# Texas Technological College Bulletin > Briefs, arguments, decisions, and more. URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/tribal%3Apascua_yaqui%3Acdaf5fcf718a0336 ## Record - **Collection:** Tribal code - **Document type:** Tribal code ## Text y Texas Technological College Bulletin Vol. XII, No. 1, January, 1936 STUDIES OF THE YAQUI INDIANS OF SONORA, MEXICO By 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. r Texas Technological College Bulletin Vol. XII, No. 1, January, 1936 STUDIES OF THE YAQUI INDIANS OF SONORA, MEXICO By 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 COPYRIGHT, 1936 by 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; to 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. We 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- We scripts. W. C. Holden Director of the 2i£10 Yaqui Expedition TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 Organizations by William Curry Holden 2. Marriage, Child Rearing, and Education by William Curry Holden by William Curry Holden 5. 6. 25 La Fiesta De Gloria 3. 4. 13 34 Yaqui Funerals by William Curry Holden 55 Household Economy by William Curry Holden 67 Yaqui Architecture by William Garrett McMillan 7. Medical Practices of the Yaquis 8. Physical Characteristics of the 9. Yaqui Agriculture by Charles John Wagner 72 79 Yaqui Indians by Carl Coleman Seltzer by Richard Arthur Studhalter 91 114 126 Appendices LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Plate 1 15 Plate 2 17 Plate 3 23 Plate 4 29 Plate 5 35 Plate 6 47 Plate 7 57 Plate 8 73 Plate 9 75 Plate 10 77 Plate 11 81 Plate 12 87 Plate 13 93 Plate 14 115 Plate 121 15 STUDIES OF THE YAQUI INDIANS 7 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. of 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. 1 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. An 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 8 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 to 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 in 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 We 1 , We to Jesus Munguia. When we arrived at Tucson, Flores was expecting us. We 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 9 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 1 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. . A 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. At 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. 3, At 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. c. 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), 10 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. 2 Dr. Alex Hrdlicka visited four of the Yaqui villages in 1 902. reported approximately 20,000 Yaquis living in the eight vil- He 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 A 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 11 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. 1 We 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 13 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. By The proceedings are extremely informal. in all truants. 1 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- We — tive, diplomatic, legislative, judicial, social, and religious 1 . As 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 it 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. is usual in 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, In 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 14 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. As a 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 We PLATE l Courtesy of the Texas Archaeological and Paleontological Society. 2. The plumed dancers clan. A Yaqui ceremony, naked Indian represents the Christus. 3. Yaqui funeral, devil-chaser in the foreground. 1. PLATE 1 15 16 TEXAS TECHNOLOGICAL COLLEGE BULLETIN home. If there spits or listens is 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 to 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 it is 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. 4. 5. 6. Interior of Yaqui rooms showing horizontal Yaqui kitchen. An arbor in front of a Yaqui house. A bamboo weave. PLATE 2 18 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 A 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. If 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 A STUDIES OF THE YAQUI INDIANS such only 19 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. no reversals, escapes. verdict the is 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. A 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. 3 the people are dispersing before he is cold. tin plate is 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 20 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' 1 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 x The Yaqui word for devil-chaser is chapayecam. STUDIES OF THE YAQUI INDIANS that of privates. 21 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 A 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 22 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 A 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. 7. stool, Yaqui slingshot, rawhide thong for wood carrying, rawhide lariat, gourd nursing bottle, tortilla basket, sandals, whisk broom and sash S. 9. Yaqui musical instruments. Cooking utensils, two wooden spoons, wooden bowl, and earthen cooking pot. PLATE 3 TEXAS TECHNOLOGICAL, COLLEGE BULLETIN 24 A 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 A 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 . A see. STUDIES OF THE YAQUI INDIANS 25 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 26 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. If It is 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. We 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, We 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 27 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 to 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- A We : TEXAS TECHNOLOGICAL COLLEGE BULLETIN 28 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 If 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 We 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 30 from three hours to three days, the most of the requires livery cases being to them than six hours. less If Little trouble Caesarian operations are unknown a mother is not delivered in the natural way she dies. is encountered in 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. We 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 A The baby, immediately after birth, name, washed in tepid water, and dressed. is is given a 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. We 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 31 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. is seldom changed. Education A boy's education by his parents is and given simple. instruction He is called in occasionally in 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 of Yaqui children ever attend. in 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 32 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 If like A 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. We fifty We — 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. A 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. It to is — : 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 33 We 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 in the nation. TEXAS TECHNOLOGICAL COLLEGE BULLETIN 34 CHAPTER III LA FIESTA DE GLORIA William Curry H olden La Fiesta de Gloria is the longest and Yaqui ceremonies. It is most important of the culmination of a series of observances held throughout Lent. The ceremony upon which this account is 1 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. We 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 2 A 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 x 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 Cm T J4) 35 ^ I Devil Chosers ;«-t r j 36 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 3 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 37 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 of 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. At 1 1 :48 the church was in total darkness. Then came a TEXAS TECHNOLOGICAL, COLLEGE BULLETIN 38 whipping ceremony. ter. It 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.) At 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 39 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. At :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 I 1 A — 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 1 1 TEXAS TECHNOLOGICAL COLLEGE BULLETIN 40 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- A A ter. The clapper-board relay ended at 1 1 :40, later a general procession of all the societies got and nine minutes under way. An 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. By 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 41 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 At baskets and thick, black coffee in earthen pots. 1 : : or sprawled about in the tortillas in 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 42 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- A 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 43 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 ed 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 44 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' We 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. We 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 45 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 A 1 1 A 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 A TEXAS TECHNOLOGICAL COLLEGE BULLETIN 46 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. et 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 at 35 P. M. During this time Pilate sat with downcast head 1 1 1 : 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. in At :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 1 carried 1 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. 14 the PLATE 6 47 TEXAS TECHNOLOGICAL COLLEGE BULLETIN 48 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. It 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 49 We noticed that each woman and child gradually getting faster. had filled a handkerchief with confetti and yellow flower-petals At 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 he 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 at 1 1 :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 50 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, a 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- A A 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 51 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 in 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. At 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 52 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 We experienced to a small degree the fasciand were moved. nation these occasions have for centuries held for the Yaquis. it 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. A 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 A A 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 53 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. at 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 At 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 I [Text truncated at 120,000 characters. The full text is on the page linked above.] --- Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/tribal%3Apascua_yaqui%3Acdaf5fcf718a0336. Public record. Not legal advice.