Yaqui Easter: Ceremonial

ONCE A YEAR the Yaqui Indians have a big celebration. For forty days and forty nights it goes on and on. It is their big celebration of the year. Preparations go on for a long time. All the trappings for the costumes are made. Masks are carved, paper flowers made, wood is gathered, food prepared. Then on Ash Wednesday, there is the beginning. Like everything else, it starts with a small crowd. Friday after Friday until Easter it grows bigger and bigger until they almost go into ecstasy, like a big explosion.

It is not consistent. It is not entirely Catholic or pagan. But it is sacred. There is an excitement attuned to both. It is serious. It is devout. But what about I don't know.

The Yaqui Indians were here to begin with. More than four hundred years ago the Spaniards came. Then followed missionaries with the Cross of Christianity. They taught the Indians many things. The missionaries told them stories from the Bible. I like to imagine that these kind men in their black robes sat them in a circle and told them stories. They liked what they heard. They liked best of all the story of Jesus. No other people, I think, have been touched so much with this story. It meant something to them deep inside.

If you visit any Yaqui village in Northern Mexico or Southern Arizona during the forty days of Lent you will see what it has meant to them. This is their big celebration of the year. What the Yaqui knew and what the Catholic priests told them is what they have put together. Their version.

The Indians are indifferent about it. They go on with their bells and rattles and dance merrily along. Mostly in the night time. Then the celebration goes into the day. And again into the night. There are lots and lots of flowers sewa for it is with flowers that the Yaquis fight evil. With these Indians it's a hand-me-down type of thing. There is no record. It is what they remember.

Christ, in the Yaqui ceremonies, appears at three different ages as a young man, as an old man, then as an infant. To enact the tragedy, they use their own humble village as the stage. They mark off two places - the church and a ramada at opposite ends. It is their own church, the little mud church. There is no priest there. There is a path between the two places. Along the pathway are the fourteen Stations of the Cross a barren, dusty stage.

They adapted the story and they stylized it to fit their personality always full of variations. I never ask because it is none of my business. I just watch.

PART TWO-BY DR. EDWARD H. SPICER

THE Yaquis of Arizona differ from those in Mexico in that they are undergoing contact with a culture which is non-Spanish in origin. Mexican Yaquis have been experiencing an acculturation process, ever since the early 1600's, which has resulted in an intricate interpretation of aboriginal and Spanish cultural elements. There seems to be good evidence that Yaqui culture in about 1880, when Yaquis first began coming to the United States, was greatly hispanicized, although it could be regarded as showing less influence than the cultures of the central Mexi can plateau. The Yaquis of Arizona, in making their adjustment to the cultural milieu of the United States, have preserved in striking fashion the Spanish-Indian forms of social and ceremonial organization which had been developed in Sonora by the 1880's.

THE CEREMONIAL SYSTEM: EVENTS AND PATTERNS

The forms of ceremony are a constant source of interest to the Yaquis. The tedium which begins to overwhelm a non-Yaqui after hours of witnessing or discussing ceremonial events seems foreign to Yaquis. They may be weary, but they never seem bored. The forms themselves remain fascinating, perhaps because they cannot, for a Yaqui, be separated from their meanings, even though the latter remain somewhere in the regions to which mere verbalisms do not penetrate. An account of ceremony which did not dwell on the minutiae of ritual would be alien to the Yaqui viewpoint, for it is these details which constitute a major aspect of life-activities.

Nearly half the days of a year are wholly or partially occupied with some kind of ceremony. The actual figure is one hundred and seventy-one. This does not include private observances within a household; it refers only to ceremonies of a public charac ter at which members of one or more of the ceremonial societies officiate. By no means everyone in the village or every member of a ceremonial society participates in or even attends each of these ceremonies.

Written after the name in a family Book of the Dead is the village office which each ancestor held. One may have been a matachín dancer, and accordingly matachini will appear after his name in the book. If a man has been a fariseo or a maestro or if a woman has been a cantora, it is recorded in the book. A maestro who has been asked by a family to hold a service in honor of their ancestors reads the title as well as the name of each. In some of the books titles like "captain," "general," and "war chief" appear, all reminiscent of the war-like days of a generation or more ago. At present the only titles being written into the books are those designating persons as members of ceremonial societies or as pascola dancers.

THE MEN'S SOCIETIES

The five societies to which they belonged were as follows: the male altar group, the matachinis, the fariseos, the caballeros, and the Coyotes.

The male altar group. Members of this group are called either by the title maestro or 'temasti. A maestro is a man who knows how to lead any religious service.

There are several maestros in Pascua. There is no co-operation whatever between the maestros of Pascua and the Catholic church of Tucson. The oldest of these is called the maestro mayor (Yaqui: 'maito 'jo'owe). He is the leader of the maestro group and, in theory, is regarded as the chief organizer of all ceremony. Subordinate to the maestros are certain assistants called 'temastim. Their duties are always supplementary to those of the maes tros, but they are regarded as being a part of the maestro organization.

The "matachinis." A matachini is a costumed dancer. There is no purely Yaqui word for this type of performer. The matachinis dance at funerals, on Sundays during the spring and summer, and at vari ous other ceremonies. Included in the matachín society are musicians, violinists and guitarists, who play for the matachín dances.

Their ages range from eight to eighty, with the greater proportion between the ages of ten and thirty.

Unlike the maestros and sacristans, the matachinis have a characteristic costume, or at least distinctive paraphernalia which they invariably use in their dances. The leader of the group, called the matachin 'kovanau, wears no costume at any time but carries a stick about three feet long made of carrizo, or native "bamboo." The musicians are not distinguished by their dress. The mata chinis proper wear the usual blue cotton pants and ordinary shirt and shoes but, in addition, each wears a headdress. The head is first bound with a bright-colored hand kerchief and over this is worn the head dress. It consists of a framework of carrizo about twelve inches high, rounded at the top. The frame is wrapped with colored crepe paper, usually red. To each of the uprights of the framework are affixed bright colored cardboard disks. The essential fea ture is a mass of bright-colored paper streamers affixed to the top of the frame, called 'sewa or "flower." This headdress is worn invariably when a matachini is danc ing. In the right hand a gourd rattle about six inches in diameter is carried; the rattles are shaken in unison during the dance. In the left hand is carried an instrument called a palma or pluma. It consists of a tridentshaped frame of carrizo, to the three points of which, and halfway down each branch, are fastened chicken feathers, often dyed some bright color. Every matachini carries these three items of paraphernalia. There is, however, another kind of dancer who is more fully costumed. These are called The Yaquis are descended from a fierce and proud ancestry whose characteristic traits of boldness and impatience of restraint distinguished them apart from other sedentary tribes of Mexico. They are for the most part endowed with superb physical qualities. Long renowned, with their Chihuahuan kinsmen, the Tarahumari tribesmen, for being the greatest long distance runners in America, a Yaqui champion has run 100 Spanish miles (90 of ours) in eleven hours and twenty minutes, over hill and broken ground.

Pascolas stand guard over a pile of green leaves and confetti -- their "ammunition" for beating back the forces of evil (shown above) when they attack the church.

Chapayekas dance, defying the forces of good.

Pascolas with dance masks, and tambolero. He plays the bamboo reed flute with his left hand, and the drum with his right hand.

The celebrants assemble in the "Thank You Circle" to receive words of thanks from the chief Maestro.

Malinches. In addition to carrying the three articles mentioned the headdress, palma, and rattle the malinches wear a long white dress over their pants and shirts. Over the dress diagonally across the breast are worn red ribbons, and many strings of gaudy beads are worn about the neck. The malinche wears shoes like the other matachinis, and his pants often protrude below the skirt of his dress.

The ritual activity of the matachinis consists solely in dancing. Their dances are a standardized set of patterns with some resemblance to European folk dances and the Virginia reel. The sometimes complicated movements are executed to the music of violins and guitars. Each dancer, at the same time that he is carrying out the movement necessary in the group patterns, shakes his rattle in time to the music, moves the palma in his left hand in certain rhythmic flourishes, and repeats constantly certain dance steps. The matachinis may dance in groups of from six to thirty, a usual number being eleven. They dance for an hour at a time at intervals during a ceremony and frequently take part in various kinds of processions.

The "fariseos." The fariseos are frequently referred to collectively by Yaquis as meaning "slender noses" and, in this connection, derives from the long, slender noses which are an essential feature of the masks worn by some members of the society.

The fariseo society includes, besides the masked chapayekas, a number of other kinds of ceremonial functionaries. In a sense they may all be considered dancers, since they all at certain times execute certain rhythmic steps in unison to the music of drum and native whistle. But, unlike the matachinis, the fariseos have a great many other ritual functions besides dancing. Their dances are always supplementary to their other activities.

The fariseos appear only during what we may call the Easter ceremonial season, that is, from Ash Wednesday until the Day of the Finding of the Holy Cross on May 3. During this time they take over all the economic and social functions of the matachinis as well as the ritual functions. They are present at every fiesta and at nearly every ceremony of whatever kind, just as the matachinis are during the rest of the year. But their ritual duties are by no means identical with those of the matachinis, and their social and economic functions are much more extensive.

FROM THE BOOK: "PASCUA-A YAQUI VILLAGE IN ARIZONA"

The fariseos may be conveniently discussed as two sub-groups within the society as a whole: the masked and the unmasked. The masked fariseos are the ones to whom the term chapayeka especially applies.(When that term is used hereafter, it will be applied only to this group.) The chapayekas are primarily clowns. They appear at various times during the Easter season wearing elaborate masks, a blanket or overcoat over the shoulders, and carrying long swordshaped sticks painted red, black, and white in their right hands, and small daggershaped sticks in their left hands. They have important duties in their capacities as clowns during the Friday processions of Lent and throughout Holy Week preceding Easter Sunday.

Masks, swords, daggers and rattles are made by the members of the society. They are made new for each ceremony, and styled to suit the wearer and the times.

The unmasked group of fariseos are sometimes referred to in Pascua as the "soldiers of Rome," a title which refers to the part they play in the ceremonies during. Holy Week as persecutors of Christ. They wear the ordinary clothes of everyday life, except for the native Yaqui guaraches, or sandals. But each carries a painted stick in the form of a lance or sword. They are in no sense clowns. They join with the chapayeka in their march-dance at various times during ceremonies, and two of their number, a flutist and a drummer, provide the music on such occasions.

The "soldiers of Rome" are organized in a military fashion. At their head is a man called "Pilato" (referring to his role in the Easter ceremonies as Pontius Pilate). He is regarded as having the leadership of the fariseo society. The leadership of the Pilato is, however, delegated in practice to the "captain" and his "soldiers." The responsibility for the organization of all the fiestas during the Easter ceremony falls to this captain.

The captain is assisted by a sergeant (sargento) and by a group of the recent initiates into the society, the "corporals" or cabos. The work of carrying messages, rounding up fariseos from their homes, and doing various menial tasks during ceremonies for the participants is carried out by the cabos. Their activities are directed by the captain, but they are immediately supervised by the cabo mayor, an older member of the fariseo society.

In addition, there are among the unmasked members of the fariseo society a drummer, a flutist, and two flagbearers. The latter carry the official red banners of the fariseo society, making extensive use of the flags during ceremonies.

The "caballeros." The caballeros are an organization which, like the fariseos, appear only during the Easter ceremonial season.

In the Yaqui River pueblos the caballeros are reputed to have been an important society, with police duties throughout the year as well as special ceremonial duties at Easter season. In Pascua only the latter functions remain. The caballeros are interpreted as being "good soldiers" as opposed to the "soldiers of Rome." They are "for Christ," while the latter are "against Christ." They wear no costumes but carry wooden swords and lances, and one of their number carries the blue flag which is the emblem of the society.

BY DR. EDWARD H. SPICER-UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS

The Coyotes. The Coyote dance society is practically extinct in Pascua. There were three members in the village in 1936-37. They formerly danced in Pascua only at the end of Holy Week each year. Each wore a headband to which was attached a foxskin and four tufts of feathers. They carried bows which were beaten with carrizo sticks as they danced.

The “ki'ostim.” The kiostim may be described as the female altar society. The women who belong to it have the following duties. They keep in repair all the images of the Virgin and all the altar cloths. They are not permitted to handle crucifixes. When a ceremony includes processions, they secure female bearers for the Virgins, carry out the ritual preparations of the bearers, and themselves march in the procession as attendants to the Virgins, scattering confetti or flowers over the images at the proper times. The preparation of the altar in the church is their special duty, but, unlike the 'temastim, they are not responsible for the preparation of altars at household ceremonies.

The kiostim are assisted in their work by unmarried women called 'alpesim (Spanish: alférez). These girls aid in the care of the images but also have other duties. They are flag-bearers. In certain ceremonies they wear a white cloth rebozo over which is fitted a red-and-green paper crown. They carry a red flag with a green cross in the center and perform certain rituals with the flag. When an 'alpes marries, she automatically ceases to be an 'alpes and may become either a kiosti or a cantora.

THE PASCOLA DANCERS

The pascolas and their associated ceremonial performer, the deer-dancer, constitute an aspect of the ceremonial life in which is revealed the nature of certain adjustments which are taking place between old and new elements in the culture.

The pascolas are not simply dancers; they have a number of different functions besides dancing, one of the most important of which is that of ceremonial host at most public fiestas.

The pascola is the “old man” who calls the people, other than performers, together for a fiesta, greets them and keeps them interested during the ceremonies, and gives Out, in the name of the fiesteros, the cigarettes, drinking water, and food. This seems to be his essential role, but these duties are combined with other ritual activities.

An individual becomes a pascola simply through the apprentice method. He learns the dance and the ritual from an established pascola, beginning either as a boy or as an adult. When he has acquired proficiency and the necessary paraphernalia, he is asked to dance somewhere and from that time on may appear as pascola at any ceremony requiring pascolas. He may or may not dance, as he pleases, when asked by a fiestero. He has no obligation of the sort that characterizes matachín or fariseo participation.

CEREMONIES IN WHICH “PASCOLAS” APPEAR

It has been said that pascolas appear in ceremonies at which there is feasting. They do not, however, appear at all ceremonies at which food is served.

The ceremonies at which they appear are always all-night or all-day fiestas, characterized by elaborate preparations, feasting, and large attendance. It is the fiesta, or large public gathering, with which they are intimately connected, not the routine church observance of comparatively unimportant dates in the Catholic calendar. They are essential at the kind of fiesta which is conceived as the fulfilment of a long-established obligation and to which everyone in the village is supposed to come and enjoy themselves, as well as to witness the fulfilment of an obligation.

THE DANCERS AND THEIR DANCE

The pascolas combine very strikingly elements of Western culture with what must be aboriginal Yaqui elements in their costume, their dance, and their ritual functions.

Costume. There are two types of costume in which the pascolas appear, depending upon the character of the ceremony. In their most usual roles they always wear masks made of wood and painted black. The mask may be decorated in various ways, but it has certain essential features. These are a cross painted in white on the forehead, a long white beard made of horsehair or manila rope, and long white eyebrows of the same material. Common additions are flower designs painted in white and clumps of long white hair affixed to the cheeks.When he appears as a masked dancer, the pascola wears nothing above the waist or on the feet. From the waist to the knees a blanket, which it is said must be of wool (but rarely is), is wrapped, covering the thighs and the lower part of the torso. The blanket is tied in a special way with a black sash around the waist and above each knee. Also around the waist is worn a heavy leather belt which has six or more metal bells attached to it by long strings. These jingle constantly while the dancer is in motion.

The hair is always tied into a topknot with a red ribbon. Around the neck is worn a string of black and white beads, and a small white cross of mother-of-pearl, or other material, is attached to the necklace. Around each ankle is wrapped a string of cocoon rattles called 'teneboim which soundwhenever the feet are moved. An instrument called a se'nasum is carried and rattled during certain dances; at other times it is stuck into the leather bell-belt. The se'nasum is made of wood and resembles a section of the side of a tambourine, having two or more metal disks which may be shaken up and down to give a tinkling sound.

The dance. The dances of the pascola all have animal names, such as "badger," "wolf," "canary," "turtle," etc. In some of these, as, for instance, the "badger," the pascola prances around on all fours, more or less in time to the music, in imitation of the animal.

The dances go on with little variation all night, but the music changes constantly. At the beginning of the dance the music is always that of the violin and Mexican harp. This alternates through the night with the music of the drum and whistle. The drum is a simple, double-headed hide drum beaten with a special wooden drumstick. The whistle is made of carrizo and has four holes. The two instruments are played simultaneously by a single man, the tampa'leo.

RITUAL FUNCTIONS OF THE "PASCOLAS"

We have mentioned thus far the ritual dance and ceremonial host functions of the pascola. The latter might be taken to include the other important function, that of ceremonial clowning, but it is better considered as a distinct sort of activity. These three kinds of activities dancing, acting as ritual host, and clowning are combined in all that the pascolas do during a ceremony.

The "pascolas" as ceremonial hosts. During a ceremony the pascolas are constantly addressing themselves to and being addressed by the crowd. There is always a crowd of persons sitting or standing in front of the pascola side of the ramada, watching, laughing, and exchanging words with the pascolas.

It is said in so many words by some of the more thoughtful Pascuans that the pascolas duties consist in "calling the people" to the fiesta and in keeping them "awake and active" during its progress. The methods by which they accomplish this are numerous. The dance itself is interesting to people and is watched carefully and frequently criticized, but the dance is less interesting than other things which the pascolas do. These activities consist mainly in clowning.

The pascolas also perform other ritual ritual functions. One of these is the throwing of flowers at the fariseos in the climax of the Easter ceremonies on Holy Saturday.

THE DEER-DANCER

The deer-dancer is a colorful figure in Yaqui ceremony, but his appearances in Pascua are infrequent. He appears only in conjunction with the pascolas, but he is by no means necessary at any ceremony in which pascolas appear. The deer-dancer Is neither a clown nor a ceremonial host. His activities are confined to his dance.

The nature of the deer dance. The deer-dancer ('maso in Yaqui), like the pascola, wears nothing above the waist or on the feet when he dances. From his waist to his knees is a skirtlike garment, under which at present in Pascua is usually worn a pair of trousers rolled up above the knees. Teneboim (cocoon rattles) and belt rattles are also worn. The deer-dancer does not wear a mask but dances with a stuffed deer's head tied to the top of his own head. As he dances, he holds a large gourd rattle in each hand and shakes them constantly. The dance is vigorous, wholly unlike that of the pascola. The body is sometimes bent over so that the rattles in the hands nearly touch the ground; the head, with the deer head protruding in front of it, is twisted about during the whole dance. The hands nearly touching the ground and the moving head are regarded as an imitation of a deer walking on all fours, constantly looking about for pursuers. The deer-dancer dances only when the pascola is performing to the music of the tampaleo.

The deer-dancer has his own musicians. They are called maso'wikame, or deersingers. There are three of them. Two play wooden rasps, one end of which is supported by a half-gourd resonator. The third beats a half-gourd which is floating in a pan of water. As they play, they sing. The music is entirely non-Spanish. The words are Yaqui, many of them being obsolescent and not now in daily use. They have to do with the life of the deer and other animals and birds, including descriptions of the trees and flowers among which they live. There are no references to Christian gods or ritual.

The deer-dancer is the constant butt of the pascolas jokes. It is a customary part of the pascolas activities to stumble over the deer-dancer, interfere with his dance, imitate all his movements, and attempt to make him laugh. It is also part of the deerdancer's role not to laugh and always to ignore, in so far as he can, the actions of the pascolas. The mock conflict between the pascolas and the deer-dancer is one of the greatest sources of amusement for the fiesta crowd.

THE CEREMONIAL SEASONS

The year is divided into two ceremonial seasons, the characteristic feature of each being the dominance of a particular men's dance society.

From Ash Wednesday until Easter Sunday the fariseos perform all the duties that a dance society ordinarily performs at ceremonies. The matachinis, however, at present do make one regular appearance during the season at the Palm Sunday ceremony.

During the rest of the year, from Easter Sunday until Ash Wednesday, the matachinis take over the general duties of the fariseos, such as organizing fiestas, dancing, and making limosnas. The fariseos make no appearances during this period after May 3, unless one of their number dies, when they appear with some of their paraphernalia at his funeral and other death ceremonies, or unless one of their number is in need of economic assistance, when they conduct a limosna for him.

The major calendrical ceremonies.

Four ceremonies stand out as of greater importance during each year than any others. That is, the number of persons participating in them is larger than that in any others, they are attended by many more persons, and the interest in them is greater than that shown in any others. It is these four ceremonies which are not only extensively participated in by all persons present in the village when they occur but which also draw back to the village all or nearly all those persons whose jobs have taken them elsewhere. These four ceremonies are as follows:

The societies have important economic functions. In one measure or another they are the bulwarks against stress. They help support members who are ill or jobless and constitute an ultimate insurance group in a community in which individual economic surpluses do not exist.

The Yaqui Easter Ceremonial by Phyllis Balastrero

A

A figure stands alone supported by a forked stick spine. He stares out of his oversize head - painted face, long ears, horns, and long painted nose. This is his moment of peace and triumph. He has been paraded around and around throughout a crowd of people on the outskirts of a dusty compound and finally attached to his station. He has been elaborately prepared with both fear and loving care, painted and decorated with symbolic objects. He wears a scarf and necklace. He carries a wooden sword in his belt. One of the fetishes attached to him may be a negligent child's teddy bear. He is the symbol of evil, created by man "devils" in their own image and carried by them in triumphal procession around the Yaqui Pascua village in Tucson. He is enthroned at the opposite end of the compound from the church and faces it. Directly to his left and just a few feet away is a white cross shadowing him with his imminent fate. All of his followers who have venerated him will turn against him, throw his symbols with frenzied violence at his feet, and burn him at the stake. One of the most impressive aspects of the Yaqui Indian Easter celebration is the burning of "St. Judas," an almost exact reversal of the triumphal entry of Jesus of Nazareth into Jerusa lem on Palm Sunday, His subsequent betrayal, trial, and cruci fixion. Judas is often paraded on a burro. His disciples carry him in procession, and when he is finally installed on his stick throne worship him with ritual dance. They pat him gently with their hands, their swords and daggers, and with swatches of grass or tree branches which resemble palm branches. He is even embraced and "kissed" by some. The Yaqui people celebrate Easter gratefully and sincerely. They try to portray the passion of Christ and to become a part of that passion. Pilgrims come from many miles to participate in the Easter ceremonies, sometimes walking for several days and nights to reach the village of their choice. A participant may be doing penance for some sin. He may be fulfilling a vow. He may believe that he has been assigned by God to his part in the ceremonies. His part is his "duty." Only illness can excuse him from his obligations.

Whatever the motives of whose who take part, the Pascua celebration is a solemn and impressive ceremony, a panoramic depiction of the events leading up to the crucifixion of Christ and His resurrection. One cannot think lightly of a people who cling stubbornly to their pre-Christian customs and at the same time are willing to scourge each other with branch whips in imitation of the scourging of Christ. The Yaquis are Catholic, but they have interpreted Cathol icism in their own way. Outsiders do not see the scourging which takes place on Wednesday of Holy Week. All formal participants and the Yaqui people gather in the church. The lights are out; there is no noise except the animal-like howls and screeches of the Chapayekas as they are struck three times with leather straps or branch switches. Aside from these "foot soldiers of evil," all endure in silence for the love of God and repentence of sins. The scourging is the Yaqui's hair shirt. The Easter story has been interpreted in many ways. One of the most famous is the Passion Play at Oberammergau, Bavaria. This pageant began in 1634 in fulfillment of a vow made when the village was saved from a plague. Few people realize that the Yaqui ceremony is even older. Authorities set the birthdate at about 1617, when Jesuit missionaries pushed into the Yaqui country of northern Mexico. In an effort to teach the Christian religion to the Yaquis they dramatized the story of Christ, probably in a new-world interpretation of the old European miracle plays. The Yaquis accepted Christianity but expressed their beliefs in a combination of Catholic ritual and their own tribal traditions. The Pascua celebration is pre-Christian, but sanctified. To the casual visitor who does not know what is going on it may be just a confusion of men in strange costumes. Some wear weird masks. Some wear black shirts and hats with black cloth covering their faces. All of them seem to be shuffling back and forth in military like columns to the music of flutes and primi tive drums. However, the costumes, which to some may seem like a child's painting and to others the creations made during a "bad trip," are traditional, and every aspect of them is sym bolic and necessary to the Yaqui ritual. Those who wear them must also do so "with good heart" or, in other words, a proper spirit of penitence and love of God. Text continued on page 34