hJl {.AlXK. Mm'- /iimmm SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTIONBUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGYBULLETIN 142 THE CONTEMPORARY CULTURE OFTHE CiHITA INDIANS ByRALPH L. BEALS v-^^S^'--mmmmmR-rgmm' SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTIONIj^ BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY ^>^ BULLETIN 142 THE CONTEMPORARY CULTURE OFTHE CAHITA INDIANS ByRALPH L. BEALS ,'f UNITED STATESGOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICEWASHINGTON : 1945 For sale by the Superintendent of DocumentB, U. S. Government Printing OflBceWashington, D. C. - Price 50 cents #: ' 9017^AUG*6 ^1945 LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL Smithsonian Institution,Bureau of American Ethnology,Washington^ D.C.^ May 7, WJfS.Sm: I have the honor to transmit herewith a manuscript entitled"The Contemporary Culture of the Cahita Indians," by Ralph L.Beals, and to recommend that it be published as a bulletin of theBureau of American Ethnology.Very respectfully yours, M. W. Stirling, Chief.Dr. C. G. Abbot,Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. I Smithsonian InstitutionBureau of American EthnologyBulletin 142 The Contemporary Culture of the Cahita IndiansBYRalph L. BealsERRATAPage X. For footnote '*, read: ^Redfield's other studies in Mexico have notbeen one-man affairs, and in some instances deal with comparablenumbers.Page XI. In footnote '?, for Navahoa, read Navohoa.Page 243. Right-hand column, 10th line from bottom, for Yaqqi, read Yaqui. CONTENTS Preface ixIntroduction 1The basis of life 5Agriculture 5Tame and domestic animals 10Gathering food supplies 10Hunting HFishing 14Food preparation and storage 15Houses 16Types and construction , 16Utilization and furnishing 20Manufactures . 22Tools and weapons 22Loom weaving 23Basketry and other weaving 36Dress and ornament 37Pottery 39Skin dressing 41Musical instruments 41Transportation and travel 43Games 44Tobacco and smoking 44Occupations 45Star lore; eclipses 47External relations and geographical knowledge 47Historical knowledge 49Trade and wealth 49Warfare 50Social aspects of life ^^ 55Birth observances 55Care and rearing of children 57Infancy 57Education and pastimes ^ 58Naming and adolescent rites 59Kinship terms 60Marriage 61Death beliefs and customs ' 66Behaviors, attitudes, and mannerisms 82Political organization 83Religion 90Ideas of the world and the universe 90Mayo religious organization 91Matachini 94Fariseos 98Fiesteros 103V VI CONTENTSReligion?Continued. pageYaqui religious organization 107The church officers 107Matachini HIFariseos 112Fiesteros 115The integration of Yaqui organization 117Mayo fiesta dancers and musicians 119Yaqui fiesta dancers and musicians 126Coyote dance 131Mayo fiestas 132San Juan fiestas ^ 134The fiestas of Christ and the Virgin 144Recent changes in fiestas 161Velacion of San Jos6 162Yaqui fiestas 165Fiestas of Christ and the Virgin 168San Juan fiesta 185Vows, miscellaneous beliefs 188Circuits, directions, ritual numbers, and other ritual 189The "religion of the woods" 190Disease and curing 191Witches and wizards 196Dreams 198The horned water serpent and other beliefs 199Development of modern religion and ceremonials 202Rhythms of activity and the adjustment to white culture 207Mayo pacifism; Yaqui nationalism 211Tales and stories 215The first people 216The making of the world 216The first conquest 218The giant harvest 218Coyote and the Bull 219The Iguana and the Coyote 219The story of Turtle and Coyote 219Coyote and the Bees 220The Snake and the Viper 221The marriage of Indian and White 221Yomomdli 223Turtle speaks Yaqui ? 224Saint Peter and the Giant 224Bibliography 225Glossary . 227Explanation of plates 230Index 233 CONTENTS 'MILLUSTRATIONS PLATES(All plates at end of book) 1. 1, Lower Yaqui River. 2, A Mayo field.2. 1, An echos cactus fence. 2, Corner of adobe house.3. 1, House and kitchen. 2, Mayo house and ramada.4. Mayo ramadas.5. 1, A Mayo kitchen. 2, Thatch-roofed house.6. 1, A Mayo house cross. 2, Mayo father and children. 3, Mayo bake oven.7. 1, Mayo wooden implements. 2, Mayo musical instruments and dance wand.8. 1, Spinning maguey fiber. 2, Mayo clown.9. 1, Mayo woman weaving. 2, Mayo woman using the bow to prepare woolfor spinning.10. 1, Mayo harp. 2, Mayo viohn.11. 1, Man playing harp. 2, Mayo clowns.12. 1, Ocoroni stick dice. 2, Ocoroni dance crown. 3, Ocoroni rattles.13. Mayo masks and headdresses.14. 1, Graveyard at Cohuirimpo. 2, Graves at Cohuirimpo.15. Ceremonial regalia.16. 1, Mayo Pascola dancers. 2, Yaqui Pascola dancers,17. 1, Mayo deer dancer. 2, Yaqui deer dancer.18. 1, Fiesta ramada. 2, Mayo fiesta.19. 1, Banners and cross. 2, Pottery buU.20. 1, Mayo church. 2, Mayo fiesta scene.TEXT FIGURES PAGE1. Various wooden implements 82. Carrying basket 113. Wattle technique for house walls 174. Vertical thatch for house walls 175. Vertical wattle technique 176. Methods of joining roof beams 187. Wooden hook 208. Gourd water bottles 219. Mayo broadloom fabrics 2410. Mayo broadloom fabrics 2511. Mayo looms 2912. Details of weaving techniques 3013. Man's sash 3214. Wide woven belt 3315. Minor textile products 3416. Mayo pottery types 4017. Map of Yaqui territory 4818. Arrangement of Yaqui village meeting 8719. Mayo matachin wand 9520. Matachin dance figures 9621. Mayo clown sword and spear 10122. Yaqui community organization 11823. Arrangement of household fiesta 131 ?yjH CONTENTS PAGE24. Plan of church and plazas 13525. Plan of a velacidn 15026. Pueblo Viejo church, Easter Saturday 15927. Pitahaya church, Easter Week 17028. Vicam Viejo church, Easter Week 17429. Vicam Viejo churoh, Easter Saturday 17730. Dance of Pilates and fariseos 17831. Entrance of Pilates and fariseos 17932. Dance ramada and cuarieZ, Vicam Viejo , 18133. Procession on Easter Sunday 183MAPS1. Territory of the Cdhita, showing principal modern settlements 21 PREFACEThe first part of this study (Beals, 1943) was an attempt to recon-struct the aboriginal culture of the Cahita Indians, This second partis a general description of the contemporary culture of the Yaqui andMayo Indians, the sole surviving groups of Cahita. In the few caseswhere informants or documents indicated different customs for theperiod between mission days and the present, the data are included.Where it has been possible to do so, and the matter has seemed im-portant, the development of contemporary institutions has beensuggested.The basic interest, both in field work and in presentation, has beenethnographic. Consequently, there is a minimum of the "socialanthropology" which Robert Redfield has so successfully developed inMexico. Much that is significant for study of the interaction betweenthe Indian and Mexican cultures of the area will, nevertheless, befound in these pages. Indeed, social problems are so obvious, soomnipresent, and at the same time so interesting that it is impossibleto ignore them completely, however concentrated one's purpose maybe on ethnology. Although in the United States similar problemsmay exist, they are those of a dying culture which has only minorrelations with the dominant civilization. In Mexico one is dealing,not with two cultures of which one is dying, but with two cultureswhich are each functioning entities. The white and Indian culturesof Mexico have profoundly influenced one another in many regions,but they have not yet merged. Nor is it certain that the Europeanculture is to be wholly dominant in the final synthesis. In content,of course, much of the final culture of Mexico will be Euro-American.But its patterns, its habits of thought, and its organization will prob-ably be profoundly influenced by the Indian cultures. For this reason,the social aspects of Mexican Indian cultures are impossible to ignoreentirely.Because of the dominantly ethnological interest which motivated thefield studies, less effort was made to probe current attitudes of thecommunity than some might think desirable. The task of picturingthe Cahita is much greater than Redfield encountered at Tepoztlan,for the isolation is less, the numbers nearly 20 times as great, the localdifferentiations greater, and the populations more mobile (Redfield,XX X PREFACE1930.)^ In the Tepoztlan study Redfield was interested in the aborig-inal culture elements only in so far as they were integrated into thecomposite whole of modern Tepoztlan culture; this study is pri-marily concerned with the greatest possible segregation of these ele-ments, and less with elements of Spanish origin which lack anaboriginal coloring. The "social anthropology" of this paper is aby-product of the study, just as the ethnology of Eedfield's work is aby-product of his study, and the final part of it represents a summaryof the social observations made, fairly systematically, but incidentallyto the ethnologic study. Were the field work to be done today, myapproach and interests would give more emphasis to social problems.The ethnologic problems proved quite complex. Not only have theCahita been in contact with whites so long that virtually all memo-ries of aboriginal days have vanished, but they apparently maintainedthemselves with a fairly stable hybrid culture up to recent times whenthis hybrid itself started a period of rapid modification. It is neces-sary, therefore, to view Cahita culture in three layers : the contempo-rary culture, the culture of post-mission, premodern times, and theaboriginal culture. The aboriginal layer has been dealt with already.For the later periods one must depend entirely on the evidence of thecontemporary population, for virtually nothing of a descriptive na-ture has been written on the Cahita except by the early missionaries.In securing contemporary data some difficulty resulted from thefact that the Cahita in general and the Mayo in particular are notinclined to be communicative. They have for whites a profound dis-trust which is difficult to overcome, and perhaps a greater naivete ofoutlook than most of the Indians of the United States. They alsolack appreciation of the differences between their own culture and thatof the Mexicans. Questions are frequently met with the responsethat of course they do just as the yoris (whites) do, entirely over-looking significant differences in detail. On some of the more inter-esting aspects of culture dealing with religion, and particularly withwitchcraft and curing methods, it is difficult to secure information,partly because witches are still murdered among the Mayo and exe-cuted among the Yaqui, and partly because of the scornful attitudeof the Mexicans.The basic field work was done in the winter of 1930-31 and theearly part of 1932, About 5 months were spent in the Mayo coun-try during the first visit and a few days at Potan among the Yaqui.Practically all of the Mayo towns and villages in the neighborhoodof the Mayo River were visited, but most of the material was col-i? An important Mayo settlement occupies the old site of Navohoa and is often referreddeal with comparable numbers. PREFACE Mlected within 20 miles of Navojoa ^^ and, unless otherwise attributed, isfrom the district of Navojoa. A museum collection was made on thistrip. In 1932, 3 weeks were spent in making a reconnaissance of theterritory between the Mayo and Sinaloa Rivers. An unsuccessfuleffort was made to discover any remnants of the more southerly Cahitatribes which might still exist. Some 3 weeks were again spent inNavojoa with the Mayo, a like period with the Yaqui of Pascua Vil-lage, Tucson, Ariz., and a month in the Yaqui villages of Vicam andVicam Station (inhabited by villagers from Cocorit), with visits toother villages. The late Dr. Elsie Clews Parsons accompanied me forabout 4 weeks in Mayo and Yaqui territory in 1932. She kindly madeher notes available to me. A further trip to the Yaqui River and toPascua Village was made in the winter of 1937. It should be borne inmind that the use of the present tense refers in the main to the periodfrom 1930 to 1932.It is not feasible to give a complete list of the informants, as theirnumbers are considerable, and frequently it was undesirable to attemptto ascertain names. Often a casual encounter at a fiesta or in somedistant rancho would produce extremely profitable leads and infor-mation when it could hardly be said that I worked with the individualas an informant. It rarel}^ proved feasible to use the same informantlong, particularly with the Mayo. Exceptions were Maria Ontivera,of Tetanchopo, and Ignacio Jusacamea, of Chibuku, and the latter'swife and son. Much of the information was secured by observation,and checked where necessary by asking questions of house owners orof bystanders at fiestas and other social events. The Mayo especiallywere quite willing to give casual information though they would re-fuse to work consistently, becoming distrustful and restless. Morethan 100 Mayo houses were visited and entered for stays of varyinglength, and houses and neighborhoods where friendly relations couldbe established were revisited frequently. For the Yaqui, the prin-cipal systematic informants were Guadalupe Flores and LucasChavez, of Pascua Village, Tucson; Jorge (my best informant, whoconcealed his surname) and Andres Valenzuela, of Bacun; MarcelinoPalofox, of Vicam ; and Sunovio, of Raun ( ? ) ; the latter four allresident in Vicam Station.The Yaqui study is incomplete, although the main outlines areclear. But a detailed study of Torin, Vicam, or perhaps Potan isneeded if the contemporary culture is to be thoroughly understood.The valuable study of Pascua Village made by Edward Spicer (1940)is hardly representative of conditions in Mexico. It is expected thatcurrent studies by Spicer will supply additional material. Studiescould profitably be made of the down-river Mayo of Echojoa, Huperi, ** An important Mayo settlement occupies the old site of Navahoa and is often referredto as Pueblo Viejo. XII PREFACEand Santa Cruz, as well as of two or three villages on the Fuerte Riversuch as Mochicahui, Charay, Tehueco, and perhaps one of the moreMexicanized hill villages such as Capomas. Until such detailed in-vestigations are made, Cahita ethnography must remain incomplete.The differences between Yaqui and Mayo, while to some extent dueto unequal preservation of the cultures, are sufficient to make itnecessary to differentiate between them throughout the paper.Where material is not specifically assigned, it applies so far as Iknow to both Yaqui and Mayo.Throughout the paper Cahita terms are not italicized. Spanishterms are italicized unless the word is used in English speech or hasbeen incorporated into Cahita with some modification in form. Thephonetics of Cahita appear simple and are frequently written in Span-ish orthography. Some Yaqui write the language with fair facil-ity on the typewriter. It might have been better to maintain thissystem, particularly as so many words, especially place names, appearin local Spanish speech and literature. Nevertheless, I have madesome adaptations in orthography within the limits of the ordinaryprinter's type font. The system is as follows : All consonants have approximately the same values as English except that Iand r often are difficult to distinguish.An exception is c, which is equivalent to English initial ch.Vowels are given Spanish values.Doubled vowels, or vowels not separated by consonants are separated in pro-nunciation. An exception is ai, which is pronounced as the open i of EnglishMte.A raised period ( ' ) denotes lengthening of vowels.A raised comma ( ' ) denotes a glottal stop.Place names in local Spanish usage are given in the Spanish orthography.The chief differences are: ch=c, j?h, gua^wa, and guay=wai.Both the field work and the writing of the paper as well as mostof the historical and comparative work were done as a Fellow inthe Biological Sciences of the National Research Council of Wash-ington, D. C. Field expenses were paid by the University of Cali-fornia. The work was under the direction of Prof. A. L. Kroeber,of the latter institution. The acknowledgments made in the prefaceto the first part of this study (Beals, 1943) apply with even moreforce to the present paper.Dr. Edward Spicer very kindly read an early draft of the manu-script, and made many suggestions and criticisms. A few of these areacknowledged in footnotes, but the many others are acknowledgedhere. I have attempted no comparison with Dr. Spicer's excellentwork on Pascua Village at Tucson (Spicer, 1940). As Dr. Spicer isengaged in a community study on the Yaqui River, it seems best tolet all comparisons await completion of his work. THE CONTEJ^IPORARY CULTURE OF THE CAHITAINDIANSBy Ralph L. BealsINTRODUCTIONThe Yaqui and Mayo today are found not only in their originalhomelands along the lower Yaqui and Mayo Eivers, but all the wayfrom southern Arizona to central Sinaloa. Probably several thou-sand Yaqui live in the United States, where some of them have livedmore than 40 years. Yaqui are frequently encountered also through-out northern Sonora and, indeed, may be found today almost any-where in the Republic of Mexico. The Mayo are less widely scattered.They have moved up the Mayo River and into the Cedros and AlamosValleys, but their main expansion is into the valleys of the FuerteRiver. Groups live also on the Ocoroni and Culiacan Rivers.The Yaqui and Mayo originally numbered approximately 30,000each, the Yaqui perhaps a few more. (See Beals, 1943.) Today, ifthe widely scattered groups are considered, they are perhaps equallynumerous, although the numbers in their original habitats have de-clined. Later figures are of little reliability. The census figures inMexico up to the last census were notably incorrect for the Indianpopulation, and the 1930 census leaves the Yaqui towns a blank.Hardy, about 1825, said local estimates of the Yaqui and Mayo werebetween 40,000 and 60,000 (Hardy, 1829, p. 428). Velasco in 1850gave 5,501 Yaquis on the river and estimated that 6,000 more werescattered through the State, a total of 11,501 (Velasco, 1850, p. 54).McKenzie in 1889, after the bloody wars of Cajeme, gave 10,000 Yaquiand 15,000 Mayo (McKenzie, 1890, p. 299). Hrdlicka a few yearslater estimated Mayo and Yaqui at 20,000 each (Hrdlicka, 1908, pp.6-7).At the present time, I estimate there are 1,200 men living on theYaqui River, including those in the Sierra de Bacatete. In 1932there were between 700 and 800 men on the army pay rolls receivingthe equivalent of a subsidy. As there are believed to be about 3 womento each man, probably 4 children may also be estimated, or a total of8,400. Estimates of resident Army officials in 1932 were between7,000 and 9,000. This does not include the Yaqui living away from theriver, in Arizona, or in the Mexican Army ; they would at least double BUEEAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 142the figure. The Mayo cannot be estimated so well, but including mixedbloods living as Indians, there must be nearly 20,000 on the MayoRiver alone and nearly as many on the Fuerte. MAPI.The history of the first white contacts has already been given(Beals, 1943). The founding of many Yaqui and Mayo towns stillin existence seems to coincide with the establishment of missions inthe early seventeenth century, although data are inadequate. Par-ticularly on the Yaqui River, there is reason to believe some townshave changed location by several miles. Of the Sinaloa River townsin existence or on fairly modern maps, Mocorito, Chicorato, Bacubirito,Bamoa, Nio, Guasave, Tamazula, and Ocoroni bear the same namesas Indian towns or tribes. No longer existing are Ures, Cubiri,Lopoche, Deboropa, and Matapan. (See map 1.) Beals] contemporary CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 3Fuerte River towns dating from mission times or before are Mochi-cahui, San Miguel Zuaque, Ahome, Tehueco, Choix, Huites, Yecorato,Vaca, Sivirijoa, Charay, San Miguel, and San Lorenzo. Orozco jBerra (1864, p. 332) says tlie Fuerte was divided in 10 partidos(districts), Sinaloas and Hichucios (Huites?) occupying Vaca, Toro,and Huiris ; the Tehuecos, Tehueco, Villa de Montesclaros, Sivirijoa,and San Jose Charay; the Zuaques, Mochicahue and San MiguelZuaque. Hardy (early nineteenth century) assumed all Indian townson the Fuerte were Mayo. He gives Toro, Baca, Chois, O'mi(Ahome?), San Miguel, Charac, Sivilihoa, and Tehueco (Hardy, 1829,p. 438).Between the Fuerte and Mayo Rivers are the Mayo towns of Masiacaand Bacavachi. Concerning the latter, Perez de Ribas (1645, p. 175)says the Bacabichis settled with Tehuecos. This probably is theorigin of the name.On the Mayo River, Conicari, Tepague, and Macollague are littlemore than names, although still shown on maps. Camoa, Tesia,Navojoa, Cohuirimpo (moved to San Ignacio), Echojoa, and SantaCruz (now abandoned or dispersed into rancherias) date from missiontimes. Perez de Ribas (1645, p. 239) mentions eight original towns.Perhaps of later origin are San Pedro, Bacobampo, Rodeo, Huata-bampo, and Huperi, as well as some of the many small villages orrancherias. Some of these towns are now largely Mexican.Velasco (1850, p. 62) gives Macollague in the Sierra, Conicari,Tecia, Nabajoa, Cuirimpo, Guitahoa, Echojoa, Santa Cruz, andMasiaca. Hardy (1829, p. 438) gives Tepague, Conecare, Camoa,Tesia, Navajoa, Curinghoa, Echejoa, and Santa Cruz de Mayo.Hernandez (1902) reproduces a map of 1757 showing Camoares,Cedros, Guadelupe, Camoa, Tesia, Nabajo, Corimpo, Hehnchajoa,and Santa Cruz. Hrdlicka (1904, p. 59) mentions Macoyahui, Coni-cari, Camoa, Tecia, Navojoa, Cuirimpo or San Ignacio, San Pedro,Echojoa, Huatabambo, and Bacavachi. These data indicate that theexisting settlements are at least two centuries old.The earliest mention of Yaqui towns is by Perez de Ribas (1645,pp. 310, 312, 331), who states that, from mountains to sea, there wereoriginally 11 pueblos, of which Torin was the sixth and largest. Healso mentions Vicam. Alegre (1841, vol. 2, p. 140) says Forin was theuppermost of the Yaqui towns. If he meant Torin, he erred. Velasco(1850, p. 64) gives Cocori, Bacum, Torin, Bicam, Potam, Rahum,Huirivis, and Belen, while Hardy (1829, p. 438) mentions Cocori,Bacum, Torim, Bican, Potan, Raum, Guiraquis, and Belea. TheHernandez map of 1757, gives Tecoriona, Comoriopa, Colorin (Co-corit?), Bacum, Torin, Bican, Potan, Raun, and Belan (Hernandez,1902, map). 4 BUEEAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 142The Yaqui wars need not be entered into in detail : that is a task forthe historian. Nevertheless, a brief summary is perhaps advisable.After the entry of the missionaries, the first serious rebellion was in1740. This outbreak was joined by the Mayo. It was caused byJesuit intrigues to prevent the removal of officials who were abusingtheir power. The two tribes took an important part in the Wars ofIndependence, but, disappointed in the results, rose in 1825 under JuanBanderas. A brief peace was followed by wars in 1826 and 1832.If Hardy's (1829) estimate is correct, only failure to recognize hisstrength prevented Banderas from, temporarily at least, expellingthe whites from most of Sonora and Sinaloa. After this period, theYaqui and Mayo took part in various civil wars, particularly in thebloody struggle between Gandara and Urrea, and joined the Frenchin the intervention. In October 1865, the Mayo of the Fuerte rose.In none of these struggles were the Indians unified ; often they foughton both sides or, if in an independent revolt, against their own people.In 1875 the Yaqui and Mayo rose under Cajeme and continued tostruggle intermittently until the capture of Cajeme in 1887. Althoughthe Mayo have taken part in various revolutionary movements sincethen, this seems to have been their last serious rising, and in 1936a Mayo was elected governor of Sonora.The Yaqui were not so easily pacified. They rose under Cajeme'ssuccessor, Tetabiate, with whom peace was signed in 1897, but in1899 another revolt broke out which was not really ended until thedeath of Tetabiate in 1901.^ Since 1901 there seem to be no reliablehistorical records readily available. After 1902, when Hrdlicka(1904, p. 70) records an outbreak, the Yaqui appear to have beencomparatively quiet until 1910. The country during this period wasoccupied by Diaz forces operating under a repressive policy. Ruinsof their forts are still to be seen. Since 1910, when the Yaqui joinedthe Madero revolution, they have joined various movements or havesupported the government, often fighting on both sides. Except inrecent years, the country has rarely been completely quiet, and be-tween 1910 and 1920 the Yaqui country was twice virtually sweptclear of whites, and the region for many miles around is still deso-lated. The last serious outbreak was in 1929, when the Yaqui joinedthe last important revolution. The government at that time adopteda lenient policy which may end the Yaqui problem, although thereare still many irreconcilables and some have refused to leave theshelter of the hills. The Yaqui are now concentrated mostly on thenorth bank of the river and have abundant lands. They have re-ceived some help in tools and livestock, and as irregular soldiers a num-ber of them are paid a stipend. 2 Summarized from Hernfindez (1902, pp. 112 et seq.) I BEALs] CONTEMPORARY CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 5The Yaqui were rarely completely peaceful between 1740 and 1902.Between these dates guerrilla warfare or open war alternated withbrief armed truces. The military situation reflected changes in policywhich vacillated between leaving the Yaqui entirely alone and tryingto enforce Mexican authority over them (and seize their lands andsalt works). The Mayo situation was evidently similar up to thedeath of Cajeme, although the more peaceable character of the Mayopermitted a slow infiltration of Mexicans. The battle cry through-out has been not so much land as self-government. Informants in-sisted that self-government and the expulsion of the Mexicans fromtheir towns were the objectives of Yaqui uprisings and participation inrevolutionary movements.THE BASIS OF LIFEAGRICULTUREOnly to a very slight degree does modern agriculture follow aborig-inal patterns. The benches and bars along the rivers are still wateredby floods, but the rivers have been restricted somewhat by levees, andmost agriculture depends on irrigation, almost certainly an introducedtechnique (pi. 1, fig. 1). In many canals the entry of the water de-pends on the height of the river, although weirs of stakes and brushare sometimes made to divert the waters. In clearing land, the Mayoand, much less frequently, the Yaqui usually leave some of the largertrees?mesquite, guamuchil^ hito, and the pitahayas?standing (pi. 1.fig. 2.) Other large trees are often girdled and left to die. Stumpsare imperfectly removed, burning alone being used to destroy them;that is, they are not pulled?perhaps a survival of milpa technique.Land to be irrigated is usually bordered by high banks so the fieldmay be heavily flooded, an approximation of the effects of riverflooding. Most crops are not irrigated after planting; garbanzos(chickpeas) are an important exception.Away from the rivers, as at Bacavachi, flooding depends on divert-ing a local arroyo. One good rain floods the fields, but a second heavyrain after planting frequently necessitates complete replanting of allvillage lands.Fields (wasa) are usually fenced, barbed wire now being custom-ary. Thorny brush is piled over the wire to keep out goats ; probablybefore wire was available, brush fencing was general; it is still seenoccasionally. At Masiaca (close to Sinaloa), echos cactus fences areused. These are extremely common farther south. Sections are cutand set in the ground, where they quickly form an impenetrable bar-rier (pi. 2, fig. 1).530583?45 2 6 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 142Mayo land ownership now conforms to Mexican standards. Somefields are owned outright ; others are held for use, only, failure to culti-vate them making them open to appropriation by others. Beforethe Diaz "reforms," lands were regarded as belonging to villages.At marriage a man was given lands by the kobanaro (villagechief) . At death, these reverted to the village for reapportionment.Others say land was formerly cleared wherever one wished to plant.Many crops are planted twice yearly, once in early spring or winter,and again during the summer rains. The best grains or seeds arekept for the next planting, but seed from a spring planting is notused for summer, and vice versa. Some people take the first two orthree ears of corn, the first watermelons, or the first squashes tochurch and present them to the Virgin.Two particular pests are a small bird, mo ? 'el (represented in thematachin dance of the same name performed on the day of San Joseor near Easter) , and a small gray, white, and black bird, with a whitecollar, which attacks ripening wheat and vegetables. A largish yellow-breasted bird, vicorim, attacks garbanzos. Boys stay in the fields todrive it away. Two water birds, sivaroi (unidentified; a duck?) andcranes (koriie), attack fields in flocks. They are killed and eaten.Small parrots sometimes do considerable damage.The principal Mayo crop is maize (baci) of which there are threevarieties. Maiyobaci, a large, white, half-sweet corn, is most common.A small-grained corn for pinole and a very small-grained brownishcorn are also grown, both bearing several ears to the stalk.^ Othercolored corns are not planted. Occasionally, ears of red, pink, yellow,blue, and purple-streaked grains appear. Kept for remedies, espe-cially for kidney troubles, they are cooked with corn silk in water.Colored ears are placed in the door of the goat pen if the female issick after dropping its young. There is no special use for perfectears or double-pointed ears (na'avara, "twins") . Maize is planted in August for harvest in November or Decemberand in January and February for harvest in June. Maize is usuallyplanted in rows. Squashes are generally planted between the rows,but, except in small gardens, beans are usually planted separately.If beans are planted with maize, they are planted in alternate rows.Some maize is eaten green. Mature maize for home consumption isusually stored on the roof of the ramada, frequently unhusked, andis shelled as needed. Maize for sale is shelled by rented machines.Husks are often stored for tamales or cigarette wrappers. Maizestalks are cut and stored in piles or on roofs for fodder. Occasionallystock is allowed to graze the standing stalks. 3 Owing to difBculties in importing specimens into the United States at the time, noattempt was made to obtain adequate identification of this or other plants. BEALS] CONTEMPORARY CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 7Wheat (baduwa, tirigo) is ordinarily planted from November toJanuary. Much is raised by dry farming. Seed is planted at thebottom of deep furrows unless the fields are irrigated, in which casethe seed is broadcast.Garbanzos, or chickpeas (karabanzan), are planted from Decemberto February, usually after a fall corn crop on the same ground.Wlieat, maize, and garbanzos are the principal cash crops.Several varieties of beans (miini) are raised, but most are evidentlyintroduced, as they are termed by the native word "muni" plus a colorterm, frequently Spanish : Miini rosa (pink bean) ; muni wisachi(lead-colored bean; also called torokomiini) ; muni azufrado, a half-yellow bean ; yori muni ojito and yori muni ojito negro (cowpeas orblack-eyed beans) ; serawi (tepary).Barley and peas have Spanish names.Squash (ka-man), watermelons (sakobari), and cantaloupes(minorim) are extensively grown. A little chili (kokori) is plantedafter the full moon nearest April 15, and occasionally tomatoes aregrown. Some native tobacco (makiico) is sown. Cotton growing (orweaving) by Indians was unknown to informants, although it wasknown aboriginally. Fruits are rarely planted.All these planting methods are used also by the Mexicans. Toolsare usually a steel plow, sometimes a spike or disk harrow, rarely aplanter, and the coa., a sort of weed cutter, also used to hill up corn.The latter has an iron or steel blade, about 2 inches wide and 6 incheslong, set at a 45? angle on a wooden handle. Wooden plows wereremembered by one informant, and the digging stick (huika) by an-other, who said it formerly was used in planting.Former tlireshing tools were a heavy club about 4 feet long and 21^inches in diameter, a crude pronged fork made by sharpening bothbranches of a forking tree limb, and a wooden shovel (fig. 1, a-c).The grain was beaten with the club on a hard floor. Wlieat andgarbanzo straw was lifted on a fork and the grain shaken out. Thegrain was winnowed by being thrown in the air with the woodenspade. These methods are little used now, but specimens of the im-plements were secured at Chihuahuita and their use with maize wasobserved at Cedros.Men do all agricultural work.Ceremonial associations formerly occurred. Current practices weredescribed as follows by one informant : After the rains and when the fields are irrigated people commence to sow withpleasure. When the sowing is completed they make some promise so that Godwill cause the fields to yield abundantly. If the crop is fruitful, they say Godhas heard them and granted them good crops. Then on Palm Sunday they taketheir palms to the church in payment for the crops given. 8 BUEEAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 142According to another informant, when new land was cleared byburning, prayers were offered in the field to San Isidro. During Figure 1.?Wooden implements, a, Shovel used in handling grain, length 5 feet.&, Fork used for handling' fodder or unshelled maize, length 3 feet 8 inches,c, Club used for beating maize from cob; this and a and 6 are all made ofmesquite wood, d, Wooden bowl, diameter 12 inches ; this and succeedingitems made of cottonwood. e, Wooden bowl, diameter 10 inches, f, Woodenspoon for household use. g, Large wooden spoon for ceremonial cooking.h, Wooden trough for mixing bread, dimensions 32 by 9i/4 by 6^/^ inches.(Univ. Calif. Mus. Cat. 3, Nos. (a) 3318, (6) 3317, (c) 3316, (tZ) 3246, (e) 3232,(/=) 3301, {g) 3241, {h) 3234. sowing, a candle was sometimes burned to San Isidro in the fields atnight. Fires were burned at the four corners of the field on May 3to prevent worms; cahv?tes were also fired. After harvest, a fiesta Bbals] contemporary CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 9was given at the house. Ears of corn were placed about the housealtar, candles burned, and cahuetes (local pronunciation of cohetes)tired. Two sheep were killed for the musicians, and girls dancedjarahes and the zapatia, as well as to "music of pascola." Sometimesthere were pascola dancers.There is a distinctive belief in the influence of the moon on crops.Neither planting nor harvesting is begun until after the full moon "so the plant won't grow too high and not bear well." (This is agenuine local agricultural problem. Wlien plants flourish too wellthey "go to stalk" and bear lightly.) Fruit trees, especially oranges,if planted 3 days after the new moon will take 3 years to bear ; if 5 daysafter, 5 years. This is probably a European idea.San Juan is called the owner of seeds, but there is no direct cere-monial expression of this idea, unless his fiesta is really a harvest fes-tival. Wheat, maize, garbanzos, beans, peas, watermelons, melons,mesquite, hito, guamucMl^ echos^ and pitahaya belong to him.Among the Yaqui a man plants where he wishes, merely advisingthe kobana'u of his intention to sow a particular spot. (This un-doubtedly has changed in the last decade.) Three kinds of maizeare sown: a white maize, baci bwe'u (large maize), baci ilici (maizesmall), and baci sewa (maize flower, or pinole maize). Formerly alarge yellow maize was also planted. Maiyobaci is unknown. Thedouble ear (gogo-nim) has no significance or use. Red ears occuroccasionally and are kept for remedies.Several varieties of beans (muni) are planted: yori muni (whiteman's beans, the cowpea or black-eyed bean),* siki muni (red bean),tasaimuni (white (?) bean), the tepary, and a spotted bean calledgarapatos (no Yaqui name).Two varieties of squash are kutakama, a round, flattish thick-skinned variety, and kiakama, a variety with a throat.Makuco and papanto or yoemvivam are two varieties of tobaccogrown. Gourds for resonators or rattles (bule au'kosim) yield poorlyon the Yaqui Eiver and are mostly imported from the Mayo. Wheatand garbanzos are the two most important Spanish introductions, asamong the Mayo.Planting and harvesting begin in the waning phase of the moon.For watermelons only, after the seed is planted, ,a cross is scratchedin the earth over each hill. Answering a direct question, one inform-ant said "they say" that the ancients took San Isidro to the fields.There are no prayers, censing, or other ceremonials at present.The Yaqui also say San Juan is the owner of the seeds and thathe harvests them at his fiesta, June 24, when the harvest is in full *The Yuma name is also y6ri mlini. Evidently they borrowed the black-eyed beandirectly from the Yaqui rather than from the Spanish (Forde, 1931. p. 109). 10 BUKEAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 142swing; "San Juan sime tacupatea sakobarim cupa," San Juan is har-vesting watermelons. Pitaliaya, echo, tuna, maize, mesquite beans,and garambuyo seeds were specifically mentioned as belonging to SanJuan.First fruits are frequently taken to church. Mention is made oftaking a wagonload of watermelons at a time to church.Yaqui planting and harvesting methods are similar to those ofthe Mayo, although modern methods are more often used.^TAME AND DOMESTIC ANIMALSThe domestic animals of the Cahita are dogs, cats, burros, horses,mules, cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, fowl, and turkeys. There is littledifference between the Mexican and Indian patterns in handling orusing animals, and in saddles, harness, dairy methods, and the like.The only native names for animals are dog (cii'u) and pig (kowi).The latter may be a corruption of Spanish coche^ but is more likelya transference of the native term for the peccary, huya kowi (woodspig). Neither pork nor lard is used by most Cahita, who say pigswere once people. Pigs are sold to the Mexicans. Turkeys (weko-lote, ko-buri) are little raised, but fowls (totori) and house cats (misi)are common. A small boa (kuru-esi, corua) 6 to 8 feet long, formerlywas often kept about houses to catch rats and mice. A story that aboa once ate a small infant is told to account for the abandonment ofthe practice. The small local variety of parrot {papagayo) is keptas a pet by both Cahita and Mexicans. Mockingbirds are kept incages.Domestic animals are sometimes treated by curanderos and there aresome special, evidently magical, remedies which will be discussed inthe proper place. Animals are castrated only after the full moon, "because then they will not bleed so much." This evidently is part ofthe same belief involved in planting by the moon.GATHERING FOOD SUPPLIESWild food supplies are little gathered, although the Yaqui areforced at times to rely on them during their wars. Mesquite is onlyresorted to in an emergency ; it is ground on a metate and made intopinole. It is generally considered an inferior food. The only wildfoods still gathered eagerly are pitahayas and tunas, both cactus fruits,and the Tnaguey.The pitahaya and tuna ripen in August. The pitahaya fruit isgathered with a long cane spear with a point of heartwood of mesquite 5 Useful additional details and pictures are given by R. A. Studhalter (1936, pp. 114et seq.). Beals] CONTEMPORARY CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 11 or ironwood, to which is usually tied a crosspiece to act either as ahook or to prevent the spear point from entering the fruit too far(pi. 7, fig. 1). Fruit is placed in a special container (wakal) sus-pended from the shoulder. The wakal is a cylindrical receptacle ofcane splints twined together with mesquite bark. The bottom iswoven of mesquite-bark strips. Bailing wire is superseding bark.A strap passes over the shoulder (fig. 2). Figure 2.?Carrying basket, or wakal,used in gathering pitahaya fruit.Made of split canes twined with mes-quite-bark strips. The bottom is madeof mesquite-bark strips interwoven ; the carrying strap is of canvas. Di-ameter, 10 inches ; height, IOV2 inches.(Univ. Calif. Mus. Cat. 3, No. 3245.) The Yaqui use the ecJios fruit also, scooping out the interior andplacing it in a receptacle as it is gathered.Some fruits and seeds still gathered are : aki pottan, ripe pitahayas (aki, pitahaya fruit).sayamme, salas (root) ; possibly same as sawa, a root resembling a sweet-potato. It is a mainstay in war times among the Yaqui.hito, a tree ; the nut is used,bakuem, greens of wild land plants.w?'e, gi'eens of water plants. HUNTINGAt the present time relatively little hunting is done by the Mayo.Bows and arrows are used to kill rabbits, birds, and other small game,and in outlying districts men may still be seen carrying them to andfrom work in the fields. Small boys also have bows and arrows, anddo a good deal of hunting for small game. Deer hunting with bow andarrows is very rare. Most large game hunting is done with rifles, andas the Government has confiscated most of these, hunting has declined.Some trapping for skins is done with modern steel traps. Possibly 12 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 142 aboriginal is a rope snare set in runways for deer and peccary. Beesare followed and their nests raided, the honey often being sold in thelocal markets.Gophers are trapped in an ingenious manner (Beals, 1943, fig. 1),but primarily to protect the fields, not to secure food.The bones of deer and other wild animals must not be given to dogsor cats or the hunter will lose his luck. Bones, including deer antlers,are burned, and the ashes are sometimes used to coat the comal onwhich tortillas are cooked. If the hunter throws bones or meat to dogsor cats, the deer will know it. Even if he goes hunting far away, hewill have no success, nor will anyone who accompanies him. The sameis true if he wastes or throws away meat. There is no similar re-striction with domestic animals that "are able to look at people."The bezoar, or stone from deer intestines, is very lucky for a hunter.One must "know how to carry it," for it is very dangerous, particularlyin summer. The stone is said to contain a tiny snake, the head and tailof which are sometimes visible. Its vibrations make "electricity,"giving strength and power to the owner so that he can break strongsticks and iron bars with his hands. At the same time, in summer itattracts lightning.Deer hunting formerly had a strong magical background. All ani-mals of the woods have leaders (also called owners, devils) . The headchief of the deer, kambiiha, keeps deer from being caught if the boneshave been thrown to dogs. His permission is necessary to kill deer,Kambuha sometimes appears as a deer with a black muzzle or face.One cannot kill him even with a rifle. When one starts hunting, hesays to kambuha, "Give me permission to Tiill such and such an animalso that I may have meat to eat," or he may say, "wari inacai huyapaayiituit amanet autonaki masim hittoyembeme," freely translated as "Let us go to m.y father, chief of the woods, to bring back deer. Letus ask there."A hunting fiesta was formerly a prime necessity for a deer hunt ofany size, even for parties of three or four. If three or four personsset snares for deer, they had a fiesta, sometimes before, sometimes after,or both. Men giving the fiesta performed deer and coyote dances andsang. If they killed five or six deer, they sang and danced all night.If an individual sets a trap in the woods, he burns candles all night.If the deer chief had a special liking for a person, he sent a smalldeer (black, white, and gray with pinto markings, small hoofs?quitedifferent from the big burro deer of the coast) . This deer talked to theman, who took the deer as his "wife," and did not take a "Christianwife." Such a man could command animals ; he frequently slept alonein the woods instead of returning to the village at night. Others, wish-ing to kill deer easily, sought his permission ; if given it, they encoun-tered deer immediately. Beals] contemporary CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 13The hunter must not allow his thoughts to wander. If, while in thewoods, he thinks of home, his friends, or some woman, a jaguar (yo-ko)will appear and eat him. If he "doesn't think" (i. e., if he concentrateson the hunt) no misfortune will befall him.The coyote (go'i) is not hunted but is killed if it does damage aroundthe house. The coyote is a "devil." It always appears or howls abouthouses where a person is dying. So do the fox (aiyi) and owl.Iguanas (wikurim) are very healthful food, preventing sickness.A snake or lizard (saka'awi) and a large wood rat (tori) are eaten.Kuriies {cruzf), a large black snake with a cross on its head, is noteaten.*Unlike the Mayo, the Yaqui still hunt considerably. Deer are thefavorite game, the rifle the usual weapon, as the Yaqui are permittedarms. Like the Mayo, supernatural sanctions play a large part in be-coming a successful hunter.As among the Mayo, charms are of value, particularly the deerbezoar. A man carrying one will always kill deer. The bezoar losesall its virtue if washed or cleaned in any way after removal from thedeer intestine. The stone may not be carried during the rainy seasonor the carrier will be struck by lightning. An informant knew of onecase.Most valuable is to "talk to the deer." One who wishes to be a gooddeer hunter goes into the woods until he meets a small deer whichappears to have a "honeycomb of the woods" (wasp nest?) between itshorns. This deer (ma-lici) says, "What are you seeking here?" Thehunter replies, "I am seeking deer to hunt." Ma-lici tries to drivethe hunter away. If it fails, ma-lici says, "I am going to kill you."To this the hunter replies, "Until all my fingers are the same length,you can't kill me." Ma-lici apparently has no adequate response, andreleases the hunter, who thereafter finds deer whenever he hunts.Ma-lici is "governor" of the deer and hunters. Informants couldnot reconcile him or his position with equally positive statementsthat suawaka (see p. 99) is head of the animals. Some identifiedma-lici with a small deer which, if shot and not killed, can throwworms into the hunter so that he will die. Others gave the latteranimal the name of so'ltela. The chief of all animals is the hornedtoad.Within the memory of living men hunting was more ritualizedand elaborate. Parties were led by men who knew the "secrets" ofthe deer and, from descriptions, may have had shamanistic power.The performance of deer dances and ceremonial gatherings of hunterswith songs and prayers to the deer "chief" have such a stronglyaboriginal flavor that they have been described at length (Beals, 1943,pp. 13-18) as part of the ancient culture. * Spicer suggests kurwes (rainbow) as an association with this snake. 14 BUEEAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bdll. 142Mountain sheep (yoci batum) are very rare now, but they werenever hunted because they might be magical, especially black-and-white ones. Persons killing magical mountain sheep never re-turned home and could not talk to people. Instead they lived in thewoods and ran aw^ay whenever they saw a human being.Blowing on food to cool it causes bad luck in the deer hunt. Allinformants still observed this rule. The tail of the deer is hung on atree or ramada facing the rising sun.'^ Deer meat or bones must neverbe fed to dogs. Bones are burned. One with all his fingers the samelength cannot kill deer. "But," said informants, "who has all hisfingers the same length?"Formerly, a young man tied an iguana or wood rat to his belt. Ifhe met a young woman in the woods, he brought her home and marriedher "because he had gone to the woods to bring back something."The Mayo formerly hunted deer, peccary, ocelots, wildcats, jaguars,mountain lions, and badgers in large parties of 20 or 30 men armedwith bows, arrows, spears, and machetes. The hunters, when ready,assembled at the house of the chief and asked his permission to leave.The chief named messengers to notify nearby villages. Thus no onemolested the hunters in the woods or on the roads. The chief set aday for return. If the party did not return by the day set, a searchparty was sent out. If the delay was caused by disobedience, theentire party was punished by the chief and the judge. The huntersdeposited all the meat in their knapsacks (mocilas) in the house ofthe chief, who divided it among the entire village.Men of unusual eyesight among the Yaqui followed bees fromwatering places. The bee probably was a native species, as the "hive"is described as a round structure a yard in diameter hung from thetree branch.Birds, such as the mockingbird, cardinal (wicalako), doves(me-etai'i), parakeets, and others, are caught young and kept as petsor sold to Mexicans. They are fed on toasted chickpeas and fruits.FISHINGFish are taken in the rivers and the ocean, at certain seasons.Ocean fishing is mostly commercialized, fish going to canneries ormarkets in Mexican towns. The Yaqui particularly are fond of theexcellent oysters abundant about the river mouth. Fishhooks, lines,harpoons, weirs, and casting and dipping nets are used. Except fora few seacoast dwellers, fish are not now an important Cahita foodsource. For Yaqui ritual beliefs and practices within a generation, aswell as for further details on hunting and fishing, see corresponding ^Toor (1937, p. 55) says it is called flower (sewa) and brings success. It may alsobave curative and magical powers. Bbals] contemporary CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 15 sections in the study of the aboriginal culture of the Cahita (Beals,1943). FOOD PREPARATION AND STORAGEMethods of food preparation and storage differ only in detail fromthose of the Mexicans. The tortilla is the principal food. Maize,after being soaked in lye or wood ashes, is ground on the metate, andthe dough is shaped into round flat cakes somewhat larger and thickerthan the Mexicans ordinarily make. These are cooked over a slow fireand are somewhat more thoroughly baked than is the case with localMexican tortillas. Maize is also parched, ground dry on the metate,and mixed with water to make atole. All other foods are usuallyboiled in pottery vessels (the Yaqui use more metal vessels). Whilethe range of foods prepared is even less than among local Mexicans, itincludes some dishes not used by the latter.Maguey (ku'u) is gathered and roasted in pit ovens, although it isnow rare. Maguey now comes principally from the hills and is soldas a sweetmeat. The leaves are peeled from the stalk and the stalkroasted. Tamales made from the ripe pitahaya are greatly relished.A few Indians bake sweetened wheat-flour breads in Mexican typedomed or conical outdoor ovens. Sometimes sheep or goats areroasted in the pit oven. Squash is eaten fresh or is dried in thesun, by being cut either in half or sliced in long strips which arehung on the ends of house or kitchen rafters.Maize storage methods differ from local Mexican practices only indetail. The storage place is usually a brush-covered ramada-likestructure often only a few feet from the ground (pi. 2, fig. 2). Maizeon the cob, frequently husked, is piled on these ramadas. What rainfalls drains through the grain, and the air quickly dries it afterstorms. The ramada sometimes is high off the ground with an out-flaring criblike pole structure around the edges. This type is particu-larly common at Bacavachi. A similar small structure is often filledwith maize husks for wrapping native cigarettes or tamales. Squashis frequently stored beneath the ramada. Beans, shelled maize, andgarbanzos are generally stored in large cane-splint baskets inside thehouse. The house roof is a frequent storage place for maize or fodder(pi. 3, fig. 1).Various foods are : helites (quelites), greens (generic), garbanzo shoots and tips of squash vinesbeing favorites,kuvino, mescal, potent distilled drink made from maguey.saktusi, pinole, ground parched maize,saki, parched maize,pdsori, maize dough boiled with beans,taskari (tortillas), wheat-flour or maize-dough cakes cooked over a slow fireon a flat clay dish (comal). 16 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 142posorimme, maize and beans boiled together.kosido (cocido), bones and garbanzos, boiled together.munbakki, boiled beans.masobakki, boiled deer meat.ninikobba, cooked tongue (nina, tongue; k6bba, head).hurinabo, tunas or prickly pears, fruit of the nopal.cunam, htiigos, wild figs ( ?).hunam bannari, atole of mesquite beans, p6cMta.avarim sobva, toasted green maize.kamam lobo, tender green squash.waibasi buasi, ripe guavas.kowi noxhi, tamales of peccary meat.himai'i, blood pudding with herbs, cooked in stomach of an animal in theearth oven,waka noxhi, tamales of beef,coa borim, a bread of fruit of cholla cactus.The wild plants gathered are given elsewhere (p. 11).Following is a list of animals now eaten : Orizaba, ocelot.tartikku, road runner.huppa, turkey buzzard.huri, badger.semmam, honeycomb.huya kowi, peccary.maso, deer.buerabvo, wild cat.garabis, another short-tailed cat.wikuri, iguana.moci, turtle.tori cikul, large wood rat ; 20 or 30 are cooked in a large olla with maize.clwis, wild turkey.subaum, quail.Numerous other animals, such as wild ducks and raccoons, probablyare eaten, but were not mentioned by informants. Of domestic ani-mals, the Yaqui eat all, including the burro and horse, but the Mayorefuse pig, burro, and horse.* HOUSESTYPES AND CONSTRUCTIONMayo house construction is less differentiated from the Mexicanthan is that of the Yaqui. The Mayo frequently made adobe houseswhere there is no danger of flooding. The better class of adobe housesis to be seen on the north bank of the river on the stretches of mesanear Navojoa. The adobe bricks are laid in courses, and exteriorsand interiors are often whitewashed over a coating of mud plaster.Similar plastering is also done without whitewashing. * Toor ( 1937, p. 54 ) says the Yaqui refuse eggs and chicken. This escaped me. Cer-tainly they now raise few chickens, but the Mayo have many, as do the Yaqui of Pascua inArizona. Beals] CONTEMPORARY CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 17The most common Mayo construction is the wattle-and-daub type.In all these (and some adobe structures) the roof is supported byposts independently of the walls. The walls, whether of adobe orwattle-and-daub construction, are filled in after the roof is erected.The wattle construction is of pliable branches interwoven betweenstout uprights in a wicker technique (fig. 3; pi. 3, fig. 2) . The Yaqui FiGTJBE 3.?Section illustrating wattle technique used for house walls.frequently substitute canes for the pliable branches. Mud plasteringis applied over this wattle base, the mud frequently being mixed withdung. Walled ramadas and separate kitchens are not usuallyplastered.Yaqui construction usually is technologically better than Mayo.The workmanship is neater and there are several types of wall con-struction rarely found among the Mayo. The use of mats for wallsis frequent among the Yaqui, but among the Mayo is mostly confinedto ramadas. The Yaqui wall entire houses this way, the mats beingheld in place by horizontal poles on either side running betweenthe roof posts and fastened together with mesquite-bark strips or, Figure 4.?Vertical thatch used forhouse walls. For further detailssee McMillan (1936, pi. 10). Figure 5.?Vertical wattle used forhouse walls and fences. For furtherdetails see McMillan (1936, pi. 10). 18 BUREAU OF AMERICAN" ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 142more frequently, with baling wire. Walls of other types are fre-quently lined with mats by the Yaqui.Vertical thatch is much used by the Yaqui and is invariably mat-lined. Arrowweed, cornstalks, or other materials are held uprightbetween 2 or 3 pairs of horizontal poles tied together with mesquitebark or wire (fig. 4; pis. 3, fig. 1; 4, fig. 1). The same type of wall isoccasionally made by the Mayo.Vertical wattling is much used by the Yaqui and resembles thehorizontal wattling technique (fig. 5). Fences are made of canes inthe same way. Most Yaqui house yards are fenced with cane fences,which are rare and of inferior workmanship among the Mayo."Yaqui and Mayo houses usually have one or more rectangular rooms,each with a single door and no windows, except an occasional ventilat-ing hole in some adobe structures (pis. 3,4). A ramada is generallybefore the house, usually completely open but sometimes partly closedwith mats, wattle, or arrowweed walls. Cooking is usually done ina separate structure or, sometimes, under the ramada. The kitchenstructures have a more or less rainproof roof in contrast with theramada. Kitchen walls are often made by filling in the space betweenthe roof supports with any convenient materials?cornstalks, arrow- FiGTJBB 6.?Methods of joining roof beams, a, Ordinary method of wedgingunshaped ends into crotch of post. 6, Mortised joint for roof beams.weed, cane, split pitahaya skeletons, or even brush and chunks of wood.Sometimes the walls are made palisade-fashion by setting uprightposts in the earth, pitahaya skeletons being most usual. The entranceis frequently provided with a gate or door, or else a row of stakes orlogs is placed across the entrance, low enough to step over but highenough to discourage prowling dogs and pigs (pis. 3, fig. 1; 5, fig. 1).House and ramada roofs are supported by uprights of forked mes-quite or ironwood trunks set in the ground. Cedar, brought from themountains, is occasionally used. Crosspieces of mesquite or occasion-ally Cottonwood, sometimes roughly squared, run between the forkeduprights and support the rafters. These crosspieces are usually wedged ? For a good discussion of Yaqui architecture with many illustrations, see McMillan(1936), especially plates 9 and 10. Beals] CONTEMPORAKY CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 19firmly with blocks of wood. Two joining crosspieces are sometimesroughly morticed in a lap joint but more often they are wedged intothe same crotch side by side (fig. 6). Mesquite rafters are preferred,but where mesquite is scarce, anything convenient is used, especiallythe skeletons of pitahaya. If the space to be roofed is too wide forthe rafters, additional supporting posts and crosspieces are placed inthe middle of the room.The wood used in this construction is cut after the full moon. Thenthe "water goes down," the wood is drier, and worms will not eat it.Up to this point the roofs of the ramada, kitchen, and house areessentially the same. For the ramada a brush or arrowweed coveringover the rafters suffices. The kitchen roof is similar with an addi-tional layer of grass covered with mud. House roofs are usually moreelaborate. Across the rafters, which are more closely spaced thanin the other structures, canes (occasionally sticks carefully cut) arelaid close together, and at their ends and in the middle are twinedto the rafters with mesquite bark or maguey-Siber cord. Above thecanes may be laid either brush or mats, sometimes brush on top of themats. The whole is covered with dried grass and mud to a thicknessof several inches. The mud is sometimes mixed with dung and isalways carefully puddled before being placed on the roof. The roofoften has a slight pitch, probably more accidental than planned.There appears to be no distinction between the roof construction ofYaqui, Mayo, and Mexican in permanent structures. These earthenroofs leak somewhat during a heavy rain, and in this respect are in-ferior to the thatched roofs in the mountains as near as Alamos or onthe Fuerte. Only two thatched houses were seen on the whole lowerMayo, one having been built by a man who had lived in Alamos (pi.5, fig. 2) . In the hills, palm is the common thatching material, buton the coast, grass is used. The Spanish term '"'"jacaV is generallyused for these structures, but the word "capakari" was also noted.On the lower Fuerte River, a peculiar type of house is common, es-pecially about Ahome and between Ahome and the river. Its groundplan is an oblong with rounded ends and with doors on both the longsides (usually not directly opposite one another), wattled or "pali-sade" walls, rarely plastered, and a thatched semi-gable roof. Somehave a ramada before one or both doors. Others were a transversehalf section only of this house, the open end being wholly or partlyfilled with wattle or other construction. In general there is much moreuse of thatch on the lower Fuerte and much less use of mats.The Yaqui make a small temporary shelter of double lean-toconstruction as described in detail in the first part of this study (Beals,1943, p. 21).In front of the ramada of almost every Mayo and Yaqui house isplaced a small cross, evidently more or less vestigial. The one cross 20 BUEEAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 142I saw which, was of undoubted antiquity, said to be from 75 to 100years old, was nearly 9 feet high with some scrollwork ornamentationcarved on it (pi. 6, fig. 1). The only explanation for the crosses wasthat they kept the house from being struck by lightning. They alsofigure in some ceremonial connections. On the Fuerte River, crossesbefore houses are rather rare.UTILIZATION AND FURNISHINGThe ramada is the workroom and living quarters of the family;weaving and spinning goes on there. Usually, there are benches forseats, and the edge of the ramada is frequently bordered with pottedplants and flowers, commonly on a rough bench out of reach of wan-dering pigs. Mayo house yards are open, in noticeable contrast withthose of Yaqui houses, where the ramada is inside a high fence sothat no one can see what goes on about the house. A parakeet usuallylives under the ramada on a stick or in a cage. On poles, suspendedfrom the rafters by wires, are hung saddles, ropes, blankets, and har-ness. Sometimes wooden hooks made from naturally bent sticksare hung from rafters or posts to hold rojDes or otherarticles. They are barked and grooved at one endto receive the cord (fig. 7). If the family makescheese, the product is laid on a platform of canes sus-pended from the roof. The roof supports may havebunches of cholla cactus tied to them to prevent catsor rats from climbing up to the articles suspendedfrom the roof beams. Also hung from the ramadais generally a cradle, a cratelike arrangement ofcanes or straight branches, open at the top. (SeeMcMillan, 1936, pi. 9.) A large water jar set in theFiGTJKE 7?Wood- crotch of a tree trunk planted in the ground underen hook used for the ramada is usual (pi. 5, fig. 2). A gourd waterhanging hopes dipper hangs near it. On the walls or posts alwaysand clothing hang two or three gourd canteens (fig. 8, Or-c).romroo earns Beds sometimes are in the house but much moreoften are under the ramada. The customary typeis the tapeste^ a word used also for a hanging shelf, made of canes,palm-leaf ribs, or other suitable material twined close together atthe ends and middle and laid across two trestles or simply on twologs. A mat, preferably of palm leaf, serves as a mattress, thesleepers rolling themselves in blankets. The mat and canes are rolledup together during the day and stand against the wall of the house,and the trestles are stacked up or used as seats. Beds of this typeare somewhat rarer among Yaqui than Mayo. In poor families, amat or the bare ground suffices. In any case, there are never enoughbeds to go around. A good many families have one or more beds Beals] contemporary CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 21 of Mexican style, a heavy framework in which are stretched crisscrossstrips of rawhide. These are stood up at one side of the ramadaduring the day (pi. 6, fig. 2). On the Fuerte River, the tapestetype was seen only at Capomas.The house proper contains little furniture. If any chairs are owned,they are apt to be kept inside to be brought out for visitors. Thereis usually, but not always, a small altar, a table decorated accordingto the means of the family with a white sheet, a candle or two, andsome paper flowers. If a saint is represented, it is either by a pictureor, rarely, by a dressed wooden figure. The house altar is less fre-quent among the Yaqui, and the saint is generally represented by apicture. The Yaqui have less furniture in general, owing to the un-certainty of their residence. One or more chests and a mirror com-plete the usual furniture. In the chests are kept surplus clothing (ifthe family possesses any), trinkets, valuables, heirlooms, and tools.Aside from the tools and clothes, the collection is usually of no value ? a pair of broken earrings, perhaps some notched rasping sticks or bFigure 8.?Types of gourd water bottles, or canteens (o-c) ; "C p C 13So ^- to a - '^ _- rti OS ^ fl -^ a) CO e CO oj B m 3 CB P.^ a< ,? I Oi 02 ci ct?. a> 0) c S o t! is -^ Sbbe CO ctfCO (3 0) flPi -'-' ?r' _Xj "^ to i^lw ft ^ '^ o go CO 302 OJ ? "^ ^ s 0) O oi w -i fe 11 a of thread about these rods, and pass theclew from one to the other the timeswhich are necessary for the number ofthreads which the warp must have."[The warp being] finished, the weaverplaces herself before the example whichshe wishes to copy, and intercepts orcatches by means of double threads thethreads counted in accordance with theexample. These double threads are fast-ened to small rods of equal length, mak-ing a certain sort of heddle, by means ofwhich they are able to raise the divisionof the threads which they wish ... Tofasten further the said divisions, theyput in each a broad stick well smoothed,like a sword blade, two, three, or more inaccordance with the complexity of theweave. [There is evidently some confu-sion here.] These broad sticks areturned on edge with the heddle to makea place for the weft. This is inserted bymeans of a light small rod or twig withthe weft coiled on it, serving as a shuttle.[The weft] is tightened with a heavystick with points on both ends, and thusthey proceed until their work is finished.Doc. Hist. Mex., 1853-57, 3" ser., vol. 4,p. 550.]Among the Mayo the making ofsashes (hikosi) is done on the samelarge looms as are used for blankets.There are no special sash looms, butthe tools used, such as spreader andbatten, are naturally all muchsmaller. The batten for sashes iswider than the fabric, which is notthe case with blankets (pi. 7, fig. 1) . The belts are usually of plain solidcolors, sometimes with stripes run-ning the short dimension of thefabric. The making of theseamounts to a village industry atMasiaca, but they are rarely madeelsewhere and then usually to order. " This differs slightly from Mayo warping,which is circular, but not continuous. Beals] CONTEMPORAEY CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 33Another type of sash has an elaborate floral design worked in the sametapestry technique used for blankets. Floral sashes are said to bemade mostly in Ahome, a fact I was unable to verify, but I bought onespecimen made not far from Navojoa at Chukarit (fig. 13). TheYaqui formerly made sashes also (Hrdlicka, 1904, p. 65).The sashes are said to preventrupture when lifting heavy weights,but in spite of this alleged virtue,they are rapidly being displaced byleather belts. Wider and longerwoven bands faced with canvas ateach end, are used as latigos forpacking mules or burros (fig. 14).Maguey-fihQv weaving among theMayo is almost entirely a man's oc-cupation, the women merely stitch-ing together the sides of the bagswhich are made from the woven ma-terial. At Masiaca, bag weaving isa regular occupation of many of theIndians, possibly owing to the close-ness of the hills with more abundantsupplies of raw material. Somework in maguey fiber is also doneon the north bank of the river,where the gravelly mesa soil supports a considerable number of magueyplants.There is some specialization. At Masiaca some men do nothingbut gather the leaves of the plant and extract the fiber. Others onlyspin and weave. In extracting the fiber the leaf is impaled at its buttend on a nail on the under side of a 6-inch log set in the ground at a45? angle. It is then brought around the end of the log and laid onthe flattened upper surface. The pulpy part of the leaf is scrapedaway with a simple tool made of a steel blade set in the angle of aconveniently shaped tree branch, Wlien the pulp has been scrapedaway, the fiber is laid in the sun to dry.Spinning is always done by two men. The instrument which is saidto be the older is a pendulumlike piece of heavy wood under a footin length, which rotates on a small rod passing through a hole in thelighter end. The thread is started with the fingers until it can be tiedto the projection on the lighter end. One man then twirls the instru-ment in his hand, walking away from his helper, who feeds the fiberinto the thread. Eawhide ropes are twisted with the same instrument.A more modern instrument is a rod with a flywheel set between two Figure 14.?Portion of wide wovenbelt, 19 cm. wide, 2.05 m. long.When faced with canvas at eachend, similar belts are used as packlatigos. (Univ. Calif. Mus., Cat. 3,No. 3336.) :U BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bdll. 142posts. The specimens secured were all of wood, but the majority inuse at present are of metal. The rod is rotated by a cord drawn aroundit and pulled under tension. When the end of the cord is reached, thetension is released and the cord rapidly returned to the previous posi-tion for another pull. The thread is attached to a hook at one end ofthe rod and the fiber is fed into the thread by another person walkingbackward away from the instrument and carrying a bunch of magueyfiber under his arm (pi. 8, fig. 1) . Insicje weaveOutsido"orte , FiGtTBE 17.?Map of Yaqui territory prepared by the Secretary of Pascua, Ariz.,with the approval of a group of older men. Beginning at the upper left-handcorner and reading to the right around the map, the wording translates roughlyas follows (the Spanish is very poor) : a, Here in the sea is a number 35. Onthe north side. 6, Here on Tiburon it reaches dry land, c. Straight to La |Palma on the north side, d, Continue direct to Los Pilares in the mountains of 'the Burros (Cerro de los Burros) to the north, e, From there continue direct tothe mountain of Chibato to the sharp i)eak. f, Continue in a straight line.ff, To the little red mountain, straight, h, To San Marcial, straight, i, To theflat of the Apaches. There is a stone with some letters, straight. /, Direct tothe Sierra of the Saint, fc, To Jabacoca. There turn directly toward the sea.I, To the little hill of Guiulai, enter the sea directly, m. To Santa Rosalia. 1There in the middle of the street are some monuments. The center wording lsays (approximately) : "This is the limit (or line) of the Yaqui. The majorportion of the principality of the Yaqui for all the boundary. Thus we knowit from the ancients of former times." visited most of the Pueblos. The Yuma, Maricopa, Navaho, Yavapai,and others seem unknown to them. The only names I could secure forthe tribes known are those given. Apparently, they had actual contact BBALS] CONTEMPORARY CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 49 with the Apache some time ago, as one old man at Pascua village nearTucson, Ariz., had been a captive in his youth.The Yaqui have their claimed tribal territory marked out by bound-ary monuments of piles of stones about 8 feet square and 8 feet high.This apparently dates from the time of Benito Juarez and is notancient. Informants stated that a treaty was signed at that time givingthe limits marked out. The claims include more than the aboriginalterritory. The line runs from somewhat south of Tiburon Island,across the Gulf of California to near Santa Rosalia, taking in a smallsector of land in Baja California "bordering the Waicuri," thence backto the mainland to a double-peaked mountain south of Ciudad Obregon,thence east of the mountains east of that city, east of Cumuripas, thento the starting point, passing only a little south of Hermosillo. Amap was drawn to illustrate this (fig. 17).Practically every point in Cahita territory has its name. Many ofthese have been Hispanicized. No effort was made to secure a completelist of names, owing to the vast number and extent of territory cov-ered. For a list of Mayo place names, see Beals (1943, p. 34) . HISTORICAL KNOWLEDGEThere is very little knowledge of historical events other than thoseoccurring in the lifetime of the informants. Some confused accountsare discussed under Warfare. An elderly informant said her grand-parents spoke of the time the stars fell (the meteoric shower of 1833),but she was more impressed by a story they had told of the sun disap-pearing shortly after rising and not reappearing until just before itset. It was dark all day. The trees were wreathed with snakes, andwomen's long hair turned into snakes. Many died of fright. It ishard to conceive of any historical basis for this and it casts doubt onthe story of falling stars.The Cahita believe they have always inhabited their present loca-tion although earlier accounts indicate a tradition of migration fromthe north, particularly for the Ahome (Orozco y Bera, 1864, p. 331).Although settlers were rare in Mayo territories until within the last50 or 60 years (except in Navojoa, where a considerable Mexican colonyexisted earlier), there are memories of French settlers living on thelower river, particularly at Santa Cruz, Huperi, and Echojoa. Thesesettlers married into the tribe extensively and are said to account forthe many blonds found among the Mayo today.TRADE AND WEALTHModern trade differs little from that of the similar classes of theMexican population. Dwellers in remote places may barter with trav-eling traders?a cheese for a piece of cloth or some coffee or the like ? 50 BUREAU OF AME^IICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bdll. 142 Ibut mostly the products are sold for cash and the needed supplies fjbought. Wealth concepts differ little from Mexican ideas ; land, cattle,and silver form the standards of judgment.WARFAREThe only data on modern warfare are from the Yaqui. The Mayo,aside from their participation in Mexican revolutionary movements,have waged no independent warfare for many decades. The Yaqui,on the other hand, have developed a method of attack and dispersalwith reassemblage at stated dates and places which has been admirablyadapted to the nature of the country and the forces against them.It has enabled them time and again to wipe out Mexican forces withlittle loss and to vanish before superior forces could come up to them.These are essentially the methods of guerilla warfare in a countryoffering abundant hiding places. Through them, particularly underCajeme, the Yaquis withstood vastly superior forces over a consider-able period of time, even though many of the Indians were armed onlywith bows and arrows and slings.The success of this type of fighting has depended on the fact thatmost of the country is heavily brushed, making cavalry tactics impos-sible and reducing visibility often to a dozen yards. Available nearbyare also the rugged hiding places of the Sierra de Bacatete. The suc-cess of this warfare was ended in the 1920's by the airplane, whichtook away the advantage of concealment in the brush, and by roads,motortrucks, and radio, which enabled the Mexicans to keep constantlyin touch with the Indian forces and to keep them continuously on themove. Instead of pursuing with tired cavalry which was rarely ableto come to grips with the Indians even when their trail was located,fresh infantry was brought by truck to each new Yaqui hiding place.Little is remembered about Mayo warfare. Informants knew of awar drum different from the other drums. The term kapita ( Spanishcapitan) is recalled as the name of an old-time oflEicial long vanished.Probably a war organization similar to that of the Yaqui once flour-ished. A cuartel is also mentioned at Bacobampo where the war drumwas beaten and from whence the Indians went on raids against themines at Alamos.The following tales recall some history of the wars in which theMayo were involved in the Republican period : Juan Leba, a Yaqui, hadforts at Watachive and Anil to the north, where he fought and defeatedthe forces of the Government. The pueblos of Echojoa, Huperi, andSanta Cruz were with Yaquis. After that, the Nacionales of Navojoawere formed by the Mexican residents and, with the Government forces,defeated the Yaquis and Juan Leba. I BBALS] CONTEMPORARY CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 51On another occasion, the Indians attacked Navojoa and were de-feated by much smaller forces, who were aided by San Juan andmiraculous soldiers.One informant was 9 years old when Cajeme, the famous Yaquileader, fought against the Mexicans under Ortiz at Capetimayo andattacked Navojoa. The Mayos of Cohuirimpo and below were withCajeme. Under Ortiz much Indian land was seized. At about thistime, the Indians from down river attacked and took Navojoa for ashort time, until the ranchers came to the rescue and drove themout. When the Indians fled, the Mexicans killed many of those aboutNavojoa who were innocent of any part in the attack, until a Mexicangeneral came with regular soldiers and stopped them, telling themthey would have no servants and workmen nor anyone to sell theirgoods to if they killed all the Indians.Modern Yaqui warfare centers about a military organization. Thisorganization probably should be considered as a society. It includesevery male in the tribe over the age of adolescence and in this respectdiffers from the other societies which exist in the tribe. Otherwiseit seems very similar. It may possibly be viewed as a tribal societyfor men, and its initiation as a tribal initiation into adult status.At about 14 or 15, a boy becomes a member of the cavalry. One in-formant stated no ceremony occurs until a rank is taken. Otherssaid the boy is taken to the church by his "war" godparents, the soldiersforming two lines on either side. He had already been taught theprayers of the soldiers, and he prays before the altar. His parentsare present, and the boy is lectured on the responsibilities he will haveand the parents are told not to weep if he is killed doing his duty.Wlien he becomes older and is either married or has incurred obli-gations which make service in the cavalry onerous, he notifies the warcaptain, and he is then enrolled in the infantry. The infantry iscomposed of "strong men." Its function is to guard the villages, whilethe cavalry does the errands, hunts criminals, investigates crimes, andpatrols the boundaries.The common soldier may later become an officer or official of thetroop. His position is for life unless he is removed or promoted. Hemay advance in grade as high as wikoiyaut (bow chief or war cap-tain). In addition he may also be a member of the matachin dancesociety or the clown society or both. The officials are named andpromoted by the war or bow chiefs, but advancement to the status ofwar chief is by the voice of the whole troop.The oldest war captain (yaut, or bamela kapita) commands all,but he may be superseded for old age or other reasons. Wlien a newcaptain is to be chosen, an assembly of the people is called in a ramadaoutside the church (or the cuartel'i). Candidates for advanced office 52 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bdll. 142 are probably named by various officials, including the prineipales.Before about 1900, they would have been chosen by the susuakame orelders. The candidate is taken by the officials into the church and hisparents are summoned. One of the captains tells him what his dutieswill be. His parents are told that if he is killed in the woods and theanimals eat him, they must not weep. If he still agrees to accept thecharge, the coyote headdress is placed on him. He is taken to theGuartel and placed in charge of it, and told his duties there and onSundays. He is also given two soldiers who work for him and tendhis fields. He is obligated to care for these men and their families.The war officials are headed by the yaiicim, or war captains. Thenfollow in descending order the lieutenants, sergeants, corporals, alpez{alferez), and two drummers. All these officials are called wikoiyaut(bow chiefs, or officers of the troop) . All have insignia of rank whichthey wear when on service and in the church. This is a red cloth bandworn around the head, about 3 inches wide and ornamented with pearlbuttons or pearl shell. That of the captain has three horizontal linesof shells or buttons with others scattered at random between them, alarge abalone shell pendant over the forehead, and feathers sewnloosely about the band. A coyote skin stretches from the front overthe top of the head and down the back, the tail reaching the waist.Horizontal rows of hawk feathers (koti) are sewn at intervals alongits length, and in front is worn an upright parrot feather about 8 incheslong and sometimes tufts of small parrot feathers. The captain carriesa bow and quiver in all ceremonies.The lieutenant has two rows of buttons horizontally on his bandand scattered buttons between. The sergeant has a zigzag patternhorizontally about his band with a star in each angle. The corporalhas the same without stars. These all wear parrot and hawk feathers.The drummers and the alpez have only scattered buttons withoutdesign.Some of the officers head the cavalry, although the latter have nodrummer or alpez or banner of their own. The officers of the cavalryare subordinate to those of the infantry of equal rank. At assemblies,the latter remain seated, the former do those things which requiremoving about. The number of officials seems to vary according to theavailable good material.A boy may also be dedicated to a position by his parents. Such aboy is carefully observed and trained, eventually being given a posi-tion in accordance with his intelligence and abilities. In Belen(Pitahaya) two rather young boys were observed wearing the warcaptain's headdress.The cavalry of the four up-river towns and the four down-rivertowns unites in two groups about every 3 or 4 weeks. Those from Bbals] contemporary CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 53up river patrol the boundaries and report on the state of the terri-tory in the up-river part of the country. Those from the lowerpueblos patrol the lower-river territory. A corporal or sergeant isusually appointed to command each party.The idea of "declaring war," or deciding on war, seemed ratherforeign to the informants. They felt that they never declared war;the Mexicans started it, and they defended themselves. However, itseems that a tribal assembly is necessary to determine on a war policy,although other informants said that the war captains can determineon war and command all things in time of war. But a peace couldnot be made by them alone; the kobana'us and war captains jointlydetermine that, although again a tribal assembly is probably neces-sary to be binding on the entire tribe.The functions of the war officials seem mainly connected with war.They have little or no authority in the functioning of the church,although they play an important part in it; nor do they have anyauthority over the principales, who, from the statement that as a ruleafter their term of office they again become soldiers, are evidentlynot considered to be soldiers during their term in civil office.In war time, the authority of the war captains is evidently para-mount, despite the statements of the preceding paragraph. One warcaptain looks after the old men and the women and children duringwar. The pisca and the temastianes (church officials) assemble thechildren and take them to the church to pray when there is war.The order of battle is: The alpez with the banner, drummer, warcaptain, lieutenant, sergeants, soldiers, and corporals. In battle theinfantry goes ahead, the calvary behind. The alpez is a particularlyinteresting figure. He plants the banner in advance when battleis joined and he may not retreat or remove the banner even thoughabandoned by his fellows, until the commanding officer gives theorder for all to retreat. The idea of abandonment, however, seemedhumorous to my informants, who said no one would retreat withoutan order. But if they did, informants said the alpez would have tostay. Furthermore, the alpez is picked as a man of unusual couragebecause he must take the most exposed position. He also is a manof keen eyesight and a good shot. The drummer's position is evenmore dangerous, but he does not have the "no retreat" obligation. Allorders are passed on through drum signals. For this reason the drum-mer is apt to be killed, and it is customary to have two drummers on aparty, although anyone will pick up the drum and give the necessarysignals in emergencies. On the march, the drum beats constantly andthe alpez and drummer command. Even a party of five or six hasits alpez and drummer. The march continues unless the drum stopsbeating.530583?45 5 54 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Boll. 142When traveling through the brush in skirmish formation, a drumis tapped at each end of the line to keep it in formation. WithinYaqui territory, the cavalry travel quite as often on foot as on horse-back. Some use is also made of bugle signals.The modern Yaqui attitude toward their own wounded is interesting.Don G., a German-American who in the past has had occasion to fightwith Yaqui troops, maintains that they have no regard for their ownwounded. A man is a fool to be injured and even though mortallywounded would be laughed and jeered at. There is some effort toprevent wounded falling into the hands of the enemy and to removethe dead in order to prevent torture and mutilation. Both sides inthe Yaqui conflicts have indulged not only in mutilation of the deadbut in barbarities to prisoners which are not to be exceeded in accountsof Indian or European warfare anywhere. Aboriginally, torturedoes not seem to have been practiced by any of the Gahita.During peace times, the soldiers serve in the guardia or cuartel inshifts of 1 week. A war captain must always be present or leavean assistant in his place. Constantly on duty is a lieutenant, a ser-geant, a corporal, and two or three soldiers. (At Potan, a third ofthe soldiers are on duty all the time.) The guardia is often a ramada,open in front and along most of the two sides, the remainder beingwalled. Benches to seat the entire troop are placed inside. Theguardia may at times be brick or adobe, as is the old gv/irdia at VicamStation now used by the Mexican officers of the Indian companies.The soldiers sound the drum three times a day, at dawn, at noon, andat sundown. The manner of playing is quite complicated. The alpezand one or two drummers stand facing east (west at sundown or afterdark when the performance is made during a fiesta in the night) . Theright-hand drummer starts playing, bends his right knee, lifting hisleft foot backward, steps forward, does a half turn and faces west,bends his knee, does a three-quarters turn and faces north, bends hisknee, steps forward and faces south, bends the knee again, and resumeshis first position. The drum is rolled continuously. The alpez fol-lows one step behind the drummer, making the sign of the cross withthe banner as he bends his knee. The second drummer follows thealpez. The entire performance is done five or six times. At timesthe banner is not involved and there is only a drummer, frequently ayoung boy, who performs the ceremony. 'When the drum sounds inthe morning, people say the aTba; at night, the Ave Maria.The drum used is slightly larger than the pascola drum and isplayed with two sticks in alternating light and heavy beats. A tre-mendous volume of sound which can be heard a mile or more isproduced.The religious and civil functions of the soldiers have assumed anew importance at present because the Mexican Government has en- BBALS] CONTEMPORARY CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 55 rolled the troops of the different villages as irregular soldiers, andpays them. This is a way of bribing the tribe into keeping peace.Now the kobana'u of the different villages levy an assessment eachpayday (each 10 days) of from 50 centavos to one peso to be usedto finance the fiestas, keep a reserve for emergencies (such as payingfor the -fiestas for the dead), and to pay claims against the tribe. Ifrobberies of "foreigners" (including Mexicans) occur in the territoryof the village, the culprits are fined to make restitution if they can beidentified. If not, restitution is made out of the village funds by thewar captain, on order of the kobana'u, who only issues the order afterconference with the principales. Funds are kept in a locked chest inthe guardia. Before ih^ government began to pay the soldiers, leviesof food were made. Wlien the old brick guardia at Vicam Stationwas the guardia of the tribe, it was frequently stored full of food.In addition to supporting all the activities of the tribe, the sol-diers dance the coyote dance at certain fiestas and ceremonial occa-sions. If the dancing is only for a short time in the church, as forEaster, the captains alone dance. In all processions in connectionivith Christ and the Virgin, the Christ is accompanied by the warcaptains, the Virgin by a soldier on either side. The remainder ofthe soldiers march on each side of the procession in single file, thecavalry on one side, the infantry on the other.The fiestas of Guadalupe, Santa Isabel, and Santa Cruz are con-sidered to be fiestas of the soldiers. In war time they are said tobe under the protection of Guadalupe and Santa Isabel. No traceof morning star or moon connections with the soldiers could be se-cured. It is possibly significant that the Virgin of Guadalupe ispictured standing on the moon. The chapel at Pitahaya has a wallabove and behind the altar decorated with a gold moon and goldstars."Interesting is the survival of the feeling that the people of thefour down-river pueblos are more bellicose than those of the fourup-river pueblos, a sentiment of pre-Spanish origin.Twenty years ago, the Indians who joined the revolution on theFuerte River wore masks made by splitting an oxtail and letting thetail hang from the chin, the cheeks being covered. Many joinedPancho Villa during his stay in Sonora.SOCIAL ASPECTS OF LIFEBIRTH OBSERVANCES ^?Among the Mayo, birth occurs in the dwelling house. The motheris assisted by a neighbor or a professional midwife, who is paid 5 " Cf . the stars on the wall for the Hlewekwe fraternity, Zuni (Stevenson, 1904, pi. 58)." I am particularly indebted to Dr. Parsons for securing many of the more personaldetails of Mayo childbirth. 56 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 142to 10 pesos. A professional is called paltera or partera or hamut aniaasoamta, "woman helping child receiving." She has a male helper,the tenedor^ or holder (au wikapabwise hiepsipu kiitia, "man holdingby middle very tight": this etymology is a bit obscure; "hiepsipu''would seem to refer in some way to life or heart). He is paid about4 pesos. A curer is never called in. Although the tenedor may alsobe a curer he never exercises the latter capacity. San Ramon issaid to be "good" for the midwife, but I could secure no evidence ofspecial practices in connection with the Saint.The woman is usually seated on the ground at birth, although akneeling position is sometimes assumed. The partera (midwife) isin front, while the tenedor holds the woman about the belly frombehind and applies pressure.^* If the birth is difficult, the womanmay be suspended from a beam by a loop of rope under the armsor may be even raised and dropped with a jerk in this rope loop.This is said often to be fatal.The child is received on a sheepskin. The midwife cleans thebaby's mouth, cuts the cord, burns it with a candle, applies salad oilto the navel, and sulphur to the cord. In 3 days the cord drops offand the navel is dressed again with oil and sulphur. The cord isburied in a red-ant hill. The afterbirth and blood-stained clothsare buried in a hole about 3 feet down and covered with hot ashesto keep dogs away. If dogs ate the afterbirth, the mother wouldhave belly pains.The mother is put into bed and covered well. Formerly, she wasconfined 45 days (others say 40 days) ; 9 days, a period correspond-ing to Mexican practice, is now common, according to some. Sheis fed atole, broiled meat, broth from bones, white bread, parchedcorn, and pinole. After 5 days, earth or ashes are placed on her faceas a protection from the wind, and she may go to the kitchen. (Theashes raise a suspicion that the face protection may be againstwitchcraft.) At the fortieth day she bathes, bathing 3 days in suc-cession. She then sleeps with her husband and "begins anotherchild." After completing the "diet," she goes to Mass at church.There is no belief in impregnation through sleeping in the sun ormoonlight.After the birth, the father is under no dietetic or other restrictions.He is congratulated by his friends and neighbors but continues hiswork. The child is visited by everyone soon after birth. If a girl,the men formerly would kiss its hand ; if a boy, the women.There is no rule of sexual abstinence during pregnancy. A man maycontinue sleeping with his wife or he may get another woman. Thereare no taboos during pregnancy for either mother or father. The "At Sia the male helper is before, the female behind (Stevenson, 1894, p. 135). Beals] contemporary CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 57mother may butcher or use a knife, but if she works much in the fieldor is in the sun a great deal, the child may have eye sickness. "Eyeof mesquite" is a remedy for this.After lactation begins, the mother eats mostly maize rather thanwheat. Maize "has butter in it" and for this reason the Indian mother,unlike the Mexican, "always has milk."There are no witchcraft beliefs connected with confinement, but ifa menstruating woman or a man or woman fresh from sexual inter-course comes near a newborn child it will break out with black spotsand die. There is no use of corn ears or fire pokers to protect theinfant.Some say that in winter a child is wiped off and wrapped up andnot bathed until San Juan's Day, June 24.The callings of partera and tenedor are taught in the family. Inone case noted, a woman is a paHera while her husband is both atenedor and a hitol^ro, or curer.Yaqui practices are similar, although my information is not quiteso full. After the birth, a woman must eat only atole and dried cowmeat (not bull meat) for 2 to 4 weeks. The father must not workfor 2 or 3 days following or the child will die, but there are no die-tetic restrictions for him. The umbilical cord is cut with a pair ofscissors, leaving enough to tie. The end is burned with a candleflame. The portion of the cord cut off is put in a can or receptacleand hidden in an echo cactus or other plant. The remainder of thecord drops off in about 15 days (sic) and by some is placed in a red-ant nest. The baby is bathed in warm water at birth and the after-birth (asoakarali) is buried or put in a bush or cactus.CARE AND REARING OF CHILDREN Children usually are nursed until about the age of 2, althoughoccasionally one may see a child as old as 5 receiving the breast.After being weaned, children receive the same food as adults. Im-mediately after birth the child is given a tea of triomzaniUo to "clearit." Another woman nurses the child for 3 days. A 7-months' babywas fed water of manzanillo and another woman milked her breastsinto its mouth until it could nurse.Infants usually are swaddled rather completely. When old enoughto walk, the males frequently are naked, particularly in outlyingvillages, but this custom is rapidly disappearing. Formerly, femalesalso were naked. Usually infants are kept in a cradle resemblingan open-topped crate made of sticks and slung by ropes from the roofbeams. More rarely, an improvised hammock is made of two ropes 58 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Boll. 142held apart by sticks with a blanket wrapped and pinned about them.Until recently, the Yaqui used a cradleboard of cane splints with acloth hood on a hoop at the top (Hrdlicka, 1904, p. 73). Small chil-dren either are carried, on the hip, slung in a rebozo tied over theopposite shoulder, or carried in the arms.If the child's development is slow, remedies may be used. For slowteething, rattlesnake teeth strung on a string are hung about thechild's neck. If backward in walking, the child is made to sit on sheepdung for an hour. Mescal is put on a child's gums to make it speaksoon. At 3 months it is supposed to say "ma-ku"; at 8 months (sic) itis supposed to talk.When a child is older, the Yaqui may punish it for misdemeanors,saying, "tiisa bepsune pake kaintiina anea (now don't do that otherthing (bad))." When the war drum sounds in the evening, Yaquichildren should say the Ave Maria. In the afternoon, if they enter ahouse where older people are present they should say, "Praise be toGod."Twins (wowari asua hunamut, "twins she bears woman") are be-lieved sent by God, but receive no special treatment. A woman whobore triplets, ''?Tres Marias" considered them devils, however, anddied of fright in 8 days, a punishment by God.Illegitimate children (cuki panuuka, "trash they seize") formerlywere put into springs or tanks before baptism where they were eatenby the horned water serpents. At present they receive the name oftheir mother, or, if she is a widow, the name of her deceased husband.No effort is made to ascertain paternity. It is claimed that abortionis now practiced only by the Mexicans, but this was not always thecase. It is believed by the Indians that the priest makes Mexicangirls who confess to abortion or infanticide beg alms at night fromhouse to house and eat straw and earth taken from the graveyard atnight, the penance lasting for some months. EIDUCATION AND PASTIMESThe treatment of children is much the same as among Mexicans.Children are rarely punished and receive a great deal of what wewould call spoiling, (For formal punishments, see p. 85.) As ageneral thing, parents are very fond of their children. Nowadays alarge percentage of the children are receiving formal primary schooleducation, available up to the fourth or sixth grade. Nevertheless,much of their important education comes from their own family. Itis in no way forced. The children are with the adults of the house-hold a great deal and do not play much with other children exceptthose of families dwelling close by. They early start to imitate theactions of their elders. Girls soon spin thread, begin to use the metate, Beals] contemporary CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 59and so on, but there is little compulsion until they are old enough tobe assigned tasks. Small girls often make crude dolls. The youngdaughter of a pottery maker made some crude but passable clay modelsof animals with which she was familiar, as well as of miniature vessels.This was interesting because more or less spontaneous, although shehad undoubtedly seen pottery figurines from other districts in town.Boys accompany their fathers at an early age and are encouraged butnot forced to assist. By adulthood, usually, they have acquired mostof their father's limited stock of knowledge and skill.The pastimes are almost entirely limited to imitations of their elders.In outlying villages boys may hunt alone or in groups for small game.In warm weather, they may go swimming. They seem, however, tohave no formal games.NAMING AND ADOLESCENT KITESAt present. Mayo names are given with some regard to the almanacof saints' days. Formerly, this was not done. Instead, some womanabout the house at the time of birth said, "A reward, a reward. Noone here divines what I carry (that is, what I am thinking of)."For half an hour or so the woman walked about repeating this. Thena dozen women were assembled and took turns guessing the namethe woman was thinking of. The correct guesser became the god-mother and her husband or sweetheart the godfather. After 15 daysthe godparents took the child to the city and had it baptized. Theyleft town saying, "I must respect my comadre^ I must respect mycompadre, we are godparents of this child." They addressed it as"My legitimate godchild," saying also that they had a right to belongto its family. When they arrived at the house of the child, theygreeted the parents, saying, "Here in the presence of God we arecomfodres^'^ and gave the child to its parents. When the child wasold enough to understand, the parents told it to call the godparentsnino and nina and to respect them as its own parents. If the god-parents lacked heirs, then the godchild inherited from them. On thesaint's day of any young person, a fiesta was held to which all thevillage was invited. Presents of food were given, in advance if pos-sible, and candles were burned all night in regular Mexican fashion.The Yaqui infant is baptized by its godparents. If there is nopriest available, the maestro sprinkles water on the child, but thisis said not to be a real baptism. The child is always named for thesaint on whose day it is born, otherwise "the grace and luck arelost." (From the distribution of names, one would be inclined todoubt this view. Moreover, many Yaqui go only by Cahita names.)The infant is said to take after its godparents ; if one is drunken orlazy, so will the child be. 60 BUEEAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bdll. 142Piercing the ears of girls is done long before the first menses, per-haps generally in infancy, and is unassociated with any ritual. Pierc-ing is done with a needle, and a thread is left in the hole to keep it open.It is said that the Virgin will not recognize girls as hers if the ears arenot pierced.A Mayo informant mentioned crying from fright at her first men-struation, but no ritualization of the event is known.It is very probable that the induction into the Yaqui military so-ciety may be regarded as a modified survival of a puberty rite forboys. (See account of the "adoption rite" (Beals, 1943, pp. 66-68 and83-84).) KINSHIP TEKaiSThe use of native kinship terms has almost disappeared among bothYaqui and Mayo. Preservation seems best among the Mayo, althoughthis impression may result from the accident of my having encoun-tered a Mayo informant who really knew the terms. Similar indi-viduals may exist among the Yaqui. Certainly, it is true of bothgroups that most people do not know all the terms formerly used nordo they often know the correct usage of such terms as are remem-bered. Most people habitually use Spanish kinship terms today.For this reason the evidence and discussion of the native terms istaken up in the study of the aboriginal Cahita (Beals, 1943, pp. 47-51) . The Mayo and Yaqui use of Spanish terms, rather than their own,presents some features of interest which Dr. Elsie Clews Parsonspointed out after working with the best Mayo informant. This infor-mant, Maria Ontiveras, applied Spanish terms with apparent indif-ference to descent, and caused considerable confusion until she waschecked carefully with genealogies. Maria's outstanding interest wasin the principle of seniority. Yet in spite of this feeling, she hasdropped, in ordinarj'' speech, those Mayo terms which express thevery age distinctions she feels so strongly. Her younger sister's son,whom she raised, she normally calls not by the age distinguishing Mayoterm, but by the Spanish sohrino (nephew) . Marriage is permitted between cousins of the second degree andfurther if they have different family names, but between those ofthe same family name it is prohibited. Thus, terms which would dis-tinguish descent would have a functional use. But again, the Mayoterms have lapsed and modified Spanish terms are used. In this case BEALS] CONTEMPORARY CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 61the Spanish patronymic may be a substitute if descent was formerlypatrilineal." MARRIAGEPresent marriage customs are scarcely distinguishable from thoseof lower-class Mexicans except perhaps that marriage is more oftenlegalized among the Mayo. Marriage is civil and the parents todaydo not interfere with the choice of mates. A wedding feast withdancing at the house of the girl's parents follows the wedding.In earlier times Mayo marriages were arranged by the parents.Some informants insisted on the practice of local exogamy, the rancho,or settlement, being the unit ; other informants denied it, but possiblywere thinking in terms of larger village units embracing a number ofranchos.Formerly, if a boy had parents he went with them to ask for thegirl. His mother spoke first, then his father. The girl's parents,usually aware of the impending visit, sent the girl away to the houseof friends or relatives. After the negotiations between the parentswere finished, they said, "The girl is not here. Come again tomorrowand in the meantime we will ask her." The girl's mother talked to her.The next day the visit was repeated. The girl's father asked her beforethe visitors if she were willing. She did not answer until he had putthe question three times. She was then greeted by the boy's motherand father and the boy's father gave the girl's mother money to buya wedding dress. If the girl objected to the marriage, ordinarily thematter was dropped there, but if the man was older and violently inlove, he has been known to kill the girl and himself as well. Parentsordinarily asked for a girl but once ; if she agreed, the wedding the-oretically occurred 15 days later.If a young couple wished to marry and the parents objected, thepriests formerl}'^ used to intercede, telling the parents worse thingsmight result from the refusal. At the present time, more conservativemothers immediately investigate if they see a young man about the " Dr. Parsons has suggested that this practice of allowing to lapse terms which wouldserve a psychological or social function is an argument for the linguistic interpretationof kinship terms. Dr. Edward Spicer in a letter comments : "It seems to me that thedata might be interpreted in precisely the opposite way. Spanish surnames have beenadopted ; marriage prohibitions forbid marriage with anyone having the same surname.Therefore a function of the kinship terminology has been eliminated : it is no longer neces-sary to know relationship in selecting marriage partners, it is necessary only to knowthe new surnames. Consequently kinship terms are no longer concerned with the descentdistinctions, the Spanish terms may therefore be adopted without conflict or significantani'biguity, and accordingly they are." ^While I agree with Dr. Spicer's further remark that consideration of more factorswould be necessary for adequate discussion, Dr. Spicer fails to take into account the obviousfactor that marriage is still prohibited with maternal first cousins and that here knowledgeof actual relationship is essential. It is true that the descent distinctions of the oldkinship system are very much diminished in importance by the use of the patronymic,but it is doubtful if the relative age distinctions Parsons particularly mentions ever hada relation to marriage customs. 62 BUEEAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bdll. 142house two or three times, and if they do not wish him for a son-in-law,they order him to stay away. Formerly, a girl would not even beallowed outside the house if there were unmarried men about norallowed to go away from the house unaccompanied. Marriages thenwere frequently arranged between the parents without the knowledgeof the young people. The latter would know nothing of it until theywould be brought together before the priest for the marriage ceremony.Elopements occurred but rarely and social attitudes condemned them.The marriage of Maria apparently represents conditions of about 40 yearsago. She is of a conservative family. Her father objected to the match, but Mariawept until he consented (she vpas about 25 at the time). The marriage was inthe old church at old Navojoa and was followed by a horseback procession to herfather's house. Chocolate and other things were served beneath a ramadathere; then the procession went to the rancho of her husband, where food wasalso served beneath a ramada. There was a good deal of music and much horse-back riding and display of finery. The party then returned to her home wherethere was a dance. Everyone got drunk. She was given to her husband thefollowing day."At a still earlier time there would have been a fiesta with pascola and deerdancers. Atole and bakavaki would have been served. Cahuetes (fireworks)would have been fired on leaving the church. The bride would be delivered toher husband after 8 days, acconspanied by large oUas of food, bundles of cahu-etes, and other things. The couple lived in the man's father's house until thehusband built his own. This often was not until the birth of the first child.Today there is a good deal of contact between young people, althoughthere is still much shyness and restraint between them. Talk aboutsex is rare at any time. "Aman weye inhiepso (there goes my heart) ,"a young man used to say when he saw a girl he liked.After marriage Mayo women were formerly quite strictly ruled bytheir husbands, at least in theory. They should not leave the housewithout the husband's permission. If suspected of having a lover, thewoman was brought before the governor of the village, and she and herlover were stripped naked to the waist and flogged in public. For-merly, men were whipped for visiting prostitutes.Maria's husband, whom she married against her father's wishes, turned outto be a drunkard ; he went frequently to the prostitutes in the Mexican town andstayed as long as his money and credit permitted. He brought his inamoratas tothe house and frequently taunted Maria with her imperfections compared to them.Once she bought a dagger to kill him should he get close enough to her. Her fatherand brother urged her to leave him, but she refused. When he was finally arrestedby the Mexican authorities after a long debauch, a sympathetic judge sent for herand asked what to do with him. The judge offered to sentence the husband to aterm in the army so she would be free of him, but Maria begged for his release.After his release he decided to go away. He came home and Maria gave him foodand a blanket for his journey, but refused his urgings to accompany him. Reach-ing the outskirts of Cocorit on the Yaqui River, he was killed by lightning. " The Tarascans had a similar custom of separation, usually of 4 days, and Prieto notesit for Tamaulipas and the Aztecs (Relac. Mech., n. d., p. 54 ; Prieto, 1873, p. 125). Bbals] contemporary CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 63Maria's conscience evidently still troubles her a little; perhaps, she feels, shewas not reaUy a good wife to him.According to other accounts, before marriage a girl formerly spent8 days in her parent's house preparing food. At the end of this timeshe was taken to her husband. Presents were given by others in thevillage, so that the newly married couple were stocked for 15 days withprepared food. During this period, they rarely left the house. Thishouse was one which the bridegroom had built in anticipation of themarriage.The newly married couple were given land by the kobanaro. Otherpeople in the village gave them various things so they were set up forhousekeeping. They were given all sorts of household utensils, and thegroom's parents, if they could afford it, gave them a cow and perhapssome sheep and goats. If the groom's parents were rich, the membersof the village gave less or nothing. The young couple could not movepermanently to another ranch without permission, although they couldvisit the wife's parents.Widowers and widows might remarry but they always remarried awidow or widower. Divorce theoretically was unknown after Catholictimes, but separations and remarriages still occur. Young childrenand older girls stay with the mother, older boys with the father. Pros-titutes were unlmown according to some informants, but others saidthey merely were not allowed to live in the villages and had huts out inthe brush 3 or 4 miles away where they were visited secretly by themen.Unmarried people were not allowed to talk together. If a girl wasnot asked in marriage, she used to die a virgin. Unmarried girls werekept busy in the house, weaving and doing similar household tasks.If a girl had a child before marriage she was forced to tell who thefather was. If he was of another village, they were married at once ; if they were of the same village, both were sent away to different vil-lages. I secured no account of sexual instruction or lack of it. (Butamong the Yaqui the young people, both men and women, were sup-posed to be entirely innocent upon marriage. A standing Yaqui jokewhenever anyone gets married is to ask who is going to sleep with themthe first night and show them what to do.) The levirate and sororatewere strictly prohibited, although the sororate certainly was practicedaboriginally. Tlie age of marriage for boys was 21, for girls, 16.Residence was always patrilocal. If the mother died, the childrenstayed with the father; if the father died, the wife returned to her ownpeople, taking the children with her. Before marriage a man's peniswas said to be examined by two or three men representing the parentsof the girl. It was believed that if the penis was too large it mightcause the girl's death. This may well be a perversion of some mission-ary's idea for keeping down venereal disease. 64 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 142Sexual indiscretions were severely punished. The aboriginal prac-tice of marrying a stepdaughter was evidently stamped out by theearly missionaries with great severity. In times remembered byolder informants, a man who had relations with his stepdaughterwould be burned to death. Presumably this punishment would bemeted out to any violator of the incest rules. If a woman talked toa man other than her husband, the husband reported her to thekobanaro, who had her stripped naked and publicly beaten. A piecewas also bitten out of each ear. The same was done to a man if hiswife found him talking to another woman.Another account, dictated by a Mayo, of marriage "40 years ago,"that is, a long time ago, is as follows : The parents of the girl would visit some other ranch. If they saw there someyouth they liked for their son, they returned to their house and filled a basket withfood and took it to the parents of the boy. At the same time the girl was takenalong and given to the parents of the youth. If the youth's parents did notapprove of the marriage, they had to pay back the food, but if the marriage wentthrough, they did not pay it back. Marriage took place in the church, which wasthe best marriage. All in the rancheria or town helped the newlyweds with allthe utensils and implements of agriculture, so that the recently married had allthe utensils for working for their living because all their neighbors helped them.If they were poor, they helped them the more. All the neighbors of Indian originhelped them and only if they were very rich, they did not help them. When theywere poor, all helped them with everything, so that their home lacked nothing.Usually, if they were rich, the parents gave them a pregnant cow and other closerelatives gave them help. Thus in that epoch all had their means better than now.Generally, all were careful in their labors and were economical in everything.If the husband of the home became sick, the godparents, who they said were thesecond parents, were immediately notified and cared for whoever in the housewas ill. If 2 years passed and there were no children, they said then that one ofthem was ill. Then they (the godparents) brought a curandero to see them andsee which was sick. The curandero gave the sick person a medicine of roots andshortly, if there were children, they said the curandero was a good witch, but ifthere were no children, they said it was that God did not wish to ^give'thiemfamily. It was their belief ; and if the home turned out badly, through fault ofthe man or woman, then the kobanaro punished them very severely.If it was the fault of the woman, she was placed with her handstied from one stick to the other, and an old woman gave her agood whipping with a branch of mesquite. If the man was to blame,they whipped him more cruelly. And after returning to their home,if they continued their method of living, then they cut half the nosefrom the woman and from the man they bit a piece out of each ear.This was if they were both bad, but if only one, they chastised theone very severely. This account differs notably from others inattributing the initiative in marriages to the girl's family.According to one Yaqui account of present practices, the parentsof the boy take a measure (almud) of maize to the parents of thegirl. If the marriage proposed is acceptable, the girl makes tamales Bbals] contemporary CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 65of the maize and takes them to the parents of the boy at the end of3 days. A marriage feast is held at the girl's house. Frances Toornotes some other details. The bride's parents provide bakavaki. Thegodparents attend the wedding. Presents of food are exchanged bythe parents. Girls sometimes wear a shell about the neck as a signthat they are virgins (an aboriginal practice). The crucial part ofthe ceremony is drinking water together in the groom's house.^^Boys are theoretically old enough to marry at 15, girls at 12. Actu-ally, many males of ages 18 to 25 are still unmarried. In the main,these cases appeared due to economic considerations or, what is per-haps more fundamental, the lack of interested relatives to assist them.Some said the godparents arranged marriages rather than the par-ents. The ideal marriage is apparently one arranged by the parentswhen the two principals are young. The parents pick the spousefor their child, and children are often married without any foreknowl-edge of the event. After marriage the godparents take them to thehome of the parents. They stop at the house cross and exhort themfor a short time, then shut the two alone in the house for about aquarter of an hour. Then the maestro and the godparents enter andcounsel them on "the way to live," telling them how to live properly,that one should not leave one's spouse for any reason, that they are asof one father and one mother. The young couple live with the man'sparents until they are grown and have means of support (particularlyin youthful marriages) or until they have children.^"Marriage may be either in the same village or out of it. Marriagewith any known relative is forbidden.If the parents do not arrange the marriage, an older man may askthe mother of a woman he likes. If all the relatives and the girlagree, they then are married.Granville describes a Yaqui marriage ceremony witnessed some 45years ago. The man was 20, the girl 13. The parents of both favoredthe marriage. The man was put on "probation" for 10 days whilemen tried to induce him to drink, the woman to flirt. Then the manwas summoned before a council of five old men of the tribe, includ- *? Toor (1937, p. 56). Dr. Edward Spicer calls attention to the fact that I have failed ade-quately to distinguish the numerous sets of godparents acquired by the individual in thecourse of his life. Informants were general in their statements and at the time I did notrealize the tremendous importance of the godparent relationship. I also was too indifferentto what I considered essentially Spanish aspects of the culture. The godparent relationshipwas adopted by the Cahita with an eagerness which caused comment by the missionariesand, as Dr. Spicer rightly observes, there were separate sets for baptism, confirmation,marriage, entrance into societies, and other occasions. An excellent treatment of thegodparents is given in Dr. Spicer 's book on Pascua village (Spicer, 1940), althoughfurther work is needed to clarify the situation on the Yaqui River.2? Dr. Spicer reports that at Pascua the pascola dancers play an important part in thewedding. I never succeeded in encountering a wedding ceremony, but pascola dancerswere mentioned by Mayo informants. From their importance, pascola should appear andif they actually take no part today, it is to be suspected that this is a lapse from formercustom. 66 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 142ing the chief, and his character defamed by various accusations againstwhich he had to defend himself. Passing this test successfully, themarriage was completed, each party discharging a gun. This was saidto signify that either could kill the other if unfaithful. After thisthere was dancing until morning at the home of the bride's parents(Granville, 1899, pp. 92-93).Velasco and Zufiiga accuse the Yaqui of exchanging wives and beingindifferent to elopement and adulteries (Velasco, 1850, p. 78; IgnacioZufiiga, quoted in Hernandez, 1902, p. 93) . This is utterly at variancewith both past and present facts, and may be dismissed.The contradiction of Velasco and Zufiiga is contained in frequentearly documentary reports of the morality of the Yaqui, as well as ofthe harshness with which sexual offenders were punished. Floggingis today the least of the punislmients, inflicted for merely talking toa person of the opposite sex in a secluded place. Frances Toor (1937,p. 56) notes how foreign the idea of divorce is; although today sep-arations occur, people who have separated may not be remarried byany ceremony. A generation or two ago practices were even harsherthan those recorded for the Mayo. Yaqui informants said that for-merly if spouses refused to live together despite the intercession ofrelatives, the godmother placed upon the offending spouse (or both ifthey were equally at fault) the rosary worn by the dead. The culpritwas placed in the position of the dead, and candles were burned 3nights. If by the end of this time the person had not begged forgive-ness, he was buried alive. Such was the effect of Jesuit instructionupon a people already possessed of strict morals. Significantly, thebow chief was in charge of such matters.DEATH BELTEFS AND CUSTOMSThe ideas of the Mayo on death and the future life are not and seemnever to have been particularly clear or consistent, a not uncommonthing among primitive peoples. In addition to what was probablyan initial uncertainty, the ideas are largely tinged with and in somerespects entirely colored by an unassimilated Catholicism. The pic-ture is further complicated by the fact that the actual customs of todaydiffer considerably from those of a generation ago.The Mayo of today hold vague Catholic ideas about the future life.One dies and ultimately arrives in heaven. The steps involved in thispassage are none too clearly understood and are never formulated bythe average Mayo.On the other hand, the elderly people have clearly formulated ideaswhich do not always coincide with practice and do not cover all cases.From Christianity has been developed the idea of heaven and hell.But hell is not a subterranean place of punishment and expiation. The Beals] contemporary CULTURE OP CAHITA INDIANS 67idea of an underworld seemed completely foreign to all informants,even the most sophisticated. Hell is this life on earth. As one manexpressed it, "When Christ died he left hell and went to heaven."Heaven is a vaguely conceived of place in the sky where one leads ahappy life. With the character of this life the Mayo is unconcerned ; he merely repeats such fragments of Catholic ideas as he can remember.On the other hand, there are persistent suggestions of a belief inreincarnation. For example, if an old person has died recently, whena child of the opposite sex is born it is frequently said, "There he (orshe) is." Even more general is the belief that if the spirit is not re-ceived in heaven (Dios hamaveta, "God does not receive him" ; ihaiyiMaria Santisima kaiyokori, "mother Mary Sainted does not pardonhim") it is sent back to earth to do penance (penara) . This was agreedon by informants who denied any belief in or knowledge of ideas ofreincarnation. One informant said this penance was to become oneof the horned water serpents for a hundred years, after which thespirit again went to the sky. Spirits might also be seen by acquaint-ances (not by members of the family) walking about in their deathclothes.Practices in connection with death and burial vary widely with thecondition and position of the deceased. Small children under the ageof about 6 are called "little angels" and receive special attention. Theyare considered to be without sin, to be like doves. For them a fiesta isgiven at which pascola dance. It begins at sundown and continuesuntil the following morning. The body is placed on a bier before atemporary altar under the house ramada or a special ramada erectedfor the occasion. The body is decked with flowers and a rosary isplaced about the neck. This is done by the godparents, who also pre-pare the body for the funeral, dress it, sometimes buy a colSin or at anyrate prepare the 'palanque or bier on which it is borne, and then carryit to the grave. Sometimes the body is taken to the church first. Leav-ing the house, the procession makes one circuit of the house cross.It is also said that a child must be carried to the graveyard on thehead of its father. This was observed several times although no otherdetails of the funeral were seen. On the occasions observed there wasno procession, the mother alone accompanying the father to the church.Some informants said that in former times the burial ceremoniesfor a child were more complex. The godparents were notified imme-diately and attended to all details of the burial. It was consideredin either life or death that the godparents should attend to the mostcrucial things concerning their godchildren. The godparents, on ar-rival, inquired as to the cause of death. The parents usually did nottell the truth, as they feared the reproaches of the godparents if theywere considered guilty of negligence. The usual reply was that the 68 EUKEAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 142 child had fallen ill in the night and died without their knowledge.The godparents then said, "That is to say, you do not know at what hourthe child died?" On being answered in the negative, the godparentsrequested the parents to enter the house and not put foot outside untilafter the burial. A man and a woman guarded the door of the houseto see that this order was complied with and the godparents did notaddress another word to the parents. If it were necessary to askquestions, they were asked of the brothers or sisters of the deceased,who in turn asked the parents. The godparents asked first if therewere some vow owed by the parents in behalf of the child. If therewere, the godparents held a small fiesta (presumably resembling thatof the Yaqui described later) so that the child could leave this worldwithout owing anything. (But it is fairly clear that there is alwaysa fiesta for a child.) The flowers placed on the body were white andthose placed about the body were colored. Two boys and two girlsbore the body halfway to the burial ground, where they were met bythe godparents, who bore it the rest of the way, taking turns, first thegodfather and then the godmother. On arrival at the burial ground,the body was immediately buried. The godparents then returned tothe home of the parents and released them from the house. The par-ents came out weeping. The godparents reproved them for their lackof care of the child and departed. The godparents addressed no wordto the parents after this until they had another child. The godparentswere then asked to become godparents of the newborn child. Afterbaptising the infant, the godparents spoke to the parents and goodrelations were restored.For adults of ordinary status no fiesta is given. There is a velacion,the body being placed before a temporary altar and candles beingburned. Before death, usually three sets of godparents are selected.These give a rosary of small black beads with a black cross to the de-ceased as well as the "cord of the dead" (bwai waibusan, "breechcloutbelt") . This is a cord and breechclout made of domesticated magueyfiber. It is placed on both male and female, adult and child, over theordinary clothing. The ends of the breechclout, which are passed overthe belt or cord, extend down to the feet between the legs and fivewhite "flowers," also made of maguey fiber, are placed on it betweenthe legs. (Cotton is often used today for the cord and flowers.) Thisis also spoken of as mukilato veci (dead person's dress), or imbatoasoavecibu (godchild's dress) . The godparents may take this dress and theshroud to the church to be blessed bj^ the priest or, as is usual now, bya maestro (lay reader) , with holy water and prayers.The corpse is dressed in its best clothes ; new stockings and perhapsother new garments are purchased. Special emphasis is laid on plac-ing a new hat in the grave with the deceased. The old clothes and BEALS] CONTEMPORARY CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 69bedding are burned some distance away from the house, so that nosickness will come. Burial must take place before midday, usuallythe morning following death.Some members of the fiesteros (the organizations in charge of cere-monies) of San Juan and Christ, with their banners, are present at allfunerals. They stand at the head of the corpse with the banners,while the maestro and two singers pray and sing at the foot. The-oretically, the corpse should have the head toward the altar (which inthe majority of churches would face east). Sometimes there are twomaestros with their singers, in which case they alternate and prayersand songs are continuous.The head of the household seeks the maestro when he is needed."Emo a'u sika amum velaro (we must velar (burn candles for) thedead) ," he says to the maestro. The maestro and the singers are paid1 or 2 pesos for their services. Friends and relatives bring money,food, and candles, especially for a dead pascola dancer (some in-formants denied food is brought) . Contributions of the neighbors aresometimes begged by the householder and the fiesteros, w^ho take theimage of their saint and their banner from house to house before themaestro is summoned. The body is carried to the graveyard by fourmen, not relatives of the family, but friends. The relatives haveabsolutely no part in the funeral beyond raising the contributions offood and money and summoning the maestro.When the body is taken to the graveyard, the fiesteros go ahead.Usually they run at least part of tlie way to arrive at the graveyardin time to see that all the preparations are complete before the bodyarrives. The devil is said to go before and they are chasing him toprevent him from seizing the dead. They make a double circuitthree times about the body on the road, about the cruz mayor (greatcross), and at the grave, waving their banners violently. At thefuneral, if the householder is able, he gives the fiesteros food, but mostfiesteros carry their own for emergency.On the Fuerte River, the mourners run ahead of the body and hidein the brush. After the body has passed, they come out of the brush "looking scared" and follow behind. The devil is said to be chasingthem to the graveyard and he is fooled by their hiding. Among all theMayo, if the body is set down on the way to the graveyard, a crossmust be erected. On the more traveled roads there are permanentcrosses used for resting places. Women accompanying the party bearbaskets of green leaves or flowers with which they decorate the arms ofthe cross, the leaves of the pioche tree being much employed.On arrival at the graveyard, the body is set down before the ci^izmayor with the head toward the cross. Prayers and songs are given.530583?45 6 70 BUEEAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 142The body is then carried to the grave and lowered. Members of thefamily are supposed to avert their eyes so as not to see the body loweredinto the grave or the dirt thrown on it. Some run to another part ofthe graveyard and hide. To see the corpse lowered into the gravewould mean death for the relative of the deceased. Kelatives maynot sleep until after the burial.The grave is made as deep as the person stood when erect. Thebody is extended "so the dead may walk in heaven." Theoretically,the head is buried toward the north, but actually there seems to belittle orientation other than that governed by the position of the church.The layout of the burial ground at Cohuirimpo is typical. Thelarge cross is located beneath a ramada at the south side. Surmount-ing a large mound (probably a ruined structure of the mission period),is another ramada, closed on two sides. On the north side is a tablemade of canes on which rests a broken wooden tamp for poundingdown earth in graves. Over the table is a small cross attached to thewall, and resting against the wall is another tamp intact (pi. 14, fig. 1).These tamps are large wooden clubs, carved of one piece of wood,with heads about 6 inches in diameter, 4 inches in depth, and with ahandle about 4 feet long, all carved out of one piece of wood. Othertools are carried along with the party bearing the body to the burialground. Some ceremonies also take place under this northern ramadawhich, in the absence of any church nearer than San Ignacio, takesthe place of the church. At Tesia, for example, the burial ground isnear the church and the body is carried into the church and prayedover. It is then set before the cross outside, here called the Cross ofPardon. After a time it is carried to the burial ground and buried.At Bacavachi a superficially different type of burial exists whichseems to represent a closer adherence to old patterns. The body isburied by the fiesteros. (This is certainly not always the case alongthe river, although the fiesteros themselves assert that it is.) Thebody is prepared by the godparents at the house as is done along theriver. The fiesteros then run in advance of the body to the church,which they circle two or three times, and then on to the burial ground,where they dig the grave and perform ceremonies. The bearers of thebody and the mourners also run. They stop at the church and pray andthen run to the burial ground with the body. By the time the bodyarrives at the burial ground, the fiesteros are supposed to have finishedtheir tasks. This makes the burial more or less of a race.The race element is still regarded rather seriously. A woman ofthe fiesteros on one occasion did not feel like running and so fell behindthe others. On the way she ran a mesquite spine into her foot. Shewould not allow the spine to be removed because she regarded it asa punishment from the dead for not having run fast enough. Her BEALS] CONTEMPORARY CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 71foot swelled to enormous size, but eventually the spine worked itselfout and she recovered.The graves are always marked by crosses, often fantastically modi-fied. Several at Cohuirimpo were surmounted by birds, in some casesthe upright being divided above the crosspiece and a bird being carvedon each arm (pi. 14, fig. 2) . Some graves have more or less elaboratebrick slabs or tombs over them. Many are decorated with paperflowers or paper wreaths or handfuls of pioche leaves. Formerly awreath of wire and pieces of broken glass called the "crown of gold"was hung on the cross and a "flower" of the same construction waslaid at the foot of the cross.Close relatives are sometimes buried in the same grave. The skullsof the dead are believed to have a cross on the forehead when dug up.One informant claimed to have seen such a cross.Ceremonies for the kobanaro and other church officials are held inthe church, and the prayers are said there instead of in their homes.The church bells are rung. Otherwise the funeral appears to differlittle from that of a layman. Matachini are buried wearing the ma-tachin crown, feather wand, and gourd rattle. Flowers are placed onthe body as for a child. The matachini bring musicians and food, anddance before the corpse of a matachin or that of a member of his im-mediate family. They repeat this 6 days after burial and also at theend of the year. A head fiestera of Christ is buried with the crownand dress of the Virgin. Whether similar practices obtained for theother fiesteras or for those of San Juan was not ascertained. Nothingextra is done for the burial of a male fiestero, but all the fiesteros attendthe funeral of one who has held the office. The pascola and deerdancers are buried with their equipment beside them, but they do notwear it.At the present time coffins are frequently used, but the earlierpractice, still often seen, is to lay the body on a frame made of polesto which crosspieces of split canes are bound with mesquite bark.The body is wrapped in a palm-leaf mat. Old people say coffins arebad : they are like a prison ; the body is shut up and the dead cannotrest. The frames are not buried with the body, but are piled up inthe graveyard to be burned on the day of the dead.If the deceased person has made a vow to some saint, this must hecarried out at the funeral. If he has promised a dozen cahuetes,these must be fired off. If he owes a fiesta, one must be given com-mensurate with the promise.Should anyone die during Lent, the funeral is in charge of theclowns. It is said that the dead person belongs to them and theyperform all the duties of the funeral. The fiesteros also appear, how-ever, and if the person is a matachin, the group dances as usual. In 72 BUEEAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 142 case either clowns or matacliini are to take part in the funeral, theyassemble a little distance from the house. The householder goes tothem and says, "Wliy are you here?" Their leader responds, "Wehave come for our dead." They then enter and begin their functions.When the dead are buried by the clowns, the latter make jokesduring the veladon. Wlien the maestro prays, they dance; when hesays, "Accursed be the devil who wishes to seize my soul," they makethe sign of paying money to the wind.The members of the family of the dead person are under strict taboosfor 8 days after death. They may not drink milk or they will losetheir sight or their teeth. Many do not eat cheese either. They maynot leave the house for any purpose except for the funeral. Theymust pray every night for the dead. Others say the mourners sweatin the sun for an hour or so and burn candles; this is called velaruamukilataveci. They must not sweep the house.At Bacavachi, moreover, it is said if the mourners eat red chilesduring this time their eyes will turn red, while if the ears are notplugged with wool or cotton plugs, or if the plugs are removed duringthe week, deafness will ensue.A generation or tw^o ago more ceremonies were observed in the caseof adults. If an adult owed some vow at the time of death, a fiestawas prepared immediately, the men and women bringing togethercontributions for the purpose. After the fiesta, everyone gatheredaround the body and prayed, saying in the prayer that now the deadperson was saved and could go to his destiny. Then the chief of thefiesta named six men to go to the burial ground and prepare the graveor sepulcher. When they finished this, they came running to theplace where the body was and told the leader that the grave was ready.Then everyone?men, women, and children?circled the body, wiiichwas then carried by four men to the burial ground. The feet mustalways go foremost. At the burial ground the body was laid beforethe large cross {cruz mayor) for 1 hour, after which everyone prayedand sang and then circled it again. It was then carried to the graveand placed inside. Each person took a handful of earth and droppedit into the grave, saying, "For the last time." This each personrepeated three times. The chief then called all together and said, "Wehave complied with our duty and the spirit of this soul is now withGod." Then all raised their hands to heaven, saying, "God hears you.Goodbye. Goodbye." "To your homes everyone," said the chief, andall walked out of the burial ground with bowed heads. Once outside,they raised their heads and all took different directions to their homes.Every day for 3 days each person who had been at the burial said,"May God have him in heaven. We have done our duty."If an adult died who did not owe any vow, the body rested in ahouse for 1 night with candles burning about it. Three credos were BEALs] CONTEMPORARY CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 73 recited over the body every 3 hours. The body was interred thefollowing day and prayers were recited for it every day for 9 days(called the novena).If the person who died was very old, the mourners struck theirhands together, saying that man was very happy because he had livedso long and God had preserved him. Also during the clapping ofthe hands they said that this was because he was a good man andthere should be much dancing and drinking to bid him farewell fromthis world, and they rubbed their hands from pleasure. All nightcandles were burned and everyone danced and laughed and drankwith great pleasure, and the old people drank and sang and shouted.The next day the body was taken to the burial ground well wrappedin a blanket and a mat, and buried with the same ceremonies as beforedescribed, except that all danced or sang and laughed. If it shouldhappen shortly after that a child was born in the town, it was giventhe name of the dead person (not the surname), and people said, "ho'o, ho'o, ho'o, ho'o, ho'o, ho'o, hu'ola, hu'ola," which meant "Look,look, look, the old man, the old man, the old man, now comes, nowcomes."At burial ceremonies cahuetes are shot off in considerable numbers.One informant said that if this were not done, the dead would notreach heaven. This again conflicts with notions of reincarnation.Nothing is buried with the dead except the things mentioned in theforegoing accounts. A dead person is known as mokila or dnima.The behavior in connection with death is of interest. There isno great expression of sorrow unless it be in formalized wailing chantssuch as were heard among the Yaqui. (But a widow at Pascua becamehysterical during a chant.) Instead, there seems to be a certainamount of smiling and good humor among the members of the pro-cessions. At Tesia it was said that the mourners leave the churchlaughing and making jokes. Indeed, it is said that a Mayo nevercries. Sick people who have reached the moribund condition arevirtually abandoned. The face is covered with a cloth and neitherfood nor water is given. (This behavior is modifying rapidly atpresent.)Six or eight days after death, the Mayo hold the second velacion(limosnao). In the case of an adult this consists simply of burn-ing candles before the altar. Usually the mourners and visitors arefed, particularly if the dead person owned a bull, in which case thebull is killed and the meat served with atole and bread. The matachinior the pascola dance if the deceased were a matachin or a child.In any case, a maestro and singers are summoned for prayers.The maestro sprinkles holy water about the house and after this thespirit of the dead leaves. On the Fuerte River this ceremony iscalled el responso and is held on the eighth day. One year after death, 74 BUEEAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 142another limosnao is given by the family. This is always a fiesta,regardless of the status of the dead person.If a person dies far away from home, the same series of ceremoniesis performed as soon as the family finds out.A regular mourning ceremony is held every year on All SaintsDay and on All Souls Day, November 1 and 2. Five days in advancemany tamales are made, lengths of sugarcane and fruits are brought,and all is installed in a sort of booth close to the cross which is to befound outside every house. Whoever comes to the house and prays isgiven food from this stall as payment for the prayer. The food in thebooth is said to belong to the dead, who take this method of paying forthe prayers. The same is done in the burial ground. Mescal is fre-quently served also, particularly if some drunkard comes and praysfor the dead.According to another account, in the evening of All Saints Dayand of All Souls Day in November, food is set out, usually foodliked by the dead, on a table by the house cross in the evening.One informant thought that this was a Mexican custom and did notbelieve that the dead came to eat the food. Another said people putout tamales, bread, and brown-sugar cakes, and lighted a candle say-ing, "ban sekam hiwa hibwaim animam (now they come to eat attheir house, eat it, dead one)," and believe that the dead do eat thefood. The maestro and singers may visit the house and say prayersfor the dead, taking part of the food in payment. The childrenare remembered in this way on All Saints Day. On All Souls Day,foo^ is usually taken to the cemetery and candles are burned on thegraves all night. The graves are sometimes tidied up and flowers(usually paper) are placed on them. The maestros or friends visitthe various people and say, "hatcim tewa animam (what are the namesof your dead) ?" Then they pray for them and take food in payment.The remaining food is not left in the cemetery. On this night thematachini dance in the church.The spirit, or wind of the dead, hovers about the house for 8 daysafter the death. It seems fairly clear that this period was formerly3 days and that a second velacion was held at the end of 3 days. Dueto the influence of the Mexican novena, the period has been lengthened.Formerly, candles were kept burning 3 days, and it was customary forpeople in those times to talk to the dead and sometimes to see them.But nowadays a person who talks with the dead is apt to be frightenedand die. Several stories illustrated the fact that the dead still hauntthe house until the second velacion and exorcism. They manifestthemselves by making sounds in the house at night and in one case adog belonging to the dead person acted as though jumping up on hismaster. After the exorcism, the dog ceased this action. Beals] contemporary CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 75For 3 days after death, at 10 a. m., the room in which the dead persondied is purified by burning dung, cow horn, mesquite gum, the nest ofa large bird (waibarakas) found in the woods (some informants indi-cated any bird's nest would do), feathers, and dry pitahaya. Themembers of the household go into the room where the smoke is beingmade, strip themselves, and "bathe" in the smoke (or bathe in warmwater). This "cures" the mourners, prevents sickness, and stops theevil effects of sorrow.Despite the feeling that the dead leave after the eighth day, it isoften said that the dead are always about and help the family, and thatpeople are not afraid of their voices. If one has lost a cow or a horseand burns a half-dozen candles to his dead, someone is sure to bringthe animal back. One informant said that if the dead return it is aswind. When the wind goes out, people are dead. Another informantsaid she was not afraid of the dead, but of a small dove which fliesinto the house and says, "Chit, chit, chit." It is a sign of death in thehouse.Death is also believed to be foretold by the animals of the house.If a member of the family is going to die, the animals will turn theirheads away from the member and cry.Belief in ghosts is apparently not general, but the following tale, toldby an informant, suggests the nature of such beliefs as exist.Some people do not believe in ghosts but there must be such things. A man,a Mexican, found a cave in the mountains near Alamos. It was stopped up buthe opened it and had started to go in when he heard a voice. He looked aroundbut could see nothing. He started to go in again when he heard a voice say, "It is mine." He looked about still more carefully but could see no one. Whenhe returned to the cave a white bundle came out and he ran away. He cameback sis times, and each time the bundle came out. Later he came back withother men and they could find neither the cave nor his tracks.At death the Yaqui believe the spirit (hiepsi, "spirit, heart") hoversabout the house for 3 days until the novena, which actually occurs 3days after burial, not 8 as among the Mayo. Then the houseis sprinkled with holy water by the maestro. The nature of the burialrites varies with the social status of the deceased, but certain featuresare in common. There is a ceremony preceding burial, another 3 dayslater, and a third a year after death. The grave is prepared by thetamasti (sexton), and the body is borne to the graveyard by friendsand the godparents (limanci, "carrying to the crosses among the god-mothers"). Burial is always before midday. The fiesteros (paskome)attend all funeral ceremonies and accompany the body to the grave-yard; the maestros and kopariam (singers) walk beside it. Thepaskome go ahead. The corpse is taken to the church first, wherethe maestro and kopariam sing and pray, and then to the cemetery.The family and the paskome sit distant from the grave with their 76 BUEEAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Boll. 142backs to it while the burial takes place, performed by friends and god-parents. All present then make a circuit of the grave, salute oneanother, and return home.Certain taboos and observances are general. In the house smellythings such as horns, beak bena (an herb), situbaro (heartwood ofpitahaya), and dung are burned in a bowl. The mourners breathe inthis smoke. The mourners may not comb their hair or it will fall out ; eat pinole or they will lose their teeth ; and they stuff rags in their earsto preserve their hearing. This is said to be done for 8 days.For the funeral of a child (some say any unmarried person), afiesta is held at which the pascola dance, and sometimes a deer dancerand matachini. A bull is supposed to be killed. The body is deckedwith flowers and placed before an altar beside which the dancers per-form.A Yaqui ceremony observed at Potan in 1930 was conducted asfollows : The ceremonies took place in a ramada by the house. In one por-tion of this ramada was a temporary altar. This section was partlywalled with mats, being open on the side toward the dancers (south)and toward the front (west) . The altar was against the mats on theeast side and consisted of a table covered with a white cloth. Anotherwhite cloth was hung on the wall behind it. The altar bore a largecrucifix with a double cross, the image of Christ being on the lower armand the letters INRI on the upper. Extra candles, fireworks, a Bibleor prayer book, and other odd objects, as well as numerous paper flow-ers, were also on the altar. Two empty candlesticks stood on the altar,while before it stood two tall candlesticks with burning candles. Thebody of the child was swathed in cloth and rested on an ordinarywooden packing box in front of the altar.Before dark the musicians and dancers assembled at a close-by houseand were fed, afterward donning their paraphernalia. There weretwo pascola dancers, a violinist, harpist, and drummer. The drummersat on a mat on the ground at the south edge of the ramada east ofthe center line. A plank set in the ground at a slight angle served himas a backrest. The other two musicians sat on chairs in the northeastcorner of the dancer's section of the ramada. The dancing took placemostly between the drummer and the musicians. A bench along thesouth side was provided for spectators.Before the dancing began various people knelt before the bier andprayed for a moment. After the dancing started, several women begandecorating the corpse. First, strings of beads (probably rosaries)were laid over it, some being inserted underneath the wrappings of thecorpse. The whole was then completely covered with red and whitepaper flowers. Mats were then laid on the ground and the mourners Beals] contemporary CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 77 sat on these, several children among them. These had to be shakenawake occasionally but there was no severity about the treatment,rather they were given a pitying and tolerating smile. During theintervals, the dancers carried on their customary jokes.About 11 or 11 : 30, the mourners lighted candles. The bier and cru-cifix, to the accompaniment of a slow chant suggesting a negro spiritual,were carried about 200 yards toward the church. At this pointa permanent cross stood. The procession was accompanied by thefiring of many cahuetes^ especially during the sporadic chants of themourners. The bier and crucifix were set down on the ground, themourners gathered round, and a maestro led a prayer to whichthe mourners responded, occasionally breaking into a chant.After about 5 minutes the procession was followed by the dancersand the drummer. With the drurmner between them, the dancers per-formed some steps and the whole procession returned to the ramada,led by the dancers. The bier and the crucifix were restored to theirplaces and the dancers and the drummer advanced toward the bier andback either three or four times. They then returned to their dancing,and the mourners began to chant. Not long after this the dancersstopped for a time and were fed in a nearby house. The audience hadalso been receiving food from time to time as well as the native tobaccohanded out by the dancers.At a somewhat later hour another procession took place, and stilllater a third. The chanting and dancing continued intermittentlythroughout the night. At an early hour in the morning, the ceremonieswere transferred to the church. The bells were rung frequently andfireworks were shot off from time to time. Not long after nine a. m. theceremonies were completed. The actual time of burial was not observed.The mat and rack on which the body was carried were thrown on apile to the north of the church.. It was said they would be burned onAll Souls Day.2iFor a married man or woman a velacion (yohicupanwak) is held.The body is dressed with a cord about the waist and a breechclout(bwahi wikosa), the ends of which reach to the feet. Candles areburned all night, the mourners stay awake until the burial, the maestroand kopariam sing and pray. Generally on the third night (in twocases observed the fourth and fifth night respectively), but sometimeson the eighth night after the burial, is held the novenayabauwa,another velacion. For a married man or woman with children afiesta is held a year later with pascola and deer dancers at which theplay of the deer is performed (see p. 130). Other adults are simplygiven a velacion. The end-of-the-year ceremony is called lutugo'tigwa ^ A bitter December north wind and the preliminary symptoms of what turned out to bean attack of malaria prevented complete observation. 78 BUEEAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bdll. 142 or lutucuktia (the removal of the mourning). At all velaciones theguests are fed. The food is contributed by various members of thecommunity. The mourners and paskome sometimes go about with theimage of the saint asking alms in the exile village of Pascua in Ari-zona, but in the home villages the expenses are frequently defrayed bythe kobana'u, who pays them from the village treasury.If the dead was a member of any society, it takes part in his burial.For a soldier, the soldiers dance the coyote dance at the velaciones.If the deceased was a matachin or the relative of a matachin, thematachini dance (also at a novena and at the end of a year). If hewas a fariseo, fariseos attend also and help with the burial. In thelatter case, the dead man is watched the first night by a fellow fariseowearing a mask and carrying the sticks (with which he keeps awayflies). The corpse wears a mask also and his sticks are laid besidehim. The masks and sticks are not buried but burned. Two masksand two sets of sticks are saved at Easter for this purpose.^^ Thetenances and kopariam are buried wearing the crown of their office.If a man has belonged to more than one society, the members of eachvattend his funeral.Dr. Parsons observed a burial ceremony at Guaymas which containsinteresting details and for which she gave me her notes.The deceased was a woman. The husband apparently was the matachin chiefor mayordomo. He collected the paraphernalia of the dancers and placed iton a mat before a cross decorated with white papers. A lantern burned along-side the cross. Under the ramada was a double camp bed of white canvas.On a table behind was placed a crucified Christ and a small saint. Four longwhite candles and some green potted plants (evidently an addition due to theMexican surroundings, as they are not seen in the pure Indian villages) wereplaced at each corner of the bed. There were no flowers. The bed was coveredby loose blankets so that it was impossible to be sure it held the corpse. Awooden box coffin stood nearby on a trestle.Six or seven women surrounded the bed, evidently arranging the corpse."When they finished, the corpse could be seen, dressed in white, a white frillcap on the head, white stockings on the feet, and, resting on the insteps, acontainer for coins, which were dropped in by several guests as they arrived.One man placed what appeared to be native tobacco near the feet ; another, asmall white candle. The altar table was removed as well as the plants, and amat spread at the foot of the bed where the women knelt and prayed as theycame in.Eight or nine women now knelt and chanted together. (These were thesingers and were, or should have been, accompanied by a maestro.) Then thedancers picked up their things from the foot of the cross and stood in a groupwith the musicians a moment before they began dancing. When the dancingstarted, they danced toward the foot of the bed where they inclined themselves,bowing, then danced backward and forward again. They then took up theregular dance figures. ^'^ During Lent all funerals are in charge of the fariseos. Holden (1936, pp. 55 et seq.)describes such a funeral, although his interpretations are most dubious.*? Probably godmothers or godchildren. BEALS] CONTEMPORARY CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 79After 15 minutes, the dancers danced into the ramada and encircled the corpsein two lines, passing at the head. They inclined toward the corpse, shakingtheir rattles toward it. There are 10 minutes of this curious [italics areDr. Parsons'] cii'cling about the body, "which is evidently being treated as asantu." They then resumed the regular figures. About 25 minutes later thedancing stopped.The mayordomo (matachin chief?) now took the two violinists to the foot ofthe bed. The three knelt on the mat, prayed silently, crossed themselves, thenmade a kind of circuit with the torso, followed by two more crossings and twomore circuits or swings of the torso. They then stood and crossed themselvesthree times. The three front dancers now repeated this rite exactly, putting ontheir headdresses as they knelt and snatching them off as they turned to go. Allthe dancers did the same, in pairs, after which the regalia was all depositedagain at the foot of the cross and the dancers withdrew.The entire ceremony was repeated twice before dawn. At 8 a. m. the burialtook place. Dr. Parsons was informed that the dancers were paid, but shemay have been misinformed, as this is a modification which does not occureither in the Yaqui villages on the river or at Pascua village in Tucson.At Pascua village near Tucson, two similar funerals were observed in 1931in which matachini appeared. One of these was for a former matachin monarca.In the afternoon, contributions were solicited from house to house and food andmoney collected. Relatives accompanied the party. The banner of SanJuan (?), borne by a girl in white, was waved over the heads of those whoprayed to the accompanying saint.**The arrangement of the corpse and surroundings differed only in minor detailsfrom those described above. The maestro and singers prayed and chanted. Thematachini began dancing between 7 and 9 with a slow opening dance. A girl,bearing the banner of the matachini and wearing a ten^nce crown, waved thebanner in the four directions, then stood at the foot of the corpse. The matachinidanced slowly up to the corpse and back several times. Then there was an inter-lude of regular matachin dances. About 10, accompanied by the violinists,the dancers circled the bier in two files in opposite directions. Three circuitswere made.The girl with the banner more or less accompanied the monarca or danceleader, but was not definitely in the file. At the conclusion of the three circuits,the dancers formed a circle about the corpse. The monarca and director of thematachini stood on the right hand of the corpse, the malinchi (a female imper-sonator) on the left. Where the deceased had been a matachin, rather thanmerely a relative, the crown or headdress, feather wand, and rattle were takenfrom the altar. The latter two were held by the malinchi while the monarca,aided by the director, placed the crown on the head of the corpse, then placedthe wand and rattle in its hands. In the case of a relative, the dancers kneltas a group and prayed, the banner (sometimes two) being waved over the headof the corpse. In the case of the deceased monarca, each dancer successivelyknelt at the right hand of the corpse and prayed. During prayers, the bannerwas waved over the feet of the corpse. At the conclusion of the prayers, threecircuits were danced, the files reversing directions. Then a long rapid dancewas performed. About 11 : 30 the dancers were fed by the householders.2* E. H. Spicer reports that the presence of relatives and the girl in white is contraryto the usual Pascua pattern. My contacts at Pascua were much less than Dr. Spicer's. Ihere report merely what I saw and was told. According to Sonoran patterns, the girlwould represent the flesteros, a group lacking at Pascua. 80 BUEEAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bdll. 142None of the ceremonies I saw were considered complete, having been cut offby rain or other ceremonies. In the funeral of the former monarca, the dancersreturned from their other duties between 3 and 4 and repeated the aboveceremonies once.There is also a padrino (godparent) ceremony which Parsonsmissed. The relatives and numerous padrinos circle the corpse threetimes, each bearing a lighted candle. Each person kneels as hepasses the right hand and utters a brief prayer. This occurs about12 midnight and again around 4. In one case, the wife of the de-ceased went into a violent fit of hysterics lasting for nearly half anhour after the second ceremony. At intervals the maestro and singerspray and chant lengthily. Often the chief mourners kneel at the footof the bier while this is done. The dancers, maestros, and singers areusually fed by the householders.Near morning, final farewells are said by friends and relatives andofferings are laid with the corpse, principally cloth and clothing. Themaestro sprinkles water on the corpse and speaks the service for thedead. At the graveyard the service is usually repeated before thebody is placed in the grave. Each person picks up a handful of earth,makes the sign of the cross before his mouth with it, and throws theearth in the grave. The godparents and friends fill in the grave andcandles are lighted on it.The funeral of a kobana'u is attended by the entire village. Thevelacion is held in the church instead of his home. The other kobana'uand the soldiers take him to church.Pascola and deer dancers and musicians receive no special atten-tion at death or after, although my notes speak of the matachinidancing for the velacion of a pascola dancer. He may have been re-lated to a matachini. The mask or other equipment is not buried butis kept by the widow, who loans or gives it to other dancers or musi-cians who lack equipment.People who die on a campaign or in battle receive different treat-ment. Those who die in the mountains are burned. The body islaid on a pile of wood. After the pyre is ignited it is left. Threedays later the spot is revisited and if any of the body is still notconsumed, the burning is continued. The bones and ashes are buriedon the spot. If a person is killed near the village, he is buried wherehe fell. This came out clearly at Vicam, where there is a grave markedby a large cross within a hundred yards of the cemetery. The man wasshot in 1929, virtually in his door yard, and was buried on the spot.A large incense burner adorned his grave as well as a massive woodencross. Special vows for the dead are apparently taken by wholevillages. Bacun and Cocorit have observed one jointly for 3 years(1932), holding an annual fiesta for the dead killed in the 1929campaign. Bkals] contemporary CULTUEE OF CAPITA INDIANS 81The graves are usually oriented with feet toward the church, butgraves not directly before the church have the feet toward the others,not toward the church. As most of the churches are oriented to therising sun, the heads of most graves are east. At Pitahaya the graves ' "are ornamented by designs in shells, most of them placed at random,but a five-point star was figured on one. These are said to be madeby brothers of the deceased. On several graves were observed coyote(or dog) skulls. The significance of this could not be learned, as itseemed unfamiliar to all my informants, who were from other towns.The dead who die when aged are said to be able to return as chil-dren. The informants had never heard of the dead returning asanimals. After his death, a clown of Cocorit was frequently seenrunning through the woods with his mask on and carrying his sticks, "although it was not the time of the fariseos."One informant insisted the name of the dead was formerly tabooand brought ill luck. The person speaking it would die; "mokiaagomtia katu aunoka (it is not good to speak the name of the dead) ."All other informants denied the belief.The names of all the dead are written down on paper or in booksfor the relatives by the maestros. These lists are taken to churchevery Sunday and prayers said for them. They are called the dnimm.They are also taken to fiestas and are given to the maestro on the Dayof the Dead.2?On All Saints Day, the maestros, each with a sacristan as well asthe kopariam, go from house to house. On hanging shelves the house-holders place food which the dead are believed to come and eat. Itis given to the maestro wherever he prays. He is also said to be given5 pesos at such houses, a rather dubious story."? At night he arrivesat church. The next day. All Souls Day, the pisca (fiscal) assemblesthe boys and takes them about to the different houses, ringing a bell.Each boy has a bag for alms. They sing and are given food. After-ward, they go to the church and pray and cross themselves. Thefood they take home and eat. The same day the maestro and thekopariam pray before each cross in the cemetery. Food is taken therefor them. ^ Again I am indebted to Dr. Spicer for amplification. He found the prayers forthe dead extremely important at Pascua. The books are also mentioned by Holden(1936, p. 58). I have little doubt that the cult of the dead is much nrore important thanmy data would indicate. Roz Spicer, in her manuscript on Pascua ceremonies, sug-gests that the dead are regarded as an integral part of the community. While I have afeeling that this is an overstatement of the situation for the Sonora Yaqui and Mayo,it nevertheless offers a striking parallel to Pueblo attitudes toward the kachina who,it will be remembered, are in part regarded as spirits of the dead.28 Dr. Spicer writes that at Pascua there is a feeling that each family should girefrom 2 to 5 dollars. My doubt arose from the fact that 5 pesos is an enormous sum tothe Sonora Yaqui ; nevertheless, it may well be the ideal. 82 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 142BEHAVIOES, ATTITUDES, AND MANNERISMSThe general behavior of the Mayo is similar in some respects tothat of the Mexican population, and is probably growing more so.The general attitudes governing sex relations show a distinct shiftin the direction of Mexican patterns. Nevertheless, relations betweenhusband and wife seem fairly permanent and there is much less philan-dering than among the Mexicans. The couples with whom I camein contact had all been married a long time, but it may have beenpure accident that I did not come in touch with impermanent unions.Still, the present attitudes harmonize with earlier observations re-garding Cahita character.There attaches to the Mayo and still more to the Yaqui some repu-tation for homosexuality. I saw several cases of affectionate andsometimes almost effeminate relations between men, but they were notof a nature which necessarily indicated homosexual practices or ten-dencies. It is not uncommon to see older men strolling through avillage in conversation, with their arms about one another's shoulders,and, somewhat less commonly, younger men do the same. A Mayowoman informant asserted that relations between women occurredas well as relations between men, although she knew of no cases. Sheinsisted transvestites occur only among the Mexicans.The Mayo, and to a somewhat lesser extent, the Yaqui tend to bevery conservative in their habits. This extends to hoarding articlesof little intrinsic value which have been inherited from parents orgrandparents. These are kept in the family chests and consist ofsuch articles as musical instruments, weaving tools, and ornaments.There seems little sentimental value attached to these, for the ownersinvariably part with them at very slight prices.In his dealings with strangers the Mayo is suspicious. Often hewill not talk with them at all. Once acquainted, he is friendly andgood-natured. There seems to survive little idea of giving food tovisitors, and in this respect the Cahita are much less hospitable thanthe Mexicans.On the whole, the Cahita seem governed by two conflicting sets ofmores which make it diflBcult to generalize. The strongest are un-questionably the native traditions. The Cahita are intensely religiousand strongly attached to persons living in their own village; theydistrust and dislike strangers, especially whites. On the other handthey are increasingly in contact with various types of whites ? hacen-dados, hard-bitten rancheros, self-respecting small farmers, sly butaffable traders and storekeepers, and, finally, hybrid town dwellers,bearing a superficial gloss of Mexican-European-American culturebut understanding none of them and debasing all. The Indians mostin contact with these groups are the least pleasant to deal with, less BBALS] CONTEMPORARY CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 83honest, following the moral standards of the lowest-class Mexicans.All are affected by them to some extent. As a group, the Cahita arenot consciously disorganized as yet, but in individuals the mixture ofthe two impulses has produced a good deal of stress and has had un-satisfactory results. In the few cases where the Indian has made hiswhite contacts with better classes, with schools and teachers, the resulthas been excellent whether he has remained Indian in his mode oflife or transferred himself wholly into the white culture.A few customary mannerisms differentiate the Cahita from theMexican. There is no difference in most gestures or methods of point-ing, but sitting positions are usually rather different. Both men andwomen among the Indians squat a great deal with the feet flat onthe ground rather than balanced on the balls of the feet. The latteris sometimes done by Indian men also. Women most frequently sit onthe ground, the knees before them but the legs bent back at the kneeand to one side so the heel of the left foot will be by the right thigh(or the reverse; there is no consistency of direction). The pascoladancers have a fixed gesture for stopping the musicians should theystart to play too soon. It is to push downward several times withthe right hand, the palm parallel to the plane of the ground and about12 inches from it. The foot is sometimes stamped to attract attentionat the same time.Handshaking is by just touching the fingers. Old people often pre-cede the handshake by what may be the original Indian salutation,touching each other's left shoulder with the right hand before shakinghands. (This may, on the other hand, be a remnant of the Spanishembrace.) Evidently, the hearty handclasp of the European isrepugnant.Suicide seems always to have been common. Living informantstestified to suicides over shame and for lover's or marital quarrels,hanging being the usual method.POLITICAL ORGANIZATIONLittle memory of the political organization now remains among theMayo. There is some recollection of a chief (kobanaro), but he isoften confused with the religious head whereas, in the light of Yaquidata, he must have been different. The religious head today has thesame name, kobanaro.-^ Among the Yaqui the title of the religioushead is prefixed by teopo-, meaning "temple." The following Mayomaterial is a compilation of information remembered from the child-hood of elderly people, or recollections of stories heard from theelders. Its reliability is enhanced by Yaqui data. "^ This may be derived from Spanish goternador. On the other hand, as I have pointedout (Beals, 1943, p. 82) kCba means "bead" and appears as part of the names of cliiefsmentioned in early documenta. 84 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 142Each village had its own kobanaro and judge. The functions ofthe latter were not judicial despite his name; rather he executedsentences passed by the kobanaro. From Yaqui data, the judge mayhave been the war chief. Both officials were elected for life accordingto most informants. Others insist that the term was for but 5 yearsand it is possible that the villages differed in this respect. The koba-naro or judge could be removed from office if sufficiently unpopular,the populace assembling and escorting him out of town to the musicof drums and flutes. The successor to a kobanaro was never chosenfrom the same family.The kobanaro is obviously a missionized descendant of the pre-Spanish chief. He, too, was elected, and war valor, speech-makingability, and the prestige of his family were factors influencing hisselection. The judge may likewise be a partial survivor of the chief'sspeaker, but the connection here is not so clear. In function he re-sembles rather the war chief of the Yaqui. The chief's connectionwith religion has an antecedent in that the chief formerly was oftena powerful "wizard." The chief and the judge together used todeliver all invitations to fiestas in post-Spanish times.The kobanaro dispensed justice and handled all external relations ofthe village. Hunting or fishing parties could not leave the villagewithout his permission and then only for a specified number of days.If they did not return, the chief sent men out to bring them in, andthey were punished. Women going to a white town or another puebloto sell things also required the chief's permission. These women car-ried a stout stick as a weapon while out of the village. Visitors wererequired to secure the permission of the chief to enter the village.Whites were allowed only on business and were given an escort of twomen to see that they stuck to their business and left town when it wasover. Only Indians who had relatives in the village normally wereadmitted. If anyone sold anything he gave the money to the kobanaroto keep and had to ask him for it if he wished to buy anything. Thepurchase must have the kobanaro's approval. Food could not be soldwithout the kobanaro's permission and this was given only if thekobanaro satisfied himself that there was enough food in the villageto feed everyone until the next harvest.The most usual punisliment dispensed seems to have been whipping.If two or three people complained to the kobanaro and he consideredthe complaints justified, he ordered the judge to arrest the man andwhip him so many times. After the whipping a "doctor" was broughtto the culprit.Thieves were detected by witchcraft. The guilty person was caughtout in the woods and hanged. His relatives were closely watched fora year and if they stole also, the whole family might be executed.Weapons were never used to kill thieves; they were always hanged. Beals] CONTEMPORAKY CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 85The orders were always given by the kobanaro. This must have ap-plied only to flagrant cases.Murderers were treated in the same way. If the malefactor wasfrom another village, unless he could be caught in the woods, thekobanaro notified the chief of the village, who was then supposed toinflict the punishment. (At a later time murderers were sent to theMexican court at Alamos.)Part of the chief's duties were the enforcement of rigid sexual re-strictions. This subject is dealt with under Birth and under Marriage.The kobanaro had a female assistant whose sole duty was to guardthe morals of the women of the village.The punishment of children was in the home. If a boy did wrong,he was hung up with a rope and burned with maize husks. If the faulthad been committed in the house, his hands were burned, but if outsidethe house, then his feet were burned, the theory being that in the lattercase his feet, in bearing him to the spot where the wrong was committed,had more responsibility for it than his hands.This type of organization had broken down by the time of Hrdlicka'svisit to the Mayo. He states that they had no tribal organization,although the elders had considerable influence in each village(Hrdlicka, 1904, pp. 6, 60).Among the Yaqui a definite tribal organization exists, althoughit is loose and relatively unimportant. The kobana'u consult with oneanother constantly, and exchange information. In matters of tribalimportance, majority action rules. There is a tribal chieftain, really awar captain, who is chosen at a tribal assembly. This is attended bythe war captains and civil chiefs (kobana'u) of each village (and to-day by the secretaries of the war captains), and all the people of thetown where the meeting is held. The people are seated as at a villagecouncil. The visitors are not seated in any order of preference but inany place they wish on the benches to which their rank is assigned.The secretaries have a table near the bench of the war captains andwrite an account of the proceedings. At such a meeting, about 1924,Matus (originally of Vicam but resident now of Lencho),the presenttribal chieftain, was chosen.-^ At the time of Matus' selection, the in-cumbent chief, Mori, and his village of Belen (Pitahaya) did not wantto give up authority. The council sent soldiers to secure Mori.IVhen he was brought before the council, it reduced him from the rankof a war captain to that of a common soldier, although the rank hadbeen given by his own village. In spite of opposition to the installa- ^ Pluma Blanca, the official head of the tribe, was installed by the Mexican Government.While in 1931-32 Matus rarely exercised overt authority, he was generally considered thereal tribal chieftain, even by some of Pluma Blanca's most devoted men, who recognizedPluma Blanca's authority over them as war captain of Bacun, now Lencho.530583?45 7 86 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 142tion of Matus, Mori is still merely a common soldier of infantry.The council also gave Mori 12 lashes.-^Councils are also held for matters of tribal interest. One must beheld for a decision for war although a declaration of Avar seems a for-eign idea. Another was held on the question of the long-distance tele-phone line recently put through the Yaqui territory. Outsiders wereallowed to appear before the council, which finally voted 5 to 3 infavor of permitting the new line, the three down-river towns of Belen,Huirivis, and Raun opposing. Despite the vote of the council, somedifficulties occurred in building the line through the territory of thelower towns. The four down-river towns are said by the Yaqui them-selves to be more bellicose.Much modification of town government has evidently occurred in thelast 30 years. Today the civil officials of each town are the "i^ princi-foles''' consisting of the kobana'u and 5 assistants and 6 pueblos(people). The pueblos are the kobana'u and his assistants of the pre-ceding year. Theoretically, each kobana'u (the name is applied bothto the head and to his 5 assistants) selects his successor, but actually themode of selection is exactly like that for the fiesteros. The new chief(kobana'u yowe) is named by the head maestro. The new chief thenselects his first assistant (kobana'u segundo^ cukulawe), who selectsthe third, and so on. The old principales supervise this selection. Asthe maestro plays an important part in the selection of military andreligious officials as well, in effect he dominates every phase of townorganization. Formerly, the maestro's functions were exercised bya special group, the elders or susuakame, essentially a religious group.(See p. 109.) The selection of new officers begins on December 15.Men are sought at their houses, and a man who does not wish to servemay be forced to do so. On January 6 the new officials are installedat a council (described below) and taken before the altar where theydeceive their varas (gobana'u kuta, "governor stick").According to one Torin informant, the position of kobana'u wasformerly semipermanent, lasting either until people became dissatis-fied or the kobana'u himself wished to be relieved. In this case thefirst assistant (kobana'u segundo) succeeded unless he was powerfullyopposed by the maestro. The third kobana'u (according to this in-formant there were only three formerly) then advanced to the positionof the second. The new kobana'u, with the advice of his second andof the principales^ then carefully selected a new third kobana'u. Thechoice was submitted to a council of the susuakame and other majorofficials for approval.Another type of official mentioned only by this informant was thejuez del campo. In each distant rancho the kobana'u selected an in- ^ This account, by an eye witness from Lencho, might be interestingly modified by arepresentative from Belen. /Beals] contemporary CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 87formal representative who kept the kobana'u informed of all mattersof importance such as disturbances, travelers, and suspicious activities.In most cases the juez del campo asked one or two neighbors to act asassistants and substitutes in case he was absent.In theory, all officials, including the heads of societies, should havetwo assistants, a second and third. These not only substituted for thehead official in emergencies and succeeded him in case of retirement ordeath; they also acted to insure against any failure of duty on thepart of the head. Should the latter fail in any way, the assistantswould report the matter.The vara is carried only by the six kobana'u and the teopokobana'u(church head). It is borne on all official occasions and in the church.Neither the principals or the ko- abana'u have any authority over the ^teopokobana'u or the yaucim or cleaders of the soldier's society orvice versa, except that the yaucimand the principales together discussthe making of peace if- there hasbeen war. When retired from thepueblos, a civil official had no au- ^ -.o ^ ^- . ^% . ' Figure 18.?Seating arrangements ofthority. He usually becomes a sol- the Yaqui village meeting, or junta,dier again. None of the civil offi- a, Officials of the soldiers, ft,cials receives any pay, but the ko- Kobana'u. c. Pueblos, d, Soldiers,bana'u has two soldiers who work ^' ^^^^'<^^ officials, f, Clowns orfor him in his fields and whose fam- ''''''^''^- ^' ^^"^^"""^ ^?^ ^???^^?-ilies he must care for in return. He will not be asked to be kobana'uagain for 6 or 7 years. In the meantime he may take a soldier's officeor join a society of dancers or clowns, and so become ineligible.Council meetings are held in the guardia, or cuartel^ the meetinghouse of the soldier's society. The arms are stacked at the rear of theramada, usually the only walled portion. The officers of the soldierssit on the first bench behind the kobana'u's, who sit with the firstkobana'u on the left. The pueblos sit each facing the man who has hisformer office, the soldiers behind them. The matachini and churchofficials sit on one side, the clowns (fariseos) on the other, and thewomen and tenances in one corner (fig. 18). The kobana'u calls thenominated candidate an "intelligent man who knows how to pray"and who is not an officer in the soldier's society nor a member of anyreligious organization, such as the clown or matachin society.The nominee is seated cross-legged on the ground, barefooted, andis cross-questioned as to whether he wants to be a kobana'u. Anyonein the village, male or female, may speak or object. On the followingday he is given his vara in church, and prays. He is told he has 88 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Boll. 142charge of Christ, i.e., the image in the church. The same is done forthe five assistants.The duties of the kobana'u are to keep order in the town, punishcrimes, go to church barefooted and with their canes each Sunday,and supervise community work, such as repairing or building a church.If anyone has an important thing to speak of, he usually addresseshimself to the head of the pueblos, who takes it before the council of the 'princi'pSes. Outside the council meetings, each kobana'u gives infor-mation to the one next highest in rank. The usual punishment iswhipping, administered by the sixth assistant kobana'u, sometimescalled the alawasi {alguacil). Formerly, the kobana'u would havedone nothing of importance without consulting the susuakame.Men who beat their wives or who leave them are punished by whip-ping. For robbery, a person is tied to a cross before the guardia andwhipped by a corporal. (It is possible that I have been mistaken andthat this is the alawasi mentioned above. One informant said hecarried no vara^ which would clearly indicate he is not a kobana'u. Butone of the pueblos stated that whipping was always by the sixthkobana'u.) If a person is charged with robbery, a corporal and twosoldiers bring him before the council of principales. If he denies thecharge, an effort is made to find the true offender. "They always suc-ceed because they know their own people." Then the guilty party issentenced to a certain number of lashes, according to the offense. Thekobana'u gives the order to the war captain, who in turn informs thecorporal. If the same offense is committed twice, the offender is shotby the soldiers. Men are punished severely for adultery, and if a manhas relations with an unmarried woman, he is forced to many her.Women are never punished except for witchcraft or murder (exceptduring Lent?see p. 114). The following are some extreme casesoccurring fairly recently : A woman of Vicam murdered her husband, cut the flesh off the bones, carriedthe flesh to the woods in a sack, and buried the bones under the kitchen floor.The woman and her son were arrested. As the husband was of Belen (Pitahaya) , oflBcials from there came to see that the woman didn't escape. The son wasconsidered not guilty, but as he said, "What use is life as an orphan? Shoot metoo," the soldiers obliged and shot them both. The game woman was reputed tohave murdered another man in Phoenix, Ariz. "She had a mania for killing."One informant had been present at the execution of a sorcerer at Bacun about8 years ago. The sorcerer had killed one man. Then another fell sick. Thelatter dreamed of the sorcerer. The sorcerer was brought to the house and keptthere under a guard of soldiers for 5 days until the sick man recovered. He wasthen taken out in the woods and placed in a cage of branches, shot once, andthen burned in the cage. The soldiers stood around the edge of the woods andwatched. When the burning was over, the remains were left, and the soldiersmarched back to the village, being careful to use the same route returning as ontheir outgoing trip. Beals] contemporary CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 89Another Yaqui account was more specific and covered methods saidnow to be abandoned. Theft within the village was rare, but if itoccurred or there were other infractions of tribal law, the offender wastied up by his wrists to a post, his toes just touching the ground. Thechief ordered five good blows inflicted on his back. He was then askedif he had a father or mother. If the correct answer was not given, thechief turned to the people who were assembled for the punishment.Unless they voted to punish the man no more, he was given five moreblows, and the procedure repeated. This continued until the victimresponded, "I have no father but God and no mother but the VirginMary {No tengo fodre mas que Dios Santo y no tengo Tnadre mas queMaria Purisima) ," or the people interfered and caused his release.If a person is leaving town for 2 or 3 days, he must seek the permis-sion of the kobana'u. Even if leaving for a shorter period, as a matterof safety it is considered well to inform one of the officials.If there is community work to be performed, the pHncipales directthe work after the kobana'u has approved it. In case of church work,either the teopokobana'u or the head maestro proposes the work.There is some evidence that a system of communal labor obtainsamong the Yaqui comparable to what is found further south in Mexico.Under the heading of communal labor is the service of the church,particularly that of the maestros, pascola, deer dancer, and the singersand musicians. None of these is paid for his labor except in thedivision of food made after fiestas or, in the case of maestros andsingers, the division of alms given to the church. Nevertheless, workis considered a duty which must be performed. Work on civic im-provements of any sort, at present confined entirely to the work ofthe church, is considered in the same light. Whether one is asked todo work, contribute materials, or provide food for fiestas, the sameobligation is considered to have been discharged. Outside of thespecific religious functions, such as those of maestro, singers, dancers,and musicians, all other communal labor is ordered and supervisedby the kobana'u and his staff. They designate who shall work andhow much and who shall contribute other things.Informants were not altogether clear as to the extent to which thissystem is recognized and organized. One informant used the phrase, "tekilta horiawi (the work that (they) do)." The root "tek" is un-doubtedly the same as that in the word for work, "tekipanoa," andmust have some relation to the communal labor systems (tekio)farther south in Mexico. Probably both the word and the systemwere introduced. Other informants insisted there was no special nameapplied to communal labor as opposed to individual labor. 90 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 142RELIGIONIDEAS OF THE WOR"LD AND THE UNIVERSEThe cosmological and cosmogonical ideas of the Cahita are derivedalmost completely from Christian theology. The Mayo's idea of theworld and creation is merely a slightly confused version of the bookof Genesis and the Old Testament. Perhaps other ideas exist ; indeed,it would be peculiar if none had survived, but I did not happen to meetany individuals who held them. The world is no longer a place ofwonder or awe in which the supernatural moves close to man. It isan ordered universe in the main, and while a jealous God may sendmisfortune, yet he sends it because of definite sins and he is propitiatedmore with an eye to the future life than to the present. The onlyexception is the attitude toward the woods and all things connectedwith them. (See p. 190.)Modifications the Cahita have indeed developed. The introductionof the idea of reincarnation is ingenious and may well be of aboriginalorigin. A certain fatalism, too, has accompanied Christianit3^ Freewill is not a Cahita doctrine. "God commands all," said an old Mayo. "If one man kills another, it is the will of God." But presumably itis also the will of God that the murderer be punished, if possible. Thevague ideas about ghosts have a slightly pre-Christian flavor (seep. 75) as do the attitudes toward curers and wizards.In the main, however, the religion and ceremonials of the Cahita area blend of Catholicism and paganism with the former predominating.The blend evidently assumed its present form at least two centuriesor more ago. This is indicated by the pronounced uniformity of therituals over a large area, including not only the wide-flung Mayovillages but also those of the Yaqui.The whites consider the Cahita to be fanatically religious. Thisviewpoint has its outward show of truth but inwardly is incorrect.The Cahita is fanatical in his observance of the forms of his religion ; he is very sensitive to any disrespect or ridicule, but he does not feeldeeply his religion as such ; his emotional life is rarely touched beyondthe reaction to spectacle and ritual. This last is more true of Mayothan of Yaqui.However scrupulously the Mayo observes his religious rituals, con-tact soon creates the impression that religion is a husk of ceremonialismwithout any inner light of religious feeling. Perhaps this is an in-correct viewpoint based on lack of sufficient knowledge. Nevertheless,it seems inescapable. Not once did I meet a Mayo who seemed movedby any deep religious emotion. So long as the forms of religion areobserved, he is satisfied. He makes his vows and performs his pen-ances or duties because they are prescribed for given situations, not Beals] contemporary CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 91because of any deep emotional compulsion. Often, indeed, liis attitudeseems to reflect boredom rather than anything else. Mayo religionis an empty shell from which the kernel of vitality is lost and whichmust inevitably be blown away by the winds of modernism now stir-ring over the Sonora deserts. Already the number of clowns is dimin-ishing significantly. On the other hand, the Yaqui evidently feeltheir religion much more strongly. There is in their harsh ritualsa fervor and devotion which is lacking among the Mayo. And in con-versation, God is ever present to the Yaqui. What he cannot under-stand, whether it be good or bad, is God's will ; God understands,MAYO RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONThe present ceremonial and religious organization of the Mayo isalmost independent of the Catholic Church. A priest might be calledin to perform some particular rite on some special occasion, but in 6months of residence I did not hear of a single instance. On PalmSunday the banners of Christ and of San Juan are taken to the churchof the whites, where they are "baptized" by the priest. The rest otthe year the priest has no contact with the Indian's religious activities.The church building is the center for Mayo ceremonial. EveryIndian town has its church, usually built by the Indians and in allcases kept up by them. Although the Government has taken overthe ownership of all such churches and has appointed Mexican care-takers, the duties of the latter are confined to locking and unlockingthe doors. The Indians clean the church and make additions andalterations without permitting any interference by the Mexicanminorities living in their towns,The churches usually consist of a long single room with a sort ofvestry leading off the altar (pi. 20, fig, 1). At Pueblo Viejo, SanPedro, Masiaca, Batacosa, and Tesia the churches are of this patternand are built of either brick or adobe. At San Ignacio and Bacavachithe main room of the church is simply an earthen-roofed ramada, withwattled sides and one open end. The altar is within an adobe room atthe closed end. This room is the only part kept locked when thechurch is not in use. The churches at Batacosa and Bacavachi areclearly on the sites of older buildings, probably of adobe. The cobble-stone foundations are plainly visible. Before each church is set alarge wooden cross which is variously called the cross of pardon orthe great cross {cruz mayor). The churches at Pueblo Viejo, SanPedro, Tesia, and Masiaca are oriented eastward; at San Ignacio,south ; at Bacavachi, north ; at Batacosa, west.The real head of the Indian church today is the kobanaro in eachIndian town. He has final authority in all matters and is responsiblefor the proper observance of the ceremonies and fiestas. 92 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY . [Bull. 142The kobanaro is named by a council at which 6 or 10 older men aregathered together representing the various districts of the town andthe surrounding territory. Probably more participate, since eachdistrict sends several representatives. It was difficult to secure aclear statement of the actual method followed. There appears to beno formality in the choice of these representatives. It is discussedin the village (harrio), but apparently anyone who wishes may attendthe council. It is unlikely, however, that a young man or, indeed,anyone who was not recognized as having some following among thepeople would attend. Men, to be considered for the office of kobanaro,must be respected and have led virtuous lives.The kobanaro theoretically holds his office for life or good behavior.M , of Navojoa, has held the office for 8 or 10 years (in1931). Actually, the kobanaro may be removed from office by acouncil, but no case of removal could be remembered by informants.The kobanaro may have assistants chosen in the same way, usuallytwo or more who perform many of the duties of the kobanaro's officebut who are under his orders. Some said there are five assistants,but evidently they were thinking of the ancient political governor.None of the church officials (except maestros and singers) receiveany pay, but all the church funds pass through the kobanaro's hands,and it seems generally recognized and condoned that some shouldgo mto the kobanaro's pocket. (One informant said the kobanaroand his first assistants were paid, but this is contrary to majoritystatements.) The case of M is instructive. He is saidto have taken office a poor man. Now he has a good farm, livestock,wagons, and equipment. Recently, he moved from his ranch to aresidence in the Mexican town across the river, a sign of considerable . affluence (and of shifting into the non-Indian cultural milieu).The son rarely succeeds to the kobanaro's office. Usually he is notold enough, for the kobanaro must be a man of mature years whenhe takes office. Moreover, there is a sentiment against succession.The kobanaro's duties are primarily with the church and the saints.He keeps the keys to the church (unless the Mexican custodian iszealous), supervises repairs and improvements, and in many respectsfills the office of sacristan, by which name he is sometimes called. Heoversees the activities of the fiestero groups, composes differences,and may punish members for failure to perform their duties. Healso deals with the maestros in matters connected with church servicesor fiestas. He formerly could have fiesteros tied to the crus man/orbefore the church and whipped. He is said still to imprison themsometimes. He also is called upon to bring pascola dancers to accountif they fail to behave properly at a fiesta. He or one of his assist-ants always accompanies the image of a saint when it is taken from BHALS] CONTEMPORARY CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 93the church. He is under no restrictions not applicable to the remain-der of the people other than that his conduct is supposed to be ona rather higher plane. But he has no special fasts to observe as dothe -fiesteros. It is not even necessary for him to be at church onSundays, providing he sends a suitable official to open the churchat the proper hours, although his absence from a large fiesta wouldbe criticized. However, he usually appears because Sunday is theday when the fiesteros hold their meetings to plan their activities andto bring together their cash contributions.The permission of the kobanaro is necessary to remove the imageof a saint from the church. If a householder wishes to have theimage at his house for a fiesta, he asks the kobanaro for the properofficials, fiesteros^ and matachini he wishes or needs, but he seeks hisown pascola dancers and musicians.Civil duties are said to have been exercised formerly by the koba-naro, but, in the light of the Yaqui data, it is evident that there wasa civil official called by the same name.The next most important official is the sargento (sergeant), moreoften called the judge, who is the direct leader of the fiesteros. Heis named in the same way as the kobanaro, and he must be at the churchevery Sunday and at every fiesta. If he misses two consecutive Sun-days, the question of a successor is discussed. According to oneinformant, he is changed every year, but in the informant's own townthe same sargento held office in 1930, 1931, and 1932. The sargentoinstructs the fiesteros in their duties and accompanies them duringall ceremonials. He indicates to them the proper movements andpositions. The kobanaro and sargento carry special rods of office{varas).The temasti or temastian (sacristan) is also appointed for life. Hisonly duty seems to be the ringing of the church bells, but it is prob-able that formerly he had charge of giving religious instruction tothe children.A female assistant (kiriya'te) launders the image's clothes andcleans the church. She is said also to be singer for the maestro, butthis appears doubtful, particularly in connection with the Yaquidata. It is more likely she is a survival of the equivalent of thetenance (Yaqui "kiyokti").Sacristans (apart from the kobanaro) are remembered from thetime when regular priests were in charge of the churches. That theyare not identified with the temasti, is puzzling. Their tenure wasfor life. Possibly a group like the Yaqui susuakame once existed. Afiscal (fisca, pisca) attended to getting the children to church forreligious instruction (cf. Yaqui).The maestros and singers are paid semi-independent officials. Theyare hired for each appearance and have no permanent connection with "94 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bdll. 142the church. When there are priests, they act as assistants. At othertimes they pray and sing at the various ceremonies. Both maestrosand singers are taught by older people in the same business. Maestrosare supposed to be able to read and write but often cannot. In thevelacion of San Jose at Cohuirimpo, where three or four maestroswere employed, a young man attempted to fill one of the secondaryposts, but he became lost in the rather complicated series of responses,A somewhat older man dancing with the matachini was hastily sum-moned and supplied the responses if the other could not. In spite ofbeing paid, the work of the maestros and singers is considered anobligation which they must fulfill.The dancers and the fariseos are important in religious activities,but they can hardly be said to be a part of the formal organization.However, on the analogy of the Yaqui data, they are here so described.MATACHINIThe matachini form a definite social group. Initiation results fromthe taking of a vow, usually as a result of some illness. Boys aresometimes promised by their mothers. Young boys are called angel-itos and dance behind the monarca (dance leader). About Navojoa,they appear only from Holy Thursday until Easter Saturday. AtSan Ignacio they also dance on Christmas day. The promise to dancemay be for 1,^ 2, or more years, but the individual remains a -memberof the group for life even though the obligation to dance may expire.It is exclusively a male organization except at Huperi and Echojoa,where women are also said to dance on the days of Espiritu Santo andSantisima Trinidad.At Huperi, on the novena of Santisima Trinidad {Holy Trinity)a dozen or more grown girls wearing palm hats and white dressesand carrying feathered wands and small gourd rattles dance matachinto the left of the altar, while the men dance on the right. Each groupis guarded by a chicaton (whip bearer).For men, the dance costume and paraphernalia are simple. Regularshirt and trousers are worn but the feet are bare. A bandanna hand-kerchief is laid on the head and over this is fitted an elaborate crown ofcolored paper fastened to a light frame of cane (pis. 12, fig. 2; 13).Ornaments, especially small mirrors, are often added. In the righthand is held a wand with feathers (pi. 7, fig. 2; fig. 19) and in theleft, a gourd rattle (pi. 12, fig. 3) . The matachini are ordered by a leader (kapetai, capitdn), usuallyan elderly man who can no longer take part in the dancing. Somesay he is elected by a group for life or until removal. Others say theleader is selected by the kobanaro and maestro, which agrees with Seals] CONTEMPORARY CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 95Yaqui data. He has two assistants, chicatones (whip bearers), alsoelected, who wear rawhide whips twined about their waists. Theyusually dance, as well as carry out the instructions of the leader.Finally, there are one or more monarcas (dance leaders), who aregenerally the best dancers.Besides its public ceremonial functions, the organization takescharge of the funerals of its members. Members dance at the funeraland the corpse is buried wearing the crown, and with the wand andrattle of the dancers. The corpse is also decorated with flowers as inthe case of the angelito (young child). The matachini do not actuallyhandle the body, apparently. At the velacion for the dead, theydance before the house. As for the other burials, some of the fiesterosare present with the banners of Christ and San Juan. The body is FiGtrKB 19.?Mayo matachin wand of split cane with feather tufts attached (Univ.Calif. Mils., Cat. 3, No. 3220).taken to the church before burial. Finally, they are expected to dancein the church on All Souls Day, November 2.The public ceremonial duties of the matachini at Navojoa are en-tirely associated wnth Christ and the Virgin. During Lent thematachini dance at the noon rest periods, at the night fiestas wheneverthey are asked to participate, and also on the Sabado de Gloria(Easter Saturday). They do not, however, accompany the image onthe rounds of the houses. At San Ignacio they appear to have takenover and to carry on the surviving remnants of the fiesta of San Jose(despite an informant's claim that there was formerly a fiestero groupinvolved, it is entirely possible that the large fiesta formerly held wasalso conducted by the matachini), and they also dance 1 day atChristmas. In this place, the matachini are called Soldiers of SanJose. In other pueblos, the matachini appear at still other fiestas.The matachini are rather definitely under the orders of their lead-ers and the chicatones (whip bearers), according to informants. Theleader notifies the dancers to come, and keeps track of them. Theonly actual show of authority seen was a rather brusque order by awhip bearer to two young men, who were loitering over a drink ofwater, to hurry and rejoin the dancing, an order obeyed with illgrace. The dancers may not talk to sweethearts or women friendsduring ceremonial occasions, but they may speak to wives and mothers.The actual dances of Navojoa and San Ignacio are essentially the 96 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 142 same. However, the dancers of Navojoa seemed to dance with morespirit and the movements of the dance and the steps themselves weremore pronounced. The matachini are said to dance jarahes andother conventional Spanish-Mexican dances, but with their ownspecial manner.In its general pattern, the most common dance appears to be aEuropean square dance, although the method of handling the feet,always flat-footed, is probably Indian. The feather wand, held inthe left hand, is used to indicate changes in the figures, either bydropping the tip down to the ground and then raising it up to theshoulder again (its usual position) or, when the dancer swirls, swing-ing the wand down and up to the opposite shoulder, returning it totl m /\m b '-* a 'FiQUREi 20.?Some figures in the Mayo matachin dance, a, Circling figure used inseveral dances of the matachini. b, Solid lines, original position of dancerswith monarca at m. Broken lines show direction of movement of monarca andfiles of dancers. This movement is reversed after advancing about 20 feet.d, Dotted lines show path of paired dancers in one of more common figures.the left shoulder on the reverse whirl. This whirling is usually anintermediate step between two primary figures.In dancing, the matachini are arranged in two lines or files. Themoncerca dances in front and between these, sometimes facing theother dancers, sometimes with his back toward them. The angelitos,if they are dancing, dance between the two files or else follow themonarca.It is difficult to give an absolutely clear or certainly accurate analy-sis of the steps and figures, but the first figure, performed at what isreally no more than a walk, is for the two columns to turn outwardand back, walking toward the rear and resuming their original posi-tion. The monarca walks to the rear between the two columns andreturns again to his original position. This figure I have called forconvenience a. Its path is diagrammed in figure 20. Between eachfigure a there is a whirl, o?, also in a walking step. After each seriesof three, figure & was performed as well as the whirls. After three Beals] contemporary CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 97 series of three, figure h became the dominant figure. Figure h isperformed to a stamping step ending in a kicking of the foot for-ward, raising the knee at the same time. The files and the monarcamove forward until the monarca about-faces and dances toward thefiles, which then move slowly backward. This in turn gives way tofigure (?, a complex series of movements distinctly reminiscent of theVirginia Reel (not diagrammed). While the monarca dances backand forth before the files, the files face each other and each pair goesthrough a series of circling movements. The approximate sequenceof the figures is a simple wliirl (ending m a dip practically to a kneel-ing position on one knee which precedes each series of figure a) ;figure ?, repeat three times, whirl; 6, whirl, repeat all three times;6, wliirl, repeat three times; ?, whirl, repeat all three times; h (withmore pronounced stamp and kick), whirl, repeat six times, a, whirl,repeat all three times ; c, whirl, ?, whirl, repeat three times ; ?, whirl,three times, &, whirl, repeat all three times; 6, whirl, three times, ?,whirl, repeat all three times, continuing as above until c ; then insteadof c comes figure a, whirl, figure 6, and the dance ends.The stamp-and-kick step mentioned appears to be a movement in 3done to a 4-4 rhythm as follows: 1, stamp one foot beside other(stationary) foot; 2, kick forward, sometimes hopping slightly onstationary foot; 3-4, return foot to ground back of stationary foot.This is done three times with one foot, then three times with theother. After dancing all night, the dancers sometimes did this stepfor long intervals without any figure accompanying.A variation of this was witnessed on one occasion when the con-ventional figures were performed, but the dancers all hopped first sev-eral times on one foot, then several times on the other. This was saidto be performed to a special tune by the musicians. Another varia-tion came toward the end of a noon rest period during Lent when themonarca did a permutation, exchanging places for a short time witheach of the dancers, starting with the head of the files and alternatingbetween the two files. The dancers held the monarca's position forvarying periods, depending on their skill and self-confidence. Onlythe stamping step was done and there were no figures other than anoccasional whirl.The dancers stand and shake their rattles in time to the music fora short period before beginning their dance. They also signal for themusic to stop by all shaking their rattles violently.The matachin dancers ordinarily do not practice as a group beforetheir appearance. If a man does not know his steps, he may practiceat home, securing the aid of someone who knows the routine. Fairlyyoung boys sometimes take part in the matachin dances as well asgirls up to the age of 15 or 16. Women do not participate. The mu-sicians are paid by the fiesteros, who also choose the dance leader. 98 BUEEAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 142Two other important dances are performed by the matachini ofSan Ignacio and Navojoa. One is the mo -el or bird dance and theother the "sleepy" dance. In the former (never witnessed) thedancers form a hirge circle and dance vigorously, leaping about. Theleader (monarca) dances with a small boy seated on the back of hisneck. The boy is called mo-el from the name of a small bird, barredgray, white, and black, which gathers in large numbers about theday of San Jose and Easter and eats the wheat and vegetables. Thedance is normally performed in the early morning and the leaderrefused to perform it at San Ignacio when dancing for San Jose inthe evening because there were so many sleeping children he was afraidthey would be stepped on. This objection would not have held in themorning.The "sleepy" dance is normally performed about the same hour. AsI saw it at San Ignacio, the dancers perform the conventional figuresalready described. On the completion of one of the major figures, themusic suddenly stops and the dancers all drop on the ground on theirstomachs, heads pillowed on their arms, facing the altar. The musicbegins again, very slowly but gradually quickening in tempo. Atintervals the leader (monarca) raises his head from his arms andglances about. After the third time, he leaps to his feet, followed bythe others, and the dance is resumed. After one figure h, the sleepingepisode again occurs, being repeated in all three times. A little laterthe whole dance was repeated another three times with the variationthat the second time the two file leaders remained "sleeping" untilthe third repetition, when they arose as usual. It is probable thatthere would have been a third series of three, but the dance was diffi-cult because of the crowd. Moreover, the musicians failed to stopfor the final series, and a chicaton interfered and stopped the entiredance. "Yetempo yeya matacinim" was translated as, "The mata-chini are dancing the sleepy dance."FAEISEOSThe fariseos form a masked clown-police group functioning duringLent. This group is composed of individuals who have taken vowsas the result of sickness. The period of service was variously givenas one, two, three, or more years, and probably depends on the natureof the vow made by each one. Vows are made for a variety of reasons,among which the recovery from illness of oneself or a relative, thesecuring of good crops, or the saving of a crop suffering from droughtor pest are the most common. There is no public announcement ofsuch a vow, but the fact is usually known to the immediate familyand friends. Probably it gets to be pretty well known as the timeapproaches f?r the fariseos to appear, since a common conversation BBALs] CONTEMPORARY CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 99topic is the number of fariseos to be expected each year. The indi-vidual who has taken the vow, however, does not talk about it muchhimself. When the time comes, he begins making his mask and hisparaphernalia and joins the fariseos either on their first appearanceor later.The fariseo (Pharisee) to the Mayo is evidently not only a repre-sentation of the biblical Pharisee but of the Jew, or rather Judas.In addition, he is clearly an embodiment of evil ; he is the incarnationof the devil, though, of course, not to be taken too seriously as such.Despite the opprobrium attached to these concepts, fariseos are con-sidered guards for the fiesteros of Christ and for all the Lenten cere-monies and events. They accompany the alms-gathering trips withthe images and help at the velaciones and fiestas. On these trips theycarry their own food, even though they may be ordered to do muchof the work of preparing wood and bringing water to cook food forthe others. They punish any evidence of sexual misconduct by spread-eagling the man, tying his arms to a lance passed behind his shoulders,and forcing him to stand before the altar for several hours. Theydo not bother the woman.This latter function is explained by a story told by one informantwhich suggests pre-white antecedents for the organization:Before the world was made (see p. 216) a married couple lived together.The man worked a long way from home and when he went out to work, anotherman arrived and took his wife as his sweetheart. Someone told the husband,and the lover said to the wife, "I am not coming to your house again becauseof the danger. Meet me in such and such a place." At the appointed time thewoman was there, but a devil [i. e., fariseo] took the form of her lover andappeared first. He took her to her husband, saying, "See, here I bring yourwife. She was going with another man. But I did you this favor to bring herto you." Thus he guarded the family. In that the devils did not haveguilt before this [present] religion was formed. For this reason the devils gowith the fiesteros and guard all well. They see that no one goes out with alover.The number of fariseos appearing usually increases each Friday ofLent, ranging frojn perhaps 6 or 8 the first Friday to 20 or 30 on EasterSaturday. On Fridays, the fariseos assemble at the house of theirleader at about 11 o'clock in the morning. They have previouslydressed in their houses. They eat at the house of the leader, andshortly after noon they make a circuit of all the houses in the villageas well as of the rancherias within a mile or so of the town. In partof Lent, they make extensive begging trips, usually in company withfiesteros but often alone.On Easter Sunday the masks and sticks of the fariseos are burnedand the fariseos are re-baptized in the church, being sprinkled withholy water by the maestro. The fariseo seeks in advance a godmotherand godfather (they may already be in the godparent relation to 100 BUEEAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Boll. 142him). When he is baptized, he gives them each a small bottle ofmescal. This is drunk in church from a glass. Both godparentsthrow a glass of mescal on the floor of the church before drinking,saying, "vesata vatoi (to the health of the baptism)." They thendrink, and afterward, invite others to drink.Later in the day they give a holo for the godson as is done for achild. Friends are invited to greet the godchild. Food and drinkare provided, and one of the purposes of the function seems to be tohelp the godson to get thoroughly drunk.During Lent, the fariseos bury all dead. The same is done bythe moros (Moors) during the 6 weeks preceding San Juan's day.After the Easter fiesta, the fariseos select a chief for the follow-ing year. Should the chief die in the interim, a new one is chosenon the first Friday of Lent. This chief (fariseo yaut) is unmaskedand carries only a machete. He is not under a vow as are the others,and his authority over the fariseos is absolute. Once arrived atthe house, the fariseos cannot leave without his permission. Heforces the participation of those who have taken the vow. Oftenhe carries a heavy whip as well as the machete, and should the fariseosbecome too disorderly, he has no hesitation in using it. He begsthe hides and sheepskins used to make the masks although each fariseomakes his own mask at home. Meetings are always at the fariseoyaut's house.Although it is true that usually the fariseo yaut wears no mask,at Navojoa in 1931 the chief wore full regalia, but frequently pushedhis mask back so that his face showed. Unless they are paid, thechiefs ordinarily strictly oppose the photographing of either fariseosor their equipment, but they make no objections if they know theindividual personally and are sure the pictures are not for com-mercial purposes. Failure to have made this perfectly clear resultedon one occasion in my being required to make a departure more hur-ried than dignified.In addition to the chief, the fariseos have a boy who accompaniesthem with a drum, usually an old pascola drum painted in ridiculousfashion. He is usually a fariseo too young to wear the mask, butsometimes a masked man carries the drum.The pilato (impersonator of Pontius Pilate) is sometimes spokenof as the chief of the fariseos. Evidently this applies only to theEaster Week events in which he takes part and for which the fariseosare called his soldiers. During this week as well as each Fridayof Lent, the fariseos may not eat meat. (Catholic fast days are notobserved by the populace in general.)Pilate, whose only assistants among the Mayo are the fariseos,serves for 3 years and is chosen at an assembly like that which chooses BEALs] CONTEMPORARY CULTURE OF CAPITA INDIANS 101 a new kobanaro. In view of Yaqui data, he probably once had moreauthority.The fariseos are masked and usually are dressed to some extent toburlesque the pascola dancer. The masks are made as terrifying aspossible and at the same time ludicrous. They are usually made ofgoat or wild-pig skin. The hair is partly scraped off, but patchesare left to represent beard or moustaches at the individual's whim andin accordance with the individual's ability. The features are paintedin with some skill. Elaborate curvilinear decorations in green andred are added, especially on the ears and horns. Large ears flap atthe sides and long horns of skin (a'wam, "deer horns"), project up-ward. A long nose (koba mehe'il, "head forehead") projects fromthe "forehead." A group of small holes punched about the mouthof the mask serve to give the wearer some vision. From bottom totip of the horns the masks frequently measure 2 feet or more inheight (pi. 13). An old blanket is worn over the regular clothes,usually held together at the waist by a belt. The latter is oftenmade in imitation of the coyoles (rattle belt) of the pascola dancer.Empty cartridge cases are the favorite articles for making the rattles. KEDOK?EN O s lO< I I I I r IBLACK /A/CHES FiGUBB 21.?Mayo clown sword and spear (Univ. Calif. Mus., Cat. 3, Nos. 3205,3208) . Frequently cocoon rattles are worn on the legs. A wooden sword ormachete (kiita machete) is carried on the right hand. A long woodenstick or spear (kiita bwawi, "stick well polished"), painted withrings of red and green paint, is carried in the right hand (fig. 21).Some fariseos carry small crudely made rattles imitating the gourdrattles of the deer dancer or the rattle of the pascola dancer. Eachcarries a rosary of small beads to protect himself from bad demonsin the sky who might cause body swelling (pis. 8, fig. 2; 11, fig. 2).All these articles are carefully guarded by the fariseos. Not onlydo they refuse to sell any of them, but majority opinion is distinctlyagainst making copies of them for sale. The specimens I purchasedwere specially made, except for one mask which was a failure andnot being worn. The sellers insisted on complete secrecy.While on duty, if the mask has been removed, the fariseos coverthe lower part of the face with a bandanna handkerchief or an oldpiece of cloth. The head is also covered by a bandanna handkerchief530583?45 8 102 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 142 or cloth even while masked. Fariseo actions are at all times in-tended to be ludicrous and are frequently obscene. Perhaps the mostcommon behavior of this latter type is repeatedly treating the swordas a bottle, which is first filled in pantomime from the excretory organsof any convenient subject, animal or human, and then passed aboutthe group of fariseos, who pretend to drink with great relish. Theyalso pretend to be hurt, limp, fall down, stage mock fights, mounttheir spears as horses and shy from various objects as they gallopabout, burlesque onlookers, and in the past were said frequently tobecome annoying by spilling water when they found someone carry-ing it or by indulging in other practical jokes. Children found imi-tating fariseos are carried off and forced to accompany the groupfor the day. If the fariseos from different towns encounter one an-other, they may fight and endeavor to take prisoners.There is a good deal of individual variation in the way the fariseosenter into the horseplay. One young man at Bacavachi was subjectedto much good-natured chaffing by his family because he was so seriousand indulged in no tricks. Another fariseo seen at San Ignacio mani-fested a very prolific sense of humor. His pranks w^ere frequentlyabove the level of mere horseplay. His costume was unusually lu-dicrous. A battered old felt hat rested on the top of the maskwith the horns projecting through two holes in the hat brim.Despite some variations, most fariseo behavior is standardizedand has many points of similarity with that of the Pueblo clowns.Fariseos imitate the actions of the fiesteros and dancers in burlesque,ridiculing the most sacred things. They are under enforced silencewhile masked. Everything possible is done with the left hand andbackward. Certain gestures form a sort of sign language, such as:Tapping machete on lance, attention.Pointing with machete, look there.Upward point motion with machete, go there.Clapping machete and lance together longitudinally, it is over.Passing two hands down torso, hunger.Lowering left hand and forearm from vertical forward, thank you.Holding out "ears," listening.Making partly open circle with thumb and forefinger, derisive gesture of pay-ment. To women it may be an indecent proposal. It is a common lower-class Mexican gesture.Rubbing jjalms together, shaking head as if crying, the alms they have beggedhave been refused.To take an offered gift the left hand is used, often extended behind the body.The left hand is commanded by the devil.Other activities may be briefly noted:Imitating maestro reading from a book.Imitating dancers, reversing as many actions as possible. For example, whenimitating the matachini kick step, they kick backward instead of forward. Beals] contemporary CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 103Taking flight at often inconsequential things.Chasing women and children.Showing interest in unusual things in ridiculous ways.General burlesque, as pretending to shave one another.Using machete as a flask, holding under anus of persons or animals, pre-tending to drink contents and showing signs of nausea or intoxication.Making love to dolls or setting up dolls in altarlike enclosures, sometimes ofcow dung. If the doll falls (by being pulled with attached cord), theyflee wildly.Pantomime of ululating with hand before mouth (only one instance seen ofusing this gesture).If they receive food, they eat it in the woods where there are no people.Squirrel skins are used to imitate the foxskin bags of the alawasi (fiesteros).They are often wiped in dust or even filth, then rubbed over the faces ofunwary bystanders.The fariseos make the sign of the cross with the left hand and from right toleft, saying (to themselves), "for the sign [right shoulder] of the holy cross[left shoulder] of our enemies [to the mouth] free us Lord [three touchesof forehead] God [three touches on breast] knows [mouth; last three move-ments uncertain]." For usual prayer on crossing oneself, see page 190.The fariseo, despite the nature of his pranks, is expected to observepersonal good conduct, neither drinking nor swearing. To someextent he is limited in his contacts with women, and there is somesuggestion that all sexual relations are barred. He apparently isunder no unusual food restrictions. If he drinks alcoholic liquorsduring his period as a fariseo, it is believed that the mask will stickto his face and he will be unable to remove it. About 1929 a consid-erable sensation was caused by a fariseo at Bacobampo whose maskbecame stuck to his face as a result of this transgression. He shriekedwith pain on any attempt to remove the mask. He received a greatdeal of sympathy and did a quite lucrative begging business until asceptical Mexican hacendado used applications of warm water. Thisdissolved the mesquite gum with which the mask had been stuck on.Since then there has been an increase in the scepticism with whichthe whole belief is viewed, but the specific case is still being citedby some to prove that punishment befalls the evil-doing fariseo.FIESTEROSBasic to all ceremonials, yet scarcely an integral part of the churchorganization, are the fiesteros. Despite their close similarity in organ-ization and function to cofradia and mayordotnia groups elsewherein Mexico, they do not occupy the high social position found amongthe Zapotec or Mixe. Although the organization is self-perpetu-ating and so to a degree independent, its activities are definitely con-trolled by the kobanaro and particularly by the sargento (first judge) , whose duties are primarily the training and direction of the fiesteros.As this links them with the formal church heirarchy, their organiza-tion may properly be described here. 104 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 142For each major fiesta given, such as Easter, San Juan, or EspirituSanto, there is a separate group of fiesteros consisting of 12 menand. 12 women. The men and women are divided, as foUowsi: 6alperez {alferez)^ 3 alawasi, S parina; each group with a head{tnayor). Both men and women have a head who is also the headalperez. The second alperez carries the banner of the saint in cere-monies. The alawasi attend to the needs of the dancers in ceremoniesand see that the musicians and dancers are fed. (Dancers also mayhave their own helpers who may also be called alawasi.) Alawasiwear a coyote- or fox-skin tobacco pouch, decked with ribbons, tuckedunder the belt (pi. 15). Staves are carried also. In general thealawasi, particularly the women, are the youngest and best looking.The parina supervise the preparation of the food; they are assistedby volunteer helpers and relatives. The chief men and women fies-teros look after the entire fiesta and see that everyone, includingdancers and musicians, does his part properly, and particularly theylook after the young female fiesteras to see that nothing happens tothem.The alawasi were said also to have the duty of engaging the musi-cians and dancers. These are visited individually in their houses andgiven native tobacco and a small coin as a retaining fee to bind thebargain.Each fiestero wears a rosary decorated with ribbons. The mayores(heads of each group) carry staffs of hardwood with ribbons at theend. The end is of metal forming a cross within a circle. Thesestaffs are highly prized and will not be sold. They are passed on atthe end of the year. The men all wear red or blue bandanna handker-chiefs tied over the head. The head fiestero is an exception to all thisin that he wears no insignia and takes no part in-any of the ceremonies.He is occupied in preserving order in a more literal sense, and heusually is found near the dancers, giving directions to the dancersand musicians and keeping emulous drunkards off the dancing space.On one occasion he was himself quite drunk.The leaders are in charge of all contributions toward the fiestas.They are also called the "owners" of the image. If the leader be arich man and it is proved he has robbed or desecrated the saint in anyway, he is required to stand all expenses of the next fiesta. This would,of course, be true of any rich man guilty of such an offense, but thehead fiestero is much more likely to be involved in such a scandalbecause of his position.The image of the saint is in the particular charge of the fiesterosfor the year they are active. They attend to necessary services forthe image, such as procuring new garments, purchasing new banners(the old banner is carefully preserved), and giving their fiestas, andthey are represented at all funerals. Beals] contemporary CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 105Each fiestero chooses his successor at the time he enters into activeservice as a fiestero. Usually he selects a friend, sometimes a rela-tive. If a person accepts tobacco from the fiestero, he is bound alsoto accept the responsibility of the fiesta. The novice then is the objectof special attention and two (or three) fiestas are given for him and hisfellows, male and female. (The exact number of fiestas seems todiffer, most informants counting three but usually describing onlytwo. In the case of the San Juan fiesta, a small fiesta is given shortlyafter the induction of the fiesteros into active service on San Juan'sday, but it may not be expressly for the promised fiesteros.) The first,of the fiestas of which I am certain is the bahe'yi, or bahito (to drinkwater or giving water to commence). Water, bread, and meat are fedto the new fiesteros, and they are given a quarter of beef or bull meatand other food to take home. During the bahito, the men smokearound the table, lighting their cigarettes from coals in a basin on apottery bull (see p. 140), while the women sit apart on mats. No oneof the promised fiesteros is allowed to move without an old fiesteroin attendance. The third fiesta is the hisimo. At the hisimo the newfiesteros do not figure importantly; the fiesta is regarded more as atraining for the celebration of San Juan's day on June 24. This seriesof preparatory fiestas is given in the case of all the fiesta organizationson the Mayo River except that for the Holy Trinity in Huperi. Forthe latter, only one fiesta is given and each fiestero provides a castUlo(fireworks tower) instead of the group providing one or two.For both the preliminary fiestas and the main fiesta, all utensilssuch as plates, large cooking ollas, and baskets, must be provided newby the fiesteros. These are taken home after the fiesta by the promisedfiesteros, who receive a new mat and food as well. Food is also giventhe dancers, musicians, kobanaro, sargento, maestros, and all other of-ficials and helpers at the end of the fiesta. . All who ask for food duringthe fiesta are fed after the promised fiesteros and the musicians anddancers have been fed.At the main fiesta of the group, the new fiesteros on Saturday (orthe first day) again smoke about the bull and the women sit on mats.They are fed formally as in the bahito. The men on Sunday (or thesecond day) are given charge of the image of the saint. For the Easterfiesta, the women take charge of the Virgin. In the evening theyare given the banner, staffs, tobacco pouches, and the fiesteros' specialrosaries ornamented with ribbons. "Behani entragao (now theyhave passed it on)" is said of this occasion. They are also given aquai-ter of beef and other food to take home. The head fiestero giveshis successor a new pottery bull to be used the following year (pi. 19,fig. 2; fig. 16, e).After "receiving the fiesta," the new fiesteros in turn seek theirsuccessors. They must make contributions of money and other things 106 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGT [Bull. 142 needed, take out the image of the saint whenever it is required, seekalms, attend funerals, and attend to the details of the fiestas, providingfood, young bulls for butchering, the Castillo^ caJmetes^ new utensils,candles, payment for the dancers, musicians, maestros, and singers,and sheets and kerchiefs for the dancers. These duties are describedin more detail in connection with the fiestas themselves.Having passed on the fiesta, the ex-fiesteros are still under obliga-tions to their successors and at each fiesta for a year must help themwith food, cahuetes^ and other contributions. This obligation endswith the big fiesta of the following year, making the total service amatter of 3 years. To the final fiesta of Christ (Easter), in 1932, thechief of the women at Navojoa for the previous year took her successorsome stew, bread, two dozen small cahuetes, two large cahuetes^ tobacco,and maize leaves. This completed all obligations.During fiestas, someone under private obligation or a vow to thechurch carries and plays the fiesteros' drum. He is not a fiestero. Tohave been a fiestero involves certain permanent benefits in after lifeand forgiveness of all sins. The funerals of ex-fiesteros are more elab-orate, and the chief of the women of Christ, for example, is burieddressed as the Virgin.The fiesteros of Christ and San Juan sometimes aid one another bytaking part in each other's ceremonies. In any case, enough are pres-ent to bring out the banners of both groups for the processions.In addition to duties in connection with the fiestas, the fiesteros aresupposed to attend church each Sunday, arriving about 10 in the morn-ing. As a matter of fact, not all of them do this, but there are alwaysa few at the church, which is kept open. It is also visited by some ofthe Indians, but the number who attend is small. Fiesteros must alsotake the image of their saint and their banner to all funerals.The fiesteros were formerly under strict supervision. They werenot allowed to drink and there were evidently other restrictions at onetime. The nature of these I could not learn definitely except that theyseemed to be no more than the liberal fasting rules observed by LatinAmerican Catholics. The informants denied any special sexual re-strictions for the fiesteros. If they broke any of the rules, drank, orfailed to provide their share of supplies or candles or to perform anallotted task, they were severely punished. The most severe punish-ment was said to be to pour an infusion of chiltipin down the throatas a chastisement for drinking. The chiltipin of Sonora is a smallwild berry which is more fiery than chile. At present the most severepunishment is to be tied to the cross before the church for a few hoursby order of the kobanaro. This is evidently rare, as I heard of nocase actually occurring. Nevertheless, there seems to be a healthyrespect for the kobanaro and his orders. The fiestero may also be Bbals] contemporary CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 107dropped from the band and someone else put in his place. Therestriction on drinking evidently does not apply to the male chief ofthe fiesteros, but I never saw any of the other fiesteros take a drink orshow the effects of drinking.The fiesteros of Christ are under food restrictions throughout Lent.They cannot eat anything but greens and vegetable foods, and onFridays they eat nothing until noon. No similar restrictions could bediscovered for the fiesteros of San Juan. All fiesteros remove theirrosaries to drink water.Superficially, Mayo fiesteros appear to be related to the Spanishmayordomia organization. Nevertheless, the fiesteros may also beassociated with a pre-Hispanic religious grouping. The use of whatappear to be Indian names for two of the subgroups would suggestthis. The term "alawasi" is also sometimes used to refer to the entiregroup. The use of the tobacco pouch by the alawasi and the emphasison the native tobacco also suggests some aboriginal connection. TheYaqui tei^m for fiesteros, "pakome," is known. The Yaqui phrase, "itom pako acaim (our fiesta fathers)," for the principal fiesteros isalso highly suggestive of aboriginal antecedents.The coimection of the pascola and deer dancers with the religiousorganization is vague and will be discussed elsewhere.YAQUI RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONThe Yaqui have an elaborate and closely knit religious organizationwith three major divisions. There is first the church organizationproper, which appears to be allied to the matachin dancers' society.This connection is expressed by the fact the matachini and the re-ligious or church officers sit together in village councils. Next is thedancers' society, and thirdlj^ is the fariseo (clown) society. In addi-tion, the religious functions of the military society, the kobana'u's,and the fiesta organizations should also be considered part of thereligious organization proper.THE CHURCH 0FFICE3RSThe theoretical head of the entire religious organization is theteopokobana'u (equivalent to Mayo kobanaro). Unlike his civil coun-terpart, he has no assistants of the same name, nor does he have theservice of any of the soldiers in tilling his fields. His only support ishis own labor, his pay from the Mexican Government, if he is enrolledas a soldier, and alms which are brought to the church. He is chosen inthe same way as the civil governor (nominated by the head maestro),but he holds his position for life. It is usual to select an old matachindancer for the position, and this probably explains the fact that hesits with the matachini at the councils. Instead of summonine: a new 108 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 142teopokobana'u to a village council to be installed, 5 days after thechoice is made, the council assembles at his house, where it is seatedin the same order as at the guaTclia. The procedure of the council isthe same as at the installation of a kobana'u. The teopokobana'u is theonly chui'ch ofiicial who carries a staff.In theory, the teopokobana'u has charge of all the officials of thechurch, although the maestro must exercise considerable authority.Indeed, some informants said the maestro commands the teopoko-bana'u. The present functions of the maestro were formerly exer-cised by the susuakame (p. 109). The religious governor administersjustice to individuals attached to the church and supervises churchfunctions and activities. If offerings are brought to the church (suchas a wagonload of watermelons), he divides them among the otherofficers. He takes no part in those sections of the fiesta which takeplace outside the church.The maestros are an anomaly in the group of church officials.^"Most of them know how to read and write, an ability rare until afew years ago. Some were trained by priests, but the majority weretrained by other maestros. The oldest maestro exercises considerableauthority. His successor is the next oldest maestro, usually his ownprotege whom he has trained for the office since boyhood. Wlien astudent maestro knows the services, he selects girls of 10 or 12 andbegins to train them to be his singers (kopariam). When a maestrois ready to serve, the church governor calls on liim at need. The oldestmaestro nominates (really selects) the governors of the church andof the civil organization, the heads of the clown and dance societies,the head officers of the fiesta organizations, and has some say in namingthe chief officers of the tenance and temasti organizations, althoughthe oldest woman or man usually is the head of the latter two. Neithermaestros nor singers receive any pay, but they share in the almsbrought to the church and receive a share of food left at the end of thefiestas. The maestros may be married. At Vicam Station, inhabitedby people from Cocorit, there is only one maestro with seven singers,and one student maestro. This small number is unusual and is attri-butable to a partial dispersal of Cocorit people.The temasti (sacristans) are life officers. They are usually vowedto the service by their parents and the number consequently is variable.Usually they are headed by the oldest of their number. They carefor the images of the saints, "give food to the saints, the copales'^ (in-cense) (this probably refers to their carrying the censor and has aninteresting suggestion of the "feeding" of fetiches among the Pueblos) , 5* Dr. Spicer suggests they be regarded as the ceremonial society at the top of onereligious hierarchy. This is a shrewd suggestion. Against it is the apparent laclc offormal organization of the group and the possibility that many of their functions werefoi'merly exercised by the susuaijame. Beals] contemporary CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 109 ring the bells, run church errands, guard the candles, dig the graves,and teach the children to pray.The pisca {fiscal) is a life official, an old man, chosen from amongthe soldiers by the teopokobana'u. He brings the children to churchfor the temastianes, or sacristans, to teach. He stands at the cruzmm/or and speaks to them also. He takes the children out and teachesthem to work, to cut canes for houses, and keeps order among them. Ifthere are many children, there may be more than one pisca. He seeksthings lacking for the fiestas.In war time the pisca and temasti take the children to church,where they all pray.The tenances (kiyokti) are considered church officials although theyare really a women's religious society. The group should, perhaps,be correlated with the clown and dance societies of the men, althoughits organization and functions are more closely parallel to those ofthe temasti. The kiyokti carry censors in services and carry theimages of the Virgin in processions. They wear a square red cap ofpeculiar form. Membership in the organization is for life. Like thetemasti, they are dedicated to the organization while young by theirparents. The oldest member is head of the kiyokti and succession is byage unless the maestro interferes.All church service is directly or indirectly under the teopokobana'uand the maestro. These two direct the work to be done by variousmembers of the organization. Should a larger enterprise be planned,such as the repair or building of a church, they suggest it to the civilofficials. If the latter approve, a council is called and the matter isdiscussed publicly. All men must work or make contributions of ma-terial. The work is directed by the civil governors.In former times, probably at least as late as 1900, there existed agroup known as the susuakame who exercised the directive functionsof the maestro. The name appears to mean "those who know." (Com-pare inepo siiak, "I know.") They clearly were the repositories oftradition and custom and were said to be spoken to by angels whoinstructed them at night. The group was self-perpetuating, sons ornephews being trained to take places in the group. They wore thehair long, spoke no Spanish, and should not leave the village. How-ever, they worked at the usual occupations and crafts of the Yaqui.The susuakame had two kinds of meetings. At the summons of thekobana'u they met in the sacristy of the church and deliberated prob-lems of the village. Apparently they determined the punishment ofwrong doers after hearing witnesses. Complaints were made to thekobana'u but he asked the advice of the susuakame. It was the specialduty of the kobana'u to watch, not only over the susuakame, but overtheir entire families, lest some disgruntled persons do them harm. 110 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 142The present nominating functions of the maestro also belonged to thesusuakame and their recommendations were sought in filling vacantoffices.These meetings were quite formal. One of the group was chosenas the superior. "Noka acai (you speak, father)," the superior wouldsay to one. If this person did not wish to speak, he said, "Tonikookwe empa noka (excuse us, you speak)," and another began. Whenagreement had been reached, the bystanders said, "Diosencokoi acailim(thanks be to God, fathers)."The other type of gathering was in private houses, and was called acuentam (cf. Spanish ciiento^ a tale). The susuakame sat and smokedgood tobacco (papanta) rolled in maize husks. Here they would taketurns recounting stories of things "before the Conquest." (For anexample, see p. 223.) They knew the secret words of animals. Whenone had finished, the leader said, ''Nulenhiva (thus it must be)," andthe others would confirm by responding, "Tui." A deer dancer wasalways present and would dance between talks. These sessions some-times lasted all night.The data on the susuakame are very unsatisfactory. Jean Johnson,who did linguistic work among the Yaqui in 1940, came to the conclu-sion that the group may still exist in secret and that it is much feared.Johnson also believes that in general the power of the hierarchy ismuch greater than I have indicated. The similarity' of the term tothe name for the Huichol singing shaman, masa'akame, designated byZingg as the most influential person in Huichol Society, suggests thenature and antiquity of the susuakame.^^A gi'oup whose status is far from clear is that of the children knownas angelitos. Both boys and girls are presented to Pilate (see p. 112)for 3 years by their parents. The boys are dressed as girls. Somewear the red hat of the tenances, others a wreath. All are armedwith sticks or sAvitches. During Lent, they are pursued to and fromtheir homes by the fariseos, while their godmothers protect them. Ifthey do not behave, under certain conditions they may be captured bythe fariseos (Bogan, 1925, pp. 50-51). The children are under obser-vation by the teopokobana'u and kobana'u; formerly, and perhapstoday, if the child is intelligent, the parents may be asked to permithim to be instructed for some office. If the parents agree, the headmaestro, the sacristan, or other official will train the child to serve inhis office. Often the office is one once held by an ancestor of the child. Iam not sure whether all children serve as angelitos or not, but I suspect 31 "The greatest of these [special persons in Huichol society] are the masa'akame whoare the singing and prophecying shamans." (Zingg, 1938, p. xxix.) "The singing andprophecying shaman, the masa'akame, is the most important of these officials since heleads all the ceremonies by singing the sacred myths and thus getting into contact withthe gods, who reveal to him their commands to the people." (Zingg, 1988, p. 187.) Seals] CONTEMPORARY CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 111most of them do. At Vicam Station in 1932 all the angelitos werebeing rigorously instructed in the chants at intervals during Easterweek.Sometimes the dedication to Pilate is the result of sickness of thechild. In this case, the service is regarded as the equivalent of wear-ing a saint's habit. MATACHINIThe matachini are a society of dancers with special relations withthe Virgin and the entire church organization. The head of thechurch, the teopokobana'u, is usually selected from this body. Thereare a chief (yaut) and two assistants, who direct the group, and amonarca (chief dancer) with two assistants. In both cases tlie as-sistants are known as the "second" and "third," resembling the rightand left hand men of the Pueblos. Normally, the "second" succeeds inoffice. Membership consists of persons who, as the result of illness,have made a voav to join the society. In the case of children, parentsmay dedicate a child if it is ill. Membership is for life, althoughthe obligation to dance is cancelled with old age. Members may alsobe excused from dancing by the chief of the group. Those too oldto dance become instructors of the younger members. They standwith a rod or cane during a performance and correct novices as theydance. Entrance into the society takes place at the fiesta of theCamino according to some ; at any time, according to others.The matachini dance at the funerals of all members and their im-mediate families. They dance agiain for the no'uena and for the com-memoration ceremony at the end of one year. Matachini dance theevening before all fiestas in the church, on Sunday at the churches,and in the konti, or procession, before each church every Sunday.The actual dancing of the Yaqui matachini was not clearly orlengthily seen, so that it is impossible to give an analysis of the stepsor figures. Essentially, the usual dance is the same as among theMayo except that the steps are faster and the whole performance ischaracterized by a great deal more precision. The rattles are usedharder, the steps are more decisive. One rarely sees poor dancersamong the Yaqui, though they are the rule among the Mayo. Thecostume appears identical except for the wand, which is always three-pronged. In dancing, the dancers form two files, each headed by amonarca segunda while the unonarca dances in the center in front ofthe two files. If angelitos are dancing (the young dancers who arelearning), they dance behind the monarca. The Yaqui call thesemalinches rather than angelitos. At Cocorit (Vicam Station) , themonarcas all wore special trousers, a sort of overtrouser of blackvelvet, split from thigh to bottom on the outer side. When not dancing 112 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 142these overtrousers were frequently gathered up and tucked betweenthe legs to be out of the way.The mo-el and the sleepy dance of the Mayo matachini are not knownamong the Yaqui. In some of the pueblos there is a maypole dance(wikopa'a) in which a selected group of matachini dance about a tallupright cane to which colored ribbons are attached. Those of Bacundance in two opposing lines of six each with the Tnonarca in the centerby the pole, winding the ribbons about the pole. Those of Cocorithave six dancers in two opposing lines of three each, who wind theirribbons about the pole, while another group of six divided into twosections make their ribbons into braids without winding them aboutthe pole. These dances are performed at sunrise. At Torin, Holden(1936, p. 49) reports a maypole dance performed at noon on EasterSaturday. FABISEOSThe fariseos ("capaiyekas" is the more common Yaqui term) be-come members of their society as the result of a vow taken duringillness.^^ The members must serve in masks (coume) during Lentfor at least 3 years, but membership in the organization is for life.A varied group of officers accompanies the organization and thereseems to be a supernumerary group which is composed of certain ofPilate's men who do not wear masks but who, nevertheless, belongto the society. The principal head is Pilate, but under him and reallymore important is the itom costumba yaut (our customs chief), whorules the masked clowns and probably the entire society. He is chosenat an assembly of fariseos, cahalleria^ and Pilate's men. He is a "manof many sympathies and one who knows the ceremonies." He isnever masked, but carries a wooden broadsword, beautifully deco-rated. He always accompanies the maskers. On Easter Saturday herepresents Herod and wears a crown. Other chiefs are kaifax(Kaifas, "the judge?") and Pilate. Most officers serve for life, in-cluding apparently some of the subordinates of Pilate. Some areoffered for service as officers by their parents when young.Pilate carries a beautifully decorated spear with a crosspiece belowthe head from which is hung a small garment like a dress. Thischanges color during Lent in accordance with the situation. Fre-quently there is a second Pilate, usually one who is young and islearning the duties of the office. Pilate and his men apparentlyfunction only during the last week of Lent. Pilate has a drummer, aflute player, several assistants called corporals and sergeants (usuallyfariseos who are unmarried and hence unable to wear the mask), anda cavalry and infantry armed with long wooden spears. The latter 32 "Y6ka" means nose ; at Pascua "cflpa" was translated as pointed or slender for Dr,Spicer. My informants were all poor at linguistic problems and offered no meaning. Beals] contemporary CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 113 serve for 3 years as the result of a vow, and never mix with thefariseos. Except for the cavalry and infantry, all Pilate's men aredressed in black, wear round black hats, and a black veil over thelower part of the face. SubofRcials called caballeros (corporals ofPilate) carry naked swords. They and the corporals and sergeantsof the' cavalry are a sort of police. The corporals of cavalry carrya sword scabbard, the sergeants a long spear. Pilate also has a cap-tain (who wears a small mask with a large nose) and a lieutenant.The fariseos proper do not differ markedly in their behavior fromthe Mayo. Everything possible is done with the left hand, whichbelongs to the devil. The signs, buffoonry, and obscenities are entirelycomparable. The dress is slightly different. The blanket is wornshorter, rarely much below the waist, and with a double cape effect onthe shoulders. The belt is nearly always a deer-hoof rattle belt, fre-quently of exquisite workmanship in plaited leather of different colors.It is not burned as is the rest of the equipment. The Mayo woodenmachete and lance are here machete and knife, the latter merely alight painted twig with some resemblance to a dagger. The decora-tion on the sticks is much better than among the Mayo. The masksdiffer considerably from Mayo masks in form, and show considerablymore variety. The character of the painting, however, seems the same.The principal variant is a type lacking the nose but with a sort ofsnout. It is supposed to represent a bull. In all, the ears are largerand crescent-shaped, the horns negligible; both ears and horns aretipped with feathers.Another type wears an anthropomorphic mask, frequently with anexaggerated long "human" nose, covered with white wool except forthe face. It lacks the ears and horns of other masks and is frequentlysurmounted by a hat. Its wearers are dressed in an old overcoatinstead of a blanket and their swords or machetes have a handleresembling a cane. They are called viejos (old ones). The onlyexplanation given for the viejos was that anyone had the privilege tomake the mask any way he wished. Nevertheless, the mejos obviouslyhave some directive function. Possibly anyone who wished to makea mejo mask could do so and thus automatically acquire authority andleadership, but this appears out of keeping with the formalization ofYaqui organization.The masks are kept at the church with the images of the saints whennot in use. They are made at the beginning of Lent and are burnedat the end (Easter Saturday) with the exception of two which arekept for use if a member of the society dies during the year. Masksare placed on the head of the corpse during the funeral but are burned,not buried. If not used during the year, the masks saved are burnedthe following Easter. The elaborately decorated spear head of Pilateis not burned either, although the rest of the spear is. 114 BUREAtJ OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bdll. 142On the last three konti, or Friday processions of Lent, the fariseossee that everyone in the village attends the church and procession bare-footed, the women with heads uncovered, without jewelry, and thehair loose. Should a fariseo become drunk during Lent, his com-panions roll up his trousers and two run with him three times aboutthe circuit of the stations of the cross, jabbing his legs and bare feetwith their sticks.After Ash Wednesday, at the beginning of Lent, the entire villageis in the hands of the fariseos. The fariseo chief becomes chief ofthe village and the civil officials temporarily lose their authority.During this period all offenses are punished by the fariseos. DuringLent a woman may be punished if found talking in the woods with aman other than her husband or, on certain days, if she even speaks to aman on the street or outside her own house. Two women were forcedto carry the cross at Bacun in 1931. It was known they had "donewrong," although the specific offense was merely speaking to a manon the street on one of these days. The common punishment for alloffenses is to force the offender to drag around the stations of thecross a heavy cross of mesquite wood which the fariseos make heavierby trying to ride on it. Others who pity the offender may try tohelp and are permitted to do so.The fariseos' first meeting each year is on the first Friday of Lent.The regular meeting place is beside the church,' usually a ramadaat one side. New fariseos are inducted at this meeting. Each novicesits between two lines and is questioned as to his vow and is told therules involved. He is told that when he is masked he must not cough,speak, or laugh, but carry the rasary in his mouth and pray.^^ Afariseo is then named as padrino (godfather) and one of the singers(kiyokti) as godmother. The novice is taken into the church, crosseshimself, and prays. Later he himself seeks one or more godmothersfor Easter Saturday. Each gives him a new silk scarf on this occasionand a new rosary. He may or may not have a godfather. If he has,the godfather is picked by one of the godmothers.On the fifth Friday of Lent, the fariseos take complete charge of "Christ" from the soldiers and the latter have nothing to do with theChrist image until after Easter.^* They accompany the image on itsbegging trips and beg themselves, accepting the alms with the lefthand.The society is exclusively a men's affair except at Bacun, where thereis one woman member. She carries water to the fariseos. " Compare with the keeping of an arrowpoint in the mouth by the warriors in the Zufiiharvest festival (Stevenson, 1904, p. 213). '* This does not mean they actually handle the Christ image ; they are guards in case ofnecessity and may punish infractions of rules, but at the same time they represent theevil forces, the J_ew? and Pharisees and soldiers of Pontius Pilate. Deals] CONTEMPORARY CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 115The fariseos bury all their own members and give the fiestas(velaciones) customary to the status of the deceased. Fariseos alsobury any person dying during Lent, giving the necessary fiestas{velaciones) . If an adult who dies during this period has a livingfather or uncle, the latter is forced to give fiestas for three successiveanniversaries instead of one. FIESTEIROSThe officials of the fiesta (fiesteros) are 12 in number and consistof 3 groups of 4. First are the paskome or pa'kome (these terms arealso applied to the entire group) consisting of the first captain (kapitayowe, pa'koyowe, or paskome), the second captain (kapita segundo),the lieutenant, and the alpez {alferes). The order is sometimes givendifferently with the second captain and the lieutenant both calledalawasi moro. The second captain (alawasi moro) is in charge of thefiesta in the ramada; the lieutenant (alawasi moro) is in charge of thefood and its preparation. The alpez carries the banner, while the firstcaptain is in charge of the fiesta as a whole. The second 4 are the morosor servants who help carry food and water, the third 4 are the assistantmoros or servants, helping the previous 4. Those in charge of the foodare sometimes called pako aiwem. Itom pako acaim (our fiesta fa-thers), the heads are called. During the fiesta the first 4 (paskome)have their heads covered with a handkerchief and carry a rod of office(vara) with a cross, a small version of the teopokobana'u's staff. Allexcept the lieutenant ride horses with coyoles (metal bells) about theirnecks and with cocoon rattles wound about their legs. A red ornamentis placed on the horse's forehead.The paskome are chosen by their predecessors of the year before.The old paskome go out at night, bearing their staffs, to the house ofthe man they have chosen as the kapita yowe, stop at the house cross,and call to the man. He comes out. If he accepts the office, he seatshimself on a blanket spread at the foot of the cross. If he does notseat himself, they must seek elsewhere. If he seats himself, the headmaestro, who accompanies the party and has actually designated theman chosen, makes him a speech, telling him the duties he must per-form. If he says, "I will receive the ^'ara," cahuetes are fired off andhe is "bound" by being given food or a gallon or so of mescal. He isthen spoken of as the godchild or godson of the man whose place hewill eventually take. The new kapita yowe then designates the manhe would like to have as the second captain, who is visited in the sameway if the choice meets with the approval of the paskome. The sec-ond captain then names the lieutenant and the lieutenant, the alpez.When all are chosen and have accepted, they go to the house of the newkapita yowe and are given food, drink, cigarettes, and each fires off 116 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 14212 cahuetes. After that they are free until the hisimo. In the mean-time, the new paskome select the first moro, who in turn selects hissecond ; the second, the third ; and so on. The new moros then selectthe first moro helper, who selects the second, and so on.To be eligible for the oiRce of fiestero, a man must be married.His wife then shares his duties. There is no separate woman's groupas among the Mayo.The hisuma is said to be the same as the Mayo bahito ; it is evidentlya combination of that and the Mayo hisimo. Each old fiestero takesto his godson 4 cajetes or bowls, 4 little ollas, 12 pottery plates, anda trough of wood (hicikia) , in which meat is ground. Meat is cookedwith red chile and atole is made of flour with brown sugar. Eachfiestero fills 1 bowl with meat, 1 olla with atole, and takes a little sackof bread and goes to the great cross "where they begin to make thefiesta with their staffs in their hands," the new fiesteros facing them.The old fiesteros begin to "sanctify" the new with the banner (makethe cross with the banner over them) , and say, "This which we bringyou here (the food) is in order that you may receive this functionwith all your hearts. And with the favor of God you will arrive atthe time to make this function the same as we and pass it on to otherpersons, and you will comply with all the devotions of the holyChurch, and the corpses which you find." (The paskome must velarall the dead, that is, attend all funerals, even though not summoned.)The new fiesteros answer, "Hewi, hewi (very good, very good)." Allthen shake hands, take up the utensils, and pass to the altar. A rosaryis placed on each new fiestero. This is said to be a confirmation.The new fiesteros take an oath before the altar to perform the fiesta.The next day the function is ended after pascola and a deer dancerhave danced all night. All are told to appear in 2 weeks when thebig fiesta will be made. An alawasi (the lieutenant) is left at ahouse nearby to receive the food and the contributions brought.Either at this time or later there is an assembly of the village to decideon the contributions to be made and who shall be helpers in the kitchenfor the fiesta. The paskoyowe or (first captain) buys any food orsupplies that are to be purchased. During these 15 days each fiesteroshoots off 3 cahuetes each day.On the first day of the fiesta, the new fiesteros must be present.They sit on mats before the altar, the old fiesteros facing them andburning candles to them. About 8 at night all assemble at the greatcross, old and new, with the moros and helpers. There each newfiestero receives a drink of mescal or cognac in proof that he receivesthe obligation of the fiesta. Each old fiestero gives a bottle to thenew kapita yowe (first captain) to drink, and after he has drunk,ghoots a cahuete. Thus they pass down the whole line of the new Beals] contemporary CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 117fiesteros. All go in to the altar again, and the staffs are passed overto the new fiesteros and candles are burned to them. "The old fiesterosare almost out."In the morning, in the case of the fiesteros of San Juan, the image ofthe saint is taken from the church, accompanied by the maestros andsingers, and with the matachini, pascola, and a deer dancer dancing.The old fiesteros put the rosaries on the new ones again, and bakavakiand atole are eaten. The pottery bull is never used among the Yaqui inthese ceremonies. The following year the old fiesteros conclude theirobligation as among the Mayo, each giving his successor food atmidday.The fiestero organizations may be considered a type of society whichis self-perpetuating, although its membership is in a state of fluxfrom year to year. It is obvious that although the functions of thesesocieties are religious, they are of a different order from the dance andclown societies.Unlike the Mayo, it should be noted that some fiestas apparentlydo not have fiestero groups. Notable are the fiestas of Santa Isabeland Guadalupe in which the soldiers or the kobana'us appear to per-form the functions of the fiesteros. Closer knowledge, however, maymodify this information.THE INTEGRATION OF YAQUI OKGANIZATIONIn contrast to that of the Mayo, Yaqui society is a closely knit wholein which each individual occupies a definite position with recognizedobligations. In part, the position of the individual is defined in termsof organized groups, to one or more of which every individual be-longs. Each of these organizations has well-recognized functionsand occupies an easily defined relationship with other organizations.This extends beyond the limits of the purely religious structure, whichis interrelated to and dominates the civil and military structure. Tothe Yaqui mind, this is clearly understood, and the interrelations ofthe various societies and the individual may be expressed diagram-matically (fig. 22). In this diagram also is indicated the direction ofauthority, showing clearly the way the maestros dominate the entiresociety.This schematic presentation is no doubt idealized, but it is a nativeidealization. To what extent there is deviation from this ideal sys-tem, the role of individual variability and personality and domin-ance patterns, and what con^promises are necessitated by such acci-dents as military uprisings, it was impossible to determine in thetime at my disposal.530583?45 9 118 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 142 FiGUBE 22.?Chart of Yaqui Community Organization. Broken lines show moreimportant steps and directions by which the individual may progress in theorganization. Solid lines indicate the direction of authority in numerousinstances, although the authority of the religious group over the civil andmilitary group is not expressed in the diagram. Individuals holding anypermanent position left of the line a-a may not hold any office on the right ofthe line. Groups with a broken line about them are either unorganized ormembership is temporary. Details of the fiestero and San Juan religiousgroups are omitted. BEALS] CONTEMPORARY CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 119MAYO FIESTA DANCERS AND MUSICIANSThe deer dancer and, in particular, the pascola dancers may betermed the fiesta dancers. If there are no pascola dancers, the eventis not a fiesta ; if there is a deer dancer as well, it is sure to be a bigfiesta. The pascola dancers also perform at the funeral of a smallchild, which is considered a fiesta, and at the funerals and mourningceremonies of certain adults. The deer dancer now appears only inthe larger fiestas of the Mayo, but there is evidence that the danceformerly was part of some of the minor ceremonies as it is amongthe Yaqui.Both sets of dancers learn from older dancers, usually from thetime they are small boys. First, the dancer and the boy dance to-gether in the house at night. Later, the boy may be taken with theolder man and allowed to dance part of the time at some fiesta wherethe older man is dancing. Those who are courageous were saidformerly to be instructed in the woods and perhaps still are. Theyare said to learn to dance better in that way, for the pascola dancersare "part of the religion of the woods." If the would-be danceris frightened in the woods, then he dies soon. My informants be-lieved there are some ceremonies involved, but they did not knowthem. Dancers are said to treat with the devil. This is also true ofmusicians.The pascola dancers usually wear a flesh-colored jersey, althoughsome still dance with the upper part of the body bare. A cotton sheet,furnished by the fiesteros or the giver of the fiesta, is wrapped aboutthe legs and loins from waist to knee, giving the impression of a pairof peg-topped breeches. A sash is worn about the waist to supportthe garment and two strips of cloth go from the sash down to the kneesacross the front of the legs and are wrapped tightly around each legjust above the knee. Two 'kerchiefs, one tied about the waist, the otherabout the neck, are furnished by the fiesteros. About each leg iswound a long double string which has been sewn through a series ofcocoons (tenovares), the ends of which have been clipped off and thehollow filled with small pebbles or gravel. The feet are bare. Thehair is tied up in a top knot and a paper flower is attached by one of thefiesteros. Coyoles are fastened about the waist, a leather belt with adozen or so copper bells or spirals of metal dangling from leather strips(pi. 15). A sonazo^ a curious rattle, made of wood, hollowed outbeyond the handle and with several copper (or brass) disks fastenedwith a pin through each side of the opening, is carried in the hand orstuck in the belt in back, handle down. Usually, a string of beads witha crucifix is worn about the neck. A wooden mask either covers theface or is worn on the back of the head. 120 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 142The pascola mask is carved of wood with grotesque human features.No two are identical, so far as I could observe, but the general featuresare the same (pi. 13). Some have teeth or tongue showing, wliile theshape of the mouth, nose, and eyes varies. The face is always black,lips and tongue red, and the teeth, if any, are white. About the edgeof the mask are incised decorations which are filled in with white pig-ment. These decorations are usually made on the cheeks as well.Near the top is invariably carved at least one conventionalized cross,usually worked into the design. Occasionally pieces of abalone orpearl shell are inlaid on the mask. About an inch from the edge, insidethe border design, a fringe of white horsehair about 4 inches long isattached. The ends are fastened by wooden pegs driven into holesdrilled in the mask. Some also have moustaches and occasionally along beard of white horsehair. The masks are held on by a cord pass-ing through holes drilled on two sides of the mask and going aroundthe head.The pascola dancers perform two types of dances. One is to themusic of violins and harp. A variety of tunes are played, but the danc-ing does not appear to vary. The dancers perform one at a time,usually facing and close to the musicians, the mask at the back of thehead, the sonaso stuck in the belt. The body is stooped slightly for-ward, the arms hang loosely by the sides and slightly forward, theknees are slightly bent. The step looks very much like a variation ofthe European clog and may be derived from it. The basic rhytlun isto strike the ground hard Avith one foot, hopping quickly twice on thesame foot, then repeat with the other foot and continue alternating.The entire procedure is extremely rapid, making analysis difficult.There are also other variations, such as dragging the toe of the foot in asemicircle in front of the dancer while hopping on the other foot;extending the heel and dragging it back across the ground ; a skippingstep; jumping up and down on both feet; striking heel against ankle;and steps to the side. The better the dancer, the more variations areintroduced and more noise is made by the cocoon rattles.The other dance is to the music of the drum and flute. The mask isworn over the face. The sonaso is held in the right hand and beatenagainst the palm of the left hand in a complicated rhythm. The danceragain tends to face the musicians most of the time and adopts a morecrouching position. There is some swaying of the hips and incliningof the body from side to side while birdlike motions are made with thehead, down and up, and from side to side. The step is a slow flat-footed stamp with the heel raised and struck on the ground betweensteps without raising the toes from the ground. As before, thedancers perform one after another (pi. 16, fig. 1). Deals] CONTEMPORARY CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 121Characteristically, the dancing does not begin until after the musichas played a few bars or more, gradually working up to 'the dancetempo. This is particularly pronounced with the drum and flute music,the beat dropping in tempo and into a different rhythm even whenthe dancers are changing places.^^After each pascola dancer has danced to both sets of stringed instru-ments, there is a rest period. During this the drummer tunes hisdrum, often interrupting some elaborate jesting performance whichnevertheless continues, although often no one can hear what is beingsaid. "Wlien the drummer has his drum tuned to satisfaction, he beatsit in slow tempo v.-hile he warms up his flute. After a few preliminarysqueaks, he begins playing. Once he gets the tune started, the tempois gradually increased until it reaches breakneck speed. One of thedancers then pulls out his hand rattle, gives it a few shakes, striking itagainst the palm of his left hand, and takes a few steps. He thenpulls his mask over his face and starts dancing in earnest. When hefinishes, the next dancer starts in the same way. There is no pausein the music while this is going on. The last dancer ends the danceby taking a few slow steps hopping from one foot to the other directlybefore the drummer. The drummer corresponds with individual beatsof the drum. If the drummer starts his music and for some reasonit is desired to postpone the dancing, one of the dancers stamps on theground with one foot before him and holds one hand palm down withinabout 2 feet of the ground and rotates his arm or makes a movementof pushing downward toward the ground.The oldest dancer in the group is in charge during the fiesta. It ishe who dances first and opens the fiesta with a formal entrance. Thisvaries little for the large fiestas and the smaller ones, and is describedlater. He also takes the lead in the jokes and stories which are toldbetween the dances. During the rest periods between dances, a run-ning fire of conversation is kept up between the dancers and with theaudience. The pascola language is often obscene in nature and wouldbe highly resented from anyone else, but no resentment must be shownby the audience. If the dancer hears someone say that he has dancedwell, he will retort to the speaker, "That is because I slept with yourwife last night." When he sees someone he knows, he may say, "Howis my wife, ? or "How is my daughter, ?" namingthe person's wife or daughter. He also addresses men and women byrelationship terms as son, brother, wife, daughter, or mother-in-law. "See, the lazy one," he will say of some woman, "she does not give mefood, she, my daughter, she left everything home." "Here is theseller of ourselves," he may say of the seller of cebada^ a soft drink. "It is for this," said one informant, "that they call them pascola,because they respect no one, neither fiesteros nor honorable women. ? Mexican Folkways, July 1938, has a good picture of the drummer. 122 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY , [Bull. 142For this the Virgin and Christ gave them permission." They alsoindulge in more formal joking among themselves, one dancer takingthe lead and talking to another who answers with the proper ques-tion or simply by saying, "M-m-m-m," in a peculiar tone. When thepoint of the story or jest is reached, both say "M-m-m-m." The storiesand jokes are frequently obscene, but sometimes deal with currentaffairs such as politics. Sometimes the jesting is simple horseplay.An example of the latter occurred on one occasion when a bystanderasked for water. The supply in the dance ramada was exhausted, sothe dancer started to call for water in both Spanish and Mayo. Heshouted the word in all possible keys and was finally joined by all thedancers in one great shout of "Water!" which brought the fiesterowith a bucket on the run. Despite this verbal license, the pascola areclosely watched by the fiesteros and are not allowed to touch anywoman, particularly a sweetheart or mistress. If they do, they aresaid to be condemned by the Virgin. (But their reputation for sexuallicense is considerable, nevertheless.) They are under no dieteticrestrictions except that the fiesteros are supposed always to kill a bullto supply them with meat (not a steer or cow) and they are not sup-posed to drink more than is necessary for them to keep awake duringthe night. But a dancer's reputation depends as much on his abilityto make the audience laugh as on his qualities as a dancer, and theaudience is sharply critical of both phases of his activities.A final duty of the pascola dancers is to give water and cigarettes(usually makiico and maize leaves) to whoever asks for them. Thisis true whenever they dance. The musicians may also pass out cig-arettes. The water and cigarettes are furnished by those in chargeof the fiesta.The deer dancer dances at the same time the pascola dancers aredancing to the drum and flute, although not coinciding exactly. Hedoes not costume himself until the music has started. His music isfurnished by three or four singers singing the deer songs. One of thesingers beats an inverted gourd floating in a wooden bowl of water setin the ground. The other two or three scrape notched rasping sticks,one end of which rests on a half gourd on the ground. The deer dancerwears a white kilt about the waist extending nearly to the knees. Theupper part of the body is bare or covered with a flesh-colored jersey.The kilt, a small sheet, and two 'kerchiefs are furnished by the fiesteros.The deer dancer has cocoon rattles on his legs and a leather belt abouthis waist from which a hundred or more dew claws of deer dangle onstrings. This is called gruhutisia (pi. 15). On his head is fasteneda stuffed deer head (masokobata) , the horns adorned with paper flowersand streamers (pi. 13). He carries two large gourd rattles (aibosi),in his hands which are rattled continuously while he dances. He steps Bbals] contemporary CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 123about slowly when dancing, imitating realistically the movements of adeer grazing and raising its head to look about. At intervals he restsa few moments. He never speaks and his mien is always serious. Hedoes not smile. He ignores his audience. When the dance is over, heremoves the deer head and sometimes his belt and usually leaves thedance place until it is time to dance again (pi. 17).In the early morning hours, the pascola dancers and the deer dancersare said sometimes to indulge in a jesting hunting pantomime. Thedeer dancer sometimes hides among the audience and is hunted by thepascola dancers. Informants were very vague, the incident was notseen, and it is impossible to tell whether the elaborate pantomime ofthe Yaqui is practiced or not. A co'para (raccoon) dance and anowl dance were mentioned but no details could be secured.The deer dance is the only one which retains an obvious element ofimpersonation. In the past, evidently the pascola dancers also imper-sonated animals. On only one occasion did I see anything resemblingan impersonation, when one of the older dancers gave a representationof a deer hunt, first mimicking the hunter, then the dogs, the fleeingdeer, and finally the kill and death agony, groveling and writhingon the ground.Formerly, there was also a coyote dance, probably similar to theYaqui performance. The head and hide of the coyote was worn on theback, buzzard feathers upright across the forehead, a mirror on theforehead (the informant was uncertain of this; probably it was theabalone shell ornament of the Yaqui). Tenovares and coyoles wereworn. Dancing was to singing and rhythms of stick raps, and a waterdrum of slightly different form from that used for the deer dance.The pascola and deer dancer have no special restrictions, dieteticor otherwise, except against excessive drinking during a fiesta. Theyare fed apart before dancing. They are also watched to prevent themfrom slipping into the brush with a woman during a fiesta. Theyare always paid. An alawasi engages them, paying them a small feeand giving them tobacco at the time, and carrying off their equip-ment, which is returned to them at the beginning of the fiesta. Thebalance of the payment is made at the end of the fiesta and they arealso given some of the surplus food. In case there is difficulty withthem during the fiesta (for example, drunkenness), the fiesteros appealto the kobanaro, who deals with them. This entire paragraph alsoapplies to the musicians.The musicians are an integral part of all dance performances.They play for the matachin, pascola, and deer dancers. They learnfrom an older person, beginning in childhood, or in the woods asdo the dancers. They are paid in the same way, surrendering theirinstruments at the time of engagement. Their dress is ordinary ex-cept that they always wear a native-made straw hat during the fiestas 124 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY ? [Bull. 142to which a paper flower is affixed by an alawasi, "Women are some-times harpists and violinists; I saw one woman harpist at Makocin.For the matachini, a harpist and two to four violinists play. Theyperform a wide variety of tunes of Spanish-Mexican origin, such asjardbes^ but with "voice of matachin." Possibly of more Indian originare the tunes for the mo-el (bird dance) and the sleepy dance.For the pascola at a small fiesta there are two violinists and a harpistand usually a drummer, though not always; for a large fiesta thereare two sets of musicians playing stringed instruments and a drummerand flute player. In the latter case, the two groups playing stringedinstruments sit opposite each other and alternate their playing. Theyplay a variety of tunes with animal names, such as coyote, owl, andraccoon. The three named are played usually in the early morningwhen the coyote howls or when someone in the audience requests theseparticular tunes and makes a suitable cash present to the musicians.When the music ends, a definite closing phrase is played which isthe same for all pieces.Wlien the players of stringed instruments have finished, the drummerbegins. He sits at the edge of the dance place, on the ground, leaningagainst a plank or log set in the ground at a slight angle. Ordinarily,a mat or blanket is provided for him. The right leg is extended alongthe ground, the left is bent with the knee up, the foot resting on oneside. The drum is upright on the curve of foot and ankle so formed.The wrist of the left hand rests on the upper side of the drum, theleft elbow on the left knee, the flute in the left hand. The drum isplayed with a stick held in the right hand and on the face away fromthe player.The drum rhythm works up in tempo and complication until thedancing starts when it shifts from a 2-2 rhythm to an extremely rapidcombination of beats and rolls of which I was unable to detect the basicrhythm with certainty. The moment the dancing stops, the drumtempo drops immediately to the preliminary beat. The flute, playedsimultaneously, has a definite rather pleasing but plaintive melodyin difl'erent rhythm from that of the drum. The pieces played alsohave animal names as kabai tosari (white horses), and taroca'pa (abird; Spanish name unknown to informants).The musicians for the deer dancer are three or four in number. Oneplays the water drum, the others the notched rasping sticks. All singthe venado or deer songs in unison in rather low-pitched voices.Ansekane weyi insalla b4ta tayiw6yaGo, step my younger brother now, already the sun is risingtats, betukuli bitcaka sewatraveling beneath the sun throwing flowers on the wayyosi tew^yi memotitli macihekamki coicoit^weyiwith all your heart dancing how beautiful Beals] contemporary CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 125Free translation.?Go, step, my little brother, now the sun is rising, travelingbeneath the sun throwing flowers on the way while dancing with all your heart.How beautiful.maso, maso, maso gowi enci base bappo ekimoDeer, deer, deer coyote you is lumting in the water place yourselfkacin enci ydnakeno you will do harmFree translation.?Deer, deer, deer, coyote is hunting you. Place yourselfin the water. No harm will he do you.The musicians and pascola dancers are subject to witchcraft.Witches may make them tired or cause pains in the legs. A charm ofwild chile or chiltipin is worn by them to protect themselves. Chilti-pin is also eaten by the dancers during the fiesta and the fiesteros areexpected to have a supply on hand for dancers and various officials.The pascola dancers formally open all fiestas. The oldest pascoladancer enters masked into the dance place. He is led "as thoughblind" by an alawasi, each holding an end of a slender rod with theright hand. The pascola makes peculiar high-pitched cries, the "cryof the pascola." The stringed instruments play the kanaria (noetymology ) , or hymn of the fiesta, as he enters. Usually, he first makesa circuit of a cross set near the dance place (the house cross for a smallfiesta), then three circuits of the dance floor, all in anticlockwisedirection, still led by the alawasi. He is then taken to the saint orhis altar to worship and asks permission to dance before him. Whenhe kneels, he pushes the mask to the back of his head.. He then goesto the cross. From a point nearby, he fires four eahuetes given himby the alawasi. The pascola returns to the cross, masks, and is againled into the dance place. There he dances a few steps. With thestick (which the alawasi has left with him) he makes four crosses onthe ground, east, north, west or down river, and south. Each time hesays a blessing and gives the peculiar cries of the pascola. The crossesare said to prevent evil from entering the dance place and to preventbewitcliment from making the dancers' legs become stiff or painful.He then turns to the musicians, puts his stick in the holes in thesounding board of the harp, and talks.As the dancer makes the crosses and talks before the harp, headdresses both the crowd and the animals of the woods. He ad-dresses the latter by name and also makes general remarks to theaudience. He asks the animals how they are, whether they rose feelingwell, and whether they have colds.After having mentioned the wild animals, the dancer concludes hisspeech before the harp by saying, "Now I have no father nor mothernor relatives nor godparents nor wife nor family, and for this HolyMary and Christ [or Saint John or whatever saint the fiesta is for]gave permission." He then gives the stick to the alawasi and greets 126 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bdll, 142each musician, dancing a few steps before each one. He says, ''?Buenadia, peon de nosotros. Ya cabo el tareo de nosotros (Good day, ourservant. Now is our duty done)." He greets the various officials ofthe fiesta, then all the people. He puts the stick up in the roof of thedance place and begins his joking with the audience and the seriousdancing of the fiesta.YAQUI FIESTA DANCERS AND MUSICIANSThe pascola and deer dancers are one center about which all Yaquiceremonies revolve. The other center is either the saint or the corpsefor whom the fiesta is given. The pascola dancer is dressed and dancesvery similarly to the Mayo dancer, although he is generally a betterdancer. Instead of being swathed about the loins and thighs with asheet, he wears a blanket in similar fashion. Normally, each dancermakes his own equipment. The mask is made of a wood called tocuk-wior {toro prieto). The steps are not as vivacious as among the Mayo,there is less swaying of the body, and the position facing the musiciansis less consistently held. The deer dancer wears a blanket which hangsbelow the knees and suggests Scotch kilts very strongly, replacing thesimilarly worn white sheet of the Mayo deer dancer. Otherwise hiscostume is the same. His dancing is infinitely better, however. Hisuse of the gourd rattles is much more energetic, his pantomime morerealistic. He moves about much more rapidly, giving great leaps torepresent the deer frightened or sensing danger. Both pascola anddeer dancers wear shell beads about their necks.The dancers are usually trained by older dancers from the time theyare small. This is true of the musicians also. However, the deerdance, at least, is sometimes learned by young men in groups. Oneyoung informant was visiting a house where the young man of thehouse was learning the deer dance. A bowl of cigarettes or tobaccowas put in front of the musicians for the guests. One young manknew many deer songs and took the lead with the music while the hostdanced most of the time. The other young men either looked on orplayed and sang, learning the songs. Occasionally another dancedwhen the host became tired.The musicians learn in the same way as among the Mayo. Theharps are sometimes smaller than the Mayo harp. The arrangementand number of musicians is similar except that the pascola among theYaqui have only one set of the stringed instrument players. The deermusicians sing as well as play, and use the same water drum and thenotched rasping sticks on gourd resonators.The music for the pascola is said to be "pieces of the woods." Theyrepresent various animals and birds of the woods, the noises they make,and so on. A partial list follows : BEALS] CONTEMPORAKY CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 127kanarium and second kanariuin, the first two pieces played.totoi yowe asoa, cock crow ( ?) . cicibola, a bird.kukum, the doves.goim, the coyotes.coparawe, the badger.eukakala, the mangy dog.haiwikicim, birds.baikurim, a bird.tosaicacakum, the heron ; also a song.The stringed music is sharper than that of the Mayo, and seemsmore clearly European. The deer musicians sing a long list of songs,which are said to be similar to those of the Mayo. A reading of aMayo song secured was recognized as a deer song by two Yaqui in-formants. The Yaqui claim they sing more slowly than the Mayo.Dancers and musicians also may learn magically by going to a cavein the red mountain (sikikawi) near the upper river. If a man entersthis cave, a big snake appears and swallows him; he must walk rightinto the snake's mouth. He is then ejected by the snake through theanus into the interior of the cave. This is a large room containingmany animals and snakes. The benches in the room are made ofsnakes. About the walls hang all the things connected with the pas-cola and deer dancers, such as tenovares, coyoles, sonazo^ masks, deerheads, gourd rattles, violins, harps, drums, jflutes, and rasping sticks,as well as the saddles, bridles, ropes, and other equipment of a cowboy.The man must not be afraid or look back but must walk to the end ofthe cave. There he meets a bigger snake, "king of all," which windsabout him from the feet up until he is entirely wrapped in the snake.The snake then licks his face all over with its tongue. If the man isstill unafraid, the snake releases him and leads him to the things hungon the wall of the cave. There he makes his choice according towhether he wishes to be a pascola, deer dancer, musician, or cowboy.When he takes this equipment he knows immediately what to do withit. The animals all say good-bye and the man may leave the cave.If a man becomes afraid at any time, he is transformed into one of theanimals within the cave. Many who have entered this cave have nevercome out. Informants were specific that by entry into this cave onecould not become a matachin, maestro, coyote dancer, wizard, or curer.The entry of the pascola dancers at the beginning of a fiesta is sim-ilar to that of the Mayo, but the order of events appears slightly dif-ferent. The eldest pascola enters the dance place masked and is ledin three anticlockwise circuits of the space. He then puts his stick inthe holes of the harp and talks to it, naming all the animals of thewoods. Then he says, "Now, with the favor of God, we are goingto dance." After this, he goes to a cross nearby and shoots three 128 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 142 cahuetes. At a house fiesta during Lent there would be three crossesnear the house where he would do this, according to informants. Hethen prays masked before the altar, makes three more circuits of thedance place, and marks a cross on the ground (with the stick by whichhe is led) in the four directions, first toward the rising sun, then north,west, and south, and finally marks a cross in the air above himself.At the crosses he says manj'^ things "which cannot be said in Spanish."Nor, may it be added, could informants give them in Yaqui. At theclose of the fiesta, the pascola says good-bye to each musician by danc-ing a few steps in front of each one. Then they go with the image ofthe saint on a procession through six cane arches before the house. Ifit is a Lenten fiesta, they stop at a table on which the saint rests beforedeparting on the begging trips. For other fiestas they go to the church.The pascola then return to the dance place to change their clothing. Inthe case of a Lenten fiesta, the fariseos each thank the dancers.Behavior during the dancing is quite comparable to that of theMayo. The jokes are directed much more pointedly at the deer dancer,who is not supposed to laugh or smile, although there is no penaltyfor so doing. The deer dancer at Vicam Viejo smiled several timesand once or twice laughed. At Vicam Viejo, the eldest dancer calledme his son and the younger dancers offered me cigarettes when theywere passing them out. Elaborate jokes were made at my expense,but in perfect good humor. The deer dancer began after one pascolahad danced to the music of the drum and flute.The deer dancer at Vicam Viejo danced with much more vigor thandid those seen among the Mayo and the movements were more dis-tinctly mimetic. He frequently danced for some time moving onlyhis body and arms. The gourds were rattled much more violently,usually about the knees, sometimes down by the ankles, using a wristmovement with palms of the hands up. At other times the dancerused a rotary motion instead of a side-to-side movement.At the conclusion of the regular cycle, sometimes the dance ended ; on other occasions the pascola began to howl. In the latter event, thedeer dancer hastily "hid" in the crowd, followed by the oldest pascola,who imitated his every motion. The other two pascola then burlesquedhis dance. Suddenly the deer dancer shook his rattles sharply andleaped into the dance space ; the others fled. The deer dancer resumedhis dancing, going about the dance floor in a circle, followed by thethree pascola in single file, burlesquing the dance. When the deerdancer imitated the deer taking a drink from the water drum, thepascola threw themselves on the ground, sucked water from the basin,then jumped up and pursued some youngster until they sprayed himwith the water from their mouths. When the deer dancer knelt andrubbed the muzzle of the deer head on his knee, the pascola helped BBALs] CONTEMPORARY CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 129each other to do the same thing with much yelling, sometimes fallingflat in so doing. When the deer dancer made a downward swoop ofhis body while dancing, a pascola often fell flat. Then the otherswould try to help him up. This was an occasion for much obscenity inmovement.Sometimes the deer dancer made a leap into the air. The pascolaattempted to imitate him, and forgot about the dance and tried tobump their heads on the roof of the ramada. The pascola's efforts tojump were often ludicrous. Sometimes one attempted to help theother ; then both usuall}'^ fell rolling on the ground. Finally, the deerdancer made a motion with his head, as though about to gore thepascola, who fled from the dance space, pursued by the deer dancerwith a violent rattling of the gourds.Between dances the deer head was placed on the ground before themusicians. The pascola made sudden motions as if to touch the head,sometimes sneaking up with great care, on other occasions jumpingat it from a distance. They were repulsed by the deer dancer, whoslapped them or tripped them as they ran, causing ridiculous pos-turings. At other times the deer dancer tickled the pascola with a stick,resulting in wild yells. On other occasions, the deer dancer pickedup the deer head and touched an antler to the foot of the prostratepascola. The latter pretended to be caught by the horn and madefrantic appeals for assistance. The other pascola laughed at him,finally approached to help, and were caught in turn by foot or hand.Sometimes the deer dancer put the head on the head of a pascola,who then made loud noises of distress.Some of the jests were long stories connected with the deer. Forexample, the oldest pascola began by saying he was not afraid ofthe deer. He then launched into a long description of a deer hunt,accompanied by considerable pantomime. He stalked the deer, and de-picted the escape of the deer, long chases on horseback, and similardetails. The whole story took perhaps 10 minutes to tell.A special performance described by informants, but not seen, is thecoporawi (raccoon dance). The violins and harp play a special tmiefor this dance at about 4 in the morning. The rod with which thepascola is led at the beginning of the fiesta is laid across the shouldersof two of the dancers, who pretend they are oxen. The third pascoladrives them and they plow the dance place in pantomime, the "oxen"dragging a cane behind them to represent the plow. The third pas-cola then sows seed in the dance place and drives the "oxen" out. Hetakes the drum from the drummer, sits down, and plays sleepily onthe drum. He calls, "Wolf, wolf," and another pascola runs up onall fours. The newcomer has a tail of cane and pretends he is adog. He lies down by the other and the two go to sleep, the "farmer" 130 BUREATT OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 142 still tapping on the drum. The third pascola enters the dance place,smells about for tracks, and pretends to dig up and eat the seed. Hegoes behind the others and pretends to dig at their buttocks. Theyawaken and the dog is scolded. "Why have you slept? Wliy haven'tyou watched the fields? Don't you see this animal is eating all ourseeds?" The "dog" rushes out and chases the "raccoon" about. Thelatter climbs one of the posts of the ramada and the dog returns tohis master. After simulating typical canine actions, he lies down tosleep again. This is repeated three times. One of the moros (danceassistants) places a bow and arrow by the side of the "farmer." Afterthe third incident, he picks it up and shoots the "raccoon," whichfalls off the post and pretends to be dead. Then all three go to thewater drum and take out a couple of bottles of mescal hidden in thewater. They and the deer dancer drink.The "Play of the Deer" (inyoawa?) now begins. During thisdramatization, the pascola dancers call one another brothers. Theyoungest dancer goes to the deer musicians and begs of them thegourds and notched rasping sticks. He takes these to the oldestdancer. All three pascola play and sing. Then the deer musiciansbegin to talk to the dancers. "Would you like to camp here and huntdeer? It is a good place for deer," they say. The dancers reply, "Yes, in a couple of weeks we will return." "Well, here is a goodwater hole," say the musicians, indicating the water drum. They takea couple of bottles of mescal from the drum and give them to thepascola and the deer dancer. It is now they all start to get drunk.Branches of mesquite are put up at the front posts of the ramadaand on the forked post holding the water jar. The pascola dancershide behind these branches. The deer dancer begins to dance. Afterthe deer dancer completes three circuits of the dance place, theyoungest pascola comes out of his hiding place, and cries, "Here is atrack." The others shout to him to keep quiet. The deer dancer runsout of the dance place and down the line of arches in front (fig. 23, d) . ^II^The youngest dancer follows, but drops his bow and arrows. Theothers seek him and find him crying, hunting for his arrows. "Whydo you come on the hunt if you do not know how?" they say to him.They scold him vigorously.Then all three hunt the deer tracks and follow down the lineof arches. The pascola shoot some of the bystanders with bluntpointed arrows. The deer dancer goes around the cross beyond theline of arches and returns. At the second arch from the cross, themoro of the deer dancer sticks an arrow into his antlers. At thethird arch, the deer dancer staggers; at the fourth arch, he fallsdown dead. Beals] CONTEMPORAKY CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 131The pascola dancers follow ; between the third and fourth arch theystart looking for a water hole. The youngest insists there is a waterhole there. Finally they start digging and find a bottle of mescalpreviously buried there. The bottle has a string about the neck sothat it can be carried like a water bottle. The pascola all take adrink, then they pretend to find blood traces, and follow them excitedlyuntil they find the "deer." One pascola pretends to be a burro andgets on all fours. A handkerchief or cloth is knotted about his neckto lead him by and the deer is placed on his back. One of the otherdancers leads the "burro," another beats him with a stick. At thefifth arch, the pascola exchange places. At the sixth arch, the oldestpascola takes his turn as the "burro" and carries the deer into thedance place, where it is laid down. After some obscene antics, the "deer" is then skinned, the pascola arguing about the proper way to FiGUEE 23.?Typical arrangement for household fiesta, a, Altar table for saint.6, Musicians, c, Dance place, d, Six arches of canes bent over and tied at thetops, e. House cross or special fiesta cross.do it. The hide is sold, again with argument, to the pakome (fies-teros) . Should the latter insist on the skin's being cured, the blanket isdipped in water in the water drum and beaten by each dancer on theramada posts, until "soft." The spectators are also struck with thewet blanket. If the spectators run they are pursued. When thecondition of the "skin" is satisfactory, one of the dancers bends overand the "skin" is laid on his back and scraped with a length of cane.In return for the skin, the pascola also receive mescal.The deer hunt is the last performance of the fiesta. The image ofthe saint is now taken back to the church, and the pascola are fedafter the maestros and singers have eaten.The Play of the Deer is not performed for fiestas of the Virgin,San Juan, or Easter. COYOTE DANCEThe coyote dance (go'im ye'e) is danced by three men to the musicof a drum. The war captains always dance first. Normally, all the 132 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bdll. 142 soldiers dance in turn three times in the course of a fiesta. All threedancers wear the coyote skin-feather headdress (cono) (see p. 52),and hold a bow in the left hand at an angle of 45 degrees, the lower endbetween the knees. The bow is struck with a length of cane splitseveral times to within a few inches of the handle end. No other spe-cial equipment or dress is worn. While dancing, the posture is crouch-ing with the knees bent. The step is a slow flat-footed stamp. Wlienthe drum is beaten in an irregular complicated rhythm, the perform-ers dance backward, slowly retreating from the drum. Often, thedancers are not in unison. When they are about 6 or 8 feet from thedrum, the tempo changes and the beats become steady and of equalvalue. The dancers then advance more rapidly than they retreated,straightening the body, tossing up their heads, and glancing over theirshoulders in mimicry of the coyote until they reach the drum. Thetempo changes again and the dancers again retreat.The drummer is usually an old man with a special head band. Hesings in a low tone into a small hole in the side of the drum. He holdsthe drum upright in his right hand, varying the tone by pressing onthe drum heads with his thumb and fingers. The drum is similar tothe pascola drum, but the stick has a round cloth-covered head. Avariety of songs are sung, of which the following is a sample : koni, koui, pakii, pakii, weyi, kayewisim, y^wisim.(Crow, crow, outside, outside, he comes, not playing, playing.)When the coyote dance is performed, all the kobana'u of the pueblo sitwith their staffs and watch it. The kabos (of the soldiers), wearingfeather headdresses, hand out cigarettes to the watchers during pauses.At the close of a fiesta where coyote is danced, when dawn appearseach of the three dancers has a plate of meat placed before him half-way to the drum. Each one dances forward, picks up the plate inhis teeth, and carries it to the drum where he puts it down.The coyote dance is performed upon the death of all soldiers,kobana'u, chiefs of the matachini, at the fiesta at the end of the year,and at certain large fiestas. At other large fiestas, such as on EasterSaturday, it is danced in the church for a short time by the war cap-tains. It is not danced in connection with war directly.MAYO FIESTASIt may seem unnecessary to describe in any great detail the seriesof fiestas which are in large measure Christian. Nevertheless, al-though it is known that similar ceremonies occur in much of Mexicoas well as in other parts of Spanish America, the present lack of de-scriptive data makes it impossible to determine what degree of uni-formity exists. With adequate descriptive data, it should not only BEALs] CONTEMPORARY CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 133be easier to sift out the aboriginal characteristics in each case but tomake an interesting study of the cultural processes involved in thehistory of spread, modification, and assimilation of the Catholic ritual.The principal fiestas are those observed on saints' days. Minorfiestas are household affairs given under various circumstances, suchas the fulfillment of a vow or the death of a child. Of the majorfiestas, all towns on the Mayo River celebrate Easter Saturday andSan Juan. Many fiestas have been abandoned. As not all townswere visited, it is possible the following list of fiestas on the MayoRiver is incomplete. Special features of fiestas not noted elsewhereare given here : San Ignacio de Tesia, Conicari and Camoa : San Juan, Easter.Navojoa : San Juan, Easter. Abandoned fiestas of San Jose de Cohuirimpo andNavojoa (informant could not sepai'ate these by towns) are Corpus Christl,Santa Isabel, San Ignacio (the last would seem properly to belong toTesia).San Jose de Cohuirimpo (now San Ignacio, suburb of Navojoa) : San Juan,Easter, San Jose (this is no longer a full fiesta, the fiestero group havingbeen given up, but the matachini carry on with dancing, burning of candles,and a procession).San Pedro : San Juan, Easter, San Pedro.Echojoa : San Juan, Easter, Esplritu Santo (matachini dance for the latter,including girls who have taken a vow. They dance with sandals, some-times with tenovares or cocoon rattles).Huperi : San Juan, Easter, Holy Trinity (matachini with women dancers, aCastillo for each fiestero, no preliminary fiestas such as the bahlto orhisimo.)Santa Cruz: San Juan, Easter. (Santa Cruz is practically abandoned. Mostof its population lives in Huperi.)Bacavachi : Easter, Virgin of the Rosary.On the Fuerte River, no systematic effort was made to secure a cal-endar by towns, but the following fiestas. were mentioned: Easter,San Juan, Pascua de Espiritu, Guadalupe, Candelario, ChristmasEve. (For the latter, the matachini make their principal appearanceand dance from Christmas Eve until New Year. They go from houseto house with a small image of Christ on a cushion and beg alms.When the image is brought to the house, the residents pray.)The fiestas are described in detail later, but certain features of gen-eral occurrence may be discussed here. Each fiesta is given by afiestero group of 12 men and 12 women. Except for the SantisimaTrinidad or Holy Trinity (and possibly some fiestas given on theFuerte River), two or three preliminary fiestas are given includingthe bahito and hisimo. Each fiestero is supposed, at least theoreti-cally, to kill a bull for each fiesta his group gives. There is some formof begging expedition extending over several weeks, and the image ofthe saint in whose honor the fiesta is being held is taken from house530583?45 10 134 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Boll. 142to house. The fiesteros must provide and pay for musicians, dancers,maestros, and singers, one or more large castillos (fireworks towers),new mats, cooking pots, eating dishes, and other equipment for eachfiesta. Most of the expenses are met by the alms collected. Foodleft over at the fiestas is given first to people who ask to be fed;it is then divided among musicians, dancers, kobanaro, sargento^maestros, the various fiesta officials, and the fiesteros pledged for thefollowing year. All fiestas, whether large or small, are characterizedby certain formal behavior on the part of the oldest pascola dancer.(See p. 125.)The end of a fiesta is relatively fixed routine. The fiesteros, headedby their leaders, stand in the dance place and face the officials, headedby the oldest pascola. The musicians play again the kanaria or hymnof the fiesta. The fiestero leader asks pardon for all that may havebeen done wrong during the fiesta. The pascola leader then addressesthe fiesteros: "We are ashamed, but you gave us permission. NowI have father, mother, relatives, etc. . . . Give us pardon. Youare not going to lose anything. You are well with the Virgin andChrist [or whatever saint is honored]. Yonder they are going toreceive you in heaven when you die." "It is for this," said an informant, "the fiesteros do not mind thework and expense of the fiesta."Of the fiestas on the Mayo River, those of San Juan Bautista seemthe most important. Not only are they the most numerous andelaborate, but they loom largest in the native mind. There is, ofcourse, individual variation in attitudes. As one Mayo expressed it,some like Christ better, others like San Juan. Why San Juan aboveall other saints should play such an important part in the religion,I have been unable to discover. Undoubtedly, the historical reasonwould be of considerable interest as throwing light not only on theIndian psychology, but on that of the early missionaries in Mexico.SAN JUAN FIESTASThere are four fiestas of San Juan held during the year: puti(Beginning or the Little One), bahito or Middle of the Road {MedioOamino) ^ hisimo or the Larger (Grandisimo) , also called the fiestaof the banner of San Juan, and the fiesta of San Juan or the fiestaGrande. The alternate names of the first three fiestas are not trans-lations of the Indian terms apparently. Bahito, for example, I wastold meant "giving them to eat and drink."The four fiestas are said to be held on days when San Juan deliveredsome famous sermon or at least on some important event in his life,but this is probably a rationalization. All dates seem to be more orless approximate or ideal ; actually, all fiestas except that of San Juan Beals] CONTEMPORAKY CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 135fall on a Saturday, and if necessary are postponed or advanced. Onescheduled fiesta was postponed a week because it conflicted with alocal election.Puti is given about the 26th of July and is the first fiesta given bythe new fiesteros for the year. It is a small fiesta and is considered inthe nature of a practice performance for the new fiesteros. It seemsto be a less elaborate version of the other fiestas. As it was not ob-served, it is not described in detail.According to my informant, who in this case was the chief fiesteroat Pueblo Viejo for 1930-31, the second fiesta is the bahito, whichshould be given about January 24. However, in 1931, the hisimo wasactually held January 11 and 12 before the bahito. When this waspointed out to the informant, he did not seem in the least perturbed 136 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bdll. 142 musicians, including cocoon rattles, masks, violins, and harps. Thetwo harps were on the west side of the post with their bases facing thedance shed. Meat was hung on ropes between the poles and cookingfires were already lit outside the shed. Several people were asleepon mats under the shed. All during the afternoon, people arrived inwagons or with burros loaded with wood, ollas, food, and other things.By night, the ropes between the poles were covered with meat whichmust have represented the carcasses of several beeves and a number ofsheep or goats (pi. 18, fig. 1).About 3 o'clock in the afternoon, a cross about 4 feet high was setup facing the middle part of the dance shed and close to the southwestcorner post of the fiestero shed. Hanging on it was a dirty maguey-fiber bag of makutco, native tobacco. Leaning against the south armof the cross was the large metal-headed staff of the first judge {sar-gento). Against the other arm leaned the red banner of San Juan,its staff resting on a miniature chair about 4 inches high. The bannerof Christ did not appear until somewhat later (pi. 19, fig. 1).Before dark, the Castillo was set up in front of the church and aguard placed by it. (At the other fiestas, the castillo was not erecteduntil an hour or so before it was burned. ) A lighted candle was keptbeneath the castillo. The castillo is an elaborate fireworks piece, madeby native artisans, and purchased by the fiesteros for all importantfiestas. The success of the fiesta is to some extent judged by theelaborateness of the castillo. On Easter Sunday and on San Juan'sDay, two castillos are burned.The shrine of the Saint was set up in the dance plaza before darkalso. The shrine consisted of a booth of cotton cloth stretched overa wooden framework. It was open toward the front and was dec-orated with a few green branches. A table decorated with paperflowers inside the booth formed the altar.About 8 o'clock, the dancing began under the dance shed. Beforethis, the dancers and musicians had all been fed from a special vesselunder or around the fiesteros' shed. The musicians' instruments werebrought to the dance shed by the fiesteros. A young girl, one of thealawasi, assisted by others, decorated the musicians and the dancerswith paper flowers. The dancers dressed a little apart from the crowdbehind the fiesteros' shed.Shortly before 10 o'clock, the cross and the banner were moved fromthe ramada to a position in front of the shrine. These, together withthe bag of makutco and the hats of the fiesteros, wrapped in a whitecloth, were later carried along on the procession. About 10 o'clock,the fiestero drum was sounded before the Saint's shrine at the ordersof the first judge. (The fiestero drum resembles that of the dancersexcept that it is of smaller diameter and considerably deeper. It is Beals] contemporary CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 137played with two sticks instead of one. The player is not a fiestero.)After the drum was sounded, the fiesteros assembled in front of theshrine in two lines, the men in front, the women behind, faced by thefirst judge. The banner of San Juan was held in the middle of thefront line, that of Christ to the right. Most of the time the bearerof the latter and his two or three companions stood a little out of theline at a slight angle to it. This symbolizes their membership in adifferent group, the fiesteros of Christ, The two groups always co-operate, however, by bringing out the banners for each other's fiestas.After a few minutes, the fiesteros were joined by the dancers andmusicians.At a signal from the first judge, the lines did a right face andmarched in two files toward the church to the music of flute and drum.The fiestero drum was played, not the dancers' drum. Each fiesterocarried a lighted candle.In the main plaza an orchestra had been playing Mexican dancemusic since dark. It did not cease when the fiesteros arrived. Neitherdid the numerous drunken young Indians who wandered around andaround the town arm in arm, singing Indian and Spanish songs inhigh falsetto voices and shouting, sometimes obscenely. The danceorchestra seemed to consist of a bass and a snare drummer and twoor three violins. It was impossible to tell exactly because of thedarkness.Before the church, the procession divided. The majority went tothe right of the cross and made three circuits of it. The alawasi wentto the left of the cross and also made three circuits. Re-forming thefiles, all entered the church.In the church, a sermon was delivered by the maestro. There wereprayers and songs. The dancers performed at length before the altar.Through all this the fiesteros stood in a line facing the altar somewhatback of the middle of the church.When the dance was concluded, the image of San Juan was carriedout of the church under a canopy. At the foot of the steps thefiesteros formed in two lines again with the Saint behind them, allfacing the cross and the castillo. The dancers and musicians stood atone side. The church bells were rung and a number of cahueteg werefired, followed by several elaborate rockets of white manufacture.After a pause of a few minutes, the castillo was ignited.For the majority of the crowd, the castillo was the event of theevening. Many Mexicans of all classes came from the Mexican townto see this. After the castillo, the crowd thinned out materially.When the castillo had burned out, the fiesteros formed in files againand repeated their three circuits of the cross. The Saint's image wasnot carried about the cross. The musicians played during the circuit. 138 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 142The procession then started back to the dance plaza : the fiesteros firstwith their lighted candles, then the dancers, then a very old man(probably the temasti) with a little bronze bell, then the image andthe followers of the procession. Every 40 or 50 feet the old manrang his bell. The fiesteros about-faced and the procession halted.The dancers, to the accompaniment of music by the violins, flute, anddrum, then did a few dance steps which were quite different incharacter from the regular dances. The dance was a slowish move-ment. One foot was put forward, then the other foot broughtup to it. Following this, one foot was moved two steps forward, thedancers bobbed their heads toward the image of the Saint, reversed,and repeated this toward the fiesteros. The sequence was repeatedthree times. The procession advanced again as soon as the musicstopped.When the procession reached the shrine for the Saint, three circuitswere made about the temporary cross before the shrine. The image ofthe Saint was then placed in the shrine and the fiesteros resumed theirformation before the shrine. The old man with the bell then delivereda long prayer, ringing the bell he carried at intervals. When thebell sounded, both banners were waved with a rotary motion and eachfiestero patted himself over the heart three times. At the conclusionof the prayer, the dancers and musicians entered the shrine two bytwo. The dancers each did a few steps before the altar. The dancersand musicians then departed to the dance shed, where the dancingwas shortly resumed. In the meantime, the fiesteros went up to thealtar in groups of six or eight. As each group reached the altar, thefiestero drum began to beat in a tempo much resembling the "roll"of our music. The tempo increased until the group left the altar, thenthe drmn stopped. Each group advanced to the altar in accordancewith a signal from the first judge, and returned to its original position.When all had visited the altar, or rather the image of San Juan,the banners were furled and leaned against the cross. The maguey-fiber bag, which had been carried by the leader or first judge duringthe procession, was placed under the base of the staff of the bannerof San Juan. At a signal, the fiesteros sat down, placed their candleson the ground in front of them, and chatted and smoked. About anhour later, the fiesteros returned to their ramada and ate. The imageis returned to the church with a similar ceremony, usually around10 in the morning.During the procession and while the fiesteros ate, cahuetes and anumber of heavy bombs were fired.The official end of the fiesta was about 12 o'clock of the followingday. After a short period of more than usually energetic dancing,one of the alawasi offered native tobacco to everyone present. Asmall pottery bowl, frequently replenished, contained the tobacco. Bkals] contemporary CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 139The alawasi also carried a large bundle of maize husks. The dancersstood about making remarks while this went on. After the tobaccodistribution, they left abruptly and dressed.The social aspects of the fiesta went on for some hours after this.The dancers became unusually drunk during this fiesta, and appar-ently continued drinking for some time. Some of them were stilltoo drunk to transact business the following Tuesday.Toward the end of the fiesta, there was some trouble with drunkenMexicans who wished to dance also. They were discouraged by abrawny Indian policeman with an antiquated rifle who, when neces-sary, forcibly ejected them from the dance space. Everything seemedto be done in good humor. Nevertheless, judging by accounts of otherfiestas and a few slight incidents which occurred in the one described,it would have been extremely easy for a general fight to have started.The same fiesta was held at San Ignacio a week later.The next fiesta of San Juan was the bahito, which was held atPueblo Viejo, March 7. It had previously been scheduled for Feb-ruary 28, but owing to a special election, the Mexican authoritieswould not issue a permit for Saturday, February 28. Consequently,it was decided to postpone the fiesta a week rather than start it on aSunday. There seemed no religious feeling involved in holding thefiesta on a Sunday. The main objection was that it would continueinto Mondaj^ when many people would have to leave to attend to theirwork. Essentially, the fiesta resembled the one previously described,but I secured more details in some instances and there were also somedifferences.As before, the fiesteros began to assemble about noon, but the realceremony did not begin until about sunset when the dancing started.Some of the fiesteros did not put on their regalia until later thanthis.The general arrangement resembled that of the previous fiesta.An exception was that a table was placed before the cross beside thefiestero's ramada. On the table, facing the cross, stood a bull ofpottery with a sort of cup on its back (pi. 19, fig. 2 ; fig. 16, d) . Whenthe cross was moved to the shrine of the Saint before the processionstarted, the table and the bull were moved into the northeast cornerof the dance ramada.The Castillo was brought into the church about 8 : 30 p. m., accom-panied by the musicians who played the dance music in the plaza.Several of the fiesteros carried the castillo up the road from the west,circled around the cross in front of the church, then went inside.There the castillo was rested on forked sticks while several of thefiesteros went into a small room to the north of the altar. On theirreturn, after about 10 minutes, the castillo was carried out of the 140 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 142church again, passing to the south of the cross. The castiUo was tlienraised and the fiesteros, accompanied by their drum, went on to thedance plaza. The other musicians remained in the main plaza, wherethey played almost continuously.The procession took place in the same way as at the previous fiestaexcept that the fiesteros for the coming year also participated in it.When the procession arrived at the church, I observed the actualceremonies within the church, which I did not do for the previousfiesta.The fiesteros lined up in the church in their usual formation backof the two side doors. The dancers and musicians made a circuitof the church and prayed before each image. After this, variouslaymen prayed before some of the images. The image of San Juanwas brought out before the altar. After a prayer, the dancersdanced before the image. Then the entire group moved out of thechurch and the ceremonies went on as described for the previousceremony of hisimo except that as the procession returned to thedance plaza, the music played continuously.While the fiesteros sat before the shrine of the Saint, food was pre-pared by relatives of the fiesteros (pi. 20, fig. 2). When ready, thefood was laid out in a long line east of the fiestero shed. Mats werefirst laid down in a long north and south line. Beside the mats to thewest were set 12 huge bowls ( harriles, or barrels, in Spanish terminol-ogy) containing stewed meat called bakavaki. Beside each bowl wasa small pot of coffee and a few cups, usually one to each pot. On themat was placed a big bowl of bread (hutapani) , tortillas, and a pile ofnew bowls.When all was in readiness, the fiesteros moved to the food. Thewomen fiesteros who were promised for the next year each sat bj^ abowl of bakavaki. On the opposite side of the mats, sat the men andwomen fiesteros. Behind the latter, on chairs, sat the male fiesteroswho were pledged for the next year. The female novice served thefood, giving food to the fiesteros first, then to the male novice, and thento whoever else came up and requested it. Several people made contri-butions of packages of cigarettes. Later, the male novices were seatedabout the table under the dance ramada where they smoked cigarettes,mostly of makiico. The cigarettes were lighted from coals placed inthe bowl on the back of the pottery bull standing in the center of thetable.The conclusion of the bahito was marked by a great deal moreceremony than the close of the hisimo. About 12 noon the male novicesreturned to the table under the dance shed and sat there smokingcigarettes for a long time. Two men held fiesteros' staffs upright withthe butt resting on the table. Occasionally, they would both rise and BEALS] CONTEMPORARY CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 141tap the staffs on the table. Shortly after this, the west section ofthe dance shed was cleared and spread with mats on which the femalenovices sat. Each woman had a little bowl of makuco before her,together with corn husks and a little bowl of coals. They sat here forsome time. About this time, the great bowls of atole to be eaten laterwere started cooking.About 3 o'clock, the fiesteros lined up behind the cross, which hadbeen returned to the position near the fiesteros' shed. The men werein front, the women behind. The table was again in front of the cross,but the bull was not visible. On the table were makuco, cornhusks,and the bundle of fiesteros' hats. The novices were lined up similarlyfacing the fiesteros. The first judge stood in the middle and prayed,the others giving the responses. After each response, the drum wasplayed and the banner was waved. Each fiestero and novice madea sort of symbol of the cross, the fiesteros using their crucifixes orrosaries, the novices their ribbons. These they touched twice to theforehead, lips, heart, and then the lips again. The gesture was slop-pily performed so that this description merely gives an average of theconfused movements made.After the prayer, the fiesteros filed past the novices, saluting them,touching them first on the shoulder and then touching hands with thecross of the fiestero's rosary between. Once in their original positions,the fiesteros were greeted by the novices, who used the knot of theirribbons in the same way the fiesteros had used their crucifixes. Afterthe novices returned to their position, the first judge said a few words.The novices now retrieved their hats and other belongings anddispersed.The fiesteros now entered the dance ramada and lined up beforethe dancers. All knelt, and the first judge gave a prayer with fre-quent responses by the fiesteros and the dancers. The latter thenrose, and the leader of the dancers made a short speech. All thedancers now held a bundle of cahuetes vertically with both handsclasped about the bundle. During both speech and prayer, the musicplayed softly. Accompanied by a few of the fiesteros, the dancersnow left the shed and stood before the cross faced by two of thefiesteros and the judge, who prayed briefly. After the prayer, thedancers rattled their coccoon rattles. The fiesteros then picked upsome smoldering sticks which had been placed in readiness, andgave one to each dancer. Accompanied by the fiesteros, the dancerswent off a little distance and fired three or four cahuetes apiece, ignit-ing them from the stick of smoldering wood, which they passed tothe fiesteros on the return to the cross.Reentering the dance shed, the dancers now danced three timestoward the musicians at the north, then three times toward the mu- 142 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Boll. 142 sicians at the south. They then put their masks in front of theirfaces and danced to the music of the drum and flute, the deer danceralso dancing. Suddenly, at a signal I did not see, the audience brokeand ran. The dancers seized the gourd resonators, filled them withthe water from the gourd water drum and, pursuing the spectators,threw the water after them. In the commotion, one dancer thenpulled the wooden bowl of the water drum out of the ground andspilled the water. Then the dancers ran behind the fiestero's shed,charging after small boys on the way and performing numerousantics. The bearer of the banner and two fiesteros bearing batonsstood behind the cross for a few minutes while the other fiesterosgathered up the mats and musical instruments, placing them undertheir shed. The banner was then furled and leaned against the cross.Atole (bannari) was served during these concluding moments, thedancers being served first, then everyone who wished it. Bread andtortillas were also handed out, the serving all being done by the fies-teros. The atole was made of wheat flour and 'panoche (unrefinedbrown sugar), kaka, cooked to a thick mush. As the eating of theatole began, a few cahuetes were fired off. The eating of the atoleconcluded the official part of the fiesta.A fiesta was held at Bacavachi on March 21 called the fiesta ofthe Rosary (Virgin del Kosario). Informants there insisted it wasthe same fiesta as the BaMto of Pueblo Viejo, but this is undoubtedlyincorrect. The fiesteros of Christ held a small fiesta at Bacavachithe previous night. Saturday morning the dancers for the ensuingfiesta were all assembled at one of the houses in the village. At Baca-vachi it was said that if one ate from a certain special olla of atoleor bakavaki, one was obligated to furnish two ollas of the same foodfor the next fiesta.The final fiesta of San Juan is held on San Juan's Day, June 24.It appears to be the only fiesta for San Juan which has a fixed date.It differs from the hisimo only in that it is on a much grander scaleand has many preparatory rites. (This fiesta was not observed; thedata are from informants.)Twenty days before the fiesta, the fiesteros start visiting all thesuburbs and small settlements, stopping at each house to solicit alms.They take with them the image of San Juan and are accompanied bythe moros, or moors. The latter are composed of men and women whohave taken a vow to perform this function as a penance or as theresult of some favor they have requested. Some ride on horseback;others go on foot. The men choose three chiefs who keep order ; thewomen have only one chief, it being felt that the women are less aptto get into mischief than the men. If a man molests any of thewomen, he is given a beating. Reals] CONTEMPORAKY CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 143The ideal order on the march (which is probably not closely kept)is for the leaders to walk in front with the banner, followed by fourpascola dancers and a deer dancer, and then the fiesteros with theimage of San Juan. The latter are flanked on either side by themoros on horseback and these in turn are flanked by the moros onfoot. The moros are supposed to hold hands, forming a chain.At each house where they stop, prayers are said on arriving andleaving and calmetes and bombs are fired. At each house where theyspend the night, the group makes a small fiesta, and at each housewhere they spend the noonday siesta^ there is a short small fiesta.The company is usually invited to some particular house whose ownerhas taken a vow to give a small fiesta at this time.Ideally, the dancers are supposed to accompany the party all thetime and to perform at all these occasions. Actually, it sometimesproves too expensive to pay for so much service. Consequently, thedancing at the small fiestas is often impromptu, performed by theaccompanying moros.The moros on horseback and those on foot at some point performa mock battle. The precise time and circumstances, I could not de-termine. The accounts given seemed to indicate it was a more orless continuous affair, but a fight lasting over 20 days is hard toimagine. The moros are given roosters at the various houses wherethey stop, and the battle consists of the two sides hitting each otherover the head and shoulders with the roosters grasped firmly by theneck. The roosters are alive at the start of the battle. Presum-ably, the remains are eaten later.According to some, the fiesta of San Juan begins on a Friday (thisdoes not agree with its being a fixed date fiesta) and continues untilSunday. Its details appear to be the same in the main as the otherfiestas; at least it was generally considered a waste of time to tellme the details, a resolution from which the informants could notbe budged. The end of the fiesta was marked by the induction ofthe novices to the status of fiesteros for the coming year.The nature of the induction could be learned only in a general way.It takes place in the space between the two dance and fiestero ramadasor sheds. The new fiesteros are given the staffs of office. The chieffiestero gives his successor a new pottery bull (pasco toro) of the kindused in the bahito. This bull is inscribed on the left hindquarterwith the initials of the retiring fiestero. The bull is kept by thechief fiestero on his retirement from office, a new one being madeand passed on each year. The use of the bull seems to be widespread,as I observed a broken specimen in a niche in the church at Batacosa.The bowl on the back of the bull is decorated on the inside with acurvilinear design in red on a buff slip. The same type of decora- 144 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bdll. 142tion was observed on the inside of the bowls in which food is servedfor the bahito as well as in the bowls filled with tobacco which areplaced in front of the women at one point in the same ceremony.They are the only attempts at decoration observed on Mayo pottery.On the day of San Juan, certain personal observances were re-quired. Everyone bathed in the river early in the morning, themen in one place, the women in another, the boys in a third, and thegirls in a fourth. This is now ignored by most people. Formerlysome ritual accompanied the bathing. People arrived at the riverabout 3 o'clock in the morning. Wlien on the point of entering thewater, they said, "God has permitted us to arrive at this day." Once inthe water, they splashed water at one another, striking the waterwith the palm of the hand, strongly, singing in one tone, "San Huantabapo yewe (Saint John playing in the water)". After repeatingthe phrase three times, the bathers left the water and returned home,where they prayed.THE FIESTAS OF CHRIST AND THE VIEGINThe cycle of ceremonies culminating in the fiesta of the Sabado deGloria (Easter Saturday) begins on the first Friday of Lent. On thisday, the fariseos have their first meeting to organize and arrange fortheir part in the events to come. There is a procession (konti) about4 o'clock in the afternoon, in which images of Christ and the Virginare taken from the church out to the edge of the village, visiting the 14stations of the cross. The final station is marked by 3 crosses known asthe ccHvario^ or calvary. Each station is marked with a temporarycross (or a cross is carried and put down at each station in some towns) . At Masiaca there are 3 permanent crosses planted beside the road atthe point of the last stop.These processions are repeated each Friday of Lent. At the earlyones only a few of the fariseos or clowns are in attendance, but thenumbers increase each week. The clowns follow and burlesque theprocession and pretend at the same time to be seeking and followingthe footsteps of Christ. Before the procession starts, they indulge inantics before the church.In 1931 the first Friday procession was observed at San Ignacio onFebruary 27. About 3 o'clock, the fiesteros of Christ began to arriveand the church bells were sounded. The ringing of the bells was re-peated at about 4. During this time, the crowd assembled. The ma-jority seated themselves under the ramada forming the major portionof the church. The fiesteros assembled under a couple of trees nearthe cross before the church. Each fiestero knelt and prayed beforethe cross and again before the bells as he arrived. Then he greeted theearlier arrivals. Those who already had donned their rosaries ex- Deals] CONTEMPORARY CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 145tended the cross in the right hand ; the other person either touched thecross with the right hand or touched it with his own cross. If neitherhad a cross, they touched hands.Staffs for the canopies to be held over the images and the bannersof Christ and San Juan were brought out and tied upright to the cross,the bases resting on a low four-legged stool. The men, as they arrived,removed their hats and put bandannas on their heads. The hats werelaid on a fine palm-fiber mat, which was later wrapped about them andcarried into the church. About 4 o'clock, the fariseos came runningdown the road, frightening the children and dogs. Their drum wasbeaten. After a few minutes of horseplay, the fariseos retired behindthe church and unmasked. There they were joined by late arrivals.The altar was opened and both Mexicans and Indians entered andprayed. About 4 : 30, the crowd had grown considerably, and the pro-cession was formed. Canopies, made of cheap cotton squares tied tothe ends of four long canes, were held in position in front of the church.The first canopy was carried by men or boys, the other two by women.The bearers were hastily selected on the spur of the moment from thecrowd around. Most of the fiesteros formed in two lines facing thechurch. Three boys came out of the church carrying a cross and twolarge old wooden candlesticks. They took a position between thecanopies and the fiesteros. They were preceded by a small boy with abell. A moment later a man joined the boys, carrying a cross about 4feet high, newly made out of peeled cottonwood sticks.Women carried two images of the Virgin out of the altar section ofthe church and held them a while on the east side of the church. Anumber of women came up and kissed the feet of the images. Thefiesteros before the church knelt and prayed, rose, advanced a fewsteps, knelt, and prayed again. The image of Christ, a smaller figure,was brought to the door of the altar room. Two men knelt and prayedto it, then led the way toward the front of the church, chanting. Awoman foUovred them, singing, until the image reached its positionunder the foremost canopy. The bearers of the two Virgins followedto their position beneath the two other canopies. The bell carried bythe small boy was rung, the fiesteros knelt and prayed. Then theyrose, and the procession started forward.The order was as follows : The bearer of the new cross first, the bell,cross, and candlesticks, the fiesteros with their staffs and banners, thewhite banner of Christ in the middle and the red banner of San Juanat one side, then a man bearing a palm-fiber mat, the maestros andthe singer, and then the images. The man with the cross, who led theway, stopped and planted his cross on the ground at more or less regu-lar intervals. Everyone in advance of the image of Christ stopped,the mat was spread out on the ground for the bearers of the image 146 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 142to stand upon (this feature was not seen anywhere else), and every-one knelt except the bearers of the images and the canopies. Themaestro prayed or rather chanted at considerable length in Spanish.After several minutes, everyone arose and the procession went on, thebell ringing and the singer singing in a doleful high voice.When the procession was well away from the church, the fariseoscame running from behind the building. Some ran part way intothe open part of the church, others to the cross, all peering appre-hensively about. For a moment they burlesqued the ceremoniesthat had taken place in front of the church. Then others pretendedto find footsteps and all went off in pursuit of the procession, perform-ing ridiculous antics and occasionally burlesquing the religious pro-ceedings. They followed the procession until it returned to thechurch.The processions on the other Fridays resembled this one closelyexcept that the number of fariseos increased each time. The proces-sions at other pueblos also seemed to follow the same general lines;in fact, at most places they seemed identical. At Pueblo Viejo, afew slight differences were noted. In the first place, the fariseoswere fewer in number and much less extravagant in their perform-ances. Instead of following the procession, they walked quietly be-side the images. In addition, two fariseos walked close to the Christimage, holding their lances crossed over its head.At Bacavachi, an old man, who subsequently represents Christ inthe Easter week ceremonies, is taken to the church by the fariseostwo Fridays before Easter. He is said to be "introduced," or pre-sented. He is also paid a sum of money as a retaining fee.Three or four weeks before Easter Saturday, the fiesteros and fari-seos begin begging trips. The image of Christ is carried with themby the chief fiestero, wearing a white apron. The party goes fromhouse to house begging alms. Money and food are given and oftenthe fariseos are given a flower or two to wear on their masks. Dailyattendance is not required of the fiesteros. The banner is alwayscarried. The kobanaro or his assistant always accompanies the im-age. The money and supplies secured during the begging tripsare used to defray the expenses of the fiestas. At the close of theyear, anything left over is devoted to the decorations and altars ofChrist and the Virgin or of the church in general. Surpluses arenever large, as the fiestas involve very heavy expenses for the largequantities of food required and to pay the dancers and musicians.At midday, the image of Christ is taken to a house and placedon a temporary altar under the ramada while the party rests. Thisis also done at night. These stops are called, respectively, siestasand velaciones (amaboyi). At night, also, fiestas are sometimes held.The image and its party are invited to the various houses for these BEALs] CONTEMPORARY CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 147 rests. Sometime during the preceding year the host has made a vowto offer his hospitality. Should he have taken a vow to give a fiesta,this will be done, the householder standing the expenses. Otherpeople may accompany the image on its visits as a result of a vow todo so for so many days.^^ These people and the fariseos performsuch necessary work as chopping wood and carrying water duringthe noon and evening stops.For the siesta, as a minimum, the householder will arrange an altarand sweep up his house. In addition, he may erect arches of caneleading to the shade and supply food to the party. The last 2 weeksof Lent he may invite the matachini to come and dance. He doesnot paj'^ them, nor necessarily feed them. Matachini may also beinvited in the evening even when there is a fiesta.The nature of the velacion varies to some extent with the circum-stances of the individual at whose house it is held. Usually thisperson has taken some sort of vow to hold the velacion and makesit as elaborate as his circumstances allow. A different rarucheria isselected each night and in case more than one person has made avow, the velacion might start in one house during the afternoon andbe completed at another house in the evening. In some cases a smallfiesta is held.A velacion witnessed at Tetanchopo near San Ignacio consistedsimply of burning candles before the image, which rested on a tempo-rary altar decorated with paper flowers. A dish in front of theimage received the alms. The fiesteros sat or lay about the housewhile the fariseos stayed some distance in front under some trees.The masks and other accoutrements were laid on the ground or on abush directly in front of the house, but about 30 feet away. Theburning of candles continued from about noon until the followingmorning, when the group departed to continue soliciting alms fromhouse to house.During the soliciting of alms, the fariseos trail behind the fiesteroswho bear the image. The image is taken into each house and prayersare said. The householders frequently prepare a temporary altar onwhich the image is placed. Alms of some sort, either in cash or food,must be given. Once, when I met a procession on the road, I offereda few cents in alms, whereupon the image was thrust into the carfor my benefit.A more elaborate type of velacion was seen on the night of March8, 1931, in a rancheria called Makochin some miles down the river fromSan Ignacio. About sundown, the image of Christ was brought upthe road from Chucarit, borne by the fiesteros but accompanied by ^' It was only after discovering this fact and making a vow that I was accepted in thefiestas and processions. 148 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 142the fariseos. It was placed in a temporary chapel made of cottoncloth stretched over a framework to the east of the house. Thefariseos doffed their masks and put them on their staffs or swords,which were stuck upright in the ground. Between the temporarychapel and the dance shed were six arches made of canes stuck inthe ground with their ends tied together. The shed was walled onlyon the west side, but was practically against the house on the north.The west wall was divided into two parts. Against the north halfof the wall, an altar was erected, sheltered by mats. Two violinistsand a woman harpist sat on a bench against the wall south of thealtar. The drummer sat on the ground against a board set in theearth at a slight angle near the southeast corner of the shed. A benchfor spectators was put along the south side of the shed. The entirearrangement resembled that made for the ceremonies connected witha Yaqui funeral. ( See p. 76 et seq.)Shortly after sundown, the first pascola arrived. The music hadalready started playing. The pascola wore his mask and was ledlike a blind man at the end of a stick by a fiestero. The fiestero ledthe dancer about the dance shed two times and then before the altar.Here the dancer pushed his mask aside and both knelt and prayed.Replacing his mask, the pascola was led three times more about thedance space and then to the cross in front of the shed. He againpushed his mask aside and prayed, this time without kneeling. Hewas then given a stick of smoldering wood and several cahuetes, whichhe fired off at a little distance from the shed. Returning to the cross,he replaced his mask and was led again to the dance shed. Therethe fiestero left him with his stick.The dancer now addressed the musicians. After a few words, heplaced the end of his stick into the lower hole in the sounding boxof the harp. This he addressed for several minutes, prodding aroundin the sound box with the stick. He then went to the south centerpost of the shed where he spoke for a short time, after which he markeda cross on the ground. This he repeated at the east, north, and westsides of the shed. He then disposed of his stick by pushing it intothe roof.The pascola spoke to the musicians again. They speeded up thetempo of the music and he danced a few steps, then stopped andharangued the musicians. Then the musicians stopped and the drum-mer began to play. The dancer again performed, stopping at intervalsto address the drummer. To both musicians and drummer, his wordswere to the effect that they weren't doing very well and would haveto play better than that if the evening were to be a success. At theconclusion of this, he put his mask aside, the stringed instrumentsbegan to play, and he started dancing in earnest. Beals] CONTEMPORAKY CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 149A short time after this, the image of Christ was brought and placedon the altar prepared under the ramada. Various people came andprayed before the image. The fariseos then moved their masks andsticks to a point a few feet back of the cross before the shed anddispersed, leaving two men to guard them. The latter promptly laydown and slept between the masks and the cross.During these events, the women were preparing food, which waseaten later in the evening. As this was a small fiesta, only two pascoladancers took part in the dancing. Otherwise the subsequent proce-dures were very similar to those of the large fiestas. The ceremonylasted through the night. In the morning, the fiesteros and fariseoswent forth to beg.Near Navojoa, March 7, 1932, a simple velacion without a fiestawas observed. (See fig. 25.) The house was swept clean and a tempo-rary altar made against the house wall beneath the shade. Five archesof cane were erected, making a pathway leading toward the road.Two fariseos arrived in advance of the rest and ran around the houseto see that everything was in readiness. They then began indulgingin horseplay before the house, to the delight of innumerable children.After about 15 minutes, the procession appeared with a number offariseos in advance. The party consisted of the fiesteros, the kobanaro(who had taken a vow to accompany the image for 10 days or hewould not have been in attendance), the first assistant kobanaro,who kept close by the image all the time, the sargento^ maestro, singer,and several other people who had taken vows to accompany the image.A number of people waited to receive the image, in this case, all women.As soon as the image was placed on a temporary altar before a crossfacing down the row of cane arches, these women knelt and kissedthe image. Prayers and songs were given by the maestro at appropri-ate places, the sargento ringing a bell which had been left at the housefor this purpose. While this went on, the fiesteros knelt behind theimage, while the maestro, sargento^ singers, and the women who re-ceived knelt or stood in front. During and after this ritual, thefariseos indulged in various antics for about half an hour. Thefiesteros (who had been sitting on the ground by the image) then rose,and the image was taken to the altar under the shed. The fariseosformed a line on each side and made a "fence" with their spearsor lances, beating their machetes on them at the same time. Thefiesteros made one circuit of the regular house cross on their way to thealtar. Before the altar, all except the fariseos knelt, and there werelengthy prayers and songs by the maestro and singers. Theoretically,the image was carried to the house by the master of the house, but Idid not notice this nor see the usual ritual of passing the imageabout his head before the procession started toward the house. The530583?45 11 150 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 14::remainder of the night was spent in resting and watching the image,before which candles were kept burning.The following night there was a velacion with a fiesta. As it wasthe only one to which I had a specific invitation by the host, I hadunusually good opportunities for observation and witnessed numerousdetails which were perhaps a part of other fiestas of this nature butwhich were not seen before. (Cf. description of similar fiesta inMakochin above.)The beginning of the fiesta was identical with that of the previousnight. The dancers were fed at a table near the kitchen before dress-ing inside the house. While the dancers dressed, a follower of theimage who acted as an alawasi or servant for the night, set up aboard for the drummer to lean against and the musicians took theirplaces. The first pascola was led into the dance place with his maskover his face and was "shown" the dance place (fig. 25, &). He was a FiGUBE 25.?Plan of velaciOn. a, Musicians, h, Dance floor, c, Door of house.d, Location of altar table and saint. The walls on each side are temporary.led with a stick which he held in his right hand, the other end beingheld by an alawasi appointed by the householder. Uttering shrillfalsetto cries, the pascola was led twice around the dance place, oncearound the left front post of the shed, and then before the altar, where Beals] contemporary CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 151he removed his mask. The image had not yet been brought to thealtar. Consequently, he kissed a white bundle on the altar afterkneeling. This bundle contained white sheets and other parapher-nalia always carried with the image to decorate the altar should thepreparations of the householder be inadequate. The pascola replacedhis mask and was led back to the dance place, where he engaged in along monologue, poking about in the holes in the sounding box ofthe harp with his stick, and occasionally uttering high-pitched cries asbefore. He then marked three crosses about the dance place, the lastbefore the harp, talking for a time at each place. He then removedhis mask and was given half a dozen cahuetes^ which he fired from aspot indicated by the alawasi. He returned, donned his mask, anddanced a few steps before each of the musicians, talking to each one.He then placed the staff or stick in the roof and the real dancingstarted. (It should be noted that the order of this procedure was notquite customary. See the description of the pascola dancers for thecustomary procedure and also for the character of his conversationduring this part of the ceremony.)The movements of the pascola during the opening part of the cere-monies were imitated by the fariseos under the other part of the shedreserved for the image of the saint. They imitated the bringing inof the pascola, the entire group entering in single file, holding on toeach other's lances. Later they imitated the dancing. They pretendedto be frightened, and rushed out of the shed in a wild stampede everyminute or so, only to return and begin their imitation anew.Somewhat later the image was brought to the altar, as on the pre-vious evening. The maestro sang, and, in addition, the pascola dancedbefore the image, unmasked, while the violinists and drummer played.From time to time, the dancers uttered characteristic high-pitchedcries. The chief dancer led the way to the altar and was the first tokneel before the image. There were lengthy prayers and songs, thehouseholder remaining on his knees throughout. The songs contin-ued for a time after the maestro left. The fariseos surrounded thegroup at the altar, tapping their lances with their machetes, theirdrummer tapping the drum slowly three times at the end of eachsong.The dancing now began in earnest and a crowd formed about thedance place. The householder invited various friends and guests tohave bread and coffee at the table where the dancers and musicianshad eaten.About 10 o'clock, the worshippers moved from their position infront of the altar where they had been sitting and kneeling on mats.The audience was also moved back some distance from the dance place.The assistant kobanaro rose from his seat beside the altar (left) and 152 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 142 extinguished the candles, leaving only the light of two kerosenelamps. The fariseo leader placed two lariseos on guard. They andtheir successors took ludicrous pains to keep their lances crossed be-fore the altar, either in their hands or leaning against the enclosure.The leader showed each pair the altar and pretended to whisper in-structions in their ears. Each fariseo made elaborate counting mo-tions as though checking the contents of the altar. This was re-peated at the most incongruous moments possible. The guards thentook turns imitating the pascola and deer dancer. One imitated themusicians appropriate to each dance ; the other, the dancer. All woretenovares and carried a crude imitation of the sonojzo. The twogourd rattles used for the deer dance were imitated by rattles of driedbull's scrota. The drum and flute were imitated by using one macheteas a flute and that of the other guard as a drumstick, the staff orlance serving as a drum. The position of the hands was, of course,reversed as fariseos must do things backward. The notched raspingsticks (for the deer dancer, although no real deer dancer was actuallypresent) were imitated with machete and lance in the wrong handsand the scraping was in the wrong direction. Everything possible,such as the playing of instruments and the use of rattles, was donewith the left hand. Some laughter was occasioned by a young boywho began to use the rattle in his right hand and was promptlycorrected by another fariseo.If the fariseo dancing did not watch, the one imitating the musicianswould forget to "play." He counted the objects on the altar, orsimply watched the other dance until he was reminded by a pretendedor threatened blow by the dancer; then the musician would "play"strenuously for a few moments. Sometimes both stopped and countedfuriously. Both were subject to sudden frights and would jump toone side. During rest periods, the pascola shouted at the fariseoguards or rattled their tenovares to throw the fariseos into confusion.The fariseos also peered about to see what the dancers and musicianswere doing; each action observed was elaborately burlesqued. Thepascola dancers frequently shouted that the prisoner was escaping.Then the guards were thrown into wild confusion until they had satis-fied themselves everything was in order. After this went on for ashort while, one of the guards left while the other made frantic ges-tures of vigilance. When the other returned, he made a pretence ofpassing money to the one who had stayed. Later this was repeatedby the other guard.After a time the two guards were relieved. The leader appearedwith two new guards, accompanied by the drummer of the fariseosplaying a marching rhythm on his drum. The guards, when theyheard the drum, began to check up frantically on the objects on the Beals] contemporary CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 153 altar. Each shook hands with the guard who relieved him (with theleft hand) and gave a burlesque of the embrace, dancing about some-what vulgarly. In several cases, the handshaking was burlesqued, andin at least one case, the back of the hand was kissed as described by-Parsons for Oaxaca (Parsons, 1936, p. 89). Finally, the leaderwhispered in each new guard's "ear," indicated the altar, and departed.As the night wore on, the gestures and comments became moreobscene. About 12 o'clock, a small stuffed ocelot was introduced byone of the fariseos not on guard. It was treated with little rever-ence, being used to frighten the guards or used by them to threaten thepascola dancers.About 12 : 30 the antics of the clowns were becoming even less re-strained, when the leader of the fariseos unceremoniously orderedthem all out. They all dropped down, unblanketed, by small fires inthe yard for a few hours' sleep.During the guarding of the altar, each fariseo danced the pascoladance for a time in the dance place. Each danced unmasked and ap-parently in all seriousness. That this was definitely a ritual per-formance was indicated clearly when a young man of the audience,carried away by the music and the hypnotic quality of the dance,began dancing. He was promptly pushed off the dance floor by analawasi.While the fariseos guarded the altar, a bench was placed on theleft for the women who had previously been sitting on the groundbefore the altar. The candles were relighted after the fariseos leftthe altar.A siesta or noonday rest period with matachini was observed atChibuku, March 10, 1932. The house was swept and the house altarprepared under the shade, as previously described. The matachiniarrived first and began dancing in front of the house cross. Frombeyond the dance place, a line of cane arches extended to a neighbor-ing house beside which a temporary cross and table had been placed.As before, two fariseos arrived in advance of the procession to see thatall was in readiness. After one period of dancing by the matachini,the procession arrived. The image was placed on the temporary altarat the outer end of the row of arches. After prayers, the dancers andmusicians all greeted the image, kneeling and kissing it. The imagewas then boriie to the house altar by the householder and his wife,one carrying each side. The matachini danced in front. At eacharch there was a brief halt while the maestro and singer sang, afterwhich a cahuete was fired. The fariseos accompanied the group oneach side, making a fence with their lances on which they beat withtheir machetes.After the image was placed on the house altar, the maestro andsinger prayed and sang, more briefly than at night. While this was 154 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 142done, the matachini stood in two lines on either side with theirfeather wands inclined forward, their hands in the position of prayer(palms together). After the prayers, the dancers knelt before thealtar, two by two, prayed briefly, and then took positions facing thealtar, reversing the positions they usually held while dancing. Afterall prayed, they did an about-face and the monarca led them to thedance place, where they resumed their dancing. The matachinidanced three times. After a rest period, they danced again untilabout 2 : 30, when the image was taken away again through the arches.The matachini did not accompany it.On the altar at Chibuku was an inconspicuous small square palm-splint twilled basket with a cover containing a money offering fromthe householder to the saint. It may have been present at the otherhouses, but it was not noticed. The idea seemed familiar to inform-ants. As on other occasions, the first assistant kobanaro was con-stantly in close attendance on the image.The same evening a fiesta was held at Chibuku. This was similarto the fiestas described except that the matachini also danced. Thematachini performed in a space between the shed and the house crosswithout reference to the activities of the pascola dancers. The house-holder carried the image in from the outer altar to the house altar. Onthis occasion, the conventional behavior was observed; the house-holder knelt and before he carried in the image, it was passed threetimes about his head in anticlockwise circuit. Here, as at the siestaearlier in the day, the matachini knelt in a line on each side of thealtar, hands together, feather wands inclined forward while theprayers were spoken after the image was brought to the house. Bothmatachini and pascola danced before the image as it was brought intothe shed under the row of arches. On this occasion the image and thefiesteros left before dawn to prepare for the regular Friday proces-sion at the church in Pueblo Viejo.March 11, the day following the above-described fiesta, is said to bethe day of the dogs. They are supposed to be tied up all day and fedonly atole. Neither dogs nor humans are supposed to eat meat on thisday, but so far as dogs are concerned, the custom seemed to be entirelyhonored in the breach. During Easter week, the fiesteros and fariseosmay not eat meat. Other people do not eat meat from Thursday toSaturday.At Pueblo Viejo on the Friday of Dolores, the following details ofthe start of the procession in the church were observed : The fiesteroslined up behind the side doors of the church facing the saints. Theimage of Christ was in advance, followed by two images of the Virgin.Four fariseos in pairs crossed their staffs over the image of Christ andthe first of the images of the Virgin. The maestro knelt before the Bbals] contemporary CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 155Christ image and prayed at length, reading from a book. The fariseosand the bearers of the images alone remained standing during thisprayer. The fariseos turned their backs and pretended not to hear,creating noises with their rattles, tapping their sticks, and makingvarious signs.On Palm Sunday many of the Indians went to the white churches.They brought back palms from which they made a little cross to tie tcthe door posts or other posts of their houses. The Indian churcheswere open, but were occupied only by the fiesteros. The latter put inquite a bit of time cleaning up the church and the grounds in frontfor the ceremonies of the ensuing week. About 11 o'clock in the morn-ing the}'' took the banners to the white church where they were "bap-tized," that is, blessed by the priest. New banners and tobacco poucheswere also taken to church. This was evidently clone sub rosa, theobjects being concealed in the audience so far as I could observe. Theremainder of the Easter ceremonies were observed only in 1931.On Wednesday night of Easter Week, April 1, 1931, candles wereburned before the Christ image in the church at Pueblo Viejo. About10 o'clock, several of the male fiesteros went out and cut cottonwoodbranches with which to decorate the church for the ceremonies thefollowing day. A square in front of the church was also outlinedwith green leaves, the cross before the church being in the center olthe outer line. The purpose of this square I was unable to learn.The following morning it had been removed and the ground cleanlj'swept. The church doors were closed throughout the night. Un-doubtedly, the Tenebrae were celebrated during the night, but outsid-ers were not admitted and all informants claimed to be ignorant olthe ceremonies. I suspect there was a whipping ceremony like thatof the Yaqui (p. 171) performed in secret to avoid interference orcomment by the Mexicans.On Thursday, the first of the public Easter Week ceremonies oc-curred. Owing to a difference in time, I was able to see the ceremoniesboth at Navojoa and San Ignacio. Inasmuch as the ceremonies dif-fered slightly in detail, I am describing both.The fiesta at Pueblo Viejo occurred first. The church was openedshortly after noon and the fiesteros gathered early. About 2 o'clock,the fariseos appeared from the west with an old man who was toimpersonate Girist. He wore a crown of "thorns" on his head andwas led by a rope about his waist. For a while he was tied to the crossbefore the church by one end of the rope. Later he was led inside.There he sat on a mat near the door facing the entrance with twofariseos behind him as a guard. The latter indulged in their usualantics, pretended to sharpen their swords and made meaningful ges-tures at the old man. On the floor before him was a dish for alms; 156 BUREAi; OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 142whenever anyone made a contribution, the fariseos abandoned theirantics long enough to make gestures of thanks. This money was givento the old man.Meanwhile, all the other fariseos went to the north side of the church,where they unmasked. Several of them assisted in the decoration ofthe horse on which Pilate was to ride. This took place out of sightin the yard of the adjoining house. Paper flowers were tied to thesaddle, bridle, mane, and tail. Cocoon rattles were wrapped aboutthe lower forelegs, and a pascola rattle belt was placed about the neck.The final adornment was the attachment of mirrors to the tail and overthe forehead of the horse. The impersonator of Pilate wore a heavyblack veil over his face and carried a spear with a huge black headmade of cloth.During these preparations, the church gradually filled with a chang-ing crowd which entered to pray to the various saints and the Christimage. For a time a small boy stood outside the church rattling ametraca^ a board to which had been attached two old-fashioned bureau-drawer handles.Pilate now rode out and around the plaza in a clockwise direction.He was accompanied by two fariseos who ran along side "riding"their spears or staves and hanging by one hand to a loop of rope slungover the saddle horn. Eeturning, Pilate entered the yard beside thechurch once more. He was said to be celebrating his victory overChrist.After an interval, the old man impersonating Christ was led out ofchurch, preceded by a fiestero bearing the banner of Christ, and accom-panied by other fiesteros. The fariseos stood guard over them all andthe rope was still kept about the old man's waist. He was first ledthree times about the cross before the church and then around theplaza in a counterclockwise direction opposite to that followed byPilate. Returning, the old man went once about the cross and re-entered the church, accompanied by his two fariseo guards. Shortlyafter, Pilate rode about the plaza again accompanied by the twofariseos.Later the old man was brought before the church and Pilate rodeup to him on his horse and then made the horse back away, repeatingthis numerous times. He was said to be mocking Christ. There ap-parently was no procession.The ceremony at San Ignacio began much later and was more elab-orate. When I arrived, the canopies for the image of Christ and thetwo images of the Virgin were in position before the church. Thefiesteros were kneeling before the cross in front of the church. Thefariseos were on the east side of the church. The wands and crownsof the matachini were hung against the outside wall of the west side BEALS] CONTEMPORARY CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 157 of the building. A horse was brought in and decorated by the fariseosin the same manner as at Pueblo Viejo, except its mane and tail werebraided and no mirrors were used. Pilate wore a black veil also, buthis black-headed staff looked more like a scepter than a spear. Whenthe preparations were completed, he mounted and, accompanied by thefariseos, rode off to bring the old man representing Christ.In the interval, the matachini donned their crowns and lined upin double file west of the church door. Included in their number weretwo boys and a girl of perhaps 14, the latter clad in a white dress.The old man representing Christ was now led in, naked to the waist,and wearing a rosary. His arms were bound and he w^as seated beforethe cross facing the church. The fariseos formed two lines betweenthe cross and the church.A girl of about 15 impersonated Veronica. She was dressed inwhite and wore a white cloth fastened over her head in a style resem-bling the Arab headdress. She brought a jar of water from whichshe gave the old man a drink and then ran out of the church yard anddown the road. The fariseos suddenly fell on their faces and writhedin the dirt. The old man's arms were released and, accompanied bya man bearing a cross about 3 feet high, he walked down the roadfollowing the route taken by the girl. The girl also carried a cross ofpalm leaves about 18 inches high, while the old man carried a smallercross of the same material. When they were some distance down theroad, the fariseos rose to their feet and ran in pursuit, accompanied byPilate on horseback. The "Christ" was captured about two blocksdown the road. The girl was unmolested and returned to the churchfrom the opposite direction. She made a circuit of some 8 or 10blocks, running all the way.The fariseos followed the same route as the girl. As they ap-proached the church, they forced the old man to crawl on his handsand knees for several feet, repeating this several times. In the in-tervals they pretended to strike him. Two of them held on to a ropewhich had been tied about his waist and pretended to drag back onit. The man with the cross, who had accompanied him and was saidto represent an apostle, held the rope with one hand so that none ofthe jerks and haulings on the rope reached the old man. The proces-sion entered the church yard and the old man returned to his posi-tion before the cross, walking over two blankets which had been spreadon the ground and between the files of the matachini.The old man now sat before the cross with a blue bandanna hand-kerchief spread on the ground to receive alms. Most of the audiencemade contributions. As people did so, the fariseos made derisive andoften obscene gestures, particularly when the person stooped to placealms in the bandanna. When no more alms were forthcoming, the 158 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bdll. 142money was tied up in the handkerchief and hung about the old man'sneck. He went into the church, and immediately afterward a largeimage of Christ on the cross was carried out and held beneath thefront canopy.The procession now formed and started immediately, the Christimage being carried ahead, followed by the images of Saint Paul, SanJuan, the Virgin (two images) , and the remainder of the 13 apostles,including Judas. As in previous processions, the fiesteros went infront, but on this occasion the matachini followed the maestro and thesinger. This procession followed the same route previously taken bythe old man in his flight and capture. On the return to the church,the images were put in their places and the ceremonies were over. Thefollowing day another procession was scheduled to follow the routeof the regular Friday afternoon processions. Friday night candleswere to be burned in the church all night.The Friday activities at Pueblo Viejo were different from thosescheduled for San Ignacio. About midafternoon, Pilate, his horsedecorated as before, rode around the plaza twice and then rode upto the cross before the church. Turning, he rode 20 or 30 feet away,then back to the cross. He did this three times, then repeated thecycle three times after a short interval. A few minutes later Pilateappeared again and repeated the above 40 or 60 times until the proces-sion appeared.Sometime earlier, an image of Christ had been laid out in a glasscoffin borrowed from a Mexican undertaker. The coffin and the bieron which it rested were simply but richly decorated with flowers. Thefiesteros, and many others who entered the church, knelt before thebier and women sang at length, being answered by women in an innerroom of the church. After lengthy prayers, the bier was carried out-side and the procession started. An image of the Virgin dressed inblack was also carried.Outside the church, the procession circled the cross three times.As at previous affairs, the alawasi circled in a clockwise directioncontrary to that followed by the others. The procession now split up,the bier and most of the fiesteros going east from the church, the imageof the Virgin, preceded by Pilate, going in a northerly direction. Bothparties made a circuit of several blocks, meeting in the middle. Twofariseos accompanied the Virgin, with their staffs crossed over theimage. Two others walked with their staffs crossed over the bier ; therest of the fariseos walked on either side. Both processions returnedat the same time, circled the cross, and entered the chuch. The fariseosplayed about the cross for a while and then retired. The crowd thendispersed. Beals] CONTEMPORARY CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 159 a b _ C _ / / In the evening candles were burned before the bier and the mata-chini danced in the church for a short time. This was, I think, thefirst appearance at the church of the matachini of Pueblo Viejo.By shortly after 9 o'clock the following morning, Saturday, every-thing was in readiness at Pueblo Viejo for the great festival. Theplaza was filled with people, not only Indians but Mexicans. Womenand children were selling eggshells filled withconfetti to be used later. Beyond the crosswas a big pile of brush on which to burn themasks and equipment of the fariseos and be-fore it a pile of smoking coals to start the fire.The church was already filled, but many stillmanaged to squeeze in.The entire altar end of the church wasscreened off by cloths hanging from a rope.Two men stood on the railing of the altarawaiting the signal to drop the curtains.Down the center of the church were lined upthe various functionaries. Nearest the cur-tain were the matachini in two lines with thepascola dancers sitting on the floor betweenthem. Next were the fariseos, roughly in twolines, with their leader standing and walkingabout between them. Beyond these were thefiesteros, the banner of Christ on the northside, the banner of San Juan on the south.(See fig. 26.) From time to time the fariseosmoved about, rattling their sticks or making-gestures at the crowd. The audience was wellequipped with baskets of green leaves andeggshells filled with confetti.After an interval, women began singing be-hind the curtain. This continued for 15 or20 minutes. It became stifling hot within thechurch. The leader of the fariseos beganwalking about impatiently, making motions for the curtain to be drawnaside. He became more and more insistent. Finally, the curtain wasdropped, revealing nothing but empty space behind.Instantly the church was in pandemonium. The singing burst forthin renewed volume with a triumphant note. The fariseos leaped totheir feet and dashed pell mell from the church. People raised a greatshout of '?''Gloria, Gloria,^'' and began pelting one another with greenleaves and smashing the eggs over one another's heads, rubbing the Figure 26.?Plan of PuebloViejo Church on EasterSaturday, a, Altar. 6,Curtain before altar, c,Pascola and deer dancers.d, Matachini. e, Clownsor fariseos. f, Fiesteros,those of Christ on theright, those of San Juanon the left. 160 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 142 confetti in, and crying, ''Gloria.'''' The pascola dancers rushed to thedoor of the church and back, bearing large baskets of green leaveswith which they pelted the crowd. They were in turn deluged withleaves and confetti. This went on for some time, the pascola runningback and forth between the two lines in the center of the church.At last the crowd began to thin out. Musicians took their places onthe south side of the church near the front, and the matachini begandancing.Outside the church, people were likewise pelting one another withconfetti, mostly in eggshells. The fariseos had rushed to the pileof brush and stripped themselves of their masks, swords, and otherparaphernalia, throwing them on the pile. The brush was ignited,while the fariseos threw themselves face down on the ground in along row, heads toward the cross. Beside each sat a woman whoshaded his head from the sun, while on the other side a man fannedhim gently, loosening the encircling blanket from time to time toallow the air to enter. These were the new godmother and godfatherof each fariseo. After a half hour or more the fariseos were takeninto the church and were baptized again. Benches were placed northof the entrance to the church for the musicians, and tlie pascolabegan dancing.About 11 o'clock the crowd began to thin out. The pascola dancersremoved their activities to the ramada in the dance plaza. Therethey continued dancing rather desultorily throughout the afternoon.During the afternoon, the fiesteros made preparations for the fiesta ofthat night.The fiesta at night followed the usual lines already described.The matachini added an extra note. They began dancing in thechurch at about 9 in the evening. Wliile the castillos burned, theystood in two files on each side of the fiesteros. The following day,Sunday, '^Gloria''' was sung again in the church, but I have no detailsof the ceremony, as I missed it. The new fiesteros for the next yearwere inducted at the close of the fiesta in the afternoon.An account of the Easter Week festivals by the chief fiestera atPueblo Viejo presents some interesting differences from the actuallyobserved performances. According to the informant, on the Fridayof Dolores the image of Christ was brought to church to visit afterseeking alms all week. This seeking of alms was called the konti(those who go running) ; others applied this term to the Fridayprocessions. The arrival at church was about noon, and, aided bythe fiesteros of San Juan, the fiesteros prayed and sang in the church.About 1 : 30 the images of the saints were placed on platforms forthe procession. After arraying the images, the fiesteros prayed andsang three times. After this day, there was no more begging (but i;i;als] contemporary CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 161despite this statement, I observed fariseos begging the followingMonday) . Candles were burned before the image of the Christ from Wednes-day night until Easter Saturday. This period of waiting is calledthe visita. The velacion Wednesday night is performed before theimages of the apostles by the Jews (fariseos) and the fiesteros. Thurs-day at 3 o'clock they "run the Lord" (Christ). An old man imperso-nates Christ. There are 14 stations where he stops and sits on the backof a Jew or fariseo. (This was not seen at either Pueblo Viejo or SanIgnacio, but is a regular Yaqui practice.) Arrived at the Calvary, theGreat Cross before the church, he sits down and is offered alms. (AtPueblo Viejo this was done in church before the "running.") The oldman is then freed and taken into the church, where the bier of Christis prepared. Candles are burned all night and a few rockets firedduring the night. During Friday night, the fiesteros feed everyonewho comes. Saturday as described was not different from what wasobserved.Sunday morning bakavaki was made for the middle of the day,atole in the afternoon. In the afternoon, the fiesta was transferredto the new fiesteros. The latter always eat from a separate pot, asdo the pascola dancers.It is evident that two important points may be gleaned from thisaccount. One is that the chief fiestera herself was not sure of theroutine in some points, indicating the importance of the kobanaroand sargento in the operation of the fiesta ; the second is that evidentlythe fiesta has undergone simplification. From the attitude of the in-formant, it seemed clear that the latter is to be considered the majorcause of differences between her account and what actually took place.RECENT CHANGES IN FIESTASAged informants said that formerly the only outsiders permittedat the fiestas were those who had been invited. A whole village wouldbe invited, the invitations being delivered in person by the kobanaroand the judge. This function could not be delegated. The visitorsdid not mingle with others at the fiesta but they sat in lines facingone another and talked.Up to relatively recent times, fiestas were held for the purpose ofaverting or exorcising evil, and small ones were given on the slightestprovocation. The causes included such trivial ones as being woundedby a cactus or mesquite thorn, certainly a frequent occurrence in thehabitat.Other changes within the memory of living informants are in slightdetails. Instead of placing paper flowers on the altar, fresh flowerswere placed in special pottery vases with a glazelike finish called 162 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Boll. 142 sotori sewa. Rosaries, instead of being purchased, were carved byhand from hardwood and dyed black with indigo. One old specimenpurchased for the University of California Museum collection includedhalf a dozen beads made of pearl shell.The heavy drinking accompanying the fiestas is evidently a survivalof aboriginal times. Up to a few years ago, drinking was restrictedto Sundays and fiestas. Aboriginally also, drinking was entirely inconnection with ceremonial events. While the kobanaro (or a parallelofficial now vanished) still held political authority, he kept all theweapons of the village in his house during drinking bouts. Fightingwith bare hands was not interfered with. Nevertheless, the fiestaswere policed. This is still the case today, as there are usually someIndians delegated to police the fiestas. In some of the less "advanced"pueblos they carry a whip made of the penis of one of the bullsslaughtered for the fiesta. Formerly, this was universally carriedby the policemen. VELACION OF SAN JOSEThis is an annual occurrence in San Ignacio (formerly San Josede Cohuirimpo) . In 1932 it was held on March 18-19. It is evidentlya survival of the fiesta of San Jose. The fiestero group, if one existed,has disappeared, and the fiesta is now conducted by the matachini,for this event called the Soldiers of San Jose. They are assisted un-officially by the fiesteros of both San Juan and Christ and other volun-tary helpers.The ceremonies started after the regular Lenten Friday processionwas held. The fariseos went home after the procession, but the fies-teros remained. The image of San Jose was first dressed in entirelynew garments contributed by various members of the community andplaced on the image by their donors. When the image was newlydressed, it was placed on a table covered with an altar cloth and underthe ramada which served as a church. The old clothes were burnedlater on. Late arrivals frequently tied ribbons on the image as anoffering.About 8 or 8 : 30, the matachini started dancing. All the matachiniwere expected to be present, although not all danced at once. Theresometimes were over 40 dancing at one time. The dancing was almostcontinuous during the night and until the procession the followingmorning between 9 and 10. The dance space was illumined by kero-sene flares and by candles stuck in canes split at one end.On either side of the altar, worshippers set some 200 candles in theground. Persons burning candles endeavored to stay as close to themas possible, with resulting congestion. Others brought articles ofclothing and laid them on the altar, kneeling, praying, crossing them-selves, and kissing the image the usual three times. BEALs] CONTEMPORARY CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 163About 9, three maestros and three singers conducted long services.They stood on a mat placed before the image but beyond the candles.The matachini knelt throughout this service. The fiesteros knelt be-hind the maestros. After the prayers, fiesteros and matachini in smallgroups knelt, prayed, and kissed the image.When the services were concluded, the matachini resumed dancing,and the habit of San Jose was placed on various individuals by theirgodparents. (It is not clear whether these were the regular god-parents or new godparents chosen for the occasion.) These habitswere donned because of a vow made during sickness by the individualor his relatives. The habits were made by relatives and given to thegodparents. Sometimes new sandals were donned also. In one casea boy carried his own habit to the altar with him and gave it tothe godparents there, but usually the habits were recovered by thegodparents from the altar where they had been placed earlier. Thehabits were somewhat reminiscent of the Aztec huipil, a sort of longblouse slipped over the head and tied about the neck with a string.The material bore flower designs. The flimsy garments were said to beworn only a short time and then either given to some beggar or burned.The ceremonial involved in donning the garments was complicated,and I am not sure I have the order of the various movements correctly.The garment was first taken from the altar. While kneeling beforethe altar, the motion of crossing the godchild was made with the gar-ment by the godparents and it was then placed on the person. Then,the godmother holding the godchild's forehead and the godfatherholding the back of his neck, the godchild rose and kissed the gar-ments of San Jose three times. The three knelt again and first thegodmother and then the godfather took the right hand of the god-child and made the sign of the cross on him with it. Godmother andgodfather shook hands at the end of the ceremony.This ritual is considered a sort of confirmation. It is said also tobe done on San Juan's day when a similar garment, colored red, isplaced on the godchild. In this case the garment is worn foran entire year. Those seen had an embroidered cross in the middle ofthe back and another over the heart. Twice, with small children, anactual "confirmation" was made. It occurred too unexpectedly toget a clear view of the proceedings, but a bell was rung for the maestroand singer who came and prayed. Money was left on the altar after-ward.The general ceremonies in 1932 seemed to be in charge of a "chief"wearing a broad leather belt, who supervised the church and altar,but I was unable to get a clear statement of his position or functions.He did not dance. At times he seemed to be subordinant to the leaderof the matachini. The latter certainly managed all matters connected 164 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 142with the matachini and the outer portion of the church, and gave theorder to carry in the altar near the end of the fiesta. The matachinleader was assisted by two chicatones or whip bearers. In additionthere were two assistants to the dance leader who at times took hisplace as monarca in the dance. The chicatones danced part of thetime. Other functionaries, who were apparently alawasi, wore aminiature staff tucked in their shirt bosoms from which dangled sev-eral red and green woolen balls about half an inch in diameter. Twomatachini stood guard on either side of the altar with wands extendedtoward it. From time to time they were relieved. A chicaton ledtwo other matachini up to the altar, where they knelt and prayed, thechicaton in the center. All then kissed the saint three times. Thesame was done by the two guards coming off duty.After a procession held the following morning, the matachinidanced again for about an hour. During this period, the habit wasstill placed on a few people, mostly children. The close of the fiesta wasmarked by taking the saint's image into the inner room of the church.The fiesteros and then the matachini went inside to say farewell to thesaint, kneeling, praying, and kissing the image. The matachini thenformed a large circle in the middle of the church and the monarcathanked them in what appeared to be a set speech, telling them thedancing had been very pretty and winding up with "dios encokori(thank you)," to which the circle responded, "hewi (very good)," anda few muttered words not understood. Then the monarca spoke of thedancing to be held the coming week and of Easter Saturday. Inthis he was prompted audibly by the "chief," who stood at his righthand and a little behind him. There followed some discussion with thetwo chicatones, who stood in the center of the circle. The monarcathen made a "thank you" speech to the musicians, standing beforethem, ending, "dios encokori," to which they replied, "hewi." Duringthis speech, the matachinis' hats were placed in the center of the circlein two piles. The dancers sorted them without fuss or disorder.The circle then started to break up, but was recalled. The fiesterosof San Juan and Christ in the meantime had formed in a line withtheir backs to the inner room of the church and facing the circle. Anopening was made in the circle at the point where the monarca hadformerly stood, so all the matachini faced the fiesteros. The sargentomade a speech of thanks to the matachini with the same ending andresponse as the nnonarca. The fiesteros then made an anticlockwisecircuit, thanking each dancer individually, half-touching the shoulder,and then shaking hands with the rosary held in the hand. They re-turned to their original position, and the entire circle of matachinimade an anticlockwise circuit, saying good-bye to each fiestero withthe same handshaking as before. The circle then broke up, thefiesteros said good-bye to one another, and the function was over. Deals] CONTEMPORARY CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 165TAQUI FIESTASThe major fiestas of the Yaqui appear to be about the same as thoseof the Mayo except that they place considerable emphasis on thefiestas of Guadalupe and Santa Isabel (Virgin del Camino). Thelatter is not represented among Mayo fiestas at all. The Easterfiestas hold relatively a larger place in ceremonial life than the SanJuan fiesta. Although the latter is one of the more importantfiestas, it is not given in every town. All towns apparently observeEaster and Guadalupe. Santa Isabel is observed as a tribal fiesta,as is San Juan, although for the latter, up-river and down-river townseach have a celebration. Probably all towns observe Noche Buena, atleast as a minor ceremony, while New Year's Day (Circumcision ofChrist) and various other small festivals are probably held at someor all towns. The two mentioned occur at Pascua in Arizona. Inher manuscript on Pascua ceremonies, Roz Spicer lists 101 calendricalceremonies, including vespers, vigils, novenas^ and other minor rituals.In addition, the same year there were 45 Sunday services and 54 non-calendrical fiestas such as marriages, funerals, novenas^ festas depromesa (fiestas resulting from vows) , making a total of 200. Pascuais a mixed village and apparently makes some effort to perform thespecial ceremonies of all the river towns. Consequently, the numberof calendrical ceremonies in any Yaqui River town probably is consid-erably smaller. Mrs. Spicer's totals are also increased by breakingc[own the Easter events into tw^o parts and segregating novenas, ves-pers, and rosaries from the major ceremonies of which they form apart. On the other hand, both because of larger population and be-cause of self-produced food supplies, the Yaqui towns probably havemany more noncalendrical ceremonies.The following tentative schedule of major fiestas was secured;informants seemed vague on the fiestas of towns other than theirown and, consequently, for some towns the minor fiestas are uncertain : Cocorit: Guadalupe, Easter.Torin: San Iguacio, Guadalupe, Noche Buena (Natividad, Pastorela), Easter.Bacun: Camino (Santa Isabel), Easter, Guadalupe.Vicam: San .Juan, Easter, Concepcion, Guadalupe.Potan: San Juan, Easter, Guadalupe, La Trinidad.Belen: San Miguel, Easter, Guadalupe, San Isidro(?), San Ignacio(?).Huirivis: Santa Rosa, Easter, Guadalupe.Raun : Corpus Cristi, Easter, Guadalupe.In addition, Santa Cruz, May 3, though not a big fiesta, is said to beobserved in all the towns. San Francisco is a very important saintand many vows are made to him, but there is no fiesta in the valley.Instead, the shrine of Magdalena to the north is visited (or was atone time ; I was told that in the past special trains were operated be-tween the Yaqui River and Magdalena) . 530583?45 12 166 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bdll. 142Yaqui fiestas in general have the same pattern and motivations asthose of the Mayo. Certain features common to all fiestas may benoted here before giving such data on the individual fiestas as wassecured. About 3 a. m. everyone present at a fiesta is given a bit oflighted candle which he burns where he is. Wlien a bull is killedfor the fiesta, three cahuetes are fired off. The blood is thrown awayor occasionally saved, cooked, and eaten. There are no otherceremonies.Whenever food is served, it is in the dance ramada. The maestros,temastianes, and kopariam (singers )_ eat first, then the pascola anddeer dancers and musicians, and finally the fiesteros. Those who eatin the dance ramada frequently send food to relatives sitting around.The soldiers eat by themselves and provide their own food. The vari-ous other officials, such as the kobana'us, are fed, but not under theramada.Two permanent officers are the moros, one for the pascola, one forthe deer dancer. They sit beside the dance place and attend to thedancer's wants. Some do it as a vow, others are appointed by thegovernors. Men also serve the teopokobana'u, the singers, and themusicians, but they are usually called alawasi rather than moros.At the end of a large fiesta the surplus food is divided among themaestros, singers, dancers, and musicians. If food is given to anyoneelse, he must return it in a certain ratio at the same fiesta next year.For example, if a person is given three pieces of bread at the end ofthe fiesta, the following year he must return a whole sack of bread,for three pieces of panoche, also a sack, for one caJunete^ a dozen thefollowing year, and so on.The singers and maestros spend the time during a fiesta at thechurch except when their presence is necessary outside (as when tak-ing the image of the saint to the dance ramada, when they are servedfood, and so on).Fiestas are given at any time to comply with vows taken to a saint.G told the following story which illustrates several pointsof interest : When returning from the United States, G??? and some 14 others trav-eled together on foot. They had to go secretly. Just before reaching the Sierrade Bacatete, they had to cross a big plain which has no water. They were with-out food for 5 days. The 6th day they had no water and could not find any.They traveled until 10 at night without water. About 10 o'clock the party sep-arated, and part went another way to see if they could find water. Gand 7 or 8 others remained with the leader, who said he knew where therewas water. Soon they found a place where there was damp earth and, dig-ging down, they secui-ed a few drops of muddy water apiece. G , theyoungest, had found the place, but he was so exhausted he went to sleep beforehe had any water. In the night he dreamed the hole was full of clear water.He awoke, found it was true, and drank. In the morning they were able to Beals] CONTEMPORAKY CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 167 fill all their water gourds and canteens. The next day they traveled on in themountains and came to some houses. Two men went ahead to scout, but theplace was deserted. That day they came to where there were people. Twomen went ahead and asked permission for the others to come, which was given.They stayed there 2 days and the rest of the party arrived. The people gavethem food. The leader suggested they all give a velacidn to Guadalupe fortheir escape, and all agreed. After 2 days the people of the ranclieria guidedthe party to their chief, explaining to him why they had not brought themimmediately (exhaustion and weakness from lack of food). The chief saidit was all right. Then he said to the members of G 's party, "Do anyof you owe a vow? If so, I will help you." They told him of the promise togive a fiesta to Guadalupe. He sent some of the party to Vicam Station, wherethey secured an image of the Virgin and brought it back to the mountains.They burned candles to the Virgin all night, and brought her image backto the station.Scattered data on various fiestas is given below. The brief notesrepresent what informants considered to be important differences fromthe regular fiesta pattern. ^Fiesta de la Cruz.?A paskome is in charge of this fiesta, which isheld in all the towns. It is said to be a fiesta of the captains and thesoldiers. The coyote is danced.Guadohi'pe^ December 12.?Said to be a double fiesta like San Juan,with a division into moros and soldiers. It is held in all the towns.The soldiers dance the coyote on their side. It is a soldiers' fiesta, butthe kobana'us are said to give it ; there are no fiesteros.Conce'pcion.?Said to be like the fiesta of Guadalupe.Noche Buerm.?This is held on the eve of Christmas, and probablyis held in all the pueblos. The pastores dance. These are 12 chil-dren, accompanied by an old man, rey, or king, who plays a drum.The only other music is singing by the dancers. The pastores areaccompanied by a pascola, who takes the part of a clown. He danceswith the pastores, first on one side, then on the other. He is "half-crazy." He jests with the old man, saying, "How beautifully youplay," and "Play another piece."The Noche Buena festivities were observed at Pascua in companywith the Spicers. They will doubtless publish a complete description.At Pascua, no pastores .were present; instead, the matachini per-formed. It was a small, intimate fiesta, cheery and good-humored.Virgin del Ca?nino, jSanta Isabel (itomai kamino, "our motherroad.")?This is the true national fiesta of the Yaqui, held on July 4in Bacun. It is given by the 12 governors of Bacun, not by fiesteros.There is no division into two parts. Immediately after San Juan,the soldiers and matachini of each of the lower towns start forth withtheir images of the Virgin toward Bacun. They stop at every housebetween their home town and Bacun, where they arrive on the eve ofthe saint's day, or July 3. The matachini of Bacun go to the Sierra, 168 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Kill. 142where the Virgin del Camino is kept in a cave in the highest peak(totoi takusewi; "where the rooster sings", or "rooster sing flower?").That night they hold a fiesta and dance before the image at a placecalled torokobampo. The morning of July 4 they arrive at Bacun.^'When the Virgin del Camino arrives, the soldiers of all the eighttowns form a hollow square. The images of the Virgin from theother towns meet the Virgin del Camino at the cross before the danceramada. The matachini from the eight towns are present in a body.The images then are taken into the church. The best deer dancerand the three best pascola follow into the church and dance before theVirgin del Camino.The following day there are tAvo processions with all the images ofthe Virgin, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. In theafternoon, the procession goes to the cruz mayor. There the images ofthe Virgin from the other toAvns say farewell to the Virgin del Camino,one by one. All the pascola, deer, and matachin dancers dance beforethe Virgin del Camino. The maestros, tenances, and matachini makeone formation and say good-bye to each other, one by one. The soldiersof the eight towns do the same at the guardia. This is the end of thefiesta.Some said this fiesta is divided into the two parties of moros andsoldiers, but this was denied by others. There are no games. Thesoldiers dance the coyote. In the morning of the last day the ma-tachini dance the wokopa'a (the niaypole dance) before the Virgindel Camino.Although denied by some informants, others said that during thefinal day, new members are inducted into the societies. All the sol-diers, pascola, deer dancers, matachini, and other societies of the eighttowns go to the church. Anyone who has made a vow to become asoldier, matachin, pascola, deer dancer, tenanci, or (presumably)temasti, enters the society on this day. Apparently the fariseos donot enter at this time. Two days later the Virgin del Camino is takenback to the mountains. If circumstances prevent the bringing of theVirgin from the Sierra, the fiesta cannot be held.FIESTAS OP CHRIST AND THE VIRGINThese, the Easter ceremonies, begin in the first days of Lent. Theimage of Christ is taken out on begging trips, much as among theMayo, but the following specific differences are to be noted : Whilethe image is out, four fiestas are observed at houses during each week.Contrary to Mayo custom, there is no dancing by the matachini dur-ing the midday rest or at the houses. At the house fiestas, two pas- 3^ According to Dominguez (1937, p. 6), this ceremony talvcs place at Batanconcica, 12kms. (7.5 miles) from Bacun. Beals] contemporary CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 169 cola dance, but no deer dancers appear. The owner of the housegives the fiesta and stands for the expense, as among tlie Mayo. Tliefariseos also dance similarly. The kusiareo (flute player) of Pilateplays whenever the kopariam sing. His flute, incidentally, differsfrom the pascola flute in being shorter and having eight stops insteadof four. Two of the Pilate-fariseo group stand on each side of thealtar of the saint during the night, praying. Behind each is a mu-sician, flute plaj^er, and drummer. They take turns at this watchduring the night, Pilate being one of the first pair. The fariseosdance outside the ramada instead of before the altar.The Lenten period is marked, as among the Mayo, with a proces-sion every Friday. The fariseos meet on the first Friday of Lent. Onthe fifth Friday, they take over complete charge of the Christ imagefrom the soldiers. The ceremonies of Easter week are longer thanthose of the Mayo and there are more processions.The following descriptions for the most part are of ceremoniesactually observed during Easter week in 1932. It should be remarkedthat the available time in the field and the conditions of observationprecluded the detailed accounts of ceremonies that are needed. Withthe impossibility of recording more than the general pattern, em-phasis was laid on the more obvious Yaqui interpolations and modi-fications.^^Pitahaya, Mafrch 22, Tuesday of Holy Week.?This procession didnot differ greatly from those held at Vicam Station (see below), butas it represents a different town, it may be usefully described in de-tail. The fariseos and fiesteros had spent the night at a buildingbeside the church originally built for a parsonage. A temporarycross was set before this structure. At the time of my arrival, the '8 A fairly detailed description of the Easter Week at Torin lias been published byHolden (1936, p. 34). Interpretative aspects are faulty, particularly his description of thecapaiygkas, or fariseos, as "devil chasers," which is completely misleading. A fairlygood objective description of Pascua Village Easter ceremonies is found in Bosan (1925)with little in the way of interpretation. A generalized description, apparently from thePueblo of Potam, is given by Dominguez (1937) and seems quite good. However, some ofthe phraseology suggests it is actually an account dictated by a Yaqui rather than onebased on observation, particularly in the way Jews, fariseos, and capiy^kas are spokenof as being entirely different groups. Dr. Ned Spicer and Roz Spicer have made a detailedstudy covering two different years at Pascua Village near Tucson, much of the time withseveral observers working in shifts. Consequently, their material is most detailed and,through their kindness, I have been able to examine it. Although certain differences ap-pear, it is my impression that the descriptions are substantially in agreement. TheSpicers have made a much more thorough study of the elements of Catholic ritual involved,and Mrs. Spicer has prepared a comparative analysis of the various accounts, includinga manuscript copy of my own descriptions. As this analysis will probably be published,I have not attempted to point out more than a few points of comparison. Dorothy Bealshas examined all this material from the standpoint of the medieval mystery play. Al-though her investigations are as yet incomplete, it is clearly evident that much of theform of the Easter celebration of the Cdhita is due to the medieval mysteries, and thatcertain problems in the European origins of this type of drama may be illuminated by thisvigorous survival of a Spanish form. 170 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 142 06\c ya 06\c Christ image had been taken into the church, and people were linedup before and inside the church to receive the procession.As the procession came out of the church, it was headed by threeboys carrying two large candlesticks and a cross. They were dressedin white surplicelike garments and wore hats similar to those of thetenances. Next was a boy bearing a small Christimage and men carrying a large image of theVirgin beneath a canopy (he'ka). There fol-lowed a Christ image on a cross, and two imagesof the Virgin borne by red-hatted tenances.The angelitos walked beside the images of theVirgin. The last three images were guarded bythe soldiers ; the other image and the three boyswent some distance ahead. There was no bellrung, no canopies, no circling around by thefiesteros or by the procession. Pilate and ayoung "understudy," both with spears coveredin red, and some of Pilate's men went ahead ofthe large Christ image. The cavalry of Pilateformed a line, on each side of the images of theVirgin. The flute of Pilate played three sus-tained descending notes at intervals, said to bethe crying of Mary. The drum of the fariseoswas struck an occasional deep note which repre-sented the sorrow of Christ.The route was around a square with thechurch in the middle ; the stations of the crosswere indicated by temporary wooden crosses. Figure 27.?A r r a n g e-ment outside churchat Pitahaya, Tues-day of Easter Week.a, Pilate and men.&, War Captains orBow Chiefs, c, Minor The Calvary (three crosses) was the third sta-military officials. cL, tion from the end. The procession went di-Soldiers. e, Clowns, or rectly forward from the door of the church tofariseos. f. Entranceto church. the side of the square, then turned in an anti-clockwise circuit. The boys with the cross,candlesticks, and small Christ image went a bit past each station,stopped, and faced about. The rest of the procession did a right-face toward each cross, knelt, and prayed briefly. At each stationthe fariseos formed two lines and each file made a complete circuitof the group on a dead run, traveling in opposite directions.At the conclusion of the procession, all entered the church exceptthe soldiers, fariseos, and Pilate and his men (fig. 27) . Services insidecontinued for about an hour. When songs or prayers were chantedinside, the flute and drum were played as during the procession. Dur-ing the singing, the fariseos, led by one of the viejos or old men,clapped their sticks in various rhythms. When a song ended, theyshook their hips to make their rattles sound, a way of saying, "Thank BEALs] CONTEMPORARY CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 171you," because they didn't have to work any more, according toinformants.After a time, the war captains entered the church. Then all theother officials, soldiers, and fariseos (unmasked) entered two by two,at intervals. The others left their hats outside, but the fariseos carriedtheir masks. The war drums were struck two or three times as eachpair entered and again while they were inside. Each pair went tothe main altar, then to the north nave, then the south, crossing them-selves at each position. They returned to their positions outside beforethe next pair entered. The two war captains stood on either side ofthe main altar throughout, making their devotions when all the othershad finished.At high noon a "guard mount" (described later) was performedwith the drums and banner in the space between the fariseos and thesoldiers. During the ritual, the fariseos faced one another in pairs.They crossed their staffs and beat upon them with their sticks. After-ward, the fariseos resumed their positions.Shortly after the ritual, the war captains returned to their positionsoutside and the fiesteros came out with the small image of Christ. Theprocession formed again, going as far as the church cross. At thispoint it disbanded. The fiesteros and the image went to the parsonage,the fariseos chased the angelitos to their homes, and the soldiers wentto the guardia. The fariseos eventually returned to the parsonage.The banner of the Christ, the staffs, lances, and other paraphernaliaof the Pilate-fariseo group were leaned against the temporary crossbefore the house.^^On Thursday of Easter week the "running of the old man" theo-retically occurs. With characteristic Yaqui literalness, however, theprocedure is so violent that all the old men take to the woods duringLent and do not appear until after the fatal Thursday. Thus at VicamViejo, Vicam Station, and at Lencho in 1932 it was impossible tosecure an old man for the part. Had it been possible to find one, hewould have been forced to serve.Ideally, the procedure is to serve a dinner to the orphan childrenat which the old man, called both Christ and an apostle, sits at thehead of the table. After eating, the children have bands of mesquitebark bound about their heads and accompany the old man at the headof a procession. (Possibly the procession is before the dinner.) Sub- 2* Both Holdeu (1936, pp. 37-38) and Roz Spicer (ms.) describe the tinieblas onWednesday night. According to both, the candles are extinguislied one by one aboutmidnight, or a little before, and in the ensuing darkness the worshippers and participantswhip one another. According to Holden, straps are used. The ceremony is started bysomeone crowing like a cock. Afterward the candles are relit and the audience leaves,many imitating the cries of animals. Dominguez (1937, p. 11) says the whipping is con-fined to the fariseos and cavalry of Pilate, but at Pascua everyone to the smallest childwas whipped. Here, some of the fariseos howled like coyotes to start the ceremony. ] 72 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 142 sequently, the old man is "run" about the way of the cross, the routeof the procession, led by a black cord. It is then he is mistreatedby the fariseos. At each cross he is allowed to rest and sits on the backof a fariseo, who prostrates himself for the purpose. Women bringhim water. Wlien he has reached the church, he sits before the altarto receive alms.^?Much of this was done in a modified form by the Cocorit people atVicam Station as described below : The procession began about 3 p. m. at the church. The circuit wasdirectly forward to the side of the hollow square formed by the viacrucis, then about the stations of the cross. Pilate rode ahead, escortedby two fariseos, and followed by the image of Christ borne by fourboys in red caps. Pilate's spear point was covered in white. After aninterval came a large black cross with a figure of Christ crucified, thentwo Virgins, one borne by the tenances wearing red caps. The lattertwo images were taken out of the line of the procession over to eachcross and raised and lowered rapidly three times. The image of thecrucified Christ was faced toward the station cross, then about-facedbefore moving on. The procession went at a fast walk, barely paus-ing at stations, except at two points with three crosses instead of theusual one. Here prayers and songs were performed by singers andmaestros. One maestro and two singers followed the Christ imagein advance of the main party, another equal group preceded the imageof the crucified Christ. The infantry marched on one side of theprocession, with the cavalry on the other. The fariseos ran at the sides,except for a few who followed behind and prodded up stragglers, sawthat everyone knelt at the proper time, tapped with their sticks theheads of women who had them covered or whose hair was done up orhad combs, and also objected to earrings or shoes being worn, althoughthey made no objection apparently to sandals or to shoes worn by thefew Mexicans and myself. At the conclusion of the procession, thesmall Christ image in advance was placed in a circle of cottonwoodbranches between two small mesquite trees. This represented thewood of Gethsemane. One man stood guard here while the restwent into the church, the war captains standing beside the altar.After prayers within the church, the war captains returned tothe head of their groups and the soldiers marched to rest positions,stacking their arms. The fariseo flute was played and their drumbeaten. They then marched to their rest place, performing two cir-cuits before resting. After a short interval, the company reassumedits positions. The soldiers and all the worshippers then moved out *" The actual "running" of the old man was observed by the Spicers at Pascua in Arizona,by Holden at Torin, and by Dominguez at Potan. Dominguez (1937, p. 12) gives the bestaccount of the dinner of the apostles, listing the 12 traditional foods. Beals] contemporary CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 173 of the church to surround the brush circle on all except the sidetoward the church. Pilate and his soldiers, followed by the fariseos,again circled twice before the church, approaching the brush circleas they did so. They stopped there, reversed, and returned to thechurch. This they did three times, each time going further into thechurch. The fourth time they went only to the church cross, thenreturned to the brush circle, surrounded it, tore it down, and tookthe image of Christ back to the church. The watchers sang a sortof dirge as the fariseos placed a rope about the neck of the imageand pretended to lead it to the church, where it was placed insideunder guard. All rested a short time, the fariseos and Pilate'smen again doing a circuit on the way to their resting place. Whiledoing their circuits, Pilate's men and the fariseos danced with ashuffling, stamping step.The following interesting and, in certain respects, important ad-dition to the above observed data, was provided by a maestro : The brush enclosure represents the wood of Gethsemane. When Pilate andhis men approach the circle, the old man representing Christ says, "A quienbuscas? {Whom seek ye?)." If an image is used to represent Christ, then asacristan nearby says the words.Pilate then replies, "A Jesxis Nazareno (Jesus the Nazarene)." ''Yo soy (I am He)," replies the impersonator of Christ.The dialog is repeated on each of the first three approaches. From* thispoint on, the maestro or others, either in dialog or in chants, rejpeats all thewords of one of the Gospels, accompanying the appropriate actions in the cere-monies until the ''Gloria" is chanted Saturday morning. Unfortunately, I didnot learn which of the Gospels is used. ?A short time after the preceding incident, the procession about thestations of the cross was repeated in its entirety, with the differencethat the image of Christ was "led" by fariseos with a rope about itsneck. The procession was said also to be completely repeated in the latenight or early dawn. In the meantime, the singers sat on matsat one side of the church, the soldiers went to their resting places,and the cavalry of Pilate went out on errands and to secure foodfor their horses. Pilate sat on a chair reserved for him on the northside of the church, and food was brought by women to the variousgroups. Women were not allowed to approach Pilate or his group(in which I include the fariseos), a corporal with a wooden swordgoing out some distance to receive the food and to return the utensils.Friday, March 25, at Vicam Viejo, ceremonies were in progressin the church at about 10 a. m. (fig. 28). A plain black cross of somesize rested against the main altar with its base on a rug. A warcaptain stood on each side. Three carpets were spread on the floorin front of the cross (fig. 28, h). Women advanced in pairs holdinghands (or men with children or women with children), knelt a few 174 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [B0LL. 142 1 1 ? \?3:^ Beals] contemporary CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 175 captains walked beside the crucifix. The soldiers marched on eachside, followed by the main body of the fariseos. One fariseo accom-panied Pilate, another two or three brought up the rear with two orthree of Pilate's men. The procession moved rapidly. Each imageand the cross were taken from the line of march to the crosses set upon the route and returned instantly to the line of the procession.Singing and praying were practically continuous. Two (?) lengthierstops were made. The playing of Pilate's flute and the fariseo drumwere almost continuous. The route was straight ahead from thechurch almost to the dance ramada, then around a hollow square inanticlockwise direction back to the dance ramada, then back to thechurch.Inside the church, virtually the same positions were taken as be-fore. After lengthy prayers, the gathering dispersed. The soldierswent to the left of the church, and food was brought them there fromtheir homes. The fariseos and the fiesteros remained inside thechurch, where the catafalque was prepared. The latter was broughtout in a short time and carried to the dance ramada by a procession ofthe tenances and some others, headed by the angelitos, and accom-panied by the fariseos. Decoration of the catafalque was completedunder the ramada. Food was served, the angelitos eating with thetenances. The fariseos were served some food outside the ramada.After about an hour, the catafalque was brought back to the church.The church was prepared for the ensuing ceremonies by placing ascreen of branches across it in front of the altar. About 3 o'clockpeople began to reassemble in the church. A temasti shook a boardrattle (Tnetraca) violently, making three different trips about the cir-cuit of crosses. The fariseos went from house to house and motionedpeople to go to the church. The angelitos emerged from behind thescreen of branches and sat in front of the images of the Virgin. Allthe crosses on the circuit of crosses, the big church cross, and all thehouse crosses in the village were pulled up and laid flat on the groundwith a few branches laid across them. At each place marked with threecrosses, a bower of branches was erected. During all this time aguard of soldiers was kept beside the bier behind the screen ofbranches. The guard was changed frequently.When all was in readiness, the center of the church was cleared,people sitting on the two sides. The fariseos and Pilate's men ad-vanced toward the screen of branches and stood there for a while.Some of Pilate's men were masked for this event. The fariseos madebloodthirsty gestures of cutting throats and hanging. Pilate andhis men jfinally went behind the screen of branches and thefariseos crouched eagerly along the screen. Behind the screen, Pilatemade the sign of the cross three times with his spear before a largecrucifix. When he finished, a heavy blow was struck with a mallet. 176 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 142 a wild shriek rent the air, followed by a chorus of shrieks and lamentsand then a chanted lament in unison. The fariseos leaped at thebranches and tore them down, hauling them out of the church throughthe side doors. The figure of Christ was hastily removed from thecross and placed on the umia (bier), while the cross was draped witha long strip of white cloth to represent the crucified Christ.A short period of singing ensued, during which many offeringsof money and candles were laid before the bier of Christ. Soon aprocession started, very similar to the one in the morning exceptthat the bier went ahead, followed by the white-draped cross. Be-hind came a hooded Christ and the two Virgin figures, still shroudedin black. Pilate rode forward and back ahead of the procession as inthe morning, making an antisunwise circuit as he rode. The heads ofthe spears of Pilate and his understudy were now shrouded in black.When the procession returned within the church, Pilate's cavalryremained outside, mounted. Together with the unmounted infantryof Pilate, they formed two lines facing each other just beyond thechurch cross. After a moment, the mounted men dashed at eachother at full gallop, pulled up just before meeting, tossed their spearsto the infantry or jabbed them upright in the ground, and gallopedto their resting place.Inside the church, there were lengthy prayers and songs. Manyofferings were made at the bier, which rested before the main altar.The war captains stood guard beside the bier. The fariseos werevery vigilant in seeing that everyone kept on his knees during thispart of the ceremonies, not allowing anyone to sit back on his heels.Pilate and his men did not enter the church, but rode back and forthoutside for a time and then went to their resting place. I left atthis point, but indications were that the end of the ceremony wouldbe similar to the others.The body is now guarded in the church by the fariseos until aboutmidnight, when they are frightened away. A mock fight takes placeoutside the church during which the bier is probably removed.*^When the fariseos return, the end of the church is screened off with abig curtain. At the rising of the morning star, the drums are beatenthree times to warn people to prepare for the ceremonies. At sunrise,a figure of Judas, made of cornstalks and wearing a fariseo mask,is taken on a burro about the circuit of the crosses in the reverse(clockwise) direction. The burro serves for 3 years. It is specially ^1 Holden (103G, pp. 46-47) describes two processions during the night, one with the imageof "Mary" (one of the Virgins?), the otlier with the image of Mary Magdalene. Thetwo follow the via o-ucis in opxjosite directions. When they meet, the fariseos with eachprocession stage a moelc iight. This is later repeated before dawn. The curtain wasplaced after this procession, while the fariseos and others rested at their camp fires. AtPascua, the bier was brought out by the fariseos about midnight and paraded about thetown. Both the Spicers (1940) and Holden (1936) describe a celebration held by thefariseos after this. Beals] CONTEMPORARY CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 177 r 178 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bdll. 14iAfter a short time the matachini arrived in a group and went tothe forward part of the church, just in front of the screen. Pilateand his men and the fariseos next arrived from some headquartersbeyond the plaza, probably by the dance ramada. Two Pilates, twoflute players, a drummer, and some other assistants walked in twolines in platoon formation, abreast, the drummers and flute playersin the rear line. The fariseos were in twolong lines at each side of and behind thePilates and their men. Two or three moreof Pilate's men walked ahead and behindeach line. The flutes alternately playedtheir three mournful descending notes, fol-lowed by a hollow drum tap as the Pilateand his followers began their dance.The Pilates and fariseos danced with astamp and a light tap of each foot alter-nately. A few more used a more compli-cated rhythm in which the foot was tappedtwo or three times rapidly before stampingthe other foot. The stamps were not pro-nounced and the general appearance wasmore of a shuffling walk with a hesitationat each step. The fariseos tapped theirsticks as they danced. The fariseos did an"" " encircling movement, while Pilate and hisFiGUKB 30.?Dance of the Pi- ^^^ advanced and retreated, about-facinglates and fariseos. a Pilate ^^^^^ _ ^^^^and assistants in front line, ^ -, , ? ^\ ^^^his men behind. This group 01 the fariseos had bright silk scarves,goes forward and back be- given by godparents, tied to their arms,tween a and c, about-facing Some of the godparents tied scarves on theat the end of their movement. ^^.^^ ^f others, walking beside them ash, Files of clowns or fari- j.i ji ^seos The circles indicate ^their leaders. The broken The Pilate and fariseo groups advancedlines show course followed, first to the door of the church, then re-d. Main entrance to the turned to the church cross, repeating this,church. J think, nine times. As the dance began,everyone moved into the church except the soldiers, who formedtwo lines outside the church on each side of the Pilate groupand fariseos. After the nine circuits outside the church, thedancers entered part way in (fig. 31) so the figure was donehalf inside and half outside the church. With each advance theyentered a little further into the church until they finally wereentirely inside and advancing up to the screen which set off the endof the church. As they approached the altar, they made more andmore gestures of decision toward it. When they reached the screen. '"->.^f?'"". Beals] CONTEMPORARY CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 179 a deer dancer and tliree pascola took up their positions about midwayin the church, two on either side of the center lane between the spec-tators. The two blankets full of leaves and confetti had been broughtin and were beside them.After marching and counter-marching several times in their dancebefore the curtain, Pilate and his men marched or danced forwardto the altar. As they reached the curtain, it was raised. The altarwas bare and Pilate and his men came out from the curtain on a deadrun, followed by the fariseos, running as far as the church cross.They were pursued as far as the church door by the pascola anddeer dancers, who pelted them withgreenery and confetti, as did manyof the women and children standingon the sides. The curtain wasdropped again and, from the churchcross, Pilates and fariseos danced inagain. As they reached the curtain,it was again raised and the perform-ance was repeated. The third timeit was repeated, the dancers were metat the church cross by the godpar-ents, who violently tore off the para-phernalia. Blankets, masks, andsticks flew in all directions. Othersgathered up the masks and sticks andpiled them on and about the figure of Judascharge here.Meanwhile, as the Pilate and fariseo groups started to run outthe third time, everyone within the church began singing the '"'"Gloria^'' ;the pascola and deer dancers shouted, "Gloria," as they pelted thePilates and fariseos with leaves and confetti. The pascola and deerdancers ran to their positions (fig. 29, n)^ and the war captains to theirpositions (fig. 29, yoke of oxen and a wooden plow and a ganancha [hook?] of cane.He sent San Isidro then to show them how to use these things and toplant. He told them when they ended their work and others neededhelp to help them, to send them a son. If they needed food, to helpthem. "Loan each other what you need, coos to sow with, or otherthings. But, son, don't loan or sell any piece of land, even thoughsmall, to the whites. If one or two enter, then they are going to takeaway everything and they are going to fight a great deal." It wasperhaps then that was left the plan of the villages, their jurisdictionand boundaries, telling which villages bounded on which ; and a saintwas left in each town, a short thick saint of solid gold, San Miguelde Cristo. The people of that time didn't buy anything, but the gov-ernment of that time, perhaps there in Mexico [City], gave them theplans and the saints. They came by boat and were landed at the portof Agiabampo. When they [the plans] were received, they were put 218 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 142in oUas and sealed. They were buried beneath the altar where Mass issaid and no one knew where they were but the sacristan kobanaros.[The following comments were made at various times referring tothe above story :]When Christ made the world, he put letters on the rocks to showwhere the villages would be.The religion of today, the ordering of the fiesteros, the fariseos,and so on was entirely formed when the world was formed. Perhapsit was written in the plans how they were to be; they had writ-ten all that should be done. Thus is it done where lives Cristo Adan,just as we do it here. At this time [Lent], I think Cristo is a pris-oner there now.The deer and peccary were given to the Indians by the Govern-ment and the Sierra was given to the Spanish to work the mines.They [the Spanish] planted little then. Food was of no value.One gave permission to one's relatives to take things from the fields.Presents were made to those without relatives if one had things togive. The yoris still do this to some extent. We believe God com-manded all this arrangement.Before, when the Government formed the villages, it gave theplans and boundaries of the villages of the Indians?Tesia, Navojoa,Cohuirimpo, Echojoa, Huperi, Santa Cruz?and gave land for fields,land for animals, and it gave the sea, the salt fields, and all theanimals in the sea to the villages of Huperi, Santa Cruz, and Echojoa.Formerly salt was not sold, but the villages which owned salt gavepermission to others to get it.Echojoa is the first village. Formerly each of the 11 villageshad an image of Cristo in pure gold, but when the first Spanishcame they robbed the churches. They say that in Huperi and, per-haps, Echojoa they still have their images hidden.THE riEST CONQUESTWhen the first conquest was in the world, the Yaqui were in thatplace. There they lived when Father Kino (sic!) came. It was hewho conquered all this region and built the first churches in the eightYaqui towns. The walls of the first church of Torin are still to beseen, of stone with mortar made by burning oyster shells. The out-lines of the shells may still be seen in places in the mortar.THE GIANT HARVESTA man began to sow. The maize grew and at harvest time itwas so big and the ears were so high from the ground it needed aladder of three steps to reach them. He made a big pile of thecorn and hunted a cart to carry it to his house. After working I Beals] contemporary CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 219for a month he had carried only half of it home. One ear filled hiscart. One day he left his mules in the field to graze. They ate ahole in the squash and went inside to continue eating. The mancame and hunted all day to find them. When he found them theywere still eating inside the squash. He drove them out with a whip.Later, on the same ground, he planted onions. They grew so bighe had to cut them in half to get them in his cart. There were 12arrohas in one onion. (X)YOTE AND THE BULLCoyote traveled hungry one day when he saw a bull with histesticles hanging down, as it was in June when the testicles begin togrow. He thought they looked ripe and he followed after the bullto see if they wouldn't drop off so he might have something to eat.He followed 2 or 3 months waiting for them to fall. He followed,followed, followed, 1 month, 2 months, until 6 months passed, andstill they did not fall. Finally he got tired. "These things do notknow when to fall," he said. Dying of hunger, he gave up.THE IGUANA AND THE COYOTEOne afternoon, when spring was at its richest, an iguana cameout of its house to be among the green branches, as is their customand as the green herbage is their food. When the iguana wished[to do this] he suddenly saw a coyote who was spying on him tocatch and eat him; but as the iguana had account of the coyote,he jmnped and entered his house. Then said the coyote when theiguana had escaped him, "Why, the sickly thing thought I was goingto eat him," said the coyote. There in the house the iguana heardthe coyote say, "The sickly thing thought I was going to eat him,"and the iguana said, "And if you catch me, perhaps I would notescape," he said. "Good, what are we going to do?" said the coyote. "I don't know," he said. "So long. Iguana."THE STORY OF TURTLE AND COYOTEOnce Coyote was hungry and thought he would go to a lake wherethere were many turtles to see if perchance there was a turtle sun-ning himself on the bank of the lake. On arrival he immediatelyencountered a turtle out of the water, and Coyote was overcomewith pleasure {se murio de gusto), and said thus: "How goes it,Brother Turtle ? What are you doing there ?" "Nothing." "Wliat is there new?" asked the Coyote. Then theTurtle said, "I know." Said the Coyote, "Tell me then." "The newsthat I know is that an armed company is traveling about killing every-one they find on the way." 220 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bdll. 142Then Coyote said, "Another they may kill but not me, because I willhide myself immediately." He went running through the thick woodsand hid himself there, but kept always looking toward the road to seewhen the armed troop would pass which his friend Turtle had spokenof. A good time passed when Coyote said, "Who knows if my friendTurtle told me this in order to escape from me so that I would not eathim ? I am going to see."He went, approaching little by little toward where Turtle was,when suddenly came forth a small group of cowboys. They saw Coyoteand all cried, "Seize him !" and they gained on him [le van entrando].When Coyote was in the power of the cowboys, he said, "Well, youtold me, friend Turtle, but I believed that this was some bad trick,"and he asked permission of his executioners to make one cry. In thecry he said thus : "He who will not take counsels will not become old."Coyote died in the gallows {^muriS Jiorcado] because he had not lis-tened to the counsels of his friend Turtle.COYOTE AND THE BEESA comb of rich honey hung at a height of a yard, more or less.Coyote arrived at the foot of the tree, looked upward and saw the comb.Said Coyote, "Now I will eat honey in abundance, for the comb is quitelarge, and once I am full, I will call my friends and brothers," notknowing that in the woods he was being watched. His method of kill-ing the bees was in this way : If the ground was hard, he made a wallowwith his nails ; one might better say he scratched the earth with hisclaws. Ceasing when the earth was scratched up, he proceeded in thisway. As the comb was low, he seized it, and as he struck it the firstblow, the bees became angry. At the second blow, they flew into hishair, and each time he struck a blow, they flew into his hair in suchmanner that they did not reach the skin, and Coyote rolled in the wal-low and crushed them. Thus giving blows, he killed them until thereremained not a single one in the comb.Then Coyote began to eat, but this day Coyote traveled with badluck. He had the fortune that a tanner [?] passed by and saw whatCoyote had. He thought thus, "Now that he has killed them all, I willgo and take it from him." When Coyote wished to take the first bite,the tanner said to him, "Leave it alone. It does not belong to you."Coyote went away.No one knows for whom he works, and he who gained the comb wasthe tanner, with great ease and without having to bother himself withthe bees. Coyote went down a small slope and it seems one bee re-mained on his tail and little by little it crawled down until it reachedthe anus, where it stung him. Said Coyote, "One is despised to be seenworking for another. There is no doubt," said Coyote, "that when the Beals] contemporary CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 221 ill is in the liver there is no remedy until death." [The Spanish inwhich this story was told was too poor to permit of exact translation,but most of the important parts were clear enough. It is not clearwho was watching Coyote, but this seems to be an aside to indicate howthe teller knew how Coyote secured the honey.]THE SNAKE AND THE VIPERTraveling one day in the spring, the snake encountered a viper.The snake thought to make an observation to the viper to see if hewould not be angered, as he [the viper] was always very angry, saidthe snake to himself. Finally, the snake took courage to begin a con-versation, and the snake began speaking. The viper was in a humorto chat. "What are you doing here. Sister Viper?" "Nothing, SisterSnake. You already know that in my long life he who passes first,I remember, and he who passes a second time, this angers me, and hewho passes for the third time, this one I bite. What do you thinkof it. Sister Snake ?" The viper continued with her tale, chatting withher friend, the snake. "And your life, what is it ? I don't know any-thing of your life." "Why my life is thus," said the snake, "When Iseize someone [it is] to prevent them from killing me. When I havemy children, I care for them and if anyone approaches them I pre-pare myself. When they are close, I make a whistling and a coil fromwhich I raise my head [passage obscure] and give them a blow [withit] until they go. In this way I prevent them from doing injury to mychildren." "You are a famous one," said the viper. The snake did notnotice that the viper was softening [that is, being polite] in order topossess herself of the snake and eat her. Thus they were, when twobirds [road runners ? churellasf^ arrived. One possessed itself ofthe viper, the other of the snake.THE MARRIAGE OF INDIAN AND WHITEThis one was a white man and that one an Indian girl, where asmUch the white man as the Indian were enamored, both much in love.There was a very beautiful Indian girl, so beautiful that she did noteven appear Indian (sic!). The white man went with a commissionto buy wool cattle, or to say better, sheep, and by chance arrived atthe house where he encountered the Indian girl, very attractive. Uponseeing this so pretty girl, the man was surprised, believing she wasa woman of reason {^ente de razon^ that is white]. Upon seeing her,he spoke to her in Spanish and the girl answered him in Indian. Saidthe man [to himself], "How strange to encounter such a woman amongan indigenous race," and thought to have a conversation with her,and the girl felt somewhat enamored of that man. Neither of them 222 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bdll. 142removed his gaze from the other. That which thought the white,thought also the Indian girl. Both felt as though they were in love.The Indian girl half understood Spanish and the white man halfknew the Indian language.Finally, the father of the girl became jealous and wished to drawher away, but it was impossible as she was as though overcome withthe fondness that man had caused in her. Then the father said tothe mother to take her away from before that man. Then the mothercaught her arm and wished to take her away, but it was impossible.Already that pair had sealed their love in two hours of conversation.They understood each other so well that it seemed as though they hadbeen sweethearts some time.Then the father said to the kobanaro, who is the presidente of theIndians, he said this : "Senor presidente, recently a white man arrivedsaying that he came commissioned to buy sheep, but I have observedthat it is not such a commission, but the commission he has is to robme of my daughter and marry her. This does not seem well to me,"said the father of the girl, "for he is white and only wishes to ridiculeus Indians." "Good, bring him here," said the presidente with angryaccents and disgust. Now the presidente felt in very bad humor be-cause of the news brought by one of his neighbors, and said, "Bring methis white," said the presidente, "for it is bad that he should dare fallin love with a girl of our village," said the presidente.In short, they found three married men to bring that white man.Then, on seizing him, angrily the girl said to those of her race, "Be alittle better in treating white people," said the girl, very filled withfury and anger. Then the girl seized him and said to them, "Loosehim, I am responsible for him." Said the girl, "Let us go, white man,where the presidente is. Do not be afraid, do not worry for I candefend you. Even those of my race are bad ; when I speak they willremain sleeping, if you only love me." This said the girl to the whiteman. This said she to the white man, "Do you believe in this momentI would feel I had lost my head if you should love me much?" saidthe girl. "With all my heart," said the man.On arriving where the presidente was, the presidente already hadprepared the mesquite switches to whip that white man, and as soonas the chief was able to see where they came together, he said to thefather, "Already he has stolen her." Said the father to the presidente,"And those who went for him did not meet her." Then said the girlto the man, "Notice the way in which nothing will happen to you;go to my father asking his pardon and nothing will happen and wewill marry at once."All the village was very angry at that man. Perhaps, had it notbeen for the girl, they would have killed him without salvation. On BEALS] CONTEMPORARY CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 223 arriving where the father and the presidents were, he fell at the feet ofthe Indian and begged pardon. Perhaps God had designed it thus,and only on hearing that he mentioned God, the Indian consideredand said to the presidents^ "What will we do in this case?" "What-ever you say," said the presidente. Then the girl said to her father, "If we do not pass by this even, hang us both."Then came forth an Indian of some 80 years, very bent, sayingthus, and directing himself to the father of the girl. "You have seenvery little. You have good reason, for you have never been away fromhere. I, at the age of 18, went to a town of whites and I marriedwith a white woman, and to prove that it is true, novr you will see."Then he ran to his house and brought his wife to talk with thatwhite man. The Indians waited during this interval. Came thewife of that Indian, and after she arrived the presidente said, "Speakwith this white man," to see if it were true. Then the Indians loosedtheir laughter, saying, "Also the whites love the Indians," said all.Then said the kobanaro, who is the presidents^ "Attention all, fromtoday forward I will not treat a white man badly because rememberthat among us lives a white woman with an Indian. I want to saythat the yoris [white people] like us." And the father of the girl, ashe was rich, sent for a carriage with two horses, which they used inthose times, and conducted them to his house, and the next day thecaravan went to a town nearby, where they encountered a curate andthey were married without delay. Afterward the son-in-law wasmuch loved by that rich Indian.TOMOMULI ^?Before, there was a tribe from whom the Yaqui are descended.They knew nothing of God, but among them was a great pole, threespans in diameter, with one end in earth, the other in heaven. Itvibrated as though talking. At the time air spoke one language, butonly Queen Yomomuli could understand the pole. She interpretedthat it spoke of a God who made the earth for human beings to liveupon. The pole said that the time of the Conquest would come and allwould have to be baptized. Many people were angry ; only a few saidthey would receive the benediction. The others said it was not true,that only Yomomuli wished it. So Yomomuli burned down the stickwith a powerful cigarette, rolled up the river under her arm like acarpet, and went away. Those who had not wanted to receive bene-diction sank into the earth. ^This curious tale was given me as an example of what the Susufikame talked of intheir night sessions. Edward Spicer has collected several longer variants of this tale. 224 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bdll. 142TURTLE SPEAKS YAQUICoyote speaks Yaqui correctly. Turtle does not. One time as aYaqui sometimes wanders the woods hungry looking for food, soCoyote wandered. He saw Turtle below a prickly pear [nopal]which was dropping its fruit. Coyote saw Turtle's mouth was redand thought Turtle would give him meat. He ran toward him, andsaid, "Hitisa empo bwaka sikili iktena mocik? (What hast thou eatenthat thy mouth is red. Turtle?)"Turtle replied, "Yoremta hiwa iani intok enci hiwa. (I have eatena Christian just now as I will thee.)"Coyote was frightened and ran off. But this was not correct Yaqui.It should have been said, "Yoemtani bwaka ianintoko encine bwana."Thus those who deny their own language or do not speak it correctlyare called turtles.^^ SAINT PETER AND THE GLA.NTIn the time of Jesus and the Apostles there were struggles withgiants. One day Saint Peter encountered a giant who challenged himto a trial of strength by seeing who could sink his fist farthest into atree. Peter agreed but said, "Not today.""You name the time, then," said the giant. "Well, tomorrow morn-ing," said Peter.Peter then went to Jesus, and said, "I accepted this challenge inexpectation that you would help me. "What is to be done about it?"Jesus said, "It is well. Go and make a hole through the tree withoutanyone knowing." Peter did this, and Jesus made the tree look as ifit were untouched. The next morning they made the trial and Peterstuck his fist clear through the tree.The giant was astonished but not convinced. "You are strong,"he said. "But yonder on the other side of the ocean is an island.Can you throw a stone there?" "Certainly," replied Peter, "but tomorrow." Peter then went toJesus again, and said, "I accepted this challenge in expectation thatyou would help me. Wliat is to be done about it ?"Jesus said, "It is well. But instead of a stone, use a quail."The next morning both came, the giant with a stone and Peter witha quail. The giant threw his stone to the Island. Peter then threwhis quail and it flew to the Island. But by a miracle of Jesus it lookedlike a stone to the giant. So the giant was convinced of Peter'sstrength. *i This story was at first told to illustrate how one could say things a little wrongin Yaqui. Aside from mispronounciations, "bwSka" should have been used instead of"hfwa." The informant concluded with the unexpected statement that the story illustratesthe lack of confidence between Yaquis and Mexicans, presumably because the latter do notspeak quite properly. Beals] contemporary CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 225BIBLIOGRAPHYAxegee, Francisco Xavier1841. Historia de la Compama de Jesus en Nueva Espania. Mexico. 3vols.Basauki, Caklos1929. Monografia de los Taraliumaras. Mexico.Beals, Ralph L.1933. The Acaxee. Ibero-Americana, No. 6. Univ. Calif. Press.1943. The aboriginal culture of the Cahita Indians. Ibero-Americana, No. 19,Univ. Calif. Press.Benedict, Ruth1932. Configuration of culture in North America. Amer. Anthrop., n. s.,vol. 34, pp. 1-27.BoGAN, Phoebe M.1925. Yaqui Indian Dances of Tucson, Arizona. Tucson.BUELNA, EUSTAQUIO1891. Arte de la Lengua Cahita. Mexico.Ceevantes de Salazae, Francisco1914. Cronica de Nueva Espafia. In Pap. Nueva Espana. Tercera Ser.,t 1. Madrid.DOCUMENTOS PAEA L/V HlSTOEIA DE MEXICO1853-1857. 20 vols, in 4 ser. (Series 3 in 4 parts referred to as volumes.)M&ico.DOMINGUEZ, FeANCISCX)1D37. Costumbres Yaquis. In Mexican Folkways, July 1937, pp. 6-24.Foede, C. Dakyll1931. Ethnography of the Yuma Indians. Univ. Calif. Publ. Amer.Archaeol. and Ethnol., vol. 28, No. 4.GlFFOED, E. W.1931. The Kamia of Imperial Valley. Bur. Amer. Ethnol. Bull. 97.1932. The Southeastern Yavapai. Univ. Calif. Publ. Amer. Archaeol. andEthnol. vol. 29, No. 3.GOLDFEANK, ESTHEE SCHIFF1927. The social and ceremonial organization of Cochiti. Mem. Amer.Anthrop. Assoc, No. 33.Granville, Verona1899. Among the Yaqui Indians in Sonora. In Land of Sunshine, vol. 11,pp. 84-95.Hardy, R. W. H. "1829. Travels in the interior of Mexico. London.Heenandez, Fortunato1902. Las Razas Indigenas de Sonora y la Guerra del Yaqui. Mexico.HOLDEN, W. C, AND OTHEES1936. Studies of the Yaqui Indians of Sonora, Mexico. Tex. Tech. Col., BuU.12, No. 1.Hrdlicka, Ales1904. Notes on the Indians of Sonora, Mexico. Amer. Anthrop., n. s., vol. 6,pp. 51-89.1908. Physiological and medical observations among the Indians of south-western United States and northern Mexico. Bur. Amer. Ethnol.Bull. 34.Keoebee, a. L.1925. Handbook of the Indians of California. Bur. Amer. Ethnol. Bull. 78.1931. The Seri. Southwest Mus. Pap., No. 6. 226 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 142LuMHOLTz, Carl1903. Unknown Mexico London. 2 vols.McKenzie, a. S.1890. Notes on the Yaqui of Mexico. Amer. Anthrop., o. s., vol. 2, pp. 299-300.McMillan, William C.1936. Yaqui architecture. In Holden, W. C, and others, pp. 72-78.Mbmoeias para la Histoeia de Sinaloa(Manuscript collection in the Bancroft Library of the University of Cali-fornia, consisting mainly of copies of Armas of the Sinaloa missions andletters from missionaries.)Mexican Folkways, Jult 1937.Morgan, William1981. Navaho treatment of sickness: Diagnosticians. Amer. Anthrop., n. s.,vol. 33, pp. 390-402.Olson, Ronald L.1931. Old Empires of the Andes. Nat. Hist., vol. 31, pp. 3-22. Amer. Mus.Nat. Hist.Orozco y Berra, Manuel1864. Geografia de las Lenguas y Carta Etnografica de Mexico. Mexico.Parsons, Elsie Clews1929. Social organization of the Tewa of New Mexico. Mem. Amer. Anthrop.Assoc, No. 36.1936. Mitla : Town of the Souls. Chicago.Perez de Ribas, Andres1645. Historia de los trivnphos de Nvestra Santa Fee, en las Missiones de laProvincia de Nueva Espania. Madrid.Prieto, Alejandro1873. Historia, Geografia y Estadlstica del Estado de Tamaulipas. Mexico.Redfield, Robert1930. Tepoztlan : A Mexican village. Chicago.PtKEz DE Ribas, Andrj^s1934. Chan Kom. A Maya village. Carnegie Inst. Washington, Publ. 448.Relacion de las Ceremonias, Rictos, Poblaci6n y Gubernacion DE LOS IndiosDE Mechuacan hecha al Illmo Sr. D. Ant. de Mendoza. Morelia. ed. 2.n. d.Spicer, Edward H.1940. Pascua : A Yaqui village. Chicago.Stevenson, M. C.1894. The Sia. Bur. Amer. Ethnol., Report 11.1904. The Zuiii Indians. Bur. Amer. Ethnol., Report 23.Strong, William Duncan1929. Aboriginal society in southern California. Univ. Calif. Publ. Amer.Archaeol. and Ethnol., vol. 26.Studhaltee, Rich.\rd a.1936. Yaqui agriculture. In Holden, W. C, and others, pp. 114-125.TooR, Frances1937. Notes on Yaqui customs. In Mexican Folkways, July 1937, pp. 52-63.Velasco, Jos6 Francisco1850. Notlcias Estadisticas del Estado de Sonora. Mexico.Wagneh, Charles J.1936. Medical practices of the Yaquis. In Holden, W. C, and others, pp.79-90. Beals] contemporary CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 227Wbiek End Book. London, 1924.White, Leslie A.1932. The Acoma Indians. 47th Ann. Rep. Bur. Amer. Ethnol., 1929^30, pp.17-192.ZiNGG, Robert M.1988. The Hnichols : Primitive artists. Univ. Denver, Contr. Ethnogr., vol. 1.GLOSSARY '"'(S, Spanisli; C, Cahita ; Y, Yaqui ; M, Mayo)Alferez (S), standard bearer; one of the civil officials; a member of a subgroupof the flesteroH.Alpez (C), native corruption of the preceding.Angelito (S), any young child below the age for confirmation ; a group of childrenparticipating in the Easter ceremonies ; a child dancer with the matachini.Arroyo (S), an abrupt-sided water course, usually flowing only during and imme-diately after rains.Atole ( S ) , gruel of ground parched corn and water.Bakavaki (C), a ceremonial food dish of boiled beef, whole coi-n, and herbs.Bezoar, a calcareous concretion found in the intestines of certain ruminants suchas deer and iguana, used as a hunting, charm.Caballeria (S), cavalry; the junior division of the men's military society.Cahalleria del Pilate (S), cavalry of Pilate: an organization of men associatedwith Pilate and his group for the Easter ceremonies ; membership is for3 years only.Cahuetes (S), local pronunciation of cohetes, small explosive skyrockets.Castillos (S), elaborate fireworks set pieces used with major fiestas.Calvario (S), calvary; a spot on the route of Lenten processions usually markedby three crosses.Chicaton (S), a whip bearer who keeps order, particularly in connection withthe matachini.Cholla ( S ) , a variety of very thorny cactus.Coa (S), any small bladed agricultural implement resembling a hoe, but withthe blade set in the same plane as the handle.Cobija (S), a blanket, distinguished from' a serapc by plainness of color and sim-plicity of design.Comadre (S), a reciprocal term used between a person and the godmother ofhis child.Comal (S), a flattish round plate of clay or iron used to cook tortillas; if of clay,it is lenticular in cross sections.Compadre (S), a reciprocal term used between a person and the godfather ofhis child.Cruz mayor ( S ) , large cross erected in front of the church.Cuartel (C), headquarters of the military society.Curandero ( S ) , a person who cures the sick.Echos ( S ) , a species of organ cactus.Fariseo (S), a masked clown; in plural form may refer to the society.Fiesta (S), any form of religious ceremonial involving dancing.Fiesta de promesa (S), a fiesta given by a private individual or group of indi-viduals as the result of a vow. *2 Terms appearing only once or twice in the text with accompanying definitions are notincluded. 228 BUREAtJ OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 142Piesteros (S), a group of persons, 12 of each sex, who are responsible for thegiving of a major regular fiesta.Fiscal (S), a church oflScial who formerly looked after church property andcollected tithes.Garbanzos (S), chick peas.Guamuchil (S), a large tree of the Acacia producing a fruit similar to themesquite.Guardia ( S ) , see cuartel.Hacendado ( S) , owner or operator of a ha-cienda.Hacienda (S), a large agricultural estate or cattle ranch.Hito (C), a small tree of ceremonial importance.Hitoleso, hitolero (C), a type of curandero, or curer.Iguana ( S ) , a large edible lizard.Infanteria ( S ) , the senior division of the men's military society.Jabali ( S ) , the peccary ; a small and savage piglike animal.Jacal (S), any poorly constructed dwelling of perishable materials with flat roof.Jaguar, the American tiger; the largest and most dangerous animal in Cdhitaterritory.Jarahe ( S ) , a Mexican folk dance.Jito (S), Spanish form of Hito.Koban^ro (M), the head of the Mayo church organization; cf. Yaquiteopokobana'u.Kobana'u (Y), the head of the Yaqui civil oflScials; or, any member of the groupof six active civil oflScials.Koparia (pi. koparium) (Y), the female singers who assist a maestro.Koyoles (C), belt with suspended copper bells worn by pascola dancers.Machete ( S ) , a heavy all-purpose brush knife about 20 inches long with a hookeablade ; for ceremonial use by the clowns, it is made of wood.Madrino (S), Godmother.Maestro (S), leader of church services, one who can recite prayers and chantsof the Catholic ritual.Maguey (S), the agave, or century, plant, usually the Agave americana.Makuco (C), a small-leaved native-grown tobacco.Malinche (S), a matachin dancer dressed as a girl who dances behind the leader,or monarca.Manzanillo (S), one of the fennels, used in curing and ceremonial.Matachin (S), a dance, probably of Spanish derivation, with a paper crown,gourd rattle, and a feather wand. The performers form a society. May alsorefer to a single dancer.Matachini (S), the matachin dancers.Mayordomo (S), the head of any group, but applied particularly to the headof the Yaqui clown society.Mayor (pi. mayores) ( S), the head or principal one of a group.Mescal (S), a distilled liquor made from fermented pulp of the maguey; it doesnot refer to peyote. (The use of the term "mescal" to refer to peyote is apurely North American usage.)Mesquite (S), an acacia-like tree or shrub bearing long beanlike edible pods.Milpa (S), a field cleared out of the woods, usually mainly by burning. Tech-nically, the term applies only to fields which are used temporarily, but insome parts of Mexico it may apply to any cultivated small field.Monarca (S), the leader of the matachin dancers.Moro (S), (1) one of the society groups associated with the fiesta of San JuanBautista on June 24; (2) a servant, particularly applied to certain of thefiesteros and to the assistants of dancei-s and musicians who look aftertheir paraphernalia. Beals] contemporary CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 229Novena (S), a secondary ceremony properly occurring on the 8th day after themain event, but among the Cdhita sometimes applied to secondary ceremoniesoccurring at other intervals.Ocelot (S) , a small spotted animal of the cat family.OUa (S), a large open-mouthed pottery jar.Padrino (S), godfather.Panoche (S), a cake of crystalized brovpn sugar.Partera (S), a midwife.Pascola (C), a type of dancer who appears at all ceremonies; also used formore than one dancer and for the dance itself.Pilato (S), impersonator of Pilate in the Easter ceremonies; also among theYaqui head of a society group of which the clowns, or fariseos, form asubsociety.Pinole (S), flour of parched corn.Pisca (C), corruption of fiscal.Pitahaya (S), an organ cactus with highly prized fruit.Prinoipales (S), term sometimes used for the pueblos.Pueblo (S), a town.Pueblos (S), may refer to towns, but among the Yaqui usually refers to groupof six men who in the previous years have been kobana'us, or civil officials,and who serve a second year as advisors to the new officials.Quince (S), a game widespread in northern Mexico and the Southwest in variousforms ; usually played with stick dice and with counters moved along a board.The latter feature is lacking among the Cahita.Ramada (S), a shade, usually brush-roofed, but occasionally with a clay roof.Rancheria (S), a subvillage; a small cluster of houses.Ranchero (S), a Mexican small farmer or cattle raiser.Rancho (S), a farm settlement, usually not as large as a rancheria. It mayconsist of a single household.Sargento (S), sergeant; a rank in the military society and the Pilato societyof the Yaqui ; also applied to subordinates in the various groupings ; amongthe Mayo usually refers to the first assistant kobanaro, or church head,sometimes also called the judge.Sargento (S), a native woven blanket or rug with elaborate design and color. ACahita serape always has a diamond-shaped center design, or boca manga.Siesta (S), a midday entertainment of a Saint at a private house.Sonazo (S), the flat metal disk rattle of the pascola dancer.Susuakame (Y), the wise ones, or those who know; an extinct (?) governinggroup of the Yaqui.Tamales (S), maize dough, sometimes with meat, wrapped in maize husks andsteamed.Temdsti (pi. temastianes) (Y), sacristans.Tenance (Y), female assistants in the church.Tenedor (S), a male assistant to a midwife.Tenovares (C), cocoon rattles worn on the legs of pascola and deer dancers andclowns.Teopokabana'u (Y), official in charge of the Yaqui church and supervisor ofceremonials.Tortilla (S), a flat thin pancake of maize dough cooked without grease on a comal.Tuna (S), the fruit of the prickly pear; also commonly used to refer to the plantitself, although properly this should be called nopal.Vara (S), a rod or cane of office.Vaquero (S), a cowboy.530583?45 16 230 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY f Bull. 142Velacion (S), any minor ceremony or ('(mimemoration at which candles areburned).Velar (S), to burn candles in connection with any minor ceremony or com-memoration or to take part in such an event.Via crucis (S), the stations of the cross; among the Cilhita, a set of crosses putup outdoors.Yoreme (C), the Cahita name for themselves.Yori (C), Cahita term for a white.Zapatia (S), a Mexican folk dance.EXPLANATION OF PLATESPlate 1Figure 1.?Yaqui River, showing typical vegetation along lower reaches. Atright is a cultivated sand bank dependent on flooding for irrigation.Figure 2.?A recently cleared Mayo field .showing useful trees and pitahayas leftstanding. Plate 2Figure 1.?Echos fence near Masiaca between the Fuerte and Mayo Rivers.Sections of the cactus are set palisade-fashion in the ground, where theyquickly take root.Figure 2.?Corner of an adobe house north of the Mayo River northeast of - Navojoa with a corn-storage structure in the background.Plate 3Figure 1.?Adobe house and adjoining kitchen structure. Corn is piled on theroof. The wall of the kitchen structure is crude vertical thatch. In theforeground are bundles of green canes for weaving mats and baskets.Figure 2.?^Mayo wattle and daub structure. The ramada wall on the right isof wattle without mud plaster, but otherwise does not difCer from the housewall. Notice the notched log ladder for mounting to the roof and the matsfastened to the ramada wall. Plate 4Figure 1.?Mayo ramada, walled with vertical thatch. Indigo is drying on thetable in the foreground.Figure 2.?A typical extensive ramada and portion of adobe house.Plate 5Figure 1.-?A Mayo cooking structure showing characteristically haphazard con-struction, although unusual in the application of some mud plaster.Figure 2.?One of two thatched houses seen on the Mayo River. Such roofs arecommon on the Fuerte. Notice the olla in the crotch of the upright post, atypical household feature. Beals] contemporary CULTURE OF CAHITA INDIANS 231Plate 6Figure 1.?Cross before a Mayo house. Large crosses of this type are nowrare, the more usual type being small. This cross was said to be between 75and 100 years old.Figure 2.?^A Mayo father and children beside the ramada. Behind is a raw-hide string bed set on edge to be out of the way during the day.Figure 3.?Mayo bake oven. The brush is to discourage sheep from clamberingover the structure. Plate 7Figure 1.?Upper from left to right: Stick or club used to beat manure forpottery temper, point for pitahaya picking spear, spindle and thread, heavyspindle used to spin fine thread for fish nets (length 22iX. inches), spindle withwoolen thread, three sticks used in weaving belts for shed bars and heddle,batten used for belt weaving. Bottom : Switch used in preparing wool forspinning.Figure 2.?Left to right: Mayo matachin dance wand (length 31 inches), stickused on notched rasp, pascola drum sticks, drumstick used with suspendedgourd water drum for coyote dance, drumstick used with floating water drumfor deer dance, notched rasp, 24^2 inches long. Bottom : Short cane flute usedfor song accompaniments, 17 inches long. The pascola flute is longer. (Univ.Calif. Mus. Cat. 3, Nos. 3328, 3197, 3252, 3343, 3342, 3252C, 3252B, 3224, 3220,3305, 3331, 3330, 3219C, 3307, 3304, 3250.)Plade of maguey fiber. 35Ciudad Obregon, mentioned, 49Cobijas, see Blankets.Cocorit (Yaqui town), xi, 3, 80, 81, 108,111, 165, 172, 186hats made at, 36(Vicam Station), reference to mat-achin dance at, 111Cohuirimpo, 3typical burial ground at, 70, 71velacion of San Jos6 at, referenceto, 94Collection, museum, made in 193(^-31,mentioned, xiColorado, lower, reference to, 215Colorin (Cocorit?), 3Communal labor, Yaqui, 89mentioned, 206 'Comoriopa, 3Concepcion, Yaqui fiesta of, 165, 167Conecare, 3Confetti, use of at Easter festival, 159Conicari, 3, 133Conquest, The first (a Yaqui story), 218Cord, made of maguey fiber, 23, 35Corimpo, 3Corpus Cristi, Yaqui fiesta of, 165Coyote and chickens (Yaqui game), 44Covote and the bees (a Cahita story),220-221Coyote and the bull (a Cdhita story),219Coyote, beliefs concerning, 200Coyote dance, 43, 78, 123, 131-132, 168,203Coyote, The Iguana and the (a Cahitastory), 219Coyote, The story of turtle and (aCahita story), 219-22DCrops, cash, Mayo, 7grown, 6-7, 9-10harvesting season, 208Crutch paddle, 44Cubiri, 2Cuirimpo, 3Culiacan, 215 INDEX 235Culiacan River, 1Cultures, white and Indian in Mexico,interaction, ixCahita, periods of, xaboriginal, reference to studyof by R. L. Beals, ix, xCumuripas, 49Curers, see Diseases and curing.Curinghoa, 3Curing, methods of, see Diseases andcuring.Customs : burial, children, 67-68, 76Mayo, 67-75Yaqui, 75-80concerning fiesta food, 142concerning names of dead, 81marriage, 61-66mourning, 69, 70, 73, 74, 75, 77, 78, 80Dance : coyote, 78, 168, 203Mayo, reference to, 43, 123Yaqui, description of, 131-132deer, 122-123, 126-131moel (bird dance), 98, 112, 124owl, mentioned, 123pascola, 120-122, 126-131, 167, 168,203, 204, 205raccoon, 123, 129-130religious and ceremonial, develop-ment of, 202, 203, 204sleepy, description, 98mentioned, 112, 124Tesguin, mentioned, 203venado, mentioned, 203.See also Dancers.Dancers : Mayo fiesta, deer and pascola. 119-126, 143, 148, 159, 189, 190, 202, 208,204. 205matachini, 94-98Yaqui fiesta, deer and pascola, 117,12e-131, 167, 168, 186, 187, 189.190, 202, 203, 204, 205matachini, 111-112See also Dance.DeathMayo beliefs concerning, 66-75practices in connection with,67-75Yaqui beliefs concerning, 75-81practices in connection with,75-81Deboropa, 2Deer dance, 122-123, 126-131dancers, see Dancers.Diaz, mentioned, 4, 6Dice, stick, in National Museum, MexicoCity, 44Directions, symbolisns, 189Disease and curing, 191-196animals, remedy for sickness of, 4,1association with "Religion of theWoods," 190bewitchment and curing, stories of,194-195 Disease and curing?Continueddreams, an aid in diagnosing illness,191-192, 193, 198herbs and roots as remedies, 193,194, 195-196methods of curing, x, 191-193relation of sickness to eclipses, 47remedies, mostly household, list of,193-194sources of illness, 47, 191words connected with, list of, 195Distribution of Mayo and Yaqui, 1Divorce, among Mayo, 63among Yaqui, 66Dogs, day of the, 154Dominguez, F., cited, 168, 169, 171, 172Don G., a German-American, quoted onYaqui barbarities, 54Dreams, aid in diagnosing illness, 191-192, 193importance of, among the CahitaJ198Dress, 37-39Drum, 42. 43, 124, 126, 138, 203, 204and flute, 120, 121, 122, 128, 152, 204fiestero, used at San Juan fiestas,136, 137music for coyote dance, 131, 132Ear piercing, 60Easter fiesta. Mayo, 133, 159^160womien's duties in connectionwith, 105Yaqui, 165, 177-185Echo.1oa (Mayo village), xi, 3, 50, 197fiesta held at, 133French settlers at, 49Eclipses, customs followed on occur-rence of, 47Mayo beliefs, 47Yaqui beliefs, 47Education of children, 58-59Epling, Dr. Carl, 194Equipment, modern agricultural, Yaquidesire for, 211European tools used, 23Fariseos, discussion of development ofgroup, 203, 205I\Iayo. 94, 98-103, 149, 157, 210biblical characters representedby, 99, 100chief, selection of, 100clowning activities, list of, 102-103duties of, 99, 100gestures used, list of, 102Lent, time of functioning, 98,99, 144, 146ludicrous and obscene actionsof, 102, 152-153reasons for joining, 98restrictions imposed on, 103Yaqui, 112-115comparison with Mayo, 113description of group, 112dress, 113functions, 112, 114-115masks, 113 236 INDEXField work, dates of, xfinancing of, xiisites of, x-xiFiestas : Mayo, 132-164burial, 67, 68, 72Christ and the Virgin, 144-161comparison with Yaqui, 165, 166coyote dance performance at,132dancers, 119-126fiesteros, in charge of, 104, 105fireworks feature of, 134harvest, reference to, 8-9musicians, 119-126recent changes in, 161, 162San Juan, see San Juan fiesta,small, 143time held, 209 . Yaqui, 165-188burial, child, 76Christ and the Virgin, 168-185comparison with Mayo, 165, 166dancers, 126-131dances, 167, 168data on differences from regu-lar pattern, 167-168de la Cruz, fiesta, 167major fiestas, discussion, 165musicians. 126-131officials of, 115, 116of the Camino, reference to. 111of the soldiers, names of, 55San Juan, see San Juan fiesta.Santa Isabel and Guadalupe,165Fiesteros, 188, 203Mayo, 108-107, 136, 137, 138, 139,140, 141, 143, 146, 160description of group. 104duties of, 104, 133-134induction into group, 105relation to church organization,103restrictions of, 106-107Yaqui, 115-117comparison with Mayo, 117description of group, 115-116duties of, 115eligibility, 116induction ceremonies, 116-117officials of fiesta, 115-117Financing of investigation by Universityof California, xiiFirst Conquest, The (a Yaqui story),218First People. Tlie (a Cahita story), 216Fishing, 14-15Flute, 42, 128, 138, 152, 169, 170, 203, 204Food, animals eaten, 16brought to San Juan Fiesta, 136fiesta, disposal of surplus, 134habits, 16lists of, 15-16preparation and storage, 15-16served at Mayo fiesta, 140custom concerning, 142 I Food?Continuedserved at Yaqui fiesta, 181, 186, 188customs regarding serving of,166sold at stores, 46wild, gathering of, 10-11list of, 11Forde, C. D., cited, 9Forin, Yaqui town according to Alegre, 3French settlers on Mayo River, 49Friday of Dolores, 154, 160Fuerte River, xi, 1, 2, 19, 20, 133, 206, 214games played, 44reference to funeral ceremony on, 73Revolution, reference to, 55towns dating from or before Missiontimes, names of, 3Games, description of, 44Yaqui ceremonial, mentioned, 186Gandara and Urrea, bloody struggle be-tween, mentioned, 4Geography of northwestern Mexico,comparison of Yaqui and Mayo knowl-edge of, 47Gethsemane, mentioned, 172, 173Giant harvest. The (a Cahita story),218-219Giant, Saint Peter and the (a Cilhitastory), 224Gifford, E. W., cited, 204Girls, activities, 59dress, 38marriage age. Mayo, 68Yaqui, 65matachin dancers, 94, 97Glossary, 227-230Goldfrank, E. S., cited, 201Government, ownership of churches, 91town, Yaqui, description of, 86-89Granville, Verona, cited, 43quoted on description of Yaquimarriage ceremony. 65-66Guadalupe fiesta, Mayo, 133soldiers', 55Yaqui, 165, 167Guasave, 2Guaymas, description of burial cere-mony at, 78-80Gulraquis, 3Guitahoa, 3Guitar, 43Haciendas, laborers on, 45, 46Hair brush, echos burr, 21, 38Hairdress, 38Hammocks, hand-woven. Mayo, 37Hardy. R. W. H., Mayo and Yaquitowns mentioned by, 3cited, 1, 4Harps, 42, 126, 136, 205Harvest, The giant (a Cdhita story),218-219Hats, hand-woven, 36, 87Hehnchajoa, 3Herbs and roots as remedies, 193-194,195-196Hermosillo, mentioned, 49 INDEX 237Hernandez, Fortunate, cited, 4map of, showing Mayo and Taquitowns, mentioned, 3Hichucios (Huites?), districts occupiedby, 3Hfsimo, a San Juan fiesta, descriptionof, 135-139Historical knowledge, 49Hito tree, 194Hoarding among Mayo and Yaqui, 82Holden, W. C, and others, cited, 78, 112,169, 171, 172, 176, 181Homosexuality, mentioned, 82Horned Water Serpent, beliefs concern-ing. Mayo, 199Yaqui, 201Horse racing and betting at Yaquifiesta, 186Houses, types and construction, 16-20Mayo, 16, 17, 18, 19Mexican, 19Yaqui, 16, 17, IS, 19utilization and furnishing, 20-22implements, household, list of,22kitchen equipment, 21-22Mayo, 20, 21Mexican type, reference to, 20^21, 22Yaqui, 20, 21Hrdliflca, Ales, cited, 1, 4, 23, 26, 33, 37,39, 45, 58, 196cited on visit to Mayo, 85Mayo towns mentioned by, 3Huatabampo, 3Huichol, attitude toward dreams heldby, 198mentioned, 28, 110Huipil, formerly worn by Yaqui, 39Huirivis, Yaqui fiesta town, 3, 165, 186Huites, 3, see also Hichucios.Hunting, 11-14beliefs concerning, 12-14, 190by Mayo, 11, 14by Yaqui, 13, 14Huperi (Mayo village), reference to,xi, 3fiestas held at, 133French settlers at, mentioned, 49Iguana and the coyote, The (a Cahitastory), 219Implements, household, 21-22modern, Yaqui desire for, 211See also Tools.Indian and White, The marriage of (acahita story), 221-223Infancy, care during, 57-58See also Children.Infanticide, 58Infidelity, punishment for, 88Informants, names of some, xiIllegitimacy, 58Jesuits, the, reference to, 4, 66Johnson, Jean, quoted on susuS-kame, 110work among the Yaqui, reference to,110 Juarez, Benito, Yaqui tribal territorydated from time of, 49Kick-race game, 44encouraged by missionaries, 204Kinship terms, use of Spanish, 60-61Kobanaro, chief Mayo official in earliertimes, 84Kroeber, Prof. A. L., cited, 28, 39director of work, xiiquoted, 211Land ownership. Mayo, 6Latigos, made of mayuey fiber, 35La Trinidad, Yaqui fiesta of, 165Leba, Juan, a Yaqui, 50Lencho, 171, 201Lent, Mayo ceremonies, 144-161Yaqui observance of, 168-185fiestas, customs of pascoladancers at, 128function of fariseos during,112-115Levirate, forbidden by Mayo, 63Loom, Mayo, description of, 29-31weaving, see Weaving.Lopoche, 2Lumholtz, C, cited, 198Machete, 23, 113McKenzie, A. S., cited. 1, 203McMillan, W. C, cited, 17, 18, 20, 21Macollague, 3Macoyahui, 3Madero revolution, mentioned, 4Magdalena, shrine of, 1G5Magic, belief in by Yaqui pascola anddeer dancers and musicians, 127Maguey fiber, 23, 33-35articles made of, 23, 33-35, 46extraction of fiber, 33weaving, 33-35man's occupation, 33, 35See also Loom weaving.Making of the world, The (a Cahitastory), 216-218Makochin, 147, 150reference to woman harp player at,43Mannerisms, discussion of, 82-83Manufactures, 22-43See also individual items, such asTools, Weapons, Weaving, etc.Maricopa, 48Marriage customs, 61-66Mayo, 61-64Yaqui, 64-66Marriage, degree of kinship permittedby Mayo, 60Marriage of Indian and White, The (aCahita story), 221-223Marriage, permanence of, 82test, a Yaqui, 65-66with relatives, forbidden by Yaqui,65Masiaca (Mayo town), 3, 5, 144bag weaving at, 33blankets made at, 26sash or belt weaving at, 32 238 INDEXMasks, discussion of, 204, 205Mayo, description of fariseo, 101-102pascola, 120Yaqui, desci'iption of fariseo, 112-115Matacliini, 94-98, 111-112, 117, 153, 154,157, 159, 162, 167, 168, 186Mayo, 94-98origin of group, discussion of, 203,206Yaqui, 111-112Matapan, 2Mats, hand-woven, Mayo, 36, 37Matus, Yaqui tribal chieftain, 85, 86,212Mayo, adjustment to white culture, 210agriculture, 5-9comparison with Yaqui, 9, 10behavior (general) like Mexicans,82beliefs,concerning death, 66-75in effect of eclipses, 47in influence of moon on crops, 9birth observances, 55-57comparison with Mexican, 56,57taboos, 57church officers, 91-94culture, differences between Yaquiand, plan of presenting, xiidistribution of tribe, 1down-river, reference to, xidreams among, importance of, 198dress, 37-38fariseos, 9S-103See also Religion, Mayo,fiestas, abandoned, 133classes of, 133dancers and musicians, 119-126general features of, 133-134recent changes in, 161, 162special features, 133tobacco smoking at, 44^5hairdress, 38houses, utilization and furnishing,20-22hunting, 11, 13, 14implements used in farming, 7land ownership, 6looms, description of, 29-31maize, principal crop of, 6medicinal use, 6ornamentation, 38pacifism, discussion, 211-215place names, sources of list of, 49population, 2pottery, 39-41decoration on, 143-144practices in connection withdeath, 67-75religious organization, see Religion,Mayo ? River, x, 1, 2, 36, 133, 134towns, names of some, 3 Mayo?Continuedsites of field work, 1930-31 and1932, x-xitowns, cited by Hardy, R. W. H., 3cited by Hrdlicka, Ales, 3cited by Velasco, Jose Fran-cisco, 3tribal organization, disappearanceof, 85use of Spanish kinship terms, 60-61wars, 4-5, 50-51objective, 5weaving, 23-35Men, fiber weaving occupation of, 33,35, 46mats and baskets made by, 37occupations of, 7, 46punishment of, 88Mescal, drunk by Yaqui pascola, 130, 131use at Mayo fiesta, 100use at Yaqui fiesta, 187Meteoric shower of 1833, reference to,49Mexican, of Bacavachi, story of be-witchment told by, 197cigarettes used, 44Government, policy regarding sol-diers, 54-55mention of, 107methods of food preparation andstorage in comparison withCahita, 15Revolutionary movements, Mayoparticipation in, reference to,50, 51Mexicans, 10, 14attendance of, at San Juan fiesta(Mayo), 137, 139at fiesta of Easter, 159comparison of some Mayo tech-niques and products with thoseof, 37comparison with, in regard to tradeand wealth, 49, 50game played by, reference to, 44mannerisms differentiating Cahitafrom, 83Mayo dress compared with that of,38planting methods, reference to, 7presence in Indian towns, men-tioned, 5some beliefs of, 199type of blanket sold to, 23Yaqui war with, 50Mexico, 1, 81early missionaries of, mentioned,134similarity of Yaqui communal laborto that further south in, 89western, in pre-Hispanic times,mentioned, 35Missionaries, early, 2, 134, 203, 204, 205,206writings of, on Cahita, referenceto, X INDEX 239Mixe, reference to, 103Mochicaliui, Mayo village, xii, 3Mocorito, 2Moel (bird dance), 98, 112, 124Mohave, Yaqui nationalism comparedwith that of, 211-212Moon, beliefs in, 47Morality, standards of, 56, 62, 63-64, 65,66, 82, 88Mayo, 63-64Yaqui, 65-66Morgan, W., cited, 198Mori, Yaqui tribal chieftain, 85Moros, 186, 187, 188function of at San Juan fiesta, 142,143mock battle of, 143Musical bow (arpita), 41-42Musical instruments, description, 41-43European, taught by missionaries,mentioned, 205See also individual instruments.Music, for Yaqui pascola dancers, ani-mal sounds represented, 126-127comparison with Mayo and Euro-pean, 127Mexican, played at fiestas, 137use by missionaries, mentioned, 202Musicians : association with "Religion of theWoods," 190Mayo fiesta, 119-126Yaqui fiesta, 12&-131Nacionales, mentioned, 50Nationalism, Yaqui, discussion of, 211-215National Research Council of Washing-ton, D. C, present work done as Fel-low in the Biological Sciences of the,xiiNatividad, see Noche Buena.Navaho, tlie, apparently unknown toYaqui, 48women, reference to dress of, 37Navojoa (Mayo town), 3, 16, 33, 49, 50,51, 106, 155, 198, 212data on fiestas held at, 133description of velacion without afiesta, 149fariseo chief's costume at, referenceto, 100kobanaro of, reference to, 92matachin dances of, mentioned, 94,95-96, 98Mayo data in this study collectedin district of, x-xiSee also Pueblo Viejo.Needles, 23Nets, hand-woven. Mayo, 36, 37Nine Men's Morris game, 44Nio, 2Noche Buena (Natividad, Pastorela),Yaqui fiesta of, 165, 167Numbers, ritual, 189-190, 191 Oaxaca, 153Obscenities of Mayo pascola dancers,reference to, 121, 122of Yaqui deer dancers, mentioned,129Occupations, 45-46agriculture, primary, 45carpentering, 46cattle raising, 45dancing, 46fireworks making, 46fishing, 45, 46furniture making, 45laboring on haciendas, 46masonry, 45men's, 46mining, 45musician, 46storekeeping, 46weaving, 46women's, 45-46wood cutting, 45Ocoroiai, 2game credited to, 44masks among, reference to, ^4Ocoroui River, 1Olson, R. L., cited, 42O'mi (Ahome?), 3See also Ahome.Opata : account of weaving, similar to thatof modern Mayo, ascribed to, 31-32knowledge of remedies, referenceto, 196known by most Yaqui, 48, 213Orchestra, dance music for San Juanfiesta supplied by, 137Organization, political : discussion of, 83-89Mayo tribal, in earlier times, 83-85Yaqui, tribal, 85-86Ornamentation, 38, 39Orozco y Berra, cited on towns, 3Orthography, system followed, xiiOrtiz, leader of Mexicans against Ca-jeme, 51Owl dance. Mayo, mentioned, 123Pacifism, Mayo, discussion of, 211-215Papago. known by many Yaqui, 48Parsons, Dr. Elsie Clews, acknowledg-ment to, 55cited, 45, 153description of burial ceremony atGuaymas, by, 78-80dream about, 198statement of, regarding women'sdress, 37use of Spanish kinship termspointed out by, 60visit of, to Yaqui and Mayo terri-tory in 1932, xiPascola dance, 120-122, 126-131, 167,168, 203, 204, 205 240 INDEXPascola dancers, 119-126, 202, 203, 204,205association with "Religion of theWoods," 190at Yaqui fiesta of San Juan, 186, 187belief concerning, 189Mayo, 119-126, 143, 148, 159"Play of the Deer," a dramatizationgiven by, 130-131Yaqui, 126-131music for, animal sounds rep-resented, 126-127Pascua de Espiritu fiesta. Mayo, 133Pascua, see Pascua Village.Pascua Village, Tucson, Ariz., xii, 49,78, 165Noche Buena festivities observedat, 167study of by Edward Spicer, refer-ence to, xiYaqui site visited, xiPastorela, see Noche Buena.Pearl shell, rosary beads of, 162.See also Shell beads, etc.Pelota game, encouraged by mission-aries, 204People, The first (a Cahita story), 216Perez de Ribas, Andres, cited, 202cited on towns, 3Peru, comparison of harp from, 42Peyote, 194, 196Pilate, head of fariseos, 112-113impersonation of, 156, 157, 158in Yaqui procession, 170Pima, 213Alta, known by many Yaqui, 48Bajo, 213, 214Pitahaya, 55description of graves at, 81Yaqui Lenten procession held at,169See also Belen (Pitahaya).Plates, explanation of, 230-232Playa San Ignacio, crutch paddle ob-served on, 44"Play of the Deer," dramatization byYaqui pascola, 130-181Population, 1-2Political organization, see Organization,political.Potan, Yaqui town, 3, 54, 165, 172, 186description of funeral ceremony at,76detailed study of, needed, xiSan Juan fiesta held at, 185visit to in 1930-31, xPottery bull, ceremonial use, 105, 139,140, 141decoration on, 143-144gift to new Mayo chief of fiesteros.143not used by Yaqui fiesteros of SanJuan, 117 Pottery, making of, occupation of wo-men, 45-46Mayo, 39-41types of, 39-40vases, use, 161-162Yaqui, 41Pregnancy, beliefs in effect of eclipse on,47taboos, absence of, 56-57Pueblos, 212use of tobacco, reference to. 45visited by one informant, 48Pueblo Viejo, 135, 146, 154, 155, 157, 158,159, 160, 161bahlto at, comparison of with fiestaof Rosary at Bacavachi, 142description of church at, 91fiesta of San Juan held at, 139See also Navojoa.Punishments, 62, 64, 66, 88for tribal law infractions, 88, 89of children, 85of men by fariseos, 99Quiver, 23Raccoon dance, Mayo, mentioned, 123dance of Yaqui pascola, 129-130Rahum, 3Rasping sticks. 42, 124, 204, 205Rattles, belt, 42carried and worn by deer dancer,122cocoon, 42disk, 42gourd, 42, 43used by pascola dancers, 121worn by Yaqui deer dancer, 128Raun, Yaqui fiesta town, 3, 165, 186Recreation for children, 58-59Redfield, Robert, study of Tepoztlan, dis-cussion of, ix-xReincarnation, Mayo belief in, 67Yaqui belief in, 81Religion, x, 90-207beliefs, miscellaneous, 189circuits, direction of, 189direction symbolism, 189discussion of Mayo and Yaqui be-liefs, 90, 91Mayo religious organization, 91-107Catholic church, relation to, 91church officers, 91-94fariseos, 98-103fiesteros, 103-107matachini, 94-98modern, development of, 202-207Yaqui religious organization, 107-117church officers, 107-111fariseos, 112-115fiesteros, 115-117integration of, 117-118matachini, 111-112See also "Religion of the "Woods." ii INDEX 241 "Religion of the Woods," 190-201, 202Remedies, see Disease and curing.Ritual numbers, 189-190Rituals, miscellaneous, 190/See also Ritual numbers.Rodeo, 3Rooster pulling, Yaqui fiesta custom, 186Ropes, maguey fiber, rawhide, referenceto, 33"Running of the old man," Yaqui Easterweek procession, description of, 171-173Saddle pads, made of maguey fiber, 35Saint Peter and the giant (a Cdhitastory), 224San Ignacio, 3, 70, 91, 94, 95, 98, 133, 139,144, 147fiestas held at, 133reference to matachin dances at, 94,95, 98velaG%6n of San Jos6 held at, 162San Ignacio de Tesia, fiestas held at, 133San Ignacio (?), Yaqui fiesta of, 165San Isidro, ceremonials in honor of, 8, 9San Isidro ( ?), Yaqui fiesta of, 165San Jos6 Charay, 3San Jose de Cohuirimpo (now San Igna-cio), 133San Jose, fiesta. Mayo, 133velacion of, see Velacion.San Juan, called owner of seeds, 9, 10importance of in Cahita cult, 206San Juan fiesta. Mayo, 134-144description of large fiesta, 135-139mentioned, 133moors, function at, 142, 143names of, 134Yaqui, 165, 185-188ceremonies connected with, 117San Juan's Day, final Mayo fiesta ofSan Juan held on, 142reference to, 57, 105San Lorenzo, 3San Miguel, Fuerte River town, men-tioned, 3Yaqui fiesta of, 165San Miguel Zuaque, Fuerte Rivertown, mentioned, 3San Pedro, Mayo River town, men-tioned, 3description of church at, 91Mayo fiesta held at, 133Santa Cruz (de Mayo), x, 3, 50fiesta of the soldiers, mentioned, 55Mayo fiestas held at, 133reference to French settlers at, 49Yaqui fiesta of, 165Santa Isabel, see Virgin del Camino.Santa Rosa, Yaqui fiesta of, 165Santa Rosalia, Yaqui boundary linenear, 49Santisima Trinidad, or Holy Trinity,fiesta, 133 Sashes, woolen, weaving of, by Mayo,23, 32-33Seasons of the year, 207Serapes, see Blankets.Seri, 214known by most Yaqui, 48, 213Sewing machine, 23Sex restrictions, 62, 63enforcement of, formerly, 85Sexual indiscretions, punishment of,62, 64See also Morality, standards of.Shell beads, worn by Yaqui dancers, 126 -See also Pearl shell etc.Shinny game, 44Sierra de Bacatete, 1, 50, 211Sierra, the, 3Siesta, Mayo, 146, 147noonday, of fiesteros, 143Sinaloa, 1, 4, 5mission enterprise, 206Sinaloa River, crutch paddle observedon, 44towns, names of, 2Sinaloas, districts occupied by, 3Site of field \vork, 1030-31 and 1932,x-xiSivirijoa, 3Skin dressing, methods, 41Sleepy dance, description, 98mentioned. 112, 124Smoking, 44-45by youth, 45ritual, 45social, 44-45See also Tobacco.Snake and the Viper, The (a Cahitastory), 221Soldiers, at Yaqui fiesta, 167, 168, 186,187, 188ceremonial duties of, 55fiestas of, 165See also Warfare and Warriors.Songs : coyote dance (Yaqui), 132deer, reference to, 122words of, 124-125Indian and Spanish, mentioned, 137reference to, 42Sonora, 1, 4, 39a Mayo elected governor of, in 1936,4reference to Pancho Villa's stay, 55Sororate, forbidden by Mayo, 63Spanish alphabet adapted to writing,Yaqui, 211kinship terms, use of by Yaqui,60-61Spicer, Dr. Edward H., cited, 13, 65, 81,108quoted, 79reference to his study of PascuaVillage, xi, xii 242 INDEXSpicer, Roz, cited on Yaqui ceremoniesat Pascua, 165, 171Spicers (Dr. Edward H. and Roz),cited, 172, 176Noche Buena festivities observed atPascua with, 167Spinning instrument (taravia), rare, 35Sports, see Games.Star lore, 47Stevenson, M. C, cited, 55, 56, 114 .Stores, goods sold at, 46Strong, W. D., cited, 192Studhalter, R. A., cited, 10Suicide, motives, 83Sun and moon, belief in, 190-191Sun, disappearance of, story about, 49Susuakame, a Yaqui group formerly inexistence, 109Taboos, concerning dead, 72, 76, 81imposed on parents, 56, 57Tamazula, 2Tanning, see Skin dressing.Tales and stories:Coyote and the bees, 220-221Coyote and the bull, 219Saint Peter and the giant, 224The first conquest, 218The first people, 216The giant harvest, 218-219The iguana and the coyote, 219The making of the world, 216-218The marriage of Indian and White,221-223The snake and the viper, 221The story of Turtle and Coyote,219-220Turtle speaks Yaqui, 224Yomomuli, 223Tarahumara, 47, 203, 213, 214Taravia, rare spinning instrument, 35Tecoriona, 3Teha (a game like horseshoe), 44Tehueco, Mayo village, xii, 3, 214Tehuecos, 214districts occupied by, 3Tenebrae, Lenten service, 155Tepague, 3Tepoztlan, discussion of Redfield'sstudies at, ix-xTesguin, dance mentioned, 203Tesia, 3burial ground at, mentioned, 70church at, description of, 91funeral at, reference to, 73hats made at, 36Tetabiate (Yaqui leader), Cajeme's suc-cussor, 4mentioned, 212Tetanchopo, 147Tiburon Island, Yaqui boundary linenear, 49Tobacco, 7, 9, 44-45, 105, 122, 126ceremonial use, at fiesta of SanJuan, 136, 138-139, 144by wizards, 196reference to, 206 Tobacco?Continuedcigarettes, 105, 122, 140, 196offered guests by deer dancers intraining, 126use by fiesteros, 104, 105, 106, 107in curing, 45, 191, 192wild, remedy for sickness in ani-mals, 45Yaqui cultivation of, in Spanishtimes, 45Toloache, 194Tools, 7-8, 10-11, 22-23, 211See also Implements.Toor, Frances, cited, 14, 16quoted on Yaqui marriage customs,65, 66Top fighting and top spinning (game) , 44Torin (Yaqui town), 3, 86, 165, 186detailed study of, needed, ximaypole dance at, 112Toro, 3Towns, Yaqui and Mayo, founding of inrelation to missions, 2names of some, 2, 3See also individual names.Trade, similarity to Mexican, 49-50Transportation, means of, 43-44Transvestites, reference to, 82Travel, modes of, 43-^4Turtle and Coyote, The story of (aCahita story),' 219-220Turtle speaks Yaqui (a Yaqui story) , 224Twins, 58United States, reference to Indians of, xUres, 2Urrea and Gandara, bloody struggle be-tween, reference to, 4Vaca, 3Velacion, 94, 146, 147(Mavo) , of San Jose, description of,162-164with a fiesta, 150without a fiesta, 149Velasco, Jose Francisco, cited, 1, 39, 45,66, 203cited on Mayo and Yaqui towns, 3Venado dance, mentioned, 203Vicam Viejo (Yaqui town) , 171, 186deer dancers at, 128description of Lenten ceremonies,173fiesta of San Juan held at, 185Vicam, see Vicam Station.Vicam Station (Yaqui village inhabitedby villagers from Cocorit), xi, 3, 23,54, 55, 85, 108, 111, 165, 169, 171, 172,181, 201burial at, 80Easter Sunday ceremonies at, 182-185visited, xiYaqui procession of "Running of theold man" by Cocorit people ob-served at, 172-173 INDEX 243 Villa de Montesclaros, 3Villa, Pancho, reference to stay of, inSonera, 55Violin, 42, 136, 137, 138, 205and harp, for raccoon dance, 129for Mayo pascola dancers, 120Viper, The snake and the (a C^hitastory), 221Virgin del Camino (Santa Isabel), amajor Yaqui fiesta, 165, 167-168fiesta of soldiers mentioned, 55Virgin of Guadalupe, mentioned, 55Vows, discussion of, 188-189fulfillment of at veladon of SanJose, 163Mayo, 142, 147minor fiestas given in fulfill-ment of, 133Yaqui, 165, 168fiesta given as result of, 166-167Wagner, C J., cited, 196Waicuri, 48, 213Warfare, 4-5, 50-55Mayo, participation in Mexicanrevolutionary movements, 50-51summary, 4-5Yaqui, modern, barbarities in, 54boys' membership in militaryorganization, 51, 52defensive, belief, 53fiestas connected with, 55method, 50military organization, 51-55religious observances connectedwith, 51, 52, 54, 55summary, 4-5Warriors, burial customs concerning,78, 80See also Soldiers and Warfare.Watachive, 50Wealth, concepts like Mexicans, 49standards of, 50Weapons, 22^23, 50Weavers, loom, names and phrases usedby, 26-27AVeaving, hand, by Mayo, 36-37bands, horsehair, 37basketry, 36, 37belts, horsehair, 37hammocks, 37hats, 36-37mats, 36, 37nets, 36, 37by Yaqui, 36, 37basketry, 37hats, 36, 37Weaving, loom, by Mayo, 23-35bags, maguey fiber. 23, 33-35blankets, woolen, 23-32maffuey fiber articles, other, 23,33-35sashes, woolen, 23, 32-33technique, 29-32Yaqui, reference to, 26 Week End Book, cited, 44White culture, adjustment to, 207-211,215comparison of Yaqui and Mavo,213-215Mayo, 210Yaqui, 210-211White farmers, reference to, 208, 209White, L. A., cited, 192Whites, attitude of Cahita toward, xattitude toward religion of Cahita,90contacts with, effect of, 82-83first, mentioned, 2reference to, 4White, The marriage of Indian and (aCahita story), 221-223Wi'caka, presence of witches at, 197Witchcraft, xbelief in by Mayo musicians andpascola dancers, 125punishment for, 88See also Witches and wizards.Witches and wizards, 191, 192, 193association with "Religion of theWoods," 190attitude toward wizards, 90mentioned, 189stories of bewitchment, 197-198Wizards, see Witches and wizards."Woods, Religion of the," 190-201beliefs connected with the, 199-200Wool for weaving, preparation of, 27-28Women : burial customs for married, 77Mavo, church assistant, 93fiesteros, 104, 140, 141musicians, 124protection of, on alms-solicit-ing march, 142restrictions in earlier times, 84occupations, 45-46Yaqui, punishment of, for witch-craft or murder, 88Yaqui, adjustment to white culture,210-211beliefs concerning death, 75-81practices in connection with,75-81beliefs in eclipses, 47effect on pregnancy, 47birth observances, 55-57taboos, 57boys' membership in military or-ganization, see Warfare, Yaqqicouncil meetings, description of, 87culture meetings, description of, 87Mayo culture and, xiidistribution, 1dress, 37-39fiestas, see Fiestas, Yaqui.fishing. 14-15fiesta, dancers, 126-131musicians, 126-131, 178 244 INDEXYaqui?Continuedhouses, utilization and furnishing,20-22matachini, 111-112military organization, see Warfare,Yaqui.musical instrument of, mentioned,43musicians, training of, 126nationalism, discussion, 211-215occupations', 45ornaments, 39population, 1-2pottery, 41religious organization, see Religion.River, xi, xii, 1, 9, 36, 165crutch paddle observed on, 44sashes formerly woven by, 33sites of field work, x-xiterritorial boundary, 49tobacco, cultivation in Spanishtimes, 45smoking by youth, 45See also Tobacco,town government, description, 86- Yaqu i?Continued.towns, cited by Hardy, R. W. H., 3cited by Velasco, Jose Fran-cisco, 3earliest mention of by P^rez deRibas, 3tribal organization, 85, 86Turtle speaks, (a Yaqui story), 224use of Spanish kinship terms, 60-61wars, see Warfare,wild food gathered by, 10-11Yavapai, apparently unknown to Yaqui,48Yecorato, 3Yomomtili (a Cahita story), 223Yuma, apparently unknown to Yaqui,48Yumans, comparison of Cahita with, inattitude toward dreams, 198Zapotec, reference to, 103Zingg, Robert M., quoted, 110Zuaque, 3, 214districts occupied by, 3reference to dance of, 202Zimiga, Ignacio, cited, 66o ^3?h8i}i^ ?ll w a SMrTHSONIAN INSTITUTION LIBRARIES 3 9088 01421 8853 'm' 'm-f !Mi|{! ''K-w-::\C'% '^^ '^'f'p^'v'm'2Xi:mm 'h i-h)';:'>:;l! m^M> :V'V' mmm.VuV ?.wv m. M?'Mm^fmkmM WH*W' h% 'M '^il'%^^m^i ii.*iKiS!!K-sa;M