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Vol. XII, No.

January, 1936

STUDIES OF THE YAQUI INDIANS

OF SONORA, MEXICO

W. C. HOLDEN

Professor of History and Anthropology

and

Director of Archaeological Research

Texas Technological College

SELTZER

C. C.

Research Fellow

Harvard University

R. A. STUDHALTER

Professor of Biology

Texas Technological College

WAGNER

C. J.

Chief of Staff

West Texas Hospital

•

and

w. g. McMillan

Scientific Scries

" No. 2

•

PUBLISHED BY

TEXAS TECHNOLOGICAL COLLEGE

LUBBOCK

Issued monthly by the College and entered as second-class matter

December 24. 1924, at the Post Office at Lubbock, Texas.

under the Act of August 24, 1912.

Texas Technological College Bulletin

Vol. XII, No.

January, 1936

STUDIES OF THE YAQUI INDIANS

OF SONORA, MEXICO

W. C. HOLDEN

Trofessor of History and Anthropology

and

Director of Archaeological Research

Texas Technological College

C. C.

SELTZER

Research Fellow

Harvard University

R. A. STUDHALTER

Professor of Biology

Texas Technological College

C. J.

WAGNER

Chief of Staff

West Texas Hospital

w. G. McMillan

Scientific Scries

" 'No. 2

PIBLISHEI) BY

TEXAS TECHNOLOGICAL COLLEGE

LUBBOCK

Issued monthly by the College and entered as second-class matter

December 24, 1924, at the Post Office at Lubbock, Texas,

under the Act of August 24, 1912.

9 70,3

TEXAS TECHNOLOGICAL COLLEGE

UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA

3 1262 08645 484 9

STUDIES OF THE YAQUI INDIANS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The following studies of the Yaqui Indians are by no means

and the members of the expedition are fully aware that

more remains to be said on the various subjects treated by them

than they have included in these reports. The various papers, with

the exception of Dr. Seltzer's, have been written with the layman

in view rather than the professional anthropologist.

exhaustive,

We wish to express our appreciation to the civil and military

Republic of Mexico for their kindness and cooperamaking the expedition possible: to Mr. Ramon Beteta,

Director General of Statistics, for his friendly interest; to Mr. Jose

Reygadas Vertiz, Head of ihe Departments of Monuments, for

officials of the

tion in

giving us permission to make ethnological studies among the Yaquis;

Manuel Mascarenas, Jr., Chief of Customs at Nogales, Sonora,

on entering and

for extending to us the "courtesy of the port", both

leaving Mexico; to General Jesus Gutierrez Cazares, Lt. Colonel

Francisco Salcedo, and Lt. Colonel Natividad Jacome, Mexican

officers in the Yaqui region of Sonora, for military assistance and

courtesies; to Jose Miranda, Yaqui governor of Torin, and the

other Yaqui chiefs at Vicam and Torin for their friendly cooperation; and to RamOn Torry, our Yaqui interpreter, for his fa'thful

service and personal loyalty to the members of the staff.

For financial support and contribution of supplies we are indebted to the Rotary Club of Lubbock, the Kiwanis Club of Lubbock, the West Texas Chamber of Commerce, the Lubbock Ava-

A mar Mo Globe News, Davis and Humphrey WholeGrocery Company of Lubbock, Swift and Company of Lubbock, Western Windmill Company of Lubbock, J. A. Folger and

lanche, the

sale

Company of Kansas City and San Francisco, Texas Power and

Light

Wells

Company, Mr. John W. Carpenter of Dallas, Mr. Spencer

of Lubbock, and to many other organizations and individ-

uals.

wish to thank Mrs. R. A. Studhalter, Mrs. W. C. Hoiden, Professor Gus L. Ford, and Professor C. D. Eaves for taking

over the routine college work of two members of the staff whi'e

those individuals were on the expedition.

are indebted to

Miss Elizabeth Howard West for having read the several manu-

scripts.

W. C. Holden

Director of the

2i£10

Yaqui Expedition

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Organizations

by William Curry Holden

Marriage, Child Rearing, and Education

by William Curry Holden

La Fiesta De Gloria

Yaqui Funerals

by William Curry Holden

Household Economy

by William Curry Holden

Yaqui Architecture

by William Garrett McMillan

Medical Practices of the Yaquis

Physical Characteristics of the

Yaqui Agriculture

by Charles John Wagner

Yaqui Indians

by Carl Coleman Seltzer

by Richard Arthur Studhalter

114

126

Appendices

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Plate

Plate 3

Plate 4

Plate 5

Plate

Plate 8

Plate

Plate 12

Plate 13

Plate 14

115

Plate

121

STUDIES OF THE YAQUI INDIANS

INTRODUCTION

William Curry Holden, Director

Our active interest in the Yaqui Indians began in the spring

Through Miss Yone Stone of Lubbock we met Mr.

1933.

Mr.

Ivan Williams, an immigration officer from Marfa, Texas.

Williams for several years had been closely associated with a

group of Yaqui refugees at Tucson, Arizona. During a period of

Yaqui hostilities in 1926 this group had been driven across the

border by a superior Mexican force. Mr. Williams befriended the

They elected him an

refugees and in time won their confidence.

honorary chief and gave him a chief's staff and feather bonnet.

By talking with the old men, Williams learned that Yaquis

had long kept a "history" of their tribe handed down by word of

mouth.

He asked "General" Guadalupe Flores, chief of the

refugees, to send word down to the chiefs of the Yaqui villages on

their

the Rio Yaqui in Sonora requesting them to have some of

There is constant comhistory written down and sent to Tucson.

munication between the Arizona Yaquis and the Yaquis of Sonora.

Runners slip back and forth over secret trails between the Bacatete

Mountains and the border.

The Sonora chiefs decided to supply the "history."

They directed one of their tribe who could

operate a typewriter to write the tribal traditions as dictated by the

old men.

The scribe wrote a few episodes and attempted to send

them to Arizona through the Mexican mails.

The Mexicans intercepted the letters, and the Yaquis tried another plan.

They

typed a chapter on cloth, sewed it in the lining of a shirt, put the

shirt on a runner who carried it over the secret trails to Tucson.

Williams said that every few weeks a runner would arrive at Tucson with a "shirt full of history". It was written in Yaqui. "General" Flores would translate it into Spanish, and Williams in turn

would translate it into English.

In all there were about 8,000

words of it.

Five months later Mr. Williams was kind enough to let us see

the account.

It was mostly a sketchy account of the tribal wars

with the Mexicans since 740.

It occurred to us that if we could

get to the old men on the Rio Yaqui we could possibly draw from

them additional information.

Williams had visited the eight villages on the Rio Yaqui in

1929, and had become a close friend of Jesus Munguia, at that

time chief of all the villages.

Munguia had since urged Williams

to visit the Yaquis again and bring his friends if he wished.

opportunity to enter the Yaqui country as "Williams'

friends"

caused us to start planning an expedition.

one.

The matter of financing an expedition in 1933 was a serious

The depression was at its worst, many banks were closed,

and funds of foundations for scientific work had been greatly de-

TEXAS TECHNOLOGICAL COLLEGE BULLETIN

creased through the stock market collapse.

Finally, we worked

out a plan to finance the expedition locally.

President Bradford

Knapp and the Board of Directors of Texas Technological College enthusiastically approved of the project.

The AvalancheJournal undertook to sponsor the campaign.

Service clubs, business firms, and the West Texas Chamber of Commerce contributed

more readily than we anticipated.

The director of the expedition, accompanied by his wife, went

Mexico City during the Christmas holidays, 1933, and secured

not only permission, but the cooperation of the Mexican government.

Mexican officials listened to our story and became quite interested

our proposed expedition.

They frankly admitted that the

Yaquis had been terribly abused by the Spanish government and

by the Mexican government until a few years ago.

Porfirio Diaz

had tried to exterminate them. At the present the government

seems to want to do the right thing by the Yaquis.

During January and February of 1934 we organized our expedition.

We wished to make historical, physical anthropological,

archaeological,

thological,

ethnological,

ethnobotanical,

versity attached to our staff

herpetological,

orni-

To this end Harvard Uni-

and medical investigations.

a physical anthropologist,

Dr.

Carl

Coleman Seltzer, student of Dr. E. A. Hooton. Dr. Richard A.

Studhalter, head of the Department of Biology, Texas Technological College, accepted our invitation to

go as ethnobotanist.

Dr.

Charles J. Wagner, chief of staff of the West Texas Hospital, was

selected to care for the health of the party and investigate Yaqui

diseases.

To William G. McMillan of Lubbock was

entrusted

Charles A. Guy, editor and publisher of

was to assist in recording data. Bennie

McWilliams, a Technological College student, was added as cook

the study of wild life.

the Avalanche- Journal,

and

assistant

archaeologist.

At the last moment the expedition

decided to take along Ross Edwards and Frank Maddox of Lubbock as outdoor men and camp assistants.

were desirous to

add a geologist, but we had been repeatedly told by persons who

knew that the Yaquis are jealously guarding their minerals and

that one man examining rocks and geological structures

would

jeopardize the entire expedition.

Our party left Lubbock March

travelling in two cars and

a heavily loaded truck.

That night we camped at Van Horn

where we had a long interview with Mr. Williams.

had hoped to take him with us, but he was unable to get a leave at the

time.

He had already written "General" Flores that we were

coming by way of Tucson and had asked him to give us a letter

to Jesus

Munguia.

When we arrived at Tucson, Flores was expecting us.

camped from Saturday until Monday in the center of Pascua village where we got considerable information from Flores and others

concerning conditions in the Yaqui country.

Flores spent

the

most of Sunday preparing a letter for us to take to Munguia.

STUDIES OF THE YAQUI INDIANS

At Nogales the Mexican immigration and customs officials

gave us every consideration.

Our letters from the government at

Mexico City had the desired effect. The chief of the customs servextended us "the courtesy of the port", kept the custom house

open three quarters of an hour overtime in order that we might not

lose an hour's driving, did not inspect a thing we had, and gave us

a letter to keep any one else from inspecting us along the road.

ice

Our route took us to Hermosillo, Guaymas, and then east into

We stayed a week at Vicam and three weeks

at Torin from which place we made short visits to Potam and Con-

the Yaqui country.

sica.

The Rio Yaqui rises in southern Arizona, flows south approximately 300 miles and then turns west some 90 miles into the

Gulf of California.

The eight historic Yaqui villages were scattered at more or less equal intervals along the lower 90 mile stretch

The country on

of the river which extended from east to west

either side of the river from ten to twelve miles is low and flat, and

of a sedimentary, sandy loam, covered with a dense

growth of

mesquite trees and cacti.

few isolated, rugged hills with elevations from 100 to 200 feet are scattered between the river and the

Occasionally there will be

Bacatete Mountains to the north.

hundreds of acres of cholla so thick neither man nor horse can peneOrgan pipe cacti and sahuaras of great size

trate the thickets.

are plentiful.

All the vegetation is of a semi-desert nature. There

is little rain in the region from October until June, and none too

much from June to October.

Dr. Studhalter

region.

made observations of the temperature of the

He reports: "The temperature is hot in summer, and frosts

At Vicam and Torin, from March 8 to April

1934, temperature records were taken each day, when possible,

The morning

at about 8 A. M., at noon and again at 6 P. M.

temperatures ranged from 50° to 68° F., with a mean of 58°.

noon, the range was found to be from 75° to 93° F., with a mean of

82°.

The mean late afternoon record was 77° F., with a range

from 69° to 87°.

During the same period, the morning relative

are rare in winter.

humidity ranged from 25 to 71 p. c. with a mean of 45 p. c.

noon the range was from 22 to 51 p. c.,with a mean of 35 p. c.

and in the late afternoon, from 22 to 50 p. c, with a mean of 36 p.

Little variation was found in barometric pressure during the day,

or from day to day."

Some fifteen miles north of the Rio Yaqui are the Bacatete

Mountains, which extend about twenty-five miles east and west and

Passes into the mountains are few,

about sixty north and south.

iTne historic villages from west to east were Belem (Mule Deer)

Rajum, Potam (Pocket Gopher), Vicam (Arrowhead), Torin

Bacum (Water Hole), and Cocorit (Chili Pepper).

Huiris,

(Big Mouse),

TEXAS TECHNOLOGICAL COLLEGE BULLETIN

difficult

and easily guarded from above.

Ten men in the moun-

defend the passes against hundreds below by rolling rocks

The Yaquis have from time immemorial held

on them.

tains can

down

They will nevthese mountains and are still holding them today.

er be completely conquered so long as they continue to occupy them.

Dr. Alex Hrdlicka visited four of the Yaqui villages in 1 902.

reported approximately 20,000 Yaquis living in the eight vil-

Dr. E. L. Hewitt was in the vicinity in 1 906,

lages at the time.

Today there are

but as yet has not published his observations.

approximately 2600 Yaquis living in five villages. Extending from

east to west, are Consica, Torin, Vicam (Old Vicam), and Potam.

remnant of the Cocorit Indians are located at the railroad town

Vicam.

The Yaquis of Agua Berde are defiant of all Mexican authority. They control the mountains and live mostly by stealing and by

The Yaquis in the four

raiding outlying Mexican settlements.

Six years ago

river villages present a unique political situation.

the Mexican government changed its policy toward them. The government made a treaty with the Yaquis whereby each man would

become technically a member of the Mexican army and receive forOfficers were to be paid on the same scale

ty-two pesos a month.

In this way the men of the river villages beas Mexican officers.

However, they do not drill and do not

came a part of the army.

In each village

take orders from the regular Mexican officers.

They are paid

there are two garrisons, one Mexican, one Yaqui.

by the same government, but spend their days watching each other.

There is a sort

At night they mount guard against each other.

The relations between

of invisible boundary line between them.

the Yaqui chiefs and the Mexican officers are diplomatic.

We were not able to make contact with Jesus Munguia. He

refused to comply with the last treaty between the Yaquis and the

Mexican government. For the past five years he has been the

As we were under the constant

chief of the Mountain Yaquis.

surveillance of the Mexican army we had no opportunity to arrange

The mountain Yaquis are regarded by

a meeting with Munguia.

The

the Mexican government as outlaws and are shot on sight.

army guards the lower ends of the passes in an effort to prevent

communication between the mountain Yaquis and those in the river

villages.

We ascertained, however, that the two groups have an

understanding between them, and that the river Yaquis help to supof

port the mountain people.

Our ethnological work during our first expedition was handiAt Tucson we had

capped by the lack of adequate interpreters.

2 Hrdlicka, Ales, "Notes on

American

the Indians of Sonora".

Anthropologist, 6:51—89, 1904.

Hrdlicka, Ales, "Physiological and Medical Observations among the

Bureau of American EthIndians of Southwestern United States."

nology Bulletin 34, 1908.

STUDIES OF THE YAQUI INDIANS

been told by Flores that we could find Yaquis at the villages who

spoke English.

Several days of searching in the four villages revealed one such man, RamOn Torry, and his knowledge of English

was scant.

He had gone to school in Tucson and had reached

Because of lack of an adequate interpreter we

the third grade.

decided to confine the ethnological work to material culture and

such phases of social culture as we might get by observation.

In September, 934, three members of the first expedition, accompanied by Dr. Charles B. Qualia, head of the Foreign Language Department of Texas Technological College, as interpreter,

Dr. Studhalter

made a second expedition to the Yaqui country.

went along to observe the fall agricultural crops and methods of

harvesting.

Dr. Wagner wished to continue his medical studies.

With a competent interpreter we were desirous of investigating more

thoroughly the social ethnology of the Yaquis.

Dr. Qualia proved to be an excellent interpreter. He had been reared on the Mexican border and was familiar with the folk ways of Mexico. Furthermore his skill in framing questions and his ability to draw information from the Yaquis without the use of "lead questions" were

comparable to those of a professional ethnologist.

All our time

during the second expedition was spent at Torin.

already

had the confidence of the people at that village and we thought it

best to concentrate our efforts there.

Perhaps our greatest

single achievement

was the contacts we

made at Torin. Because of a series of fortunate incidents we made

as much headway getting the confidence and cooperation of the

people as we might have made in many months or years. We hope

to make other expeditions in the future.

If we do, we feel that

we shall receive a genuine welcome, especially at Torin.

The expedition secured 144 museum specimens, 71 for Peabody Museum at Harvard and 73 for the Plains Museum Society

at Texas Technological College.

The two collections are for the

most part duplicates and represent fairly well the articles used by

the modern Yaqui.

In addition a small collection of botanical

specimens was made.

Dr. Wagner and Dr. Studhalter took approximately 600 pictures.

Dr. Seltzer, in addition to photographing the 100 individuals

whose measurements he took, made over 100 pictures dealing with

Yaqui life. Dr. Wagner took 1200 feet of movie film. Mr. McMillan made numerous sketches, some of which are given in Plates

8, 9,

10.

STUDIES OF THE YAQUI INDIANS

CHAPTER I

ORGANIZATIONS

William Curry Holden

Political

The political system of the Yaquis is simple, definite, and

effective.

Each village has a governor elected for one year.

of each year the people, both men and women,

About December

The attendance at the

of each village, gather for the election.

The army chief sends out details to bring

election is compulsory.

The proceedings are extremely informal.

in all truants.

It sometimes reagreement the people try to arrive at a selection.

quires a week of consultation to do this. When a decision has been

him

reached, a committee waits on the one selected and informs

that he has been chosen.

It seems to be a universal custom for no

one to seek an office.

When one is elected he usually pleads with

The committee reasons with

the committee to choose another.

There is

him and tells him that it is his duty to take the office.

were told of instances where the one

no getting out of it.

chosen was whipped until he accepted the place.

The functions of the governor are many and varied, execu-

—

tive,

diplomatic,

legislative,

judicial,

social,

and

religious

an executive, he takes the initiative in the enforcement of tribal custom, which has the force of law.

In his diplomatic capacity he

speaks for the village in all negotiations with the other villages. Although the Mexican government does not technically recognize

Yaqui autonomy to any degree, as a practical matter of administration

does recognize Yaqui autonomy in a quasi sense, and inter-

feres with Yaqui affairs as little as possible.

When the command-

Mexican garrison in a Yaqui village wishes something of

the Yaquis, he sends for the governor and treats with him instead

ant of a

of issuing a military order as

military rule.

usual

dealing with people under

When measures are to be deliberated upon and policies

formed the governor calls the men of the village together, and acts

as a presiding officer when the matter is being discussed.

He acts

as a judge in both civil and criminal matters.

In social affairs,

the people of the village wait for the governor to take the lead.

all religious services the

governor, assistant governors, ex-governors,

and ex-assistant governors constitute an order or group with special

functions.

*It is to be remembered that the Yaqui makes no differentiation in

governmental functions.

To him the governor is an elected chief. He

often refers to the governor and assistant governors as "los jefes" (the

chiefs).

In short the Yaqui makes only one classification in the functions of government wherein we make several.

It is for the purpose

of analysis that I apply our governmental terminology to the Yaqui

system.

The Yaqui himself would be confused by it.

TEXAS TECHNOLOGICAL COLLEGE BULLETIN

There are four assistant governors elected in the same way and

same time as the governor.

They are designated as second

governor, third governor, fourth governor, and fifth governor. Their

at the

functions are largely advisory.

They constitute a sort of cabinet

without individual portfolios so far as executive, diplomatic, legislative, social, and religious affairs are concerned.

When judicial

matters are at

stitute

a court.

hand they, in conjunction with the governor, conThe duties of the fifth governor differ somewhat

He is a sort of

from those of the other three assistant governors.

bailiff,

sergeant at arms, or constable

for

the

governor.

badge of office he carries a rawhide whip tied around his waist.

The whip is not altogether an insignia but also an implement of

punishment.

On occasion he lays it lustily upon the bare backs of

evil doers.

The governor, second governor, third governor, and fourth

governor carry batons as insignia of office. The baton of the governor is approximately thirty-two inches long, while those of the

first three assistant governors are approximately twenty-six inches

long.

Each of them has a silver head on one end and an iron

point on the other.

The purpose of the point is to enable the governor or assistant governors to stick the baton in the ground. When

during Lent one of these officials arrives at the council house for any

official purpose he sticks his baton in the ground before the little

wooden cross in front of the council house.

When one sees

the

batons of the governors thus sticking in the ground, he knows that

some governmental affairs are in progress.

Each village has a council which deliberates upon policies of

community concern. It is a loosely constituted group.

The Yaquis

themselves are scarcely aware of its existence.

When we asked

one of them whether each village had a council we usually got a

negative answer.

Observation convinced us, however, that all

matters of a deliberative nature are discussed by the mature men

of influence at the council house until a general agreement is

reached.

Sometimes the discussion may last for days.

There is

no definite organization except that the governor directs the discussion.

The extent to which each man participates is usually in direct proportion to his influence.

It is customary for the old men

to talk and the young men to listen.

never heard a young

man under thirty speak out in council meeting.

The young men

are always there, but they keep at a respectful distance on the out-'

skirts of the group.

The average Yaqui puts in more time at the

council house than anywhere else, barring the time he spends at

PLATE l

Courtesy of the Texas Archaeological and Paleontological Society.

The plumed dancers clan.

A Yaqui ceremony, naked Indian represents the Christus.

Yaqui funeral, devil-chaser in the foreground.

PLATE 1

TEXAS TECHNOLOGICAL COLLEGE BULLETIN

home.

If there

spits or listens

anything to deliberate upon he either talks and

anything to deliberate

If there is not

and spits.

about, he merely

spits.

The governor and assistant governors constitute a court with

and criminal, except murder. Civil

cases pertain mostly to probate matters, questions on boundaries and

ownership, and domestic differences. Criminal cases consist for the

jurisdiction over all cases, civil

most part of thievery and of intoxication during the period of Lent.

Intoxication during the rest of the year is not considered a crime,

and is even regarded by some as an obligation.

Fighting, as long

as only fists are used, is considered a private matter and no notice

is taken of it.

In case of thievery the accused is brought before

the governors.

They investigate to ascertain whether or not he is

guilty.

If it is the first offense of the accused, he is made to return the goods.

If it is the second offense of the accused, he is

made to return the goods and is given six lashes by the fifth governor.

For each additional offense he is given six lashes.

If the

culprit is penitent and prays to God for forgiveness, some of the

lashes may be remitted.

If the thief has already disposed of the

stolen goods he is made to pay the rightful owner the value of the

goods as determined by the governors and is given lashes according

what offense it is.

fifth governor begins lashing a wrongdoer he has

remove his shirt.

The fifth governor makes the sign

of the cross on his back and then lays on the whip.

When the

lashing is over a ceremonial question is asked the one who has been

Before the

the offender

punished

"Why have you been beaten?"

"Because I have stolen a horse." (Or whatever it was.)

'Whose fault is it?"

"My fault."

We were told that

rare for a person to

commit a second

offense.

The Yaquis have no jails.

Incarceration is not their idea of

punishment.

In fact, they have only three forms of punishment,

admonition, lashing, and death.

All the Yaqui villages have a central governmental organizaa council and (2) a chief.

The council is

a primary convention and is as purely democratic as the primary

conventions of Switzerland.

It is composed of every

man and

tion in the form of ( 1 )

woman of the eight traditional villages.

They do not all attend,

is their privilege to go.

The council convenes at irregular

but it

PLATE 2

Courtesy of the Texas Archaeological and Paleontological Society.

Interior of Yaqui rooms showing horizontal

Yaqui kitchen.

An arbor in front of a Yaqui house.

bamboo weave.

PLATE 2

TEXAS TECHNOLOGICAL COLLEGE BULLETIN

intervals for two purposes, (1) to elect a chief or (2) to act as a

court to try capital offenses.

It has been customary, as long as

the oldest men can remember, for the council to meet at Vicam,

which is the most centrally located village.

When occasion for a

meeting arises, word is sent to all the villages for the people to meet

at Vicam on a specified date.

Those in the outlying villages leave

home the day before.

The most of them, men, women, children,

and dogs, go on foot along trails ankle deep in dust.

few ride

horseback.

They all carry sufficient food to last several days. It

probably be needed before the convention is over.

If it is the purpose of the council to elect a chief, the governors

of the various villages form a caucus.

They go over the available

men for the position until they find someone on whom they can all

agree.

This stage of the selection amounts practically to a unanimous agreement. Then the governors go to the delegations from

their respective villages and ask for approval of the choice. No vote

is taken.

If any person opposes the candidate he says so.

there is no opposition, the governor reports to the caucus that his

people are agreeable.

the

If no opposition comes from any of

villages, the caucus waits on the one selected and informs him that

he is the choice of the people for chief of the eight villages.

It is

customary for him to decline the position.

This disinclination may

be sincere or it may be in some cases a mere matter of form. The

members of the caucus reason with him until he accepts. There is

no side-stepping the will of the people among the Yaquis. The

term of office is for life.

The average chief is in his fifties or sixties when elected.

Unless he is captured or killed by the Mexicans, as has been the case, his term usually lasts for ten to twenty

will

years.

At the present time there is a dual chieftanship which is confusing even to the Yaquis themselves.

The real chief is Louis

Matos who is now in his seventies and who has held the office for

twenty years. For the past five years he has been in the mountains,

a fugitive from the Mexican government.

He refused to be reconstructed and accept the present status of the village Yaquis.

He is

still regarded as the lawful chief by a large majority of the people

in the villages.

The Mexican government, at the time Matos was driven into

the mountains because he would not conform to the terms of the

treaty of 1929, arbitrarily designated Pluma Blanca of Consica as

Up to that time he had been a minor official

Consica. His selection by the government was due

to his pro-Mexican leanings and to the fact that he spoke Spanish

fairly well.

All government dealings are through Pluma Blanca.

The Yaquis do not recognize him except as a matter of convenience

in their negotiations with the government.

chief of the Yaquis.

in the village of

The second function of the council is judicial. When a capicrime is committed the chief sends runners to all the villages

asking the people to assemble at Vicam.

crime is considered as

tal

STUDIES OF THE YAQUI INDIANS

such only

when perpetrated by one Yaqui against another Yaqui.

The chief presides and all the people, men and women, constitute

The accused may speak for himself or select someone to

the jury.

During the trial his hands and feet are tied, and

speak for him.

he is kept under guard. The verdict is reached by a sort of mass

agreement. With a less orderly procedure it would be called mob

Within the memories of the old men still living, no

agreement.

mass jury has ever failed to convict a person accused of murder.

The penalty in such a case is death.

There are no appeals,

no jailbreaks, and no

carried out the next morning after the

Yaqui justice is as swift as it is sure.

reversals,

escapes.

verdict

the

no delays, no legal

stallings,

The sentence is

The night before the execution is devoted to

reached.

condemned man's funeral.

tion of witnessing his

He has the compensating satisfac-

own funeral, or the most of it at least.

From

the time the sentence is pronounced he is treated as a dead person.

The devil-chasers mount guard over him and keep the evil spirits

Chants and prayers are said, the people feast, and fire

away.

One of the most impressive parts of the cerecrackers are shot.

mony is a collection taken up for the condemned man's family.

placed before the altar in the church, and while the

accused looks on, the people file past and drop in money for the

widow, or for his mother, as the case may be. In the morning he

is placed before the large cross in front of the church at Vicam, and

The lieutenant then

promptly at eight o'clock a firing squad fires.

goes forward and shoots the fallen man through the head with his

pistol.

The funeral ceremony is already over except the actual

He is covered up and

burial which requires but a few minutes.

the people are dispersing before he is cold.

tin

plate

Yaqui trials for capital crimes are becoming more and more

rare in the river villages.

years.

There have been few within the past five

When such a crime is committed now, the Mexican army

if they learn of it, attempt to have the accused apprehended and tried under Mexican law. Governor Miranda of Torin,

however, told us that the Yaquis will try desparately to keep the

officers,

^The following account of a Yaqui murder trial was given us by a

Mexican who claimed that it was told to him by an old Yaqui woman.

We were unable to get the story verified by any of the old Yaqui men,

The murderer

but it is worth repeating.

One Yaqui killed another.

was arrested and tried by the general council of all the villages and

found guilty.

But the execution, instead of following the usual custom,

was postponed for eight days.

During this time the condemned one

was given the best food and everything else that he wanted. Each day

On the last

the people took him to church and prayed for his soul.

night his funeral service was held.

Early on the morning of the eighth

day he was taken to the cemetery where he witnessed the digging of

his grave.

At eight o'clock he was placed before the large cross in

front of the church and shot by eight soldiers with eight bullets. The

shooting was officially watched by eight women, madrinas. There

Then

were om bullet and one woman for each of the eight villages.

the body was buried by the women.

TEXAS TECHNOLOGICAL COLLEGE BULLETIN

concealed from the Mexican military in order that they may

The mountain

according to their ancient custom.

Yaquis still continue tribal judicial procedure without Mexican inaffair

try the case

terference.

The Yaquis pay no taxes to the Mexican government; nor

do they levy any local taxes upon themselves. Community enterprises, such as fiestas or collections for charity, are financed by free

will offerings.

The payment of taxes is not included among the

worries of the Yaqui. We were told that there is no word for taxation in the Yaqui language.

Military

Under Mexican

influence the military society no doubt has

undergone a change. The village war chief has been replacd by

a capitan, a teniente, sargeants, and corporals. The warriors are

now soldados. The most of the members of this society technically

belong to the Mexican army; some, however, are not paid by the

Mexican government because they did not sign the government

rolls at the time of the treaty.

On the other hand there are men,

not in this organization, who receive pay.

The average man of

the society going about his everyday routine is a walking arsenal.

Around his waist is a cartridge belt filled with cartridges. At his

hip hangs a cocked semi-automatic pistol.

Inside his belt behind

his left hip is a long knife used both for hunting and for hombres.

Over his right shoulder hangs a repeating rifle which may range

anywhere from a 30-30 to 45 calibre. Most of his arms are of

American make. The military society never drills. Its main function, it seems, is to march in the numerous funeral and religious processions.

Religious

Most spectacular on ceremonial occasions is the devil-chasers'

society.

We gave them the name because it so aptly describes

their functions.

They call themselves the Fariseos. Such a name

the adaptability of the early padres.

devil-chasing organizations among the Yaquis,

They found the

attests to

and being unable

them oyer and made them actors in the

miracle plays, which to the Indians became synonymous with Christo abolish the orders, took

Their business in pre-Columbian, pagan days was to

chase devils, and so it is today.

Mexican influence has been felt in the organization of the

tianity.

devil-chasers' society.

At the head is a capitan, more generally

As a badge of office he carries a spear. Next

in order comes a teniente, who has a

horse-hair

rope over his

shoulder, and he carries a sword with the point upward.

He is

known as "eZ jefe".

followed by four cabos (corporals) who have wooden swords which

they carry point downward.

Next come a flutist and a drummer.

These are followed by devil-chasers whose status is comparable to

The Yaqui word for devil-chaser is chapayecam.

STUDIES OF THE YAQUI INDIANS

that of privates.

Of great importance is another official without

—

Because of his dress and the role he played,

he is sometimes called Death, a part he represented, no doubt,

Membership is optional, yet "once a

before the Spaniards came.

member always a member." Men usually join the society in fulfillment of a vow taken in some crisiis. For instance, if a Yaqui is

deathly sick, he promises God that if he be permitted to get well

he will join the devil-chasers. If he does recover, he assumes that

God has accepted his offer, and becomes a devil-chaser. 2

Closely associated with the devil-chasers are the caballeros, anThere were eleven of them at Torin; howother religious society.

Their chief is a capitan and for

ever, they have no fixed number.

a badge of office he carries a large wooden sword; there are three

cabos with wooden swords, and five knights with wooden lances.

The officers ride horses in the processions while the knights walk.

military title, Pilato.

The officers are elected for life by the society.

Membership in the

society is acqured in the same way as in the devil-chasers.

The group called matachines, or plume-dancers, is a religious

In personnel, organization and activity, it has been little

The orinfluenced by Christian, Spanish, or Mexican influence.

Memganization is under the sole direction of a monoja, or chief.

bership is for life and is acquired when the boys are very young,

society.

often as babies.

If a boy becomes seriously ill, for instance, his

mother promises him to the matachines if God permits him to live.

There are fourteen members in the society at Torin, their ages

ranging from nine to seventy. They wear on their heads tall coronas from the top of which flow colored paper streamers.

These

no doubt were once feathers of brilliant hues. In their right hands

they carry gourd rattles and in their left plumes of chicken feathers.

These were in ancient times parrot feathers, perhaps.

Another group of dancers is the pascolas. Their organization

is loose, and membership is optional.

Individuals join or withdraw

when they wish. The group is composed of three or four dancers

and a half dozen musicians.

deer-dancer is usually associated

Unlike the matachines, the chief function of the pascolas is to entertain.

They alternate dancing with "wise-cracking"

with them.

at funerals, religious fiestas,

wedding fiestas, and christening fiestas.

Associated with the church are three societies usually found in

a Catholic parish, one for men, and two for women.

The men's

crder, the Society of Saint Ignatius, is headed by a gobernador, or

beadle.

Saint Ignatius is the patron saint of Torin.

There are

three maestros who conduct services when

the regular

Catholic

priest is not present.

This is most of the time as the priest comes

2 For

an account of the dress of various members of the devil-chaschapter on Fiesta de Gloria.

Ralph L. Beals in collaboration with Elsie Clews Parsons in an

article, "The Sacred Clowns of the Pueblo and Mayo-Yaqui Indians",

American Anthropologist, Vol. 36, No. 4, October-December, 1934, gives

a more detailed account of the devil-chasers.

ers' society, see

TEXAS TECHNOLOGICAL COLLEGE BULLETIN

Next is the sacristan, or tethrough only once or twice a year.

machi, who rings the bells, lights candles, and acts as head janitar.

He is assisted by two or three understudies. Several altar boys

comprise the remainder of the group.

The older women have a society called in Yaqui qui yoste.

the Society of the Virgin of Loretta or the Society of Our

Lady of Loretta. The group cares for the images, does various

It is

done by women's church societies, and carries images

numerous processions.

The younger women and girls have a society known as the

"Children of Mary". They assist at work around the church, pre-

tasks, usually

of the saints in the

pare for the various services, and take orders generally from the

older women.

On one occasion in the Fiesta de Gloria they carry

the image of Mary in her search for the risen Jesus.

The choir can scarcely be said to be an organization. It is

composed of any number of women, and is closely associated with

the maestros.

They sing the responses and chants for all services.

All the seven last named organizations have to do more or less

They

with religion.

In fact, the Yaquis are extremely religious.

When they shoot

do everything religiously, even their drinking.

Mexicans, they do it religiously.

considerable part of their

time is devoted to religious activities.

Their religion is a mixture of

Catholicism and paganism, a Christian theme largely observed

with pagan ritual.

Their churches combine the elements of Christian temple and pagan shrine.

They are made of poles and carrizo somewhat after the manner of our old-fashioned brush arbors.

The services are conducted almost entirely by the beadle and the

maestros.

These wear no vestments, but dress in blue denim and

sandals like the other men.

Training for these positions is got by

the apprentice method.

The maestros do no preaching, but lead

the endless prayers and chants.

Religious observances consist for the most part of pageantry

The Yaquis possess a keen sense of the dramatic.

Their religious fiestas consist of a series of dramatic episodes in which Biblical and pagan characters are impersonated.

They observe six general fiestas in the course of the year and one

local fiesta in honor of the individual saint of each village.

Of the

general fiestas, the eve of Saint John's Day is given over to social

festivities, and Saint John's Day proper, June 24, to religious ceremonies.

Saint Francis' Day on September 24 is observed with re-

and miracle plays.

PLATE 3

Courtesy of the Texas Archaeological and Paleontological Society.

stool,

Yaqui slingshot, rawhide thong for wood carrying, rawhide lariat,

gourd nursing bottle, tortilla basket, sandals, whisk broom and

sash

Yaqui musical instruments.

Cooking utensils, two wooden spoons, wooden bowl, and earthen

cooking pot.

PLATE 3

TEXAS TECHNOLOGICAL, COLLEGE BULLETIN

and services.

similar observance takes place

December 8, and another on the Day

of the Virgin of Guadalupe, December 12.

The celebration of

ligious processions

the day of the Conception on

Christmas lasts a week. The most important of all is the Fiesta de

Gloria at Easter.

During the observance of Lent, Yaquis observe an impressive

ceremony each evening just at dusk.

drummer goes out from

the council house of each village, stands before the cross in front

of the council house, and beats a continuous roll for several minutes.

Then he faces in each of the four directions making a sort of curtesy by placing the toe of one foot just behind the heel of the other.

While he is beating the drum all men within hearing place their

hats on the ground in front of them and stand at attention facing

the drummer until the ceremony is over.

The Yaquis explained

to us that this was a sort of silent prayer.

Since the use of the

drum and the facing in four directions are pagan practices we surmised that the early Catholic missionaries took over an ancient native ceremony and adapted it as a sort of vesper service

Yaquis observe certain Christian practices of fasting. They

never eat meat on Friday; and during Holy Week they eat no

meat on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday.

widespread belief in ghosts prevails among the Yaquis.

Practically every adult person has had one or more "experiences"

with a ghost.

These "experiences" are not hard to come by, for

the men especially, as the most of them imbibe more or less mescal

from time to time. The most realistic ghost story we got was from

the old temachi, or bell-ringer at the church.

One night when he

was at the church alone ringing the bell about 9 o'clock, a ghost

came out of the church, passed near him, walked out about fifty

yards, and sat down on a rock.

The old temachi got a good view

of him as he passed.

He wore a long, black robe or coat. He had

a very large, white head, and a flat face. When we asked the old

man how long the ghost sat on the rock, he said he did not stay to

see.

STUDIES OF THE YAQUI INDIANS

CHAPTER II

MARRIAGE, CHILD REARING, AND EDUCATION

William Curry Holden

Marriage

The initiative in marriage negotiations rests in theory with the

Considerable freedom is allowed young people

and matches are often the result of understandBut it is for the mother

ings between the boy and girl in question.

mother of the boy.

before marriage,

1 he degree to which a

boy to make the first public move.

mother follows the wishes of her son as to choice of the girl depends

upon the dominating nature of the mother and the acquiescing nadaughters-in-law

Qualities in their prospective

ture of the son.

which all Yaqui mothers rate foremost are health, vitality, robustThe most desirable girl is heavy set, strong

ness, and industry.

limbed and strong backed, large hipped, and heavy breasted. Such

of the

physical qualities are almost indispensable to fit the bride for the

The slender, Ameristrenuous life of a Yaqui wife and mother.

can, boyish type of girl would never be selected by a Yaqui mother.

Theoretically, the mother takes the step in match-making by

first deciding on a girl and then taking the matter up with her son

and husband. If all these parties are favorable, the boy's mother

makes a date with the parents of the girl to discuss the matter. The

meeting of the four parents takes place at the home of the

girl.

The visiting parents ask for the girl for their daughter, saying they

and respect her. If the girl's parents object to

match they veto the proposal, and that is the end of it unless

there is a tremendous infatuation between the young couple.

Their

only recourse is to run away and begin living together in a common law relationship, a thing which is occasionally done. The uswill treat her well

the

ual rule

is,

however,

for the girl's parents to agree.

The engage-

ment is manifested by the boy's presenting the girl with a wedding

dress.

This is usually made by his mother and sisters.

The wedding takes place at the Yaqui church the next time

the priest comes through.

Inasmuch as he comes only once or twice

may be several weddings at the same time.

The ceremony takes place between eight and nine in the morning. It is the

usual Catholic ceremony.

After it is over the Yaqui maestro

a year, there

gives them advise.

He tells them to

love each other, to be faithful, and to respect their parents.

Then

he gives special allegorical admonitions to the boy.

The world is

full of pitfalls.

First, he must avoid water (the evils of drink)

draws the couple aside and

;

beware of iron (not indulge in needless fighting)

and hird, he must shun darkness (not stray from the good faith).

In addition he tells the- giri- not to look to the right or the left when

she goes out, for the deyi: is lurking about and will tempt her. Fail-

second, he must

;

TEXAS TECHNOLOGICAL COLLEGE BULLETIN

ure to observe any of the above admonitions will bring unhappiness.

The bride and bridegroom swear to heed the advice by the holy

which they make with thumb and forefinger.

The newlyweds, with their families and friends, then proceed

to the home of the boy's parents where preparations have been made

The bride wears the wedding dress until

for an all-day fiesta.

cross

when she takes it off and puts it away.

kept until her

If she

is too large for it, it is rolled into a bundle and placed under her

head "so that God can see what she was married in." After she

takes off her wedding dress on her wedding day, the bride helps with

beans,

the cooking and serving of food for the assembled crowd,

tortillas, stew of wild meat, and black, vile coffee.

The musicians

and pascolas are there to dance. There is plenty of mescal. Most

of the men and boys partake of it in varying amounts.

Some of

them will become thoroughly drunk. There may be quarrels and

fist fights.

The party breaks up in the late afternoon, and the

guests able to travel go home.

Those who have become completely intoxicated will lie in the dust in the yard or in the road, depending upon where they happened to fall over, until they regain

consciousness in the night or next morning.

Then they stagger on

home with bleared eyes and bursting heads.

noon,

death.

she has not grown too stout, it is her burial gown.

—

customary for the couple to live at the house of the boy's

boy is enterprizing he has built a new bamboo room

near or attached to the house of the family. It is most likely, however, that he has not gone to this trouble.

In this case, they are

assigned a corner of a room already occupied by several members

of the family. There is little privacy in a Yaqui household.

The

bride assumes her share of the women's work, and begins her monotonous career of grinding corn, cooking tortillas, carrying wood and

It is

parents.

If the

water, and raising babies.

Due to the influence of the Catholic church, monogamy

pre-

among the Yaquis today. There is little doubt, however, that

before the advent among them of Chrisitanity they were polygamists.

One evidence of this is to be found in the calmness with

vails

which they, religious as they are, view irregular unions o f a

shall give an example.

polygamous character.

Juan SerHe stays drunk most of the

rano is between forty-five and fifty.

time except during a holy fiesta.

He is very religious, and takes

His

an important part in all religious ceremonies and funerals.

had occasion to be in his house

home is a veritable harem.

often and tried to unravel the relationship of his vaiious women.

None of them was "his lawfully wedded wife." Thai individual

had left him years ago. "She went off with another man". The

oldest woman in his harem, whom we shall call wife Number 1,

was about the same age as Juan, between forty-five and fifty She

was the lawful wife of a friend of Juan's. The friend haa gone

to Arizona ten or twelve yeais before and had "loaned" her to

Juan. She had a daughter when Juan "borrowed" her, and she

STUDIES OF THE YAQUI INDIANS

These children are all girls

has since had six children by Juan.

except the last one, a boy about two years old, whom Juan worWife Number 2 was a young women not over twenty. She

ships.

had two babies by Juan. The older is dead, and the second, a

boy six months old, was sick when we saw it. It probably did not

Wife Number 3 was the daughter of wife Number 1. She

live.

was a full-breasted, sleek-skinned, sensuous girl of sixteen. At the

time we were there last she was some eight months advanced wi.h

child.

There was another young woman in the household, a "cousin" of Number 3, whose position we could not make out, but it is

probable that she served as wife Number 4 to Juan. All the women lived together in harmony and amicability under the supervision

of the oldest one.

There is

Juan's polygamy is tolerated by the community.

no doubt a certain amount of gossip going around, but neither Juan

All of the

nor any of his numerous family are ostracized socially.

various wives participate in the religious and social life of the villige,

a condition which indicates to some degree that the Yaqui

people have traditionally been accustomed to plural wives.

—

The Yaquis are much more exacting in their rules pertaining

Public opinion

exogamy than to those relating to monogamy.

There is no evidence today that exogamy

does not permit incest.

among them is based on any kind of clan system, as is the case

with other American Indian tribes.

If such were ever the case the

practice has

been dropped.

No one can marry his blood kin.

The degree to which prohibitions are placed upon blood relat'o"!beyond first cousirs. The

ships is vague.

It evidently extends

Ary

is looked upon as very low and beast'y.

one guilty of it is regarded as an animal, and superstition has it

that he may even turn into an animal.

He has the same political

status as an outlaw has in our country,

one outside of the law,

and it is no crime for any citizen to kill him.

practice of incest

—

Interracial marriages are

opposed by the Yaquis. Their opMexicans is augmented to some

position to intermarrying with the

extent by racial hatred but it is basically religious.

They look

with disfavor upon their young people's marrying Anglo-Americans.

They believe that the Yaquis will be segregated in heaven,

and if one marries outside the tribe he will be separated from his

people in the next world.

In the villages where the social practices are still regulated by tribal

tradition and ooinion there is

practically no intermarrying with the Mexicans.

The force of tribal customs breaks down, however, when young men leave the villages to work in Mexican or American communities.

Yaqui

youth on a ranch in northern Sonora is likely to marry a Mexican

girl.

If he does he is lost to the tribe and is absorbed into the

Mexican race.

could find no instance where a young man

had returned to the villages bringing a Mexican wife with him.

Divorce theoretically does not exist among the Yaquis, but in

reality it is quite prevalent.

Here again we find the anc ent cus-

TEXAS TECHNOLOGICAL COLLEGE BULLETIN

toms of the people hanging on in sharp conflict with the more recent

mandates of the Catholic church. As in most other American Indian tribes, divorce no doubt was easy among the Yaquis prior to

Then came the padres with their teachthe seventeenth century.

ing of monogamy and no divorces. Today a Yaqui cannot obtain,

either from the tribal authorities or otherwise, a lawful divorce.

But the church does not prohibit a man or woman from forsaking

Our inquiry

his or her lawful spouse and taking up with another.

indicated that at least fifteen percent of the adults having families

No social stigma is attachare now living under such conditions.

ed to the practice, and the children are christened by the church

without any questions as to their legitimate status.

The Yaquis are quite frank in their conversation on matters

pertaining to sex.

Both men and women answered questions and

volunteered comments without embarrassment in the presence of their

families and neighbors.

Sex relations is common among unmarried

people and adultery to some extent among married persons.

the relations of young unmarried persons become known, they are

given a good lecture by the old people.

Such reproof is a matter

of form and is not taken too seriously.

Women seemed to be more

men and with physiological cause, perhaps. From

all appearances, Yaqui women as a whole are highly sexed.

were told there are a few "professional" prostitutes among them.

unfaithful than

The customary price is a peso, or a piece of cheap jewelry, or a

Such women are the object of considerable gossip, but are

dress.

not socially ostracized.

Child Rearing

Yaquis love children. They simply cannot have too many.

Because of the high infant mortality rate they must bring many of

them into the world in order to have a few reach maturity. The

bearing of children is the main interest and pleasure of a Yaqui

woman. With her, pregnancy is a pleasure because she experiences its stimulating and exalting effects and little of the nausea

and illness so common with white women.

Pregnancy is a condition of which Yaqui women are not

ashamed. On the contrary they are proud of it. They laugh and

make jokes about it with their friends and neighbors, men as well

as women.

The only precautions which a Yaqui woman seems

to take while carrying a child is in not lifting heavy objects.

De-

PLATE 4

Courtesy of the Texas Archaeological and Paleontological Society.

10. Plume, corona, and gourd rattle of a plumed dancer.

11. Left to right, bamboo flute, a whirling device for twisting horse

hair into strands, arrow with wooden point, notched music stick, smooth

music stick.

12. Deer dancer's mask.

13.

Devil-chaser.

PLATE 4

TEXAS TECHNOLOGICAL COLLEGE BULLETIN

from three hours to three days, the most of the

requires

livery

cases being

to them

than six hours.

less

Little trouble

Caesarian operations are unknown

a mother is not delivered in the natural way she dies.

encountered

childbirth

by Yaqui women, how-

have large pelvic areas and unusual

a woman is attended in delivery by a mid-

ever, as they characteristically

As a rule

In some cases the medicine man gives the assistance.

wife only.

talked with one

Occasionally women wait on themselves.

vitality.

woman who had had three children.

With two of them she waited

entirely on herself.

In one case she had cut the cord too short and

The woman is usually in a kneeling posithe child bled to death.

tion when the birth occurs.

The placenta comes out promptly, sel-

dom longer than fifteen minutes after the birth.

It is

buried in ash-

placed in the top of a tree, for Yaquis believe that if it is

not disposed of properly it will cause trouble when the next child

is born.

The mother usually rests on a mat from two to five days.

Then she gets up and goes about her duties.

few women never

go to bed at all. However, they all observe a forty day period of

ceremonial purification.

es or

The baby, immediately

after

birth,

name, washed in tepid water, and dressed.

given

calendric

The calendric name

until after the christening.

The baby is nursed by seme

woman for six to seven days, as the mother's milk is not

used

other

thought to be good for it during this period.

Meanwhile, the

mother drains her breasts by massaging. When ten to twelve days

old the child is taken to the church where it is baptized and christened by the maestro. It is given the name of a godfather or godmother, in either case a good friend, un bueno amigo, of the parents.

After the christening the family with a number of invited

guests return home and celebrate the occasion with a fiesta, including a dinner and more or less mescal. At the end of the fiesta

all the guests shake hands with the father three times, congratulating him upon his achievement.

Mothers nurse their children until they are from two to four

saw one women nursing a child five years old.

This custom of nursing children for long durations is one of the

saving graces of Yaqui child-rearing and helps to reduce the ap-

years of age.

palingly high infant mortality rate.

The only milk Yaqui childThe women have large breasts

is from their mothers.

ren ever get

which produce an unusual amount of milk. Occasions have been

noted where a woman would be nursing a baby a few months old,

a child of two, and a child of four, all at the same time. On such

occasions the mother would give the baby its fill first and divide

the surplus between the other two.

The child is not more than six months old before the mother

supplementing its milk with mashed beans, tortilla crumbs,

and even green corn, if in season. "Stomach trouble" follows and

a considerable percentage of Yaqui babies die of intestinal disor-

starts

STUDIES OF THE YAQUI INDIANS

Without a good supply of

ders before they are two years old.

mother's milk the percentage would no doubt be much higher.

At home Yaqui boys seldom wear clothes up to three or four

years of age except during the winter. When away from home at

a fiesta or church they wear a short, plain dress or a tiny pair of

overalls and shirt.

Girls are never permitted to go naked.

Up to

It conthe age of two children wear a peculiar kind of diaper.

sists of a string around the thighs, with a rag which runs between

The rag

the legs and tucks under the thigh string back and front.

seldom changed.

Education

A boy's education

his

parents

and given

simple.

instruction

He is called in occasionally

how to

respect for his elders or juniors, general conduct,

greet

people, in

and behavior at

Membership in a society is optional. He is taught to

He absorbs from

hunt with bow and arrow and with a slingshot.

The chances

his elders a considerable knowledge of woodcraft.

Only about one boy out of ten

are that he will not go to school.

The reason for his illiteracy lies with

ever learns to read or write.

The old men are opposed to the Mexican schools.

his elders.

They well know that the best way for the government to break

ceremonies.

down Yaqui resistance is to get the Yaqui children into Mexican

schools, under Mexican teachers.

The old men have so far managed to prevent the most of the children's attending school. The

government maintains a school

Yaqui children

ever attend.

each village but only a handful

When asked why they did not

send their children to school, fathers gave various reasons.

It was

too expensive to buy clothes, pencils and paper, or they needed

their children at home. Such trumped-up excuses were easy to see

through.

They feared the Mexicanizing influence of the schools.

At Torin out of a scholastic population of approximately a

hundred only eight Yaqui children attend school. The governors

agreed to permit these to attend provided a Yaqui man who spoke

both Yaqui and Spanish should stay in the school room and translate what the Mexican teacher said into Yaqui.

This is a safeguard calculated to offset to some degree the Mexicanizing influence of the school.

Consequently, the Yaqui man, without pay,

stays as faithfully in the school room as the Mexican teacher.

The training of Yaqui girls is given by their mothers.

cation for the

Edumain purpose of their lives, child bearing and rear-

ing, begins early.

One is scarcely five or six before she is helping

a younger member of the family.

By the time she is

seven she can carry a baby on her back, and balance a twogallon bucket of water on her head with ease.

Long before she

is old enough to marry she knows how to carry wood and water,

to grind corn into meal, to mix the dough, to pat out and cook tortillas, and to beat out clothes at a waterhole in the river.

Yaqui children are shy, reserved, and well behaved. When

to care for

TEXAS TECHNOLOGICAL COLLEGE BULLETIN

strangers are about the place, the little ones cling to their mothers,

Small boys who stay

their big dark eyes riveted on the visitors.

constantly in the fields during the growing season to scare

away

the birds and devastating animals are as shy as their sisters at home.

they see you before you see them they will hide and watch you

a hawk as long as you are in sight If you ccme on them unawares they immediately have business on the other side of the field

and glide off so easily that they leave you wondering how they

One day we were passing a field in a car.

boy some

did it.

yards from the road had a bcw and arrow.

decided to

stop and attempt to purchase them.

called to the bey just as

he was taking aim at an imaginary rabbit, in the opposite drection.

He shot his arrow as far as he could and then ran after it.

He shot again in the same direction and chased on after his arrow,

a neat trick, we thought, of getting away frcm us.

fifty

—

ren.

Yaqui parents seem to have a sincere affection for their childTwo instances are typical. One day Dr. Wagner found a

baby taking water from a gourd "nursing bottle". The Doctor

decided we must have the "bottle" for our museum collection. He

offered the mother a half peso for it.

She refused and said the

peso.

"bottle" belonged to the baby and she would not sell it.

Two pesos. No, it belonged to the baby and was not for sale.

Then the Doctor changed his tactics and offered brilliantly colored

beads and cheap, flashy jewelry which a Yaqui woman finds hard

No, the gourd was the baby's. Then the Doctor dug

to resist.

The

deeper into his pockets and found a little red automebi'e.

mother began to soften. She called the baby's father. They held

Yaqui words flew fast. They agreed to

a lengthy consultation.

trade.

The baby had rather have the little red automobile than

the bottle.

The toy had cost the Doctor a d me at a ten cent store.

be noted here that the parents put the desires of the baby

foremoct.

They refused two pesos for the gourd and took a toy

Th s

costing ten cents,

all because it would please the baby.

—

instance also emphasized the fact that the Yaquis are not as yet

commercially minded. They have practically no sense of monetary

While securing museum specimens we found they usually

took whatever we offered for an object.

If they were willing to

They would

part with an item, the price was not a considerat on.

sell a rawhide covered stool for fifty ceniavoz as readily as for five

values.

pesos.

A second instance of fondne:s for children was noted at

the home of the village carpenter at Torin,

The carpenter mad?

and chairs which he traded to his neighbors for corn, beans

and melons. For his grandchildren he had made a tiny chair, a crib

for the baby to stand in, and a little wagon. The carpenter was wi 1-

stools

ing to

sell

us anything else on the place

including

his

ceremonial

plume and headgear, for he was a member of the matachines, but

the children's things were not for sale,

Le:s than ten percent of Yaqui men can read, and the nam-

STUDIES OF THE YAQUI INDIANS

visited in some fifty homes and

ber of women is even smaller.

This was in the

in only one did we find any kind of newspaper.

house of Lorenzo Espinosa, the most respected and influential man

There we found a dozen copies of the Excelsior, of

in Vicam.

widely varying dates. From these Lorenzo gathered news of political activities in Mexico.

These items he told to his neighbors and

they in turn relayed them on until the news spread through the

different villages.

Consequently, even illiterate Yaquis have some

idea of political trends

the nation.

TEXAS TECHNOLOGICAL COLLEGE BULLETIN

CHAPTER III

LA FIESTA DE GLORIA

William Curry

H olden

La Fiesta de Gloria is the longest and

Yaqui ceremonies.

It is

most

important

the culmination of a series of observances

held throughout Lent. The ceremony upon which this account is

Beginning at eight o'clock on

based was witnessed at Torin.

Wednesday evening before Easter it lasts until noon Sunday.

Separate ceremonies are held in each of the five river villages including Vicam "Switch".

were unable to learn whether the

Yaquis in the mountains observed La Gloria with a complete

ceremonial.

It seemed customary for some of the mountain Yaquis

to slip down to the river villages for the celebration.

The preparations for the Fiesta at Torin were under

the

direction of a Jefe de la Fiesta, who on this occasion was the chief

of the devil-chasers' clan.

On Tuesday and Wednesday mem-

bers of the devil-chasers' organization built

cane some

an inclosure of bamboo

square surrounding a huge tree (SI 7, Plate

The sides of the inclosure were from twelve to fifteen feet

5).

high, affording a very good wind-break.

The entrance was on the

south side.

The tree shaded most of the area which was used for

cooking.

Women, children, and dogs were grouped about a half

dozen fires which were kept going continuously during the entire

time.

Each day several young men detailed for the purpose

brought in huge wagon loads of seasoned mesquite wood for fuel.

Throughout Wednesday people were coming in from the

country.

Practically all of them came on foot, the women carrying on their heads the food they would need during the next four

days.

They camped under trees or among the ruined walls of

Torin.

few families made wind-breaks of cottonwood boughs.

They needed to spend little time preparing their camps, however,

for they would be in them very little.

The men would be at their

respective society's headquarters and the women would divide their

fifty

feet

Erna Fergusson in article, "Yaqui Pascola" published in Mexican

1935, describes a Fiesta de Gloria which she witnessed

at Tlaxcala.

The ceremony was performed by a group of Yaquis who

had been forcefully moved to the State of Morelos by Porfirio Diaz.

The Tlaxcala fiesta contains all the essential parts found in the Torin

ceremony. The sequence of events are not quite the same; for instance,

the devil-chasers, or Fariseos, burned their masks and wooden swords

at Torin on Saturday morning, while at Tlaxcala the burning took place

Life, April

en Sunday morning.

PLATE 5

The crosses on the plot indicate

of the village of Torin.

stations at which ceremonies was held.

These are referred to in the

text as SI, S2, and so on.

2 Plot

PLATE 5

YflQOI

e-t

J4)

Devil Chosers

;«-t

r j

TEXAS TECHNOLOGICAL COLLEGE BULLETIN

time between the church, marching in the numerous processions, and

Sleep and rest would be had in snatches

the cooking inclosure.

when and where a lull came in the festivities.

In order to observe every phase of the ceremonies we divided

Working in

our party into four shifts, two persons to the shift.

two and one-half hour watches day and night we took notes and

In order not

recorded the time at which everything took place.

to make this report too long and monotonous we shall omit a conShould anyone

siderable part of the detail contained in the notes.

desire to make a future study of the Fiesta de Gloria and wish to

draw a comparison, our field notes will be on file.

The fiesta was officially started with the beating of a drum

at 8:00 o'clock

in front of the Yaqui garrison (SI 8, Plate 5)

Wednesday evening. Fifteen minutes later two candles were lighted on the altar of the church, and after another five minutes a third

and fourth candle were lighted, giving the altar a stage effect. At

8:25 the bells of the church were rung, and at the same time a drum

was beaten at the Yaqui garrison. The drum sounded again at

8:43 and the military society formed in front of the garrison in a

column of twos. These men marched to the church, entering from

the south, stood for a moment crossing themselves, marched out

again and around the church to the northeast corner, where they

a fire at S22. This station remained the civil and military

societies' headquarters until the end of the fiesta.

The devil-chasers had planted their banner (a small red flag

with a white cross on it) at SI 5 in the afternoon. Throughout the

late afternoon and early evening the members had been arriving

with their paraphernalia under their arms.

They planted their

wooden swords in the ground around the banner and placed their

masks on the swords. The evening was cool, and they started a

fire.

The ringing of the church bells at 8:50 was the signal for

every devil-chaser to put on his paraphernalia

a blanket with a

slit in it for the head, a deer-hoof belt to confine it at the waist, and

cocoon-rattler anklets.

Each man threw himself prone upon the

ground on his left side to put on his mask. This is customary for

putting on and removing masks.

Each devil-chaser wears a small

wooden cross swung from his neck. Just before he pulls his mask

over his head he places the cross in his mouth where it remains until he removes the mask.

During this time he does not utter a word.

He communicates entirely by signals. Belonging to the devil-chaser society were ten members who wore black veils over their heads

and shoulders and who carried either painted wooden swords or

spears.

These men were of higher rank than the ordinary devilchasers.

If the latter might be compared to privates in the army,

built

—

3 For description of cocoon anklets see Frances Densmore's "Yuman

and Yaqui Music", Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin, 110, pp» 155156.

The cocoon has been identified as "Rothschildia jorulla." A similar

cocoon has been reported from Abilene, Texas, by Dr. Cyrus N. Ray.

STUDIES OF THE YAQUI INDIANS

the black-masked marvels would be as corporals or sergeants.

The

dress of one of the black marvels was more elaborate than the oth-

He was a tall man and wore a black felt hat.

ers.

reaching to the shoulders covered his head.

A black

veil

From his shoulders

hung a long black cape edged with yellow braid.

This man, an imposing and dramatic figure, was to impersonate

Pilate, King Herod, Danger, and Death successively in the course

to his knees

of the evening ceremonies.

The devil-chaser society formed into a column of twos. Fire

works were shot off at 9:27, and at 9:30 the clan started to the

Entering the

church, marching to the tune of a bamboo flute.

church, the two lines separated, one going on the east side and one

Women and children had been arriving in small

on the west.

groups for an hour.

They sat flat on the ground in the center of

Presently the governor, with the other three chiefs and

and stood in three columns in the rear

of the church.

the church.

the military clan, returned

tion.

The next forty minutes were consumed in taking up a collecA bamboo mat with a blanket on it was placed in front of

On the blanket was a pottery plate. On each side, reon his elbows, was a devil-chaser.

One had a stuffed

bird, the other a stuffed squirrel.

Apparently the bird and squirrel

took a great interest in the collection.

They would look into the

plate and wag their heads in disappointment at the small amount

the altar.

clining

The contributors came in pairs, knelt before

and made their offering.

Most of

the men gave a peso; the women and children gave less.

When

no more seemed forthcoming five men gathered around the mat to

money coming in.

the plate, crossed themselves,

count the money.

When they had finished, one of them, an old

man, stood up and made a speech, He spoke inYaqui, but we

gathered that he was talking about the collection. When he finally

dramatically announced the amount, 78 pesos, a chorus of Yaqui

"Amens" arose from the audience. An unusual amount it seemed;

it was to be used to pay the expenses of the fiesta.

They would

use hundreds of candles, a quantity of flour and corn meal, and

two old steers that had been purchased for meat.

The mat was removed at

10:15, and a lay assistant to the

(known as maestro) began lighting candles on a special candlestick in front of the altar.

The maestro and women started a

chant and the devil-chasers gathered around the altar beating time

with their wooden swords.

For the next hour and forty-five minutes chants and prayers alternated with the devil-chasers' beating

their sticks and an occasional drum-beat, with a few notes on the

priest

flute.

At 10:48 a maestro extinguished one of the candles. At

three to five minute intervals the other candles were put out one

at a time.

:48 the church

was in total

darkness.

Then came a

TEXAS TECHNOLOGICAL, COLLEGE BULLETIN

whipping ceremony.

ter.

started with someone's crowing like a roos-

Men and women pulled their skirts up over their backs.

For

Worshippers whipped one another

seven minutes bedlam reigned.

on the bare backs with straps. They yelled, shrieked, cried, laughed, and screamed.

The fat woman who led the chorus beat the

maestro lustily.

At 1 1 :55 candles were re-lighted. The people

knelt for a final prayer and the service was over.

Exactly at midnight the devil-chasers left* followed by the governor's staff and

military society.

As the people left the church they bellowed like

calves, barked like dogs, or screeched like owls.

The candles were

allowed to burn out one by one.

The last one flickered out at

The people spent the rest of the night lounging, some of

12:35.

them sleeping, around their camp fires.

Activities were started Thursday morning at 5:55 with the

ringing of the church bells, eight slow, deep strokes followed by a

series of chimes.

At 6:15 drumbeats came from the Yaqui garrison.

At SI 5 and SI 4 respectively, where they had spent the latter

part of the night, were the devil-chasers and the mounted guard.

The latter had their standard planted under a huge tree. Only

eight of them, the older men, were actually mounted; horses not

in use were tied under the tree.

Between seven and eight women carried breakfast to the men

of the various groups.

It consisted of tortillas and coffee.

At 8:10

the drum at the Yaqui garrison was beaten again.

Several women gathered at the church. Some of them began

sweeping the dirt floor with brush brooms.

Others were carrying

water in five-gallon cans on their heads from the waterholes in the

river.

They sprinkled the floor and moistened the tops of the

graves.

At 8:42 a group of ten persons, eight of them women, arrived

with a corpse of a baby, which had died the night before of pneumonia.

(See funeral number 4 in the chapter on funerals.)

8:55 the bell ringer tolled the bells for the

funeral.

While

the

grave was being dug and the other details cared for, no one took

any notice of the funeral except the little group which had come

with the body. Women kept on sweeping a few yards away; the

devil-chasers were sprawled on the ground near by; many persons

came and went as unconcerned as if there were no funeral within

a hundred miles.

In the meanwhile there was considerable bustle and activity

throughout the entire village. Two members of the military society

were sweeping the area around the Yaqui garrison with huge

brush brooms, causing clouds of dust to rise.

Men and women

were cleaning the space around the cooking shelter at SI 7. Smoke

was rising from piles of burning trash. Several men were building

a bamboo arbor, some fourteen feet square, at SI 9. This was to

be used later in the day for a ceremonial feast. Women in the

compound at SI 7 had never stopped cooking, and throughout the

morning they were busy preparing an unusual variety of foods.

STUDIES OF THE YAQUI INDIANS

At 10:20 the maesiros and the singers led by a very fat woman

whom we called "old High

Pitch" started a chant in the

church, old High Pitch's voice drowning out the voices of the other

women. Ten minutes later the devil-chasers gathered at SI 5 and

At 10:37 a drum sounded and the

began putting on their masks.

At 10:38 they began their

devil-chasers formed a double line.

march to the church to the music of a flute, beating together their

wooden swords. Shortly before them, the governor's staff had arrived and taken up their position in three lines near the rear of the

The governor's staff consisted of the assistant governors

church.

and all ex-governors and ex-assistant governors. When the devilchasers arrived the two lines spread out, passed outside the gover-

The governor

nor's staff, and went near the front of the church.

and the first three assistant governors, with blue sashes around their

shoulders, then left their places in the rear of the church and went

forward and stood to the left of the altar. Before the altar was

a statue of Christ surrounded by four sets of candles.

The maesfros

and singers were still chanting, and

the devil-chasers beat their

swords rhythmically, rattled their anklets and occasionally their

deer-hoof belts by shaking their hips.

At 10:43, Pilate and the

chief of the devil-chasers advanced to the altar, where they stood

silently for three minutes; then they returned to their places and

the chanting was resumed.

At 10:50 the maesiros and singers

knelt for two minutes while the old bell-ringer and his first assistant

shook rattling boards near the altar. Each board was about three

feet long and twelve inches wide; on each were three or four iron

rings about four inches in diameter, each ring attached with a single

staple in such a way that it would swing around freely when the

board was shaken; at the top of each board was a handhold.

When the board was shaken vigorously with a half rotating motion,

back and forth, the rings clapped loudly against the board, making

a great noise.

The purpose of the rattling boards was not clear.

While the bell-ringers were shaking the boards and the maesiros

and women were kneeling, the devil-chasers were jumping about,

clowning, and making a lot of horseplay.

:00 the clatter stopped, and there was responsive reading by the maestros and singers, the maesiros reading from prayerbooks and the women responding by rote.

silent prayer at 1 1 :04

was followed by a chant which ended at 1 1 :08. The governor

and the three assistants left the place where they were standing at

the left of the altar and went back to the governor's staff at the

rear of the church.

At 11:12 the devil-chasers marched out to

the accompaniment of flute-playing to the east side of the chucrh

where they removed their masks and began to smoke cigarettes and

to rest,

but not for long. At 1 1 :20, they put on their masks and

—

scattered out around the village, one taking his place at each of the

to 5 inclusive.

Then the old bell-ringer brought

one of the rattle-boards and gave it to the devil-chaser stationed at

SI.

The board was carried around the village in relay fashion.

When the first board had got to the opposite side of the village the

crosses, stations

TEXAS TECHNOLOGICAL COLLEGE BULLETIN

Around the village the

the second board.

boards went clanging three times. It was a hot day; the men ran

fast; sweat rolled down their necks and saturated their heavy

serapes; not a dry thread was left. With their heads encased in

tight buckskin masks we wondered why they did not fall from exbell-ringer started

They were driving away evil spirits and

haustion, but they did not.

throwing

their protecting influence

around the village as

their

an-

had done from time immemorial.

Meanwhile, the women who had charge of

cestors

the ceremonial

property were dressing a two-foot statue of Christ in a red robe.

Around his neck they placed a horse-hair rope. Then they brought

out a three-foot statue of Mary and dressed her in white; the garments had been washed, starched and ironed.

statue of Mary

Magdalene, dressed in black, was brought out and placed on the

east side of the church towards the front.

crown of thorns was

placed on the head of Christ, and the statue was placed upon a lit-

ter.

The clapper-board relay ended at

:40,

later a general procession of all the societies got

and

nine minutes

under way.

old man told us they "were going to look for Christ." They were

led by Death, alias Herod, who rode a beautiful white horse.

The

horse's mane and tail were made festive with bows and streamers

of colored paper.

He had been trained to lope no faster than an

ordinary horse can walk.

While the societies marched around the

village looking for Christ in the red robe, the devil-chaser who remained in the church held the horse-hair rope attached to Christ's

neck in one hand and wielded his long wooden sword with the other.

He jumped around, shook his hips, and made passes through

the air with his sword.

At 1 1 :58 the searchers returned to find Christ at the church

and they proceeded to make a great commotion over him. The governor and the first three assistant governors then came forward,

picked up the litter on which the Christ rested, and started a new

procession.

The devil-chaser holding the rope went along in front,

still holding the rope fast.

Pilate rode in front of the group.

his side, on foot, went one of the black-masked devil-chasers, and

behind them, the governors bearing the Christ.

Flanking both

sides were the members of the military society in columns of twos,

each man fully armed.

The mounted guardsmen were outside the

military columns, three horsemen on either side, each holding erect

his wooden spear or sword.

The procession went around the vil-

each of the fourteen crosses. As they approached SI 8 they were met by the maestros and the singers, who

had remained at the church. The Christ was placed where he had

been before, the devil-chaser still holding the rope.

The singers

lage, stopping briefly at

and the governor's staff knelt for a prayer while the devil-chasers

and military guards stood in lines on the west and east sides of the

church.

This part of the service was over at 12:23 and the military guards and devil-chasers retired to the east sides of the church

STUDIES OF THE YAQUI INDIANS

where each devil-chaser stretched himself prone on the ground and

removed his mask. Each placed a bandana handkerchief over his

head to keep from taking cold. At 12:25 the governor's staff

marched out of the church and to its temporary headquarters at

S22. At 12:30 the altar men took the statue of the crucified

Christ from the main altar and placed it on a box in front of the

The crucified Christ wore lace "drawChrist with the red robe.

ers" or "trousers" and a pink cape trimmed in yellow.

From

2 30 to 2 30 the members of the various societies stood

shade while their women brought them

baskets and thick, black coffee in earthen pots.

or sprawled about in the

tortillas

2:30 the devil-chasers

and began pulling up

and smoothing down the graves. This

bestirred themselves

the crosses in the cemetery

rubbing out of the cemetery is an annual custom. After the fiesta

is over a few families of persons who have died in the last year or

two will come and put back the crosses and mounds, but the most

of them will not.

The location and identity of the graves will be

The

lost, and sooner or later new graves will be dug into the old.

reason for levelling the cemetery is that the area will be needed for

parades and dances during the next three days.

At 3:00 P. M. the devil-chaser society marched into the

church past the altar and out again. They passed through the village, stopping at houses and temporary camps, returning to the

One

church at 3:45 with three women, very old and tottering.

was almost bent double and hobbled along with a stick. In the

church the three old souls knelt for a few minutes before the altar,

and then they were escorted to the newly built arbor at SI 9, where

a ceremonial feast was to be held shortly in their honor.

Mats had been placed on the ground and on these the old

women were seated flat on the ground. The old bell-ringer, who

was the oldest man in the village, joined them. The arbor was

some fifty yards south of the entrance to the cooking compound at

Between the arbor, SI 7, and the entrance of the cooking

SI 7.

compound in a line facing east knelt the members of the societies.

The men took their positions according to rank, beginning with the

Pilate and the mounted

governor at the head of the line at SI 9.

guardsmen, dismounted now, knelt in a line on the south side of the

arbor.

The maestros and singers were seated to the east of the

arbor.

The feast began with a large half-gourd of water being started along the line from the cooking enclosure. Each man pretended

The three old women and

to drink and passed it to the next man.

the old man actually sipped the water and then handed the gourd

The singers partook of the water until

to the singers on the east.

Then food began to be passed along the line, each

it was all gone.

man in the line pretending, but none actually tasting, until the

earthen bowl reached the old people. They would take a bit and

Bowl after bowl

pass the bowl on to the singers, who finished it.

came down the line, tortillas, beans, rice, garbanzos, stew of wild

TEXAS TECHNOLOGICAL COLLEGE BULLETIN

meat, potatoes, stewed onions, and numerous pottery jars of coffee.

Each person, before actually tasting the food, made the sign of the

cross over it.

At 4:40 the procession reformed and marched back

At 4:43 the various

to the church, the old people going along.

societies went out of the church and a recess was in order.

At 5 :42 the devil-chaser society marched back into the church

They seemed to be waiting for someMore and

one, meanwhile engaging in a great deal of horseplay.

more women and children kept arriving. At 5:53 the three old

and stood along the aisles.

women, with white shawls on their heads, came through a door near

The devil-chasers then marched out with

They circled the

the old women, the old man going with them.

village once and then the old women stopped at S2 and sat down.

The man followed the devil-chasers to S20. This was an enclosure some six feet in diameter which had been made by standing in

the front of the church.

a circle of cottonwood boughs, seven to eight feet high. The old

man went into the enclosure and the devil-chasers marched back

to the church at a fast step.

By this time the maestros, singers,

and about sixty women had moved out from the church to SI. The

by the tall figure of Pilate, went into the church,

and back to S20. Three

times they did this, their pace getting faster and faster.

The third

time they ran. We were unable to determine how the flute-player

devil-chasers, led

circled in front of the altar, out again,

could pipe his notes at such speed.

tors increased with the

The excitement of the spectaThe whole affair was

Hie third time they approached

cadence of the flute.

working up to an exciting climax.

the enclosure the devil-chasers threw themselves on the ground

around it, their feet pointing out. At a signal they instantly pulled

down the boughs. There stood the old man without clothing except for a thin breech-cloth and a crown of mesquite thorns.

His

body was emaciated, thin, and wrinkled, not unlike Mahatma

Ghandi, and he bore a staff. The old man, representing Christ,

followed the devil-chasers back to SI.

As they passed S2 the

three old women with the white shawls, representing the Three

Marys, fell in behind. At SI, Christ spoke with Pilate.

(Here

the thorns began to prick the old man and he had to readjust his

crown.)

In the meanwhile the devil-chasers were taunting Christ

and the Marys.

The procession then moved into the church, where Christ

stood before the altar. Then it came out again and started on an-

other round of the village.

rope had been placed on Christ's

neck.

Three devil-chasers ran in front holding the rope.

The

other devil-chasers threw themselves on the ground, in a row, face

downward. As Christ passed he gave each a terrific wallop across

the back with his staff.

After each had received his blow he ran

on ahead in leap-frog fashion and threw himself down to take another.

So it went around the village. The old man ran swiftly,

notwithstanding the fact that he

societies ran behind,

was near ninety.

horsemen and all.

The various

On the return, Christ show-

STUDIES OF THE YAQUI INDIANS

and had to be helped along by

Three Marys as he climbed the hill to the church. At SI 6 he

sat down and held a collection plate in his lap, while some of the

either real or feigned fatigue

the

people contributed.

We could not ascertain the purpose of the

collection.

The devil-chasers, military society, and horsemen made another circuit of the village, going on a run, the flute-player giving

the cadence. When they returned, the governor's staff marched into

the church from S22, brought out a canopy, and got ready for a

First went a man

general procession.

It got under way at 7:02.

with a black banner.

Next was Pilate on his horse with a blackThey were followed by three almasked devil-chaser beside him.

The middle one carried a cross, the

tar-boys with red dresses on.

Next was the statue of

other two, candles in bamboo candlesticks.

the crucified Christ carried by four governors.

Over this statue was

a canopy supported on four bamboo poles and carried by four men.

Behind was the statue of the Christ in the red robe (the rope still

on his neck), carried by four men. Next came three little girls in

long white dresses, with paper wreaths on their heads and green

boughs in their hands. They were followd by statues of Mary,

Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, one behind the other.

Each was carried by four women, each woman wearing a long veil

and a red crown. Behind them came the masetros and singers,

who in turn were followed by a crowd of women and children. The

procession was flanked on either side by the military society fully

armed.

Outside rode the six horsemen.

The devil-chasers in two

lines circled the entire group between each two of the sixteen crosses, one line going in a clockwise and the other in a counter-clockwise direction.

The procession stopped for a chant in front of each

of the crosses.

It returned to SI 6 on the side of the hill east of the

Back in the

church just at sunset, making a colorful pageant.

church again, a chant lasted from 7:55 to 8:10, when the various

societies withdrew.

The image of the Virgin Mary had been

placed a few feet in the rear of that of the crucified Christ, and a

devil- chaser guard placed over each image.

At 8:27 the devil-chaser guards over the two statues were

changed.

An assistant sexton brought out a lighted candle and

An oil lamp was

placed it on the ground in front of the Virgin.

lighted on the altar and three candles placed on either side of it.

For a while the maestros and singers chanted before the altar and

The church was

then retired to a room at the left of the altar.

who

left to the images, the devil-chaser guards, a few stragglers

came and went, and the two of us who were taking notes. The

the

devil-chasers thought they must furnish the entertainment for

rest of us.

They fidgeted, scraped their feet on the ground, shook

the deer-toe belts on their hips, and carefully raked the devils off

One devil-chaser let the other hold his

the litters of the images.

rope for a few minutes while he went to the cliff to the west to get

TEXAS TECHNOLOGICAL COLLEGE BULLETIN

He came back with a great deal of determination,

he shook his rattles lustily and quickly went over his image to

There was

see if any devils had taken advantage of his absence.

chanting in the room to the left of the altar at intermittent intervals.

air and cough.

for

The moon was so bright that we needed no other light in writing our

The talking and laughter of the military guards and the

notes.

devil-chasers off duty around the campfires to the east of the church

a black-shirt devil-chaser,

gradually died down.

At 1 1 1

whose status in the society is somewhat like that of a corporal or

sergeant, brought in two fresh devil-chasers to relieve the old ones.

The black-shirt stood some ten feet away while the four of them

went carefully over the images to see that the images were properly

cleansed of devils.

They had to be sure that the statues were

This check over

surrendered and received without taint or evil.

took two minutes.

At 11:15 an old man came from the room at

the left of the altar and muttered two sentences to each image. He

There were

bowed forward a little, but did not remove his hat

They conversed in low

three Yaqui stragglers in the church now.

tones.

One of the devil-chasers accidently struck his image with

This necessitated a close examination to see if any

his sword.

harm had been done.

By this time the chanting had ceased to

the left of the altar.

One of the devil-chasers made a noise caus-

ed by the emission of intestinal gas.

The three visitors laughed.

One of them retorted with a double noise. There was laughter

from the camp fires to the east.

Some one out there answered in

kind.

The devil-chaser signaled back with two long and two

shorts.

The other devil-chaser guard answered with a long and a

short.

It began to dawn on us that they could control their noises.

Then there was a whole chorus,

here, there, longs, shorts, and

variations.

This sort of amusement lasted twenty minutes and then

died down.

did not know whether this was due to the actors'

losing interest or their ability.

Then things got very quiet except

Snores came from the

for the antics of the devil-chaser guards.

room to the left of the altar.

peered in.

One of us went

to the

door

and

Men and women were sprawled on the dirt floor in all

directions and positions.

Occasionally a dog barked or a coyote

yelped in the distance.

At 12:08 the guards were changed again.

One of the new ones was a natural clown.

After a few moments

he discovered the two of us who were taking notes.

Then he

started a show which lasted an hour.

He made a stick-horse of

his long sword, fought duels with a host of imaginary devils, did a

variety of dances.

He was especially good at a dance somewhat like a schottische.

were sorry to see him go off duty at

1:15.

Nothing new happened during the rest of the night. The

guards were changed every hour or two.

By sunrise on Friday morning women were sweeping the

church floor and the yard and carrying water from the waterholes

in the river to sprinkle the ground.

They carried the water in fivegallon petroleum cans balanced on their heads.

They filled the

STUDIES OF THE YAQUI INDIANS

cans within an inch of the top, and with straight backs and easy

up the hill to the church without spilling a drop.

From 7:00 until 10:00 several men and women were busy rearranging the altars.

large black cross was placed on the main

altar.

In the meanwhile the guards were taken away from the two

images.

Christ was supposed to be dead now.

At 10:10 three

women came in and started a chant.

Soon the church was filling

with women and children.

At 10:15 the devil-chaser society began to get ready for another day of marching. At 10:20 they

stomped into the church beating their swords together while their

flute-player fluted.

The horsemen, eight of them this morning,

took their positions at the foot of the hill.

At 10:32 the governor's staff arrived just behind the military society.

The maestros

had come out and chants lasted until

:45.

During this time the

entire crowd went to the altar two by two, knelt, and crossed themselves before the black cross.

Then one maestro, a very old

Yaqui, came out with vestments on.

These consisted of a white

gown with a black cap and mantle. He lifted the black cross

from the altar, and the old bell-ringer took his place beside him with

a smoking incense-burner.

procession was formed which moved to the south end of the churchyard and back.

The women

placed their rebozas on the ground in front of the maestro in vestments and the old bell-ringer so that they did not tread upon the

ground.

With the cross back on the altar, a prayer lasted until

12:12.

Then the various societies filed out and a recess started

which lasted until 4:10 P. M.

steps they went

During the recess in the early afternoon all the crosses around

the village, except the large one in front of the church, had been

taken out, laid flat on the ground, and covered with green branches.

Over four of the crosses, at S3, S5, S7, and S10, bowers of cottonwood and mesquite branches had been erected to represent empty

tombs.

At that time the boards with clappers on them were brought

out, and the devil-chasers repeated the relay of the

day before

around the village.

The various societies marched into the church

at 4:50.

The devil-chasers and military guards immediately came

out and circled the village accompanied by the horsemen.

When

they returned a general procession got under way.

In front was

Pilate on his horse.

Next came the altar-boys carrying a cross

and candles.

They were followed by three maestros in vestments,

one carrying an incense-burner.

Next was a bier, a frame covered with mosquito bars and paper flowers, borne by four men. These

men were dressed in white sheets, and hoods on which were red

crosses.

Next, one behind the other, were images of the three

Marys.

The military guards and horsemen were on each side,

and a multitude of women and children brought up the rear. The

devil-chasers, as usual, continually circled the entire group in both

directions.

The procession stopped at the bower at S3.

The bier

was placed under the bower.

maestro swung the incense-burner

TEXAS TECHNOLOGICAL COLLEGE BULLETIN

The bier was taken out

it, and another read a prayer.

and the party proceeded on around the village, holding like ceremonies at S5, S7, and S10. When the procession returned to the

church at 6:20, the bier was placed before the altar, and the congregation went up in pairs, knelt before it, and crossed themselves.

It was

At 7:20 another procession started around the village.

like the one just before sundown the previous evening except that

the two images of Christ were not there. They had got Christ buried

in front of

The

during the afternoon, so he could not be in this procession.

governor carried the large black cross, and beside him was the army

captain wearing a bonnet of feathers.

By 8:00 they had returned to the church and started a chant.

At 8:05 the devil-chasers

retired to the east side of the church and started practicing a fivestep dance.

At 8:15 the governor's staff retired, but the singers

chanted on until 9:00. At 9:50 some devil-chasers ran around the

church three times with the clapper boards. Ten minutes later all the

societies returned and organized a double procession.

Pilate, the

governor carrying the black cross, the altar-boys, the maestros, the

and half of

singers, the governor's staff, half of the devil-chasers,

the military guards

went along the usual route by SI, S2, S3,

The other group, consisting of four women carrying

cetera.

the

image of Mary, all the other women, and the other half of the

devil-chasers and military guards went in the opposite direction by

SI 6, SI 5, SI 4, SI 3, SI 2, et cetera.

The two groups met at S7.

The governors held the cross in front of the bower.

Two maestros

There was a

an incense-burner.

prayer and chant.

The other group came up and stopped some

fifteen feet away.

Two women crawled on their knees to the

cross and waved an incense-lantern.

The two maestros crawled

knelt before the cross swinging

Virgin and did the same.

to the

The processions then consolidat-

ed and returned to the church by way of stations 8, 9, 0, et cetera.

Chants by the maestros and singers lasted until the next procession

35 P. M.

During this time Pilate sat with downcast head

a chair before the altar.

The drummer of the devil-chasers sat

on one side of him and the flute-player on the other.

There were

fifty-six women sitting flat on the ground.

:28 the board-rattles were carried clapping around the

church again three times.

Four minutes later the governor's staff

came back into the church, followed shortly by the other societies.

Two processions were formed with the same personnel as before.

The one going to the right carried the image of Mary; the other

carried

Mary Magdalene.

When the two parties met at S7 the

PLATE 6

Deer dancer on left, three "pascolas" on right.

15. One of the numerous processions of "La Fiesta de Gloria."

16. Devil-chasers preparing to burn the effigy of Judas.

Note

devil-chasers' headgear on the effigy.

17. Jose Miranda, Yaqui governor of Torin, and his family.

the

PLATE 6

TEXAS TECHNOLOGICAL COLLEGE BULLETIN

devil-chasers of one group had a sham battle with those of the other

Then each procession continued on the way it was going

12:02 A. M.

Chants lasted until 12:20,

group.

to the church, arriving at

when the societies took a recess.

They returned at 12:50, and continued chanting intermittently until

:48.

Another recess lasted twelve minutes, when a pro1

cession started in two groups as before, only both parties were single

file.

They consolidated at S7, and marched around the village

At 3:20 they went back to the church for

another chant.

At 3:25 the societies marched out to their respective campfires.

The devil-chasers were feeling unusually festive.

They acted as if they were gloriously drunk.

Their musicians

played catchy tunes and individuals danced around the camp-fire.

In the meanwhile a curtain had been drawn across the church in

front of the altar, and men and women were rearranging the altarpieces behind it.

The rattle-board was carried noisily around the

church at 4:05.

At 5:00 peoThe informal dancing stopped.

for more than an hour.

ple began curling up around the fires for an hour's sleep.

By 5:30

A. M. all was quite, but not for long.

It was Saturday morning, and

the devil-chasers were soon

astir.

was apparent that they had some special business

They had

on hand.

At 8:40 they started a burlesque parade.

made a huge straw man to represent Judas.

The figure was some

six feet tall and highly sexed.

This effigy with a devil-chaser's

sword by its side was placed on a donkey.

Behind it rode a devilchaser to hold it on.

Along with the procession went four musicians, two drummers, a violinist and one with a guitar, and twelve

One of them carried an incense-burner (a

They went

bundle of rags).

They did everything backwards.

around the village in the wrong direction and approached the crosses from the back sides.

When they returned they planted the

straw man a short distance from the big cross in front of the church.

By 10:00 women and children were coming from all directions

in holiday dress.

Until this morning they had worn everyday

clothing, plain, faded blue or grey calico.

Today skirts were

bright blue or red and shirt-waists were red, pink, green, purple, or

yellow.

Most of the women brought quantities of flower-petals

which they placed on a pile in front of the curtain.

Three pascolas

other devil-chasers.

and the deer-dancer, all naked to the waist, stood waiting at the

People were still coming.

An air of cheerfulness and holiday gayety mingled with an atmosphere of solemnity.

Suspense

Avas growing.

1 he crowd was now far larger than at any time

left.

since the fiesta started.

At 10:34 the devil-chasers stomped

in,

beating their swords rhythmically.

All the other societies, including the matachines, or plumed-dancers, marched in.

This was the

first time either the matachines or the pascolas had appeared.

The

devil-chasers started a one-one glide dance step, back and forth, a

line on either side of the church.

The cadence gradually increased.

At 10:40 the dance changed to a five-beat step, the tempo

STUDIES OF THE YAQUI INDIANS

noticed that each woman and child

gradually getting faster.

had filled a handkerchief with confetti and yellow flower-petals

Dark eyes were flashing.

from the pile near the curtains.

10:50 the dance became a three-step. Now it was fast and furious.

Suddenly, dramatically, a bell rang and the curtain before the

The devil-chasers rushed into the inner

was drawn aside.

sanctuary, while the crowd on either side pelted them with confetti,

The deer-dancer broke into an

flower-petals, and green leaves.

orgy of dancing.

In the rear of the church the matachines were

doing a fast step. The devil-chasers stayed at the altar but an

instant, when they came back, the curtain was drawn to, and they

started a fast one-step.

The whole episode was picturesque and

altar

In five

seemed to represent the festive portion of the ceremonies.

minutes the whole episode was repeated, but faster.

When they came out the second time and started a third episode, a woman, perhaps wife, sister, or other relative, took her place

beside each devil-chaser and ran back and forth with him as

Without losing a step each man took off a sandal and

danced.

handed it to the woman, then the other sandal, next his deer-hoof

belt, his anklets, and his swords.

The grand climax came when

the bell rang for the third time.

By this time the entire crowd was

worked up into a state of wild ecstasy. When the devil-chasers

made the last rush to the altar the women went with them. There

seemed to be some special blessing for those who got there first.

They fell on their knees and the woman of each devil-chaser removed his mask and overcoat blanket, and placed a piece of cloth

on his head.

While this was going on the matachines, plumed-dancers, became the chief attraction in the center of the church, doing a beautiful dance filled with glides, spins and turns, to the music of a violin

and guitar.

Each woman began leading her devil-chaser away

from the altar, carrying all his paraphernalia while he wabbled as

he walked.

They went out to the straw man in front of the

church, stuck their swords in it, and hung their masks on the swords

Then they set fire to the effigy and stood by while their ceremonial

property burned.

One of them refused a hundred pesos for the

mask he burned.

He said it was a death penalty to sell a mask

or a sword.

The devil-chaser's part in the Fiesta de Gloria was

over.

The governor's staff retired

:30.

Three

men

with

feather headdresses and bows and arrows appeared before the altar.

The dancers of the military society, the coyote band, consecrated

themselves for an all-night dance.

The matachines, or plumedancers, brought in a bamboo pole with long streamers attached to

the top of it after the fashion of a May-pole.

They removed their

tall coronas and began a dance in and out, winding the streamers

around the pole.

The dance was beautifully and skillfully done.

When wound, the streamers made a perfect design on the pole. The

TEXAS TECHNOLOGICAL COLLEGE BULLETIN

dancers paused an instant while their chief inspected the design on

the pole to see if any error had been made.

Then the dance resumed to unwind the pole. This was done without an error.

In the meanwhile the large statue of Mary had been removed

from its places on a side altar and a small Mary in a little box

shrine brought out.

This image was dressed for the fiesta in a

white dress, silver and gold lace, a flowered apron, a silver crown;

and the interior of the shrine was decorated with paper flowers.

The military society held an altar ceremony.

The men advanced two at a time holding the butts of the rifles forward. They

knelt, crossed themselves and

backed away. The matachines

danced intermittently until 12:43.

Several counts

showed the

tempo of their steps to be 108 per minute.

This ended the ceremonies at the church until late afternoon.

The women went to

cooking shelter to prepare tortillas, beans, and coffee for their

and the men adjourned to the porch of the priest's house

which was some fifty yards north of the church.

their

families,

Here the pascolas and the deer-dancer had retired to start a

dance which would last the better part of eighteen hours.

There

were three pascolas and one deer-dancer.

The deer-dancer took

turns with the others, but did a different dance, yet to the

same

music.

The three pascolas were dressed alike, naked to the waist,

a blanket around the hips, supported by a belt with bells on it, legs

and feet bare except for cocoon rattles around the ankles, hair tied

in a hank on top of the head like a round whisk-broom on end,

tambourine-like rattle in each hand and a black wooden mask which

hung over his face as he danced and to the side or back of the

head when he was not dancing. The deer-dancer was dressed in like

fashion except that instead of the mask, he had a white turban-like

cloth on his head.

When he danced he wore a small fawn-head

which was kept in place by a string going underneath his chin. 4

Three sets of musical instruments furnished music for the four dancers.

One was composed of a violin and a harp, both homemade.

second was a drum and a bamboo flute, both played by an old

man.

third consisted of three music sticks and a gourd- andwater drum played by four young men.

The different accompa-

took time about, as did the dancers.

The pascolas did a

combination jig, clog, and crow-hop dance.

The deerand

dancer did an interpretative dance showing the movements

habits of the deer.

He was a splendid dancer.

The pascolas

danced on an average of five minutes each at a time.

The

younger ones averaged about 340 steps a minute.

The old man,

over sixty, went so fast that his steps could not be counted.

The

musicians had near at hand earthen bowls filled with cheap cigarnists

sort of

4 For a describtion of the deer-dance as

given by Arizona Yaqins

see Frances Densmore's "Yuman and Yaqui Music," Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin, 110, pp. 155-165. Miss Densmore also gives a

detailed account of Yaqui musical instruments.

STUDIES OF THE YAQUI INDIANS

which they handed out to the spectators during the brief inThey had been purchased and charged to the general fiesta expense account.

1 he dancers stopped a short while at

3:00 P. M. to eat.

At 6:25 all the societies including the dancers began to asThe devil-chasers were

semble at the church for a procession.

They were now a

without their masks and other paraphernalia.

One would not suspect them of

tired, bedraggled, serious group.

being the restless, clowning demon-rustlers of yesterday.

The procession moved directly from the church to S21 where a

new arbor, some twenty by twenty feet, had been constructed in the

course of the day.

About every fifty feet along the way the group

stopped, and all those in front of the canopy turned and faced it

for an instant.

When the image of Mary had been placed under

ettes

termissions.

and girls dressed

Apwhite danced back to the church and disbanded at 7:25.

parently the arbor, S21, was to be the center of the night's cere-

the arbor, the matachines, candle-boys, altar-boys

monies.

About 5:00 in the afternoon the gaunt old ox which had been

tied to a palm tree in the plaza for two days was killed.

Eighteen

dogs attended the slaughter, but little did they get, as the Yaquis

utilize practically every bit of a slaughtered animal.

Now the

meat, including the intestines, was being roasted in the cooking compound at SI 7.

Piles of dead, solid mesquite wood had been stacked near the

new arbor earlier in the day to furnish fires for the night.

Shortly

after sundown a number of fires were lighted, the military society

having by far the largest one.

The maestros and singers chanted in front of the arbor until a

church bell rang at 8:00.

At 8:10 there were fire- works.

the same time the pascolas and deer-dancer started a dance under

the arbor.

They rotated continuously until 9:25, when they rested

for a while.

About this time the maiachines started a dance in the

dimly lighted church, a dance much like our Virginia reel. They

had no audience; everyone was at the arbor, S21, but they went

on for an hour without stopping.

They did not dance again until

next morning.

At 10:20 the coyote dance started a short distance west of the

arbor.

It was a monotonous dance done by three warriors wearing feather headdresses.

Each straddled a long bow, stick-horse

fashion, and beat a cadence on the bow with a split piece of bamboo.

The three went abreast keeping the left foot about six inches

in front of the right, doing little crowhops.

They went back and

forth, beating out trails some thirty feet long in the dust.

The

coyote is the most uninteresting of all the Yaqui dances.

The pascola and deer-dances went on under the arbor and

the coyote dance in front of it periodically all night.

The maestros

and

singers

chanted occasionally.

children slept.

Only the

devil-chasers

and

The devil-chasers had their own camp-fire around

TEXAS TECHNOLOGICAL COLLEGE BULLETIN

which they sprawled, using rocks, chunks of mesquite wood or noth-

They had earned their rest, and slept like logs.

The women in the cooking compound kept a tub of coffee and two

tubs of stew boiling.

Some of them were busy cooking tortillas.

From time to time food and coffee were carried out and served to

the people.

The night was crisp and still.

A round moon shone

ing for pillows.

Nature had conspired with

above the palm trees in the old plaza.

So great was

the dancers to create an atsmosphere of mysticism.

the effect that we hardened materialists who were taking notes felt

experienced to a small degree the fasciand were moved.

nation these occasions have for centuries held for the Yaquis.

Before daylight a cold wind sprang up from the Northeast.

People huddled closer to the fires.

Even the dogs with their hides

drawn tightly over their ribs edged in.

There was a lot of coughing, deep down in chests, caused by four nights of exposure on the

cold ground.

woman and two children slept shiveringly under

a thin blanket with a dog on the foot of the blanket.

Dawn began to appear. The military society formed a double line facing

It was an early

the East with hats on the ground at their feet.

morning silent prayer.

This officially ended the coyote dance.

At 6:00 there were fireworks.

tary society, with their guns this time,

Ten minutes later the miliand

the

governor's

staff,

formed in lines and marched to the church, bowing to the cross in

front as they entered the church.

The governor and chiefs of the

went up to the altar, knelt and crossed themselves

and returned to their places.

Candles were lighted on the altar.

Then followed an initiation of two boys into the military society.

The warriors with all their arms were in single column on either side of the church.

At either end of the space between was a

maestro.

One boy was about seven and the other about nine.

Each was given a flag and a feather headdress.

member of

the society in a feather headdress went about with them.

An old

man walked behind the three apparently to prompt them.

The

boys were first conducted to the altar, where they knelt and crossed

military society

maestro and chorus chanted.

The chorus conone man and one woman.

Then the boys were marched

back and forth a number of times, up and down the church, while

the warriors held their guns at a forty-five degree angle.

Then

there was a long prayer by the maestro at the north

end of the

column while the boys stood with bowed heads before him.

This

was repeated by the maestro at the south end of the column, and

then the one at the north end gave a second prayer.

More marching back and forth and waving of flags.

The warriors formed a

circle with the neophytes and a woman in the center, for more prayers and flag-waving.

The ceremony lasted thirty minutes.

The matachines had spent the night at the church.

At 7:00

they went down to the cooking compound to eat.

They returned

to the church at 7:25 and started one of their beautiful, whirling

dances.

The pascolas and deer dancer were still performing at

themselves.

sisted of

STUDIES OF THE YAQUI INDIANS

Shortly before 8:00 the devil-chasers, just ordinary

looking Yaqiiis now, but somewhat refreshed after a night's sleep,

apart

started setting a double row of boughs some eighteen feet

the arbor.

They

from the arbor to the church, a distance of about 500 fee.t

were getting ready for the journey of the risen Lord from the tomb

(arbor) to the church. The lines were laid off by a Yaqui dragging his sandled feet through the dust. The green cottonwood

boughs, twelve to eighteen inches high, were placed about every

At 8:25 the bell at the church was rung to announce

three feet.

that the avenida

Drum-beats

was complete.

8:55 announced that the triumphant proces-

was about to get under way this Easter Morning. Fireworks.

At 9:02 the church-bells rang, and five girls with the image of

Mary ran from the church down the avenue of green boughs.

About halfway they turned and ran back to the church. At 9:06

they ran out again, got nearer to the arbor, but turned back.

9:11 they came out again, almost reached the arbor, turned, and

sion

ran as though the prairie were afire behind them. At 9:15 seven

of the matachines quietly left the church carrying their coronas,

Three

plumes, and rattles in their hands and went to the arbor.

minutes later the other seven matachines started dancing in the

church.

At 9:21 a procession formed at the church. The seven

Bematachines led, and they were followed by three pascolas.

hind them came three girls dressed in white, with flags, followed by

Four other

twelve women bearing images of the Three Marys.

women held a canopy over Mary, the Mother. More than a hundred women and girls followed behind. They were going to meet

Lord who was approaching from the East.

The procession of Jesus had formed at the arbor.

the risen

In front

were three coyote dancers, dancing backwards, followed by seven

Then came one paccAa

matachines with their whirls and glides.

and the deer-dancer. They had scarcely stopped since noon th:

day before. Next were the altar-boys with flags followed by foumen carrying the image of Jesus under a canopy. As the two pro

cessions approached they would go a short distance each and stop

with a system of responses.

When they met, the dancers stepped

aside, and there was flag-waving and incense-burning by each

group.

This was solemn enough, but it lasted only a minute or

firetwo. The Marys then recognized the Christ, and what joy,

The two

works, confetti, flag-waving, and wriggling of images!

First

groups then formed into one and proceeded to the church.

went the altar-boys of one group, then the coyotes, the fourteen

matachines, the four pascolas and deer-dancer, the girls dressed in

white, the altar-boys of the other group, the four images all abreast,

the maestros, singers, and multitude.

As they slowly went up the

hill to the church the bells chimed, and the dancers danced furiousThe military society flanked the procession on both sides. The

ly.

devil-chasers without their paraphernalia were solemn and subdued.

When the procession reached the church, Jesus was mounted high

—

TEXAS TECHNOLOGICAL COLLEGE BULLETIN

on the main altar, and Mary was placed on the ground at his feet.

The other Marys were placed on a side altar at the left. Everyone

The devil-chasers removed their

knelt except the military society.

There was a

sandals and placed handkerchiefs over their heads.

Four days and nights of singing in

chant by the women singers.

the open air was causing old High Pitch to get hoarse.

While the chant was going on we counted 218 persons presbaby was crying lustily. She was trying to tell the congreent.

The

gation that she was getting tired of these endless processions.

mother finally compromised and offered the child a huge, full

had an idea that

The baby disgustedly rejected it.

breast.

had the stomach-ache. The mother carried her out, and we

could hear High Pitch again.

At 10:10 while the chant was still going on, the matachines

started a slow dance in and out among the kneeling worshipers.

:30, when a final proChants, prayers, and dances lasted until

cession was organized.

It was in the same order as the previous

one, except that there were but two images, a small one of a seatThe two were

ed Jesus, and the Mary in the little box shrine.

she

thought they were

carried side by side under a blue canopy.

going around the town as usual, but they fooled us and went

around the church instead. It was soon over, and the congregation

The pascolas and deerlistened to a final chant by High Pitch.

imagined they were glad to get away,

dancer left at

:50.

There was a general

as they had been at it for twenty-four hours.

hand-shaking in front of the church. Part of the people lined up in

a "receiving line" and the rest circled around and shook hands

with them several times. At

:58 it was all over but the drinking.

The habitual drinkers had abstained from their mescal for

forty-five days, and it had been going hard with them.

Before

sunset there were more than a dozen lying here and there in the

streets of Torin with froth in their mouths, a red, glazed look in

their eyes and streaks of mud made by the mixing of dust and sweat

over their bodies and in their hair. So ended the Fiesta de Gloria.

STUDIES OF THE YAQUI INDIANS

CHAPTER IV

YAQUI FUNERALS

William Curry Holden

Yaquis love funerals. They live in a state of constant expectancy from one funeral to the next. One can never tell for certain

when the next funeral will be, and this very uncertainty holds a

knows but before the day is over the bell at the Yacharm.

qui church will toll, announcing to the Yaqui world that the time

has again come for an all-night fiesta, and, perhaps, if the deceas-

Who

ed is venerable enough, for a celebration lasting for two days and

nights or more.

Our first experience with a Yaqui funeral occurred at Torin

March, 1934. One Saturday evening, when we had just eaten

our supper, and Ramon, our interpreter, was making a pair of san-

dals for our physical anthropologist, one of the three bells on the

Yaqui church began to toll. Ramon, wise in such matters, announced that some one was dead perhaps old Anita for days her

—

;

death had been expected, if not to say awaited.

At eight-thirty a solitary candle was lighted on the

altar

About nine-thirty three of us started out to find the

funeral.

We were still leery about going into the Yaqui section

after dark.

The soldiers at the Mexican garrison had told us how

treacherous the Yaquis were, and how easy it was to get a knifeblade between one's ribs.

We knew the Mexicans might be

the church.

stringing us along as tenderfeet, but we noticed that they stayed as

far from the Yaquis as they could after sundown.

So we approachhad though

ed the Yaqui garrison with considerable caution.

it best to go there first and get permission from the chiefs to attend

the funeral. The second army chief was the only one at the girri

son, but he seemed pleased that we were interested and offered io

take us himself.

He led us first to a cross on the east side cf th^

hill on which the church is located.

Here the devil-chaser society

was assembling. As we arrived they were putting on their masks

and forming in two lines. Presently they marched to the church,

making a rhythmic beat with their wooden swords. They circled

inside the church, got an old kerosene lantern, and came out.

they left the church they were flanked on each side by a line of

Yaqui warriors fully armed with cartridge belts, high-powered

automatic pistols (with hammers cocked), and knives stuck

To the tune of a bamboo flute and drum

the entire party marched to the house where the dead woman lay.

rifles,

in their belts behind.

We followed.

The area inside the compound was lighted by a number of

camp fires. Under an open lean-to shed at the east end of the

house was old Anita, for it was she, on a straw mat with a candle

burning on either side of her. At her head was an improvised altar

TEXAS TECHNOLOGICAL COLLEGE BULLETIN

made of a covered table bearing an image.

flat

Several

women sat

on the ground near by.

In the yard, about thirty feet south of the corpse, planted in

small area

ground was a small cross, some four feet high.

of earth, three or four feet in diameter, had been dug up just south

In this loose earth were stuck the staffs of the foui

of the cross.

chiefs, the banners of the eight clans, the spears and swords of the

mounted guard society, and the wooden swords of the devil-chasers.

On each devil-chaser's sword was his mask.

Two of the mounted guards took two spears and stuck them

in the ground at Anita's feet, crossing them, making an "X." Then

men and women started coming singly or in pairs, kneeling before

the

and crossing themselves.

Meanwhile more people were arriving and the yard was filling.

Presently, the chiefs decided that more room was needed, for

group of men proceedthis was to be an extraordinary funeral.

ed to move the fence on the south side, cutting the horizontal bamboo pieces with their big knives, pulling the parts up and carrying

the fence away in sections.

In three minutes it was done.

Two or three men were keeping the fires going. Under an

the spears at Anita's feet

arbor a short distance east of the corpse, several women were sitting

flat on the ground, cooking tortillas.

Near by a tub full of coffee

was boiling. Lots of it would be needed to keep the crowd awake

two nights.

And the dogs were there,

—

perhaps a hundred all

and fighting. Each woman cooking tortillas had a stick with which she whaled every dog within

for

together, slinking about, snarling

reach.

There seemed to be no definite ritual scheduled for the night.

The crowd was just milling around and kicking dogs

out

the

We stayed an hour.

Having been informed by Ramon that

nothing else would happen that night, we went back to camp and

way.

After we were in bed, we could hear a native musician

playing a mournful dirge on a bamboo flute.

He would start on

a high note, hold it for some time, and then slur off on three lower

notes.

The flute was going every time any of us was awake during

the night.

Beginning about

Occasionally, we heard chanting.

daylight, homemade fire-crackers, somewhat like our sky-rockets,

were shot, a feature which Ramon explained by saying that when a

soul started up to the gods these rockets helped to boost it along;

that each rocket hiked it up a little farther.

About sunrise, as we watched through field-glasses, some

to bed.

PLATE 7

Funeral procession leaving church.

Corpse in cemetery where it has just been measured for the grave

dimensions. Man on extreme right is laying off the grave.

20. Open grave after corpse has been deposited.

Note bones on the

18.

19.

earth at right.

Typical graves in cemetery at Torin.

pile of

21.

TEXAS TECHNOLOGICAL COLLEGE BULLETIN

men went down the river and came back with poles, cottonwood boughs, and bundles of bamboo cane. No ceremonies oc-

thirty

curred in the course of the day.

Ramon had promised to come for

us as soon as the night affair got under

there

was no Ramon;

and started without him.

way, but at nine o'clock

we decided we were missing something

At the funeral compound we found Ra-

mon, and learned his reason for not coming for us: his chief had

told him to cut wood, and the power of a society chief being next to

absolute, Ramon was cutting wood.

Everything was in full swing, illuminated by firelight and

new death arbor some eighteen feet square and built

candles.

of the cottonwood and bamboo which we had seen the men carrying, had been built in the open space south of where Anita had

Three sides of the arbor were open,

lain in state the night before.

but the west side was closed with cottonwood boughs. In the northNear the

west corner was an altar, on which stood two images.

front of the arbor, suspended by a thong from the ceiling, was a

bucket of water with a gourd in it. Some thirty feet east of the arbor was an open-air altar, on which were a cross and twenty-five

or thirty small hand-made books that looked, from where we were,

Ramon said they were books conlike packages of fire-crackers.

taining the names of "all the dead peoples".

Her

Just west of this altar was Anita on a brand-new bier.

bamboo litter had been elevated eighteen inches on four poles with

forked ends.

Anita had been re-dressed since the night before.

Now she had on a blue dress of cheap cotton cloth. On her body

tied to her waist, was a stalk of cotton, evidently grown the year

Plain brown stockings, the only stockings

6efore, with open bolls.

black cap was on her

we saw on a Yaqui, covered her feet

head, and her strong old wrinkled face was uncovered. Her hands

were tied together across her chest with a blue string. Her head

Everyone seemed quite concerned

rested on a small blue pillow.

Every little while someone

about the comfort of Anita's head.

would come around, lift her head, and rearrange the pillow.

could not see that they were helping matters any, but they evidentAround the bier on tall, bamboo candlely thought they were.

sticks were eight candles which clearly illuminated the body.

few feet east of the open-air altar was a cross planted in

the ground, and behind it, after the manner of the night before,

were chiefs' staffs, and the arms, banners and masks of the various

dozen fires scattered about the place not only gave light

societies.

but helped to ward off the chill of the night.

On each side of the corpse was a devil-chaser in full attire,

mask, overcoat blanket, deer hoof belt, and anklets of cocoon

In his

rattles.

In his right hand each had a long, painted sword.

left he had a short wooden sword and a green mesquite branch,

These fellows clowned, did antics,

the symbol of immortality.

made countless passes with their wooden swords at imaginary devils

STUDIES OF THE YAQUI INDIANS

over the body of Anita. About every forty minutes the devil-chaser

The change was accompanied by a

chief "changed guards",

The new and old guards would jump

special clownish ceremony.

around, make a series of passes at each other and end the ceremony by backing up to each other with a severe butt. The devilRegardless of what

chasers' vigil over the corpse went on all night.

else took place they anticked and kept the evil spirits shooed away.

From nine to ten o'clock the ceremonies were predominantly

pagan. Under the death arbor a couple of deer-dancers took turns

at dancing somewhat like a combination of our tap and buck-andwing dances. Their costumes consisted of a short blanket around

their middles; bell-adorned belts around their waists; and cocoon

anklets on their legs.

Both were barefooted. When they danced

they wore a black wooden mask made grotesque with long horseWhen not dancing, they hung the mask on the

hair whiskers.

Their hair was bound in a hank

side or the back of their heads.

so that it stood up straight on their heads like a round whiskbroom.

part of the time they danced to the tune of two home-made violins

played by two

stolid

Yaquis at the rear of the

arbor.

The rest

was of a more primitive type. An old man

An official firesat on the ground and played a flute and a drum.

tender kept a bed of live coals near the drum so that its heads would

Two younger Yaquis played musicsticks. It was the

stay tight.

While they

business of the two dancers to entertain the crowd.

were not dancing they made jokes, as Ramon put it, "they make

of the time the music

—

funny words". Their jokes were in Yaqui, but the Yaquis have

incorporated a number of Spanish words, so that we could get the

They took several cracks at us.

another was about los Americanos who

The

could not say anything but si, sehor and muchas gracias.

had the feeling, however, that the

crowd laughed heartily.

dancers were better at dancing than at wise-cracking.

One of

them, an old man over sixty, was good.

While the dancing was going on, the women were systematically feeding the crowd.

half dozen women were cooking torof

drift

what they were saying.

One was on el patron,

tillas

made of wheat flour.

The dough, made in large batches, was

somewhat like our lightbread dough.

woman would take up a

ball and start patting and revolving it on her forearm until it was

eighteen to twenty-four inches in diameter and as thin as a piece

of cloth.

Then she would throw it into a large, flat earthen bowl

over a hot bed of coals. Almost as soon as the tortilla touched the

bowl, she would turn it over with her fingers.

In a couple of seconds she would fold it over double, then flip it over, then unfold

and refold the other way, then over again. Then she pitched it

woman on one side who put it in a basket.

When finished,

had the consistency of pie crust. With a half dozen

women cooking, the woman who put them in the basket was kept

busy.

The coffee tub was kept boiling at one side.

the

tortillas

TEXAS TECHNOLOGICAL COLLEGE BULLETIN

End to end, on the ground, were bamboo mats, on which the

women placed a basket of tortillas, a bowl containing a few lumps

of sugar, (the only sugar we saw them use) and a couple of coffee

Fifteen or twenty men would stack their hats by the cross

pots.

open air altar and silently file around the mats, kneel

down, and pass the basket of tortillas around. Coffee was served in

pottery bowls, each holding about a pint, and two, three or four

They never used over one lump of

persons used the same bowl.

Behind those eating stood a dozen or

sugar to a bowl of coffee.

more men and women, each holding a burning candle. The effect

of the whole scene, the men kneeling reverently around the mats,

eating tortillas and drinking coffee, the candle bearers standing behind, silent and rigid, all reminded one vividly of a communion

east of the

When one group finished eating they left and others came.

Usually the men ate first and then the women, but there seemed to

be no fixed rule, for at times men and women ate together.

At ten o'clock the nature of the ceremony changed. Two

young women representing the two societies to which women belong,

came and knelt at the foot of the corpse, one on either side. Each

woman wore a black mantilla over her head upon which was a red

crown, and in her hand was the red banner of her society. This

each continuously waved, energetically and deftly, cutting various

and complicated figures in the air with it.

Eight mourners came and knelt on narrow mats some distance

Behind the mourners was

farther back from the foot of the corpse.

service.

the priest society, consisting of the native priest (maestro),

sistants,

and a dozen women.

two as-

On either side of the corpse knelt the

plumed-dancers, their brightly-colored headgears and the brilliant

plumes which each held in his left hand giving a festive appearance

to the scene.

The headgears matched the paper flowers on old Anita's dress.

Just outside the row of plumed-dancers, standing in

double columns on either side of the corpse, were members of the

military society, fully armed.

flute with its four-note dirge was played periodically, accompanied by a drum. The priest society chanted. The native

priest, dressed in the usual denim and sandals, would chant a line

and the women would chime in a few measures behind. The women were led by a fat woman, weighing over two hundred and fifty

pounds, with a shrill soprano voice. The most of her two hundred

and fifty pounds was around her middle, and when she sang, it

heaved up and down like a bellows.

called her Old High

Pitch.

When she sang, one could not hear any of the other

chanters.

Her voice carried more than a half mile.

Chants were interspersed with prayers led by the priest. He

said them in a continuous rolling monotone.

After more than an

hour of chants, prayers, and flute and drum dirges, this formation

broke up.

Then for a while the performance which had taken place from

nine to ten was repeated,

the deer-dancers doing their buck-and-

—

STUDIES OF THE YAQUI INDIANS

wing

steps,

and "making funny words,"

the

devil-chasers

still

driving the devils away from the corpse, men and women partaking of food again. The women cooking tortillas had never stopped.

Occasionally there would be fire-works, and Anita's soul would

be propelled a little higher.

So it went all night, pagan and Christian observances mingBabies cried and sometimes choked. Several of them had

whooping-cough, hooptia, the Yaquis call it. Dogs barked, snarled and fought. As the night wore on, children went to sleep. Their

mothers bedded them down at the edge of the crowd under thin

blankets.

The night was chilly. We buttoned our sheepskin coats

around our necks and edged up to a fire occasionally. We won-

ling.

dered how the children clad in thin calico could stand it on the

They slep like logs, however, unless overtaken by a

coughing fit.

By midnight the women were all looking tired and

worn out. This was the second night of it. Some of them curled

up near the fires for a nap, but not for long. There was still more

cooking to be done, and more chants to be chanted, and more dogs

to be driven away from the tortilla basket.

One of our party stayed to see the ceremony through the night.

The rest of us went to camp and to bed, but not to sleep as soundly as we wished.

Periodically through the latter part of the night

cold ground.

Old High Pitch's voice awoke us, and we

would lie awhile and look at the rounded moon going down in the

west and wonder about funerals.

the flute's dirge or

The next morning about nine o'clock as we were passing the

Yaqui garrison on our way to see how the funeral was progressing,

we noticed the four chiefs and the entire military clan gathered

mere.

stopped in to shake hands with all of them. It is a

breach of etiquette to pass a Yaqui without shaking hands the first

time you meet him in the day.

That is, if he is a friendly Yaqui;

if he is not friendly, one had better not meet him.

Before we got

through handshaking we heard the funeral procession coming up

the road from the east, and we moved quickly so as to see it.

In front came the fourteen plumed-dancers doing a beautiful

dance full of movement, glides, turns, spins,

—

all in

unison.

Red,

yellow, blue and purple streamers fluttered from the tops of their

tall coronas. Brilliant plumes of parrots' feathers, red, yellow, white,

and green, waved in their left hands, and gourd rattles beat a fast

cadence in their right hands. The three youngest members, boys

about eight, ten, and twelve, respectively, wore long white, stiftly

starched dresses.

One wore a red slip under his dress, one an

orange slip, and one a green slip.

1 he other eleven wore brilliantly colored scarfs around their shoulders.

All of them wore the native sandals.

Behind the plumed-dancers came the devil-chasers in full armasks and all, jumping, clowning, wielding their wooden

swords, and making terrific passes at imaginary devils along the

way.

ray,

TEXAS TECHNOLOGICAL COLLEGE BULLETIN

Next came four men and four women carrying on their shouldbamboo litter with Anita's corpse on it. Forty hours had

passed since she died, but her wrinkled old body was so thin and

emaciated and the air was so dry that decomposition had not yet

The litter-bearers walked in a sprightly manner, jiggling

begun.

the body up and down to the cadence of the plumed-dancers'

ers the

steps.

Next came the pascolas with their wooden masks hanging on

one side of their heads and the muscles in their naked bodies lookThen came

ing surprisingly fresh after twelve hours of dancing.

the maestro and his assistants and old High Pitch and her assisBehind them were the drummer and the flute-player still

tants.

multitude of women and children

piping his four mournful notes.

followed.

The procession stopped in front of the Yaqui garrison and the

pallbearers lowered and raised the corpse five times in front of the

cross there. The four chiefs and members of the military society

marched out from the garrison in two columns, flanking the procesThe entire group then moved towards the Yaqui

sion on either side.

church (a combination of pagan shrine and Christian church made

They paused for

of bamboo) on a hill a quarter of a mile away.

a moment before a cross at the foot of the hill to lower and raise

the corpse five times more and then proceded up the hill to the big

cross in front of the church.

They placed the body on the ground at the foot of the cross

and spent twenty minutes in chants and prayers. In the meanwhile

one of the assistant chiefs measured the length and breadth of

He cut them just

Anita's body with a couple of bamboo sticks.

The corpse was then carried into the church and

the right length.

laid

on the ground before the altar in the north end.

The priest

and the chorus started a chant which lasted an hour.

In the meanwhile the assistant priest had measured off a grave

devil-chaser, who had removed

in the south end of the church.

his mask, brought a spade and started digging the grave.

kept his measuring sticks close at hand so as to take no chances on

None of the other Yaquis took any

getting the grave too large.

interest in the grave-digging.

After a while a second devil-chaser

came and relieved the first one, who went away and did not come

back. The only ones taking any interest in the digging were memThe devil-chaser dug into another burial.

bers of our expedition.

He threw out a thigh, a leg bone, an arm bone, a few ribe, and a

number of finger bones. That made no difference; he paid no attention to them.

When the grave was finished to a depth of three and a half

and a couple of bamboo sticks crossed over it, two girls dressed somewhat like Greek Catholic bishops came and waved red

banners over it. They were consecrating the grave and driving the

evil spirits out.

Next the devil-chasers in masks came in two lines

and circled the grave three times, one line going in a clockwise direcfeet,

STUDIES OF THE YAQUI INDIANS

tion

and the other line going counter-clockwise.

Each devil-chaser

cut vigorously in the air with his wooden sword.

The procession then formed and brought the body to the

The litter was placed on the pile of dirt by the side of the

grave.

grave and Anita's hands were untied. Several men lifted the body

from the litter and handed it to two men in the grave. The litter

was thrown over the cliff at the edge of the church yard. The two

men lowered the body into the grave. They seemed to be in a

Anita's head got turned to one side and her mouth

great hurry.

The only pains they took for her comfort was to place

fell open.

They did not straighten her

the little blue pillow under her head.

watched carefully to see if they

head or shut her mouth.

would pull a cloth over her face, but they did not. The men got

out, and the priest standing at the head of the grave sprinkled in

some water and some earth, mumbling a few words.

The procession retired to the church and started another chant.

Three or four men and a half-dozen women stayed to fill the grave.

Some of it

man pitched a spade full of dirt into Anita's face.

went in her mouth. One man spaded and the women pushed the

When the grave had been filled about a

dirt in with their hands.

It consisted

foot with loose dirt, another man brought a tamper.

of a square granite rock weighing about twenty-five pounds with a

wooden handle mortised into it. The man got down in the grave

and began tamping. His first move was to whang right down over

More dirt and more tamping and they got the old

Anita's face.

The bones which had been thrown out

lady firmly tamped in.

were pitched back in as if they had been clods of earth. They had

little excess dirt left over, and this was made into a small mound.

All this time skylittle bamboo cross was placed at the head.

rockets were being fired near by.

When the grave was filled, the priest society came and knelt

around the grave, and the head priest said a prayer. They returned to the altar in the church and started another chant. 1 he devilchasers came and circled the grave three times in the same manner

When they went away,

as they had done around the open grave.

came and knelt about the grave.

This was the first

had been near the body or the grave. They had come

The

to the church and remained apart from the crowd until now.

Then they

oldest one among them, an old man, said a prayer.

arose and went to the large cross south of the church where they

the relatives

time they

arranged themselves after the fashion of a receiving line. Friends

of the relatives formed another line and started around shaking

hands with them.

Yaqui handshake is a ceremony in itself.

Each person touches his own left shoulder, then the other person's

left shoulder, and grasps the other's hand on a backward movement.

There is something collegiate about it when done rapidly.

Each friend circled around and shook hands with each relative

three times.

TEXAS TECHNOLOGICAL COLLEGE BULLETIN

The military clan formed into a column of threes and marchNot a tear had been shed, but

ed back to the Yaqui garrison.

Anita had been highly honored. Very few Yaquis rate a fortytwo hour funeral. The most of them are lucky if they get more

than a twenty-four hour ceremony.

thought the funeral was over, but we found out three

days later that we were mistaken. Another all-night session would

be necessary to commit Anita's soul safely to its eternal home. It

seems that the Yaquis are a trifle confused as to how and when a

spirit leaves a dead body.

If the person is unmarried they assume

that the ascension is immediate.

When the person is married they

are not so sure whether it is at once or whether the soul stays three

days in the grave and then comes out to start its heavenly flight.

Anyway, they take no chances on it and hold a second all-night

ceremony on the third night after the burial of every married person.

It was nine o'clock when we went down to the ceremonial

The

grounds, the same place where the funeral had been held.

people were forming a procession at the edge of the clearing a

hundred yards east of the death-arbor. The order of the procession

was similar to that of the funeral except that the pallbearers carried

a litter on which was an image of the Virgin. The group moved

slowly to the death-arbor, where, in the main, the schedule of the

second night of Anita's funeral was repeated. Chants and prayers

alternated with pascola dancing and feasting throughout the night,

with an occasional shooting of fire-works.

At sunrise the cere-

mony ended, and the people went home.

were told that one

year from that night a similar affair would be held for Anita.

The people got one night's sleep before starting another funeral.

About four o'clock the next morning a man about thirty-five

died, presumably of tuberculosis.

few hours later a little girl, a

beautiful child of two, died of whooping-cough.

The bodies were

dressed for burial and carried on bamboo litters to the place of the

death ceremony.

They were placed on a crude table under the

south side of the arbor.

The man was dressed in a robe of black

calico.

There was nothing on his head, and his feet were bare

save for a pair of new sandals. These had been cut from the hide

of a black cow.

The hair was still on the soles of the sandals.

Flowers cut from colored paper were attached to the man's shoulBy his side was a

ders, elbows, wrists, chest, knees, and ankles.

devil-chasers' sword.

The child was dressed in pale blue calico

with numerous paper flowers attached.

crowd of people and dogs milled around the place all day,

The

but the ceremony did not start until about dark that night.

procedure was the same as in the case of Anita's funeral with one

exception.

Seven arches of bamboo cane had been erected in a

The arches were about thirty feet

line in the course of the day.

apart, and each was about eight feet high and eight feet wide at

the base.

About nine o'clock a procession formed with the same

Instead of the

general order as in Anita's second ceremony.

STUDIES OF THE YAQUI INDIANS

The procession

images, they carried the two bodies side by side.

moved under the arches to the easternmost one and then returned.

The march to the church got under way early the next mornman was stinking. The child was buried first, while

the man's body lay on his bamboo litter before the altar in the

ing, for the

It seems that only one spade was available, so the measurements for the man's grave were not taken until after the child

was disposed of. When the man's grave was finished they rushed

him into it with great speed. No effort was made to get him in a

His eyes were half open and his jaw had

comfortable position.

fallen, but the men who placed him in the grave were anxious to

get him covered up, for the stench was sickening.

church.

About ten o'clock of the first night of the Fiesta de Gloria, a

baby seven months old died of pneumonia. We speculated as to

whether the Yaquis would take time out to hold an all-night wake

while the Fiesta was on. About eight the next morning while we

were eating breakfast we saw half a dozen women coming up the

hill towards the church.

One woman had something on her head.

When the group came nearer we saw it was the corpse of the

baby on a little bamboo litter. The mother and father, whose ages

were eighteen and twenty, preceded the little procession to the

church.

til

The parents went into the church, where they stayed un-

the burial was over.

The woman placed the corpse on the ground at the foot of

A man came and measured the body for the grave

the large cross.

dimensions.

It was a mite of a grave not over two feet long and

a foot wide.

About thirty inches deep, the man came to another

body.

Instead of digging a new grave, he levelled the bottom so

as to put the baby squarely on top of the skeleton beneath.

While

the grave was being dug the body remained at the foot of the cross.

Four or five women sat flat on the

ground

near

it,

talking

and

laughing.

When the grave was finished we thought the devil-chasers

would surely come and march around it. They were near by, as

the Fiesta was in progress, but took no notice of the burial. When

the women started to the grave with the corpse a flag-waver ran to

the grave and waved his flag over it briefly and hurried back to

the shade of a tree where he sprawled on the ground.

As the

body was placed in the grave the maedro and three or four women

came from the church where they were busy with fiesta proceedings.

The priest sprinkled water and earth in the grave, said a

short prayer, and returned to the church.

Four women and the

man who had dug the grave filled it, the women using their hands

and the man the spade. He tamped the dirt in as had been done

in the three previous burials.

When a little bamboo cross had

been planted and four candles lighted over the grave, the parents

came from the church and knelt with four other persons whom we

took to be relatives.

As several prayers were said, the mother, a

TEXAS TECHNOLOGICAL COLLEGE BULLETIN

comely woman, wept, the only weeping we saw at any funeral.

After a few moments the relatives went and stood before the cross

in front of the

church.

Friends came and went through the custo-

mary handshaking.

fifth

funeral

was in progress the day we left Torin.

we bumped along the dusty road we heard skyrockets exploding

above the sands of the Yaqui river, each one sending the old man's

spirit a little higher up to the gods.

STUDIES OF THE YAQUI INDIANS

CHAPTER V

HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY

William Curry Holden

An inventory was taken of the utensils of fourteen kitchens.

Every kitchen had a large metate of porous volcanic rock for corn

Only one melale had the short triple legs so common in

Mexico (Figure 5, Plate 2.). Six of the remaining thirteen were

mounted about thirty inches high on mesquite posts. The women

grinding.

ground their corn. The other seven

metates were mounted on blocks of wood or rocks a few inches

above the ground. The women used them in a kneeling position,

which would soon become back-breaking for a white woman. The

Yaqui women have two ways of grinding corn on these metates,

The wet method is used more

the wet method and dry method.

About a gallon of corn is soaked overfrequently than the dry.

As the woman grinds it with a

night in water and wood ashes.

mano, it becomes a soft pasty dough which is caught in a wooden

bowl placed under the lower end of the metate. It requires an hour

little salt is added to the

or more to grind a gallon of corn.

dough, and the woman pats it into a tortilla which she cooks on

a large, flat earthen bowl over an open fire-place. When the dry

method is used the corn is placed in a large olla over the open fire

place.

woman constantly stirs the corn with a long wooden

spoon.

Many of the grains will crack open slightly as does popcorn.

The rest becomes brown and crisp without cracking. The

woman then grinds the corn on the metate, after which she mixes it

Tortillas prepared in this

into dough by adding salt and water.

way have altogether a different texture and flavor from those made

using these stood as they

by the wet method. The average woman puts in from three

hours a day preparing corn-meal and cooking tortillas.

six

Seven of the fourteen kitchens had mechanical corn-grinders.

All of these have been purchased during the last few years since

the government began paying the Yaquis "to be good."

These

grinders, which sell at ten pesos each, resemble our hand sausage

grinders or food choppers.

woman can grind her corn in one of

them in a fourth of the time required on a metate.

Eight of the fourteen kitchens had separate metates, of smaller

for coffee grinding.

Three kitchens had small mechanical

coffee-grinders, the kind which is nailed on the wall or a post and

size,

which is used by frontier people in this country. The Yaquis trade

for a native, green coffee of small size.

This the women parch in

manner similar to parching corn, only it takes much

it is as black as tar and has the

consistency of thin soup.

It has a vile smell and

a viler taste.

Yaquis drink it black, occasionally using sugar.

Thirteen kitchens had coffeepots made of cheap porcelain or tin.

Eight of

large ollas in a

longer.

When made into coffee

TEXAS TECHNOLOGICAL COLLEGE BULLETIN

had two pots each and two kitchens had three pots. These

new innovations taken up since the government began paying

the Yaquis.

Formerly they used earthen ollas of their own make

these

are

In one kitchen an olla is still used.

for coffee pots.

Each of the fourteen kitchens contained from one to six fivegallon square

tin

cans, the kind used

by oil companies the world

The Yaquis cut the tops out of them and insert a handle

over.

by nailing a rounded piece of timber across the center of the can

below the rim at the top.

The cans are used principally for

water carrying.

Most of the water is carried by the women.

woman can balance a five-gallon pail of water on her head and,

if need be, walk for miles without spilling a drop.

On an average, the homes are located about a quarter of a mile from the river

from which most of the families get their water.

few use wells.

Several families visited by our party lived from two to three miles

from the river, and all the water used was carried from it either on

just

the heads of the women or the shoulders of the men.

Men never

carry water on their heads; instead they carry two five-gallon pails

at a time, each suspended from the ends of a stick across the shoulders.

(Figure 27, Plate 11).

Each kitchen had from two to five tin or zinc buckets varying

from a half-gallon to two gallons.

Nine kitchens had a

steel or cast-iron skillet each, and one kitchen had two.

The othin

size

four used pottery vessels instead uf

All the kitchens

Beans, next to tortillas

the chief item of food, are always cooked in ollas, which vary in

size from one to two gallons.

pot oi beans is cooked and then

kept simmering constantly for two or three days until eaten. Then

another potful is cooked. (Note bean pot in Figure 35, Plate 12).

Eight of the fourteen kitchens had from one to five tin or porcelain cooking-pans of some scrt.

The other six had no kind of

metallic cooking-pans whatever.

Five kitchens had cheap porcelain dishpans.

The other nine used wooden or pottery bowls for

dishpans.

Practically every kitchen has one or two wooden bowls.

(Figure 19, Plate 3).

These vary from fifteen to twenty-four

inches in diameter and from four to seven inches in depth according

to size.

Somewhere in nearly every kitchen will be hanging from

one to five canteens.

These have been stolen or captured from

the Mexican army from time to time.

Thirteen of the fourteen kitchens had from two to nine porcelain cups each.

No china cups or plates were seen anywhere.

Five kitchens had forks, from one to five each, and four had knives,

from two to five each.

The only knives seen in the others were

long homemade hunting-knives similar to the ones the men wear

behind their belts.

The average Yaqui has little use for tableknives and forks.

He eats most of his food with his hands.

takes a tortilla from a basket, cups it in his hand, puts in a spoon

full of beans from the bean pot, folds the tortilla together, and eats

it as a sandwich.

It is only when there is a stew of javelina

skillets.

had from one to ten earthen cooking-pots.

STUDIES OF THE YAQUI INDIANS

deer meat, which

nqt often, that he needs an eating implement,

Only one kitchen of the fourand then he generally uses a spoon.

The

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