Ritual Service and Blood Sacrifice as Mediating Binary Oppositions: A Structural Analysis of

Several Mayo Myths and Rituals

Author(s): Lynne S. Crumrine and N. Ross Crumrine
Reviewed work(s):
Source: The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 83, No. 327 (Jan. - Mar., 1970), pp. 69-76
Published by: American Folklore Society
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/538784 .
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LYNNE S. CRUMRINE
and N. ROSS CRUMRINE

Ritual Serviceand Blood Sacrificeas

Mediating Binary Oppositions
A Structural
Analysisof SeveralMayoMythsandRituals'

WITHINTHE LASTFEWYEARSanthropologists have become concerned with se-

manticanalysisof restrictedspecificculturalsystems,such as kinship,taxonomic,

or mythicalsystems,with the hope that the revealedstructureof these semantic
systemswould tell us somethingaboutthe cognitiveoutlook of membersof the
group. Formalsemanticsand especiallycomponentialanalysishave been shown
by Burlingto producean extremelylarge numberof logicallypossiblealternative
solutions.2 Unless we have some method of discoveringwhich solution or combinationof solutionsis utilizedby an individualwe are left with a high degreeof
indeterminacy."Studentswho claim that componentialanalysisor comparable
methodsof semanticanalysiscan provide a means for 'discoveringhow people
construetheir world' must explainhow to eliminatethe greatmajorityof logical
possibilitiesand narrowthe choice to the one or few that are 'psychologically
real'."3

1 The field research

upon which this paper is based was supported by grants from the National
Institute of Mental Health and the Social Science Research Council for the field period from November I96O to December I96I, Lynne S. Crumrine recipient, and by a grant from the National
Science Foundation for several weeks of additional field work in the spring and summer of 1965,
N. Ross Crumrine, recipient. It is an expanded version of a paper presented at the 67th Annual
Meeting of the American Anthropological Association, Seattle, Washington, November 21-24,
1968. We would like to thank Professors Donald Mitchell and Rennie Warburton of the University of Victoria for helpful comment and criticism relevant to this paper.
2 Robbins Burling, "Cognition and Componential
Analysis: God's Truth or Hocus-Pocus?"
American Anthropologist, 66 (1964), 20-28.
8Ibid., 26.

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LYNNE S. CUMRINE

70

and N.

ROSS CUMRINE

In answerto Burlingwe wish to presenta structuralsemanticanalysisof a set

of Mayomythsand descriptionsof ritual.After derivingthe structuralmodel,we
will test its validitythrougha quite differenttype of analysis,thatof Mayo-Yaqui
orientations.AnthonyWallace has consideredthe problemof the psychological
validityof semanticand especiallycomponentialanalysis;however,he suggestsa
differentmethodof testingthe validityof the analysis.4In oppositionto Burling's
we suggesta "God'struth"position,at least in terms
judgmentof "hocus-pocus"
of this specificset of dataand analysis.5In other words,we hypothesizethat the
semanticstructureof this set of mythsdoes reflectsomethingof Mayo cognitive
structure.
In an early articleLvi-Strauss suggests a method for the structuralstudy of
myths, which he has developedin his more recentwritingson AmericanIndian
Our paperprovidesan opportunityto examinehis methodin terms
mythology.G
of a single set of mythsand explanationsof rituals.In a somewhatdifferentway
than the articlesby Willis and Jackson,'it is anotherattemptto incorporatethe
broadsweep of Levi-Straussian
theoryinto the grass-rootslevel of ethnography.
Becausethey involve verbaland mythmakingactivity,we have takenthe liberty
of lumping Mayo discussionsabout ritual and descriptionsof it togetherwith
myth.
L&vi-Strauss
suggeststhatwe proceedby dividingeachmythinto minimalunits,
or what he calls grossconstituentunits or mythemes.These units are to be found
at the sentencelevel, througha processof trial and error,and checkedin terms
of "economyof explanation,unityof solution,and abilityto reconstruct
the whole
from a fragment..."s Eachunit or mythemeinvolvesa certainfunctionlinked
to a given subject;in otherwords,it consistsof a relation.Sincemythologicaltime
is both reversibleand nonreversible(synchronicand diachronic),"the true constituentunits of a myth are not the isolatedrelationsbut bundlesof such relations . .

."9

Only as bundles of mythemes can we analyze myth in terms of

structureand meaning. Each verticalcolumn in figure i on the next page is a

bundle of relationsor a mytheme.The telling of the myth is from left to right,
whereasthe meaningof each bundle or mythemeis read vertically.
Before turningto the Mayoset of mythsand linked rituals,however,we must
mention a second analyticalassumption.This assumptioninvolves the relation
betweenthe verticalcolumnson figure i, the bundlesof mythemes.The relationship betweencolumnsa and b is a relationshipsimilarto thatbetweencolumnsc
andd, while columnsa andb areoppositionsof columnsc andd.
The following descriptionwas given to us by a Mayofriend whose fatherhad
4Anthony F. C. Wallace, "The Problem of the Psychological Validity of Componential Analysis," American Anthropologist, 6I (1965), 229-248.
5 Burling, 27.
6 Claude LUvi-Strauss, "The Structural Study of Myth," Structural Anthropology (New York,
First published in the JOURNAL OF AMERICAN FOLKLORE, 78 (1955),
1963), 206-231.
428-444.
7 G. R. Willis, "The Head and the Loins: Levi-Strauss and Beyond," Man, 2 (1967), 519534; Michael Jackson, "Some Structural Considerations of Maori Myth," The Journal of the
Polynesian

Society 77 (1968),

8 Lrvi-Strauss, 211.
9 Ibid.

147-162.

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FIGURE I. CHART OF OPPOSITIONS IN SEVERALM

(a
rabbitcaptured
(man sick)
Christcaptured

is to

is opposed to

b)
rabbitkilled

crucified

(3) Oola captured

(representing
Christ)

knockeddown
(symbolickilling)

(c
rabbit'sblood
(sacrifice)
Christ'sblood
(sacrifice)
servicefor 3
years

(4) Capakoba
reversalof
social relations

burnedup
(death)

servicefor 3
years

(5) cockstied
in church
(6) Little Children
captured
(7) deer surrounded

cockskilled

cock'sblood

churchburned

deer killed

Little Childrenburned
(sacrifice)
partsof deer'sbody
(sacrifice)

loss of power
(sickness,
actedupon)

death

(i)
(2)

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serviceand sacrifice
(acting; giving blood,
bodyparts,or life)

72

LYNNE S. CUMRINE and N. ROSS CUMRINE

been successfullycuredby the ritualmentionedin line i, figure i. This is a cure

for rabies,a dreadeddiseasein northwestMexico,and it involvesan animalsacrifice. The patientis takenby a largenumberof men on horsebackto a sacredplace
near the ocean,markedby three crosses.The men know the songs of the deer,a
sacredanimal associatedwith strong supernaturalpowers. They sing these deer
songs all night long, mountedon their horses, forming a circle aroundthe sick
man. When the sewa maciriaor Holy Fatherdawnbeginsto show on the horizon
and the morningstar (Little Brother) is shining, they sing the last song, called
sewa maciria.Then they gallop out and catcha rabbitby the ears.After returning
to the crosses,they tearthe rabbitopen with one downwardrip andone rip across,
in the sign of the cross.Then theytakeout its entrailsand smearthe rabiespatient
with the blood, which the patientalso drinks.After this the men returnwith the
patientto his home, wherethey have an elaboratefeast of traditionalMayofoods
and drinks.At the end of this, the singersall standto one side, facingthe patient's
family,andthereareformalspeechesof gratitude.
The symbolslinked to this ritualmythicalsequenceare as follows: (i) times
of day and night crucialto the curingceremony;(2) the rabbit,which is silent
in life and cries out only in dying; (3) the associationof the three crosseswith
the ritualand the sign of the crosswith sacrifice;(4) the significanceof blood as
a curativeagentandthe importanceof flowers.
The same symbols and oppositionsappearin the semi-Christianmyths and
ritualsthe Mayosdramatizeduringthe Lentenseason (see fig. i, lines 2, 3, and
4). Christis crucifiedin the late afternoonon Good Friday,a directassociation
with the setting sun. He ariseson Saturdaymorning,veryearly,with the appearanceof the firstlight of dawn. Christ'sblood is an importantpartof his sacrifice.
The pilato (Pilate) is the chief officialof a ceremonialsodality (the pariserom)
thatimpersonatesthe persecutorsof Christ,and he organizesand directsthe Easter
ceremonial.During the crucifixion,the pilato is responsiblefor the highly dramatic and symbolicpenetrationof Christ'schest with a lance. There is a Yaqui
myth,not volunteeredby our Mayofriendsbut acceptedby themas a Mayomyth,
sayingthat Christ'sblood drippedupon the groundafterhis death,and whereit
flowedbeautifulflowerssprangup. These flowersareusedin the curingof various
diseases.Thusfor Mayosflowersarecloselylinkedwith bloodin termsof symbolic
impactandassociationswith health,sickness,anddeath.
Earlyin Easterweek an old man, called o?ola, is surroundedand capturedat
his home by the pariserom.This o?ola representsChrist;he is like Christ,como
Cristo."He putshis bodyin placeof Christ's"and is symbolicallykilledon Thursin manyways.The
day afternoon.His sacrificeparallelsthe rabbitblood-sacrifice
o?olais chasedaroundthe Way of the Crossand is symbolicallypulled or knocked
down by the animal-maskedciapakobam(plural; iapakoba,sing.), who are the
lowest rankingmembersof the pariserom,an inversionof the rabbitcapture.The
o?ola kneels at each of eight wooden crossesplacedaroundthe churchand runs
acrossthe spacebetweenthem. While he is runningthe iapakobamjerkat a rope
attachedto his waist, tryingto pull him down, and run into him, tryingto knock
him down, althoughthe o?olawas not actuallyknockedto the groundin 1961 or
1965, when we witnessedthe ceremony.The act is spokenof as a crucifixion,and

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RITUAL SERVICE AND BLOOD SACRIFICE

73

the o?olais baptisedon Holy Saturdaybecausehe is regardedto have been temporarilyin the world of the dead and with the tapakobam.Once the o?ola is
chosenby the pariseromhe is obligatedto servefor threeyears.If he should not
serve he would die. Thus in the case of the old man, service and sacrificeare
directlyrelatedto continuedhealthandlife.
The 6apakobam,soldiersin the armypursuingChrist,have structuralparallels
to the rabbit (see lines

and 4 in fig. i). The iapakobam are silent, holding a

crucifixin their mouthsand wearinghelmet-masksof animalskins. Only at one

time do they shriekout with the voicesof night animals.This is in church,in the
darknessfollowing extinctionof the candleson Holy Wednesday,tinieblas.There
is strongevidencethatMayosexperiencethe presenceof the spiritsof the deadand
the animalsof the night duringthis periodof darknessand shouting.Thus both
the rabbitand the iapakobamare silent in life but shriekout in death.
Although the iapakobamguardthe ritualand enforceproperbehaviorduring
the Lentenseason,they also behavein unseemlyand often obsceneways. In spite
of this burlesquingof ritual,participationas a 'apakobais considereda serviceto
the communityand as extremelyrigorousceremoniallabor. On Good Friday
stripesof red paintsymbolizingthe bloodof Christareplacedon theirlegs. Stripes
painted in four differentcolorsalso are used. For their attempteddestructionof
Christand their reversalof normalsocial relationsthe c'apakobam
are burnedup
by the powerof the sun, Our Father,aroundnoon on Holy Saturday.But through
baptismand the power of flowersthrown during this time, the impersonators
again becomemen. At the time of baptismeach is presentedand vouchedfor by
a set of godparents.
AnotherMayoritualshowssimilarpatternsassociatedwith blood sacrifice(see
line 5, fig. I). This ritualcomplextakesplace duringthe daylighthourson June
24, the day of SanJuan (SaintJohn). Earlyin the morningseveralcocksare tied
to the pillars inside the church.It is a somewhatstrangeexperienceto enter the
churchreverberating
with the soundof crowingcocks.Aboutmidmorningseveral
of the cockstogetherwith the image of SanJuanare carriedin processionto the
river bank to a sacredspot markedby a crossunder a large oak tree. The ritual
at the river involves the baptismof the image of San Juan, the cocks, and the
membersof severalceremonialsodalities,as well as othermembersof the procession. Mayoceremonialdancers,the deerand pascoladancers,and the deersingers
perform,and then the processionreturnsto the church.About midafternoonthe
ritualof blood sacrificetakesplace; this is the cock fight (totorenasoa).Within

the dance ramada (pascola ramada) the pascome (fiesteros) and the deer and

pascolagroups kneel on all fours facing each other. This dance ramadais also
known as the ramadaof the dead. The participantsmake the sign of the cross
three times with the right hand in the fine alluvialdust on the ramadafloor,saying, "In the nameof the Father"(first cross), "in the nameof the Son" (second

cross), "in the name of the Holy Spirit" (third cross). The pascome (fiesteros)
take a cock and hit the pascolas and singers on the back three times. The pascolas
and singers then take the cocks and hit the pascome on the back three times. The
ritual doses with the backs of the participants spattered with blood and the cocks
dead. Then the pascolas scoop water from the water drum of the deer musicians

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LYNNE S. CUMRINE and N. ROSS CUMRINE

74

and try to throw it on the crowd. The water bestowsfertility on whomeverit

strikes.This is a happy occasion,and the abundantblood on the participantsis
pointedto as evidenceof the successof the ritual.
Also associatedwith this SanJuanmyth-ritualcomplexis an accountof a rather
recent happening. In 1926, anti-Churchagitation resulted in the burning of
severalMayo churches,one of which was the churchin Banari (the community
we studiedin greatestdetail). The Mayo accountis as follows; we have used a
pseudonym,however,for the mestizowho burnedthe churchand the saints.
Rodriguez did it. He just walked into the church. At that time the church doors were
never locked as they are now. He set fire to the church. It was just a little mud and cane
building with one bell. It burned and fell. He gathered up all the Little Children (santos)
and carried them away. As they came to the river and started to cross San Juan jumped
away from Rodriguez and hopped into the river where the little bridge is now. Rodriguez
pulled out his gun to shoot San Juan, but the little santo ducked under the water and Rodriguez could not harm him. That is why the cross stands under the big oak at the place
where it happened.
Rodriguez went on to the place in the bush where the crucecitas now stand, and there he
burned up the Little Children. That is why crucecitas are in that place now. The charred
bodies of the Little Children lie there. Our Father, Old Man, will burn him, Rodriguez,
down for that pain. Those little bodies suffered agony. Rodriguez and his issue will be
destroyed by Father Sun.

Due to this incidentthe Binari churchis no longeropen. The doorsare locked

and priests or mestizoswho do not behave like Mayos are not welcome at the
Binari church.As a resultof the sacrificeof the LittleChildrenthe churchis now
protectedphysicallyby the locked doors, sociallyby the exclusionof outsiders,
and spirituallyby the wrathof Our FatherGod, the Sun. Of coursethis themeof
the sacrificeof little childrenhas a wider distributionin this areaof the world,
for exampleamongthe Papago,where a myth statesthat childrenwere sacrificed
in orderto controlthe watersof a river.
Likethe othermythsand ritualsdiscussed,certainsymbolsreappearandtend to
relateall the mythsof this set. Flowersareimportant.Morespecifically,red laurel
is associatedwith San Juan,and flowersof all colorsare associatedwith Christ.
Certainplant seeds, especiallywatermelon,are associatedwith San Juan. The
cock'sblood in the San Juan ritual appearsto be stronglyassociatedwith health
and fertility.The crossand the sign of the cross,as well as times of day, also are
crucialin the SanJuanritual.
The final exampleof mythologyand ritualinvolvesthe huntingof deer,which
in manysensesare sacredand mysteriouslypowerfulanimalsfor the Mayos.Since
deer are no longer intensivelyhunted,muchof this descriptionis in the form of
a mythicalhistory.After a ceremonyof preparationthe huntersstartout in search
of deer. When a deer is sighted,it is surroundedif possibleand killed only after
it has beenthus surroundedor captured.RalphBealsreportsthatdeerbonesmust
be burnedand not given to dogs, nor can the meat be permittedto be wasted,or
the hunter will lose his luck.'0 If a hunter finds a stone from the deer intestine
(bezoar), he is very lucky. But he must treat it with care for it can be dangerous.
10

Ralph L. Beals, "The ContemporaryCultureof the Cahita Indians,"Bureau of American

Ethnology Bulletin, 142 (I945),

12.

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RITUAL SERVICE AND BLOOD SACRIFICE

75

In summerit attractslightning. Within the stone is a tiny snake, the vibrations

of which give power and strengthto the owner. "The tail of the deer is hung on
a tree or ramadafacing the rising sun."11It is called sewa (flower) and said to
bringsuccess.Line 7 in figurei showsthe structuralsimilarityof this deer-hunting
mythologyandritualto the othermythsof the set.
In conclusionwe mayexaminethe set of mythsand associatedritualsas bundles
of units or mythemes.Examiningcolumn a we note that someoneis captured,
loses power, or is otherwiseactedupon in all the lines exceptperhaps4. In line
i a person is sick, which for Mayos involves a loss of power, a loss of health.
The iapakobarole reversal(line 4) is spokenof by Mayosas a loss of the sense
of shame."Theyknow no shame."In contrastto ordinarymembersof the Mayo,
iapakobamare creaturesof emotionand egoistic impulses.In this sense iapakobamhave lost the powerof rationalactionand are not human.Columnb involves
destructionand death.Thus, the end productof the loss of powerand of sickness
is death.Columnc includesthe elementof sacrifice,thatwhich is given. The rabbit, Christ,the cock, and the Little Childrengive their lives, as symbolizedby
blood or burning,while the deer gives certainbody parts.The old man, o?ola,
gives his servicefor three years,while in the baptismthe godparentsgive their
word for theirgodchild,the former6apakoba.The 6apakobamgive serviceto the
community.Their ritualis a confessionon behalf of the community.Columnd
is the end productof the sacrifice,of the gift; it is life, health,and fertility.
Thus, as death resultsfrom loss of power and sickness,life resultsfrom sacrifice, successin power,health,andthe giving of service.This set of mythsmediates
betweenthe sickness-healthand death-lifeoppositions.Throughsacrificeand the
giving of serviceto Mayosociety,life is maintainedover death,societyis successful over nature,and Mayobelief and symbolismare protected.In addition,since
one of the majorMayoorientationsor valuesis ceremoniallabor,this set of myths
providesa Mayo solutionto severalbasicintellectualoppositionsas well as providing a charterfor an extremelyimportantpatternof behavior.The samestructure communicatessomethingabout patternsof belief and patternsof ritual or
socialbehavior.
The Yaqui and the Mayo orientationsare derivedquite differentlyand independentlyfrom the structureof the precedingset of myths.The rankingof orientations dependsupon data derivedfrom the following questions:
(i) What do
people spendtheirtime doing? (2) What do they spendtime talkingabout?(3)
What do they feel their childrenshouldlearn? (4) What do they decidein cases
of conflict?(5) What do they feel is worthyof the attentionof the
participant
observer?Basedupon this type of datafor Yaquis,Spicerranksceremoniallabor
(tekipanoa) above all other Yaqui orientations.12 Although we did not rank the

Mayoorientations,ceremoniallaborcertainlyis one of the majorones for Mayos

as well.13If a personis sickor in serioustrouble,he maymakeamanda (promise)
x11Ibid., 14.

12

Edward H. Spicer, "Potam: A Yaqui Village in Sonora," American

Anthropological Association, Memoir No. 77 (August, 1954), 177-181.
13 N. Ross
Crumrine, "The House Cross of the Mayo Indians of Sonora, Mexico," Anthropological Papers of the University of Arizona, 8 (Tucson, 1964), 37-38.

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LYNNE S. CUMRINE and N. ROSS CUMRINE

76

to a particularsaint, requestingaid in exchangefor ceremonialservicein honor

of the saint. Parentsor godparentsmay make mandasfor sick children,and the
child mustpay when he is old enoughto serve.One is also obligatedto makethe
funeralceremoniesfor his bloodandceremonialkin.
On the other hand, Mayosoften mentionedceremoniallaboras a creationof
rewardsin heaven.Throughworkin the ceremonialsthey createHoly Flowersin
heaven. Ceremoniallabor also involves physicaland mental discipline.One is
expectedto work hard and to suffer.A commonand highly valued remarkafter
a processionor complex ritual is, "I am exhausted (tuisi lotila)." A person is
proudof giving both his physicalstrengthand his materialwealthto ceremonial
labor.In sum,the majorYaqui-Mayoorientationof ceremoniallaboraddsvalidity
to the structuralanalysisof a set of Mayomythsthat mediatethe life-deathand
health-sickness
oppositionsthroughritualizedgiving andsacrifice.
Universityof Victoria
Victoria,BritishColumbia

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