candles at 1 peso for the World, 1 candle at 1 peso for Christ of Calvario, 1 candle at 1 peso for San Pedro, 4 pesos of candles at 2 reales for the dead alcaldes, 4 pesos of candles at 2 reales for the common dead, 1 candle at 1 peso for the chapel in the cemetery, and roses. Next morning at daybreak I go to the World, taking these things and burning brands. "Hail, World, come hither for this day, 4 kiej. Perhaps it is one hour, two hours, since our father the sun has come out. Come hither! Perhaps our minister, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Son of Mary, is in heaven. It is He who left this rite and ceremony for us, and also Seiior San Pedro, the master of this sacred rite and ceremony of the pointed staff. The first people looked efter and exercised this sacred office. But they did not carry it withthem in their hearts and minds within the earth and sod. No, World. It remained here in this world. It seems it has been entrusted to me, and it is I who axercise this sacred office. "High authorities, lower authorities, lord of the light of day, lord of the darkness of the night, lord of the cold tempest, and also lord of the roads and trails, come hither, seat yourselves here before this, my fine and portion, my offering of incense, candles, flowers. This is for you, lords, however many may be your manifestations. You stand before this world. And also our gods, Santo Tomas, Apostle, lord of our village, come hither. It is I who travel up and down in the exercise of my office of the pointed stick, on behalf of those who suffer from sickness and pain in their feet and hands. Come hither. It is I. Perhaps I have aided the name and destiny of this unfortunate Manuel Buchan who has been touched by sickness and pain. World, I have intruded upon you and annoyed you. Perhaps I have offered his fine before your presence, World, and also before the presence of the cemetery, and also I have defended him before the lords of justice in the cold house, the icy house. So it is, World, that perhaps he has given me something for my altar, a little for you, World, a little for me, World. But let nothing happen to me on account of having defended this man, Manuel Buchan, nor yet to my wedded wife nor my children, nor to my property and possessions. May nothing happen to us, World. Whether it is true what this Manuel Buchan said, or whether it is not true only God knows. Only I am master of the pointed staff, the defender and protector of the people of our town and valley. This is what it is, World. Pardon me. May it not be I upon whom this falls. Perhaps this Las Cum has seen, perhaps he has heard, or else his mothers and fathers. Perhaps they are angry with me, World. But may they settle upon Manuel 40 The communication, given in the original text, is omitted. CURING CEREMONY: CHANGE OF PERSONALITY 365 Buchan whatever may be the outcome of this, World.41 May it not terminate for me, because of this complaint, in death and destruction. No, World. My part was merely to perform this ceremony, and I shall give thanks and the fee of the altar. May there be no death or destruction for me; may I not meet disaster in the canyons and passes, in the cold tempest however many I may touch with this rite and ceremony. World, pardon me. This is for you." I pour out a glass of aguardiente and sprinkle it on the altar. "My cold water, my icy water, symbol of this rite and ceremony with which I am entrusted, World. May you place me on your right hand, your left hand, and may you speak for me. Place me on the right hand, the left hand, on the wings of the twelve, thirteen angels and apostles, that they may bear me on, that they may release my name and fortune in the sky if, perchance, I have any enemy, or if there is any evil one who follows behind me in the darkness of the night when I go about my business. For, World, there is always someone who suffers in his mind on account of me, some evil one who is envious when I free those who come to be cared for beneath my hands and feet. It is the Devil. "Yes, World, pardon me. This is what I have for you, World. And also there is something for me. Perhaps I shall eat chile, salt, other things at my table. Perhaps this will come to me through my sacred office. What I have said to you, World, I shall also repeat, perhaps within one hour, two hours, beneath the hands and feet of Christ and also San Pedro, the master of the sacred office, and also the powers among the spirits. To all alike I shall give thanks, and may they all alike aid and protect me. World, pardon me. Receive this in peace. Only the jun kalaml..." From here I go to Calvario with the same prayer, and then I go to the church, to the place of the spirits of the alcaldes, the common souls, with the same prayer. Then to San Pedro in the church, or in the cofradia, with the same prayer, and finally to the chapel in the cemetry. Meanwhile, three or four days after the ceremony in the cemetery I receive news of the sick man, and also what signs there may be, and then we proceed according to those signs. If the signs are that our offering has not been accepted, then we make a new defense of the boy in the 13 ajmaq (after fifteen days). For this ceremony we seek a hill where there is no altar, where no one has ever performed ceremonies. For the hill without an altar is like a person without any trouble. There one can go to ask favors. To the altars come many people with their different prayers and requests, and the atmosphere is confused by many prayers. One makes divinations as to what hill will be acceptable, and there one makes the ceremony. Only incense, but plenty of that, and a bottle of pure water. This is for the defense of the boy, for perhaps he has sinned. 41 At this point the sorcerer withdraws the guarantee offered in the former ceremony, p. 360, for which he collected 150 pesos from his patient. 366 CHIOHICASTENANGO No. 14. Sorcery to Punish a Robber of the Milpa (Ceremony for the day 7 qanil, 8 t'ox, 9 ta'i') Let us suppose that I, Sebastian Ventura, find that during the night they robbed me of much corn. I estimate from the area which they have cut that they must have taken about eleven bags, more or less. Then I return and report this in my house: "Wife, they have cut down a lot of corn in my milpa!" "'Dio Jesu Cristo! Who can the thief be who has done this to your milpa?" "Wait! I shall take care of him, whoever it is who has done it." "Yes, it is good that you take care of him, so that you know who the thief is." When I go back to the field again, I find even more damage than before, and I come back and tell them in my house. And I am thinking of something in my heart, to bring punishment on the thief. But this I do not tell to anyone. Then at midnight I go to my field with a little candle of 1 peso, and grief and suffering for the corn which I have lost. I do this: I cut two ears of corn and strip them, and divide them each in two, and place them on the ground in the middle of the field, like this, with the candle in the center, and I light the candle, but upside down, with the head of the candle in the ground, and I say: "Hail, World! Perhaps you will look favorably upon that which I am doing, perhaps unfavorably. But some person is eating the fruit of my labor, and therefore I am doing this thing before your presence. Hear that which I ask for this thief. It is needful that you do justice, for before your presence this cornfield grew, which is the fruit of my labor. Sefor San Augustfn, Sefior San Jacinto, who have the granary, come hither, before this World. Listen to that which I do out of the grief which I feel for my work. Be seated for one hour, half an hour. And also the binders, the lords of ropes and cords, lords of pistols, lords of knives, lords of swords; drawers of weapons, men and youths; and also the lord of incantations who go about by day and by night, come hither all of you! "This person when he committed this evil theft destroyed that which is mine, that with which I am happy; he dried up my cornfield, so that I suffer hunger and thirst before this world, together with my wife and children. This is what this person has done to me. He caused me great expense when he did this to me. Is it that he was hungry, this person, or did he do this out of spite for me? Come hither, however many may be your names and persons, binders and chainers, come hither. You have an inkling who it may be, whether a neighbor from near or far; whether a brother or some Ladino; whether a man or a woman; whether it is some great person or small. However many may be the persons of the thieves, reveal them when they bring hither their light and fortune. "Yes, World, do justice! Yes, Sefior San Augustin, Sefor San Jacinto, lords of the granary of ears of corn! Who stripped my corn before your presence, World? Who carried away my ears of corn? You have seen him, whether he was with others or alone. You have seen his ways. No, World, no, San Jacinto, San Augustin, give him, give him, give him punishment in his bones and flesh for this." I take two needles and break them and put the pieces inside the two ears of corn, and I sprinkle salt on the candle. The salt burns with popping noise, and the ears of corn also. Everything burns. Then I say: SORCERY AGAINST A THIEF 367 "Yes, World! San Augustin, San Jacinto. It is well that his feet and hands should come now to carry off my ears of corn before your presence, World. That this may be, I have given him this in his hands and feet. Lord of incantations who goes about in the wind and the tempest, through incantations and through wind put these things into the flesh of him who came to carry off my corn. World, San August in, San Jacinto, I granted them pardon; first I said that God would aid me and repay me. But they did still worse to me. Do justice! Yes, binders, they got it and took it away. Perhaps they will return today, perhaps tomorrow, perhaps day after tomorrow, perhaps within three nights, within four nights, within five nights; but let this be the time of their carrying off. Five times I ask justice for these thieves. Binders, you have heard. Yes, World, Sefior San Augustin, Sefior San Jacinto, if they come, you will do justice. It is well if you turn them over first to Sefior San Pedro, lord of the jail and prison, and let the thieves remain there, and then after that give them this punishment. "World come hither. Death and destruction is what I ask for these thieves. Let them talk with however many powers, let them go to the lords of the sacred bundle, let them go to the doctors, let them go to the miraculous saints, let them seek their stars with Sefor San Juan Bautista; let them speak with the twenty chosen days. But I also invoke you, World, you will place yourself before their presence, however many may be those who defend him among the gods. But they have their sins and faults. May there not be one among them to place themselves in accord with them. I will pay for it within five days when the days of my asking for justice are ended. Come hither 1 bat8, 2 'e... (to 20 ts'i'). 20 ts'i', day of bestiality such as theycommitted here! For this I shall fix their hands and feet; it is well, for with this they carried away my corn. For they have committed this theft. See that which I am; I work, I do not steal from the poor. Because of this my labor is fruitful. But they do not do thus; no, they are idlers, they sleep. "Come hither 20 ts'i' before their beastliness which they have done to me. 20 t8'i', 18 qanil, 19 t'oj, 17 kiej, 15 qan, 16 kame, 13 aq'bal, 14 q'at, llimux, 12 fq', 9 kauwaq, 10 aipu, 7 noj, 8 tijax, 5 tsikiV, 6 ajmaq, 3 'aj, 4 ix, 1 bats, 2 'e! Whenever they shall declare themselves on account of the punishment which I ask, may they only lose themselves among the twenty chosen days; and to whomever of the sacred office they may call on their behalf, however many may be their persons, may nothing be revealed to them in the sacred bundle; may they not think of me, but may they be other words, that they tell them." The doctrine, backwards. Then I rise, and weep, but loudly, out of the grief for my corn, and say: "Divine World, however many may be your persons, I ask justice of you!" I cry loudly, five times. Then I undress and am completely naked. Then I cry again, loud and long, and turn, facing the other way and cry again. "Divine World, holy binders of ropes, lords of sickness and misfortune, however many may be your manifestations, I ask justice! And also Our Father who is in the sky, and Our Mother Maria who is in Heaven, you see me, you hear me, may you give orders to let fall from your hands the light and fortune of these wicked people, these thieves, because of what they have done to me with my corn. Through this I am become poor; I am naked because of that which they have done to me." I cry again, very much. "Divine World, speedily punish these thieves for that which they have done to me. 368 CHICHICASTENANGO For I had need of my corn; I was waiting for my corn and then they did this to me." I cry again, very much, five times. After crying out five times, I cross myself, backwards, and sit down. "Hail World, however many may be your manifestations, I shall come again to ask justice. At the same hour soon again, tomorrow." Now I dress. "Yes, divine World, even as I came from my house, so shall I return. Perhaps anger has come over me, but in six days I shall make my payment upon the altar that this punishment may not fall on me nor on my beloved wife nor on my sons. On whatever day I may come to make payment for the robbery which the thieves have committed against me, be present. Come hither! Where the sun rises, I only ask pardon before your presence. Only the jun kalanld... Where the sun sets, I only ask pardon before your presence... (doctrina and Sign of the cross. Third part of the world, I only ask pardon before you (doctrina and Sign of the cross." I return to my house. On the next night at the same hour, I return with the same request. Everything is the same. I do this five times. During the five days and nights I do not stay in the same room with my wife. I wear my shirt inside out, and for five nights I go to sleep without removing my clothing. After the fifth night, I change my clothing to go back to leave my payment for my defense near where I have made my request. At the end of the fifth ceremony of sorcery I light the candle upside down, pick up a large stone, and let it fall on the candle. I sit down naked in front of the stone, weeping, and say: "Yes, World, Sefior San Jacinto, Sefor San Augustin, binders of ropes! Be seated here and see that which they have done to me!" I weep. "Truly, World, let fall the light and fortune of these thieves for that which they have done to me." I dress, kneel facing the east, the west, the north, the south, and say the doctrine four times. Then I stand on the stone, being now fully clothed. "Yes, World, so it is that in ten days and nights I shall come to take the poor man his food and drink, and also the butt of the candle and the stone to leave them there in the course and bends of the river Motagua. Thither I shall take the name and fortune of these thieves. No, I do not place them before your presence, World. Hence may I not fall within my own trap. I only ask punishment for them beneath your feet and hands. Yes, World, pardon my transgression that I have come thus before you. "So now I shall return to my house. Perhaps they are already gathered together, the binders of ropes, those whom I have called. May they not fall upon me in the roads and byways. Yes, World, pardon me.." I must remove all traces of the rite, so that the punishment may not fall upon myself. After six days I go again to give thanks that the misfortune has not fallen on me. After ten days I come to take away the pieces of the ears of corn which are not already burned, and the butt of the candle and the stone. I place all these things in a little basket. First, I put down the basket in the place where I have burned the candle. Then I burn plenty of incense of the second grade, and kneeling befor te e basket, sayv: "Hail, World, and Sefior San Jacinto, Sefior San Augustin, binders with ropes and chains! I have asked justice of you. And also of you, Lord of Pain and Sickness. This is the day, this is the hour of whicht I have already spoken. I shall not leave these things before your presence, World. No, I shall take SORCERY AGAINST A THIEF 369 them and carry them away from before your presence, World. Come to where are seated the chiefs and rulers beneath whose hands and feet I ask justice." I circle the basket, kneeling, five times facing in, and then, turning, five times facing out. During this I repeat the doctrina, and burn much incense. Then I take up the basket and say:. "Hail, World, where the sun rises, where the sun sets, the third side of the world, the fourth side of the world! Now I take from before your presence that which I have done, these spells upon the light and fortune of the thieves. It is already destroyed, the light and fortune of the thieves. Pardon me, World, give me your presence and protection that nothing may befall me there in the course of the water." I rise, in clouds of incense. Taking the basket I go to the river. On reaching the bank of the river, I say: "Hail, World, and also the course and bends of the flowing water, you are masters here. Come hither! It is I who ask punishment for them, the thieves. Because of them I have done this thing. This yellow ear, this white ear I give you here, that you may destroy his light and fortune with this, my food and drink. No, Lord, this yellow ear, this white ear are without sin; no, it is they alone who are guilty, the sinners, the thieves. Well, then, here I call them, the light and fortunes of the thieves. So may you send the worms and serpents of the water into the feet and hands of these thieves. Perhaps the worms and snakes and fish within this water will eat this yellow ear, this white ear. So then the thieves will be devoured by these animals who have eaten the yellow ear, the white ear. Pardon my trespass." I place ten candles of two reales each on the bank of the river and light them. When they are half burned, I throw them into the water, together with the pieces of maize and the stone and the basket. That is all, nothing more. Then I return home. Then on the second day following I burn incense in the house. This is the communication to the World, to the power of water, the Lord of Sickness, the binders and hurlers, San Jacinto, San Augustin, and all classes of dangerous animals. I say: "Hail, World. I give you notice that in five days in the day of the power 3 qanil, 4 t'oj, 5 t'si', you may expect me, World. And also lords and rulers, however many may be your divine aspects and manifestations. I ask for justice. On that day I shall give my fine and portion there. World, wait for me. Perhaps at dawn of the master day, 3 qanil as he is called, or else 4 t'oj, 5 t'si', for these three days alike shall see and hear, in order that nothing may befall me because of that which I have done. Let it not come to pass that tomorrow or day after tomorrow, or in one year or in two years I may be struck down, nor yet my wedded wife, nor my children, nor yet my possessions. For this, then, I shall give you my fine and portion before your presence, rulers. Come hither! Only the jun kalamld..." This is all, with a little incense in the house. Now when the day qanil arrives, perhaps in three or four days, I prepare all the things needed for the rite, a little pine, a basket of roses, 15 pesos of candles at 4 reales each, a half pound of incense, 20 pesos of aguardiente, 4 ounces of sugar and 540 cakes of copal. I buy all these things the day before and prepare everything and leave the things overnight on the table. At dawn the next morning I take all these things and an incense burner with live coals, and before the sun has risen 370 CHICHICASTENANGO go to the field which has been robbed, and where I performed the first ceremony. The place has been well swept, for two yards towards the east. On this place I scatter the pine needles and the roses. I light the candles and in front (to the east) I burn 260 cakes of copal. This is in the center. I sprinkle sugar over the copal, I light the copal, and say: "Hail, World, pardon my trespass. This is the day, this is the hour at which I have requested your light and fortune, and also the binders and bearers of weapons, men and youths, the marksmen, men and youths, and also the masters of pistols, the masters of knives, the masters of cutlasses, the slayers and butchers, the World president, the World minister, the World governor, the World judge, the World alcalde, The World Indian alcalde, the World clerks, the World sergeants, the World police, the World magistrates, the World civil servants, the sentries of the east, the sentries of the west, the sentries of the north, the sentries of the south. Come hither! And also the twelve, thirteen angels, the thirteen, fourteen, fifteen stars, the miraculous saints, the saints who send sickness and pain, and also those who go about in the cold tempest by day and by night. Come hither! And also the thirteen, fourteen stars, the mountains marked with crosses, and also the female idols, the male idols. Come hither! And also the lord of the large animals and small animals, the serpents in the sea and in the running waters. Come hither! And also God and our patrons, Santo Tomas, San Sebastian, San Jose, Sefor Sacramento, Maria Rosario, Maria Dolor, San Miguel, the people of antiquity, Sefor Cristo, Maria Concepci6n, San Martin, San Pedro, San Juan, San Antonio, San Francisco, San Lazaro, San Ramos, Maria Santa Ana, the Holy Passion, San Juan Bautista, San Juan Padrino, Cristo Sefior of Calvario, Jesuis Nazareno, San Geronimo, Doctor, San Pedro, Martyr, Maria Octavo del Rosario, the Eternal Father of the Child, master of the chains and the horn. Come hither also blessed spirits from Purgatory, those who died in ravines and canyons, those who died in the roads, those who died in prison or jail. Perhaps you have committed murder or theft. Come hither, here before this world. I summon you. And also the lord of the streets and the plaza, the lord of the church, of Calvario, of the Campo Santo, of the prison and jail; come hither. It is I, World. Perhaps I shall be able to summon you, perhaps not. However many may be your manifestations, all alike see us, hear us! Be seated here and you will hear what is the meaning of this, my fine which I have placed on this table. "World, it is I. Perhaps I have trespassed with my requests before this World. Here I have done evil things to ask justice. I have done this because I have wept for sorrow over my food and drink which was carried away by wicked people. I have asked for justice before you, World, and before the lord of sickness and pain, and before the lord of the running and winding water. But it is to ask mercy that I give these candles and needles of pine, the roses and copal and sugar upon your table, and this aguardiente". I pour out the aguardiente and sprinkle it over the pine needles and the copal. "Yes, help yourselves, however many may be your manifestations. Only may the spirits of my mothers and fathers who also come before this table not be molested by that which I have done here. Perhaps they did not do anything to them. But it is only my sorrow which makes me weep, because of the corn which I have lost. Rest in peace. Only the jun kalamld..." Then I rest a little. Then I go and put the other 260 cakes of copal in the place where I performed therite against the thieves, and set fire to themand say: SORCERY AGAINST A THIEF 371 "World, perhaps the sacred names of the thieves will be presented here in whatever day and time the punishment strikes them which I have invoked. Some day it will strike them. And perhaps they will consult the twenty days and nights. But I pay you that you may not grant light to them. I leave here this command to the days. I ask pardon also, that my words and thoughts may not be turned against me. Come hither, chosen days, chosen time. Whatever day the thieves may defend themselves, may they only be burned by their practices for the robbery which they have committed before your presence, World. If they go to healers, may their medicines only turn against them and do them no good. If they consult diviners, may the day not show itself in their presence. May the truth not be revealed to them. This is what I have to say. Healer, medicines, chosen days, come hither... 1 bats, 2 'e... (and so through the 260 days of the calendar, ending with 13 t'si') "Very well, World. Very well, Holy Light! Bright sun, look upon us, hear us in order that the light and fortune of the thieves may be lost and destroyed, in order that their souls may be plunged into hell." Now the copal is burning. I do not burn it on the ground, but on a large tin plate or something like that, and when it is half burned I raise the tin plate with two sticks and turn it over, saying: "Come hither, copal, fire, upon the light and fortune of the thieves, Juan, Pedro, Tomas, Sebastian... whatever their names may be... because of this beastliness which they have committed against me. So, for their beastliness let them see themselves in hell. May they not see me or my wedded wife or my children in the day and hour when they meet their death and destruction, when the light is destroyed for them. 13 t'si', 11 qanil, 12 t'oj, 10 kiej, 8 qan, 9 kamd, 6 aq'bal, 7 qat, 5 imux, 5 'iq', 2 kawaq, 8 ajpu, 1 tijax, 13 noj, 11 tsikin, 12 ajmaq for the crimes which I have committed against them, World - the master 9 ax, 10 ix, 7 bats, 8 'e, 5 t'ox, 6 t'i'.. (to the end in 1 bats). "Yes, World, so let it be for their sins and transgressions, however many may be the persons of the thieves, here we settle them, and that which they will be called upon to do. They know however many were the persons of those who took my corn. They alike ate my corn, and alike shall be their misfortune. Yes, World, pardon my trespass and hear that which I say. Only the jun kalamld..." Then I go and kneel at the place where I have left my fine, and say: "Hail, rulers and leaders, serve yourselves in peace, that you may see and hear that which is on your table. God has granted that I leave here my fine. Now even as I have come, so may I return. Only the jun kalamld..." And now I return each twenty days to this place with a little incense, and so until I die. And if ever I miss one day, then on the fortieth day I go with two candles. I say: "Yes, World, we stand before your divine spirit, that you may see us and hear us before your face. This is what I have done. I have said my one word, two words of my prayers and desires, to ask justice. What is the day in which I did this? This is the day, and I have come to present my person before your face, World. Just this one little scrap of candle, that your spirit and power may not turn against me my prayers and desires. Peacefully may this be paid and completed before your presence, World. Perhaps this punishment will fall upon the thieves. Let them not remember me in their hearts and minds, 372 CHICHICASTENANGO that they may be destroyed in their persons, and in their houses and possessions. World, pardon my trespass. I ask a thousand pardons before your presence. In sign of this I return here every twenty days and nights. Always you may look for me at that time. Only the jun kalamld... No. 15. Sorcery Against a Slanderer Let us imagine a case like this: Manuel Pol has made accusations against me to the judge of the court of claims for no other reason than that he envied me my employment as secretary in the court. He claimed that I had executed documents and certificates for cultivators, and he gathered two or three of these certificates, presenting them to the judge together with a declaration, saying in his declaration that I had demanded of these persons that they take out certificates, telling them that if they did not take out certificates they would be put in jail and forced to pay large fines. When they found out about it they had me called before the judge of the court of claims in Santa Cruz Quiche and there I was asked by the judge whether I was Sebastian Ventura, employed as secretary in the court of Chichicastenango, and I said, "Yes," and then they told me that when they called me up again I should present myself at once. Then after about twenty days they seized me in this village and took me a prisoner to Quiche, on the order of the judge of that capital. I arrived there and was kept in jail and on the following day they took me out in order to inform me the reason why I had been imprisoned. When I told them that I did not know the reason, they asked me, through the clerk who took my declaration, whether it was not true that I had executed certificates, under compulsion, for the poor. "No, it was voluntary." And they asked me whether it was not true that I had threat aned them that if they did not execute certificates they would be put in prison right away and made to pay large fines. I answered, "No, it is all false." Then they sentenced me to fifty days in prison, and in order not to serve I paid a lawyer to get me out on bail, or to have me released under fines, however he could. Then I got out, but it cost me 8,000 pesos, and then I saw what Manuel Pol had done to me. Feeling this way, I could do nothing until I had avenged the evil fraud which he had perpetrated against me. Now two days after being freed I am back in my house full of grief and bitterness for the money which I have lost, and the days which I have suffered in prison, and I resolve to take vengeance against Manuel Pol. 1. The Search for Truth: We do not at once begin the sorcery (brujeria). First it is necessary to ask whether it is my fault or his. For this we pick a good day, preferably kame, or if kame does not come soon, then 'e, the day of one's name and fortune, to go beneath the hands of San Juan Padrino, Christ, and our patron, Santo Tomas. We come to the day 2 'e. At twelve sharp I go to the church, and go at once to San Juan without stopping in the door to ask permission. I say: "Sefior San Juan, our star and sun, it is you who stand before this world, before this holy church, before this sky and world. However many may be the Christian people in this world, it is you who have given us the holy water, the sign of our Christianity. Sefior San Juan, today I ask favor of you to stand at midday before this world to make my declaration. SORCERY AGAINST A SLANDERER 373 "This is my work: we have in this village a Ladino alcalde, and an Indian alcalde, and they called me to them and they gave me a seat here in this court, as first clerk at the table in the court. There was nothing for me to say; perhaps my light and fortune are pen and ink. And therefore I said, 'All right,' Sefior San Juan. Then the people of our town and valleys came to me and said, 'Draw up a paper for us for our road,' or 'Draw up a paper for us declaring that our land has been pawned,' or else that it had been sold. This is what the people of the village asked me, but it was they who asked. I never said anything to them. And so, perhaps, I executed one or two papers for roads, and also papers for land claims. "I do not know, Sefor San Juan, whether someone's heart hurt from envy or if he thought it was wrong that which he saw me do, but anyway soon I heard that I was called to Santa Cruz to appear before the judge. But they took me there as a prisoner, and I was there in prison for two days and on the third day I came out. This was my fault, that I had executed documents for the people, by extortion, they said. And that I threatened them with prison and threatened them with fines, so the people said, my father, Sefor San Juan Bautista. Thousands and thousands of papers I had executed, they said, Sefior San Juan. It is true, Sefior San Juan. I do not lie to you. I did execute a few papers. But it was not much that I did, and I did not use threats as they said. It was the wish of the people, it was a favor, the people said to me, Sefor San Juan. When I came out of prison a lawyer had me set at liberty, but it took 8,000 pesos to set me free, Sefor San Juan. "This is what I said to the lawyer, Sefor San Juan. It is this Manuel Pol who drew up this document and got four witnesses to sign it. But perhaps the witnesses did not share his thoughts. It was only Manuel Pol, Sefior San Juan. This is how it is with Manuel Pol. We are not enemies, but neither are we friends. He came from far off, and perhaps he did not know what he wrote. And so his heart hurt because of me. But I had not stolen his land; I had not stolen his property; I had not stolen his money; I had not touched his wife, nor his child. Sefor San Juan, I make my declaration before you. This is no lie which I tell. Sefor San Juan, look on me today the same as always. Am I at fault? Have I done anything to him? Tomorrow look upon him and ask him on the day of his light and fortune, what is the wrong which I have done him. What is the hour today? That is the hour when I shall come before you, our moon and star. It is not for his pardon, this word of mine. Only the jun kalamld..." After this I go on to San Miguel with the same prayer. At the end, I say to San Miguel, for San Miguel holds the balances: "Weigh my words and see if I sink in lies. And weigh the light and fortune of Manuel Pol. What does he weigh?" Next day, 3 aj, at dawn I make divinations in the name and fortune of Manuel Pol, and ask whether I am able to destroy his fortune for the evil which he has done me. If I cannot perform the divinations myself I consult a chuchqajau. If the divinations do not come out in the affirmative, then I can do nothing for his life is the stronger. The question for this day is, "What is his fortune?" for aj is the name of good fortune. If the divinations come out in the affirmative, then I can go ahead. Now I have already asked San Juan and San Miguel once concerning the light and fortune of Manuel Pol. Now I return for the second time on 3 aj in the afternoon. I go at once to San Juan. 374 CHICHTCASTENANGO "My father, Sefor San Juan, perhaps our father, the holy sun has already descended from this world. Here I present myself before you and before this day 3 aj, once more to ask justice as I did yesterday. Sefor San Juan, you, our moon and star, you have looked you have listened to the light and fortune of Manuel Pol. What is my fault, my wrong which I have done to him? Sefor San Juan, am I at fault, or is he? It is clear to you. But I think it was not my food that I asked of them. It is my money which I lost, the money of my fine. This is my money, but part of it is mine, the rest is owed. If I had all of this money, I should have nothing to say. God will aid me. If no, it is my debt, Senor San Juan. May you give me my replacement. I have no quarrel with him. Seiior San Juan, pardon my fault. May you place to one side the name and fortune of Manuel Pol. I call him here before the spirits, before his mothers and fathers, and there before the alcalde judges, and I shall demand justice of him, that they call his name and the moon and star of this Manuel Pol beneath their feet and hands. I shall demand justice before their divine presence. We are alike; we are in this world. How else should I ask for favor before great persons, small persons? For he delivered me a prisoner to the judge; let them do to him as he did to me. For perhaps he will do this to some other poor man. On account of him we have come into poverty and debt, Sefior San Juan. I ask liberty and justice. May you cast down the name and fortune of Manuel Pol. May you do more for me than for the masters of incense and candles who come to make their devotions and to leave their offerings on behalf of the name and fortune of Manuel Pol beneath your feet and hands. But only thus may you pay them. And whoever are the guardians who stand with you, advise them also that they shall only turn aside the masters of incense and candles who come to kneel and pray for this Manuel Pol. This is how you shall receive them." I kneel in front of San Juan, but facing into the church and go on my knees two yards. I do this four times, and then return, facing San Juan, and say: "May you do only thus to them, the masters of incense and candles for Manuel Pol when they come with their invocations beneath the hands and feet of the alcalde judges!" I go kneeling again, as before. "Or else, if this Manuel Pol comes to pray for his name and fortune before you, send his name and fortune down before the alcalde judges! Do thus to him." I go kneeling again. "When he invokes his name and fortune beneath the alcalde judges, you will know, Sefor San Juan, whether it was good what he did to me. For he drove me into debt, and furthermore I was in prison. No, Sefior San Juan. He will do this again to another; it will become a habit of the light and fortune of Manuel Pol. It is true, Sefor San Juan. It is no lie that I am telling you. I only ask justice for him. And also that you take into custody his mothers and fathers and ask justice for them beneath the hands and feet of the lords of justice, Sefor San Juan, in case they ask justice for him before this world. Only then we shall be equals. For this is his wrong, and he will do it to some other unfortunate. No, it is better that you deliver him over to death and destruction. "Sefior San Juan, perhaps on the day 13 ajmaq I shall ask the first justice for punishment for him beneath the hands and feet of the spirits of justice. Perhaps they will ask mercy for the name and fortune of Manuel Pol beneath SORCERY AGAINST A SLANDERER 375 your hands and feet, Sefior San Juan, embodiment of our moon and star, but may you always turn them aside and deliver him into the hands of those who will bear him off. Perhaps he will come on the day of his name and fortune to kneel and bow down before you, Sefor San Juan. But may you only turn away his face. And so also if there be any who come to call upon the name and fortune of Manuel Pol before your presence, or on your right side or your left side, or those that go yonder to ask favor with the spirits of justice, thus may you do to them, Sefor San Juan." I kneel again as before. "It is I, Senior San Juan. I have my land and fields. I am not God, but I have my destiny. This one will come and kneel before you, but cast him down, and take from this Manuel Pol his name and fortune for the evil and wickedness that are in in his heart. Yes, Sefor San Juan. On the day 7 noj I shall stand again before your presence." I go to San Miguel with the same words.42 So I return. Now on 7 noj I come once again before San Juan. The question of this day is, "What is the evil thougth which he harbors concerning me?" For the day noj is the day of one's thoughts and evil intentions. "Yes, father, San Juan, perhaps an hour ago the sun set on the master day 7 noj. Now I advance into your divine presence. This is the day, this is the hour appointed in one word, two words before you. It is on account of the suffering in my property and possessions and my liberty which I have sustained because of the slanders and calumnies which Manuel Pol has spoken against me. Whither shall I turn to obtain the return of my money? For now indeed I am poor. This is what he did to me, this person. Senor San Juan, pardon my trespass. For now it seems that I have been driven into poverty and debt because of the words and thoughts of this Manuel Pol. And I was in prison, Sefior San Juan, because of his words and thoughts. Today I constrain his name and fortune before you, Sefor San Juan." In my house I have prepared a cross of two little sticks about three inches long, tied together. On this I write the name of Manuel Pol and the place where he lives. This cross I leave somewhere on the altar of San Juan, but well hidden. "In his words, his thoughts, thus he did to me, and for what he did in his words, in his thoughts I shall leave him thus bound here before you, Sefior San Juan, our moon, our star. Justice I ask beneath your feet and hands, for this captive person, and the constraint of his name and fortune. Perhaps within six days and nights they will call him to judgment before the spirits. Sefior San Juan, it is true that I ask judgment against him before the master day 13 aq'bal. Why did he speak slanders and calumnies against me? For this is the day, this is the hour when he must answer before the Lords of Justice, the lords who hold the staff of authority beneath their hands and feet. What was my sin for which this person did thus to me? Slanders, calumnies, lies! These were brought by this Manuel Pol. Sefor San Juan, may God help me in this. I was in prison, and there are the days which I have lost, Sefor San Juan. This is what hurts me; I grieve that I have been driven into debt, Sefior San Juan. Were there those who counselled the heart of Manuel Pol? We shall arrange all that in court when I ask judgment against him. "Sefor San Juan, this is the white word of truth, it is no lie which I tell. 42 Omitted. 376 CHICHICASTENANGO Nothing have I done to this man. Yet in his words and thoughts he has done thus to me. I, I say shall I beat him, shall I kill him in the roads and paths? No, Sefior San Juan. You, our moon and star, you will bring judgment between us. This is the day, this is the hour when I shall leave him bound beneath your feet and hands. What is his name and destiny? Is it a large animal, a small animal? A large bird, a small bird? A large serpent, a small serpent? A plain stone, a carved idol? A female idol, a male idol, a serpent idol? This is clear before you, our moon, our star, San Juan. You are charged to search out and bring forth the name and fortune of Manuel Pol. Here I leave this before you, his cross and spirit. And on the day 13 aq'bal I shall call him before the feet and hands of the Lords of Justice. "Sefior San Juan, pardon my trespass. Here I make my genuflexions and devotions before you that you may grant me pardon. This is only a request for justice, here before you." I kneel four times before San Juan to ask pardon. Then: "Sefnor San Juan, do me the kindness to present my name and fortune before the feet and hands of Sefior San Miguel, the weigher of souls. There you will see, there you will hear if I have spoken lies before you, and what it was that was done by Manuel Pol." Now I go on to San Miguel, with similar words.43 2. The Demand for Justice: Now we come to the day 13 aq'bal, when I call him before the dead alcaldes and judges to answer for having spoken these slanders against me. But first, if I wish, on the day 8 tijax, the day of quarrels and evil words, or on the day 10 ajpu, the day of the house, I call in a diviner to confess to him my sins, if I have any, or to confess to him if I have engaged in any quarrels with any persons, especially with my wife or relatives, and, above all, my parents, and my wife also does this. If the woman does not wish to cleanse herself of all her sins it is not so serious for her. But for me it is essential. Then the diviner always gives me twelve strokes of the switch on my naked body. After this he burns incense in the house and outside in the patio, and then he goes to his shrine to leave there the switches and to ask the world for forgiveness for me, according to my confession. For this he uses only incense and a bottle of clear water, sprinkled on the altar. Now I have a clean heart, my wife is satisfied, and the woman also has set everything right. Now I can go before the ancestors to ask justice. But if I go before them with my sins still upon me, and quarreling with my wife or relatives, then I shall die at once, before my enemy, for the justice which I ask for him will fall upon me. Now we come to the day 12 'iq', which is the day on which we make the communication for the ceremony of the following day. At six o'clock in the evening I present myself at the door of the church with two ounces of incense and four little candles for the door of the church, to announce that I shall return the following day to demand justice against Manuel Pol. The next day is 13 aq'bal. At six in the evening I go to the church. I bring two ounces of incense for the door of the church, two branches of everlasting, or failing that, some other flowers. for San Juan, and two wax candles (1 peso 43 Omitted. SORCERY AGAINST A SLANDERER 377 each) for the alcaldes. I pass at once within the door of the church with my incense. "Hail, lords, here you stand. Here you are seated before the door of the cold house, the icy house. However many may be your manifestations, I shall advance among you before the master day 13 aq'bal. It is I who ask grace and favor before your feet and hands. Judgment I ask, and the removal of the name and fortune of Manuel Pol, there before the altar, before the staff of authority, before the lords of justice. Pardon my trespass. Where is hislight and fortune? Let it come down before the lords of justice, the lord magistrates, the lord councilmen, the civil servants. Pardon my trespass." I go on to the place of the common souls. "Hail, lords, mothers, fathers! Here you abide, however many may be your manifestations. Your persons are sacred. It is you who were great, mothers, fathers. I am here to ask judgment from you, that you may send down the mothers and fathers of Manuel Pol, that they may arrange my affair with his son. What was in his mind when he had me imprisoned in Santa Cruz? The mothers and fathers of Manuel Pol shall hear that. Is it I who am at fault, or their child? Pardon my trespass, lords. Justice is what I ask!" I pass on now to the place of the dead alcaldes. 'Hail, alcalde judges, masters of the staff of authority, and the eight magistrates and also the four or five councilmen, and the civil servants! Please to be seated for a half hour, an hour. For I must ask judgment beneath your hands and feet, lords. Light shines from your persons. May you administer your authority. And also light shines from the lords of the pen and ink. Be seated." I light the two candles. These are not offerings of thanks nor yet food for the spirits. They are to cast light on the altar that they may see clearly to administer justice. "Hail, alcalde judges, first, second judge, and also the first magistrate," the second magistrate, the secretaries, be seated. And come hither also magistrates and councilmen, and civil servants. It is I who ask judgment for the slanders and calumnies which Manuel Pol spoke against me at Santa Cruz. For three days they kept me in prison, and after that 8,000 pesos was the fine which I paid. My crime, said the judge, was that I had executed documents for the people of the village. I threatened them with force, he says, lords; I threatened them that I would have imprisoned anyone who did not have papers drawn for him. So he says, lords, But. lords of justice, secretaries, you have seen all this in the white light of truth. 'ls it true that you used force against them, against those people to compel them to have papers drawn for their roads and for their lands?' No, Lords of Justice, secretaries, it was their own wish, the people came and asked me to do this. You told these people, lords. Yet this is what he did to me, in the court. Why did Manuel Pol fabricate these lies, there before the judge? Then it was that the lawyer had me freed. It was he who saw the paper which Manuel Pol submitted against me. It is true that Manuel Pol drew up this document against me, he only got witnesses to sign it for him. "Alcalde judges, you hold the staff of authority in your hands and feet. Summon him that he may tell you what he has done. For this is what he has 44 Sindico. 378 CHICHICASTENANGO done to me. Summon his mothers and fathers and see what they can say for their son. For this is what he has done before the white light of day. Or else they themselves did this before the World and the white light of day. Pardon my trespass, Lords of Justice. I ask for their arraignment before you at once, and also for the arraignment of the name and fortune of Manuel Pol beneath the feet and hands of our moon and star, Sefior San Juan Bautista. I shall demand him there. But here let us settle this; here administer justice to us. I ask death and destruction. If it is I who have been at fault, drag me before you at once, out of the sacred light of day. Or if it is he who is at fault, I ask judgment against him in this. You are not children; you are not fools! Can you not administer authority as I ask you? Lords of Justice, I ask the arraignment of Manuel Pol at once, and also that of his mothers and fathers. That is what I am awaiting." Then I come to burn incense before San Juan, saying: "Hail, our moon and star, pardon my trespass." I kneel before him four times. "It is I who ask grace and favor before your presence. I come with the suffering and poverty which I have endured on account of Manuel Pol, before this master day, 13 aq'bal. I have asked judgment before the Lords of Justice, my father, our moon and star, Senor San Juan, summon the name and fortune of Manuel Pol." I take the cross which has been with San Juan since the previous ceremony, and leave in the place where it has been the two branches of flowers. These flowers represent the seed of Manuel Pol, and I leave them in the place of the cross so that San Juan will not want for offerings. For the cross represents Manuel Pol, and presently I am going to introduce him among the dead. But his seed will flourish, and so San Juan need not feel badly.45 "These flowers I shall leave as a substitute for the name and fortune of Manuel Pol, our father, Sefor San Juan. Perhaps these will come before you, the flower and seed of Manuel Pol; perhaps they will come beneath your hands and feet, his daughters and sons. That is the office of my flowers, my father, Sefor San Juan. I ask you to summon the name and fortune of Manuel Pol before your hands and feet. Sefor San Juan Bautista, withdraw him from the holy light of day that he may join his mothers and fathers in death and destruction. This is his substitute, this flower which I leave before you, our moon and star. Pardon my trespass." There is no doctrina, not even the sign of the cross. I leave my incense burner in front of San Juan, and take the cross in my hand. In front of the two candles which are still burning I leave the cross, with a cloth over it, because many people pass who might see it. Then I say: "Lords and kings of justice, secretaries, pardon my trespass in settling our dispute here. What can you do for us, Lords of Justice? Ask this Manuel Pol what was my crime? Let him speak the white word of truth and not tell lies here before you. Are his mothers and fathers here before you? Ask them also what was my crime before them, lords. I am waiting for them to discuss it, to tell it before your presence." If there are no children present I raise the cloth over the cross a little. For a moment, no longer. Then I cover it again. "Alcalde judges, hear what he did to me, this Manuel Pol. For three days I was in prison in Santa Cruz, on account of documents which I executed for 45 In birth rituals, children are referred to as the "flowering branch." SORCERY AGAINST A SLANDERER 379 people of the village. It was not much that I made from it, and of their free wills they asked me. But it was not reported thus by Manuel Pol in the slanders and calumnies which he spoke to the judge. Let him say, lords, if I have stolen his money, if I have stolen his land, if I have stolen his possessions or touched his wife! Let him say it at once, lords! If he were my neighbor perhaps we might have had disputes about our property and from this he might have become angry with me. Let him say at once, lords. Lords, you hold the bar and staff of authority. Lord secretaries, may you write his name in the book which lies before you. According to what law did this man do this to me? "As for me, now I am naked, and my children also; as for me, I have been reduced to poverty, I have debts. But I am not sad for this, but only that he sent me to prison, lords. And now whence will come the dimes and quarters with which to pay my debts? This is the way of Manuel Pol. Now, like him, I am poor. Is this the reason that we are naked? Is this the reason that we have been driven into debt, lords of justice? He does not say, but there are the mothers and fathers to administer justice. So this is what you shall do: cut short the name and fortune of Manuel Pol on the master day 13 a'qbal, on account of the slanders and calumnies which he spoke. And whoever may be his companions, them also you shall call here before you, Lords of Justice, to deliver Manuel Pol into prison." I turn the cross over, with the name side down, and leave it at one side of the place of the alcaldes, but well hidden. "See him, hear him, this is his body here. See him, hear him. Let him say what was my fault. On the day, the hour when I shall stand again in your presence, before the master day 6 t'oj, then, if I am at fault, send sickness to me, and I shall enter into death and destruction, lords. Or if it is true, what I have said, then for this, you, whose substance is already that of divine powers, you always will administer justice. Have you not heard, lords? Do you not have ears, lords? Is it or is it not good, what you have seen? We are your children, and we have been driven into debt. But we are not all evil in our hearts. Lords, you have heard. You are not children to merely talk h about whether this is true; you wield the staff of authority. Exercise your authority over Manuel Pol, to deliver him into bondage, lords. Or if, on the contrary, it is I, I who am at fault, then deliver me at once into bondage. "Pardon my trespass. This is all that I ask beneath your feet and hands. What is the hour when I shall speak before you, lords? It is before the master day 6 t'oj that I shall present myself that you may settle our affair. Shall I go out into the white light of day, or shall he who drove me into debt? Yes, lords, I only ask that you pardon my sin, and give me the blessing of your feet and hands." I kneel four times, twice on each side. "Yes, Lords of Justice, pardon my trespass. Secretaries, pardon my trespass. Magistrates, pardon my trespass." I come away. In the middle of the church I stop, cross myself, and go on to the door. Here I stop and kneel, saying: "Guardians, however many you may be, pardon my trespass. As I came in, even so let me depart from your presence. As for me, I have not yet settled this matter. Perhaps on the master day 6 t'oj I shall return once more. Pardon my trespass." I cross myself and come away. I do not say the doctrina because there is nothing for which to thank the powers. So I come to my house. Here I say to my wife: 380 CHICHICASTENANGO "My girl, pardon my fault. There is meaning to my mission which I have just completed in the church. Do not scold me; do not talk back to me, lest something befall you. And the same applies to me also. Perhaps I have scolded you, but do not take it to heart, lest something befall us. My girl, you have heard." "Yes." I do not touch my wife for thirteen full days, until the day 13 ajmaq. If the woman scolds, I do not answer her. It is better that I go out of the house before I am provoked to retort. There is nothing I can do, I must not quarrel or argue. For I am asking justice before the spirits, and if I do anything, they will immediately drag me out of this life. Nor must I perform any ceremonies of sorcery in these days. Now we reach the day 6 t'oj. In the evening I go to the door of the church with great anger, talking loudly. I say: "Hail, guardians, come hither, however many may be your manifestations. You stand before the door of the holy church. This is the day which we have appointed for the alcalde judges to settle our dispute." I go in to the place of the justices. "Hail, alcalde judges, first and second, first magistrate, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth magistrates, secretaries, pardon my trespass. Councilmen, civil servants, come hither! Are you here before this altar, justices. Pardon my trespass." I light two candles. "Your symbol is the bar and staff of authority; your symbol is the book, and the writing. Be seated before this master day 6 toj. What is the sickness and pain of death and destruction which you have already sent, Lords of Justice? You have seen, you have heard. Which one of us is at fault? Settle this matter today. It is not only we who see ourselves, who settle our disputes. Perhaps there are those who see us, who hear us. We are of this village, we are their children in this world. Now they are spirits, already they have their significance in the other world, and before the white light of day. Lords, may you summon Manuel Pol. Let him say at once what he has asked before your presence." I go to get the cross which has remained hidden, turn it over and place it in front of the two candles. "Young man, Manuel Pol, what was my crime before you that you had me imprisoned? If I sinned before you, you should have told me of it in good faith. Why did you force me into poverty and debt? When shall I pay this debt which I have contracted because of you? I am naked because of you, and my wife is naked because of you; my children are naked. Young man, Manuel Pol, have you benefited by doing this to me? "Come hither, 6 t'oj, however many may be your manifestations in sickness and pain, you belong to death and destruction. What do you say to this one, this person who has done thus to me?" I weep loudly kneeling there. Then I say: "Alcalde judges, secretaries, now you have seen, you have heard what it is that he did to me, this Manuel Pol. What do you say to this? For I ask his death and destruction, the doubling over of his light and fortune, and his breath of life." I turn the cross over again, on the floor, I stand on the cross and trample on it until it breaks in two. "As for me, how much must I pay, what must I do about these debts SORCERY AGAINST A SLANDERER 381 which have come upon me through this man? What shall I do? How shall I pay? Do this to him to pay him back with death and destruction." I take up the cross and hide it again in the same place. "Yes, alcalde judges, magistrates, and the great secretaries of past time, and also the lord councilmen, the civil servants who wielded authority, if you are already holy spirits, if you are no longer living bones, if you are no longer living heads, exercise your authority. I, Sebastian Ventura, ask it. There is no need to ask my mothers and fathers, nor yet my wife and children. It is I alone who ask death and destruction for our slanderer, Manuel Pol. If it is my fault, then destroy me at once, if it is he, destroy him at once, for indeed, you have power. Or if you do not do this then we are equals, we are all children together. Then this is no staff of authority which you hold; then you do not administer justice for us. Again I say to you, there is no need to talk with my ancestors here. I, I alone demand justice. Lords of Justice, have you heard, or have you not heard? Justice I demand! Now you have heard, justice I demand beneath your feet and hands before this master day 6 t'oj; that you summon him on the master day 7 t'si, that this Manuel Pol may answer for his beastliness46 in sending me to prison and driving me into debt. Or how else shall I pay him for this? For indeed from envy and beastliness he did this to me. "Alcalde judges, pardon my trespass. I make my genuflexions and devotions before you. Lords, pardon my trespass." I kneel twice on each side, weeping bitterly. "Lords, pardon my trespass. Now I shall go. Only the jun kalamld..." As I leave the church: "Yes, guardians of the door of the cold house, the icy house, however many may be your persons. I only kneel down to present my feet and hands before your presence, lord guardians. This is what I have done. I have just made my declaration before the alcalde judges, the magistrates, secretaries. But I shall not say that this is already settled. No, lords, indeed no. We shall settle it perhaps tomorrow or day after tomorrow. Then I shall be here before you once more. Lords, pardon my trespass. Only the jun kalamld..." On the following day, 7 ts'i', I must go to Our Lord of Calvary, Santo Tomas, San Sacramento, Maria Rosario, San Sebastian, San Miguel and San Jose. In Calvario I say: "Hail, Father, Our Lord in this world, and Our Father in Heaven. Turn hither your face and presence. We are your sons, Lord Christ. We are in this world. There are the first ancestors, who saw and heard the comings and goings which occurred, and what you did long ago, Lord, and all that you left to this world. You have given us the fourteen, fifteen saints, Maria, the Sacraments; you have given us the sacred offices of godfather and godmother; and also the office of masters of the pointed stick (of the diviners), protectors and protectresses; you have given the offices of commerce and agriculture; and also the rites and ceremonies of the staff and rod (of the cofradias); and also you have given the office of ink and of pen; in your face is authority. "And thus am I, Lord Christ. Perhaps it shall be my lot to look after the pen and ink before this world...4 46 chucheria. 47 He goes on with the story of his quarrel with Manuel Pol, as already given. 382 OICHC HICASTENANGO "Father Christ, come hither, be seated, behold how I am poor from that which he did to me. Lord Christ, thou art Our Mother, Our Father before this world. May you hear me, may you see me, whether I speak lies before your presence, and before the lord 7 ts'i. Judge whether it is only my own beastliness which I speak here before you. No, Father Christ, it would be sin to speak thus before you. "For my part, I have already asked justice for Manuel Pol before the master days 2 'e, 3 aj, 6 Poj, and before souls of the alcalde judges. It is they who hold the staff of authority within their hands and feet. I have told them the sufferings of my heart, since thus Manuel Pol did to me. As he has done to me, even so I might do to him. But that would be sin before God, for this is His work; there are those who hold authority and justice within his feet and hands, the alcalde judges, the magistrates, councilmen, civil servants, and also the great secretaries who are within the holy church. There I asked justice for him before the white light of day. Perhaps it is good, or else it is not good but wrong, for Manuel Pol might do thus to another poor unfortunate. No, Father Christ, because of this I knelt down and bowed my head to ask judgment against this person, that he might be cut off from the light of day, that he might come to see and hear his mothers and fathers, for perhaps it was their advice to their son, or perhaps, it was not so. But it is plain before your sight, Father Christ. As for me, I also asked before the feet and hands of our moon and star, that he might cut him off from the white light of day. I have now come to inform you of this, Father Christ. "Pardon my trespass. Perhaps tomorrow, perhaps the day after tomorrow, Manuel Pol, or else his holy godfather or godmother may come to defend him, and on his account to ask before your heart and spirit what may be the meaning of this. May you not give him the blessing of your feet and hands. And also the blessing of your left hand, your right hand on the head of this person. As for me, I have asked death and destruction for him, because it is his fault that I have been driven into debt and poverty. And if the first ancestors, the fathers and mothers, have not done this, then this man will repeat the same wrong to another unfortunate. He will do the same to him. No, Father Christ, judge between us to cut him off from the sacred light of day. It will be you who shall give the order to the Lords of Justice, that they give judgment at once by sending pain and sickness, fever, into the feet and hands of Manuel Pol. Father Christ, I beg grace and favor, I beg justice on Manuel Pol. Lord Christ, I ask death and destruction on the person of Manuel Pol. If I remain with him before the white light of day, then, suddenly I shall kill him with iron, or else he will kill me. Lord Christ, I do not wish this. Hence I ask justice beneath your feet and hands, and also before our patron and leader, the Apostle Santo Tomas, Sefior Sacramento, our king, and also our Mother Maria Rosario, and also Sefior San Sebastian Martin, Sefior San Miguel, and also Sefior San Jose, and also Sefior San Pedro who holds the key in his feet and hands. Of them I shall ask his immediate capture. Lord Christ the Miraculous, may you give this order to the Lords of Justice. There beneath their feet and hands I have asked justice. Yes, Lord Christ, come hither. I shall not say but that it is to ask judgment. No, Lord Christ, justice I ask beneath your feet and hands. Only the jun kalamld..." During all'of this I just kneel. There is no candle, nor any other offering, because it is a bad day. Then I go to Santo Tomas, and the other saints. SORCERY AGAINST A SLANDERER 383 3. The Condemnation: Now we come to 10 aj. I go to the church at five o'clock in the evening. "Hail, guardians at the door of the holy church! However many may be your manifestations, come hither! Let me ask pardon before you to leave offerings and make petitions before the presence of the Lords of Justice. The light and fortune of Manuel Pol, what shall he say to me? Grant me grace, lords, in your aspect of protectors. Only the jun kalaml..." I pass within the church, to the place of the alcaldes. "Hail, alcalde judges, first, second, chief magistrate, and also the seven, eight magistrates, come hither. And also the councilmen, treasurers. You are here; come hither. And also the lord secretaries, however many may be your persons, be seated, lords. "As for me, I do not say that it is today that I shall enter into your presence. No, lords. It is only for one word, two words before you. Pardon my trespass. This is only to cool your spirits, lords." I sprinkle a little aguardiente. "Perhaps your bodies are weary from arranging my affair with Manuel Pol. You have heard what were the statements and counterstatements which we have made before you. As for me, I have delivered myself into the hands of God. It is that we have endured hunger which he inflicted on me and my wife and my children, because of the debts and obligations which I bear on account of Manuel Pol. Lords of Justice, as for you, perhaps you are preparing to judge between us; then today do not only prepare, but manifest your anger. Today I transport the name and destiny of Manuel Pol before the master day 10 aj. It seems I have already left it before the master day 3 aj. Now the time has come for his transportation yonder to our dwelling place, our home, the cemetery. There I shall leave the name and destiny of Manuel Pol. Perhaps they shall call yonder the name and destiny of Manuel Pol, before the feet and hands of the master 13 ajmaq; for his sin and wrongdoing I shall shut up the symbol of the name and destiny of Manuel Pol, to ask and petition before them. Perhaps at the hour of the watchman's rounds I shall call him before the feet and hands of the lords of justice, that he may be brought thither by their servants. "I only offer you this to refresh your spirits." I pour out aguardiente once more. From my house I have brought a little box with a cross painted on it. Now I take this out of my bag, put it down on the floor, while I go to get the cross from where I have hidden it. I put it inside the box. "Yes, Lords of Justice, you have heard, you have seen whose is the wrong. Now both of us shall go together, I and Manuel Pol, before the lords of the Campo Santo. Lords of Justice, it is up to you whether it will be a magistrate, a councilman, a civil servant to whom you will give the task to deliver us, to deliver our souls up to the earth and sod. Who has been wrong? I, I demand judgment. I am not mad to speak thus. Pardon my trespass! "Yes, deliverers; now we shall go. I shall go ahead." Now I leave at once. I do not pause to kneel in the door of the church, or anywhere else, for I am in a hurry to carry him (Manuel Pol) out. Now it is about six or six-thirty in the evening. We go out to the cemetery, and if it is already closed we look for a place where we can get in. We kneel in front of the chapel in the cemetery, but not nearby, but rather a little way off. Here I only say: "Fathers, mothers, pardon my trespass," and then I get up 384 CHICHICASTENANGO and go to the place called kamin (the common or collective souls). Here is a place for burning copal. I put the box with the cross down in front of the "cross" in the place kamun. I have brought with me plenty of pine needles, and these I lay down in a circle (a radiating circle, with the needles as spokes in a wheel). "Hail, World, this cemetery is your manifestation. All are here, for here is our resting place before your presence. Pardon my trespass. Be seated for this hour, two hours. And also souls of alcaldes, souls of elders, souls of auxiliary alcaldes, please be seated. Now our father Sun has, it seems, descended from this white light of day and has given place to the lord of the darkness of the night. Be seated this hour, two hours! Hail, alcaldes judges, first and second, and the chief magistrate, and the eight magistrates, and also the councilmen and civil servants, and the great departed secretaries. You are all here in the holy cold house, icy house and in the shrine of the cemetery. And I shall also call the name in the sight of Our Father Christ who is in the house and place of this holy cemetery. "Yes, lords, I have this moment come from the masters of justice in the holy temple church. Here we shall settle our affairs, lords. Be seated. As for me I have made my confessions beneath the feet and hands of our moon and star and beneath the feet and hands of Our Lord Christ who is in Calvario, and also before the Apostle Santo Tomas, and our Lord Sacramento, and Maria Rosario, San Sebastian, San Miguel and Sefor San Jose and Sefor San Pedro. Justice I asked beneath their feet and hands, and also death and destruction. And the same is my request before you. Lords, hear me! "As for me, I am master of the pen and ink. At great pain I learned this... (Account of the quarrel with Manuel Pol omitted.) "I thought it over, but could think of nothing that I had done to Manuel Pol; I thought it over, but could not recall that he was my enemy; I thought it over, but could not recall that we had ever been friends; I thought it over, but could not find that it concerned our property, for we are not neighbors, World of the Campo Santo, and also you, lords. I make my declarations before you. It is no lie which I tell. As for me I went into debt for this eight thousand pesos. With great trouble I gathered together all my money and it amounted to half, and the rest I had to borrow, World, and also you, lords. And all on account of the papers which I wrote for my neighbors, and even that was not very much, lords. Why is it, World, that he did thus to me? Here today settle this between us." I open the box and take out the cross and put it in the open spot in the center of the pine needles. I do not bury it. "As for me, World, if it were only that he had me imprisoned I could bear it. But no, there is this money which I had to borrow. When shall I repay this, World of the Campo Santo, and you, lords? Hear me! Is it not good, that which you have heard? I might say, I shall kill him in the white light of day. No, World, no, lords, I do not set myself up as the equal of God and of you, World, and you, alcalde judges who hold the bar and staff of authority in your hands and feet! As for me, at what time shall I pay back the money which I borrowed? I am stripped naked and my wife also is stripped naked and my children. One day I earn our food, and the next day I do not earn it. World, alcalde judges, is this good? You have heard what Manuel Pol did to me. It is wrong to do thus, and he shall do it again to another. "World, alcalde judges, and principales among the spirits, what have you SORCERY AGAINST A SLANDERER 385 to say to this? This word has been spoken, and something has been said by Manuel Pol. Are you gods? Are you saints? Do you hold authority in your hands and feet? Or are you not gods? Very well then, talk this thing over in the presence of the lord of the day 10 aj, who holds the light and destiny of this Manuel Pol before you, World of the Campo Santo, and you also, Lords of Justice. I, too, am here. Quickly make known your sentence by calling the lord of sickness and pain. Whatever sickness and pain he sends, in one hour, half an hour, let it bring him death and destruction. In case it is I who am wrong, quickly send death and destruction to my feet and hands. Quickly let me descend into the earth and sand before your face, World of the cemetery, here where we have our place of rest. Perhaps I shall not be able to repay this money. Then let me refresh my heart. World, pardon my trespass. Or if it is true that you have power and hold the bar and staff of authority in your feet and hands, quickly cut off the light and destiny of Manuel Pol. Here it lies before your face, World." I take out the cross and turn it over again and leave it buried. Then I put pine over the place where it is buried so that no one can see anything butpine needles. "I seize his left hand, his right hand, Lords. I shall catch him in his own trap and snare. Send sickness and pain to him quickly. Come hither, lord of sickness and pain! Pardon my trespass. Send him cramps and swelling of the limbs (rheumatism), sudden burning fever (smallpox), nausea and dysentery; spasms of the heart; and also send him death and destruction from chicha and aguardiente, or from accident in the canyons and ravines. You, souls, can carry off the light and destiny of Manuel Pol. Moreover, there are slayers, madmen in the streets and trails. Deliver over to them his light and destiny. And there are slayers who appear as thieves in the darkness of the night. Let him be killed by them, lords. This is what I ask; I am a sinner before you. It is for you to say what sickness or pain you will send him. "This is my word before you, World, and before you, lords. If I am at fault, then quickly send death and destruction to me; or else that which I ask, death and destruction for him. Let us settle this quickly to prevent wrong to yet another unfortunate, for thus Manuel Pol will do to him. Is it not on account of Manuel Pol that we have gone into debt and poverty and have been subjected to hunger and thirst? No, lords, settle this for me. You are our mothers, you are our fathers; I ask justice of you. "Pardon my trespass. I give you one word, two words before this World of the Campo Santo, and also to you, lords, however many may be your manifestations. Perhaps for half an hour I shall return here before the master of the day 13 ajmaq to shut up the person of Manuel Pol and deliver him into your hands and feet. World, pardon my trespass." I cross myself with the left hand, so that the spirits may not disturb me. Then I return quickly to my house. Now I have finished asking justice. On the following day, 11 ix, I make the communication for the ceremony of 13 ajmaq. I do not make this on the day immediately preceding, 12 tsikin, the day of good fortune, for that would not come out right, but I make it in ix, for this is the day of the commemoration of the world. At eight o'clock in the evening I do it here in the patio of my house, with two ounces of incense. "Hail, World, Tsokoma, I kneel and bow down before your presence. World, pardon my trespass, and you also, my abiding place and the abiding 386 CHICHICASTENANGO place of the spirits in the holy cemetery, pardon my trespass, World. Come hither, master day 11 ix, day of the holy world, pause before the World of the cemetery, and also before the blessed spirits who hold the staff of authority, and also the great secretaries of the past who are already inscribed in the book, and also before the elders among the spirits. I only invoke their presence there that they may expect me. At half past eleven I shall be there, before the master day 13 ajmaq. World, this will be before your presence. What is the meaning of this justice which I have asked there? As for me, World, I shall lay this before you, and before you, God, and the god of the cold tempest, and also before those who watch and listen in the white light of day. World, pardon my trespass. I come to you with suffering in my spirit, and with the debts and obligations which have been forced upon me by Manuel Pol. For he fabricated slanders and intrigues against me with the Justice of the First Court in Santa Cruz. And all because of the papers which I executed in the court for the people of the village. It is true, World, that they asked this of their own free will; I did not say anything to them. But it was not like that according to Manuel Pol. For this I have asked justice beneath the feet and hands of the Lords of Justice among the spirits, that they might summon the light and destiny of Manuel Pol out of thewhite light of day. I am not God, but I have a soul, and that is what asked justice. "World, pardon my trespass. I have thought carefully; but can think of nothing that I have done to Manuel Pol; I had not asked Manuel Pol for anything. For this wrong, it is true, I have asked death and destruction for him, there beneath the feet and hands of the lords of the spirits. I ask you to listen to my words there before the World of the Campo Santo and also before the lords of the spirits. World, pardon my trespass. Only the jun kalamlda..." Six times the doctrina, or, if one wishes, twelve times, to ask pardon.48 4. The Execution: Now one makes ready for the ceremony of 13 axmaq. That day or the day before one goes to the cemetery to wait for those who come to bury the dead. When they dig the grave, they throw up the dust of the ancient dead. There may be a little scrap of bone, or perhaps just dust. I take a little of this dust and hide it somewhere in the door of the church, until night. On the day 13 ajmaq I do not eat all day nothing, nothing. Sometimes during the day I speak to the chief of the night watch and tell him that I shall be performing my ceremony in the cemetery, so that the watchmen should not arrest me. Now, at eleven-thirty at night I go, alone, without any companion. From my house I bring a little box which I have made, and in it a candle. Into this box I put the dust which I have hidden in the door of the chapel. About six yards from the place where I am going to perform the ceremony I stop and take a good drink of aguardiente, and offer some to the dust of the dead, sprinkling it in the box, and over the candle. In offering the drink to the dust and the candle, I say: "Hail, holy earth and dust! You are the substance of the dead and gone. Perhaps you have your meaning. Come hither! Perhaps you are man, per48 At this point the informant said: "Now we are ready to begin the sorcery." SORCERY AGAINST A SLANDERER 387 haps you are woman; perhaps you are Ladino, perhaps you are of my race. Hear this word, or two, that you may cast your spell upon Manuel Pol; that you may make your complaints against him to bewitch him. See to it that his person comes to you among the spirits. Enough of this! You have heard, yellow bone, white bone! Take this little cold water. You are going to kamuin. There we shall explain your mission. Now you have heard. "Or, if you are dust of Ladino, digas al autoridad que conducen 8s personaldad inmediatemente en esta vida. Tu suplicas diariamente hasta que liege su presencia de Manuel Pol que de sujeto. Yd oistes, santo polvo hueso. Tome un tragito. Soy lo que pido justicia, Sebastian Ventura. Yd oistes, santo pulvo hueso. Tomas tu tragito. Nos passaremos en communes de los08 alcaldes naturales. Alli que dara tu personal, para hacer de acuerdo con Manuel Pol. Tome su tragito!" Now I undress quickly. I only keep on my sandals, otherwise I am quite naked. Now I take another drink. I leave my clothes at this place, and go, completely naked, to the place where I made the first ceremony. I take the dust and the candle in the little box, and a stone, as large as I am able to carry. I have selected this, and have it ready before I come. I put these things down and start right away to speak. I speak loudly and very rapidly in order to finish within half an hour, at twelve sharp. "Hail, World of the holy Campo Santo! Hail, alcalde judges, first, second alcalde, first magistrate, magistrates, councilmen, civil servants, you all are here. And also the great former secretaries, you are here. And also the lord of the darkness of the night, however many may be your manifestations, you are here! This is the day, this is the hour appointed before your presence, lords. What is the justice which you have wrought? What is justice? Exercise it at once. I am here before you at this moment, and with me is Manuel Pol." I take out the cross. "Alcalde judges, judge fairly between us. Am I wrong, or is he? Settle this matter at once." Now I dig a big hole, large enough for the box, but a little removed from sight. "Alcalde judges, as for me, I must endure hunger and thirst, and my wife and my children likewise. Behold me, I am naked because of the debts into which I have been driven, lords, on account of this Manuel Pol. He mocked me when I was in prison; he mocked me when I heard of the eight thousand pesos which I would have to pay as my fine. I never did anything to him, nor my spirit. Manuel Pol was the instigator when he did thus to me. Therefore it is his sin, his evil doing, and so I trample on him here." I put the cross in the box with the dust, and place the box in the earth, so that the head of the cross is down. I have taken out the candle. Now I lift the stone and drop it, bang! on the box, and I stand on top of the stone. "As for me, lords, I live in pain and misfortune, I must bear debt and poverty. Very well! Let him now bear death and destruction here within your heart and soul, World. But it is for his own wrong doing." I step off the stone, remove it and place it to one side. Now the cross is buried in the earth. Now I place the candle above it with its head in the earth, and I light the butt end. "Holy Heaven, Minister Jesus Christ, and also Holy Hell! Lord of the place of sunrise, lord of the place of sunset, lord of the third side of the world, 388 CHICHICASTENANGO lord of the fourth side of the world, and also our moon and star, San Juan, and also our head and crown, Santo Tomas, and also you, Lords of Justice among the spirits, and also' the Lord of Sickness and Pain, and also you, World! I did not say anything to this Manuel Pol, but of his own will he had me imprisoned and mocked me when I was in prison, and mocked me for the eight thousand pesos which I paid to have my person released, lords, and also you, World. Today I cast down his light and destiny into hell. This is what he did to me: I live in poverty in the white light of day. So death, fire and flame of hell destroy his light and destiny! I sat down in prison to write out papers for him, so now I sit down on top of him!" I raise the stone again and drop it on the candle. Then I sit down on the stone, naked. Then I say, motioning with my hand: "Holy powers in the white light of day! Holy powers in the darkness of the night! Holy powers of great authority before the light of day! Holy powers, lords of justice among the spirits! Holy powers, lords of the darkness of the night! Holy powers, lords of sickness and pain! If it should be that he come to ask favor of you, or if he should send a multitude of witnesses, or engage some master of the pointed stick, let not the day of his liberation be revealed in the divination. I give you your orders, 1 bats, 2'e.... (to the end of the 260 days, 13 ts'i'. This is said, quickly, quickly.) "Holy gods, holy spirits, it is because of his beastliness that he did thus to us, before the light of day, this Manuel Pol! Remove him to shut up his person here, to reverse his light and destiny and to cast down his light and destiny into hell. Let him not call me after him, but let him call those who were his companions and accomplices in slander and intrigue against me. May they end up here in their beastliness. You have heard, master day 13 ts'i', 12 tox... 1 bats. "World, pardon my trespass before your manifestation in this cemetery. I shall be here again before the master day 13 t'ox, and in your presence, World, to pay for the sickness and pain which I have asked for Manuel Pol, and to pay the twenty sets of days that they may not appear to releaseManuel Pol. You have heard, World of the cemetery. You have heard, lords. Who are his accomplices? Let Manuel Pol call them here." I remove the stone, and put the pine over it. I look carefully to see whether the candle is completely buried in the earth; if not I cover it over well so that no one may see it. "Holy gods, pardon my trespass! Holy spirits, holy World of the cemetery, pardon my trespass." I cross myself five times with the left hand, come quickly to where I have left my clothes, and dress quickly and come back to my house to sleep. 5. The Atonement: When I return to my house I do not speak to my wife or to my children. for, perhaps, the spirits come with me and will do them harm if I touch them. For a whole day before this ceremony I have not eaten because I say before the spirits, "I come before you in hunger and thirst," and this is the literal truth. On returning from the cemetery I go at once to a separate room, where I shall sleep alone for thirteen nights. Around the place where I am to sleep I place machetes, on both sides and at the head and feet, and I keep a light burning all night long for my protection. When I go to bed I say SORCERY AGAINST A SLANDERER 389 the doctrinr six times, and cross myself five times with the left hand, to make my peace with God and with my ancestors, and when I arise in the morning, the same. For thirteen days I sleep alone, with machetes around me and light burning all night, so that the spirits may not enter. For during these days I stand before the World and the spirits to ask justice. Upon whom shall this punishment fall, me or him? And during these days I must not quarrel with my wife or reprove her. If she gives me to eat, very well; if not, I must say nothing. If there is any quarrel in the house, I must not take part, but remain silent. And during these days I must not touch aguardiente or any strong drink. For our belief is that I stand naked and unprotected before the World, and if I quarrel with anyone he, perhaps, will go before the World with his ceremonies, and then I shall fall into the trap which I have set to catch another. After thirteen days, in the day 13 t'oj, I give thanks before the World, with candles and roses and 540 cakes of incense. For one pays, pays, pays for this powerful ceremony. On the day 11 kiej, I make the communication (12 qanil would not fit well, but the day kiej is the day of the commemoration of the dead, and a good day also.) The communication is at half past six In the evening, at the door of the church, with two ounces of incense and four little candles, two in each side of the door. The church is already closed for the night. I call upon all the saints and the spirits of the alcaldes in the church and in the cemetery, to await my offering. On the following day I prepare the material for the ceremony, as follows: For the World: 540 cakes of copal for the 260 days, 50 cakes of copal for the World, 20 candles of 1 peso each for the 20 days, 12 candles of the same for the World, 1 pound of incense, 1/g pound of sugar, 25 pesos of aguardiente for the World and the spirits, a basket of roses, and pine branches to adorn the shrine. For the church: 10 pesos candles at 4 reales each for the dead, and 2 candles at 1 peso each for each of the saints mentioned. In the house: 1 candle at 1 peso for my sacred bundle, for I must tell it what I have done. At noon on the day 13 t'oj, I go to the cemetery. I sweep the place where I am going to perform my ceremony, a little to one side of the place where the former ceremony was performed. I scatter pine needles, and rose petals, light the candles in two groups, one group of twenty for the days, and in front of them the 540 cakes of copal, and another group of 12 for the World, and on this side the 50 cakes of copal. The candles for the church and the saints I put in a cloth in front of the cross of the shrine. "Hail, World of the cemetery! Pardon my trespass. In what year was your face carved, cemetery? For here the first people lie buried before your face. Perhaps the bodies of Ladinos, of Indians, of saints lie here. And perhaps among them are alcalde judges, Lord Ladino alcaldes who hold the staff of authority. And perhaps here are the bodies of those who have been made secretaries. Be seated before this World! And also the sergeant of police, and the magistrates and civil servants come hither and be seated before this World! And perhaps also the first ancestors stand here before your presence, World! Yes, spirits, and the spirits of the heads of the hamlets, come hither before this World. Be seated, lords, however many may be your persons. 390 CHICHICASTENANGO "And also miraculous saints, Father Christ, our moon and star, Sefior San Pedro, Sefior San Jose, Sefior San Miguel, Sefior San Sebastian, Our Mother Maria Rosario, Lord Sacramento, our head and crown, Santo Tomas, Eternal Father in Heaven, and Our Minister, Jesus Christ, Son of Our Mother Maria Concepci6n, come hither before this World! We invoke your names however many may be your persons, bodies of apostles! "And come hither also lord of the place of sunrise, lord of the place of sunset, and also the guardians of the third side of the world and the guardians of the fourth side of the world, and the alcalde above in the sky and the alcalde below in the earth, the alcalde of the cold tempest, the alcalde of the white light of day and the alcalde of the darkness of the night; the alcalde of large villages, the alcalde of small villages; the alcalde of the holy house and place, the alcalde of holy Calvario, the alcalde of the holy chapel of the Campo Santo; the alcalde of roads and trails, the alcalde of canyons and barrancos! Come hither, be seated before this world of the Campo Santo! "And also the President of the World, the Ministers of the World, the Governors of the World, the Chief of Plaza of the World, the Ladino alcalde of the World, the Indian alcalde of the World; and also the Great Defenders of the World, come hither, be seated before this World of the cemetery, however many may be your manifestations! "And also the twelve, thirteen thousand cross-marked seats and altars on the faces of the mountains, the twelve, thirteen thousand cross-marked faces of idols, our defenders, and likewise our slayers; and also the powers who go about in the cloudy firmament, the twelve, thirteen angels and apostles whose faces form the guard of honor; come hither! Before this altar we call your names! "And also the holy spirits of those who died in canyons and barrancos, of those who died in roads and trails, turn hither your faces before this World of the cemetery. And also the divine prototypes and lords of the large animals, the small animals, the large winged creatures, the small winged creatures, come hither! "And also the lord of sickness and pain, of death and destruction inthe roads and trails, of death and destruction through aguardiente, of death and destruction from food poisoning, of death and destruction from vomiting, of death and destruction from strain and exertion - come hither, be seated before this World of the cemetery! And also the master of pain and misfortune, of wounds from pistols and knives and cutlasses, from Remingtons and Mausers, come hither, be seated before this World of the cemetery! And also the lord of vomiting and indigestion, the lord of fever and dysentery, and also the lord of cold sweat (malaria) and green chill (tuberculosis), of swellings of the abdomen (cancer), of influenza and bronchitis, and also the lord of all the minor illnesses; and also the lord of smallpox, come hither before this mountain shrine of the cemetery! Be seated here, however many may be your manifestations; look upon us here before this World. Be seated, all of you. Lords, pardon my trespass. This is the day, this is the hour for which I have already invoked your presences, lords, and also the miraculous saints, our moon and star, and also the lord of the middle of the night. The presence of all these has been invoked. As for me I have had one or two words with Manuel Pol. For my part I with my wife and children have been stripped naked by Manuel Pol, before this white light of day. But, World, and you, Lords of Justice, I have asked you for judgment against Manuel Pol. SORCERY AGAINST A SLANDERER 391 Lords, I have spoken before your presence, and I shall make my genuflexions and devotions before you, World, and before you, lords. But, lords, there is nothing I can do but offer you these twelve bits of candle, these fifty cakes of copal, this incense, and sugar, for you, World, Pardon my trespass. "And also I have given my message to the twenty series of days, before your presence, World. I have asked justice before their presence, that they may not speak to him who may come before them to defend Manuel Pol. This is the day to make payment before the lords of sickness and pain, and to make payment before you, twenty series of days. Come hither master day 1 bats... 10 ajpu, you, holy house and place, however many may be your manifestations before this World. Perhaps it is that Manuel Pol stands there in his house before the World of the cant6n Chuabaj. Perhaps sickness and pain have touched the hands and feet of Manuel Pol. But you, master day 10 ajpu, do not give evidence in his house in behalf of Manuel Pol. Come hither before this world of the Campo Santo! "And also master day 11 imux, 12 fq', 13 aq'bal, for the slanders and intrigues which Manuel Pol instigated against me. For this, 13 aq'bal, remove him from the white light of day, and call him to death and destruction, lest he repeat his slanders and intrigues. "Come hither also, master day 1 q'at... - 13 ajmaq!49 For the sins of Manuel Pol let him be removed from this white light of day, yonder to death and destruction, lest he repeat his sins. "Come hither also master day 1 noj... 13 t'oj. Send sickness and pain to the feet and hands of Manuel Pol. You have heard, master day 13 t'ox. But it is his sin, it is not my sin for which I ask sickness and pain for Manuel Pol. Indeed it is for his sin. "Come hither also, master day 1 t'i'.. 13 fq'. Perhaps it will be before you, male idol, female idol, that I ask that you send sickness and pain into the feet and hands and bones of Manuel Pol. Perhaps tomorrow, or the next day, or whenever it may happen he may come to talk before you, male idol, female idol. But do not free him at all, for I, I have given you orders. Indeed it is true that because of his wrong I was imprisoned, male idol, female idol. "And also come hither, master day, 1 aq'bal... 13 t8ikiV. You hear, master day 13 tsiki! Because of his wrong my dimes and quarters have been spent in freeing my body from the prison of Santa Cruz, where Manuel Pol had me imprisoned. Today I no longer have any money, and furthermore have debts. You hear, master day 13 tsikiV. Perhaps he will ask for dimes and quarters as payment for his work with pen and ink, but do not give it to him. To him send only death and destruction. You have heard, master day 13 tsikip. Once more I give you your orders. "Come hither also master day 1 axmaq... 13 qanil. Come hither, master day 13 qanil. Perhaps Manuel Pol will pray to you for his food and drink. No, do not give it to him. Give him rather worms in his feet and hands as requital for the slanders and intrigues which he instigated against me. You have heard, master day 13 qanil! I have given you your orders. "Come hither also, master day 1 t'oj.... 13 imux. Come hither, master day 13 imux, because of the follies of Manuel Pol. Or else summon the day and fortune of Manuel Pol. For he led me into madness, to pay this fine of 8,000 49 The days of the calendar are named in order with a special invocation for each day with the number 13. Days with the number 13 are "strong" days. 392 CHICHICASTENANGO pesos which I paid there in Santa Cruz, because Manuel Pol had had me imprisoned. You hear, 13 imux! Imprison his light and fortune, so that he may be driven into madness, and thence to death and destruction. Perhaps he will bow his head before you, master day 13 imux. No, master day 13 imux, only make an end to the light and fortune of Manuel Pol. You hear, master day 13 imux. I have given you your orders. "Come hither also, master day 1 q'... 13 ix. Come hither master day, 13 ix, before the presence of this World. Manuel Pol had me imprisoned, he brought suit against me there in Santa Cruz. Perhaps I shall have to sell something before your presence, World. There is a piece of land which I hold by inheritance from my mothers and fathers. (Perhaps I shall have to sell this) because of the debts and obligations which I have contracted through the fault of Manuel Pol. World, come hither, and also master day 13 ix, however many may be your manifestations. Manuel Pol will speak with you. No, master day 13 ix, perform the mission with which I have charged you, and quickly cast off the light and fortune of Manuel Pol from your sight and heart. Master day, 13 ix, I charged you with this mission. "Come hither also, master day 1 tsiki.... 13 kiej. Come hither, master day 13 kiej, however many may be your manifestations. You are the great authorities, who hold the staff of authority, lords of the spirits, you have heard I am naked, and my wife and children likewise, on account of these debts and obligations which Manuel Pol has forced upon me at Santa Cruz. You hear, master day 13 kiej. Perhaps Manuel Pol will bow his head before you, spirits. Do not do otherwise than to send at once sickness and pain, death and destruction to Manuel Pol. You hear me, master day 13 kiej; I give you your orders. "Come hither also, master day 1 qanil.. 13 ajpu. Holy house and hearth, you stand here before this mountain and plain of the cemetery. Perhaps Manuel Pol will humble his soul before you. Come hither, master day, 13 ajpu, house and hearth of holy Calvario, in the cemetery. Call quickly to you the spirit of Manuel Pol because of the slanders and intrigues, the confinement and debts, which he forced upon me there in Santa Cruz. Eight thousand pesos it cost me to free my body. You have heard, master day 13 ajpu. Quickly summon his light and fortune before you, and before this house and hearth, to confine his day and year before you. You have heard, master day, 13 ajpu. "Come hither also, master day 1 imux... 13 aj. Come hither, master day, 13 aj, to terminate the light and fortune of Manuel Pol. You have heard, master day, 13 aj. Perhaps he will kneel to pray for life before you, 13 aj. But no, master day, 13 aj, hear what Manuel Pol did to me. He had me imprisoned at Santa Cruz for a fine of 8,000 pesos, and now I stand in hunger and thirst. Do you hear, master day, 13 aj? I leave this order for you: quickly terminate the light and fortune of Manuel Pol. You have heard, master day 13 aj. "And also come hither, master day 1 ix... 13 kame. Come hither, master day, 13 kame. Hear what Manuel Pol did to me. He had me imprisoned in Santa Cruz; 8,000 pesos I paid for my liberty. Have you heard, master day, 13 kame? Perhaps he will ask pardon before you. But no, master day, 13 kame'; it is for you to send death and destruction to Manuel Pol. Have you heard, master day, 13 kamIe? I leave this order for you. "And also come hither master day 1 kiej... 13 qawaq. Come hither master SORCERY AGAINST A SLANDERER 393 day 13 qawaq. There you stand, first mothers and fathers. Your heads are more violent, your hearts more heavy. There is no word for you to say to Manuel Pol. Perhaps tomorrow, perhaps the next day, or when he will, he will come to ask favor of you. But no, master day 13 qawaq, because of him I have been driven into poverty; I am naked, and my wife and children also; debts and obligations have been forced upon me because of Manuel Pol. I was imprisoned in Santa Cruz. Have you heard, master day, 13 qawaq. Today I ask of you, may you not grant favor to Manuel Pol. Have you heard, master day, 13 qawaq? "Come hither also, master day, 1 ajlp... 13 'e. Come hither, master day, 13 'e; However many may be the prayers and requests of Manuel Pol for himself, give him only loss and deprivation in his hands and feet, and for his person. For it is his fault that I have been left in sorrow and tears for that which is mine. He had me imprisoned in Santa Cruz, and I lost that which I had, and was driven into debt and obligations. That which I had was not sufficient. Have you heard, master day, 13 'e? Deprive Manuel Pol of that which is his. Have you heard, master day, 13 'e? I leave this order for you. "Come hither also, master day 1 aj... 13 qan. Come hither, master day,: 13 qan. This Manuel Pol is a great enemy and foe of mine before this World. He had me imprisoned in Santa Cruz; 8,000 was the fine I had to pay. Do you hear, master day, 13 qan? Perhaps tomorrow or the next day he will explain on his side who is his enemy and foe. But do not come to any agreement with his heart. Do you hear, master day, 13 qan? Perhaps he will ask grace and favor before you, master day 13 qan. No, master day, 13 qan! I ask favor of you; I leave you this order: quickly let sickness and pain come upon him in evil days. "Come hither also, master day 1 kame... 13 tijax. Come hither, master day 13 tijax. Slanderous words, slanderous documents this Manuel Pol made up against me. He had me imprisoned there in Santa Cruz. Eight thousand pesos was the fine I had to pay. It leaves me in poverty, because of Manuel Pol. Only slanderous words, slanderous documents he made up against me. Have you heard, master day, 13 tijax? As he did to me, so do to him; even so drive him to death and destruction. Have you heard, master day 13 tijax? Perhaps he will come to ask favor before you, master day 13 tijax. But no, master day 13 tijax. I leave this order for you; you have heard its meaning. "Come hither also, master day 1 qawaq... 13 bats. Come hither, master day, 13 bats, seize him, make him ready for his death and destruction, this Manuel Pol. It was his fault that I was imprisoned in SantaCruz and had to pay 8,000 pesos fine. As a result I am poor, I have my obligations becauseof this. This is what Manuel Pol did to me. Have you heard, master day, 13 bats? Then prepare to carry out the death and destruction of Manuel Pol. Perhaps he will ask favor before you, master day, 13 bats. But no, masterday 13 bats, I give you these orders. "Come hither also, master day 1 e... 13 q'at. Come hither master day 13 q'at, to burn and consume in flame the light and fortune of ManuelPol. For it was his fault that I was imprisoned in Santa Cruz. He made up slanders and intrigues against me. Have you heard, master day, 13 q'at? Perhaps tomorrow or next day Manuel Pol will ask favor before you. But no, master day 13 q'at, quickly burn and consume with flames this Manuel Pol. I leave: this order for you. Have you heard, master day, 13 q'at? "Come hither also, master day 1 qan... 13 noj. Come hither master day, 394 CHICHICASTENANGO 13 noj. Manuel Pol has his words and thoughts. For this I was imprisoned in Santa Cruz. Eight thousand pesos was the fine I had to pay. Manuel Pol made up slanders and intrigues against me, which left me in debt and obligation. But his words and thoughts will bring him into death and destruction. Have you heard, master day 13 noj? There is no favor which you can grant him, but rather at once send death and destruction to Manuel Pol, because of his words and thoughts. Have you heard, master day, 13 noj? I leave you this order. "Also master day 1 tijax... 13 ts'i'. Come hither, master day 13 ts'i', be seated here before this World of the Campo Santo. Here I have asked justice for Manuel Pol, because of his beastliness. He had me imprisoned at Santa Cruz; 8,000 pesos it cost to free me, and from this I was driven into poverty and debt. Have you heard, master day, 13 tsi'? Perhaps tomorrow or next day he will address you to ask favor before your presence. But come hither, master day 13 ts'i'. Manuel Pol has committed beastly sins against me before the white light of day. So for his beastliness I have asked for the death and destruction of Manuel Pol. Have you heard, master day, 13 ts'i'? I leave this order for you. Have you heard, 13 ts'i'? Cast down the manifestation of the light and fortune of Manuel Pol. "Come hither, master day, 13 ts'i', 12 t'oj...50 "Holy World of the Campo Santo, holy is your face, and holy also the lord first ancestors, our mothers and fathers. Be seated before this World. And also the twenty series of days; come hither. This is your payment here, these 540 cakes of copal, these twenty pieces of candle for you, twenty series of days. Today I leave these orders for you. Perhaps tomorrow, perhaps next day this Manuel Pol will kneel down here. Whatever day, whatever hour he may invoke, let not a single day come to his defense, but rather at once cast down his light and destiny; rather send death and destruction at once to Manuel Pol. Perhaps he will engage some great person, some little person for his defense, and also to lead on my body (to destruction), but among you, twenty series of days, may there not be one to obey him, or to come to his defense; let it rather end there in his house in death and destruction. Have you heard twenty series of days? Accept this upon your table; accept this, World; accept this, Lords of Justice, who dwell here in the Campo Santo, and also spirits of the first ancestors, whose faces now are holy. Accept this payment." I pour out the aguardiente on the shrine. Then I rest a little, and after I have rested, I get ready to leave. "Yes, World, yes, Lords of Justice, secretaries, alcaldes, Ladino alcaldes, Ladino secretary, and also the spirits of the first people, turn hither your faces." I kneel. "Perhaps on the master day 13 'q' I shall return to give thanks before your presence. And also on the master day 12 kiej I shall make my communications before you, spirits, according to my words and thoughts; before you, World, before you, lords of justice, and before you, Ladino alcaldes. Cold tempest, pardon my trespass. Peacefully accept what lies upon your table. Do not be of two hearts toward me. Pardon my trespass. Only the jun kalamld..." 50 The ritualist now goes over the calendar backwards, again invoking each day with the number 13. SORCERY AGAINST A SLANDERER 395 From here I go to the Lords of Justice in the church. In the door I stop for a few words and then pass to the place of alcaldes and say: "Hail, Lords of Justice, first, second, chief magistrate and the eight magistrates; come hither councilmen, treasurers, civil servants. Be seated. And also the first mothers and fathers of ancient aspect. And also the first lord secretary, the second, third secretary, come hither, lords. This is the day, this is the hour, for which I have invoked your presence before this master day, 13 t'oj. It is I who have asked justice from your hands and feet. It is I who have asked sickness and pain in the hands and the feet for Manuel Pol. You have heard and you know, lords, what is the meaning of my complaint; what is the meaning of the sickness which I have asked for ManuelPol, lords. And now this is to pay for the sickness and pain, and this is to ask for sickness and pain for Manuel Pol. Lords, pardon my trespass. It is only a candle, only branches of flowers, only a little cold, icy water, lords, which I offer you here upon this altar. But do not be of two hearts concerning this payment which I offer you on this master day, 13 t'oj. May not this sickness fall upon me nor my wedded wife nor any of my children. This is the word, two words which I have to leave before you, lords. Pardon my trespass, and accept this. Perhaps I shall return once more to speak before you on the master day 13 iq', 12 noj, to explain what is the meaning of our words, our thoughts which we have thought before your face. And now this is to ask that you grant me one step, two steps more. Lords, pardon my trespass. Peacefully accept what lies before your altar. Only the jun kalamld..." Now I go to Sefor San Juan, with the same prayer, but shorter. After this I go on to Sefior San Pedro, Sefor San Jos6, San Miguel, Maria Rosario, Sefior Sacramento, Santo Tomas, El Padre Eterno in the World and in Heaven, El Sefior de Calvario. Then I come home, before my sacred bundle, and here I light a candle costing 5 pesos, and say: "Hail, my house and place, and you, my sacred bundle. Pardon my trespass." I kneel down and light the candle. "My house and place, and you, my sacred bundle, you have heard, you have seen how I was imprisoned in Santa Cruz. You have seen, you have heard how I was maddened by the fine I had to pay. And in consequence I am impoverished, I am poor. This is what was done to me by Manuel Pol, and this, my house and place, and my sacred bundle, I was forced to endure, this poverty and hunger and thirst and nakedness of my light and fortune, and also that of my wife and my children, all on account of this Manuel Pol. It was his fault, and perhaps he will do it again. And so I have asked justice for Manuel Pol before the Lords of Justice among the spirits in the cold house, the icy house, the holy church, and also before the Lords of Justice who are in the Campo Santo, and beneath the feet and hands of our moon, our star, and also before the World in the Campo Santo. Have you heard, my house and place, my sacred bundle? "Perhaps this Manuel Pol will ettempt to defend his person; perhaps he will engage sponsors; perhaps they will give him some sign of what I did to him before the lords of justice among the spirits. But let him not gain mastery over me in my sleep, nor over my wife and children. It is you, my sacred bundle, who will watch over me, and listen to me here within my house. It is only for this that I kneel before you, my sacred bundle, my house and place." I stand up and set the lighted candle on the table. "Perhaps I shall climb mountains and descend into valleys in the course of my business, and 396 CHICHICASTENANGO in my rites and customs. But you, my house and place will go before me, and follow behind me to protect me. Only the jun kalamld..." After I finish this, I call my wife and warn her of the danger to which she is exposed because of this ceremony which I have performed.51 Now when the day 13 'q' comes, I must defend myself against my evil words, and afterwards I look for the day noj also. I make my defenses before the World and before the man whom I have injured in the day iq', and in noj against my own evil thoughts. Only in these days, and on the days with high numbers, 10, 11, 12, or 13 fq', and 10, 11, 12, and 13 noj. And this I do so long as I live, to pay and to defend myself for this dangerous ceremony. At noon of the day 13 iq', I burn incense in the patio of my house. "Hail, Sefior San Lorenzo, lord of the cold tempest before this World. Perhaps you descend, perhaps you ascend to see us. Come hither, before this master day, 13 iq'. Now that our father the holy sun has paused overhead, come hither to see me and hear me here before this World, Tsokoma. It is I with my cleansing cloud of incense, estoraque, which I offer you. Come hither from where the sun rises." I have been facing the east; now I turn to the west, with the same words, then the same facing the north, and the south. "Turn hither your face, our master, Sefor Don Manuel Lorenzo, and also you, World, for you are the one who stands here to watch over us in all our doings. It is I, World. And also World of the Campo Santo; there I spoke out just words concerning Manuel Pol; and also before the Lords of Justice who are in the church, and those in the holy Campo Santo. Judgment I asked beneath their hands and feet against Manuel Pol. And also I asked that his light and destiny be cut off beneath the hands and feet of our moon, our star, Seflor San Juan Bautista, on account of the slanders and intrigues which Manuel Pol perpetrated against me in Santa Cruz. On account of him I was imprisoned; on account of him I had to pay eight thousand pesos fine; on account of him I have debts and obligations; on account of him I live in hunger and thirst; on account of him I have not yet come out of debt. But, holy World, you will hear my true word which I speak before you. Holy cold tempest, listen to the true word which I speak before you. And you also, twenty series of days, come hither, 1 bats... 13 ts'i'. For the beastliness which he perpetrated against me, draw him into the cold whirlwind if he comes to kneel down before you, World. For his beastliness cast down the face of the light and destiny of Manuel Pol into Hell. And from there let him not cast his eye upon me, but rather let him look to whoever was his accomplice in this. Have you heard, cold tempest, before this master day 13 iq', the day inscribed and dedicated to you, World, and also to you, cold tempest, and also to you, yellow idol, white idol. Grant me that true word which I have spoken, and what I have asked in my prayers inscribed in the book of fate before the holy spirits in the church, and also those in the cemetery. World, and you, master of the white light of day, and master of the dark shadows of night, it is you who look upon me from far and near. Holy World, Tsokoma, holy cold tempest, pardon my trespass. Perhaps the grandmothers and grandfathers of Manuel Pol go about in the cold tempest; we cannot see their bodies, but perhaps they hear what I say. But let them not give any sign to their son, Manuel Pol, in his dreams. Let them be the ones to send him discord in his " See p. 124 for the full account of this conversation. COMPLETION OF OUR WORK 397 dreams. Let them be the ones to send him discord in his house, with hiswife and children. "World, Tsokoma, pardon my trespass, and also holy cold tempest. It is only to ask grace and favor that I molest you. It is only to offer you this incense. Pardon my trespass. Again within two months, on 10 noj, I shall make myself known before you, World, and ask judgment on Manuel Pol. World, Tsokom6, holy cold tempest, and also Lords of Justice in the cold house, the icy house, the holy church, and also the lords in the holy World of the Campo Santo, to all of you I shall offer my prayers before the presence of the master day 10 noj, to invoke once more sickness and pain upon the light and destiny of Manuel Pol. Only the jun kalamld..." Then I turn to the west, and repeat the doctrina and sign of the cross, and the same to the north and south. Then, facing the east again: "Yes, Eternal Father, who is our crown there in the sky, perhaps you have heard the words which I spoke before this holy World. We are your children in this world. But look down upon us, and if this be good, give us your hand in blessing on our head. Or, if it be evil, turn aside our faces tohell. Have you heard, Our Father, Our Minister, Jesus Christ, in Heaven? Onlythe jun kalaml..." When the day is noj, I say also: "The words and thoughts which he held against me, let those same words and thoughts turn aside the light and destiny of Manuel Pol. Holy World, Tsokoma, holy spirits in the house of God, holy spirits yonder in our place of rest, the holy Campo Santo." So the ceremony is ended. But I must continually defend myself in the days iq' and noj, until I die. No. 16. Thanks at the Completion of the Work of Recording the Calendar I was planning to leave Chichicastenango on February 16 (10 kame'). On Tuesday, the tenth of February (4 axpu), we consulted the oracle to see on what day we might approach the World to make our offerings to give thanks for the completion of our work, and to ask for my safe return to my own country. Manuel took me into his back room; on a low table covered with a cloth, he opened up his sacred bundle, laid out the three or four small stones which it contained, and holding a handful of beans in one hand, pronounced the invocation. "Hail52, Our Father, Christ who is in Heaven, and also Our Father Christ who is in Calvario, and also our first mothers and fathers who came before the altars, the masters of the pointed stick, the masters of the seeds of the pita, the masters of divination by corn and by blood; come hither! Perhaps it is one or two hours since our father paused above to look at us upon this world. Come hither also the day inscribed and dedicated to our father, San Sebastian Martin (i. e., Martes, Tuesday). Let me make my intrusions and annoyances; let me invoke their names and faces, lords. It is I who ask leave to speak one word, two words before my sacred bundle. Let not my face be veiled. I ask the clear truth that I can understand. Yes, My Father Christ, come hither, and also you, lords, come hither. Only lend me the blessing of 62 Written out from dictation the same morning. 398 CHICHICASTENANGO your right and left hands. But there is nothing I can give you, only the jun kalamld.. and the jun nu q'au tciqax... "Yes, My Father Christ, and you also, powers, it is I. It seems that I have been entrusted with this rite and ceremony of the first ancestors. Perhaps because of that our priest, the Padre, appointed me, and said a word or two about me and asked of me this favor, that I should give the true words that are spoken by us, and also that I should tell the meaning of the rites and ceremonies that we perform before this World. And so it was thatperhaps I obeyed him and complied with the request of our Padre, and I gave her this, and told the Sefiorita all the words that we speak, and what is the meaning of our rites and ceremonies. But I heard from our Padre that this is not wrong. 'Perhaps she is an evangelist (Protestant missionary)?' But our Padre said, 'No, she is not.' This is what he said, and the Sefiorita also said, 'Indeed I belong to the church.' This is what she said, Lords, and you also, Our Father Christ. In doing this did I, perhaps, commit sin and error? I gave her what is remembered and related to write down in her book. Will good come of this, or how? What it means for her only the cold tempest and the gods see. As for me, I and the Sefiorita have acted together to arrange these things; so we shall make our genuflections and obeisances to give thanks before the World and before the white light of day and before the holy virgins. This being so, let us ask a word of two before your hands and feet, lords. Will you receive us and await us on the master day 5 imux. World, Tsokoma, tell us, please. Speak to us and tell us whether you will accept our offering on this day. Let us ask one or two words, sacred bundle." So now I ask my question in the name of the day 5 imux. On the first question one seed is over. This is unfavorable. On the second question in this day, there are three over. This is a denial. "No, World, do not hide your face from me. I ask a clear word." I ask the question for the third time, and the seeds come out paired. Onthe fourth question there are three over. The interpretation of this, therefore, is that on this day the World will not receive our prayer. Now I change the day, and ask the question whether or not the World will receive us on the day 10 kame. "Yes, World! What does it mean that you will not receive our offering? But indeed these are not lies or slanders which we wish speak before you. No, World. It is only that we wish to give thanks and praise before this inscribed and dedicated day, 10 kame. Will you receive us? Will you only await us then? World, pardon our trespass. Let us see and hear the answer to this, once, twice." So I ask the questions in the name of the day 10 kame. The first time they come out paired. The second time there is one over. The third time there are three; the fourth time they come out paired. The interpretation of this is that we are mistaken. Then I say: "World, I ask my question. Why will you not receive our offering? It is for us now to ask you again whether you will receive us before the master day 9 ix. World, pardon my trespass.' I ask one word, two words before your presence." 4 Now I ask the question why we are not received in the name of the day 9ix. I ask' the question in the day ix, because that is the day of the commemoration of the world, and in the number 9 because that is a neutral number. COMPLETION OF OTUR WORK 399 I take a handful of seeds, and count them out, four by four, until the end, and lay them out, saying: "Come hither, master day 9 ix, 10 tsikip, 11 cajmaq, 12 noj, 13 tijax, 1 qawaq, 2 ajpu, 3 imux, 4 fq', 5 aq'bal, 6 q'at, 7 qan, 8 kame, 9 kiej, 10 qanil, 11 t'oj." Now the seeds are lying like this, and I start to count. I start with the odd seed, the last one laid down, and I start counting, beginning with the day 9 ix, the name of the day of the World. After I have counted each group I come back to the single one again, and now it is in the name of the day 12 ts'i'. Now we have started with 9 ix, the day of the World, and ended with 12 ts'i', the day of the dog, and the other crucial points, the two corners and the middle group, are 4 fq' (the day of the idols), 5 aq'bal (the day of intrigues and lies), 6 q'at. This is simple and clear. It means that we have sinned against the World in carrying on our intrigues before the idols like dogs, without payment or gratitude. This is easy, it is not always so easy. "So be it, World. My answer I see and hear. It is true, World. We have given no thanks before your presence. This is the word or two spoken before my sacred bundle. We have just gone about and spoken our words before your face, World. But not even a little trifling bit have we left upon your altar. Holy World, will you receive us before the master day 3 'e, 4 aj, that we may pay our fine? Look upon us, listen to us once more. World, pardon our trespass, and you also, my sacred office. Let us make our genuflections and obeisances before you, and grant us grace and favor. Come hither, sacred bundle, do not veil my eyes." Now I begin the questions asking this time whether the World will receive our expiatory offering on the day 3 'e. On the first question they come out paired; the second the same. This means, then, that in these days we may pay our fine. As for the days of which we have been thinking, if we make offerings then theywill not be accepted in expiation; no, this is only to ask pardon until the days 3 'e, 4 aj, when we pay our fine. "Yes, World. This is the answer to what I asked, and what I wished to know. It is that you will expect us on the appointed and inscribed day 3 'e, 4 aj. As for tomorrow, perhaps then we may just ask pardon, World. Pardon our trespass. Yes, sacred bundle, now I have seen, now I have heard the answer to my questions. Only in this matter, my sacred office, do not veil my eyes. As for me, my occupation is that of master of the candle and incense, and in this capacity I have asked one word, two words. But I have seen in what inscribed and appointed day you will receive us in the matter of our fine. Yes, My Father, Christ, and all the Lords of Heaven, I have committed my sinsl'and errors before this sacred bundle. For times, five times, I implore grace. Only lend me your right hand, your left hand, in blessing. Only the jun kalamld.. jun qu qau chiqaj..." 400 ICHICHICASTENANGO Now on the day Wednesday, February 11 (5 imux), we ask pardon before the World. The communication is on the day preceding at five o'clock in the evening in my house. The substance of the prayer is as follows: "Hail, World, my seat, my altar. This is the day, this is the hour appointed to come before you to ask pardon. World, pardon our trespass. It is I, native of this village of Santo TomAs Chichicastenango, and this Sefiorita who has signed her name to the foot of the statements written on this paper. We stand here before your presence, World, to ask your grace and favor. As for me, I know the language of the natives of this village, and, furthermore, I have been entrusted with the rites and customs of our first ancestors, the customs that are always revived and perpetuated in memory of Our Father Christ, Son of Maria in Heaven. The Sefiorita asked humbly of me that I give to her explanations of the customs which we practise, World. World, I cannot say that she gave me only thanks for the explanations which I gave her. No, World. For the things which we discussed here before your presence I have received some remuneration, and I have been put to no expense. But, World, it is necessary that we make payment, and today we make our genuflections and obeisances for such words as may have been sent away by the Sefiorita. World, the Sefiorita is a native and resident of New York; she is employed in the schools and sent here by them and also by a society of the same city. On this day she stands before your presence, World, to give her most sincere thanks for the explanations and texts which she is carrying away in her book. World, look graciously on her; let us this day make our obeisances before you so that you, holy World, and the patron of our village may grant us pardon. May I benefit, World, from my remuneration and may the explanations and studies which she is carrying away be of use to her, and may there be no misfortunes sent by God. For these texts on which we have been working, World, pardon us. And, World, in case the Sefiorita should make evil use, in act or in thought, of the words and customs which she is carrying away in her book from our village, may God always be above to judge us. World, pardon us. I shall come before you with my thanks on the master day 3 'e, 4 aj, at the time already appointed, in order that all may know, however many may be your divine manifestations. Then may you all look upon us and listen to us when we present ourselves before you. World, pardon our trespass." On the following morning we went first to Manuel's shrine in his cornfield, Tsokoma, and later to the mountain Poqojil. The materials were as follows: For Tsokoma: 8 wax tapers, 60 cakes of copal, incense, roses and sugar. For Poqojil: 8 wax tapers, 60 cakes of copal, incense (1 lb.), sugar (1 lb.), roses, aguardiente and sweet drinks. For the church: 2 wax tapers for the altar of the Sacrament and 30 candles for the dead. For Calvario: 2 wax tapers. The preceding evening Manuel purchased these things, and at six o'clock he performed the communication alone in the patio of his COMPLETION OF OUR WORK 401 house. The following morning I called at his house about an hour before sunrise. His wife gave us coffee, and we gathered all the things together, along with his sacred bundle, and went out to the shrine in his cornfield. This had already been swept and decorated with pine branches and pine needles. On reaching the shrine we both kneeled facing the east, for a brief prayer, merely to announce our presence. Then Manuel began to unpack his things. He lighted the eight candles directly in front of the cross, laid the other things in front of them, set fire to the sixty cakes of copal in the customary place. He scattered some of the rose petals, and lit the incense in his incense burner. Then the principal part of the prayer began. The statement which I had written at his request he laid on the altar, directly in front of the cross. In the course of the prayer he picked it up and read it aloud. It was written in accordance with his special request on the official letterhead of Columbia University, and read as follows: "Yo, Ruth L. Bunzel, originaria del pueblo de Nueva York estoy in Chichicastenango mandala por las esquelas y sociedades scientificas de mi pueblo, para estudiar y conservir en escrituras la lengua y las costumbres de los indigenas quich&. En mis trabajos me han ayudado Manuel Ventura y otras indigenas de esto pueblo de Santo Tomd8, con muchas costumbres y palabres de 8u pueblo. Declaro a dicho Manuel Ventura ante Dids que nos mire, que no empleard estos palabres y costumbres ni para hacer mal a ninguna persona, ni para lucro. Solamente quiero eonservir estos costumbres y palabres para nuestros hijos, como son conseridos para nosotros las traditiones del Popol Buj y todos otras palabres de los antepassados, de aqui y en todos partes. Esso hago yo in interessa de mejor acuerdo de los pueblos del mundo. Esso es la pura verdad ante Di6s. Si es mentira Di6s me castigard, y que caiga el castigo solo sobre me y no sobre Manuel Ventura y otros vecinos de esta pueblo que me ayuddron de buena fd. (Signed) The prayer opened with a long invocation, and went on to the explanation and request, in substance as reported above. During the prayer, I was permitted to move about, and I took both still and motion pictures. At the beginning of the invocation the sun rose. At the end of the prayer Manuel rested a few minutes, then gathered together the things for other altars, and, just before leaving, we both kneeled again, and took our leave of the shrine. It was now about eight o'clock. We returned to Manuel's house, where his wife gave us chocolate and sweet cakes. Manuel seemed in no hurry to leave. At about nine o'clock we left for Poqojil. I went ahead and waited at an appointed place on the trail. Manuel's wife wished to accompany us, but could not leave the house, so his eldest child, a girl of about eight years, came with us, and carried some of the things. I had my two cameras; 402 CHICHICASTENANGO Manuel carried the offerings; the child carried the food which Manuel's wife had prepared for us to eat on the mountain. We met several people on the trail; some of them carried incense burners, returning from the shrine. We reached Poqojil at about eleven o'clock. There was no one at the shrine, but candles were still burning there. This, perhaps, was why Manuel delayed. The procedure here was the same as at Tsokoma, the principal difference being that here the invocation was much longer, mentioning in addition to the cardinal points, the sun, the heavenly powers, all the mountain shrines throughout the republic of Guatemala. Again the paper with my declaration lay on the altar, and Manuel read from it in the course of the prayer. When the libation of aguardiente was poured out toward the end of the prayer we both drank glasses of sweet drinks which had been standing on the altar. "It would be impolite not to drink, when you offer a drink to another." At the end of the prayer we unpacked our lunch and ate, sitting on the lowest step of the altar. We had tortillas and chicken and sweet cakes, and the balance of the sweet drinks. After we had eaten we packed up our things, took our leave of the shrine, and returned to the village. We reached Chichicastenango at about half past two in the afternoon. Before reaching the village we separated, Manuel taking the trail to his side of the village, I returning by the main trail to the plaza. After leaving his things at his house, Manuel went at once to the church, to complete the ceremony. He visited the door of the church, the high altar, the place of the dead, the door and the altar in Calvario chapel. I did not accompany him in the church, lest it arouse suspicion, but I watched him. He finished at about half past five. The same ceremony, with the same offerings ("one could not give less") for which I paid, was performed by Manuel in my name on the day 3 'e, 4 aj, Sunday and Monday, February 22 and 23. By this time I had left Chichicastenango. This ceremony was for the purpose of "acquainting the World with all the texts and ceremonies which we have worked on, and to pay our fine to the World." The second ceremony was performed on the day 5 kiej, (March 10), "for the ancestors, and for the calendar, and to pay our fine to the ancestors that they may not be angry that their calendar has gone to New York." The offerings for this ceremony were the same as for the others, but Manuel himself paid for these. It was his payment to the World, for the money which he had received. The first ceremony, which I witnessed, performed on a day when the World had refused to accept either our thanks or our expiatory COMPLETION OF OUR WORK 403 offering, Manuel believed to be quite ineffectual, but he performed it in order that I might see it, and because it would surely do no harm to make this extra offering to the World, provided that the real offering was made on the proper day, so that they might withhold their punishment and grant me a safe voyage. APPENDIX I THE MARKET AT CHICHICASTENANGO Table I. Trade Routes To Solola (one day) and the villages of Lake Atitlan: south. To the "Coast" (Mazatenango): south, through Los Encuentros, Santa Lucia, Santa Tomas la Uni6n, Chocola, and Mazatenango, three days going, and three days returning. To Retalhuleu: the same. To Guatemala: east, through Tecpan, Chimaltenango, Sumpango, Mixco, and Guardia Vieja, six days going and returning. To Coban: northeast, to Joyabaj, two days; Joyabaj to Cumalco, two days; Culmalco to Rabinal, one and a half days; Rabinal to Salama, two days; and Salama to Coban, three days (ten to eleven days in all). To Nebaj: northwest, to San Pedro Jocopilas, one day; and San Pedro to Nebaj, two days (in all, six days, round trip). To Cun6n: the same. To Quezaltenango: west, to Totonicapan, one day; to Quezaltenango, one half day. To Momostenango; three days, going and coming, northwest. To Huehuetenango: six days, northwest. Table II. List of Products on Sale in the Plaza of Chichicastenango, January 1931 Animals Sheep and goats Pigs (especially the young) Chickens Turkeys Sometimes burros, mules, and horses Foodstuffs Eggs local Fresh meat local Sausage local Shrimps from the coast Dried fish from the coast Corn local Beans local Rice from the coast Sugar from the coast 404 APPENDIX I 405 Brown sugar (for aguardiente and chicha) Salt Coffee Cacao Sapuyul (for atole) Peanuts Bananas Plantains Papayas Oranges Anonas Aguacates Yams Grcanadilas Tomatoes Onions Green leaves (for tamales) Spinach Onions Beets Cabbage Turnips Radishes Garlic Native vegetables Asega Miltomate Manzanclla Bayave Habrel Sapote Cayol Spices and flavorings Black pepper } Cloves Chili Squash seeds Choca Achote from the coast from San Jose from the coast from the coast from the coast from the coast or the north local local from Sololi from Guatemala local from Coban from the coast Prepared foods Boiled husquil Bread and cakes Coffee Sweet drinks Tamales Meat stew Tortillas 406 CHICHICASTENANGO Household wares Firewood Tables Chairs } Cupboards Pottery: kitchen ware Large pots Small pots Jugs Pitchers Bowls Dishes Comale (for baking) Glazed pottery Bowls Pitchers Vases Candlesticks Cups Large ollas and tinajas Decorated gourds (two kinds) Baskets Plain mats Colored mats Rush mats Ropes and nets Lime (for cooking) Soap Unidentified root (for dressing textiles) Weaving swords Spindles Loom belts local from Totonicipan from Totonicapin from San Pedro Jocopilas from Rabin&l or Salama from RabinAl or Coban from Chiniq from Coban from Santa Caterina from Coban from Chiquimula local local local local local local Drygoods Huipiles Belts Kerchiefs Shirts Babies' sweaters Caps Handkerchiefs Towels Cotton yarn Embroidery silk Ribbon Sewing silk Safety pins Needles I from Guatemala I Drygoods (different stands) Rosaries APPENDIX I 407 Candles (three kinds) Incense (two kinds) Cigars Cigarettes Matches Hats Flashlight batteries Copper salt (for dyes) Imported cups Tin cups Perfume and imported soap Beads Chewing gum (Pepper and cloves are sold here) Drygoods (not at stands) Raw cotton (white and brown) from the coast Wool local Black cloth local Blankets (black with red) local Blankets (striped) Momostenango Blue cloth Momostenango Straw braid Quiche Pack straps local Bridles local Whips local Sandals local Belts (leather) local Wooden combs Salami (?) Miscellaneous Gourd rattles Rabinal Marimbas local Drums Totonicapan Coffins (there was one each week) Fodder for animals local Copal Rabinal Flowers local Chiyute (for tying fences) local Table III. Prices in the Market at Chichicastenango, April 1932 It is necessary to give some explanation of the complicated system of currency. The real was an old Spanish silver coin. After this had depreciated in value it was supplanted by the peso, a silver coin, equal to the Mexican peso, with a par value of fifty cents. The peso was worth eight reales, and still is. Bad fiscal management forced the country off the silver standard long ago, and the peso depreciated until in 1924 the country was faced with complete fiscal collapse. Then a new system of currency was introduced with the quezal 408 CHIOHICASTENANGO as the unit. This was equal to the United States dollar (it is sometimes called Dolar). Dollars are legal tender throughout the country. The quezal is equal to sixty pesos, and the older currency is gradually being retired. The peso is now a copper coin, looking very much like our penny. Some are still in circulation in Guatemala City, and they are still the chief monetary unit of the villages, where quezales are practically unknown and, being paper money, are under suspicion. There are gold coins in higher denominations, but very few of these are in circulation. The common people still count in pesos and reales. One never meets with reales in the towns, but there are still plenty of them in the villages. The prices quoted are as of April, 1932. Prices of a few staples as of December, 1930, are offered for comparison. There was a sharp fall in prices in a little more than a year. The Guatemalan quintal is the old Spanish measure of 100 pounds; the almud is an old Spanish measure of capacity; an almud of corn weighs approximately fifteen pounds. The arroba is a Spanish measure equal to twenty-five pounds. The vara is a variable measure of length, equivalent to approximately 2.8 feet. The manquerna is one of the hemispherical molds into which raw sugar is poured off. Four of these are tied together in palm leaves. The cuerda is a unit of variable size. Cuerdas in the mountains may be larger than cuerdas near town. Foodstuffs Corn Beans Wheat Flour Bran Coffee (good) Sugar Salt Rice Potatoes Chile Cacao Panela (brown sugar) Lime Meat: beef mutton lamb Eggs Bread Raw products Cotton Wool Wax Rawhide 1932 4 reales lb. 6 reales lb. 3 pesos lb. 3 pesos lb. 12 reales lb. 4 reales lb. 8 pesos lb. 8 pesos lb. 24 pesos (manquerna) 2 reales lb. 5 pesos lb. 4 pesos lb. 4 pesos lb. 4 reales each 1 peso 4 ounces 3.5 pesos lb. 35 pesos 1/ arroba 75 pesos arroba 12 reales lb. 1930 1 pesos lb. 2 pesos lb. 120 pesos caja (75 Ibs.) 300 pesos arroba 150 pesos arroba 5 pesos lb. 4 pesos lb. 2 pesos lb. 4 pesos lb. 5 pesos lb. 12 pesos lb. 6 reales each 4.5 pesos lb. APPENDIX I 409 Animals Hen 15 pesos Turkey 40-50 pesos Lamb 70 pesos Calf 300 pesos Milch cow 1,200 pesos Saddle horse 1,200-1,500 pesos Pack mule 2,000 pesos He-mule 1,500-1,600 pesos Dog 25-50 pesos Puppy 15-20 pesos Kitten 15 pesos Furniture Chairs 20 pesos Cupboard 200 pesos Bed 300 pesos Earthen pot, regular size 4 pesos large 8 pesos Earthen griddle 3 pesos Jug 12 reales Clothing HupilZ (ordinary 250 pesos (up to 500 for the best) Woman's skirt 200 pesos (cloth only) Embroidered belt 130 pesos Man's suit 1,500 pesos cloth only 120-200 pesos Hats 30-35 pesos Blankets (black with red) 150 pesos Candles (tallow) (wax or parafin) Tiles and bricks 2 reales - 5 pesos 2 reales - 20 pesos 4 reales each at the factory, not on sale at the market Prices of land and houses Fertilized land (near village) 1,000 cuerda Barren land 450 cuerda Mountains (wooded) 300 - 450 cuerda Standing trees 30 pesos each Houses (adobe and tile, wood inside, 8 varas long) 5,000 with very good doors, up to 9,000 APPENDIX II TERMS OF RELATIONSHIP1 nu qau nu chuch na, nana nu qaubal uqap nu qau nim nu qau nim nu chuch eq'mam equ ti't nu kaxel nu qojol ni mial 'al ala ali nu qojolbal nu mialbal uwi nu mami e walkwal watclal nu wats nu chaq' nu ch'ip wanap nucubal "my father", m. and w. speaking. Used as a term of address for the eldest brother by younger brothers, if unmarried, after the death of the father, or for the father's brother in the same circumstance. It really means "the head of my household." "my mother," m. and w. speaking. "mother" (term of address only) ("in place of my father"), "stepfather." ("my second father"), stepfather. Never used as term of address. "my great father", "grandfather" Term of reference. Grandfather is addressed as nu qau. "my great mother", grandmother. Term of reference. Term of address for grandmother nu chuch or na. "our male ancestor" (Sp. abuelito) "our female ancestor" (Sp. abuelita) "my namesake". Reciprocal for grandparents and grandchildren having the same name (lit. "my substitute"). "my son", m. and w. speaking. "my daughter", m. and w. speaking. "child", m. and w. speaking. "boy". The usual term of address used by parents. "girl". The usual term of address used by parents; also used by a husband to his wife. "my stepson" ("in place of my son") 'my stepdaughter" "my grandchildren", m. and w. speaking. (uwi nu mam ala, "my grandson" uwi nu mamn ali, "my granddaughter"). "my children", including sons, daughters and grandchildren. "my sibling", m. and w. speaking. "my elder sibling of my sex", i. e. "elder brother", m. speaking, "elder sister" w. speaking. "younger sibling of my sex." "my youngest sibling" of either sex, m. and w. speaking. "my sister," m. speaking. "my brother," w. speaking. Relationship terms are always used with the possessive pronoun. 410 APPENDIX II 411 There are no terms for aunts, uncles and cousins. There are compound descriptive terms, such as rachalal nu q'au, "my father's brother (or sister);" uncles and aunts are addressed by the respectful ta't, "sir;" and chu'ch, "madam," except the father's brother, who takes the place of the father after the father's death, and who is then called nu qau, "my father." Cousins are addressed by name. The cousin relationship is described ajuq'ap taq achalal, "we are arms of brothers." Affinal terms. nu ji' "my parent-in-law" m. speaking. ta' nu ji', "my father ili law" (address); chu' nu ji', "my mother in law." "my son-in-law," m. and w. speaking. nu baluq "my brother-in-law" (reciprocal). wali'p' "my parent-in-law," w. speaking. ta'walip', "my fatherin-law," chu walip, "my mother-in-law." wachajil "daughter-in-law," m. and w. speaking, "my spouse" (reciprocal). First cousins may not marry; "it is a sin before God." But one may marry other more distant relatives if one wishes. Then one must ask pardon before the dead ancestors that nothing may happen. APPENDIX III THE ECCLESIASTICAL CALENDAR AT CHIOICASTENANGO' The Movable Feasts Septuagesima (February 1, 1931): The sacristans of Calvary (aj yiktem) are invited by the cofradia of Sefior Sacramento. They are told to prepare for the beginning of Lent. The Alcaldes with silver standards accompany them. The First of Lent:2 Commemoration in all the cofradias. They play the drum and flute in the cofradias. They do not go to Mass, only the ceremonies in the cofradias. The ajyiktem go again to the cofradia of Sacramento. During the days of Lent the sorcerers burn very few candles in Calvario because the belief is that Our Lord is suffering and does not want to receive prayers from His children at this time. He is thinking of other things; He is being tormented by His enemies and He is arranging the enumeration of His children; which of them shall be saved and which shall be allowed to die. For, in the moment when He is crucified, He leaves all these things ordained - the numbers of His children, and the names of those who shall descend in death during the coming year.3 First Friday: The cofradia of Jesus Nazarenos begins to celebrate its fiesta, from now until it ends in the days of Holy Week. The cofradia of Sacramento celebrates also, because in there is Maria Dolor. On Ash Wednesday she goes into the church with the cock (Sp. Gallinero, Qaj'q').4 This is a saint, adorned with flowers, a flower of the mountains. She remains in the church until Friday, at the hour of the procession. After the procesion they take them to the 1 The basis of this calendar was provided by a native informant, a "Secretary" of one of the cofradias. To this I have added my own notes for the part of the year I observed. 2 Carnival is not celebrated by the Indians. The Ladinos make a rather feeble attempt to celebrate, some ten or twelve young men and women masking and dancing in the plaza. No one observes any food restrictions during Lent. Abstinence on Friday has been eliminated for tropical countries by Papal dispensation. 3 The closing of the books of life on Good Friday should be considered in relation to the evidence pointing to March 22 as the ancient New Year. March 15 was the date of the year bearer ceremony in Momostenango (1932). 4 It is the cock that rebuked Saint Peter. 412 APPENDIX III 413 cofradia. After eight days, on Wednesday she goes in again, for the procession on Friday. The third and fourth Fridays, the same. The Second Friday, Ladino Romeria (observed February 19, 1932): For several days before the Ladinos were busy in Calvario. They built a bower of green branches on the terrace in front of Calvario. Inside the image of Christ has been removed and placed on a bier in the center of the chapel, and covered with a lacy cloth. The whole altar was covered with pine branches. The Mass at Calvario was very crowded, with some strangers present.5 The Third Friday (observed February 26, 1932): Early in the morning slow drumming in the patio of the cofradia of Jesss Nazarenos. Later in the morning they brought El Gallinero into the church. This is an image of Christ being scourged, and a pillar on the top of which perched a cock wreathed in red and yellow flowers. There was a procession of this image in the afternoon, with all the sacristans, and the alcaldes with standards. After returning to the house the sacristans were served with atole. The feast was for them.6 The Fifth Friday (observed March 11, 1932): On the fifth Friday they make a bower of branches, adorned with flowers, in the patio of the cofradia of Jesds Nazarenos. The night before, Maria Dolor goes there. There they play all night the flageolet used by the sargentos. The way of playing is very strange and sad. The belief is that Cristo is very sick, very ill in this bower, and there they are awaiting the heart of Christ at midnight. Therefore they are there playing all night. All night they do not sleep. Then on Friday, they take Jesds to the church in the morning, and in the afternoon is his procession and then they go back into the cofradia. Every day until Viernes de Dolores (the sixth Friday) the musicians are there playing. They play for one hour in the door of Calvary also. On the sixth Friday Jesuss Nazarenos goes into the church, and comes out in procession in the afternoon. Maria Dolor goes into the church Thursday and comes out on Friday (observed February 18, 1932). Holy Week (observed March 20-27, 1932): The events of Holy Week are described in chronological order in another place (see pp. 213 ff.). In the following discussion the informant deals with the events topically. Preparations. Eight days before Palm Sunday they send to the coast for palms to adorn the image of Santo Ramos,7 who goes out in procession on Palm Sunday. On this day there is a fiesta in the cofradia of Jesds Nazarenos - the alcaldes with their companions (ajt'unqa, ajq'am, etc.). They give atole to drink and play the little drum. 5 Personal observations. 6 Personal observations. 7 Ramos, "palm branches." 414 CHIC HICASTENANGO The Alcaldes. First let us speak of the question of the alcaldet natuales. They go to hear Mass on Holy Thursday, and in the afternoon they go to see the apostles, (these are boys of about six years). The Padre gives them the Host and wine and washes their feet. They are about ten, the alcaldes. They leave their canes there on the altar of the Sacrament. This is a day of sin, they may not dispense justice or do anything this day. They come back from church in the morning without their canes. The Ajyiktem (The Sacristans of Calvario). Now let us speak of the cucuruchas and the ajyiktem.8 On Tuesday the ajyiktem remain all night in Calvario with Christ. They sleep there. At midnight they changehis clothing, that He may be ready at dawn on Wednesday. On Tuesday also the cross goes in with Jesis, and they go out together on Wednesday into the church. Judas. On Tuesday afternoon they put Judas in prison, to remain there all the time until Wednesday. He is the first mayor. While he is in prison, they give him the clothing that he will wear when he comes out Wednesday. It is the costume of Sololt. On Wednesday he comes out and goes around collecting alms. He goes around knocking at all the doors. He does not speak a single word. They give him cigars, only this, nothing more. Some Ladinos put powder in the cigars, and others give him a doll of bread with the figure of Judas. In the estancos they give him aguardiente. He takes it, and sometimes he gets drunk; therefore the alguaciles are with him to help him. When he has finished his collection of alms, he goes back to the jail. The same afternoon they make his substitute, an effigy of straw, with clothing exactly like that which he is wearing. They also make his son, a small figure with small clothing. They stay there with him all night in the jail. He sleeps there. This is his custom. At dawn on Thursday they set up the figures in front of the door of the church with his son, and in front of them a little table with the red seeds and image stones - with the vara. There he sits making the tests and smoking, all day Thursday. Friday they hang him in the door of the church, with his son. When Christ comes out for the procession at three o'clock in the afternoon, they take him down. Then Judas in person comes out again and they take him in procession. He wears black clothing, with a mask so that they cannot see his face. When the procession is almost back to Calvario, he goes quickly, and they hang him again in Calvario. There he is hanging when Christ enters Calvario. Then they take him down and burn him in the plaza. And they say that no one can work sorcery against the individual who comes out as Judas, and that he will never suffer from the evil spells of his enemies. And on Good Friday, when they burn him, it is because now he has finished his part and they do not wish that he should continue to go about, and the belief is that thus he will not go about, frightening people in the mountains. This is the meaning of Judas. The Penitentes. On Good Friday also the cucuruchas come out with the crosses that are kept in Calvario and go through the streets. They wear white clothing and cover their faces. They go very slowly. There is one cross, very small, and the one who takes this goes kneeling ahead of the procession, with a rope thirty yards long trailing behind, and the alguaciles go behind him, and take care of him. There is another, one' of the two companions of the cucuruchas. He also has a small cross, but his hands are 8 The sacristans of Calvary chapel. APPENDIX III 415 bound to the arms of the cross, and he has chains on his feet, heavy and dragging. He is naked completely, except for a loin cloth, and the one who goes goes kneeling also.9 They come into the church with their alcaldes, and there they put the crosses on them. When all are ready they kneel in front of Christ in the church, and go out kneeling. The meaning of this is to defend Our Lord, to take His place, that He may not be completely crucified. And on the other hand, they pay for their sins. Many offer themselves for this service, if they wish to atone for their sins, and the cucuruchas look for them, and give them clothing. Those who carry crosses through the streets are three. The first carries a small cross, and goes on his knees; the second carries a large cross, and has his arms stretched out and bound to the cross; the third carries a cross on his shoulder and has his feet in chains. Only one came out this year (1932). They are called in Quich6 aj telem cruz. They come out when they put Our Lord on the cross, and the meaning of this is, they say, that they help Our Lord in all the pain which he is suffering and enduring at this hour. And the belief of the individual who comes out thus is that through this he will not suffer a bad life and a bad death. This is our belief concerning the crosses.10 Procession.. On Palm Sunday all the cofradias go to hear Mass, and afterwards they take Santo Ramos out in procession. On Tuesday the cross goes in with Christ. On Wednesday, Jesus Nazarenos comes from the cofradia and goes into the church in preparation for the procession on Friday. On this day Maria Dolor goes into the church, to remain until the procession on Thursday. There are two processions on Thursday. The Ladinos have one - Jesis Nazarenos, San Pedro and San Antonio. Then at two o'clock in the afternoon there is another procession, Maria Dolor, El Gallinero, with the band. The town pays the Mass for this day, the band, and everything. On Friday also there are processions with the band, twice in the morning, the procession of the Ladinos and the procession of the Indians, the same as Thursday. In the afternoon procession the cucuruchas come out with white clothing with strange animals, with hats. They carry the canopy, three on each side in the procession.ll The ajyiktem wear red clothing and red hats. They carry Our Lord in the procession. The ajsiclera (acjq'am), take Christ down from the cross. They wear red clothing and red hats. After the procession they put Our Lord in Calvario. The saint in robes of mourning in the processions of Holy Week is El Dolor, and the two in white robes are aj bis, "the suffering ones." They are visitors who come to suffer all which Our Lord endures. They belong to the cofradia of El Dolor, and come out only on Good Friday. Jesus Nazarenos and El Dolor never come out on festive holidays. The meaning of the decorations of trees at the corners where the procession passes is to aid and encourage Our Lord in the journey which He is making. The meaning of the clappers is that they wake Our Lord, because he is seriously ill; and they call the Spirit of Our Lord. 9 Only one in 1932 (R. L. B.). 10 Seep. 221. 11 According to my observation they carried the image of Maria Dolor. 416 6CHICCASTENANGO At midnight before Easter Sunday the ajyiktem in Calvario change the clothing of Our Lord Christ. They put mourning on him on Wednesday and now on Sunday they take it off. Then at three o'clock in the morning they take Him out in procession.12 They say now He has awakened. The procession goes all around, everywhere, very early. After the procession they put Him back again in Calvario. The Virgin Mary and the other saints that are in the church come out, and when Christ goes out in procession, they come out also and go through the streets looking for the Spirit of Christ. And when they meet in the streets, they kiss. This is the procession that ends the days of the fiesta. The Days of Our Lord. When Our Lord goes into the church on Thursday he is very ill and suffering and there are many cofradias there caring for Him in His suffering. Because it is a lie that He dies; for this is the Resuscitation of Our Lord, but when they put Him on the cross it is when His enemies punish Him. Then He sums up and declares the deeds of His children; and many of them are evil and do not think of Him, and so it is that He may set down half a million such. And for this Judas and the enemies of Our Lord have their days. And for the same reason they close Calvario during the days of Holy Week, and the Sacristy of the church when Our Lord goes in there on Good Friday, because at this time He is suffering and does not want to receive visitors.l3 When the priest comes to bathe Our Lord on Friday, it is because he has been gravely wounded by his enemies and much blood is flowing from his wounds; and the priest comes to bathe his wounds and tend him. Later he gives the cotton with which he has bathed the wounds of Our Lord to those who want it, and they keep it and put it in their ears as a cure for earache and headache. It is a great cure for this.14 At two o'clock of this day they crucify Our Lord on the cross which is in the church now. The ajyiktem do this. At three o'clock they take Him down, and put Him in his place, and come out in procession, with the little drum, the band, and the clappers. Holy Saturday. The belief is that on this day it is not a sin to work. At dawn on Saturday they return the canes to the alcaldes. Already at dawn very early, all the saints of the cofradias are standing in front of the church., When they open the church (during the Gloria) all go in. They come to hear the Mass at midnight, when Christ awakes. Right after the Mass on Saturday, the Padre only takes his breakfast, and then goes out to bless the water in the plaza for the people. Then everyone hurries to get the blessed water. Many break their jars. This water they put in the corners of the houses that they may not break and in the heads of the barrancos that they may not go further. And one drinks of the blessed water also. Household Ritual. On Thursday and Friday it is a sin to work. All adorn 12 The clothing of Christ is changed before Saturday morning, and the image restored to its usual resting place in the glass tomb under the altar. The image taken out in procession on Easter morning is the image of the Risen Christ from the altar of the church. (R. L. B. personal observation). s13 There is a strict taboo on all rites of sorcery or magic during Holy Week. 14 Dr. Parsons reports at Taxco, Guerrero, Mexico, the cotton is a cure for sore eyes. (Personal communication). APPENDIX mI 417 their houses, and the courthouse also, with eq', a plant of the mountains, with red flowers. It is a sin to wash clothes during these days. The water is the Blood of Christ. On Thursday all of us send gifts of food to our relatives and neighbors, and especially to our parents. We send bread with honey, chocolate, dishes of meat or chicken. It is a sin to use beef on these days. The women get up at one o'clock in the morning to make the bread and other things to send to their parents very early. We send very early in the morning to our parents, my father, and the father of my wife, and later in the day they send to us. We send the food with one of the children. When he comes in he says, "Excuse me. My father has sent me with this, as a sign of the fiesta," (retal laj nim k'ij, sign of the great day, or retal laj awas k'ij, the day of sin). We also send to our neighbors, and they to us. Ascension (May 5, 1932): El Santo Ascensi6n is the little child in the hand of Santo Tomas. He celebrates his day of the Ascensi6n there in the cofradia of Santo Tomas. They take him down from the hand of Santo Tomas and put him on the ground, well decorated. They have drum and flageolet there, and many people go there to kneel down and ask for wealth, or to give thanks for wealth. This is a "day of sin" (dia pecado), it is a sin to work on this day. The belief is that if one does not make his gifts to his parents during Holy Week he does so on this day. In the cofradia they give the drink to all who come, children as well as adults. Pentecostes (Pascua de E8piritu Santo) May 15, 1932: On this day there is a celebration in the cofradia of the Eternal Father. Three days the same, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. On these days those who go to the church take there a pair of doves of Castille. When the Mass is over, the priest comes down in front of the altar of the Concepci6n. There he sits down in a chair, and opposite him they put the Padre Eterno, and they let the doves loose to fly about the church, but their feet are bound so that they cannot fly out of the church. And the sacristans carry a basket of roses up into the church, and let the petals fall over the priest. The doves are the Holy Spirit. They do this for three days. After the mass is over, the second alcalde of the cofradia of the Padre Eterno takes all the sacristans to the cofradia and they give them the drink, thanking them. They do this for three days. And to the alcaldes of the sacristans (first, second and third) they give a plate of cacao. In the cofradia they make food and drinks, and there they eat and drink during these days. The Padre Eterno goes into the church on Saturday, and they take him out on Tuesday. Corpus Christi (May 25, 1932): On this day there are great ceremonies in the hills,15 in the church and in the cofradia. In the cofradia of Sacramento is the retreat and election, the same as in the other cofradias. All the saints come from the cofradias into the church for the Mass on this day, and go out in procession after with the Padre 1 These are ceremonies for the fertility of the newly planted crops. See p. 57. 418 CHICHICASTENANGO with the Sacrament. The procession goes far, into the streets. There is another procession in the afternoon. The municipality pays the Mass and the processions. The Fixed Feasts16 January 1: This is the end of the retreat and election in the cofradia of Padre Eterno. January (?): Retreat and Fiesta of cofradia of San Sebastian. March 19, San Jo8s:17 All the cofradias enter the church and come out in procession the day of the 19th. In the cofradia of San Jose, they hold the retreat and election. They send drink to the secretary. April 29, San Pedro Martyr: Eight days before they send to the coast to get branches to decorate the sides of the image of San Pedro. The retreat and election in the cofradia. On the 29th, the mass. Only San Pedro comes out. May 3, The Commemoration of the Cross: This is the day for giving thanks for the planting. It is at the season of planting. There are ceremonies in the hills for crops. June 24, San Juan Bautista: On this day all perform ceremonies in the hills. The meaning of this is to ask for and to give thanks for lambs. This also is a great fiesta, for everyone, everyone. One goes also to San Juan in his house - this is not a cofradia. Here are San Antonio and San Lbzaro and their little dog. One prays there for puppies, because they are the guardians of the lambs. One does not go to San Juan in the church, because that one is the guardian of one's name and fortune. It is another meaning. One goes to San Juan in the house where he has his little dog. On the 23rd, San Juan goes to the church to hear Mass on the 24th. After that there is a procession, only San Juan. The Mass is paid by five persons, the dueto of San Juan and friends of his. When they return from the procession they make atole, etc. to give to those who carried the saint and to the visitors who arrive to light their candles. The visitors leave alms to pay for the candles, rockets, incense, etc. In the hills, one offers copal, candles, incense, pine, roses, etc. because it is a great day. Some people have ceremonies and celebrations in their houses also. It is the custom on this day for the shepherds to rest. I, for instance, have my sheep, and whichever one of my 16 Except for the important fiestas like those of Santo Tomas, Todos Santos La Cruz, dates are variable, and minor fiestas are postponed until the following Sunday. 17 In 1932, the fiesta of San Jose was celebrated on the 17th. The assembly was on the night of the 14th - 15th, the entrance into the church on the 16th, and the Mass on the 17th. APPENDIX III 419 children is the real shepherd, rests on this day, and one gives him new clothing. And if it is a girl, one gives her a big hat, and buys her cloth for a skirt. June 29, San Pedro y San Pablo: Celebrations in the cofradia of San Pedro Martyr. They place the saint, adorned with flowers, in the center of the room, with candles of ten pesos. This is a day of rest also. It is a sin to work on this day. This is the day of San Pedro. One asks for nothing from him, only celebrates his day in the cofradia with chicha, etc.18 July 25, Santiago: All have to perform ceremonies in the hills for the World and for Santiago that he may not destroy the cornfields with his horse.l1 August 15, Assumption: The Ladinos have a fiesta on this day. August 18, La Coronaci6n de Nuestra Senora: Retreat of the cofradia of the Coronation. Mass and procession of the cofradia. The saint goes in on the 17th and comes out on the 18th, her day. No other customs. August 24, San Bartholome: On this day they appoint the alcaldes of the sargentos, the First Horse, the First Master of the Ropes, the First Mayordomo and the First Master of the Basket. They tell them what they must do, and what to buy for their feast. The sargentos are appointed by the alcaldes of Santo Tomas, only for this short time. Formerly Tsijolaj was the dueno of Santo Tomas. He is the man who is mounted on the horse (kiej), and this is his name in Castillian. In Quiche they call him mo's.20 He stays most of the time, except during his fiestas, in the house of Santo Tomas. The money that is attached to the horse, back and front, used to be private, loaned for the ceremony. Now it is his, it belongs to the cofradia of Santo Tomas. After two weeks the alcaldes of Santo Tomas, San Jose and San Sebastian give a celebration in the cofradia of Santo Tomas for all the sargentos. They give them atole, drinks, chocolate, bread, etc. After this the alcaldes sargentos reciprocate with a feast for the three cofradias in the house of the first sargento. It is the same, atole, a good feast of chocolate and bread, drinks. Everyone takes much, and all get drunk. It is very gay. This is on the day of Rosario (October 8th). On the night before the alcaldes of Santo Tomas, San Sebastian and San Jose with their secretary take El Asunci6n (the child in the hands of Santo Tomas) to the house of the first sargento. He stays there over night, looking after his saints, and on the day of the 8th, at eight o'clock in the morning the secretary goes to return him to the cofradia. 18 He is the patron of the chuchqajau. 19 Seep. 58. 20 "Crazy", the Quiche name for the Ladinos. 420 CHIOHICASTENANGO September 14, Exaltacion de la Santa Cruz: Retreat of the cofradia of La Cruz and Jesis Nazarenos, with appointment of new alcaldes, Mass and procession.21 There are ceremonies in the hills on this day. September 15-17, Fiesta Nacional: Celebrated by Ladinos and government employees. September 29, San Miguel: Celebrations in the cofradia of San Miguel. This is the birthday of San Miguel. They greet him, burn candles, etc. There is no Mass or procession on this day, nor is this the time of the election.22 Only the celebration of the cofradia. September 30, San Ger6nimo Doctor: Retreat of the cofradia of San Ger6nimo Doctor. Appointment of new officers. The saint goes into the church the 29th, comes out the 30th. Mass paid by the cofradia. October 8, Rosario:23 Retreat of the cofradia of Rosario; appointment of new alcaldes, etc. On the night of the 7th (i. e. first Saturday in October) all the saints enter the church to hear Mass the morning of the 8th, and afterwards come out in procession. On this day the sargentos invite the alcaldes of Santo Tomas, San Sebastian and San Jose, and Tsijolaj comes out. October 18, Octavo Rosario: Retreat of the cofradia de la Concepci6n. Appointment of new alcaldes, mass, etc. The entrance of the alcaldes naturales in the church. Like the cofradias they have received their canes as a trust from the dead alcaldes. On this day they go to give thanks. At about this time the cofradia of Santo Tomas also enters the church, to surrender possession in preparation for their retreat. November 1, All Saint8:24 All the saints enter the church on October 31, and on the first is the Mass and procession. All day the three apostles stand in front of the church, and the sargentos are there, and Tsijolaj. During these days they appoint the new alcaldes of Santo Tomas. They enter upon their duties at once. They begin at once with their butchery, which is the business of this cofradia. The cofradia of Santo Tomas is very important, and the expenses are heavy, and therefore the new alcaldes begin at once to make their sales, and to make their candles. The belief of the ancients is that Santo Tomas eats a great deal. All the 21 Another informant reports that Tsijolaj comes out to dance on this day. 22 The election is held during the fiesta of Todos Santos. 23 Celebrated October 2-5, 1930. Fully described on pp. 193ff. 24 Described on pp. 198ff. APPENDIX mI 421 time, day and night, he must have candles, big ones of five pesos. For this they have the butchery of Santo Tomas. Whenever they kill a steer, the Rox and all the mayorormos make candles of the tallow. Moreover, Santo Tomas likes to see many candles hanging in the house, because these are his ears of corn. If there are not many candles, he complains. If one of his candles falls down during the night, they say the saint bangs on the door as a sign that his candle has fallen. Then the alcalde gets up to see if it is so, and if the candle has fallen or gone out, he lights it again. During these days they hold the retreat of San Miguel, and the appointment of new officers in that cofradia. November 2, All Souls (Commenoracidn de los Fieles Diffunctos):2 The belief among us here is that on this night we await our dead in the house. We put out a table, spread pine on the floor, burn candles, and on the table put chocolate, bread, aguardiente, cigars, cooked huisquil and ayote in a basket, boiled ears of green corn, atole of green corn, and tortillas of green corn. On one side we put chairs, on the other side the little mats that women use. And we put there also a bowl of water, and a napkin that they may wash when they come in. When this is all ready we burn incense. We go out of the house in the patio and in the streets, calling our parents, saying, "Come, come in." We spread pine in the room, and in the entrance and at the door of the patio as a sign to the dead. We leave the things this way all night, and at dawn we burn incense again in the house. Then we gather up the things. Some pieces of ayote, an ear of corn, a huisquil, the cigars and the aguardiente we send to our parents, if they are still alive, that they may take the aguardiente, and the other pieces of ayote we send to neighbors. There are exchanges of these gifts between parents and children and between brothers. At seven o'clock we go to the cemetery. We take pine, and flowers. We spread the pine in the place where our parents are buried, and place roses or a wreath, and light four candles. When one's mother or father dies one plants a tree in the place where he is buried, that it may grow as a mark of the place. Then one burns incense under the tree saying:26 "My mother, my father, my grandfathers, my grandmothers, you only know how many are my ancestors. Come hither, now, as a sign that I am your son. And also as a sign of the celebration of this day. My dear fathers, perhaps you suffer hunger and thirst. Taste then this offering, these flowers and candles, this aguardiente and this little incense. It is a poor trifle, but I give it willingly, I and my beloved wife. My fathers, in case anyone comes to testify against me before you, do not believe him, until you see and hear it before your presence. In this world there is no lack of scorn. That you know. This is my only offering which I give as reminder that I am your son. Only the doctrina..." November 11, San Martin: Ceremonies in the hills on the part of the chuchqajau, to give thanks tothe world during the night and to San Martin in the church. The meaning is to 25 Complete description on pp. 209 ff. 26 Las Casas, Ximenez and others note that trees were frequent places for offerings among the ancient Quiches, and the rituals are full of allusions to "meeting under trees," i. e., in a sacred place. 422 CHICHICASTENANGO pray in general for one's possessions and one's fortunes. The offerings are the same as at other fiestas, copal, candles, incense, aguardiente. One goes in the evening or at night, or at dawn to the hills, and burns rockets in the hills. In the house one gives thanks for the harvest.27 November 15: The entrance of the new Alcaldes of Santo Tomas, to receive the standard in the church. December 8, Concepcion (Fiesta on the part of the Ladinos): For nine days before the novena with Jubileo every day. At this time they hold the election of the new alcaldes. It used tobe on the day of the Conception, but now it is the following Sunday. The six principales28 come to the cofradia of the alcaldes as sign of the election. The popular election is in the Juzgado. December 17-22, Fiesta de Santo Tomns: 17th. The masked dances begin in the houses of the duenos, the masters of the dance. 18th. In the afternoon San Sebastian, San Jose and Santo Tomas enter the church for the night. 19th. In the morning everyone goes to hear Mass. Then early they take out the images to leave them in the houses of the cofradias over night. The dancers visit all the cofradias. They go to escort Santo Tomas to his house. This is the day of "farewell" from the house of the cofradia where he has been all year, for he will remain there only over night. 20th. The three saints go again to the church to remain over night, and all the other saints from the cofradias. They play the tambor all day in the cofradia of the alcaldes justicias. They have fiesta there, cacao, atole, etc. 21st. Mass and procession of Santo Tomas. Dances in the plaza, etc. All day, and until noon on the 22nd, the old alcaldes of Santo Tomas bring drinks from the cofradia to give there in the plaza. They give to the alcaldes naturales, and the alcaldes sargentos. The alcaldes sargentos bring gourds of aguardiente or chicha. When the horse comes out they give to the alcaldes. 22nd. Mass and procession. The procession stops in front of the church, facing Calvario. At exactly twelve o'clock, the standard is delivered to the new alcaldes. All the things of the old alcaldes, the clothing of the Saint, everything is turned over to the new ones. It is all taken to the new cofradia, and the new alcaldes have everything prepared and all the necessary things to receive the standard. December 24, Noche Buena: There is not much among the Indians. In the cofradia of San Ger6nimo they make the bower in the patio of the cofradia, and in the evening they set 27 Although I was not taken to these ceremonies I heard distant rockets at intervals throughout the night. It is the season of harvest. 28 See pp. 185 ff. APPENDIX m] 423 it up in the church before the altar of Maria Dolor, where the Child was born. At three or four o'clock in the morning the masked dancers go to the church and dance inside. There are no Shepherds. (They have these in Santa Cruz Quiche.) In the houses when they hear the bells ring at midnight, the women and children get right up and build a fire and wash their hair, so that their hair may grow. The men who have trees that do not give fruit take their machetes and go out and mark the trees saying, "We shall cut you down. We shall cut you down, if you don't give fruit. You should be ashamed of yourself." December 31, Ano Nuevo: Retreat of the cofradia of the Padre Eterno, with the appointment of new officers and, on Jan. 1, the Mass and procession. At midnight the change of alcaldes naturale8.2 In the houses at dawn on January 1 they whip the boys who do not grow, and then the trees that do not give fruit. If I have an orange tree that does does not give fruit, I buy a basket of oranges, with their stems, and hang them on the tree that the tree may take note, and one whips the tree. 29 There are two cofradias of the Padre Eterno; one is strictly religious, it has an image and celebrates two fiestas of the conventional pattern, one on the feast of the Ascensi6n and the other on January 1. The change of officers occurs on the latter date. The second cofradia of that name is no other than the municipal officers; They possess a painting of the Trinity, the canes of office, some ancient shackles, which are transferred in exactly the same way as the paraphernalia of any other cofradia, except that they are taken to the courthouse instead of the church. See p. 179 for fuller discussion. APPENDIX IV DANCES Dances are performed during the big fiestas, Todos Santos and Santo Tomfs, but the preparations begin in the month of February. Every month they have their rehearsals in the house of the master of the dance. Each time they burn incense and candles in the house and in the World, and with Santo Tomas. And the group that dances has its sales of chicha, with music of marimba, in order to pay for the expenses of the clothes and the marimberos. We have the following dances: Baile de los Toritos (Xojoj rech wakax).1 Baile de Venado (Xojoj rech mnast):2 This is a very beautiful dance, but there is no one to bring it out any more. I have only seen it once, long ago. The dancers wear masks with antlers of deer, real antlers, and other animals. An old man (biex) comes with them. He has an ugly mask, and with him are two dogs, boys with masks of dogs. There is also a tiger with yellow clothing, who picks up those who came to see the dance, and carries them off. This dance comes with marimtba de tecomate and flute. There is a text. Baile de la Conquista (Xojoj rech Tiqum): This is the dance in which Pedro Alvarado and the Spaniards are on one side and Tiqum and the Quich6 king and the Quich6s on the other side. First the Quiche king and the Malinches have long speeches, and the Tsitsimit (saq koxol). When they have finished the Spaniards come. Tsitsimt makes divinations with seeds and they start to fight. The Spaniards kill Tiqum, and Tsitsimit brings his hat to the Quiche king, who weeps bitterly. Meanwhile the Spaniards dance joyfully, and Pedro Alvarado makes speeches, and they baptise the Quiches. Baile de Morro: They come out with the drums of the cofradias, and with flutes. They dance with swords. There are no long speeches. Baile del Palo de Volador (ajuwi'che'): They begin in February to rehearse for this dance, each month with ceremonies of incense and candles in the house of the master of the dance and 1 See p. 199. This was the only dance performed during my two visits (R. L. B). 2 Masa from Aztec mazatl, deer. 424 APPENDIX IV 425 in the World. They cut the tree in October. There are two sets of ceremonies before they cut the tree. They ask pardon in the World, and pray that the tree may not break in pieces. When they go to cut the tree, they go with marimbas. With them are two machines. They are monkeys (q'ou), they wear black clothing and black masks of monkeys. A chuchqajau goes with them to perform the proper ceremonies. When they reach the tree, the machin climbs up and sits in the very top of the tree and they begin to cut the tree below him. When the tree is just about to fall he springs into another tree, as a sign that he is really a monkey. When the machin comes down from the other tree, they all embrace him and he goes to some mountain to burn incense and give thanks that nothing happened to him. Then they all go the house where they have been holding their rehearsals to sleep. The following day they all go out again to the tree, with a marimba. Now they take off the branches and bark. They measure the pole, exactly thirty varas, and cut it. They cover the top of the pole with a little olla, and put a cross over the tree, so that the devil may not pass over it. Thechzchqajau performs ceremonies in front of the tree, he burns copal and candles, and meanwhile the machines run around the tree, turning somersaults. They are never quiet one moment. After this they go back to their house to sleep, and the following day they all go back, each one to his own house. At the beginning of December, they arrange to bring the tree into the village. They talk with the people living nearby, and arrange for people to carry it. Many people go to get it. They come together the night before and sleep in the house of the master of the dance. Only the machines wear dance costumes and masks. They always bring in the tree on a Sunday. The machines are sitting on the tree when they bring it in. When they reach the village, the machines go to the Ladino alcalde. "The tree will not pass; the tree will not pass," they say, and the alcalde collects all the policemen and algzaciles to bring in the tree, and they bring it in with much rejoicing, and they ring the bells. Then they dig the hole for the pole. It is four varas deep. They perform ceremonies there underneath to pray that no one may fall. Then the machin goes to the Town Hall to ask permission to gather people to plant the tree. The machin is sitting on the top of the pole when they raise it, and he whips the tree with a whip so that it may go up quickly. They start to raise the tree at midday. The machin sits on the top and tells the people when the tree leans to one side or the other. When the tree is standing upright they send a bottle of aguardiente up to the machin, on the same ropes that they used for erecting the pole. The machin first gives some to the pole, then he drinks himself; then he gives to the tree again, and then drinks. After he has drunk, they send up a little olla which he places on the top of the tree, so that the Devil may not pass over the pole. They start at noon to raise the tree, and if it does not go up, it is because some rite has been omitted. Sometimes it is midnight before they get it up. On the following day they arrange the things, the ropes and ladders and the cap that fits over the top of the pole and revolves. The pole remains up about twenty days, and they collect two pesos a turn for swinging on it. The machin or his substitute is always sitting on top; afterwards they chop down the pole and sell it. The machines carry combs in their pockets, and when they see women, they run after them, combing themselves. This is bad, for then the hair of the woman will not grow. 426 CHICHICASTENANGO Baile de Culebra: This comes out in October, in connection with the fiesta of Rosario. There are two groups, the qaxlan winaq3 and the biej. The qaxlan winaq carry swords, the biej have whips and the snakes, one or two large ones. About three weeks or a month before the dance they go to the mountains to catch the snakes and they bring them back in gourds in their bags, bound up fast. They give them chicha and the snakes take it. When they go to their recitals, they come out with the animals, and they do not bite. There are ceremonies, of course, when they go to get the snakes; they make their payments in the World that they may find the snakes, and that nothing may happen to them. During this time the men who are taking part must not quarrel in their houses or with their companions in the dance. The dances begin about October 3, depending on the days of the week. On the fourth, they dance in the cofradia of Rosario. The fifth will be the election. On this day they go to the alcaldes in the Juzgado, and they take food to the cofradia, and accompany the alcaldes to the election. The next day, when the saints go into the church, they go for each saint in his house, and accompany him to the church. The day of the Mass and procession, they come out in the procession, and after the procession they go to the house of the fiscal and the secretary and take them to the installation of the new comrades. After that they go with the alcaldes in the evening. They come out again for the day of Octavo Rosario, with all the same ceremonies, the election, etc. After that they come out again for All Saints' Day, for the elections of San Miguel and Santo Tomas, and again for the installation of the new cofrades, and again at that time they go to the cofradia in the evening. The qax winaq in this dance have their woman. These are men dressed in women's clothes, and the other (the biej, the owners of the snakes) try to get their women away from them. El Baile de maner (dance of invitation): This is a dance which our ancestors had long, long ago. They are dressed in poor old clothes, in the costume of Totonicapan, but old and torn. They have plain black masks, all alike. The belief of our ancestors about this dance was that formerly Santo Tomas, who was in the church, and the old people decided whom to name as cofrades and they wanted to take Santo Tomas out ofthe church and put him in the cofradia. And when they were out in the street, and stopped at the corner to rest, Santo Tomas would not get up again, because he did not want to go into the cofradia. Then the alcaldes, Indian and Ladino, came and they sent for incense and candles to burn in front of him, and they sent for the priest to say Mass in the street, but still they could not raise him. And then they sent for the different dances, and the dance of the Conquista and Toritos and Masat and Morros and the Palo de Volador came and danced for him and still he would not get up until this dance of maner came. Then he got up and went to the cofradia. It is a great secret of this dance, what they did to raise Santo Tomas. 3 Qaxlan is the term for Ladino used in Chiapas; biej: Spanish, viejo, ancient. APPENDIX IV 427 They dance with marimba de tecomate, and they say that Santo TomAs liked this marimba de tecomate. This is the tradition concerning this dance. Baile del Alb'al: This is a dance with costumes like the Baile de Toritos, but with drum. They wear a shield with feathers on their backs. APPENDIX V FOLKLORE' The belief of the Indians is that the sun is the father, the moon the mother. And they also say that the moon got lost, and evil befell her, and so, when she is lit she does not burn. And also, they say that when there is an eclipse of the moon someone will die. And all say that it is a sign of sickness and of the death of many through this sickness. The ancestors say that when one sees a star fall to earth if one has good fortune, when one goes to look at the place where the star fell he will find money, but if one does not have good fortune, when he comes he will find a handful of worms. And also, when a star falls in front of one it is a bad sign, and perhaps it means that he will die. They say of the earthquake, that there is a giant under the earth, bound by his hands and feet, and when there is a slight tremor, it is because he has moved his hands or feet a little; and when he turns over on the other side is when there are strong earthquakes. There is a belief that when there is a strong earthquake Jesus of Nazareth holds the earth well chained, so that it may not turn over in the earthquake. The most important of all the mountains here (for ceremonies) is Poqojil. Mocracia (Turga') is also very strong. Outside, the most important of all is the volcano of Santa Maria. Other strong mountains are, Maria Ticurn (near Totonicapbn), Pulchich (near Chichoy), Cupoj (near Paqip), on the boundary of Tecpan. There is a belief about the volcano of Santa Maria. There are two, a big one and a little one. The big one is from God and was ordained by God for the Catholics, and the little one is for the Protestants. Therefore it is never equal to the big one. Sometimes it appears so; it grows, but then suddenly it erupts and the lightning destroys it, and it never overreaches the large one. And this is an evidence that the belief of the Protestants will not do, but the belief of the Catholics remains always in the same place as decreed by God. Therefore the Indians do not want to learn the religion of the Protestants. There is a belief about lakes: that the lake of Lemoa is older than the lake of Solola, and that the lake of Solola is older than the sea. Once God decreed that the sea should engulf the whole world, and when people saw the water approaching they climbed into trees, and when the hour of punishment had passed, the sea went back, and from that time God ordered that owls should not be used as food. There is another belief among the Indians here: if a dog stands all night barking and howling in the door of the street, and if he does this, night after night, without changing this ugly behavior, that it means that the owner of the house will die. This is a very sure sign. If a serpent, large or small, enters the house, it means the same thing, that the owner must die. From Spanish texts. 428 APPENDIX V 429 There is a belief about potatoes, which has come from our ancestors. If there is a good harvest of potatoes, during that year there will not be many rats in the houses, but if there is a bad harvest that is when the rats will increase. For our ancestors said that rats are people of another epoch and that when God decreed that his sons should die from strong hurricanes and tempests certain people took refuge in caves under the earth. And when the hour of the tempest passed and it became calm again God decreed that all those who had dug themselves into the earth should become rats, tacuacines, and foxes. And so it is. From the 4th Friday to the 7th Friday of Lent one does not perform ceremonies of defense. This is bad, because these were the feast days of the Jews. One can perform other kinds of ceremonies, though. One does not smoke during these days. If one has disputes with one's neighbors and wishes to work evil against them one goes to the cemetery when they are digging a grave, and one looks for bones. One brings back the bones and places them in an olla on the table and burns a candle there for thirteen days. Each day and each night one invokes the bones, calling on them as man, woman, horse, dog or other animal, because one does not know what kind of bones they are. At the end of thirteen days one buries the olla behind the house of one's enemy. Then that house will be haunted by the ghost that corresponds to the bones. It is against this sorcery that one pays for one's lodging when one moves into a house. GLOSSARY aguacate, (Nahua) avocado aguardiente, a highly intoxicating drink distilled from sugar aj (Q), day name ajpu (Q), day name ala (Q), boy, son alcalde, the highest municipal officer alegre, gay alguaciles, the lowest grade of official service, the servants of the municipality ali' (Q), girl, daughter antiguo (Q) (Sp. 8andico), first regidor atole (Nahua), a drink made of cornmeal and water, sometimes spiced with various condiments atole elote, a drink made of ground sweet corn in water auxiliar, the administrative officer of a cant6n Baile de los Toritos, Dance of the Bulls, a popular fiesta masked dance barranco, a ravine or canyon barrio, district onward of a municipio. bruieria, sorcery cantdn,rural territorial within a municipio capitdn, Indian agent of the plantations carga, burden, the load carried by a porter on journeys chajales (Q), servants of the convent chicha, an intoxicating drink made of fermented fruit juice and sugar chilacayotes, large green squash chila jukla (Q) (Sp, alli casado), married one! (formal greeting) chinimtal (Q), marriage spokesman chirimia, flageolet chuch (Q), mother chuchqajau (Q), the Quiche shaman cofradia, a group devoted to the worship of a saint coheteros, those who fire rockets colonos, Indians permanently settled on plantations comal, the round clay griddle used for baking tortillas compadre, term of address used reciprocally between man and his sponsor at baptism or initiation cuerda, measure of area, see p. 149 doctrina, the Ave Maria, Pater Noster, and Credo, usually recited in Quich6 dueno, owner ejido, common lands belonging to a town or village empleado, civil servant encomienda, the old royal grants of land and Indians to original Spanish settlers estanco, literally "tank", a place where aguardiente is sold estoraque, incense finca, farm; Guatemalan term for coffee and sugar plantation fiscal, a minor official, in charge of the servants of the convent hacer costumbre, perform ceremonies, of magic, sorcery, etc. huipil, (Nahua) woman's blouse ix (Q), day name ixtamal (Q), a colander for straining boiled corn jefe Politico, Governor of a province jornal, a unit of work, supposed to be completed in one day 430 GLOSSARY 431 Jubileo, mass at which the Sacrament is exposed from morning until evening jun kaclamla, the first words of the Credo in Quiche juyup (Q), mountain kalpul (Q), a magistrate who witnesses contracts, negotiates marriages, referees dances, etc. kame (Q), day name kawaq (Q), day name kiej (Q), day name Ladino, Guatemalan term for mestizo, not related to the term for Oriental Jews licenciado, "lawyer"; he represents Indians in land cases in Quiche mandamiento, unit of work, the work on six cuerdas of land marimba de tecomate, marimba with gourds for resonators marimberos, marimba players mata, very small, variable measure of area matate, net bag carried by men Maxeno, a native of Chichicastenango from Max, Q. for TomAs. mayor, minor official, in charge of the alguaciles mayordomo, member of the groups devoted to the worship of some saint. metate, (Nahua) the stone on which corn is ground milpa (Nahua), cornfield moloj (Q), the assembling of the mayordomos for a fiesta monte, mountain; any shrine, sacred place or rural area mo's (Q), crazy one; Quiche term for Ladino mozo, laborer municipio, administrative unit consisting of a town and its deperdent rural areas; used also for the municipal officers obligador, the agents of the plantation who secure Indian labor ocote (Nahua), pitch pine padre, father, priest padrino, godfather palo de volador, the "flying pole;" a diversion at fiestas. panela, brown sugar passados, those who have held high offices, ex-mayordomos, alcaldes, etc. patr6n, "owner", the title of the owner of a plantation, or the patron saint of a village peccado arbol (Sp), (awas toe, Q), taboo tree, ritual appelation of the cacao pedir justicia, to ask justice peso, the old coin of the country now superseded by the quezal; 60 pesos equal 1 quezal petate (Nahua), straw mat pila, fountain posada, lodging principal de cant6n, the head man of a canton principales, the head men of the mnunicipio puliq (Q), a special sauce for meat qanil (Q), day name qau (Q), father quemador, burning place, the pagan altars quezal, one dollar quintal, one hundred pounds ranchito, a bower of branches erected for fiestas regidor, a minor official with judiciary powers real, an obsolete coin, eight of which make one peso sala, the reception room of a Ladino house las saludas, the formal greetings exchanged between host and visitor nagual, (Nahua) destiny animal. 432 CHICHICASTENANGO sapuyul (Q), a condiment used in atole sargentos, organization of men who fire rockets at fiestas siembres, crops Shuwi-la, Quiche name for Chichicastenango siyuwan tinimit (Q), town of the barrancos, ritual appelation of Chichicastenango sindico, the first regidor sitio, farm tamboreros, players of drums tat, (Q), father, sir, used in polite address tienda, shop tierra fria, cold country, above 8,000 feet in altitude tierra templada, temperate land tinajas (Q), large vessels for transporting water t'oj, day name "sickness" tomba, bier tonalamatl, (Nahua), the cycle of 260 days that forms the basis of Central American calendars triste, sad tronos, the elaborate litters on which important saints are carried in procession Tsijolaj (Q), a small figure of a man on horseback, probably Santiago, the patron of makers of fireworks tsikij (Q), a day name, "bird" urijil canton (Q), headman of a rural district vara, measure of length, approximately 2.8 feet; also a stick, staff of office, hence all insignia of office; the divining kit of native shamans. zarabanda, a dance given by the cofradias where aguardiente is. sold to raise money BIBLIOGRAPHY ALVARADO, PEDRO DE * An Account of the Conquest of Yucatan in 1524. 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Chicago. The University of Chicago Press. 1940. XItMENEZ, FRANCISCO * Historia de la Provincia de San Vicente de Chiapa y Guatemala..... Published by the Sociedad de Geografia e Historia de Guatemala. (Biblioteca "Goathemala") Guatemala, C. A. Tipografia Nacional. 1929. I 30 I 0 382 lv'4IAL> )). ~ -SrT o $ii OIL s*1vf 4r ~O + + + LI6V1 9Ql + +o+ IVI Ii [8M I.j 4 IrINiIUiI ij~4~ 90 15 0051-39 9-3 M4. Jilt I'4l f* \ + + I t N R -0 PI 0 (60 1 1. ilw 'v,. -, " I'I, x 5r"4i, "' & II I, li#?'. w t. + Al~'~ 4N ~t j 1NW4,$ i j DAN 1~0111 C + p, II * 41 Is kJ <A I"'S DO NOT REMOVE OR MUTILATE CARD 4