Otom Rituals and Celebrations: Crosses, Ancestors, and Resurrection

Author(s): Phyllis M. Correa

Source: The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 113, No. 450, Holidays, Ritual, Festival,
Celebration, and Public Display (Autumn, 2000), pp. 436-450
Published by: American Folklore Society
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PHYLLIS M. CORREA
Otomi Rituals and Celebrations
Crosses, Ancestors,
and Resurrection
In the case
presented
in this
article,
an
elderly residentfrom
a rural
community
inundated
by
a
large
dam built in the late 1960s in central Mexico continues to celebrate a
variety
of
rituals and ceremonies
throughout
the
year.
With
hisfamily
and
afew closefriends,
he venerates the
community'sfounding
ancestors and sacred
images
in his home on the
outskirts
of
San
Miguel
de Allende. As a
result,
despite
the loss
of
the
original
community
and the
dispersal of
its
inhabitants,
the
traditions, values,
and
beliefs
conforming
to a
general
Mesoamerican
pattern
with a
particular
Otomi
configura-
tion-which
emphasizes
the
worship of
crosses,
Saint Michael the
Archangel,
Saint
James,
the
four
cardinal directions and
winds, sacrifice, military conquest,
and the
ancestors-are transmitted to the
extendedfamily
members who reside
together.
The
article
proposes, therefore,
that
popular religion
in
Mexico,
while
retaining
a central core
ofprehispanic
elements and
beliefs thatforms
the
basisfor
its
ideology
and
cosmology,
is
not
necessarily
conservative or static. It is
continually
created and re-created as traditions
are transmitted both
orally
and
through participation
in rituals and
ceremonies,
while it
simultaneously
responds
and
adjusts
to
changes
caused
by
external and
internalfactors
that
constantly
restructure the
relationships
and
patterns of participation of
individuals
and
groups throughout
the
region.
THROUGHOUT THE
YEAR,
LIFE IN THE CITY OF SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE and the
surrounding
area in central Mexico is
continuously punctuated by religious
celebrations. Partici-
pants
in these celebrations are
mainly peasants
and residents of traditional urban
neighborhoods (barrios).
These celebrations form
part
of a
religious complex
that still
retains a
high degree
of
indigenous
beliefs, attitudes,
and
values, which,
according
to
Moedano
(1972:603), preserves
a
specific
Otomi
configuration despite
450
years
of
contact with
Hispanic
culture. In
fact,
he
speculates
that the
syncretism
in Otomi
religion throughout
the
region
was in
general superficial
and a means to avoid severe
repression by religious
authorities,
for
many
of the traditional rituals were and continue
to be conducted at
night
in
places
not
usually frequented by
outsiders.
Others,
such as
Femrandez (1941:9-10),
have
emphasized
the Catholic
aspects
of the traditions and
rituals while
recognizing
the
persistence
of certain
pre-Christian
elements.
Phyllis
M. Correa is
Professor of Anthropology
at Universidad Autonoma de
Queretaro,
Mexico
Journal of
American Folklore
113(450):436-450. Copyright
?
2001,
American Folklore
Society.
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Correa, Otomi Rituals and Celebrations
The
persistence
of native
ideology, according
to
Lopez
Austin,
was not the
primary
concern of the
Spanish conquerors,
and he asserts that "as
long
as the
conquered
people displayed
a veneer of conversion and as
long
as the coercion was maintained
and native
thought
and customs did not
present
the
dangers
of
subversion,
resistance to
oppression,
aversion to
political
reform,
or
signs
of
religious
scandal,
survival of Indian
ideology
was tolerated"
(1988:17).
In an earlier article
(Correa 1998),
I formulate a
slightly
different
explanation
of both the
persistence
of these cultural manifestations and
the
integration
of Christian elements. On an
ideological level,
there is a central core of
concepts
and
principles
that
provides
the basic framework within which
emergent
patterns
are
reconfigured
and
integrated (Fariss 1984:8).
From a
political standpoint,
indigenous
leaders
legitimized
their new
position
within the colonial order
through
the
organization
of the
worship
of a cross or saint from which
groups
derived their
identity, displaying
an
adaptive
and
politically
astute
response
to
conquest (Earle
1990:116-117).
On a functional
level,
this
adaptive
and
appropriative response
served
to maintain cultural
stability
and
perhaps
had a
revitalizing
effect as well
(Carlsen
and
Prechtel
1991).
At the time of the
Spanish conquest,
a
separate
ethnic and
linguistic group
from the
Nahuatl
(of
which the Aztecs were
members),
the
Otomi,
with a
reputation
for
military prowess
and acculturated into the
general
Mesoamerican cultural
pattern
of
high civilization, occupied
the northern and eastern border zones of the Aztec and
Tarascan
Empires.
As
subjects
of these
empires,
the Otomi acted as
protectors
of the
borders
against
incursions
by
the nomadic
groups generically
called Chichimecs to the
north and east and also
appear
to have interacted with them for trade
purposes
as well.
The area between the two Sierra Madre mountain
ranges
north of the Mesoamerican
cultural area was
mainly occupied by
those nomadic
groups
and was called the Gran
Chichimeca
(Great
Chichimec
Region) by
the
Spanish.
The location where San
Miguel
el Grande
(now San
Miguel
de
Allende)
was established held
strategic impor-
tance for the
expansion
of
Spanish
domination into an area not under the control of
the
prehispanic empires
and also
played
an
important
economic and commercial role
throughout
the colonial
period
as a
supply
center for the
gold
and silver mines
discovered in
Guanajuato
and Zacatecas to the north.
Otomies from
Jilotepec Province, to the north of the
Valley
of
Mexico, were active
participants
in the
conquest
of both
Queretaro
and
Guanajuato
during
the
early
colonial
period
as allies of the
Spanish
and
provided
the earliest
colonizers, who,
together
with
groups
of
pacified Chichimecs, created a network
integrating
local
communities into a broader social, economic, and
political system
that also served as
the basis for a regional
identity. Today,
this network is maintained
primarily through
the reciprocal
participation
in
religious
celebrations
throughout
the area and the
existence of a
hierarchy
of
groups
and individuals involved in the
organization
of these
celebrations. The
Laja
River, a
tributary
of the
Lerma-Santiago
River
system,
lies four
kilometers to the west of San
Miguel
de Allende and was the main zone of Otomi
occupation, including
several traditional barrios of the
city
itself In recent decades, the
use of the Otomi
language
has
virtually disappeared
in
Guanajuato,
and it is
virtually
impossible to
distinguish
the Otomi from mestizo peasants and residents of marginal
urban
neighborhoods
who
generally
do not
participate
in the
religious complex.1
437
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Journal of
American Folklore 113
(2000)
The rituals and ceremonies described in this article that form
part
of the Otomi
religious complex
took
place during Holy
Week in the
family chapel
of Don
Agapito
R.,
a former resident of the ranch of
Tirado,
which was inundated
by
a
large
dam built
in the late 1960s. When forced to
leave,
Don
Agapito,
who is now close to 90
years
old,
purchased
a
large
lot on the outskirts of town near the railroad station where he
and his extended
family
reside. A small
chapel
was built to house
religious objects
he
recovered from the two
chapels
of Tirado
consisting primarily
of a number of
crosses;
statues of Saints Michael and
James,
to whom the
chapels
of the ranch were
dedicated;
and several retablos of saints. Retablos are
religious pictures
of saints drawn on tin or
scenes
describing
the miraculous deed of a saint to whom the
petitioner
turned in a
time of need. The second
type
can be found on the walls of
many
churches and shrines
offered as an
expression
of
gratitude
to a
specific image.
Crosses,
with distinct characteristics and of
differing types,
are central to Otomi
religious
traditions,
which revolve around the cross as a
symbol
of the four winds and
four cardinal
directions,
as well as the veneration of the ancestors and their
relationship
to
fire,
the
sun, military conquest,
and sacrifice. Saint Michael the
Archangel
and Saint
James,
the
patron
saint of the
Spanish reconquest
of the Iberian
Peninsula,
are both
important figures
within the Otomi
religious configuration
as divine warriors. Of the
retablos in Don
Agapito's chapel,
one
depicting
San Isidro
Labrador, called the
demandita
(literally,
the "little
petition"),
is the most
important.
San
Isidro,
whose feast
day
is 15
May,
was celebrated
elaborately
in the former
community
of Tirado and is
the
principal patron
saint of numerous rural communities around San
Miguel.2 Appar-
ently
a
large
oil
painting
of this saint was taken
by
another member of the
community
and is housed in their
family chapel.
Don
Agapito
and his
family perform
rituals and celebrations on various occasions
throughout
the
year,
and in
September, during
the celebrations to Saint Michael the
Archangel,
the
patron
saint of the
city, they
continue to make the
offering
for the
ancestors in the name of the
community
of Tirado.
According
to Don
Agapito,
as
long
as he
lives,
he will maintain these traditions and
hopefully
his
family
will continue
them. To
quote him, "Everything changes,
but the traditions
go
on. If one
person
is
missing,
there is another 'to
pick up
the word.'" This statement reflects the central
thesis of this article: that
popular religion
in
Mexico,
while
retaining
a central core of
elements and beliefs that forms the basis for its
ideology
and
cosmovision,
is not
conservative or static
but, rather, adapts
in
response
to
changing
circumstances and is
continually being
created and re-created as traditions are transmitted both
orally
and
through
active
participation
in rituals and ceremonies to new
generations.
Further-
more,
this central core of elements and beliefs is more
closely
related to a
prehispanic
configuration,
in this case
Otomi,
and Catholic elements
adopted
or
appropriated
have
been reworked to conform to that
general conceptualization.
The central issues to be
examined revolve around
questions
of
continuity (what
remains stable and
why)
and
change,
which in this
particular
instance was the dissolution of a rural
community
as
the result of a state
project (the building
of a
dam).
It is
hoped
that this
example
can
shed some
light
on how external
pressures
can
disrupt
the
community-wide organization
of
religious
celebrations and
yet,
on an individual and familial
level,
can be maintained
and transmitted. To understand the context of Otomi
popular religious
traditions in
438
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Correa,
Otomi Rituals and Celebrations
the zone within which the
specific
rituals
analyzed
are
performed,
it is first
necessary
to
have a
general
overview of the
ceremonies,
symbolic
elements,
and
cosmology
as
manifested in this area of central Mexico.
The Sacred Cross
of
Calder6n Pass
The
primary
focal
point
of
popular religion among
the Otomi who inhabit the
communities
along
the
Laja
River in the State of
Guanajuato, including
the
city
of San
Miguel
de
Allende,
is the Sacred Cross of Calderon Pass. This
particular
cross
integrates
a number of traditional urban
neighborhoods
and rural communities both within the
township
and
throughout
much of the central
highlands, primarily
the
Bajio region
to
the
south,3
in a network based on the
worship
of
crosses,
other
religious
saints and
images,
and sacred
places.
According
to the
story
transmitted from
generation
to
generation,
on 14
September
1531,
non-Christianized Chichimecs confronted Christianized Otomi and Chichimec
captains
in an streambed near Calderon Pass in a
bloody
battle that lasted 15
days
and
nights
until
suddenly
it
grew
dark and a
shining
cross
appeared
in the
sky. Upon seeing
this
supernatural sign,
the non-Christianized natives
stopped fighting
and cried
out,
"El
es Dios"
[He
is
God].
The
supernatural appearance
of the cross meant that
they
should
surrender and
accept
the Catholic
faith,
making peace
with their native brothers who
had
fought against
them. A cross was carved out of stone and taken to the
high part
of
the
pass
where a
chapel
was built.
This stone cross is about four feet tall and rests on a small
pedestal.
It has been
covered with a thin
layer
of tin that is
painted
a dark burnished brown and covered
with diverse
figures representing
the
passion
and death of
Christ,
two human
figures
who look like native
dancers,
the sun and moon at each
point
of the horizontal
axis,
a
bloodied
dagger
at the
base,
the sacred heart of
Christ,
and a
pair
of severed feet and
severed hands with the
palms showing. Despite
their
relationship
to Christian beliefs
(the
hands and feet of Christ had nails driven in them when he was
crucified,
and his
heart was
pierced
to be sure he was
dead),
in
prehispanic
times the feet and hands of
sacrificial victims were sent to the
principal
lords,
while the head and heart could
only
be eaten
by
the
high priests
or
emperor (Gonzalez
Torres
1994:294).
On a short
crosspiece
at the
very top
of the cross is a mirror encrusted in the stone with the letters
"I N R I." The cross itself is
topped
off with a small metal crown. A
very important
feature of the cross is the
tiny
head of Christ carved from wood and inserted in a
hollow
precisely
at the intersection of the two
axes,
making
it look as
though
the
figure
of Christ is
completely enveloped by
the cross. This
style
of the Christ
figure being
inserted within the material of the
cross,
whether it is made of wood or
stone,
is
relatively
common in the areas inhabited
by
the Otomi. The wooden crosses of this
type
are also covered almost
completely
with mirrors
painted
with the
figures
of the
passion
of Christ
and,
in some
cases,
also
showing
the
hands, feet,
and heart of Christ.
Calderon Pass is sacred not
only
because it overlooks a river
valley
to the north and
another to the
south,
a location that forms a natural
opening
and is also a sort of natural
crossroads,
but also because of its location near where the battle of 1531 took
place.
Many important
locations in Otomi sacred
geography
have been blessed
by
blood
439
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Journal of
American Folklore 113
(2000)
being
shed in a violent
way. Energy emanating
from the souls of the dead creates an
opening
to communicate with
supernatural beings
and
provides
the
power
used
by
practitioners
to
perform
magic.
These locations as well as the
tops
of
mountains,
crossroads, caves,
and
points
of the five cardinal directions are all called
puertos,
which
literally
translated means
"passages"
or
"openings."4
To better understand the
general complex
of Otomi
religious
traditions,
which
revolve around the
worship
of the Sacred Cross of Calderon and the rituals described
in the
family chapel
of Don
Agapito,
I will
briefly
describe the two celebrations
coinciding
with the
beginning
and end of the annual
agricultural
cycle
in which the
cross
plays
an
important
role: 3
May
and the festivities for Saint Michael the
Archangel
at the end of
September.
Celebrationsfor
the Sacred Cross
during
the Month
of May
The
Day
of the Sacred
Cross,
on 3
May,
begins
a
cycle
of celebrations for crosses in
homes,
in
chapels,
on
hills,
and at roadside shrines
throughout
the month in rural
communities and urban
neighborhoods.
On the
night
of 2
May,
the
cycle
is initiated
with velaciones
(nightlong vigil
characteristic of Otomi celebrations with clear connota-
tions of
being
a wake for the
dead)
in
many chapels, including
the
chapel
at Calderon
Pass.
During
these
nightlong vigils,
members of different communities arrive in
groups
to honor the
cross,
carrying
their own
images,
crosses,
and
offerings
such as flowers and
candles.
Upon
their
arrival,
they
are received
by
the individuals in
charge
of the
celebration, and
together they
enter the
chapel accompanied by
the
clanging
of the
chapel
bell to be blessed
(or
more
accurately, "cleansed," for the ritual is called
limpia)
by
their
spiritual
leaders and to make their
offerings
of candles and flowers. Because
people
travel from other communities, they
come
prepared
to
spend
the
night,
and
usually food, coffee, and
liquor
are offered.
During
the
night, copal (a
native incense
made from
pine resin)
is burned, and the
people sing hymns calling
on the four
winds,
four cardinal directions, and the
acnimas,
or
souls,
of the ancestors to
protect
and bless
them, accompanied by
musicians who
play
mandolin-like instruments made out of
armadillo shells
(called conchas).5
Because the cult has been
relatively
isolated and because of the
strong
magical and
shamanic elements involved, outsiders, including
other
peasants
in the
township
who
do not
participate
in the cult
itself, frequently
believe the
participants
are witches and
should be avoided. Individuals who
practice
black magic also consider the Sacred Cross
of Calderon Pass as their
principal
source of
supernatural energy,
but those who
actively participate
in the cult
rarely
claim to do harm to others. In
fact,
it is considered
to be
very
harmful if such
people participate
in the rituals and ceremonies because the
celebrations, particularly
the ones in
September, emphasize
reconciliation and the
forgiveness
of offenses rather than
vengeance.
During
the
night,
an
important
ritual element called the custodia
(guardian)
is
decorated with flowers and
cucharilla, parts
broken off the base of the xotol
cactus,
which are white and
shaped
like
spoons. According
to
informants,
the custodia
represents
the monstrance used in the Church to
display
the sacred
Host;
it
always
accompanies
a cross
during
its celebration. The
custodia,
which is about two feet
high
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Correa, Otomi Rituals and Celebrations
and stands on a
base,
is made of wood and has
eight spikes radiating
out from a round
mirror with the head of Christ
painted
on it in the center. At the end of each of seven
spikes
is a
rhomboidal-shaped
mirror with a
painting
on
it;
the
spike
that radiates to the
top
is finished off with a cross. Its round
shape
and function as
guardian
makes it
possible
to infer on one level that the custodia also
symbolizes
the shields the Otomi
warriors used to
protect
themselves. The
spikes radiating
out from the round mirror in
the center resemble the
rays
of the sun. The
symbolic relationship
of the
sun,
which
can be seen in this element and its
meaning
as
protector
or
shield,
reflects the belief in
Mesoamerican
cosmology
that warriors killed in battle or sacrificed
go
to assist the Sun
God in its
daily
battle
against
the celestial
gods
of the
night represented by
the stars and
moon in order for it to
complete
its
journey
across the skies and ensure the survival of
the world.
Celebrations
for
Saint Michael the
Archangel
in
September
At the end of
September,
celebrations for Saint Michael
provide
the context for
ceremonies and rituals in which the Sacred Cross is a
principal
element. The
patron
saint's feast
day
falls on 29
September, coinciding
with the end of the
mythical
battle of
conquest
of the native
groups
of this area
by
Christianized Otomi and Chichimecs.
The traditional celebrations once
again begin
with a
nightlong vigil
in the
chapel
at
Calderon on the
night
of 14
September,
which coincides with the
beginning
of the
legendary
battle and is also the
vigil
for the Catholic feast
day
called the Exaltation of
the Sacred Cross, which falls on 15
September.
The
following day,
members of the
community
of La
Cieneguita
take the Sacred Cross on a
preestablished pilgrimage
to
several
stops
in the
city,
other ranches, and
finally
their
community,
where it
stays
until
it is taken to the
city
on the main
day
of the celebrations for Saint Michael to lead a
procession
of traditional dances known as the "Entrance of the Xfuchiles."6
Before the
procession,
which takes
place
late on
Saturday afternoon, the cross is
brought
to a location on the road to the railroad station for an hour or
two,
while the
different dance
groups
from
many parts
of Mexico and other
groups
from the rural
communities and urban
neighborhoods,
with their
respective images
and
offerings
called
xuchiles, gather
for a
ceremony
called the "Encounter."
During
this
ceremony,
copal
incense is burned while
spiritual
leaders cleanse the
participants
who ask for
forgiveness for offenses
they
have caused each other
during
the
year, commemorating
the reconciliation that took
place
between Christianized and non-Christianized natives
more than 450
years ago.
After this brief
encounter, the dance
groups,
members of the
religious organizations
from the rural communities and urban
neighborhoods carrying
their
offerings,
the Sacred Cross with its decorated custodia, the statue of Saint
Michael, and other sacred
images
and ritual
items, as well as different
groups
of
musicians
(bands,
the concheros with armadillo shell
instruments, pairs
of men who
play
flutes and drums, etc.), proceed
to the main church at the center of town in an
impressive display
of color and
sound,
just
about the time when the sun is
setting.
The Entrance of the Xfuchiles receives its name from the
offerings
called xuichiles
prepared by
different communities to be stood in front of the main church as
offerings
to their dead leaders who died in the battle of
conquest
or were founders of the
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Journal
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communities and barrios and who are believed to be buried in the church atrium. Each
community
or
neighborhood, including
Tirado,
has a traditional
place
in front of the
main church to stand its
offering
to honor the souls of its dead leaders and
captains.
These
offerings
are made on
rectangular
frameworks formed
by
two tree trunks
ranging
from 12 to 20 feet
long
and
crosspieces
of about four to five feet wide. On this
frame,
a bed of small reeds woven
together
with cord is formed. A
variety
of
designs
using
a
bright,
round,
orange-colored
flower of two or three inches in
diameter,
called
cempaxuchil (a large variety
of
marigold),
and the
shiny
white heart of the xotol cactus
shaped
like a
spoon,
which
they
call
cucharilla,
are then woven on this base.
(A
xuchil
made
during
the
May
celebrations, however,
uses white and red carnations instead of
the
orange-colored marigolds
that
only
flower in the late summer and
early fall.)
Also
used are some
long purplish-colored
wild
plants,
such as
amaranth,
and
fennel,
a
green
plant
used for medicinal
purposes,
as well as
offerings
for the dead such as
tortillas,
bread,
and even Coca-Cola.
It is believed that the xuchiles
represent
the stretchers used to
carry
the dead from the
battlefield and the cucharillas
represent
the skulls of the dead.
Marigolds
were the
flowers offered to dead warriors and
leaders;
their
shape
and color also
represent
the
sun. The fact that the cucharillas
representing
the skulls of the dead are distributed in
rows, that the xCuchil is constructed on a framework between two
trunks, and the
offering
is stood in front of the
temple
makes it
possible
to infer that it is a
symbolic
representation
of a
tzompantli,
the rack set
up
in front of the
pyramids by
the Aztecs
where the skulls of sacrificial victims were
placed
on a kind of
palisade
in rows between
two or more thick
upright poles
or trunks.
Although
the skulls were considered
trophies, they
were also full of the
"supernatural energy
of the victim which could be
propitiated
and act as
protectors
of the individuals who had
captured
them and sent
them to their death"
(Gonzalez
Torres
1994:284).
Many
of those who
participate
in the
procession
are not members of a dance
group
but, rather,
hold
positions
within the
cargo systems
of their local communities or have
a
particular
devotion to the Sacred Cross.7
They carry
small
religious images
and crosses
that are venerated in their
communities, copal incense,
and short reed staffs decorated
with cucharillas cut into flowerettes or
longer
ones that
represent
lances with the
cucharillas cut like
fringe,
almost
giving
the
appearance
of feathers. It is believed
by
some
participants
that the shorter staffs
represent
the candles carried
during
a funeral
procession,
but from
images
found in codices
(native picture drawings),
the shorter
staffs also look similar to
representations
of war clubs used in battles. The
longer
staffs
are crossed, placed
in front of certain
crosses,
and tied to the
points
of their
crosspieces,
whereas
frequently
the short reed staffs are leaned
against
the crosses. Numerous small
wooden crosses
representing
the souls of the dead
captains
of the
conquest
and other
important
ancestors are carried
by
their descendants. The different dance
groups
and
groups representing
communities or
neighborhoods
also
carry
cloth banners with
images, emblems, slogans
such as
"Union, Conformity,
and
Conquest,"
and the name
of the
group
to
identify
them. In each
group,
the
captain
or head carries the staff of
command,
also called la
pasion (the passion),
that has been
passed
down from colonial
times. The
passion
is a short wooden
pole
that has a metal cross at the
point
with a red
flag
attached to
it;
ribbons of different
colors, usually red, white,
and
green,
are tied to
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Correa, Otomi Rituals and Celebrations
the shaft at the base of the cross.
Generally,
the
principal
leaders of the communities
and traditional
neighborhoods
are chosen from the same
family
as the
previous
leader,
and the
position
is held for
life,
although
other
positions
in the
cargo system
are held
only
for one
year.
The successor
may
be
designated by
the leader
during
his lifetime
but must be ratified
by
the other leaders of the
region.
If there is no suitable male
descendant,
the leaders of all the communities and traditional
neighborhoods
chose a
successor
by
consensus to hold the
position
for life. The
principal
characteristic
sought
in a leader is
humility;
the
person
should not be
"ambitious,"
which
really
means
greedy
or
self-serving.
As a final
remark,
it is
important
to
point
out that the Otomi who
participate
in the
celebrations for Saint Michael are in fact
primarily honoring
the Sacred Cross of
Calderon Pass and their ancestors.
Although
Saint Michael is one of the most
impor-
tant saints and is the
guardian
of
Christ,
he is still not the central focus of these
celebrations in the
eyes
of the
participants
themselves. When asked which is most
important,
the cross or Saint
Michael,
the woman who was the current
guardian
of the
Sacred Cross
immediately responded,
"Well,
which
goes
first?" In the
eyes
of the
general population,
however,
Saint Michael is the
primary
focus for the
celebrations,
which last for several weeks.
Rites
of
Death and Resurrection
Don
Agapito
was born in 1911 in the rural
community
of the Ranch of
Tirado,
one
of the
many properties mainly
within the immediate
surroundings
of the
city
of San
Miguel
owned
by
a well-to-do
family up
until the 1960s.
Although
Don
Agapito
claims that his
family
did not seem to have had a
special position
with the
estate,
he was
selected as a trusted
employee
when his father died around 1927.
First,
he was in
charge
of
overseeing
the numerous orchards on the
properties,
which included some of
the best
agricultural
land in the
township
with abundant water
resources,
and later he
became the main administrator of
Tirado,
which had about 65 heads of
family
and a
total
population
of
approximately
300 inhabitants when it was inundated and aban-
doned in
September
1970. At that
time,
Don
Agapito
moved to the
parcel
of land he
had
purchased.
The
original parcel
has been
subsequently
subdivided,
and other
members of the
family
have made
independent dwellings
on each side of Don
Agapito,
who shares the center
portion
with his
adoptive grandson
Ramon and his
family,
which consists of
eight
children
(although only
five still live at
home)
and one
grandchild.
This
family,
which in his words
"provides
him warmth" and
participates
with him in
religious
celebrations,
is in
reality
related to his deceased
wife; however,
they affectionately
and
respectfully
call him abuelo
(grandfather)
and do not
readily
admit that he is not in fact their
grandfather.
The
layout
of the house lot reflects the rural
origins
of its
occupants.
There are
several small
separate
structures used for
living
and the
chapel.
Don
Agapito
has his
own
room,
while Ramon and his
family
live in a
separate
two-room structure with
very
little furniture and two double beds. Close to a well in the center of the
lot,
there
is a
separate
room used as a kitchen. The remainder of the
large
lot has several areas for
different activities or uses: a corral for small farm
animals;
a small
garden
where Don
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Agapito plants
corn, chiles, beans, flowers,
and
fruits;
and a
larger
covered
space
that is
a kind of
workshop.
There is a small cement structure to hold water
(pila)
with a
space
for
washing
clothes and dishes that is
supplied
with water from a well on the
property.
Water is
brought up by
bucket and
placed
in a shoot
leading
to the
pila. Despite
the
fact that
they
are within
city
limits,
their house has no
running potable
water or
sewage
connection. The
chapel
bell from Tirado
hangs
in one
large
tree,
and in another tree
there is a
plain
wooden cross about three feet
high,
which
protects
the inhabitants of
the residence.
One of the
principal
structures is the
chapel
itself,
a room of about nine feet wide
by
15 feet
long.
Its southern wall forms
part
of the outer wall on the street. The door of
the
chapel,
which is inside the
compound
to the left of the main door that
opens
to the
street,
faces east with the altar on the west wall. The door to the
chapel
is locked most
of the
time,
and
only
Don
Agapito
has a
key.
Most
people
realize that the
objects
contained therein have not
only spiritual
value but commercial value as
antiques,
and
Don
Agapito
mentioned that some items
disappeared
when he was in the
hospital
for
an
injury
he suffered to his
leg
about ten or 15
years ago.
In addition to the rituals of
Holy
Week described
below,
the
family
also
performs
rituals to honor Saint
James
on 25
July (Don Agapito
has a mass said at a
church), they
bring
a cross
(called
the Santa Cruz del Buen
Temporal, meaning,
the "Sacred Cross of
the Good
Rains")
from a hill on the road to Tirado several miles
away
in
August
for
ten
days,
and
they
maintain the tradition of
preparing
the xuchil to be
placed
in front
of the main church
during
the celebrations to Saint Michael in
September
in the name
of the former
community
of Tirado. Because
they
do not have the
large
oil
painting
of
San Isidro Labrador, they
do not hold
any
celebrations on 15
May,
nor do
they
cooperate
with the
person
who has the
painting
in
any type
of celebration.
The rituals that Don
Agapito
refers to as the
"laying
down of the crosses"
(or
"putting
the crosses to
rest")
take
place
in two
separate stages
or
parts.8
On
Thursday
morning
of
Holy
Week the two
larger
crosses that
usually occupy
each side of the altar
were laid on the floor in front of the altar: the Cross of Saint Bernard on the
right
and
the other cross on the left. The Cross of Saint Bernard has a
figure
of Christ
hanging
on
it, and the cross itself is carved to look like a twisted cord and
painted gold. According
to Don
Agapito,
this cross was in the
chapel
dedicated to Saint Michael and
represents
the founder of that
chapel,
an individual named Bernard. The other cross also has a
figure
of Christ
hanging
on it and was in the
chapel
dedicated to Saint
James.
It
represents
the founder of that
chapel,
but Don
Agapito
cannot remember its name.
Both crosses, which are made of wood, are about four feet tall and are called the
"Founders." According
to Don
Agapito,
the faces of the Christ
figures
on crosses, not
just
his crosses, represent
individuals who held
special positions
or
played important
roles. He claims that
"they
are like
pictures
of the
person
in order to be remembered
since there weren't
any photographs
then." This still occurs
today.
In 1993,
the
guardian
of the Sacred Cross of Calder6n Pass, who, according
to oral tradition, was a
direct descendant of one of the Chichimec captains
who
participated
in the
mythical
battle near Calderon Pass in 1531, died, and his widow had a cross made. The face of
the Christ
figure
is a
remarkably good
resemblance.
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A small
cross,
called Santo Cristo
(Christ
the
Saint),
was
placed
on a small raised
board at the head of the two
crosses,
which were then covered almost
completely
with
flowers,
manzanilla
(chamomile),
used as a tea to cure
digestive problems,
and another
plant
called
mastranto,
also used for medicinal
purposes.
The latter two are basic
elements in
many
ceremonies centered on
Holy
Week.
Manzanilla,
which flowers at
this time of
year,
is distributed to
people
who visit the altars made for Christ in the
local churches on
Holy Thursday
as well. Also
placed
on the altar and the bed of
flowers, manzanilla,
and
mastranto,
under which the crosses were
buried,
were tins of
new wheat and
corn,
oranges (which
were
usually wrapped
in tinfoil or decorated with
gold paper flags),
and votive candles in small
glasses.
All of these elements are
typical
components
of altars made for
any
reason at this time of the
year.9
Two
large
stick
candles were
placed
on either side near the heads of the Christ
figures, giving
the
impression
of a casket with candles on each
side-typical
of wakes in Mexico.
Only
Ramon and his wife were involved in
carrying
out these
activities,
while Don
Agapito
sat on a bench and made
suggestions
or comments about where
things
should
be
placed.
An
elderly
man
stopped
in to
greet
Don
Agapito
but did not
stay
to
help,
and later an
elderly
woman came with a bundle of manzanilla and some vases. Her
deceased husband was from
Tirado,
and she had continued to make
offerings
to the
crosses and
participate
in some of the rituals. Once the crosses were
covered,
they
remained that
way
until
Saturday night.
On
Saturday night
at
midnight,
the crosses were
uncovered, cleaned off, and
placed
once
again
in their usual locations on either side of the altar. Under normal circum-
stances the
family attended,
and while the crosses were
being resurrected, fireworks
were set off and the bell in the
yard
was
rung.
In
1997, however, only Ramon, his
wife,
and their
youngest child,
who was
sleeping
on a
bench, accompanied
Don
Agapito
because in the afternoon a
pickup
truck had backed
up
and knocked down the
outer wall of their residence near the entrance.
Fortunately,
no one was
injured,
nor
was the
chapel
itself
damaged,
but
apparently
the rest of the
family
went to bed
early.
That same
day
there had been a
fairly
serious train accident just
beyond
the train
station,
and at
midnight
the street in front of the house was still full of soldiers sent to
assist the
injured.
As on
Thursday, very
little in the
way
of ritual took
place.
Once the
crosses were returned to their
places
on the
altar,
a
rosary
was
recited, as is
customary
during
a wake and
during
the nine
days following
a death.
When Don
Agapito
mentioned the ritual of
"putting
the crosses to
rest," referring
to
the crosses called the
Founders, during Holy Week, I felt that there
might
be a
special
significance
that would
help
shed further
light
on the
complex
of
popular religion
in
the area. In the churches of San
Miguel,
a
ceremony
called the Adoration of the
Cross,
performed
on Good
Friday
after the Stations of the
Cross, in which the cross is taken
off the altar and
placed
on the floor while all the
priests
recite
prayers,
seems to
provide
the
prototype
for the rituals
performed by
the
community
of Tirado in the
past
and
by
Don
Agapito
in the
present.
Although
the
ceremony
in Don
Agapito's chapel
lacked elements
typical
of the
velaciones in the
region
prior
to
important
feast
days, which include the
burning
of
copal,
the
singing
of
hymns
to the four winds and the ancestors, and the
limpias,
it did
deepen my understanding
of another
aspect
of how Catholic traditions have been
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reworked into the Otomi
configuration.
The crosses used in the rituals
performed
in
Don
Agapito's chapel
do not
symbolize
Christ, but,
in
fact,
they
are
directly
related to
the ancestors of the inhabitants of Tirado and the
founding
of the
community repre-
sented
by
the
building
of the
chapels.
At least in the case of these
particular
crosses
(and
many others),
Christ has coalesced with the
prominent
ancestors,
reflecting
their
sacredness as well. These crosses are not mere
symbolic representations
of the animas or
souls of these
important
individuals,
like the small
plain
wooden
crosses, but, rather,
were made to resemble the individuals themselves
(as
mentioned
previously).
It would seem that the
process
of
intertwining
deities and humans has been carried
over from the
prehispanic past. According
to Carrasco
(1987:143-144),
a
great
deal of
confusion has been
generated
because
many gods
of the Mesoamerican
pantheon
were
in fact
merely
avocations
(separate identities)
of a more
major deity,
and each one had
separate
feast
days
and distinct
ways
of
being represented.
To add to the
confusion,
the
characteristics of
important
individuals were also
integrated
into the characteristics that
distinguished
the
deity, making
it unclear whether individuals mentioned in
myths
and
legends
were
mythical
characters or real
people
deified in this
way.
It is also
possible
to discern a connection
among
the most
important
deities
(Carrasco
1987:139-141;
Gonzalez Torres
1994:141-161),
which were
especially important
among
the Otomi: the Sun God and the Fire God and their
relationship
to the Old
Father,
who was the founder or creator. In Otomi
religion,
the Old Father was fire and
therefore related to the
sun,
the
largest
fire in the
sky.
The
principal god
of the
Otomies was
Otonteuctli,
the Lord of the Pine. This
god
had another avocation as
Lord of the
Torch, reflecting
his
relationship
to the God of Fire and to the Old Father
(or founder). Thus,
Christ would be the Fire God in his avocation as the
Sun,
a
symbolism
that is
present
in Catholic doctrine. As the Fire
God,
Christ would
therefore be connected with or related to the founder or Old Father. Warriors killed in
battle or sacrificed and other
important spiritual
and
military
leaders were believed to
go
to the sun to assist it in its battle
against
the celestial bodies of the
night
in order to
complete
its
daily journey
across the
sky.
As a
result,
it is
possible
to discern the
interconnectedness
among
diverse elements that are still
apparent
in the traditions of
this zone: the
sun,
deification of warriors and
leaders,
and veneration of the ancestors.
On several occasions,
Don
Agapito
reiterated the
importance
of his
images
and
crosses because
they
were made from the
palo sagrado
(sacred pole),
that
is, they
are
made of a
special
kind of wood.
Therefore,
not
only
do the statues and crosses have
important symbolic
content as
images,
the actual material that
they
are made of
(wood)
apparently
refers
directly
to the
principal deity
of the
Otonmi,
the Lord of the Pine.
During
celebrations to this
deity,
a wooden
pole
is raised and an
image
of the
deity
is
placed
on the
top (Sahagun 1969).
It should be
pointed out, however,
that wooden
crosses are subordinate to the Sacred Cross of Calderon
Pass,
which is made of stone.
Possibly,
the hierarchical distinction relates to the belief
among
Chichimec
groups
(which
Otomies and Aztecs considered themselves to have been
originally)
that their
ancestors were descended from
giant
rocks or became rocks when
they
died.10 Once
again, however,
there is a
relationship among Christ,
crosses made of either wood or
stone,
and the ancestors as
important objects
of veneration. As
previously
mentioned,
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Correa, Otomi Rituals and Celebrations
the xuichiles in
September
are offered to the
ancestors,
not to
God,
and
yet they
have
somehow become
part
of God.
The interrelatedness of the
concepts
of death and resurrection also forms an
integral
part
of the Mesoamerican
cosmology (Gonzalez
Torres
1994:198-217;
Matos Moc-
tezuma
1975).
Life and death were united
among
these
groups
of
agriculturalists
and
warriors,
including
the Otomi.
They
observed the
cyclical
birth,
growth,
death,
and
rebirth of the
plants they depended
on,
and from their
daily
observations
incorporated
this basic idea into their view of the world and the cosmos. The
cyclical
nature of the
natural world was
projected
onto the
supernatural
world as well.
According
to their
view of the creation of the
universe,
the destruction of each
previous
era
(at
the time of
the
Spanish conquest they
were in the
period
of the Fifth
Sun)
included the death of
the deities. As Soustelle
states,
"The era of the Fifth Sun was dominated
by
this theme
of death and
resurrection,
of the sacrifice
necessary
for the lives of the celestial bodies
and the Universe. In order to create the
sun,
it was
necessary
to
spill
blood,
liberate the
vital life forces"
(1977:556);
the
spilling
of human blood was
necessary
for the sun's
continued survival as well.
According
to Gonzalez
Torres,
the annual sacrifice of
deity
impersonators
at
major
celebrations was in a sense a re-creation of
myths
in which
gods
were assassinated in order to be reborn in the future. These sacrifices "were offered
by
the
community
in order to establish and
interchange
mana, which,
depending
on the
type
of
sacrifice,
had distinct functions....
By
means of the
periodical
sacrifice of the
gods
the
continuity
of their existence in their sacred domain was
ensured,
since
every
sacrifice meant resurrection"
(Gonzalez
Torres
1994:217).
In the
past,
the ritual of
"putting
the crosses to rest" had been
performed
in each of
the
chapels
of Tirado. Each cross was
placed
on the floor in its
chapel
and covered with
flowers, manzanilla,
and mastranto as if in a
coffin,
and candles were
placed
at each
side. Tins of new wheat and
corn, votive
candles,
and
oranges wrapped
in foil were
placed
on the altar and on the beds of flowers and
plants covering
the crosses. The
rosary
and
prayers
were recited as is done
during
a
wake,
and
people accompanied
the
crosses in a
nightlong vigil
as
they
would a dead member of their
community.
It was
also the custom to cover the other
figures
on the altar with a
large purple
cloth in a
sign
of
mourning,
which is not done
by
Don
Agapito
and his
family. According
to Don
Agapito, originally
the raising
up
or
resurrecting
of the crosses took
place
on Good
Friday during
the
day
but about 40
years ago
it was
changed
to
Saturday night
at
midnight by
order of the
Pope.
In order to collect the items needed for the
celebration, there were
people
in
charge
of the
chapels
(mayordomos)
who went to the
people
of the
village asking
for "alms"
primarily
to
buy
the candles and flowers needed to make an altar. The
community
was
divided in two
parts,
with each
part paying
devotion to one of the crosses. Funds for
local celebrations are still collected in rural communities in the same
way today. People
in
neighboring villages
who
usually
attend the celebration also
provide
"alms" either in
money
or
goods.
Most of these networks of
cooperation
and
reciprocal
relations are
reinforced
by
kinship ties as well.
According
to Don
Agapito,
it is
necessary to have the
will or desire
(voluntad)
and for the
people
to be in
agreement
(conformidad)
in order to
properly carry
out the celebrations. Union
among
the
people
is the
key,
and
groups
that
cooperate
or communities that maintain ties of reciprocal relations are considered
447
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Journal of
American Folklore 113
(2000)
to be of the same "word." Not
only
is
spiritual
union
necessary
for the celebrations to
be
successful,
but
union,
in terms of active
participation
and economic
cooperation,
is
crucial,
even
though
each
person
and
every family
give
whatever
they
are able. The
distribution of food
among
the
participants
and
guests,
which is an
integral part
of
community
celebrations,
has
always
been a matter of
cooperation,
and
frequently
the
owners of rural estates donate several animals for the
community
celebrations.
Despite
the
importance
of
looking
into the
symbolic
and
ideological
content of the
ceremonies, rituals,
and beliefs to find certain connections across
time,
the rituals that
continue to be
performed by
Don
Agapito
and his
family acquire significance
because
they
also demonstrate how these traditions
persist despite
dramatic
changes
in
specific
circumstances or the entire context within which
they
had
always
been
performed
in
the
past.
In this
case,
the
changes
include the total destruction of a close-knit commu-
nity
integrated
by
ties of
kinship
and reinforced
through
a network of
reciprocal
obligations
and mutual assistance to conduct the ceremonies that ensured the survival
of the
community year
after
year by propitiating
and
giving
thanks to the deities and
ancestors who control the forces that
directly
affected the
people's
lives. As Don
Agapito
stated,
he is unable to
perform
the rituals
exactly
the
way they
had been done
in the
past
because he is alone. He
complied
with his
self-imposed obligation
of
honoring
the crosses and statues the best he could on an individual basis
considering
his
lack of resources. He continued to venerate the ancestors of the
community through
the ritual of
"putting
the crosses to
rest,"
and even
though only
his immediate
family
usually
would
participate
in the
preparation
of the xuchil for the
September
celebra-
tions,
they
did it in the name of the
community
of Tirado.
Except
for this
symbolic
offering
made each
September,
Tirado no
longer
exists,
for former residents no
longer
live in close
proximity,
and more
important, they
do not maintain ties of
cooperation
and mutual
obligation
as in the
past
to
perform
what used to be
community
ceremo-
nies and rituals.
Conclusion
The ceremonies and rituals that took
place
in Don
Agapito's chapel
were
virtually
closed,
not because others were
systematically
excluded but because the
community
that formed the context for them has
disappeared.
Don
Agapito "adopted"
the sacred
images
and crosses and has continued to
perform
the rituals that the
community
as a
whole
performed
in the
past, only
now as an isolated unit of
family
and close friends.
Because the entire network of
organization
and
support
that was a fundamental
element for the realization of the celebrations in the
community
no
longer
exists,
the
rituals and ceremonies have also become
simple,
and there has been no
attempt
to
re-create the most elaborate celebration for San Isidro in
May.
Furthermore,
the sacred
items,
which were
formerly community property,
now
"belong"
to Don
Agapito
and
will
probably
be inherited
by
his
adopted family.
As Don
Agapito pointed
out,
things
are
always changing,
but there is
always
someone to continue
celebrating
the rituals and ceremonies.
Despite
the
very
different
context, family
instead of
community
and urban instead of
rural,
these ceremonies and
rituals continue to fulfill
culturally meaningful religious,
social,
and economic
objectives.
448
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Correa, Otomi Rituals and Celebrations
The coresidence of several
generations
in the same household facilitates access
by
the
extended
family
to the
meaning
of these traditions and how to maintain them
from
Don
Agapito.
It seems
likely
that the
persistence
and efflorescence of these
traditions
and beliefs that have been the basis of a local and
regional identity
for centuries
despite
the
continually accelerating pace
of the
processes
of
globalization
could also be a form
of resistance to cultural
homogenization through
increased contact and
assimilation.
This is reflected
by
the fact that even the
younger
members of the
family
who would
normally
be most affected
by
external influences and ideas claimed that
they
would
continue the traditions of their ancestors.
Overall,
although changes
occur for a
variety
of reasons and
relationships
between individuals and
groups
are
restructured,
they
have
not in fact affected the basic
ideology
that the cult rests on or the
degree
of
religiosity
of
the
participants.
Notes
11 am
using
mestizo to indicate cultural rather than actual racial or
biological distinctions,
for
Indian,
Caucasian,
and African
physical
characteristics are mixed
throughout
the
population.
As one informant who
did not
participate
in the
religious complex
of the Santa Cruz
stated,
"We are all
Indians,
but some are
more than others." She was
referring
to the retention of cultural beliefs and
practices
rather than
physical
or
linguistic
traits.
2Saint Isidore
(San
Isidro
Labrador)
was a
Spanish
serf who never failed to attend Mass each
morning
before
going
to work in his fields. The other serfs criticized him for
being lazy
and
complained
to the lord,
who
investigated
and found that his fields were
being
cultivated
by
two
angels.
From that
day on, he
put
San Isidro in
charge
of all of his lands. San Isidro was known for his
generosity
to the
poor
and his
religiosity.
His saint's
day
is held in the middle of
May
at the
very beginning
of the annual
agricultural
cycle.
3The
Bajio
is a
large geographical region
formed
by
former lakebeds and interconnected
by
the Lerma
River,
which
originates
in the
high
mountains near Toluca and flows westward toward the Pacific Ocean.
The
Laja
River is a
tributary
of the Lerma and runs from the north to the south just a few kilometers from
the
city
of San
Miguel
de Allende. The
Bajio
is one of the
principal agricultural
zones of the
country,
and
at the time of the
Spanish conquest,
the Lerma River formed the
boundary
between the Tarascan
Empire
to the south and the nomadic Chichimec
groups
to the north.
4Puerto
generally
refers to an
opening-a
mountain
pass
or harbor-but it also has a
symbolic meaning
as a location where it is
possible
to have
special
communication with
supernatural beings.
It is, in effect, the
central
location,
or a kind of
crossroads,
that is
symbolically represented
in the cross: the
place
where the
perpendicular
and horizontal axes meet. The central location is also where communication takes
place
between the other levels of Otomi cosmovision: the heavens and the underworld.
5The traditional dance
groups
characteristic of the Otomi are known as concheros because
they
use this
instrument, although technically
their dances are called Dances of the
Conquest.
The dance
groups
are
organized
around a
military hierarchy,
and the "true"
groups
have leaders or
captains
who have direct
genealogical
links with the leaders from the
past.
New
groups
are established as offshoots of
particular
groups
but do not
always
have the
legitimacy recognized by
the older ones. For a
longer discussion and
description
of the concheros and their
dances, consult Mansfield
1953, Orvafianos Bustos and Bircenas
Casas
1992,
and Stone 1975.
6The
main celebration of the
patron
saint
always
falls on the weekend after 29
September, and it
rarely
falls on
Friday
or
Saturday.
The Entrance of the Xuchiles takes
place
on
Saturday afternoon and
early
evening.
7Cargo systems
in other
parts
of Mexico have been
amply
described. These are the
religious organiza-
tions,
and individuals
occupy positions
with
specific functions
throughout
the
year.
In the zone of San
Miguel,
the local
organizations
are known as comunidades.
449
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Journal of
American Folklore 113
(2000)
8The
description
of the ritual for this article is based on observations made in
spring 1997,
as well as
numerous interviews with Don
Agapito.
9The two main
days
that altars are made
during Holy
Week are the
Friday
before Palm
Sunday
for the
Virgin
of Sorrows (in
private
homes and fountains located in the
streets)
and
Holy Thursday
for Christ (in
all of the churches of the
city).
l0Abel Pina
Perusquia (1996)
describes the
yearly pilgrimage
of the Otomi from the region of
Higueras
in the state of
Queretaro to the
highest
mountain in the
region,
which straddles the
Guanajuato-Queretaro
state
border,
to visit their Chichimec
ancestors,
who are
giant
rocks on the
top. Through
oral
tradition,
they recognize
the
mixing
of their
ancestors,
the Otomi
conquerors
and the Chichimec inhabitants of this
mountainous zone
only
about 35 or 40 miles to the east of San
Miguel
de Allende. There was a similar
process
of
intermixing
between the civilized Otomi
conquerors
and colonizers near San
Miguel
with the
pacified groups
of Chichimecs
during
the
early
colonial
period
as well.
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